宁静的力量

文｜妮子

宁静高于安静，安静多指环境，而宁静多指心境，宁静除了包括安静的环境以外，更多的时候是指一种心境中的安宁。心理环境的宁静清和、虚明澄澈，不是说要避开车水马龙的喧嚣，而是要在心中修筑篱笆设立一道隔火墙，并以此涵养万物。

宁静是思维的序曲，它来源于简洁、单纯、明净的心灵，它是生命活动里必要的一种间歇和休养，是一根能够帮助生命立起的拐杖，是一堆能够支撑参天大树的树根，是一座架在人与人之间的沟通桥梁。

沉淀自己的内心，静观事态变迁。心静了，才能听到万物的声音，心清了，才能看到万物的本质。

一位父亲丢了一只手表，于是他在家中抱怨着翻腾着，四处寻找，可是找了半天也没有找到。等到父亲出去了，儿子悄悄进屋，儿子不一会就找到了父亲的手表。父亲问儿子：“你是怎么找到的？”儿子淡淡地说：“我就安静地坐在房间里，不一会儿就听到了滴答滴答的声音，所以就找到了。”

由此可见，宁静是通向成功的一道门槛，是一种境界、气度、修养和能力，是心灵和谐的标志，是看透名利得失、荣辱成败后的觉悟，是领悟日月运行、生命成长后的清醒，是对内心本质需要的理解与把握。

如果心灵里没有围墙没有距离，心灵就是自由的。自由的心灵有着无限广阔的天空，是超脱的声音，是最美好的乐章，是最宁静的天籁，也是最奇异的风景。

水静而鉴，火静而朗，心静而慧。静则清，清则明，明则灵，灵气便往来充盈。倘若一个人的心理发生了病变，胆魄出现了倾斜，心灵发生了裂变，就会感觉冷风阵阵、淫雨霏霾、恶念疯长，从而吞没真诚、搅乱宁静，一个人的心灵到了这步田地，宁静就成为奢侈品了。

宁静方能静观，静观方能明断，明断方能正确行动。

宁静的山是心灵的绘画，宁静的水是心灵的诗篇，宁静的夜是精神的书籍，宁静的心是生动活泼、积极进取的动力。拥有了一颗宁静的心灵，就可以超脱地看待世间一切，就能平心静气地去享受生活、享受人生。拥有了一颗宁静自然的心，即使天气特别燥热、心底都会有一股凉爽漾起。

浮躁正好与宁静相反，它违背规律、忽东忽西、运作迷茫，它是对方向的盲动，是对急功近利的期待，是对一夜成名的渴望，是志向的慌乱，是奋斗时的东奔西跑和疲于奔命。浮躁还是水里摁不下去的葫芦，是风中停止不住的经幡，是心灵的躁动不安、神不守舍。浮躁的心灵让人疲惫不堪，欲多则心散，心散则志衰，志衰则思不达。

而宁静是心灵开悟之门，是心海的过滤器，是心灵与自然互通的唯一通道。有了这个通道，一个人就可以沉静地思想，就可以过滤理想上的浅薄和狂妄，就可以澄清思想上的杂质和污浊，就可以沉淀生活中的浮躁和喧嚣，就可以感悟到生命的酸甜苦辣，就可以看穿人间的世事沧桑。

即使事物繁杂，心静自然简洁；即使物欲横流，心也不会沾染。这是“无为即有为”的崇高洗礼，这是“独钓寒江雪”的至美感受，这是“众鸟高飞尽，孤云独去闲”的人生境界。

There is only one mind. It is not that there are two minds, one recognising the other. In the very moment of recognising, it is like a knot that is untied. We don’t have to do anything further than that. Leave it untied... We have already arrived at where we need to arrive at, we are already in the nature of mind.

-- Tsoknyi Rinpoche

Love and Emptiness

by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

What is buddhahood? It is the attaining of egolessness. But what are we realising the egolessness of?

According to the Theravada school of Buddhism, if we attain egolessness of self, we realise nirvana, enlightenment. This is a common approach: to attain enlightenment for oneself. But when we have discovered the emptiness of the self, what is left? The other. In the Mahayana school, the “Great Path,” egolessness of other is one of the most profound teachings.

The self has no entity in itself, but it believes it does. Its nature is that it spreads. Wherever it goes it pervades; whatever it encounters it begins to absorb as “I.” For example, when we are born, somehow our consciousness has been able to transfer from our previous life into this body, which exists only in a temporary way. Once we came into this body, we thought, “Hmm, not bad. It’s not mine, but I’ll make it mine.” And once we got used to our body, we immediately began thinking: my mother, my father, my house. Then my city, my state, my country, my planet, and so forth.

Ego has no boundary. It can go on continuously, appropriating other. When we come in contact with something, initially we look at it in a neutral way; we see it as belonging to somebody else, or maybe belonging to no one. If we see a tree, we don’t automatically think, “My tree.” Then we build a house next to it — and after a while, we think, “My tree.” This happens in any situation. When we buy an article of clothing, at first it feels foreign, but then it begins to feel familiar as my shirt. It is other, but the ego is constantly solidifying it as self.

The Mahayana teaches that complete egolessness comes about only when we have understood egolessness of other as well as the egolessness of self. There are two approaches in terms of how to practice the Mahayana: the direct path and the gradual path. On the direct path, we recognise the empty nature of self and other on the spot. On the gradual path, we recognise the nature of things progressively: First we recognise the self as empty. Then we recognise other to be empty. Then we recognise things to be the mind, and that this mind itself is empty.

These teachings direct us toward helping other sentient beings, because being able to help others is grounded in having discovered the emptiness of the self. So Mahayana logic is that we begin to flip from self to other.

A crucial element of the Mahayana is the bodhichitta practice of tonglen, “sending and taking.” In Tibetan, tong means “to send,” and len means “to get.” With a basic understanding of this practice, we begin to draw in the pain of others and send out goodness.

We can practice this exchange in many ways. For instance, we can do it specifically for someone who is ill, taking in that person’s suffering and claustrophobia and breathing out spaciousness. We do that by visualising the inbreath as heavy and the outbreath as light, drawing in negative energy and sending out love.

At first it is important that we take this dualistic approach, because we can use what we see “out there” to incite compassion “in here.” In the same way, it is good that we have emotions, because then we have something to work with. With our breath, we can take in aggression and give out peace. We can breathe in pain and breathe out relief. That’s why human birth is so precious: it provides us with the attributes to go on the path.

Scholars and yogis have divided the ego into fifty-one levels of thought patterns and emotions. They’re listed in several categories, including universal patterns such as form and feeling, occasional patterns such as rapture, unwholesome patterns such as recklessness and lack of shame, and wholesome patterns like faith, love, and compassion.

Love and compassion are wholesome because when we experience them — even at an ordinary level — some kind of openness takes place. Those emotions are a fault line of the ego — when we feel them, the ego breaks down a little and we begin to see that our sense of “me” is not airtight. Even though love is an emotion and is often connected with someone we want, or who makes us happy, it contains some quality of relaxing and letting go. Compassion works in the same way, poking holes in the seeming solidity of self and other. 

Tonglen is a very potent practice that helps us develop confidence in kindness and compassion. It brings sanity to us and to others because it provides a practical way of working with our mind. For example, if we are calmly practicing tonglen for someone who is close to us, we are not spinning out of control with worry about what could happen to them. Therefore, the meditation is a way to actually bring some sanity to us and the other person.

When we begin to do tonglen practice, the question arises: who or what is sending out, and who is taking in? Through practicing mindfulness, or shamatha, we have established peace. Now, through practicing insight, or vipashyana, we begin to develop wisdom. We begin to realise that we can’t actually find the mind we have tamed. Where exactly is it? Is the mind in the body? Is it in the eyes? Is it in the feelings? Where is the mind that is following the breath? Where is it coming from? Where is it going? Where is its space? We can’t really say that it’s here or it’s there. Nevertheless, there is definitely a process of experiencing being here — experiencing wildness of mind, and experiencing peace. Where is that peace? If I’m meditating, I feel tranquil. Where is that tranquility?

As we progress in our meditation, emptiness becomes more apparent. Emptiness means that there is no inherent existence. Emptiness and egolessness are very similar in that way. Emptiness is empty of our assumptions, and it is full of compassion. We realise that assumptions are the basis of most of our experiences, and we discover that the mind and the world are actually empty of those assumptions. Discovering our selfless nature is freedom.

Sometimes we misunderstand emptiness to mean that nothing exists, which is nihilism. A more accurate perspective is that without emptiness, we cannot have form, and without form we cannot have emptiness. They are inseparable. Exchanging self for other, we realise the self is empty. Then we realise that other is empty, too. That is how true giving and taking can happen. Exchanging oneself for other is the point where relative and absolute truth meet. The whole notion of self and other starts dissolving. If there’s somebody sending, who’s receiving?

As our meditation progresses, we begin to see egolessness — we can’t find any inherent thing. Compassion seems endless and boundless, but where does compassion come from? Where does insight come from? Where is this mind? Actually, we all have the capacity to know, but we can’t completely understand unless we practice meditation. Mind is empty and luminous: this is its nature. The Mahayana teachings say that with the right view, we can utilise certain aspects of our emotions in order to bring out this natural wisdom. As we develop love and compassion through the practice of tonglen, glimmers of wisdom begin to shine through.

If the meditator is able to use whatever occurs in his life as the path, his body becomes a retreat hut.

-- Jigme Lingpa

出去走一走，才知道自己有沒有定力

一誠長老

假設一下，當我們身處深山之中，遠離世間的誘惑，這個時候是不是能夠做到心如止水呢？或許可以。但是一旦踏入滾滾紅塵之中，恐怕就會被花花世界迷了雙眼，在名利、物質面前把握不住自己。

很多時候，需要出去走一走，才知道自己有沒有定力。古人說“中隱隱於市”，就是這個道理。隱居在深山老林裏，不與世俗喧囂接觸，要斷絕功名利祿之心也就容易一些；而居於市井之中，日日與塵俗為伍，這樣子若仍能把持住自己，保住內在的清凈，才稱得上真正有境界的隱士。

佛說俗世之中，處處皆可修行。真正的修行不一定非要在寺廟裏，工作、生活、人際來往中，都可以修養心性，修正行為，修習智慧。定力也不光是說你可以打多久的坐，入定多長時間，更是將內心的這種定力和修養投入現實生活，接受外界的考驗，看是否能在這種考驗中保持下去。

在寺廟裏修行時，覺得自己境界很高了，任什麽也無法動搖自己了，結果一出山門，入了塵世，別人的一個眼神，一句評價，都能讓你煩惱半天；在學校裏讀書時，覺得自己很清高，有傲骨，結果一出校門，踏進社會，遇到挫折，立刻就把傲骨彎折了。這樣的事例並不少見，有些人自覺很有定力，實則只是自以為是的感覺，並不曾擁有真正意義上的定力，證據就是，一旦遇到現實，你所謂的“定力”便立刻只能舉手投降。

世間誘惑很多，名位金錢，面子聲譽，皆是迷惑人心，惹人爭逐的東西。那些貪錢、貪名聲地位的人面對這些誘惑，恐怕很難定得住自己，十萬塊還不動心，一百萬就動心了；一句誇贊不動心，十句誇贊就動心了。所以說，定力是什麽，它是一種定住自己、控制自己、把握自己的能力，有定力的人，目標穩固，信念執著，意誌堅強，冷靜沈著，心如止水，淡定從容，不隨境轉。管它是名利，還是地位，都不能夠使他失去自我，只因他內心有不可動搖的自信。

通常說一個人很自信，那是說他自信於自己的能力、才華，或者身份地位，而和尚說的這種不可動搖的自信，是指站立於天地之間，擯棄了世俗功利束縛，對自我存在的一種絕對自信。它不隨著能力、才華、身份地位的改變而改變。

人為什麽會有這樣的自信？那是因為他的人生開啟了智慧。他對世事人生有清醒透徹的認識，知道世間權位、名聲，金錢利益的虛幻本質，知曉自我在世間的位置。我們看到有些人，一見到比自己有錢、有權，地位比自己高的人，就彎腰點頭，很卑微，一跟領導說話，膽子就變小了，畏畏縮縮，因為他們沒有自信啊，輕易就被名氣、地位、權勢、金錢這些東西給嚇住了。這樣的人怎麽會有定力呢？他們只要走出去，立刻就會成為名利權位的奴隸。

相反，真正有自信、有定力的人，即使穿著一件粗布衣服，他走在一群盛裝的人當中，也不會自慚形穢。他會很坦然，很自在，因為他有獨立於世的信心，不需要靠衣裝來標榜和炫耀自己。這樣的人即使功成名就，也不會刻意去彰顯自己的功名，當他與地位比他高，成就比他大的人講話時，他會不卑不亢，以誠相待。外界的盛贊、歌頌或者是譏謗、侮辱，都不能夠影響到他的情緒，人生的順逆寵辱，也不會動搖他的冷靜，讓他失態。

如果人的定力是一塊金子，那就一定要拿現實這塊試金石來試一試它的成色。虛假的定力，一定會在喧嚷中現出原形，而真正的定力，是一種堅實心，是泰山崩於前而面不改色，是你投身於世俗的洪流之後，仍然能夠保住初心，不為外界所惑，不為名利失去自我。

It is clearly mentioned in the lam-rim that there isn’t a Dharma to be learned and studied and another Dharma to be practised. To think of the Dharma in this way is wrong. It is a huge mistake… Whatever we have learned is meant for practice and whatever we practise is what we have learned.

-- Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi

Compassion as the Source of Happiness

by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO STRIVE FOR HAPPINESS 

We are here; we exist and we have the right to exist. Even non-sentient beings like flowers have the right to exist. If negative force is exerted against them, then, on a chemical level, flowers repair themselves to survive. But more than that, we human beings including insects, even amoebas, the smallest beings are considered sentient beings. And as sentient beings, we have even more mechanisms to help us survive.

Things that can move under their own will or desire, that’s what a “sentient being” means, according to the discussions that I’ve had with scientists. “Sentient” doesn’t necessarily mean being conscious or being human on a conscious level. Actually it’s difficult to define what “consciousness” or “conscious” means. Usually it means the clearest aspect of the mind, but then, is it that there is no consciousness when we are semiconscious or unconscious? Do insects have it? Maybe it’s better to speak of “cognitive faculty” rather than consciousness.

In any case, the main point that we are referring to here by cognitive faculty is the ability to experience feelings: pain, pleasure, or neutral feelings. Actually, pleasure and pain, and happiness and unhappiness, are things that we need to examine in more depth. For example, every sentient being has the right to survive and, for survival, this means having a desire for happiness or comfort: that’s why sentient beings strive to survive. Therefore, our survival is based on hope – hope for something good: happiness. Because of that, I always conclude that the purpose of life is happiness. With hope and a happy feeling, our body feels well. Therefore, hope and happiness are positive factors for our health. Health depends on a happy state of mind.

Anger, on the other hand, is based on a sense of insecurity and brings us fear. When we encounter something good, we feel safe. When something threatens us, we feel insecure and then we become angry. Anger is a part of the mind that defends itself from what harms our survival. But anger itself makes us feel bad and so, ultimately, it is bad for our health.

Attachment is an element that is helpful for survival. So, even a plant, without any conscious element, still has some chemical aspect that causes it to protect itself and helps its growth. Our body, on a physical level, is the same. But, as humans, our body also has a positive element on the emotional level that brings us to have attachment to someone or attachment to our own happiness. Anger, on other hand, with its element of causing harm, pushes us away from things including happiness. On a physical level, the pleasure that happiness brings is good for the body; while anger and the unhappiness it causes is harmful. Therefore, from the perspective of the pursuit of survival, the purpose of life is to have a happy life.

This is the basic human level that I am speaking about; I am not speaking about the religious, secondary level. On the religious level, of course there are different explanations of the purpose of life. The secondary aspect is actually quite complicated; therefore, it is better to talk just on the basic human level.

WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

Since our goal and the purpose of life is happiness, what is happiness? Sometimes physical suffering can even bring a deeper sense of satisfaction like with an athlete after a grueling workout. So “happiness” means mainly a sense of deep satisfaction. The object of life or our goal, then, is satisfaction.

Happiness, sadness or suffering – for these, there are two levels: a sensorial level and a mental level. The sensorial level is common with tiny mammals, even insects – a fly.  In a cold climate, when the sun comes out, a fly shows a happy aspect: it flies around nicely. In a cold room, it slows down: it shows a sign of sadness. But, if there is a sophisticated brain, then there is even a stronger sense of sensorial pleasure. In addition, though, our sophisticated brain is the largest in size and, therefore, we also have intelligence.

Consider the case of humans who feel no physical threats. They have a happy, comfortable life, good friends, salary, and name. But, even then, we notice that some millionaires, for example – they feel that they are an important part of society, but often these people as persons are very unhappy persons. On a few occasions I have met very rich, influential people who showed a very troubled sense that, deep inside, they had a feeling of loneliness, stress and worry. So, on the mental level, they have suffering.

We have a marvelous intelligence, so the mental level of our experience is more dominant than is the physical level. Physical pain can be minimized or subdued by it. As a small example, some time ago I developed a serious illness. It was very painful in my intestines. At that time, I was in Bihar, the poorest state of India and I passed through Bodh Gaya and Nalanda. There, I saw many very poor children. They were collecting cow dung. They had no education facilities and I felt very sad. Then, near Patna, the capital of the state, I had a lot of pain and sweating. I noticed one old sick person, one sick man, wearing white cloth, very, very dirty. No one was taking care of that person; it was really very sad. That night in my hotel room, my physical pain was very severe, but my mind was thinking of those children and that old man. That concern greatly reduced my physical pain.

Take for example those who train for the Olympic Games. They do very vigorous training, and no matter how much pain and hardship they experience, on the mental level they have happiness. Therefore, the mental level is more important than physical experience. Therefore, what is really important in life is happiness and satisfaction.

THE CAUSES OF HAPPINESS

Now, what are the causes of happiness? I think that since this body element goes well with a calm mind, not with a disturbed mind, therefore a calm mind is very important. It doesn’t matter our physical situation, mental calmness is most important. So, how can we bring about a calm mind?

Now, to get rid of all problems, that would be impractical; and to make the mind dull and forget about our problems, that doesn’t work either. We have to look clearly at our problems and deal with them, but at the same time keep a calm mind so that we have a realistic attitude and we are able to treat them well, deal with them well.

As for those who take tranquillizers – well, I have no experience. I don’t know if, at the time when people take tranquillizers, their intelligence is sharp or dull; I have to ask. For example, in 1959, when I was in Mussoorie, my mother or maybe it was somebody else was disturbed and had a lot of anxiety: the sleep was disturbed. The doctor explained that there were some drugs that they could take, but this would make the mind a little dull. I thought at that time that that’s not good. On one side, you have a little calmness of mind, but on the other side, if the effect is dullness, this is no good. I prefer another way. I prefer having the intelligence fully functional and attentive and alert, but not disturbed. Undisturbed mental calmness is best.

For this, compassionate human affection is really important: the more compassionate our mind is, the better our brain functions. If our mind develops fear and anger, then when that happens, our brain functions more poorly. On one occasion I met a scientist who was over eighty years old. He gave me one of his books. I think it was called We Are Prisoners of Anger, something like that. While discussing his experience, he said that when we develop anger toward an object, the object appears very negatively. But ninety per cent of that negativeness is in our mental projection. This was from his own experience.

Buddhism says the same. When negative emotion develops, we can’t see reality. When we need to make a decision and the mind is dominated by anger; then chances are, we will make the wrong decision. No one wants to make a wrong decision, but at that moment, the part of our intelligence and brain that functions to differentiate right from wrong and make the best decision, that works very poorly. Even great leaders experience it like that.

Therefore, compassion and affection help the brain to function more smoothly. 

Secondarily, compassion gives us inner strength; it gives us self-confidence and that reduces fear, which, in turn, keeps our mind calm. Therefore, compassion has two functions: it causes our brain to function better and it brings inner strength. These, then, are the causes of happiness. I feel it is like that.

Now other faculties, of course, are also good for happiness. Everybody likes money, for example. If we have money, then we can enjoy good facilities. Usually, we consider these the topmost important things, but I think it’s not like that. Material comfort can come through physical effort, but mental comfort has to come through mental effort. If we go to a shop and offer money to the shopkeeper and say that we want to buy peace of mind, they will say they have nothing to sell. Many shopkeepers will feel that this is something mad and they will laugh at us. Some injection or pill can maybe bring temporary happiness or calmness of mind, but not at the fullest level. We can see with the example of counseling that we need to tackle emotions through discussion and reasoning. Thus, we must use a mental approach. Therefore whenever I give talks, I say that we modern people think too much of external development. If we pay attention only to that level, that’s not enough. Genuine happiness and satisfaction must come from within.

The basic elements for that are compassion and human affection, and these come from biology. As an infant, our survival depends solely on affection. If affection is there, we feel safe. If it’s not there, we feel anxiety and insecure. If we become separated from our mother, we cry. If we are in our mother’s arms and held tight, warmly, then we feel happy and we’re quiet. As a baby, this is a biological factor. One scientist for instance, my teacher, a biologist who is involved with anti-nuclear violence – he told me that after birth, a mother’s physical touch for several weeks is very important for enlarging the baby’s brain and development. It brings a feeling of safety and comfort and this leads to proper development of physical growth, including the brain.

So, the seed of compassion and affection is not something that comes from religion: it comes from biology. We each came from our mother’s womb and each of us survived due to our mother’s care and affection. In the Indian tradition, we consider birth from a lotus in a pure land. That sounds very nice, but perhaps the people there have more affection for lotuses than for people. So being born from a mother’s womb is better. Then we are already equipped with the seed of compassion. So, those are the causes of happiness.

When selflessness is seen in objects, the seed of cyclic existence is destroyed.

-- Aryadeva

一切法教源自法身

堪布卡塔仁波切

首先，我们在做任何事时，都必须发展正确的心态――不论是听闻、思考或实修佛法，或做一般的俗事也是一样。

心态是和我们的想法有关。正念与邪念之别，在于精神与物质的层面上；在物质世间里，我们努力读书和工作，只为了名利这样自私的目的。由于无始以来，我们就有这种自私的心理，所以便一直在六道中受苦，无法自轮回中解脱。

因此，当我们在修持或听闻佛法时，必须培养想要利益一切众生的心态，这不仅是短暂的做法而已，最终还要帮助六道众生解脱痛苦――这就是正确的心态。

修行的目的是为了解脱世间的痛苦，而达究竟的喜乐。修行是否能达开悟，要视修行者的心态而定。如果我们的心态是不净的，就会像食物中掺了毒药一样。食物有益健康，但是如果其中含有毒药，就变得很危险。同样地，佛法可以利益我们，但修行是否有结果，则要依个人的心态而定了。

同样一个由上师教导的修行法门，也可能会有不同的结果出现，这完全是依弟子所持的心态而定。例如：秉持正确心态的弟子，便能得到最好的成效。心态正确，但较少聪慧的弟子，效果可能会差一些，但完全不具正确心态者，即使有什么修行也不会有任何成就。甚者，由于心存恶念，这位弟子的烦恼障可能反更增加。由此例可证明心态的重要性。

你不一定很清楚，在听闻、思考和修行佛法时，我们应培养什么样的心态，才能获得修行的圆满成就。我们一定要培养利益他人的心态。首先要知道，众生不仅是现在正受著苦，而是无始以来即不断地在受苦。为何众生由无始至今一直受著永无休止的苦痛？这是由于他们的动机都是自私的，只追求个人的利益、幸福和享乐。为了自己享有这些快乐幸福，他们不断起瞋恨、嫉妒、骄傲等烦恼，也因此累积了恶业。所以，事实上，他们并没有享受到较多的快乐，反而招致更大的苦果。因此，我们要发愿永远救度众生，脱离苦因。这种希望究竟解脱众生的利他心态，就是觉悟的心，或称为菩提心。菩提心非常殊胜，如果一个人能一直保持这种觉悟的心境，它便会发挥很大的力量。

我们已首先发起了利他的心，现在请专心注意的听讲。今天的开示要讲的是传承祖师们。谈到他们，我们必须了解，过去已有多尊佛菩萨示现，来到世间转*轮。依经典所说，未来还有千佛会以同样的目的来到这个世间。

我们目前是在贤劫第四尊佛――释迦牟尼佛的教法指导下。佛陀生於印度，示现在世共八十一年，曾三转*轮。佛法从释迦牟尼佛――化身佛开始，一直传到像龙树、无著等大师，从未间断。他们相继将佛法带入西藏，后来发展成西藏佛教的四大教派。

一切教法都是来自佛的化身。化身佛源自报身佛，而报身则源自法身。举个例子来说明法、报、化三身之间的关系。在此屋里的光亮是来自於屋外，而屋外的光亮则来自太阳。因此，所有的佛法和西藏的四大教派，都源自金刚总持或普贤王如来的法身――觉悟的究竟特质。我们靠著屋外的光亮照亮房间，如前所述，屋外的光亮来自太阳。证悟到金刚总持或普贤王如来的境界，就好像成为太阳本身一样，不再须要依靠外在的光源来照明了。

因此，所有噶举(白教)、格鲁(黄教)、萨迦(花教)等宗派的传承，都源自金刚总持。为什么要回溯到金刚总持，而不是释迦牟尼佛呢？因为金刚总持是觉悟的本质――光源，是太阳本身，而非射出的光线，宁玛派(红教)也是一样，其法教不是源自莲花生大士或释迦牟尼佛，而是来自普贤王如来。因为一切法教的究竟本源是法身，所以西藏佛教的四大宗派都是源自金刚总持或普贤王如来。

至於金刚总持和普贤王如来何者较高的问题，有时也会困扰初学者。由于他们是平等的，便没有优劣之分。从某种意义来看，他们只是名相上的不同而已。举例来说，住在东方的人，认为那是东方的天空，而在西方的人，则认为是西方的。但事实是，天空只有一个，并非东方的天空胜於西方的，也不是西方的天空胜於东方的，所以，根本没有孰为优劣的问题。两方的都是天空，唯一的不同只是处在世界上不同的地方而已，是我们自己有“我们的”天空和“他们的”天空的分别心。所以，事实上，金刚总持和普贤王如来并无不同。

从某种意义层面来看，两者之间并无差别，有的只是二个不同名字的称呼而已。“普贤王如来”的梵文是“沙曼达巴卓”(Samantabhadra)，藏文译成“棍都桑波”(Kuntuzangpo)。“棍都”之意为究竟，“桑波”则为美善。所以“棍都桑波”就是本然的离於任何染污、瑕缺或心识上的迷惑。因此，不仅是目前清净，未来也永远不会被染污。金刚总持的梵文是“发嘉达拉”(Vajradhara)，藏文译成“多杰羌”(Dorjechang)“多杰”之意为不可摧毁，“羌”则是恒久持有。一切众生都具有佛所证悟的本质，多杰羌之意为圆满了悟或如如不动的证悟特质，此为一切众生所共有。

从唐卡上所绘的普贤王如来和金刚总持，我们可以进一步看到，一尊绘有庄严与衣饰，而另一尊则完全没有。普贤王如来是裸身的，没有任何庄严与衣饰，象徵其开悟的境界完全离於任何心识的投射造作，如法身般本来清净。金刚总持全身珠宝璎珞严饰，并著天衣，象徵他经由报身和化身示现的善巧，不断地利益众生，满足他们的需要。

弥勒菩萨曾在“究竟一乘宝性论”中解释，实际证悟的是普贤王如来，或金刚总持；而证悟的化身则是来到世间的释迦牟尼佛。释迦牟尼佛曾亲自说过，他不曾说过一字，也没给过任何教法，是众生透过自身业力的显现和所具的根器，才领悟到他的教导的。为什么释迦牟尼佛说他从未说过一法呢？因为就法身，或所谓究竟觉悟的境界来论，他未曾说过任何一法。但在另一方面，释迦牟尼佛是化身佛，所以众生能透过其示现或化身，依自己的业力根器而听到不同的佛法。

太阳和金刚总持从未真正来到这世间，是众生透过其根器和清净心，感受到了阳光和金刚总持的存在。佛是超越任何心灵概念的，就像太阳一样，它并没有想到只要照耀世界上某个地方，或只要对此处或他处有利益。太阳只是照著，众生则依个别的能力，产生对光亮不同的觉受。虽然太阳并未刻意以温暖来利益众生，但有肉身的众生便会感到暖和而受益。有躯体的众生能感受到温暖。是因为他们有此肉身。阳光使人看得清楚东西，是因为他们有眼睛。就像阳光使一切长有眼睛的众生看得见一样，佛也让具根器和清净心的人体验到他的存在，所以金刚总持并未真正示现於世。即使释迦牟尼佛已於二千五百三十年前示寂，我们依然可透过自己的虔诚心、信心和修行得到他的加持，因为究竟证悟的佛性――法身或金刚总持的证悟本质是永远不会消失的。只要太阳高挂在天空，即使暂时有乌云遮住它的光线，也不意味太阳会就此失去它的光辉，它始终是照耀著的。同样地，即使佛陀示寂距今已有很长的时间，但只要我们深具虔诚和信心，精进修持，也会感受到他的加持。因为金刚总持永远在那儿。法身的金刚总持永远不会停止示现。

金刚总持利益众生的佛行是没有任何分别的，就像长在地上的树木都具可燃性一样。任何木头，不管生长在何处，都具有可燃的特性。金刚总持利众事业的本质也是相同的，不分任何众生，都可受到泽被。不仅是究竟证悟的金刚总持才有利益众生的佛性，事实上，一切众生，包括我们自己，都本然具足这个佛性。

我们都知道木材可以燃烧，但也要有起火的因素才行，它自己是不会燃烧起来的。虽然一切众生都本具如金刚总持证悟的佛性，其中包括我们自己，但我们还需因缘使它成熟，才能了悟。这也是为何一切教派的上师都强调传承祖师的重要性。因为他们承袭了不间断的传承的法教，所以，依其所教修持，我们便会遇到使佛性成熟的因缘。

为了使我们能了悟自心，逢遇使佛性成熟的因缘是非常必要的。在法教中曾提到，一盏油灯会点亮另一盏。就像我们有一百根蜡烛，当第一根点亮时，另一根接触到了头一根的火焰，便会跟著燃烧起来。然后，第三根蜡烛又碰到第二根的火焰而点著了。第四根也是一样，这样一直下去。如果你在佛堂上有一根蜡烛，没有火便不能点燃，一定要有这样的因缘才行。

有许多初修者，由於不了解金刚总持的真正含义，便提出一些如：金刚总持的双亲是谁？他的生日是何时等的问题。还有一些行者误认为金刚总持是高高住在天界的人，这些想法都是由于不明证悟的本质所致。由于缺乏了解，即使金刚总持是超于任何概念与言语的，仍有人相信他是具有色身、真实存在、住在我们上面天界的某个天宫中的。虽然金刚总持的境界是超越任何概念与言语，但经由精进修持，便能体会它就在我们的自性之中。金刚总持与我们的自性本为一体。

当我们说金刚总持非以色身形式存在时，还是有人会不同意，因为在唐卡上，我们可以看到一个全身蓝色的人，佩戴珠宝璎珞、穿著丝衣、手握铃杵。这些都是象征性的意义而已，以便行者可以了知证悟的特质。深蓝色、铃和杵都象徵著金刚总持不灭不坏的特质。深蓝色隐喻其永不停息的利众事业，珠宝严饰则象徵广度众生的珍贵。

熟悉大手印祈请文的人都知道，开头要先唸诵：“伟大的多杰羌、帝洛巴、那洛巴……”了解金刚总持的意义是非常重要的，因为其后的一切法教都立基於此觉悟的究竟特质之上。如果我们现在有任何误解，以后便会感到混淆迷惑。我们一定要确知自己已经正确地了解了金刚总持的意义，以便可以正确地衔接上往后的教法。

The more Buddhism you have practiced, the more modest you should be; the more you know, the less arrogant you should be; with greater knowledge, you should show increased humbleness. For example, you should treat people equally and respectfully even when you talk to a beggar.

-- Droge Yonten Gyatso Rinpoche

What is Dharma?

by Reginald A. Ray

The Sanskrit word “dharma” is without doubt the most important and most commonly used term in Buddhism. Among the three jewels of buddha, dharma and sangha in which all Buddhists take refuge, the dharma is pre-eminent. It is a realisation of the dharma that produces buddhas and it is the dharma that provides the pretext for the sangha (community) and binds it together.

But what does the word “dharma” actually mean? This is a particularly fascinating term, because it includes and integrates several levels of experience, from our first moment on the path to the achievement of full realisation.

THE ETERNAL DHARMA

In the early Theravadin texts, Buddha Shakyamuni is reported to have remarked that the dharma is always present, whether or not there is a buddha to preach it or a sangha to practice it. Dharma in this sense is the underlying, substratum of reality-of our lives and of our world. It is the ultimate and primordial fact of who and what we are.

It is the goal of all Buddhists to uncover this “true nature,” as it is called-not just to glimpse it, but to be able to rest in it, identify with it, and forget any other “self” that we may have imagined. In such a realisation, we see that what we most essentially are has no beginning and no end, and expresses itself in universal love.

Is this eternal dharma inaccessible to us ordinary people? Not at all. In fact, it is always hovering at the periphery of our consciousness, whether we are Buddhists or not, or whether or not we have any apparent interest in spirituality at all.

DHARMA AS PHENOMENA

The Buddhist scholar Th. Stcherbatsky wrote an early, influential book entitled The Central Conception of Buddhism and the Meaning of the Word “Dharma.” In this work, the author tells us that dharma is the basis of our ordinary existence-of the multitude of thoughts, perceptions, and occurrences that make up our experience as human beings.

Here, a distinction needs to be made between our concepts of what ordinary reality is, our preconceptions and wishful thinking, and its raw, implacable facticity. Dharma in this second sense is what is so in our lives, whether we like it or not, whether we wish for it or not, whether we expect it or not. Sudden illness, the breakdown of a relationship, and unexpected death are all expressions of the breakthrough of dharma in this sense. But so also are the light that fails to go on when we flip the switch, the unanticipated phone call, the surprising joy of seeing a newborn child. And so is the sudden shock of seeing someone else as more-or less-than we thought.

All such events bring us up short. They reveal just how much we have been locked up a dream of our own making, a dream of who we are and what the world is like. They wake us up, if only for a moment. It is in this sense that the great Tibetan master Atisha tells us that, “All dharma agrees at one point.” All that occurs, when seen in its own light and from its own side (dharma), proclaims the unreality of our fixed notions of ourselves and our world. The dharma as phenomena is thus finally not distinct from the eternal dharma. The nakedness and starkness of phenomena, as they are, represent the breakthrough of the eternal dharma into our lives.

DHARMA AS THE PATH

How we respond to the disruption and destabilisation caused by the eternal dharma, as it shows up in the experiences of our lives, is a matter of choice.

For example, we may fall into avoidance and denial, seeking to reconstitute our solidity, comfort and security. Or we may see in the dharma a harbinger of ultimate reality, and turn to it as the path. The first approach leads us to deny what we have seen and to pretend things are otherwise. This results in to further bondage, to increased confusion, negative karma, and suffering. The second leads, to recall the words of the Theravadin meditation teacher Ayya Khema, not to the elimination of suffering but to the gradual dissolution of the one who suffers.

In the beginning, the path is difficult and painful: through meditation and the other Buddhist disciplines, we train by bringing ourselves back again and again to the uncomfortable edge of the dharma, to the ambiguity and groundlessness of the present moment. In time, however, we find in such returns solace and relief. At this point, in Trungpa Rinpoche’s felicious phrasing, the path of dharma begins to unroll naturally and effortlessly beneath our feet.

DHARMA AS TEACHINGS

Finally, in its most concrete sense, the dharma is the teachings delivered by the Buddha and added to by countless generations of accomplished and realised men and women. This dharma describes, points to, and evokes the eternal dharma as it appears in our unadorned and uninterpreted life experience.

Originally and most essentially, the dharma teachings were the words spoken and sung by the realised ones. Sutras, the words of the Buddha, always begin “Thus have I heard” not “Thus have I read.” In the same way that one could not expect to become a world-class pianist simply by reading piano manuals or a cook simply by reading cookbooks, one must receive the dharma teachings by hearing them from a teacher. To learn the dharma, we must hear the nuances and subtleties; we must experience the eloquence and the flights of those steeped in living understanding and realisation.

It is said that the Buddha and the later teachers tailored their discourses to the specific needs of their listeners. They spoke the reality of dharma in a form that could communicate to their listeners. This “tailoring” was not, we may be certain, particularly deliberate or self-conscious.

When teachers give voice to dharma nowadays, they often draw on textual tradition. But at the same time, the words that form in their minds, the images, analogies and logic, are drawn from the atmosphere, they are reflections of and address everyone in the room, and they express the unique configuration of reality that exists in that moment.

The spoken dharma is infinitely more nuanced, evocative, and communicative than anything written could be. It carries an abundant and pregnant burden of meaning that is instantly received in its totality by the listeners. Hearing Sri Lankan, Zen or Tibetan monks chant a Buddhist sutta is an entirely different experience from reading it in print. Through the recitation, a world is suddenly opened and we are immesed in an atmosphere and a feeling that are complete.

In listening the dharma, it is not so unusual to hear a teacher describe a scene, say, from the life of the Buddha, and to find ourselves, before the description is half begun, feeling the coolness of the Indian night and smelling its rich, sweet and pungent scents. It is true that, beginning the in the first century BCE, the dharma began to be written down and now exists in tens of thousands of pages in the various Asian canons. At the same time, it is important to remember that the dharma as teaching is most fundamentally a spoken truth, of which the written word is an analogue and a support.

Particularly for Western Buddhists, the written word is often the initial gate to the vast world of dharma within. Often a book leads us to encounter a Buddhist teacher from whom we may hear the dharma in oral form. Often that teacher encourages us to undertake the path, engaging in the practice of meditation. This, in turn, begins to lay bare the raw and rugged character of our ordinary lives. As we make a fuller and fuller acquaintance with our lives, we may begin to sense the background of awareness that runs like a thread through all our experience. As our sense of this awareness-known as buddhanature-deepens, we begin to realise that, more than anything else, this is who we most fundamentally are and always have been.

At this point, we have journeyed from seeing that dharma as an interesting book to discovering the eternal dharma as the final truth of our own inherent nature. The entire path, then, is encompassed and summarised in this single word.

Timeless spontaneity, forever present, is created by no-one; it is the pure mind that like a wish-fulfilling gem is the origin of all our samsara and nirvana.

-- Longchenpa

佛法原理与做人

太虚大师

在佛法原则上，法就是讲宇宙间存在的事物都离不了因果法则，这个法则从自然界到社会以至心知，一切都是具有的，亦名因缘所生法。例如一盆花的生长和存在，必有种子的因和水土、人工、日光等缘，才能生长出来，这是自然界的植物，其他动物、矿物、如化学上由水而化成氢氧气，水就氢氧气等因缘的所生法；就是物质分析到最细的原子，也还是由电子所构成功的。从此分析下去，就是电子也是一种因缘所生法，大而至地球或太阳系，乃至星云星海，佛学上之大千世界，华藏世界，无不都是因缘所生法。近而观察人生，亦是因缘所生法；凡动物的生命，都是因缘相续，生命的因遇到父母的缘才可生起；生后由天地间各种的培植方能长成。这都是因果法，离开了因果法是没有存在的。科学上研究明白的，也只是因果法中一部分，由科学所研究到的各部分，终合起来，追寻他的根本，因此便进一步而成为哲学；在一切存在变化的因缘关系上研究他的原理，便是哲学。于这两种的研究而外，还有各种宗教，然而各宗教或立一种神，或立多种神，而产生宇宙万有的一切，这是幻想，我们宇宙万有外是不必要有另一个创造神的。

佛法是科学的哲学，哲学的宗教，与其他带迷信之宗教不同。佛法的出发点是现实的无量众生世界，这都是科学上所研究到的事实，故佛法完全是现实的科学。科学与佛法虽同以现实世界众生为对象，而科学只研究到一部分的现象，而佛法是作一个总的观察，普遍的觉悟，所以佛法不但有科学，而且是科学的哲学。

佛法教人了解一切普遍的因果法则都不是固定的。从因的上面可予以种种改变，使人类进而改善；明白这一改善的方法，如是可以达到最善、最纯洁、最高尚、最圆满光明、最妙的境界，如是名为佛。从实践实行上，求改善求进步而达到这种最高尚最完善的境界，就是极乐世界。佛的大慈悲心，是要一切众生都同佛一样的得到安乐，故把他所觉悟的境界，及达到觉悟的方法指示他人，这就是先觉后觉的意思。所以佛法是科学而不只是科学，是哲学而不只是哲学，佛法是科学哲学的宗教。佛是最彻底的觉悟者，所觉悟的因果法，不是另外有一个神，他是把觉悟的都指示出来，使大家都能觉悟而同到达完美微妙的境界，这就是佛教，亦可名为佛学，佛法。

由此谈到做人，且就最小范围的地球人类上说，在佛法原理上地球上的人类是众生中较为重要的；在众生中虽有比人类更高妙的种类，但是人因活动的创造的力量大，因此佛法中看世界中之人类，是能够达到与佛一样的觉悟的；故佛说“人生难得”，而人生是有很深意义很大价值的；如此了解人生价值，才成立一种有意义的人生观。宇宙间能变化的力量是众生心，此外没有造世界的神，由众生心的力量变现一切宇宙间的因果变化。例如一个国家之兴衰，是全国民的心理关系，如能将人心改善振作，国家便强；反之，国家便衰弱。虽不无其他原因，但此实为原因之主要点。如清季之襄，襄在人心颓唐；现在民国之转强，亦强在孙先生之改善人心；以新的各种因缘条件而造成新的民治国家，进而能领导世界，我们每一个人亦复如是。

众生心力是相续的，不是新起的，也不会断灭的，偶尔变化亦不过是生命的一个阶段。我们若了解人生宇宙原理，则所起一种思想，一种动作，可以改变人生宇宙一切。故勤作善事能令人类众生完善，否则亦能令一切众生堕落。如杀害他人而想利益自己，是违背因果的，实际上还是自害，例如日本之侵略我国，而现在将渐次灭亡了，故知一切都有因果。

第一、一切须以众生之利益为前题，如此方可造成完美的人生。故在佛法的原则上，须要供献自己所有的，使一切人类进步改善，使一切人类都无侵略争夺之事，乃达到世界永久和平。尤其现在交通发达，倘若一个地方发生战争，很容易波动到全国或全世界，故若不急求世界永久和平，则今后人生将永沦在战争的残酷中。再如前次世界战争与此次大战相较，其破坏力量远胜过去，故现在世界永久和平，是迫切需要的。

第二、现在有一种人完全是为个人的利益着想，他的才智完全作了自私自利的工具，是整个以身家利益为前题的。这种人小而能造成目前资产劳动阶级不平等的社会，大而能造成国际间的优劣，故我们要做到完善的人生，必须互利互惠。因此，要明白这因果法则，把个人的力量献给大众的利益上，而达到自他两利。

复次，应有尊卑长幼有次序的社会人生，这是第三种人生。

第四是要有诚信，使社会能精诚团结，向上发达，由这因缘所生法上的真理去实践实行，合到道德行为理性生活，这是觉悟人生的开始，这就是佛法上说的五戒十善的人生。

再进一步，就是大乘菩萨所行的六波罗密行，使一切众生都做到这种人生道德最高尚微妙完善的菩萨行为，方是最完善最美好的人生。

大乘佛法是为大众谋幸福的。例如车子，人力车只容一人，汽车可容少数人，喻如小乘；若火车则能容大量的人，绝不是为那一个人的，故喻大乘。大乘佛法是绝不为己，而为一切众生谋利益的，要想从人类更进步的去修菩萨六度万行，完成最高人，生改良人类社会，这是佛法指示做人的最高道理。

Through the limitless merit I have created by expounding the precious doctrine of the Universal Way, may all beings become perfectly receptive to this true and precious teaching.

-- Asanga

Supplication to Padmasambhava 2 of 2

by Russell Rodgers

O Jetsün Guru Rinpoche,

Refuge of all beings in the three realms, Consider your vow.

Dispel outer, inner and secret obstacles.

Jetsün is an honorific term for especially revered gurus. The three realms refer to the realm in which we live, and the form and formless god realms. These latter two are accessed in some meditation experiences, but are regarded as not being particularly spiritually relevant to our path.

Outer obstacles are obstacles in the environment, such as not having enough money to attend a dharma program. Inner obstacles refer to the physical sicknesses and conflicting emotions that happen in one’s own person. Secret obstacles have to do with the loss of one’s awareness of sacred outlook. When this loss happens, one can fall into confused projections of self and other, friend and enemy, good and bad.

When the pure four truths are propagated…..

The pure four truths refer to the “Four Noble Truths”: The first is the truth that the human condition is marked by perpetual dissatisfaction, suffering and anxiety. The second refers to the source of that condition: the belief in a self and the web of concepts that are created around that. The third truth is that one is sometimes released momentarily, just long enough so that one realises that suffering, anxiety and dissatisfaction are unnecessary. The fourth is the truth of the path: how to stabilise that release from suffering.

If misfortunes of malicious maras arise….

Maras are seductive spirits: personifications of four basic neurotic tendencies. First is skandha-mara, the seduction of belief in a solid, permanent, unitary self. Klesha-mara refers to the seduction of confused emotions, and believing them to be the truth about reality. Devaputra-mara is the unbalanced pursuit of pleasure and accompanying ignorance of the signals of pain. Attachment to blissful states of meditation is part of this mara. Yama-mara is death, which interrupts one’s practice unless one knows how to include death as path. This mara is also connected with the fear of death, or simply the fear of losing reference points and experiencing groundlessness. Losing ground, or the fear of it, is at the root of much neurosis.

O Guru Shakya Senge,

Dispel outer, inner, and secret obstacles.

Padmasambhava had different names at different periods of his life. These names reflected the kind of energy that he was manifesting at that time. Shakya Senge (Tibetan for “lion of the Shakya clan”) was the name that he was given when he received ordination. Although he was said to be enlightened from birth, in this phase he demonstrated the importance of relating to the monastic tradition. As Shakya Senge, he appears in iconography wearing monk’s robes, sitting in lotus posture, holding a begging bowl in his left hand and a vajra in the right. Sakya Senge shows Guru Rinpoche’s mastery and protection of the foundation teachings of the dharma.

When the bodhichitta path of aspiring and entering is propagated,

If there arise misfortunes of mãras causing one to harm others,

The bodhichitta path refers to the Mahayana. At first we “aspire” to awaken our hearts towards others. This aspiration is formalised with the bodhisattva vow. We actually “enter” that path when we begin to practice the six paramitas. The paramitas are practices based on enlightened activities. Our basic inspiration may come from a brief glimpse of natural, spontaneous awakened heart, but our practice of that may feel somewhat awkward and artificial because we have conceptualised projection of what compassion and emptiness are. Through practice, we get closer and gradually “enter” into genuine, spontaneous, non-conceptual awakened heart. At this point, we are able to practice the paramitas fully.

O Guru Loden Choksi,

Dispel outer, inner, and secret obstacles.

The name “Loden Choksi” was given to Padmasambhava after he had studied under many vajra masters and accomplished many Vajrayana practices. He became the guru of the king of Sahor in India. Loden Choksi is depicted in royal robes, wearing a white turban on his head and a mirror around his neck. Through his miraculous ability to deal with whatever threats, difficulties, and obstacles arose, Loden Choksi manifested invincibility. Whatever obstacles arose, these became adornments for him.

When the chariot of vajrayãna

Is brought into the world,

If the perverted aspirations of barbarians run rampant…..

The Vajrayana teachings are powerful: they accept the world as it is, within self-existing sacredness and non-ego. Sometimes people pervert these teachings out of a desire to capture the power of Vajrayana by twisting the teachings to enhance ego. One common way to twist the teachings is to say that since everything is sacred, it doesn’t matter what one does. In this case, there is usually a lot of ego happening on the side of the person doing the action, and a lack of understanding of karma and compassion. In this case sacredness or basic goodness is not based on pure nowness, but on a concept of sacredness or basic goodness.

….O Guru Dorje Trolö,

Dispel outer, inner, and secret obstacles.

Dorje Trolö is a wrathful manifestation of Padmasambhava, with a red face and three eyes, biting his lower lip with his fangs, wielding a vajra in his right hand and a phurba (three bladed dagger) in his left, standing on a pregnant tigress. Both he and Senge Dradrok are crazy wisdom forms; they transmute the poisonous confusion of samsara into spontaneous wisdom activity. In The Sadhana of Mahamudra, the form and the activity of Dorje Trolö is unified with that of Karma Pakshi, the second Karmapa. Dorje Trolö is the form that Padmasambhava manifested when he came to Tibet and encountered Tibetan religion and culture, which was much more earthy than the Indian religion of the time. However, that culture still had a dualistic relationship between man and the gods, and between man and the external world. Dorje Trolö, because he lived in non-duality himself, exploded this duality through his own example. He also left “terma,” teachings that were not appropriate during his time, but would be at a later date. The Vidyadhara found several of these in the form of yellow scrolls when he was still a teenager in Tibet. The Sadhana of Mahamudra is an example of a terma, although the Vidyadhara discovered it without the aid of a written text.

When the three yãnas of the excellent Great Eastern Sun Are propagated and established,

If mãra-hordes of gyalgongs and senmos gather,

O Guru Senge Dradok,

Dispel outer, inner, and secret obstacles.

Usually, the three yãnas refer to the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Putting them in the context of the “Great Eastern Sun” highlights these in a different light. In this case it refers to the Shambhala teachings for creating an enlightened society, based on fundamental human dignity and wisdom. Guru Senge Dradok (Tibetan for “Lion’s Roar”): is another wrathful manifestation of Padmasambhava. He appears as a defender of the dharma and great magician: dark blue, with three eyes, fangs, trampling on human corpses, wearing a tiger skin skirt, hair streaming upwards, with a crown of five small skulls and a necklace of human heads, surrounded by flames of wisdom and wrathful compassion.

Trungpa Rinpoche commented that, when presented with a problem based on some kind of misunderstanding of reality, Senge Dradruk was not afraid to meet those who were presenting the problem, on their own ground. He did not try to block them. Instead, mixing his presence with theirs had the effect of accelerating the natural course of problem towards dissolution. This happens because confusion is based on concepts, and concepts need to be maintained by effort in the face of actual reality. Since he was not attached to the “this-ness” of himself, he wasn’t afraid of the “that-ness” of the world. The chant specifically mentions gyalgongs, or “monk demons,” who provoke competitive aggression by perverting the dharma with their analytical preconceptions. They transform dharmic vision into politics and sectarian strife. Senmos are female demons who seduce the practitioner into samsaric passion through sensual fascination.

Just as at Hepo Hill at glorious Samye,

You bound by oath devas and rãkshasas,

So utterly destroy these obstacles of mãras.

Consider well your former vow of compassion.

Destroy outer, inner, and secret obstacles.

Dispel the döns who bring darkness to the world.

Samye was the first monastery built in Tibet. During the building of the monastery, there were many misfortunes and obstacles. It seemed as though what was built in the day was being dismantled at night by devas and rãkshasas – gods and demons. Padmasambhava was invited to turn things around, and he did it in such a way that the environmental situation began to work for, rather than against the building of the monastery. Hepo Hill is near Samye, where Padmasambhava tamed the local deities who were interfering with the establishment of dharma in Tibet. Döns are malicious spirits whose attacks are associated with lack of mindfulness on the part of the practitioner.

O Mahaguru, compassionate one,

There is no other hope but you.

Please issue your command to the ocean of dharmapãlas

So they will destroy all obstacles without exception.

Because Padmasambhava had tamed the obstructing spirits and energies to the service of the dharma, they became dharmapãlas, or protectors of teachings. We might wonder what that means for our own culture.

This life of leisure is even more precious than a wish-granting jewel; that I have found such an existence is only this once; so hard to find yet like a flash of lightning it is easy to vanish; contemplating this situation it’s vital to realise that all mundane pursuits are like the empty grain husks floating in the winds and that we must extract the essence of human existence. I, a yogi, have practiced in this manner; You, who aspire for liberation, too should do likewise.

-- Lama Tsongkhapa

人生之路，都如梦幻泡影

学诚法师

现代人大多处于“茫、盲、忙”的状态，最主要的原因是缺乏信念和理想。很多人只相信看得见的、眼前的利益得失，不再追寻长远的、深刻的生命哲理，以为这些“很虚”。可是，很少有人停下来反思：我们在每一件事情上都做出了自己认为正确的精明选择，为什么快乐越来越远？

人活在世上，不能去计较太多得失，计较付出与回报的比例。这样就等于把自己的快乐寄托在外境上，总是被他人的言行所影响，忘记了自己要走的路。

“我执”是一切烦恼的根源。我们与人比较高下、计较得失，都是为了保护“我”、利益“我”，让“我”快乐，结果产生了嫉妒、骄慢、嗔恨等心态，以及由此产生的种种不理智的行为，把自己身心都推向痛苦的深渊。“众生欲除苦，奈何苦更增；愚人虽求乐，毁乐如灭仇。”

要有正知见，慢慢依据正知见去思维，才能不随着情绪乱跑。做人做事要常常反观自己，多想自己应该怎么做，哪些地方做得不够好，而不要总是追逐外境、攀比得失。

无所谓“得”，也无所谓“失”，所谓的得失只是我们内心的感受，内心对外境的一种判断：我们把它与自我联系起来，产生“我所有”的一种执著，就认为自己得 到了什么，反之就觉得自己失去了什么，从而产生喜怒哀乐。譬如有人得到了一颗宝石，欣喜若狂，实际上等他死了，宝石还在，并不属于他。

人走到一定的境界，都是自己把自己障碍了，计较太多得失、人我是非，人就过不去。要有无穷的发心，才能一直往下做，每个人都有无限的潜力。

你说妄语欺骗他人，他人也会如此待你，永远在“自欺、欺人、被人欺”中循环，实际上也没有讨到多少好处。学佛的人都是从很长远的时间来看待是非得失，看待正确与错误，不是从眼前来看的。

心大了，烦恼就小了。凡事看得宽些，看到全局、看得长远，不要只计较自己眼前一点利益得失，争利斗气；凡事不要执著，善识无常、深信因果，坦然接受现实，积极为未来种因。心量有多大，福报就有多大。能容人、多付出、不计较得失，就是在积累广大福报。

眼前一刻，既是果报现前之时，又是耕耘因地之机。只看到果报的苦涩就会痛苦，转念看到因地就会拥有希望。外在的境界都是短暂的，是不断在变化的，认识到这一点，我们的内心就不要被它束缚住，不要执著于某一点的得失、成败，而能够回到自己的心念上来努力，解脱就在这颗心。

人生际遇由业力所感，眼前的果相不是我们想拒绝就能够拒绝、想如愿就能够如愿的；得到的东西也会一直在变动乃至失坏，一切都是如此。如果我们总是追逐外在的成就，时时刻刻都在衡量外在的得失，就会觉得很苦恼。要从自己的心上、业上来看待，在“能”、“愿”、“因”上努力。

焦虑，是被妄想之火煎熬。外在的局面是因缘和合的结果，而我们看待它的时候却附加了许多分别之念、高下之别、得失之心，被川流不息的妄想包围，心就焦躁、恐惧、不能安定。时时刻刻回归当下一念心，不追忆、不幻想，让心静下来。

人来到世上的时候并没有带着钱来，走的时候也不会带着钱走，整个一生中的盈亏得失，不过都是昙花一现而已。

看得更长远、更全面。长远，就是不要局限于眼前；全面，就是不要只从自己的立场看问题，多想想对方的情况，更多角度去看待一件事情。

要把心量放大一些，多去发心，把自己一切好的，让大家都能够分享；不愿意让任何一个人受苦……常常串习这样的念头，心打开了，痛苦自然就减轻了。

一颗小石子，丢入小水坑中会溅起很大的水花；丢入大海中却了无痕迹。心要足够宽广、足够深邃，才能遇境平静，不起波澜。宽广，是指心中能装得下更多人、更多事，而不是只从自己的角度出发，整天想着自己的苦乐、得失；深邃，是指内心有明利的智慧，看人看事长远、透彻。

我们的心应该“敏感”，但不应“妄想”——看到什么细节都往不好的方面去联想，而且这种联想紧紧围绕着自己的得失、苦乐，我们的目光总是比较短浅，角度总是比较单一，都是妄想与烦恼。正念就是心要常常看好的一面，多想办法而不是想问题，多理解他人、帮助他人。

“不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中”，我们迷茫、看不清楚方向时，往往是因为陷于境界之中，被自己的利益、感受、得失、情绪所困。当置身事外，以旁观者的心态去检视，很多问题便能清楚明了。

人生之路，有上坡就一定有下坡，有顶峰就一定会有低谷，胜败乃兵家常事。进一步说，无论是“得”还是“失”，都如梦幻泡影。得到了会失去，并不是真有；既然没有真正的“得”，又何来“失”呢？得失只是我们心念上的起伏。

考虑他人的感受，是待人着想、将心比心，是慈悲利他之心；活在别人的看法中，表面上看起来处处照顾他人，但核心却是希望讨人喜欢、怕人否定，心里紧紧抓住的是自己的苦乐。前者的心是温暖柔软的，后者必定充满得失之念，痛苦不安，细省内心，即可分明。

要站得高、看得远。站得高，即超越个人利益的得失；看得远，即不要急功近利。

不要总是以自我为中心，在意自己的苦乐、得失，多用心去关注一下他人的苦乐和需要，尽量做一些不求回报帮助别人的善行。善良的行为给我们带来的快乐是非常巨大的，只要体验过，就会懂得。

自私自利的人，处处处心积虑防着别人，用尽心思算计别人，一心为自己争取利益，却导致了亲友的不信任。内心充满阴暗，必定活在得失计较、孤独恐惧之中，实可悲愍！愿我们有朝一日能够把阳光带给他！

外在的成败得失带来的满足感只是烦躁的快乐，转瞬即逝。真正的快乐来自于内心的慈悲与智慧，来自于烦恼的止息，并且得到了就永远不会失去。

出家人并非影视作品中描写的那样无所事事。如果说清闲，那是对五欲的心态：内心“清”净，故气定神“闲”，不会为外在得失而心浮气躁；同时，上求佛道、下化众生的心与行，却是时刻不懈，精进不息。

利关不破，得失惊之；名关不破，毁誉动之。

高调低调，看胸襟；大事小事，看担当；顺境逆境，看把握；是得是舍，看欲望；成败得失，看坚持；淡然释然，看心情；是非曲直，看度量。心小，小事则大；心大，大事则小。大其心，容天下之事；虚其心，赏天下之美；潜其心，究天下之理；定其心，应天下之变。

内心不起烦恼是真正的消业，能够战胜内心烦恼的人，才是真正强大有力的人；愚痴是不懂得因果，只看到一时的是非得失。当自己认为受到不公正对待，狠狠地予以反击的时候，已经落入了恶业的陷阱。反过来说，若能超越自我得失、不起烦恼，出于利他的心态，行为上采用反击姿态也无不可。

懂得无常，心就不会被外在的境界所束缚，能够看淡得失成败；懂得无常，要好好珍惜生命的时光，勤造善业；懂得无常，要在一切境界中善待他人，温暖自己。

对绝大部分人来说，“什么都不为”而行善，是很难做到并坚持的，有可能一次两次做到，但无法数十年如一日的精进而为，尤其是遇到挫折时，很容易动摇。而即使最朴素的“善有善报”的观念，若能深信笃行，便能支撑人们超越许多眼前得失，用心专注行善。

太执着自己，总是想着自己的问题、自己的苦乐、自己的得失……最后心中就剩下一个自己了，所以就会孤独。

世间一切得失祸福，皆是自因自果，自作自受，故君子求诸己，不愿乎其外。

There are two ways of seeing everything, the perfect way and the false way, So each and everything that can ever be found holds two natures within. And what does perfect seeing see? It sees the suchness of all things. And false seeing sees the relative truth – this is what the perfect Buddha said.

-- Chandrakirti

Supplication to Padmasambhava 1 of 2

by Russell Rodgers

Buddhism’s tremendous success in Tibet can be traced to the activities of an eighth century Indian yogi named Padmasambhava, known by Tibetans as “Guru Rinpoche.” His story is important for us here in the modern West because it illustrates how Buddhism can enter and tame a foreign culture. In his case, the new culture was Tibet. In our case, it is us. The founder of Shambhala Buddhism, the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, drew extensively on the experience of Padmasambhava for his work in North America.

In the eighth century, India was a highly developed civilisation, with great universities and a highly developed spiritual tradition. The king of Tibet, Trisong Detsen (755-797), wishing to bring literacy and spiritual sophistication to Tibet, invited a great Indian Mahayanist scholar, Shantarakshita, to present the foundation teachings of Buddhism. However, many obstacles arose when he came to Tibet. Some were political, some were cultural, some were psychic, and some were environmental. Realising that something else was needed, Shantarakshita told the king to invite Padmasambhava, an Indian tantric yogin of great power.

Padmasambhava’s realisation was so profound that he was able to contact the basic energies that underlay the apparent obstacles, and re-cast them as aids to practice. Instead of attempting to destroy the mountain gods and demons of the native Tibetan religion, he harnessed these energies into the form of protectors of the dharma. In this way he tamed the Tibetan national psyche. One might ask how this situation parallels our own.

When the Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche came to North America in the early 1970’s, he found on the one hand a tremendous interest in dharma, and on the other, as in Padmasambhava’s Tibet, a cultural environment that needed to be tamed. For dharma to truly take root, it couldn’t just be an exotic transplant of foreign culture. Buddhism would have to embrace, and then transform the barbarism of the West — corporate culture, militarism, materialistic consumerism, and theism.

The example of Padmasambhava was very real to Trungpa Rinpoche. Padmasambhava didn’t try to block the energies that he encountered in Tibet: he embraced them and extracted their wisdom. Whatever he encountered became further fuel to his activities. This approach is called “crazy wisdom,” and it does not work on conventional logic at all. It is based on complete nowness. It is completely uncompromising in seeing and responding to the sacredness of all situations. If the word “sacredness” here creates difficulty, we could probably substitute the words basic goodness, or primordial purity. This sacredness is generally covered over by conceptual projections about reality, and since that “reality” is where we live most of the time, the actions of such a yogi will seem crazy–coming from someplace that is strange and unfamiliar to us.

Following the example of Padmasambhava, the Vidydhara did not block the energies he found in the West, but transformed them. To transmute militarism, for instance, the Vidyadhara introduced the kasung, or vajra guards, whose motto was “victory over war,” and who replace violence with presence, awareness, and spontaneous action. He structured the governing body of his organisation along Western corporate lines, and then taught people the principles of enlightened leadership. He worked with materialistic consumerism by teaching how to appreciate the natural richness of our perceptions and the ability of perceptions to wake us up. He worked with theism by showing how to use the power of deities in spiritual practice, without solidifying them as external ego. Like Padmasambhava, he extracted the wisdom energy of each situation from under its egoistic cloak.

When we invoke Padmasambhava in this chant, we are invoking his enlightened example as a way to work with the obstacles we encounter — whether they are personal, or obstacles in our physical or social environment. Tibetans believe that Padmasambhava still exists, and that he relates to our world from his enlightened realm. We could understand the chant in this way, or we could understand that we are invoking an enlightened aspect of mind in general. In the latter case, Padmasambhava represents part of ourselves that is there but not normally accessible to us. Obviously, our understanding of what this means comes from some kind of contact with present day holders of Padmasambhava’s lineage.

The beginningless basic element is the source of all phenomena. Because it exists, all transmigrations and even nirvanas are attained.

-- Asanga

明心见性的方法

梦参老和尚

明心见性方法都是什么？这些天有很多道友都在听楞严经。楞严经是佛在说了般若部之后说的。一般地说，我们在家道友都能够进入的话，你不但了生死，你在社会上，它都会起变化的。因为在社会上讲究物质，在我们佛教徒可不讲，我们佛教徒讲精神世界，我们心生种种法生，一切物质是由心而生出来，这个道理大家明白了。

现在社会上灾害很多，水灾、风灾。在我们大陆上风灾很少，但我在美国那些年，几乎年年都有风灾。它那风灾不是像我们一般的风，叫龙卷风，那风来的时候像个柱子一样，搅到一起，直上直下。它这一过，时间不长，几秒钟时间，什么都给摧毁了。我那时候在加州，我只是到佛罗里达州，它那遭一次龙卷风，那次龙卷风非常厉害，几千年的大树都给翻过来了，什么都吹没有了，楼房，风一过楼房没了。这是风灾。

还有像地震，大家都时常感受到的，像汶川大地震。但是我们中国最大的地震是在唐山，因为它死的人太多。我在四川，就是在这个地区的时候，这个地区也是发生了一个八点几级地震，大概是有十几座山陷下去了。不像这个是分裂，那是往下陷。

这些个例子就是说凡是一切灾害怎么产生的？我们对任何事物发生，都要找个原因。地震的原因是什么？还有那年印尼的海啸，到印度尼西亚在那海岸上的海岛上旅游的，海啸时那个海整个陷下去了，究竟死了好多人没办法调查，都是各个国家旅游的人，哪个国家都有，怎么调查？

今天台风袭击福建，叫凤凰台风，跟我们香港那个凤凰台同名，这个台风在台湾登陆之后，今天进入咱们福建。风灾、水灾、火灾，乃至于地震灾害，但是我们找些个地震原因是什么，大家想过吗？在报纸上说是地壳什么，这都不是原因。真正原因是众生的业，业是什么？就是造作义，就是我们所做的事情。因为现在的人心，大家可以知道，你左右邻居，在香港也好，在台湾也好，不论在哪个地区，看看现在的人心，总想害别人。这个大家想过没有？但是我们佛弟子（佛教徒）不想害别人，总是求别人平安，希望一切人都能平平安安的。

我们平常听到的世间所说的话，说这个社会（现在社会）极不平等，两极分化，富者过于富裕了，穷者非常贫困，但是他不找原因。就是今年我在香港路过的时候，在香港大学很多学生问我为什么社会上这么不平等，他们说：老和尚，你怎么看？我说我看很平等，非常平等。那些学生就让我解释，为什么？我说他自己做的事自己受，在佛教讲就是自己做的业自己去受，这有什么不平等的！为什么有些人很困难、很贫穷？为什么有些人很富有，非常富有，一存多少亿？他前生修的，他过去生修的福报，他今生来享受；你过去做了很多坏事，做了很多的业，你今生就受。所以叫自己作业自己受，那有什么不平等的！所以在佛所教导我们说自作业自受。

落迦找个原因，说凡是一切灾害怎么产生的？我们对任何事物发生，我们我们想扭转这种现象，在社会上没有办法扭转。说我该死了，或者下半年、或者下半月我就该死了，我想不死，那你得按他的方法，有不死的方法，社会上还没有。佛教教我们能够延缓，透过长寿法、消灾延寿法、吉祥法。我想升官发财，那你得去修，你按照佛所教授的方法去做。这是小事，这叫世间法，你要是一修都可以做得到。但是我们学佛的人另外有一个求解脱、了生死的方法，这个方法世间就没有了。那就不是像我求升官、求发财、求消灾免难了，求解脱、了生死你得自己去修。例如我们今天讲的，你就依照佛所教导的。现在我们大家所用的都是识，知识那个识，不是我们的心，我们连心还不知道呢！你再从头看看楞严经吧！佛问阿难叫七处征心，这个我们已经讲完了，心究竟在什么处。

我们修道能够明心见性，大家可能听说过，见你自己的本性，明心见性这是佛教高深的。像我们在家的道友们，你们还不理解，除非你研究佛经真正深入。如果你光受过三皈，跟一般出家师父接触接触，你理解不到的。楞严经这个教义，还不是我们普通一般的出家人所能理解到的。我们就知道什么？怎么样能使我们生老病死转换一下，这四种苦难无论谁，只要生存在这个世界上，谁也免不了。生时的苦难，你已经忘记了，谁还能回忆自己受生的时候那个苦难？这个看佛经大概都知道，当你生下长大了，你从小学到中学读书，孩子感觉很苦。咱们培养孩子的知识，为什么要这么做？不这么做怎么生存？你没有知识，怎么会有财富？但是社会上的知识，这是世间相。像我们刚才说的，我们要了生死、求解脱，这个知识就不同了，这是超世的知识，这只有入了佛门之后，你才理解到生老病死能免的，它都能转换，病苦、灾难都能转换。

我举我个人的例子，我今年九十五岁了。当我八十岁的时候，我在美国到加拿大，在加拿大的时候，我一个皈依弟子，因为他是医生，他说：师父，你现在得了癌症。

我就笑，我说：我没感觉。

他说：你已经得了癌症初期，赶快治疗，还能挽救活几年。

我说：如果不治呢？

他说：不治，大概一两年就死了。

正在这个时候，台湾我一个弟子叫黄明和，黄明和他在台湾有个大医院叫秀传医院，他到他儿子女儿在美国读书的、在加拿大温哥华读书的地方，他去看他的儿子，他给我诊断，他就领我到温哥华威密西大学检查，说我已经直肠癌症。我又回到美国，办了护照，他把我接到台湾去开刀，开刀过程很长，我不讲了。开刀的手术大概是上午的八点半到下午的五点半，做手术那几个医生也是我皈依弟子，做完了手术，他跟我说：他们不敢欺骗师父，师父，手术之后你只能活五年。

我说：为什么？你手术不成功吗？

他说：手术不成功，你现在就活不出来了，手术是成功的。

我说：那为什么只能活到五年？

他说：以你的年龄与这个病的关系，只能活到五年。

八十岁开刀，只能活到八十五岁。现在我九十五岁了，我上次到台湾就去找他，我说：你再看看师父，你说我活不到五年，八十岁，现在活了十五年了，你再给我检查一下，看看我这个癌细胞还有吗？检查说没有。大概从各部分检查到三个小时至四个小时，各种仪器，用最新的仪器检查。

他问我，他说：师父，怎么没有了？你现在每天还不停地在各地方讲经。害这个病的不能到大众场合，它这控制不住，大便一天在流，那味道多大？

我说：我有我的方法，不是你们医生的方法。从开刀过后，我自己想了种种办法，改变了很多。他们让我把这个方法跟他们医院里说，其他的人害这种病是不是也可以用。我说：他们是用不上的，因为我们和尚的生活跟他们的生活不同，他们是没有办法用的。我说：我一天洗一次，每天五点到六点，或者延长一点六点到七点，这个时间是我洗肠胃的时间，定时。同时吃的饮食要定量，同时我们是吃素的，我们一天吃两顿，早晨吃点粥而已；还有生活起居都不一样，他们学不了，没办法，这种方法到社会上去一般人用不上。我说人家也看不出来我是害癌症的，直肠癌的。我们大便在肚子上打个洞，肚子上打个洞你控制不了它，它一天要流。我把它控制住了，我一天只一次，但是还得灌进水。

这就叫方法。佛也告诉我们了生死他有方法的，不过那个方法不是咱们社会上生活的方法。你听到佛经告诉你了生死的方法，所以现在一些道友问我明心见性、开悟的方法，你把楞严经听完了你就知道了，这是一部，大概这部经得讲半年以上。佛的七处征心，十番显见，这就是开悟的方法。现在咱们用的都是识，你连你心在哪你还不知道，哪是你的心？内里头你这个心脏那个心，那是肉团，不是心，我们一般人把它当成心。这个我们能讲到十来座了，专门破这个心。等你明白了，你就成了。我还没明白，我出家今年八十年了，我现在还没明白我的心，我又怎么能开示给你呢？

那我们现在所学的什么？现在我跟大家讲的，你依照佛教授的法则去做，都是明心的方法。你先把你心找到，哪个是你的心？你还没有认识心呢！我们这讲了有十几座了，问问我们这些个听经的道友们，能够听到佛这么说了，阿难是证了初果的圣人，还不知道心。现在我们所用的是妄想，不是心，是识。不是那么简单就明心见性了，得有那个善根，都有过去的修，你才能够得到。我出家八十年了，我还没有明白。我现在给别人讲，讲的是经，佛说的，不是我的，我是讲佛所说的。如果你能照佛所说的，用这个方法，你就能够明白了。

什么方法？楞严经。人家说开悟的楞严，成佛的法华。但是这个楞严经比华严经是浅多了，我讲华严经什么是心？尽虚空遍法界都是我的心，草木、森林，乃至于你们所有的都是我的心，咱们是一体的。等你学佛学得深入的时候，没有什么男女相，什么老的小的、男的女的，凡所有相，皆是虚妄，若见诸相非相，你才见到你的真心。你现在看什么相执著什么相，你怎么见到你的心？若见诸相非相，则见如来。但是这个方法你得去修，不是谁跟你说。阿难说我是佛最宠爱的小弟弟，用不着我自己修， “将谓如来，惠我三昧”，我等待佛给我三昧，岂知身心本不相待，我是我，佛是佛，佛也没办法给我智慧，现在在楞严会上他才明白了要自己去修。明心见性的方法佛说得很多，大方广佛华严经、楞严经、楞伽经都是明心见性的方法，这不是一句话两句话就能懂的。

Just as a deep lake is clear and still, even so, on hearing the teachings, the wise become exceedingly peaceful.

-- The Buddha

The Perfection of Wisdom

by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

In general, Buddhist wisdom deals with seeing things as they really are and not how we see things as projected through the distorted lens of our ego. Therefore the most important Dharma practice is to see through the distortions of our ideas about the self. There are two basic approaches in Buddhist wisdom. One is dealing with the so-called reality of external objects and the other way deals with the mind that conceives - although ultimately these two approaches come together.

When I first began to meditate, my teacher was an old yogi and he started by pointing to the table and asking, ‘Is this table empty?’ Well, I had already read some books on philosophy like a good nun, so I said, ‘Oh, yes, the table is empty!’ The yogi replied, ‘Do you see it as empty?’ ‘Well, no.’ Then he asked, ‘Is the mind empty?’ So I said a bit more confidently, ‘Yes’ and he said, ‘Do you see it as empty?’ ‘No.’ He continued, ‘Which do you think is easier to see — the emptiness of the table or the mind?’ And I said, ‘Oh, the mind’. So he said, ‘Okay, then you belong to us.’ Naturally I enquired, ‘What if I said the table?’ The yogi laughed, ‘Oh, then I would have sent you to Sera Monastery down the road!’

Because there are two approaches to this issue of emptiness. One is the scholars’ approach where phenomena are analysed intellectually through the study of Madhyamika, so mainly the emphasis is posited on the emptiness of external phenomena. Then of course one also has to meditate on that. But the yogi way is to look at the mind itself which analyses because it is the mind which projects our sense of solidity onto external phenomena.

Modern physics shows us that indeed this table is empty, that actually everything is reduced to the protons and neutrons and they are basically space and energy, so we can never find the thing in itself. Philosophically this is approached by saying that nothing exists from its own side and that everything exists in conjunction with causes and conditions. Because we tend to solidify and reify everything, then this analysis can show that however much we may reduce and reduce the object, there is nothing which can be pointed to as the thing in itself. It’s inherent existence is just a convenient conceptual label. So the fact that nothing exists from its own side, lacks inherent existence, and depends on a combination of causes and conditions, is in Buddhist parlance called ‘emptiness’.

In Buddhist meditation we are trying to get back to our original nature also called Buddha nature, nature of the mind, Dharmakaya and so on. But these are just names. One time I saw a documentary on meditation during which a Russian Orthodox priest said that the first thing that he was taught as a novice was that anything that he might think about God — He is not that! In other words, ultimate reality really is ultimate and is beyond our conceptual mind. Our ordinary thinking mind is by its very nature dualistic. That means that the conceptual mind thinks ‘I’ and automatically ‘others’ (who are not I). It naturally thinks good-bad, highlow, big-small. This is the nature, the very functioning of our dualistic conceptual mind. It also thinks within time. The dualistic conceptual mind is trapped in past and future. It has a very hard time staying in the present. We are usually not even conscious of this because we are so busy thinking, but to stay actually in the present moment without commenting is very difficult for the mind.

So normally we are governed by this conceptual mind which solidifies into our perception of something which we call ‘a self ’. And we believe in this self. It’s who we are. So we do everything we can to placate this self - to make it happy and to try to avoid any suffering. However the ego itself is not concerned with happiness or suffering, the ego is actually happy to be miserable because that still makes it seem like something really existing. We notice that people who are really unhappy are usually totally centred on themselves and their suffering. People who are psychologically disturbed in any way are normally totally focused toward themselves. Perhaps this is one reason why psychiatrists and therapists flourish, because they are paid to just sit and listen while the patients endlessly talk about themselves and their miserable childhoods.

Insight meditation deals directly with looking straight at this sense of ‘me’ nestling at the centre of our thoughts and asking ‘who am I?’ Once the mind has quietened down through shamatha meditation, the thoughts are now moving more slowly and our attention is more single pointed. Then we turn that searchlight of focused attention back onto itself and we look at the stream of thoughts, because everything we can know only through mind. But the mind itself we don’t know, we never look, we never question.

It is like someone sitting on the banks of the river watching the water flow by. Normally we are in the river being swept along. Where the stream of thought goes, there we go. But now we are still and we are just observing. So we just sit there relaxed and looking on without judgement or preference.

Then we can start to analyse. It’s like we have a big question mark in our mind. What is a thought? What is an emotion? Where does it come from? Where does it go? What does it feel it? What does it look like? Who is thinking? When the mind is very busy or when the mind is quiet with no thoughts and the awareness which knows the difference, are these the same or are they different? Are the thoughts the same as the awareness of the thoughts?

So we begin to look into the mind. One could also generate a strong feeling such as recalling a time when we felt angry and then try to recreate in ourselves that sense of the frustration and anger that we felt. Then look at it. What is that feeling? How does it feel? Where did it come from? What is it? Where did it go? Don’t just think about it but really look with this questioning awareness. We live in our mind so our only way to be free is to fully understand the mind. This is accomplished not through the intellect but through direct experience. Meditation isn’t something just passive, feeling nice and peaceful. The body may be immobile but the mind is for the first time waking up and using all its energy to really look into itself. We have to realise the empty nature of these thoughts and feelings. It’s not enough just saying, ‘Oh yes, thoughts are empty’. As long as we haven’t experienced that they are empty, they are not empty for us.

As the thoughts decrease and our awareness becomes more profound and clear, there sometimes appears like a gap between the previous thought and the next thought. Before they are linked together, there is just a momentary opening. Because our awareness is so one-pointed, at that moment we might perceive the nature of the mind. But then usually, we think: “Oh well, yes!” and then we’re thinking again.

Imagine that we are in a cinema and there’s the screen and a movie is being shown. This film which we are watching is full of movement and sound and light and we are totally absorbed in it. (In fact, we’re playing the starring part at the same time.) So if it’s a good movie one is completely involved in it. If it’s sad, then we’re crying and if it’s a comedy, we’re laughing and if it’s an action movie, then our hearts are pumping. If it’s a well-made movie, then while we’re watching it, we’re immersed and enchanted. But if we look backwards, what is actually happening is that there’s a projector and running in front of the projector are transparent individual frames of film moving very, very fast. The projector shines light through these fast moving frames and the whole drama is thus projected out in front of us.

This analogy definitely has some affinities with what is happening in our minds. Fundamentally there is what is called the clear light nature of the mind. The nature of the mind is naturally primordially unborn pure awareness. The fact that you can read this page is because you are aware, because you are conscious. But normally we are not conscious of being conscious because we’re too busy, absorbed in thinking. This endless film show is being played in our mind — moment to moment mind states — and that is projected out in front of us as our external reality. Now as long as we are fascinated by the movie in front of us, then we believe it and we become deeply involved in what appears to be happening. But if we look back and realise it’s just a mind-show that we are projecting, then even though we can still enjoy it, we are not going to be totally devastated if it’s a tragedy or completely engulfed if it’s a romance. We know it’s just a movie.