Practice: Difference between revisions
((by SublimeText.Mediawiker)) |
((by SublimeText.Mediawiker)) |
||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
'''Can we add the File: line drawing to the left here?''' | '''Can we add the File: line drawing to the left here?''' | ||
{{Panel | {{Panel | ||
| | |image=Shantideva-line-drawing-transparent-bg.webp | ||
|image-side=right-top | |image-side=right-top | ||
|bg-offwhite-fade=left | |bg-offwhite-fade=left | ||
Revision as of 17:22, 12 November 2024
Can we add the File: line drawing to the left here?
Introduction
As Śāntideva’s writings focus on and give importance to practice, it is crucial to understand and experience Śāntideva’s writings through practical engagement. One can only fully appreciate Śāntideva’s teachings and their value and purpose as a whole by putting his teachings into practice. In the following passages we provide the most common procedures for the practical application of Śāntideva’s teachings with bodhicitta at their heart.
There is no doubt that Śāntideva’s two works were composed as aids for spiritual practice on the path to enlightenment following the Mahāyāna system. While The Way of the Bodhisattva is an inspirational and poetic exhortation and instruction for practice, The Compendium of Training is a convenient anthology of instructions and rules, which are otherwise dispersed in numerous sūtras. Śāntideva did not write them as philosophical discourses, topical enumerations, or literary compositions, although they contain rich ethical, philosophical, and literary elements. His writings were first and foremost designed as didactic instructions for the practice of the Mahāyāna path, at the heart of which is the cultivation of bodhicitta, or the thought of awakening, and the practice of the six perfections.
It is also for the effectiveness in inspiring and furthering bodhisattva practice that Śāntideva’s works have been valued and widely promoted throughout the centuries after their appearance. From their early days in India and initial propagation in Tibet to their diffusion in numerous countries in our times, Śāntideva’s writings spread across many continents mainly as inspiring and instructive literature for moral and spiritual training and practice. The tradition of the practical application of Śāntideva’s teachings appears to have thrived, particularly in the times of figures such as Dharmakīrti of Suvarṇadvīpa and Atiśa. This continued during the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet, as most leading hierarchs of Tibetan Buddhist schools enthusiastically took up the practice of Śāntideva’s teachings. The tradition of practice reached new heights in the days of Patrul Rinpoche, one of the greatest champions of Śāntideva’s teachings. The legacy continues to this day through strong promoters such as the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.
As Śāntideva’s writings focus on and give importance to practice, it is crucial to understand and experience Śāntideva’s writings through practical engagement. One can only fully appreciate Śāntideva’s teachings and their value and purpose as a whole by putting his teachings into practice. In the following passages we provide the most common procedures for the practical application of Śāntideva’s teachings with bodhicitta at their heart.
LIVING TRADITIONS OF PRACTICE: Patrul Rinpoche, Khunu Lama, and the Dalai Lama
Discover and practice a living spiritual tradition rooted in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra....Content coming soon. Please be patient.
GENERATING BODHICITTA / ENTERING THE PATH
Preparatory Stage Physical support (meditation on the precious human body, refer book, audio, etc.) Mental support (faith, compassion, think of benefit of Bodhicitta) The seven limbs of worship Brief instructions on Prostration, offering, confession, rejoicing, entreaties, dedication Mind Training – four immeasurables, sense of giving Actual Stage Taking refuge Taking Bodhisattva vow Concluding Stage Rejoicing oneself Asking others to rejoice
PROTECTING BODHICITTA / TRAINING ON THE PATH
Precepts (list root vows, dos and don’ts from SSC mainly) Four trainings from SSC Vigilance, mindfulness, introspection Tolerance and patience Reasons for respecting sentient beings
{{Panel |bg-image-class=locked-door-faded-bg |image-side=40-50 |bg-size=cover |bg-offwhite-fade=right |classes=tsdwiki-border-tb-redfade |header=ENHANCING BODHICITTA / PROGRESSING ON THE PATH |text=Four forces and two powers Reflecting on karma / virtues, sins and their results Meditation – shamatha Cultivating Relative Bodhicitta Equality between self and others Exchange between self and others Seven Instructions on Cause and Effect Four Immeasurables Four modes of cultivation
Cultivating Ultimate Bodhicitta Mindfulness of body Mindfulness of sensation Mindfulness of mind Mindfulness of phenomena
