The Awakening Mind (Tsering 2008)

The Awakening Mind (Tsering 2008)

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

Bodhichitta, often translated as “great compassion,” is the gem at the heart of Buddhism. From this altruistic desire to serve others, all other Buddhist practices naturally flow, therefore, this state of mind is one Buddhists should understand and cultivate. In The Awakening Mind, Geshe Tashi Tsering leads us through the two main methods to develop bodhichitta that have been developed by the great Indian and Tibetan Buddhists over the centuries: the seven points of cause and effect, and equalizing and exchanging the self with others.

This is the fourth release from Geshe Tashi’s Foundation of Buddhist Thought series, which individually and collectively represent an excellent introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. These unique and friendly books are based on the curriculum of a popular course of the same name, developed by Geshe Tashi himself.

Geshe Tashi’s presentations combine rigor and comprehensiveness with lucidity and accessibility, never divorced from the basic humanity and warmth of his personality. In Geshe Tashi, we encounter the new generation of Tibetan monk-scholars teaching in the West who are following in the footsteps of such revered and groundbreaking teachers as Geshe Wangyal and Geshe Sopa. (Source: Wisdom Publications)

Citation

Tsering, Geshe Tashi. The Awakening Mind. The Foundation of Buddhist Thought 4. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2008.

Publisher Link

https://www.wisdompubs.org/book/awakening-mind

RelationshipsLinksRKTS DataTable of Contents

Translation of

• Foreword by Lama Zopa Rinpochexi
• Prefacexiii
• Editor’s Prefacexvii

• 1. Awakening from the Sleep of Selfishness1
• THE ESSENCE OF THE BUDDHA'S TEACHINGS1
• THE BENEFITS OF BODHICHITTA4
  • The Immediate Benefits6
  • The Long-Term Benefits8

• 2. Steps on the Path13
• RENUNCIATION AND STABILITY14
• EQUANIMITY16
  • The Equanimity of Feeling17
  • The Equanimity of Application17
  • Immeasurable Equanimity17
    • The Changeable Nature of Relationships20
    • Lessening Our Aversion22
    • The Meditation on Equanimity24

• 3. The Intuitive Route to Selflessness29
• THE MAIN MIND OF BODHICHITTA29
  • The Two Mental Factors That Make Up Bodhichitta30
• THE SEVEN POINTS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT33
  • Establishing the Basis for Developing the Aspiration to Benefit All Beings34
    • All Beings Have Been Our Mothers34
    • Recalling the Kindness of Others37
    • Resolving to Repay the Kindness40
  • The Actual Method of Cultivating the Aspiration to Benefit All Beings42
    • The Cultivation of Affectionate Love42
    • The Cultivation of Compassion45
    • Special Intention47
  • Cultivating the Aspiration to Attain Full Enlightenment48
    • The Result49

• 4. Turning Self-Cherishing Around51
• THE RATIONAL ROUTE TO COMPASSION51
• EQUALIZING ONESELF WITH OTHERS53
  • Understanding Suffering55
  • The Equality of All Beings57
• EXCHANGING ONESELF WITH OTHERS61
  • Turning Self-Cherishing Around61
  • Choosing to Be Selfless64
  • The Power of Familiarity68
  • The Block of Seeing Self and Others as Different70
• TAKING AND GIVING74
  • The Actual Meditation76
• THE COMBINATION OF THE TWO METHODS78
  • How the Two Methods Combine80
• THE FOUR CAUSES, THE FOUR CONDITIONS, AND THE FOUR FORCES81
  • The Four Causes81
  • The Four Conditions83
  • The Four Forces84

• 5. Enhancing the Awakening Mind89
• ASPIRING AND ENGAGING BODHICHITTA89
  • Holding Aspiring Bodhichitta with a Ritual91
  • The Bodhisattva Vows92
    • Differences Between the Three Vows93
    • Breaking and Restoring a Vow94
• THE TWENTY-TWO TYPES OF BODHICHITTA97
• MAINTAINING AND ENHANCING BODHICHITTA IN THIS AND FUTURE LIFETIMES103
  • Maintaining and Enhancing Bodhichitta in This Lifetime103
  • Maintaining and Enhancing Bodhichitta in Future Lifetimes104
  • Maintaining Bodhichitta through Mind Training105

• 6. The Bodhisattva's Activities109
• THE SIX PERFECTIONS110
  • The Perfection of Generosity113
    • The Three Kinds of Generosity114
    • The Six Extraordinary Factors117
    • The Main Obstacles to Practicing Generosity118
  • The Perfection of Morality120
    • The Three Kinds of Morality121
  • The Perfection of Patience124
    • The Three Kinds of Patience126
  • The Perfection of Joyous Perseverance129
    • The Three Kinds of Joyous Perseverance131
  • The Perfections of Concentration and Wisdom133
• THE FOUR MEANS OF DRAWING SENTIENT BEINGS TO THE DHARMA135
• CONCLUSION138

• Appendix: Eight Verses on Mind Training141
• Glossary143
• Bibliography151
• Notes153
• Index159
• About the Authors167
• The Foundation of Buddhist Thought169

Karuṇā - Skt करुणा  Tib ཐུགས་རྗེ་  Ch 悲  

Go to the page with the definition of 'great compassion'

Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व  Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།  Ch 菩薩  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Bodhisattva'

Gelek, Ngawang. Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life: An Oral Explanation of Chapter 6; Patience. Transcription of Teachings, 2000–2002. Ann Arbor: Jewel Heart, 2010.

Go to the page with the definition of 'Patience'

Gelek, Ngawang. Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life: An Oral Explanation of Chapter 8; Concentration. Transcription of Teachings, 2004. Ann Arbor: Jewel Heart, 2008.

Go to the page with the definition of 'Concentration'