Cultivating the Two Accumulations

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Cultivating the Two Accumulations: A Teaching for the New Three-Year Retreatants

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

Lama Tharchin explains that our inherent Buddha-nature is currently enclosed within two obscurations: the coarser veil of afflictive emotions and the more subtle obscuration of knowledge or recognition. The purpose of practice is to reveal this enlightened non-dual wisdom by purifying these two veils through cultivating the two accumulations of merit and wisdom. Merit is described as the cause and wisdom as the result, but crucially, they must be accumulated together in union, never separated or divided. This cultivation of merit and wisdom in union is one of the special distinguishing qualities of the Vajrayana path. He emphasizes that without this two-fold cultivation, we remain sentient beings—our enlightened nature stays trapped within the enclosure of the two veils, and we never come to the end of karma and afflictive emotions. The preliminary practices (ngöndro) are specifically referred to as "the accumulations and purifications," and he quotes Tilopa's instruction to Naropa: "Never be without this chariot that takes you along the path to awakening, which is this vehicle of the two accumulations." He stresses that even those with confidence in enlightenment must still cultivate the accumulations, and that the preliminary practices are not separate from Dzogchen but are where Dzogchen practice actually begins.

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Citation

Lama Tharchin Rinpoche. Cultivating the Two Accumulations: A Teaching for the New Three-Year Retreatants." Based on oral translation by Ngawang Zangpo. Transcribed and edited by Libby Luning. Aptos, CA: Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, 2006.

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https://www.heartteachings.com/

Interconnections

Works related to this item

Āvaraṇa - Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient. Skt आवरण  Tib སྒྲིབ་པ་  

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Prajñā - One of the key terms for wisdom or knowledge, most often having the sense of insight, transcendent knowledge, or perhaps gnosis. In some contexts it can also refer to cognition or intellectual understanding. Skt प्रज्ञा  Tib ཤེས་རབ་  Ch 般若  

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Puṇya - The positive energy or potential created through performing good deeds, such as generosity or kindness. In Buddhism, accumulating this positive force is seen as essential for finding happiness in future lives, and crucial as a foundation for following the spiritual path. Skt पुण्य  Tib བསོད་ནམས་  Ch 福;功德  

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Dzogchen - Dzogchen is an advanced system of meditation techniques to reveal the innate state of perfection primarily, but not exclusively, espoused by the Nyingma Buddhist tradition and the Tibetan Bön tradition. Skt महासन्धि  Tib རྫོགས་ཆེན།  

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