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NOTE: In response to COVID-19 we will be holding Virtual Classroom teachings until further notice.
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Geshe Tenley continues his teachings on the lam-rim, making use of Pabongka Rinpoche's Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. The text is the seminal lam-rim text of the 20th century. It is a transcription of a twenty-four day lam-rim teaching given in 1921. Offered as a "practical teaching," it is less scholarly than Je Tsongkhapa's Jangchub Lam-rim Chen-mo or The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment and as such it is the text from which most modern lamas teach lam-rim.
Recently, Geshe-la has been focusing on actualizing the teachings through meditation, and spending a good portion of each class guiding us in specific meditations on the lam-rim topics we have been studying to help us understand what is meant by “meditating on the lam-rim” and show us how we can integrate these meditations into our daily practice. As our teachers repeatedly stress, we will not make progress if we only ingest the teachings intellectually. It is only engaging in the three wisdoms (listening, reflecting and meditating) that we will actually make changes in our minds. Receiving this type of practical guidance from an experienced teacher such as Geshe Tenley is a great blessing, and we are very fortunate to benefit from his guidance.
Summary of Sunday, May 2 Class
After greeting the class, Geshe-la reminded us that even though we have problems, they are less than many others are facing, such as those with COVID-19. Similarly, even though our country also has many difficulties, they are much less than those in India and Nepal. There are the seriously ill, who are struggling to breathe due to COVID-19 and may not find a local hospital to admit them or cannot find supplies of oxygen essential for survival, and so they die. We must recognize the seriousness of this situation, rejoice in our good circumstances, and enjoy the life we have.
We began our weekly meditation practice with a brief summary of the instructions and a reminder to begin with a short breathing meditation and then to turn one’s mind to the calm abiding meditation focusing on Buddha Shakyamuni, or your usual object. If it seems that more distractions are arising in your mind, rather than being disturbed, recognize that it shows that your mind is more aware. Typically, many distractions appear, but we do not notice them.
Following our meditation, Geshe emphasized that in order to see the beneficial results of both meditation and the teachings we are currently studying, one must continue to practice, not just during Sunday class. His Holiness the Dalai Lama offered similar advice during a recent teaching on The Heart Sutra. He related that after contemplating emptiness and bodhicitta for several decades he is able to see the benefit in his mind. During the entire day, he continually reflects on the topics important in Buddhism. He was also asked by a student how to be a 21st Century practitioner. He replied that the main thing is to internally cultivate compassion and bodhicitta and not think about how you look on the outside. Many people, especially younger ones, struggle with anger due to self- grasping and this can lead to suicide. With time, we can see the beneficial results of our practice. Just like a garden that becomes beautiful with care, we must take the time to continuously apply throughout the day what we are learning here, not just wait until the end of the day.
We next practiced analytical meditation on the first six points of the Seven Point Mind Training for a few minutes. Geshe-la asked us to recall each of the major points we had covered. If you forget one, go to the next. Try to recall the details of each point. If you don’t remember, think about their essence. Then after class, you can go back to the text and look over the points.
The seven points in brief are:
1) Preparatory practices which prepare us for actual mind training practice. This includes all the practices of the small and medium scopes including guru devotion.
2) Generating the mind of enlightenment, which includes both conventional and ultimate bodhicitta.
3) Converting unfortunate circumstances into the path to enlightenment by using adverse conditions to progress along the path.
4) Applying mind training practices on a daily basis throughout one’s entire life. Just as someone with high blood pressure must take the medication prescribed by the Doctor for one’s whole life, so we cannot stop training our mind for even one day.
5) The criteria of having trained the mind and what kind of signs we will see.
6) Commitments of mind training that tell us what we must do and what we must not do, similar to vows.
7) The final topic – how to keep one’s vows or commitments.
Overall, mind training is a very practical method to put into practice, like food in a store ready to eat. Other studies of Buddhist philosophy such as Tenets & Madhyamaka are more like food that must be assembled and prepared in order to consume and nourish us.
Explanation of The Twenty-Two Pieces of Advice
We next turned to the discussion of The Twenty-Two Pieces of Advice, from our text Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, Day Nineteen, Outline 361 (page numbers vary according to the edition of the book.)
1) Apply all yogas into one. While there are many practices we can do such as meditating on loving kindness and compassion, reciting sutras, or doing prostrations, you can combine them all into one by seeing them as ways to benefit others. Although we eat many different kinds of food, they are all consumed to sustain our body. Similarly, whatever activities we do should be to benefit others. Even when eating, we should think, “ I am eating in order to benefit others.” Do we do this? Usually, we eat for our own needs. Rather we should see food as medicine that we take without attachment. If we have this attitude, eating becomes a virtuous activity. The same applies to sleeping. We turn sleep into a virtuous activity by doing it to have a healthy body and benefit others. We can apply this to our other daily activities – viewing our job as a way to care for my family or to help my company. In brief, if we think like this, then we are thinking to benefit others.
2) Point 2 on how to deal with obstacles is not explained clearly in our text. Other translations say that if we do practices such as pujas or prayers to counter difficulties, we should always keep in mind that our aim is suppress delusions and benefit others.
3) Two activities are to be done – one in the early morning and one at night. At the start of the day, set a proper motivation: “From the time I wake up, whatever I do will be to benefit others.” During the day, observe oneself with introspection and mindfulness and if not acting with the morning’s motivation, remind oneself to change. At the end of the day, we can dedicate any virtuous actions for achieving enlightenment. If we made errors, generate a sense of regret, and then do a purification practice such as Prostrations to the Thirty-five Buddhas or recitation of Vajrasattva mantras, and conclude with a strong promise not to repeat the wrong action again. If you have done well, rejoice and use that as motivation for next day.
4) Endure both, whether happiness or unhappiness arises. It is easy to neglect the practice of mind training when in a high position or very happy. We also tend to forget about Dharma when we encounter much suffering. We should think of external conditions, whether good or bad, as being impermanent or like illusions. Circumstances in life are like the weather in Massachusetts - very unpredictable. Today it might be hot but tomorrow it will likely be different. We are not disturbed by the change of conditions because of familiarity from living with them. Similarly, apply these instructions as Shantideva writes in Guide to a Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Chapter 6 “If it can be fixed, why worry? If it cannot be fixed, what is the use of being unhappy?”
Geshe-la then addressed the topic of postponing practices for a day or more. If we have tantric commitments, we cannot skip them for any reason. If you do skip, you should continue the next day. Similarly, we must attempt to practice mind training every day regardless of circumstances. Like boiling water, even if the fire is small, if the flame is kept on all the time, the water will boil. If you turn the flame off, and back on, it delays when the water boils. Geshe-la related his own experience with this. He received a Yamantaka initiation and due to certain conditions, missed reciting the sadhana. He thought there would be no point to start doing it again, but his teacher said, “No, you must start again and not stop.” You must do your sadhanas and daily practice of mind training all the time, whether you are happy or not.
5) Guard both as more precious than your life. “Both” refers to vows in general and the Eighteen Commitments of Mind Training (Point 6). Protect your vows as you protect your eyes. Just as yaks in Tibet guard their soft hairy tails with great concern, so we should protect our practice of mind training. This includes showing respect by taking care of our appearance and making suitable offerings, even if we are alone in our room such as taking the Eight Mahayana Precepts early in the morning. So must always behave appropriately - physically, verbally, and mentally.
6) Train in the three difficulties. These are 1) the difficulty in identifying delusions, 2) the difficulty in applying an antidote and 3) the difficulty to stop the delusion completely. Like an x-ray that identifies your disease, mind training identifies the delusion. Then we must proceed from there to remove it. It is not easy, so go slowly and do a thorough job. Do not rush. We have both physical and mental difficulties. It is easier to take care of difficulties of the body. For the mind there is nothing we can do from outside. Rather, we must apply what we are learning from these instructions on mind training.
How do we know when we have graduated? When we stop our mind from following the delusions.
Suggested Readings
Seven Steps to Train Your Mind by Gomo Tulku
Advice from a Spiritual Friend by Geshe Rabten & Geshe Dhargyey
The Seven Point Mind Training by Alan Wallace
A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life by Shantideva, translated by Vesna & Alan Wallace
The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva, translated by Padmakara Translation Group
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Geshe Tenley is the Resident Teacher at Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in Boston. He was ordained by the late Gyume Khensur Geshe Urgyen Tseten Rinpoche in 1990 and began the program of studies to become a geshe at Sera Jey Monastic University. During the course of his studies, he has received many teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as many other highly qualified masters. In 1998, he received his full ordination (gelong) vows from His Holiness and received his geshe degree in 2008. He began teaching at Kurukulla Center in 2005 and was appointed the Resident Teacher by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 2010. Geshe Tenley is well-known for his approachability and kindheartedness. His extensive activities in the US and around the world bring great joy and benefit to everyone he meets.
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