Explore/Chapter 2 - Confession of Negativity: Difference between revisions
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Gyaltsap Je Darma Rinchen [LINK to the text] also points out in his commentary ''The Entrance for the Children of the Conquerors'' that all karma can be overcome with confession: | Gyaltsap Je Darma Rinchen [LINK to the text] also points out in his commentary ''The Entrance for the Children of the Conquerors'' that all karma can be overcome with confession: | ||
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|quote-text=If the created and accumulated karmas are karmas definitely to be experienced then, since they can be cleared away, what need is there to say about those that are not definite.<ref>Fedor Stracke, trans., ''The Entrance for the Children of the Conquerors - A Commentary on the Introduction to the Actions of Bodhisattvas. Chapter Two: Purifying Negativities'' (N.p.: HappyMonksPublication, 2016), 15 | |quote-text=If the created and accumulated karmas are karmas definitely to be experienced then, since they can be cleared away, what need is there to say about those that are not definite.<ref>Fedor Stracke, trans., ''The Entrance for the Children of the Conquerors - A Commentary on the Introduction to the Actions of Bodhisattvas. Chapter Two: Purifying Negativities'', by Gyaltsab Rinpoche (N.p.: HappyMonksPublication, 2016), 15, https://happymonkspublication.org/product/bodhisattvacharyavatara-chapter-1-10-commentary/.</ref> | ||
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But this is not asking a savior to wash away those sins with the wave of the hand. This process involves a clear awareness of what we have done and heartfelt regret at the harm that those actions may cause. | But this is not asking a savior to wash away those sins with the wave of the hand. This process involves a clear awareness of what we have done and heartfelt regret at the harm that those actions may cause. | ||
Gyaltsap Je describes how the power of regret must arise from cultivating the understanding of the way in which negative actions give rise to the three kinds of result. <ref>Stracke, Entrance for the Children, 15 | Gyaltsap Je describes how the power of regret must arise from cultivating the understanding of the way in which negative actions give rise to the three kinds of result. <ref>Stracke, ''Entrance for the Children'', 15, https://happymonkspublication.org/product/bodhisattvacharyavatara-chapter-1-10-commentary/.</ref> | ||
Here the three kinds of result refers to the fully ripening result [LINK to glossary], the dominant result [LINK to glossary], and the result similar to the cause [LINK to glossary]. The result similar to the cause is further divided into (1) བྱས་པ་རྒྱུ་མཐུན་གྱི་འབྲས་བུ། the fruits corresponding to its actions (e.g., the fact that a person who may have been a sinner in the past life has the natural urge to do similar actions in this life, and (2) མྱོང་བ་རྒྱུ་མཐུན་གྱི་འབྲས་བུ། the fruits corresponding to its experience (e.g., the fact that a person who practices generosity in this life would become rich in his future life.) | Here the three kinds of result refers to the fully ripening result [LINK to glossary], the dominant result [LINK to glossary], and the result similar to the cause [LINK to glossary]. The result similar to the cause is further divided into (1) བྱས་པ་རྒྱུ་མཐུན་གྱི་འབྲས་བུ། the fruits corresponding to its actions (e.g., the fact that a person who may have been a sinner in the past life has the natural urge to do similar actions in this life, and (2) མྱོང་བ་རྒྱུ་མཐུན་གྱི་འབྲས་བུ། the fruits corresponding to its experience (e.g., the fact that a person who practices generosity in this life would become rich in his future life.) | ||
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<h5>2. The Force of Support</h5> | <h5>2. The Force of Support</h5> | ||
Verses 47 to 53 discuss the force of support. Gyaltsap Je describes this third force as being the meditation on such practices as bodhicitta.<ref>Stracke, Entrance for the Children, 15 | Verses 47 to 53 discuss the force of support. Gyaltsap Je describes this third force as being the meditation on such practices as bodhicitta.<ref>Stracke, ''Entrance for the Children'', 15, https://happymonkspublication.org/product/bodhisattvacharyavatara-chapter-1-10-commentary/.</ref> | ||
The main body of this chapter is about the confession of negativity and how the Three Jewels can act as a support for that confession. But the Three Jewels are also able to act as a support for the process of purification. | The main body of this chapter is about the confession of negativity and how the Three Jewels can act as a support for that confession. But the Three Jewels are also able to act as a support for the process of purification. | ||
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|quote-text=Previously I transgressed your words, committed negativities and did not practice virtue. Now, having seen the infinity of cyclic existence and the great horror of the lower realms, I take refuge in you. | |quote-text=Previously I transgressed your words, committed negativities and did not practice virtue. Now, having seen the infinity of cyclic existence and the great horror of the lower realms, I take refuge in you. | ||
By my implementing what has to be practiced and what has to be abandoned according to your advice, please quickly eliminate all dangers I pray.<ref> Stracke, ''Entrance for the Children'', 23 | By my implementing what has to be practiced and what has to be abandoned according to your advice, please quickly eliminate all dangers I pray.<ref> Stracke, ''Entrance for the Children'', 23, https://happymonkspublication.org/product/bodhisattvacharyavatara-chapter-1-10-commentary/.</ref> | ||
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The great contemporary Kagyu master Thrangu Rinpoche ends this section of his commentary to ''The Way of the Bodhisattva'' by explaining how we should think as we make our confession. | The great contemporary Kagyu master Thrangu Rinpoche ends this section of his commentary to ''The Way of the Bodhisattva'' by explaining how we should think as we make our confession. | ||
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Verses 54 to 59 deal with the force of the antidote. Gyaltsap Je describes this force in the following way: | Verses 54 to 59 deal with the force of the antidote. Gyaltsap Je describes this force in the following way: | ||
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|quote-text=There are, as explained in the Compendium of Trainings, relying on profound sutras, meditating on emptiness, relying on recitation, relying on the holy form, relying on offerings and relying on the names.<ref>Stracke, | |quote-text=There are, as explained in the Compendium of Trainings, relying on profound sutras, meditating on emptiness, relying on recitation, relying on the holy form, relying on offerings and relying on the names.<ref>Stracke, ''Entrance for the Children'', 15, https://happymonkspublication.org/product/bodhisattvacharyavatara-chapter-1-10-commentary/.</ref> | ||
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In relation to this force, Śāntideva provides us with reasons why confession is necessary. He does this using two examples, the first of which is the example of a common illness, which is used to explain why it is necessary to make effort in applying the antidote. | In relation to this force, Śāntideva provides us with reasons why confession is necessary. He does this using two examples, the first of which is the example of a common illness, which is used to explain why it is necessary to make effort in applying the antidote. | ||
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We may wonder at the meaning of this verse. How can just one of these poisons drag down all the beings in this world system and cast them into the lower realms? In his commentary, Gyaltsap Je qualifies this statement, explaining the shortcomings of the three poisons and the rarity of the medicine which counteracts them. | We may wonder at the meaning of this verse. How can just one of these poisons drag down all the beings in this world system and cast them into the lower realms? In his commentary, Gyaltsap Je qualifies this statement, explaining the shortcomings of the three poisons and the rarity of the medicine which counteracts them. | ||
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|quote-text=Even one moment of anger towards a bodhisattva can destroy all humans in Dzambuling and throw them into the lower realms. The medicine against this great sickness, meditating on the path and so forth, one will not find anywhere else, apart from the texts that reveal it. If one cannot find it in any other place, such as the world of Brahma and so forth, then it is unfindable elsewhere and therefore rare.<ref>Stracke, ''Entrance for the Children'', 24 | |quote-text=Even one moment of anger towards a bodhisattva can destroy all humans in Dzambuling and throw them into the lower realms. The medicine against this great sickness, meditating on the path and so forth, one will not find anywhere else, apart from the texts that reveal it. If one cannot find it in any other place, such as the world of Brahma and so forth, then it is unfindable elsewhere and therefore rare.<ref>Stracke, ''Entrance for the Children'', 24, https://happymonkspublication.org/product/bodhisattvacharyavatara-chapter-1-10-commentary/.</ref> | ||
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In verse 56 Śāntideva chides us, saying "How can you be so delusional as to turn your back on the supreme doctor, the all-knowing physician, and their medicine which has the potential to liberate yourself from all the afflictions and the pain that they bring you?" But Thrangu Rinpoche provides a chastening context to the instruction to turn to the Three Jewels for help with clearing away the effects of all our negative karma. | In verse 56 Śāntideva chides us, saying "How can you be so delusional as to turn your back on the supreme doctor, the all-knowing physician, and their medicine which has the potential to liberate yourself from all the afflictions and the pain that they bring you?" But Thrangu Rinpoche provides a chastening context to the instruction to turn to the Three Jewels for help with clearing away the effects of all our negative karma. | ||
