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20130929GYTAAETB30

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Good morning everyone, Gelek Rimpoche asked me to do a talk and he wanted me to continue from where he left off. I would like to explain the following four line verse in which Buddha famously summarized his teaching:

Dig pa she ya mi ja shin

Ge wa phun sum tsok par she

Rang gi sem ne yong song de

De ni sang gye ten pa yin

Do not engage in any unwholesome activities

Perfectly engage in wholesome actions

Subdue your own mind

This is the teaching of the Buddha

Gelek Rimpoche translation:

Avoid non-virtue

Build virtue

Tame your mind

This is Buddhism

In the first line: Do not engage in any unwholesome activities, that refers to any karmic activities that one engages in through the three doors, body, speech and mind 0:04:42.3 and also “any” has the connotation of refraining even from the smallest, subtlest negative actions, and not saying, “This action is okay, it is not too severe and intense”. Even what we think of as minor negative activities we should refrain from. This expounds on the moral teaching of ethics. Out of the three trainings this is the morality level of the teaching.

In the second line Buddha said: Perfectly engage in wholesome actions. That refers to anything that is positive and we should engage in them, and that includes meditation on impermanence, loving kindness, compassion and these would all come under the rubric of wholesome activities. So whatever we do we should thoroughly, through the model of study, contemplation and meditation. Hearing or studying is first, then contemplation, which involves analysis, examination, investigation, arriving at conclusions and convictions and then finally, meditating on those conclusions. So to engage in virtuous actions thoroughly means following this kind of method.

0:07:25.7 GYT Tib

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The second line: Perfectly engage in wholesome actions also shows the second of the three trainings, training in wisdom, which involves hearing, contemplation and analysis, such as coming to decisive conclusions with regard to key Buddhist teachings and concepts. Therefore it reveals the training of wisdom, out of the three trainings. The first line referred to the first training or morality and ethics.

The third line: Subdue your own mind shows the third training of concentration or Samadhi. So here we have the standard three trainings in Buddhism: morality, concentration and wisdom, revealed in this particular verse. “Subduing” here is meant in the sense that just as we subdue a wild elephant with and iron hook, we use mental vigilance and mindfulness to subdue our own mind, which is like a mad elephant. So this is specifically referring to the training in single-pointed concentration or Samadhi. These three training are related to each other. First we refrain from doing negative things at the level of ethics. We refrain from killing, from harming other sentient beings, from engaging in negative actions through body, speech and mind. On top of that we engage in wholesome activities of analysis, studying, contemplation, with respect to key Buddhist practices and concepts like compassion, impermanence, bodhicitta, loving kindness and so forth, which relates to wisdom.

But it is no sufficient to arrive at logical conclusions as the result of your own investigation or analysis. We also have to sustain that single-pointedly for there to be lasting transformation. That’s the role of Samadhi. Whatever is deduced through logical analysis is sustained in the form or single-pointed meditation. That’s the real transformation.

0:14:31.2

So engaging in Buddhist practice is not like knowing or understanding the alphabet. When you know how to read there is nothing else to do beyond that. But these teachings are not like that. It is not sufficient to just know them, but rather the teachings are studied and practiced to give rise to lasting mental transformation and that’s why we have to have the training in Samadhi or concentration so that by sustaining a particular conviction the goal is to impact lasting transformation.

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The last line is: This is the teaching of the Buddha. So the Buddha is saying that these three trainings in a nutshell are the teaching of the Buddha. So the teachings where the Buddha taught how to refrain from negative actions, that’s the teaching to gain freedom from rebirth in lower realms. The teachings of how to engage in Samadhi pertaining to selflessness and so forth are the teaching to achieve the state of moksha or liberation from samsara. And likewise, the teachings where Buddha explained the bodhisattva path is the one leading one to the state of complete enlightenment.

0:16:20.6 GYT Tib

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The teachings of the Budhda are to subdue one’s own mind. That’s the fundamental goal. In other contexts when the Buddha summarized the teachings he said: you do it “to subdue the mind and therefore to subdue the self.” That’s the essence of the teaching. The teaching of the Buddha is approached in such a way that there is mental transformation. That is the measure in which to see whether you actually are progressing and practicing the teachings properly. If you see mental transformation, if you see that your mind has become more subdued and gentle, then that is when we have understood the teachings properly and we have received the blessings of the Buddha. When the mind is subdued and there is mental transformation in that sense, then not only do we experience well-being and happiness in this life time, but also through the logic of karma we will also experience well-being and happiness in future life times as well. Therefore, the fundamental goal of the Buddha, to appear in this world, is said to give rise to well-being and happiness. So by practicing the teachings properly, by virtue of that we should actually be able to experience harmony in society. Because of subduing our mind we should see that expressed in the community as harmony within the community. The Buddha himself said that when there is community and peace in the community, we will actually be able to accomplish a lot of things without difficulty.

0:20:44.6 GYT Tib

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Then in this particular practice of subduing the mind, bringing about mental transformation, it is very important to understand what is the nature of mind, how we recognize mind and its nature. Mind and consciousness really mean the same thing. Mind refers to that aspect of awareness that has the function of mere perception or recognition of objects.

0:22:32.4 GYT Tib

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Even though mind is non-material, it is limited by the physical body we have. So therefore, the way in which the mind expresses itself is through the medium of the physical body. The kind of body we have limits the kinds of consciousness we experience. Human beings for example, have a different body than animals, so we have a distinct kind of consciousness, not because there is a fundamental difference in the mind per se, but the way in which it is dependent on the medium of the physical body. Therefore, even though there is the dualism of mind and body, which are separate, because mind is non-material, nonetheless the mind is depending on the body for its particular expression. Within the body, mind is carried within the medium of vayus or pranas, the winds or energies that carry it within subtle psychic channels. In Buddhist understanding of the physiology of consciousness, these psychic channels reside predominantly in the brain, the crown chakra and the heart chakra. These chakras have lots of channels, and in these channels the movements of subtle energy or prana, basically sustain consciousness. The way in which consciousness is sustained and expresses itself is limited by the body we have.

Nonetheless, from the Buddhist point of view, mind or consciousness is still separate from matter, because consciousness has no shape or materiality, like color, but it expresses itself depending on the quality of the physical body.

0:26:48.2 GYT Tib

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Because mind is not matter, mind cannot therefore be seen through machines and things like that. Of course, neuro-scientists are seeing changes in the brain composition when there is a particular emotion and so forth. But that’s because of the fact that the mind is depending on the matter to express itself. So we see corresponding changes in matter. But that doesn’t mean that matter is the mind. It doesn’t mean that the neurons in the brain are the mind. The corresponding changes in the mind are because of the fact that the mind is dependent on matter for it’s expression. One way to understand that is that to turn on the electric light we use electricity and we know that it is carried through cables. But we don’t say that the light is in the cable. But the energy we experience as light is something that is carried in the cables. So with the mind it is a little bit like that.

The Buddhist account of this is that the physical body is the basis for the mind, for it’s expression, but it is not the exceptional basis. The exceptional basis is actually the fundamental basis, without the mind cannot live. Even if this physical body comes to an end [the mind continues]. Right now, in a human person, human consciousness is dependent on the physical body. But that doesn’t mean that if there is no human body the mind cannot survive. At the end of life, consciousness actually leaves the human body and it is able to sustain itself by riding on a subtle wind. It is still able to move and express itself on the basis of the subtle wind or energy, until it finds a new body. The example we give is like a crow sitting on a tree branch. We say the bird is depending on the tree branch, but that dependence is not one of ultimate necessity. It is not an exceptional necessity. The bird can still fly away, if the branch is no longer there and it can go somewhere else and perch for example on top of a building. So likewise, although the body is the basis for the mind it is not the exceptional or only basis for the mind to be able to move on.

0:33:00.3 GYT Tib

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The mind, in Buddhist technical language we say “primary mind”, does the act of mere perception. That also has 51 secondary minds and these act as the entourage of the primary mind. There are many classifications of these minds. We can lean that in the context of mind and cognition, but of the 51 secondary minds there are 5 most important ones. These are the “universal secondary minds.” They are universal that every moment of primary mind necessarily is accompanied by these 5 secondary minds. They are important from the point of view of psychological transformation, so I will discuss these five.

The first of these universal factors is tsorwa or feeling (Skt: vedana). Feeling refers to the function of experiencing things. There are three types of feeling: pleasant, unpleasant and neutral. The way in which these feelings are experienced are as either pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. When something is experienced as beneficial to us we call it pleasant. When we see as harming us we refer to them as unpleasant. 0:39:17.2

Then there are those feelings where we think they don’t either harm or benefit us and therefore these feelings are referred to as neutral feelings. Therefore, feeling is one of those secondary minds that accompany every conscious experience. Whenever we see something we always do so with the view of whether it is beneficial to us or harmful or it doesn’t really matter. So these three concerns simultaneously follow any conscious moment.

Then we have du she, discrimination, the particular mental function at the level of secondary mind that says this is good and this is bad. We discriminate based on the feeling that it gives us. If something gives us a pleasant feeling we say that this is good, and if it is unpleasant we say it is bad. Based on that discrimination which is based on the 3 types of feelings, when coming in contact with objects, craving, aversion or a neutral mind state arise.

0:41:01.2 GYT

Tib 0:42:13.7

Then comes the third of the secondary minds that is also universal and that is called volition (Skt: cheytana) and sempa in Tibetan. It is basically intentionality. Every given moment of consciousness has this kind of aspect to it that basically allows the mind to engage with the object in a particular way. For example, if the intention or volition tells us to engage with wholesome objects, then by virtue of that this particular act will become wholesome. If the volition forces us to engage in a negative action, then it becomes a negative action. The intention of the volition really refers to what we usually refer to as karma or action. That really happens at this level. We are making a conscious choice or either engaging in a positive action or interrupting negative objects. By virtue of that decision it becomes karma. The karmic accumulation really happens at this level of volition.

0:44:33.4 GYT Tib

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Then the fourth of these universal mental factors is contact. It is consciousness coming into contact with a particular object. Whenever there is a moment of awareness or consciousness there is also necessarily a contact with the object. Because of that we then have a perception of that object. Because of contact we have feeling which gives rise to discrimination and that gives rise to volition. Then the fifth of the universal mental factors is yul la che pa, (Skt: mana sikara), which is mental engagement. That is different from the primary mind, which just does the act of observing. Mental engagement zooms in and discriminates a particular object from all its surroundings. Therefore, necessarily, any kind of given moment of consciousness has all of these five factors. If these five factors are not there we are not going to have the experience of a full-blown moment of consciousness. Therefore they are referred to as universal mental factors.

0:47:35.1 GYT Tib

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Then it is basically the importance of understanding mind and mental factors, the psychology. Once we have understanding of the mind it gives us more control in terms of subduing the mind. That is the goal here and it is the primary role played by feeling and discrimination in terms of giving rise to craving and aversion or neutral states – which a kind of ignorance – that, based on contact with an object we discriminate a pleasant feeling as good and that gives rise to craving. Because of unpleasant feeling we discriminate that as negative and that gives rise to aversion. Craving and aversion give rise to many other conceptual states and they also give rise to many negative emotions. Craving and aversion are the basis from which many other conceptual states of negative emotions arise and that’s why we get plunged into the world of negative emotions.

Therefore, because of the primary role played by feeling and discrimination, when enumerating the skandhas, the 5 psycho-physical aggregates, of all the 51 secondary minds, feeling and discrimination are singled out from the 51 mental factors and counted as separate skandhas or aggregates. This is to acknowledge the critical role played by feeling and discrimination in terms of giving rise to negative emotions, primarily craving and aversion.

The point of all of this is to understand what it going on at the level of our own minds. The function of the secondary minds is explained to have a better understanding of the mental psychology, so that we will not be disturbed by negative emotions or be influenced by craving and aversion and not support them. If we don’t have that understanding we will continue to allow the mind to react with craving or aversion. In fact we will also support these. If someone does something bad to us aversion is being generated and we logically support it, thinking, “I am right and justified in having this anger, because So and So has done this and that to me.” Not understanding the psychological underpinnings of negative emotions, we in fact support and reinforce them.

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Once we have the understanding of what’s going on at the level of psychology, then we are given this tool to deal with the negative emotions. If there is aversion or craving the best is to ignore it and avoid it in the beginning. If we are not able to do so and we have a moment of craving we know what it does in terms of giving rise to negative emotions. So then we try to not reinforce it, by identifying them as negative or having the consequence of giving rise to other negative emotions. We don’t support and reinforce them. The very nature any negative state is that if we don’t reinforce them they just come and go. They lose their force if we don’t reinforce them.

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Therefore, the importance of understanding the psychology and guarding the mind because of that, because of having that kind of skill and understanding, Shantideva says

Other than the austere practice of guarding the mind, what need is there for other austere practices?

Here he is pointing to the key role of guarding the mind in terms of our spiritual practice, in terms of impacting mental transformation.

0:57:28.0 GYT Tib

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With this kind of insight into the nature of the workings of mind and mental factors, as practitioners our goal is that even though we are bound to have feelings because there is contact, it is important for us to have a degree of control over the mind, so that the feelings don’t actually become causes for craving to aversion, which in turn give rise to lots of other negative conceptual states and emotions. So when we hear of some negative news or something happens to our wealth or we have some kind of sickness, it will definitely induce some sort of feeling. But then by understanding the workings of negative emotions, how can we guard our minds, so that the feelings don’t turn into aversion which in turn will induce negative emotions, anxiety and so forth, which are not beneficial to us? Therefore, the kind of understanding this psychology is supposed to give us a degree of control over the mind. Usually we don’t really care about the workings of the mind and mental factors.

We give free reign to the working of the mind, no matter what kind of emotional roller coaster we go through. We really don’t try to control it. The negative emotions we generate because of coming in contact with things give rise to feelings, inducing craving, aversion and so forth. We don’t try to have any control. We give free reign to the negative emotions.

1:02:47.0

Ordinarily we get empowered by the mind. Our mind gets empowered by negative emotions and that is basically the state we live in. Our stated goal is to experience transformation and even achieve liberation ultimately. So once we take care of the mind we do so through guarding it through the dual force of mindfulness and mental vigilance. Mental vigilance is like spying on the mind to see where it is going. We have to spy on our own mind on a moment by moment basis. Through this vigilance and mindfulness we are able to get a degree of control.

Even if we are in a state where we have already generated craving and aversion and other negative emotions, as soon as our mental vigilance detects it and knows about the negative consequences, we will not reinforce it. Rather we watch it, like watching a play and it is going to disappear of its own accord and be exhausted of its own accord, without having to do anything. That happens when we have the powerful mental vigilance and mindfulness. We are not going to blindly react and reinforce them. In this way, when we are able to do this and detect and let the emotions play out without reinforcing them the ability for negative emotions to influence the mind is going to diminish and eventually we are going to have more control over the mind and eventually we will be able to influence the mind positively. Instead of the mind being led by blind negative reactions we are able to react positively, with positive emotions and so forth.

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Slowly, when we do this, when we have that kind of control over the mind, in the sense of impacting positive thoughts, that’s when we can talk about mental transformation and liberation and so forth. Therefore, we are guarding and protecting the mind through the force of mental vigilance and mindfulness.

1:05:36.5 GYT Tib

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Therefore, if we do so, the Buddha clearly stated that it is possible, because he said that the nature of the mind is clear light, luminous itself, and the nature of luminosity is never permanently tainted by negative emotions. So the essence of the mind is luminosity or clear light itself and that is never permanently touched by negative emotions. That’s why we can achieve freedom, because of this particular nature of the mind.

The mind is so important. It has the capacity to lead us into rebirth in the form of gods, human beings, and to the state of liberation and that’s why it is likened to a wish-fulfilling jewel. At the same time, if we are not able to control the mind then it is said that there is nothing more terrifying than the mind itself. External enemies may kill us and so forth, but our own mind can lead us into hellish experiences, not only in this life time, but also in future life times. It is basically the play of the mind that leads us into lower realms and so forth.

1:08:11.7 GYT

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Thank you so much we have to stop here.

1:08:21.1 Four Immeasurables 1:09:40.4