If we impose our own interpretations or omit anything we are destroying Buddhadharma.
Pure Buddhist instructions are only those that have been received through a pure, unbroken lineage from Buddha Shakyamuni. Lamrim has all of these instructions and is the very method for putting them into practice.
we will easily realize buddha’s ultimate intention
Buddha’s ultimate intention is that all living beings attain full enlightenment by gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path. These are included within five: the realizations of the three principal aspects of the path – renunciation, bodhichitta and the correct view of emptiness; and the realizations of generation stage and completion stage of Secret Mantra. To realize Buddha’s ultimate intention is to gain all these realizations and thus fulfil the greatest wish he has for us.
The three pre-eminent attributes explained so far can be differentiated by contemplating the analogy of a painter. Just as a painter knows that all his implements are necessary if he is to paint a picture, and he knows the specific function of each of them, so practitioners of Lamrim understand that all Buddha’s teachings are necessary if they are to attain enlightenment, and that there are no contradictions between any of the teachings. Just as a painter proceeds by putting all his tools to use in painting his picture, so practitioners of Lamrim understand that each and every one of Buddha’s instructions must be taken as personal advice and put to use in their lives. Just as by making use of his tools a painter eventually completes his work and fulfils the wish of his patron or employer, in a similar way practitioners of Lamrim will attain enlightenment and thereby fulfil Buddha’s ultimate intention.
In Condensed Exposition of the Stages of the Path Je Tsongkhapa says that if we listen to or teach Lamrim only once, we receive the benefits of having heard or taught the entire Buddhadharma. Similarly, if we practise the whole Lamrim we will be practising, directly or indirectly, all Buddha’s teachings. Therefore we do not need to feel dissatisfied with Lamrim or search for other instructions to practise.
we will naturally become free from the great fault and from all other faults
The great fault is the fault of rejecting Dharma as a result of wrongly discriminating between Buddha’s scriptures. If we think that some scriptures are good and others are bad, or if we think that some are reasonable and others are not, we will incur the great fault of rejecting Dharma. We are also rejecting Dharma if out of sectarianism we maintain that some scriptures are unnecessary for higher practitioners, thinking, for example, that some scriptures are for Bodhisattvas and others are only for those who have a more limited aspiration. By studying and practising the complete Lamrim we are prevented from making this mistake. When we understand the real purpose of each instruction and see that none of them is contradictory, and when we practise the instructions for ourself, proving by experience that each one is correct and reliable, we will never reject or belittle any of them.
By studying and practising the complete Lamrim we will also overcome every other fault because each instruction is a perfect opponent and all faults find their opponents within Lamrim. For example, the stage of training our mind in faith and respect for our Spiritual Guide destroys faulty attitudes of anger or disrespect towards our Teacher and frees us from regarding him or her as an ordinary person. All the other stages of training the mind function in a similar way to eliminate mistaken states of mind and the actions they induce.
It is quite easy to learn what are the pre-eminent qualities of Lamrim, but it is rare to find someone who has realized these by direct experience. To gain such experience we need to put every instruction into practice. If we realize that Lamrim is to be practised in its entirety, our realizations and insights will increase and we will gradually become familiar with virtuous habits of mind. Our state of mind next year will be better than our state of mind this year. Eventually we will gain the highest realizations. If we always remember the pre-eminent qualities of Lamrim we will never feel discouraged, and we will generate joyous effort in bringing the methods to bear upon the problems we experience in our daily lives.
Contents Page
Asanga
Listening to and Teaching Dharma
explanation of how to listen to and teach dharma
Traditionally, disciples learn Dharma by first listening to oral instructions from their Spiritual Guide. Since listening is the basis for contemplating and meditating on Dharma it is especially important to listen well – with an open and attentive mind and in such a way as to be able to remember the instructions and reflect upon them once the discourse has ended. Whenever we have the opportunity to receive oral discourses on Dharma we should apply these instructions on how to listen. They can easily be adapted to our situation as a reader. The great meditator, Ngawang Dragpa, said:
This instruction on how to listen to and teach Dharma is a method for transforming listening and teaching into the spiritual path. It is also a supreme instruction to give as a preliminary to teachings. Therefore, keep it in your heart.
The instructions are in three parts:
1 How to listen to Dharma
2 How to teach Dharma
3 The concluding stage common to the Teacher and the student
how to listen to dharma
This has three parts:
1 Considering the benefits of listening to Dharma
2 Developing respect for Dharma and its Teacher
3 The actual way of listening to Dharma
considering the benefits of listening to dharma
If we contemplate some of the countless benefits of listening to Dharma we will naturally enjoy listening to and reading the instructions, and we will do so with an especially keen interest. The result of listening and reading in such a positive frame of mind is that we will actually experience all the benefits we have contemplated. In Collection of Many Special Verses by Buddha Shakyamuni, called Tshom in Tibetan, it says:
By listening you will know all Dharmas.
By listening you will cease all non-virtuous actions.
By listening you will abandon all that is meaningless.
By listening you will attain liberation.
Here the term ‘Dharmas’ refers specifically to the meaning of Dharma instructions. The meaning of Dharma reveals what objects are to be abandoned, what objects are to be practised, and so forth. By listening to Dharma instructions we will understand the meaning of Dharma clearly and we will gradually gain Dharma realizations. Every pure Dharma realization arises in dependence upon meditation, and successful meditation depends upon receiving correct instructions. As explained, all the instructions of Sutra and Tantra are included within the three sets of Buddha’s teachings. By receiving and practising the instructions on the set of moral discipline we will cease non-virtuous actions. By receiving and practising the instructions on the set of discourses, where Buddha explains how to attain concentration, we will abandon all meaningless activities and distractions, the obstacles to concentration. By receiving and practising the instructions on the set of wisdom we will attain liberation.
In
