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|text=In chapter 4 Śāntideva addresses the topic of conscientiousness ( | |text=In chapter 4 Śāntideva addresses the topic of conscientiousness (''apramādha''), sometimes also translated as carefulness, a mental factor whose function is to protect the mind from negative forms of action. It is a tool that allows us to meticulously examine our actions of body, speech, and mind, particularly within the perspective of what is to be taken up and what is to be avoided on the path. | ||
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<h4>The Need for Discipline</h4> | <h4>The Need for Discipline</h4> | ||
In order to protect bodhicitta, one of the primary factors needed is discipline, which is the main theme of chapters 4 and 5. Discipline is required in order to subdue our scattered minds and to prevent the awakening mind from weakening. To establish good discipline, we need the mental tools of conscientiousness, mindfulness, and vigilance. [LINK to main terms] These tools are the chief means through which we are able to subdue our minds, and they provide crucial support for the bodhisattva's practice of the perfection ( | In order to protect bodhicitta, one of the primary factors needed is discipline, which is the main theme of chapters 4 and 5. Discipline is required in order to subdue our scattered minds and to prevent the awakening mind from weakening. To establish good discipline, we need the mental tools of conscientiousness, mindfulness, and vigilance. [LINK to main terms] These tools are the chief means through which we are able to subdue our minds, and they provide crucial support for the bodhisattva's practice of the perfection (''pāramitā'') of ethical discipline. Chapters 4 and 5 lay out the functions and methods of cultivating these three essential mental factors, which aid us in maintaining the wish to attain full enlightenment for the welfare of all sentient beings. To maintain this bodhicitta, these three mental factors assist us in distinguishing between those practices that help our progress and should be taken up on the path from those practices that hinder us and should be avoided. | ||
The fourth chapter focuses mainly on conscientiousness ( | The fourth chapter focuses mainly on conscientiousness (''apramādha'') [LINK to main terms], sometimes also translated as carefulness. Conscientiousness is a mental factor which functions to protect the mind from negative forms of action. It is a tool that allows us to meticulously examine our actions of body, speech, and mind within the perspective of what is to be taken up and what is to be avoided. | ||
The Tibetan historian and Buddhist researcher Geshe Dungkar Rinpoche Lobsang Trinley (1927–1997) describes conscientiousness as a way of tuning or adjusting our minds such that when we are thinking of engaging in some kind of negative activity, conscientiousness assists us in becoming aware that those actions are faulty and unconstructive. He goes on to explain that the main thrust of the chapter on conscientiousness is about how to behave when interacting with others, how to present ourselves in relation to others, and how to act when our minds are scattered.<ref>Dungkar Rinpoche Lobsang Trinley, ''An Introduction to the Bodhicaryāvatāra'', ''Spyod 'jug gi gzhung gi ngo sprod'' (Dharamsala: Sara Tibetan Publishing House, 2017), 44.</ref> | The Tibetan historian and Buddhist researcher Geshe Dungkar Rinpoche Lobsang Trinley (1927–1997) describes conscientiousness as a way of tuning or adjusting our minds such that when we are thinking of engaging in some kind of negative activity, conscientiousness assists us in becoming aware that those actions are faulty and unconstructive. He goes on to explain that the main thrust of the chapter on conscientiousness is about how to behave when interacting with others, how to present ourselves in relation to others, and how to act when our minds are scattered.<ref>Dungkar Rinpoche Lobsang Trinley, ''An Introduction to the Bodhicaryāvatāra'', ''Spyod 'jug gi gzhung gi ngo sprod'' (Dharamsala: Sara Tibetan Publishing House, 2017), 44.</ref> | ||
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Spurred on by the thought of our precious and rare opportunity and how fragile that opportunity can be, Śāntideva implores us to seize the day and strive to develop this conscientiousness that helps us maintain a healthy and disciplined mind. | Spurred on by the thought of our precious and rare opportunity and how fragile that opportunity can be, Śāntideva implores us to seize the day and strive to develop this conscientiousness that helps us maintain a healthy and disciplined mind. | ||
As Nāgārjuna says in his ''Letter to a Friend'' [LINK to text] ( | As Nāgārjuna says in his ''Letter to a Friend'' [LINK to text] (''Suhṛllekha''): | ||
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|quote-text=Carefulness is the way to deathlessness, | |quote-text=Carefulness is the way to deathlessness, | ||
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Chapter 4 deals mainly with conscientiousness ( | Chapter 4 deals mainly with conscientiousness (''apramādha'') [LINK to main terms], sometimes also translated as carefulness. Conscientiousness is a mental factor whose function is to protect the mind from negative forms of action. It is a tool that allows us to meticulously examine our actions of body, speech, and mind, particularly within the perspective of what is to be taken up and what is to be avoided on the path. Conscientiousness helps us to be aware of when we are about to engage in negative actions, those actions that are faulty and unconstructive, both for ourselves and others. | ||
Asaṅga, in his ''Compendium of Abhidharma'' ( | Asaṅga, in his ''Compendium of Abhidharma'' (''Abhidharmasamuccaya''), also says the following of conscientiousness: | ||
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|quote-text=What is conscientiousness? It is the cultivation of the state which abides in non-attachment, non-aversion, and non-delusion, and which combined with joyous effort protects the mind from contaminated factors.<ref>Sara Boin-Webb, trans., ''Abhidharmasamuccaya: The Compendium of the Higher Teaching (Philosophy) by Asanga''. Originally translated into French and annotated by Walpola Rahula (Fremont, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 2001), 11.</ref> | |quote-text=What is conscientiousness? It is the cultivation of the state which abides in non-attachment, non-aversion, and non-delusion, and which combined with joyous effort protects the mind from contaminated factors.<ref>Sara Boin-Webb, trans., ''Abhidharmasamuccaya: The Compendium of the Higher Teaching (Philosophy) by Asanga''. Originally translated into French and annotated by Walpola Rahula (Fremont, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 2001), 11.</ref> | ||
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Śāntideva warns us that the worst of all downfalls is to lose the mind of bodhicitta. We must make good on our promise to follow this altruistic path, or we will be derided by gods and men, and in the future we will fall into the terrible suffering of the lower states of existence. | Śāntideva warns us that the worst of all downfalls is to lose the mind of bodhicitta. We must make good on our promise to follow this altruistic path, or we will be derided by gods and men, and in the future we will fall into the terrible suffering of the lower states of existence. | ||
In ''The Questions of Sāgaramati'' ( | In ''The Questions of Sāgaramati'' (''Sāgaramatiparipṛcchāsūtra''), Buddha Śākyamuni, addressing the celestial bodhisattva Sāgaramati, illustrates how grave this downfall is. | ||
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|quote-text=Sāgaramati, to draw an analogy, if a king or a royal minister were to announce to all the people of a city that he will distribute supplies to them the following day, and then abandons them, giving them no food or drink, then he has let that group of people down. Because they did not receive any food or drink, they will in turn deride him. Analogously, Sāgaramati, if a bodhisattva teaches extensively about finding relief in order to emancipate all beings who have not yet gone beyond, liberate those who have not yet been liberated, offer relief to those who have not found relief, and bring to parinirvāṇa those who have not yet reached parinirvāṇa, [F.95.a] yet himself fails to strive toward the virtues of the factors of awakening, then that bodhisattva has not practiced what he preached. He has let the world and its gods down. If the gods who have previously beheld buddhas see him, they will deride, disparage, and belittle him. Those who pledge to perform offerings and actually go on to perform such offerings are rare. Still, compared to them, those who begin with the great offerings and remain undiscouraged by the unsurpassed Great Vehicle are even more rare. Sāgaramati, a bodhisattva must not make any claims that will let the world and its gods, humans, and asuras down. <ref>Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., ''The Questions of Sāgaramati, Sāgaramatiparipṛcchā'', Toh 152 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023), | |quote-text=Sāgaramati, to draw an analogy, if a king or a royal minister were to announce to all the people of a city that he will distribute supplies to them the following day, and then abandons them, giving them no food or drink, then he has let that group of people down. Because they did not receive any food or drink, they will in turn deride him. Analogously, Sāgaramati, if a bodhisattva teaches extensively about finding relief in order to emancipate all beings who have not yet gone beyond, liberate those who have not yet been liberated, offer relief to those who have not found relief, and bring to parinirvāṇa those who have not yet reached parinirvāṇa, [F.95.a] yet himself fails to strive toward the virtues of the factors of awakening, then that bodhisattva has not practiced what he preached. He has let the world and its gods down. If the gods who have previously beheld buddhas see him, they will deride, disparage, and belittle him. Those who pledge to perform offerings and actually go on to perform such offerings are rare. Still, compared to them, those who begin with the great offerings and remain undiscouraged by the unsurpassed Great Vehicle are even more rare. Sāgaramati, a bodhisattva must not make any claims that will let the world and its gods, humans, and asuras down. <ref>Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., ''The Questions of Sāgaramati, Sāgaramatiparipṛcchā'', Toh 152 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023), | ||
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How much more so the fault of allowing our bodhicitta to decline. By taking hold of bodhicitta, we have made a pledge from the depth of our hearts to bring all sentient beings without exception to at least the temporary state of definite goodness [LINK to glossary] and in the long-term to the fully enlightened state of buddhahood. Śāntideva urges us to imagine what kind of fate must be in store for us if we are to shy away from that vast motivation and fail to act. There would be no chance of finding rebirth in any of the happy states, and only the worst states of hell could be our possible destination. | How much more so the fault of allowing our bodhicitta to decline. By taking hold of bodhicitta, we have made a pledge from the depth of our hearts to bring all sentient beings without exception to at least the temporary state of definite goodness [LINK to glossary] and in the long-term to the fully enlightened state of buddhahood. Śāntideva urges us to imagine what kind of fate must be in store for us if we are to shy away from that vast motivation and fail to act. There would be no chance of finding rebirth in any of the happy states, and only the worst states of hell could be our possible destination. | ||
Several of the commentaries on the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' draw here on scriptural quotations from both ''The Sūtra of Close Application of Mindfulness'' ( | Several of the commentaries on the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' draw here on scriptural quotations from both ''The Sūtra of Close Application of Mindfulness'' (''Saddharmasmṛityupasthānasūtra'') and also ''The Compendium of Teachings Sūtra'' (''Dharmasaṃgītisūtra''). In these sūtras it is said that if we do not give away something that we intended to offer, even something as small as a tiny morsel of food, then we will suffer rebirth in the realm of the hungry ghosts. Furthermore, if we do not give away something we actually made a promise to give, then we will suffer the worst of fates in the realm of the hell beings. | ||
Śāntideva continues to explain how grave this downfall of losing our bodhicitta is and how it will throw down the welfare of all beings. | Śāntideva continues to explain how grave this downfall of losing our bodhicitta is and how it will throw down the welfare of all beings. | ||
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From out of the eighteen root downfalls [LINK to glossary] of the bodhisattva vows [LINK TO main terms], losing bodhicitta is the most serious of all. This is because when this wish to benefit all beings deteriorates, then the basis of our Mahāyāna practice declines, which is very harmful to sentient beings. As it is said in ''The Verses that Summarize the Perfection of Wisdom'' ( | From out of the eighteen root downfalls [LINK to glossary] of the bodhisattva vows [LINK TO main terms], losing bodhicitta is the most serious of all. This is because when this wish to benefit all beings deteriorates, then the basis of our Mahāyāna practice declines, which is very harmful to sentient beings. As it is said in ''The Verses that Summarize the Perfection of Wisdom'' (''Prajñāpāramitāsañcayagāthā''): | ||
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|quote-text=If, when coursing for kotis of aeons in the ten paths of wholesome action, | |quote-text=If, when coursing for kotis of aeons in the ten paths of wholesome action, | ||
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|quote-text=Those who interrupt another's merit create a karmic obscuration for themselves, and it is impossible to benefit others through such an obscuration. Therefore, nothing will prevent them going to the lower realms.<ref>Adrian O'Sullivan, trans., ''Bodhicaryāvatāra with Commentary'' (Los Angeles: Dechen Foundation, 2019), 98.</ref> | |quote-text=Those who interrupt another's merit create a karmic obscuration for themselves, and it is impossible to benefit others through such an obscuration. Therefore, nothing will prevent them going to the lower realms.<ref>Adrian O'Sullivan, trans., ''Bodhicaryāvatāra with Commentary'' (Los Angeles: Dechen Foundation, 2019), 98.</ref> | ||
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The source of this statement seems to have its roots in ''The Absorption of the Miraculous Ascertainment of Peace Sūtra'' ( | The source of this statement seems to have its roots in ''The Absorption of the Miraculous Ascertainment of Peace Sūtra'' (''Praśāntaviniścayaprātihāryasamādhisūtra''), where it states: | ||
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|quote-text=Mañjuśrī, suppose some noble son or daughter was to kill all the beings in Jambudvīpa and rob them of all their possessions. Mañjuśrī, if you compare that act to the act of another noble son or daughter who created obstacles for a bodhisattva's single virtuous intention, be it no more than blocking the roots of virtue of giving a single morsel of food to an animal, then this latter act would create immeasurably more negativity than the former. And why? Because it would create obstacles for the roots of virtue that cause a buddha to appear.<ref>Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., ''The Absorption of the Miraculous Ascertainment of Peace'', ''Praśāntaviniścayaprātihāryasamādhisūtra'', Toh 129 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023), https://read.84000.co/translation/toh129.html?#UT22084-055-003-135.</ref> | |quote-text=Mañjuśrī, suppose some noble son or daughter was to kill all the beings in Jambudvīpa and rob them of all their possessions. Mañjuśrī, if you compare that act to the act of another noble son or daughter who created obstacles for a bodhisattva's single virtuous intention, be it no more than blocking the roots of virtue of giving a single morsel of food to an animal, then this latter act would create immeasurably more negativity than the former. And why? Because it would create obstacles for the roots of virtue that cause a buddha to appear.<ref>Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., ''The Absorption of the Miraculous Ascertainment of Peace'', ''Praśāntaviniścayaprātihāryasamādhisūtra'', Toh 129 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023), https://read.84000.co/translation/toh129.html?#UT22084-055-003-135.</ref> | ||
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|quote-text=These factors refer respectively to the circumstantial advantages, the individual advantages, and the freedom to practice the Dharma (consisting in the absence of eight conditions in which there is no leisure to implement the teachings). It is indeed extremely rare to find oneself in a situation in which all favorable circumstances are gathered and from which all adverse conditions are absent—a situation, in other words, in which it is possible to practice virtue.<ref>Fletcher and Blankleder, ''Nectar of Manjushri's Speech'', 149</ref> | |quote-text=These factors refer respectively to the circumstantial advantages, the individual advantages, and the freedom to practice the Dharma (consisting in the absence of eight conditions in which there is no leisure to implement the teachings). It is indeed extremely rare to find oneself in a situation in which all favorable circumstances are gathered and from which all adverse conditions are absent—a situation, in other words, in which it is possible to practice virtue.<ref>Fletcher and Blankleder, ''Nectar of Manjushri's Speech'', 149</ref> | ||
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It is said to be supremely rare to be born in a world system where the Buddha has manifested and where the teachings still remain. Such statements can be found, for example, in ''The White Lotus of the Holy Dharma Sūtra'' ( | It is said to be supremely rare to be born in a world system where the Buddha has manifested and where the teachings still remain. Such statements can be found, for example, in ''The White Lotus of the Holy Dharma Sūtra'' (''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra''). | ||
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|quote-text='Bhikṣus, it is very difficult to find the appearance of the tathāgatas.' Why is that? For those beings, it is possible that they may see a tathāgata after many hundred thousands of quintillions of eons, and it is possible that they will not.<ref>Peter Alan Roberts and team, trans., ''The White Lotus of the Good Dharma'', ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra'', Toh 113 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023), 15.11, https://read.84000.co/translation/UT22084-051-001.html?#UT22084-051-001-2203.</ref> | |quote-text='Bhikṣus, it is very difficult to find the appearance of the tathāgatas.' Why is that? For those beings, it is possible that they may see a tathāgata after many hundred thousands of quintillions of eons, and it is possible that they will not.<ref>Peter Alan Roberts and team, trans., ''The White Lotus of the Good Dharma'', ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra'', Toh 113 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023), 15.11, https://read.84000.co/translation/UT22084-051-001.html?#UT22084-051-001-2203.</ref> | ||
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Here, Śāntideva reminds us that although one may have obtained circumstances which are today free from contrary conditions, such as being without obstructions like sickness, and endowed with harmonious conditions, the situation is deceptive and unstable. Our lives are fleeting and our situation is fragile, and it can change very rapidly through meeting with a sudden karmic condition. Thus, he argues, we must think of our current bodies like something on loan that could be taken back at any moment. | Here, Śāntideva reminds us that although one may have obtained circumstances which are today free from contrary conditions, such as being without obstructions like sickness, and endowed with harmonious conditions, the situation is deceptive and unstable. Our lives are fleeting and our situation is fragile, and it can change very rapidly through meeting with a sudden karmic condition. Thus, he argues, we must think of our current bodies like something on loan that could be taken back at any moment. | ||
Furthermore, we should not act as though we have leisure, and we need to ensure that we can maintain this precious opportunity from lifetime to lifetime. But what is it that brings about such a precious human rebirth and the conducive circumstances for practice? The answer, Śāntideva asserts, is discipline. As ''The Sūtra of Authentic Discipline'' ( | Furthermore, we should not act as though we have leisure, and we need to ensure that we can maintain this precious opportunity from lifetime to lifetime. But what is it that brings about such a precious human rebirth and the conducive circumstances for practice? The answer, Śāntideva asserts, is discipline. As ''The Sūtra of Authentic Discipline'' (''Śīlasaṃyuktasūtra'') says, "By having moral discipline one will encounter the presence of buddhas."<ref>Kirtimukha Translation Group, trans., ''The Sūtra on Having Moral Discipline'', ''Śīlasaṃyuktasūtra'', Toh 303 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024), 1.6, https://read.84000.co/translation/UT22084-072-003.html?#UT22084-072-003-25.</ref> | ||
Perfect discipline is key to obtaining a precious human rebirth in the future, where there will be the chance to meet with a buddha and their teachings. Conscientiousness is essential to maintaining that discipline. We may wish to be reborn in the higher realms, but we must ask ourselves, "Are my actions realistic in relation to that wish? Are they in accord with my pledge to work for the welfare of others?" Conscientiousness is the tool that aids us in taking a closer look at all of our actions. And with this, Śāntideva stresses the continuous practice of virtue. | Perfect discipline is key to obtaining a precious human rebirth in the future, where there will be the chance to meet with a buddha and their teachings. Conscientiousness is essential to maintaining that discipline. We may wish to be reborn in the higher realms, but we must ask ourselves, "Are my actions realistic in relation to that wish? Are they in accord with my pledge to work for the welfare of others?" Conscientiousness is the tool that aids us in taking a closer look at all of our actions. And with this, Śāntideva stresses the continuous practice of virtue. | ||
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We have this incredible opportunity right now to train ourselves in virtue. If we do not seize the chance, we will fail to obtain a precious human rebirth and be born in the lower realms. There will be no opportunity to practice virtue, and all we will accomplish is negativity. We can see this even in the animal realm, where most creatures fight for resources and consume other creatures just to stay alive. There is little room for even the smallest of virtues in their lives, and their negative actions drag them deeper into the lower realms. It is extremely hard for them to escape this cycle. And if we fall into these realms, we will wander in these evil states for vast periods of time. A precious human existence is very different. Its main advantageous quality is that it affords us some space and opportunity to think about and engage in doing positive things with our body, speech, and mind. In verse 20 Śāntideva stresses the rarity of a precious human rebirth using the following oft-repeated analogy: | We have this incredible opportunity right now to train ourselves in virtue. If we do not seize the chance, we will fail to obtain a precious human rebirth and be born in the lower realms. There will be no opportunity to practice virtue, and all we will accomplish is negativity. We can see this even in the animal realm, where most creatures fight for resources and consume other creatures just to stay alive. There is little room for even the smallest of virtues in their lives, and their negative actions drag them deeper into the lower realms. It is extremely hard for them to escape this cycle. And if we fall into these realms, we will wander in these evil states for vast periods of time. A precious human existence is very different. Its main advantageous quality is that it affords us some space and opportunity to think about and engage in doing positive things with our body, speech, and mind. In verse 20 Śāntideva stresses the rarity of a precious human rebirth using the following oft-repeated analogy: | ||
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This analogy comes from ''The Sūtra of Nanda's Going Forth'' ( | This analogy comes from ''The Sūtra of Nanda's Going Forth'' (''Nandapravrajyāsūtra''), where it states: | ||
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|quote-text="Suppose, Nanda, that this whole wide world comprised the waters of one great ocean in which there dwelled a single, blind turtle, and that there was also a single yoke with a hole, tossing about. Considering this, that blind turtle entertains the thought that it must put its neck through the hole of this yoke, but the yoke with its hole is buffeted by the wind and tossed about in all directions. In that case, Nanda, what are the chances that the blind turtle’s neck would ever accidentally enter the hole of that yoke, even in a hundred years? In the same way, Nanda, this human birth may not be found, nor the excellence of a favorable circumstance. | |quote-text="Suppose, Nanda, that this whole wide world comprised the waters of one great ocean in which there dwelled a single, blind turtle, and that there was also a single yoke with a hole, tossing about. Considering this, that blind turtle entertains the thought that it must put its neck through the hole of this yoke, but the yoke with its hole is buffeted by the wind and tossed about in all directions. In that case, Nanda, what are the chances that the blind turtle’s neck would ever accidentally enter the hole of that yoke, even in a hundred years? In the same way, Nanda, this human birth may not be found, nor the excellence of a favorable circumstance. | ||
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Verses 21 and 22 provide the reasoning to support these above quotations from ''The Sūtra of Nanda's Going Forth''. | Verses 21 and 22 provide the reasoning to support these above quotations from ''The Sūtra of Nanda's Going Forth''. | ||
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Specifically, here, an "evil action of a single instant" refers to malevolence toward a bodhisattva or to the five negative actions with immediate effect [LINK to glossary]. These are exceptionally heavy karmic actions that can cause someone to die swiftly and to fall directly into a very bad birth without the usual intervening period in the bardo ( | Specifically, here, an "evil action of a single instant" refers to malevolence toward a bodhisattva or to the five negative actions with immediate effect [LINK to glossary]. These are exceptionally heavy karmic actions that can cause someone to die swiftly and to fall directly into a very bad birth without the usual intervening period in the bardo (''bar do'').<ref>bardo (བར་དོ་ Wylie: bar do) is an intermediate, transitional, or liminal state between death and rebirth.</ref> This verse explains how, since we have been accumulating such extremely bad karmic actions since beginningless time, there must be so many nonvirtues imprinted on our mindstreams that have not yet ripened. And since we have not purified nearly all of them, how can we expect again to find a happy state of rebirth. The next verse explains that just by experiencing the negative karmic consequences of an action we will not be free from these unhappy states. | ||
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We may think it will not be difficult to escape the lower realms and that once the results of our earlier negative actions have been exhausted we will again take rebirth in one of the higher realms. But our experience of the karmic effects alone is not what liberates us from these unhappy states. In these lower realms virtue is very rare, and beings constantly accumulate further negative karma through committing terrible negative actions. Such beings are trapped in a vicious downward spiral of negativity. This is partly because karmic effects similar to the cause [LINK to glossary] of previous negative actions will ripen in powerful tendencies toward states of mind such as aggression or extreme desire. | We may think it will not be difficult to escape the lower realms and that once the results of our earlier negative actions have been exhausted we will again take rebirth in one of the higher realms. But our experience of the karmic effects alone is not what liberates us from these unhappy states. In these lower realms virtue is very rare, and beings constantly accumulate further negative karma through committing terrible negative actions. Such beings are trapped in a vicious downward spiral of negativity. This is partly because karmic effects similar to the cause [LINK to glossary] of previous negative actions will ripen in powerful tendencies toward states of mind such as aggression or extreme desire. | ||
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As if reduced to total mindlessness. (4.27ab)<ref>Fletcher and Blankleder, ''Way of the Bodhisattva'', 57.</ref> | As if reduced to total mindlessness. (4.27ab)<ref>Fletcher and Blankleder, ''Way of the Bodhisattva'', 57.</ref> | ||
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In relation to this verse, Khenpo Kunpal [LINK to text pdf p.195] quotes Longchenpa (1308–1364), the renowned scholar of the Nyingma sect known for his teachings on Dzogchen ( | In relation to this verse, Khenpo Kunpal [LINK to text pdf p.195] quotes Longchenpa (1308–1364), the renowned scholar of the Nyingma sect known for his teachings on Dzogchen (''rdzogs chen'') [LINK to glossary]. | ||
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|quote-text=We do not grasp things when explained; | |quote-text=We do not grasp things when explained; | ||
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It is important for us to identify what the real "sorcery" is that holds us spellbound. This question then leads us on to the next focus of conscientiousness, which is how to get rid of afflictive emotions. | It is important for us to identify what the real "sorcery" is that holds us spellbound. This question then leads us on to the next focus of conscientiousness, which is how to get rid of afflictive emotions. | ||
At the end of this section on how to develop conscientiousness of our precious human rebirth, Minyak Kunzang Sönam, in his commentary to the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' [LINK to text pdf. Tib p.204], quotes from Nāgārjuna's ''Letter To a Friend'' ( | At the end of this section on how to develop conscientiousness of our precious human rebirth, Minyak Kunzang Sönam, in his commentary to the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' [LINK to text pdf. Tib p.204], quotes from Nāgārjuna's ''Letter To a Friend'' (''Suhṛllekha'') in order to remind us of one of the main purposes of practice. | ||
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|quote-text=Of these eight defective states that give no opportunity | |quote-text=Of these eight defective states that give no opportunity | ||
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This exalted understanding of ''prajñā'', the wisdom which sees through to the lack of an inherent nature in all phenomena, can help us to tackle the afflictions and aid us in destroying them forever. | This exalted understanding of ''prajñā'', the wisdom which sees through to the lack of an inherent nature in all phenomena, can help us to tackle the afflictions and aid us in destroying them forever. | ||
To illustrate how we are often so confused as to where the real problem lies and how correct wisdom is so important in orienting ourselves on the Buddhist path, Khenpo Kunpal cites ''The Heap of Jewels Sūtra'' ( | To illustrate how we are often so confused as to where the real problem lies and how correct wisdom is so important in orienting ourselves on the Buddhist path, Khenpo Kunpal cites ''The Heap of Jewels Sūtra'' (''Ratnakūṭasūtra'') [LINK to text], which states the following: | ||
{{QuoteCite | {{QuoteCite | ||
|quote-text=In future times, O Kashyapa, there will be conceited monks who will be like dogs running after stones. Excited by [the throwing of] a stone, a dog will chase after it; it will not chase the person who threw it. In the same way, O Kashyapa, certain monks and practitioners will persistently discriminate between forms, sounds, smells, taste, and textures. They will understand that these are impermanent, deceptive, and liable to destruction, yet they will not know whence they arise. . . . | |quote-text=In future times, O Kashyapa, there will be conceited monks who will be like dogs running after stones. Excited by [the throwing of] a stone, a dog will chase after it; it will not chase the person who threw it. In the same way, O Kashyapa, certain monks and practitioners will persistently discriminate between forms, sounds, smells, taste, and textures. They will understand that these are impermanent, deceptive, and liable to destruction, yet they will not know whence they arise. . . . | ||
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