Does the tenn "middle path" refer to avoiding the extreme views of
nihilism
and etemalism?
Kalu Rinpoche
Every day the doctors discovered the symptoms of some new disease, only to find them gone the next day and replaced by another illness, as if all the
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diseases in the world were finding room in his flesh. For two months he had taken no solid food, and finally his doctors gave up hope. It was impossible for him to live, and the doctors thought the life? support systems should be disconnected.
But the Karmapa said, "No, I'm going to live. Leave them in place. " And he did live, astonishing the doctors, and remaining seemingly at ease in his situation- humorous, playful, smiling, as if he were rejoicing at everything his body suffered. Then I thought, with the clearest possible conviction, that the Karmapa had submit? ted to all this cutting, to the manifestation of all those diseases in his body, to the lack of food, in a quite intentional and voluntary way: he was deliberately suffering all of these diseases to help minimize the coming pains of war, disease, and famine, and in this way he was deliberately working to avert those terrible kalpas. For those of us present, his death was an unforgettable inspiration. It profoundly revealed the efficacy of the Dharma, and the fact that Enlighten? ment for the sake of others can actually be achieved.
Karma Chamay has given us an excellent way of meditating on death and impermanence. First, you enter again into the realm of the imagination. Visualize that you're alone on a vast plain, empty of all other beings. There are very high mountains, and there is the sound of water. Below the plain in a valley is a large river filled with sentient beings.
Next, the sun sets and it becomes very dark. You are fright? ened. Since you are in an unfamiliar place, you do not know where you are as you walk around in the dark. You become even more afraid. Suddenly you find yourself at the edge of a cliff, and in danger of falling into the river in the gorge below. You grasp at two clumps of grass with your two hands, which keep you from falling into the abyss. As you hang there in great fear, there appears at your right a little white mouse, and on the left a little black mouse that come out from the rocks. The white mouse begins to chew on the bunch of grass your right hand clutches, while the black mouse chews the bunch of grass your left hand holds. The clumps are becoming thinner and thinner. You are in a state of panic because you know that any second now you could fall into the river and drown. And you know the river is full of various creatures that could eat you.
At this point you will realize how negligent you have been in the practice of Dharma. Then you see Lama Chenrezi in the sky, and you make many prayers to him. Lama Chenrezi says, "Whoever is a sentient being has sickness, death, and suffering. The nature of everything is impermanence. When you attain freedom you will practice well. Pray to your Lama. " Then with faith, longing, and determination you pray intensely to Lama Chenrezi. At the moment the two mice finish the last blade of grass, light rays emanate from the heart of Lama Chenrezi and strike one's heart, purifying the obscurations of body, speech and mind. You are instantly reborn as Chenrezi in the pure land of Dewachen. Meditate with love and compassion. Inconveivable numbers of light rays emanate from your heart, touch all the beings of the six kinds, purify their sufferings, evils and obscurations, and guide them to Dewachen.
This meditation could be elaborated upon in many ways. The most important point is what benefits your mind. You should observe the results of the meditation and ascertain which sections of the sequence seem useful for your individual needs. You can em? phasize and spend more time on any one part. In particular, if you are a person with great pride, hatred, etc. , and find it difficult to practice Dharma, this meditation is very beneficial.
Formation: The Fourth Skandha Continued
Of the fifty-one formations, we have already discussed the first twenty-one, which included the five omnipresent ones, the five that determine the object, and the eleven virtuous ones.
Now we will consider the twenty-six unvirtuous mental occur? rences. There are six root emotional afflictions and twenty sub? sidiary emotional afflictions.
Of the six root afflictions only five are emotional afflictions, while the sixth, view, which is divided into five parts, is placed in this category for the purpose of Dharma explanation.
The root of all emotional affliction is ignorance. Ignorance here means not knowing about action and result, the true meaning and way of practice according to the Precious jewels. Not understanding these things is the source or foundation of all emo? tional afflictions. Ignorance itself is unable to perform any function. It obscures the understanding of actions and their results-that vir?
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tue leads to happiness and evil leads to suffering; it obscures the understanding of the Four Noble Truths, of Relative and of Ultimate Truth, and the excellent qualities of the Three Jewels. It obscures the understanding of impermanence and change. Because of all this, all the other afflictions come into being.
The second of the emotional afflictions is desire, which is the grasping at the deteriorating aggregates of the three realms. It pro- duces the suffering of existence and causes all the sentient beings of the six types to circle in samsara. It arises from the obscuration of ig- norance.
There are two types of desire. One is desire of desire, a desire for actual things among the three realms of samsara; it pertains to beings of the six types in the Desire Realm. In the two upper realms, the Form Realm and the Formless Realm, there isn't this manifest desire, but there is the desire for existence. The higher god-states such as infinite space, infinite consciousness, etc. , are the fruit of great merit obtained through samadhi-meditation. But because the grasping at an "I" has not been abandoned, those gods have not turned away from samsaric existence.
Thirdly, there's the emotional affliction of anger. Anger is the relentless desire to hurt other beings. It's impossible to be happy while you're angry, and so we consider it to be the origin of unhap- piness.
The fourth basic emotional affliction is pn? de, an attitude of inflated superiority supported by worldly views. It is thinking, "I'm great," "I'm a high person," "I have great qualities," "I have an ex- cellent form. " There are said to be seven kinds of pride. It prevents you from respecting others and causes you to be unhappy.
The fifth is doubt. It is being of two minds concerning the true meaning. You are not certain whether the Dharma is really true or not. You think, "This isn't true," "this isn't good. " Ignorance is very strong and trust impossible. You become unable to practice virtue and usually are drawn towards negative action.
The sixth is view. Here we mean negative views based on the emotional afflictions. There are views without any emotional afflic- tion, which are considered "Perfect View. " But the views we are discussing are all considered "wrong view. "
There are five types of view. The first is the view based on the perishable aggregates, the strong belief that in the five skandhas
there is actually a self. This view becomes the basis for all wrong views.
Second is the vz"ew that holds to extremes; this is the view that the self or the skandhas exist permanently (etemalism) or that they don't exist at all (nihilism). Both views block the arising of certainty in the Middle Path-the Ultimate View.
The third is the inverted view, which denies that which is real such as the truth of karma, cause and effect, and the Three Jewels. Whoever has this view is not inclined towards virtuous activity.
That completes the three negative views. Then there are the two forms of "holding as supreme"- holdi'ng these views as supreme and holding conduct based on them as supreme. The first of these, the fourth of the wrong views, is the attitude that your erroneous view is the very best. In this case, you are completely convinced that a view such as the denial of karma is true, good, perfect, and you don't look at any other view. Since all that concerns body and speech is a projection of mind, you always need to examine with awareness the validity of your view and not accept it dumbly.
The second of these is holding one~ morality and conduct as supreme. This means holding to conduct and morality that is not conducive to liberation. This kind of view is not beneficial for oneself or others. Still one holds it as being the very best and all other moral disciplines as being untnie and bad.
Because these two-holding one's view as supreme and holding one's morality and conduct as supreme-involve clinging to the five skandhas, they are like a rope that binds you tightly. All activity is exhausting and fruitless. Even if an activity is engaged in with a lot of energy, it is meaningless. These five views are not a means of liberation from samsara and therefore not a real path.
According to the teachings of the Buddha, to determine whether a view is true or not, real or not, you need to examine your own mind. An individual must accomplish liberation in the Dharma by himself. Therefore, you must always decide for yourself whether a view leads to liberation or not. When it does, then you will also understand what is really beneficial for oneself and others now as well as in the future. In short, you always have to use your own in- telligence to investigate these things for yourself. If you don't con- stantly do this, and instead merely cling to a view, you can never at- tain freedom from samsara.
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Fundamentally, the teaching of the Buddha is to practice vir- tue and abandon evil. By using your own intelligence to examine what is right and what is wrong, and to develop this understanding through experience, produces the faith of trust.
We have obtained a human body. Because ofthis, a teacher-a Lama, Friend of Virtue-is needed to explain the mind in words you can understand-human terms-and to guide you. But you always have to decide yourself whether what the teacher says is true, and whether it really works or not: if it is going to be of benefit, who it will benefit, how it will benefit, and when it will benefit. You must always examine such questions, because if you just listen to the teacher and agree automatically just because it is his word, then you're no different from an animal. You have to use your in- telligence to understand the truth.
Once you really understand the meaning and nature of things well, and have reached a decision as to what is true, you should feel confidence in it. There is no need for doubt and a lot of additional activity.
When you're involved in Dharma practice or Dharma work it is not an instantaneous process, where you do something and get an immediate result. You have to look at the situation in its entirety: what work was done before and what kind of fruit has come, what kind or result comes from perfecting oneself. For example, in the case of Milarepa, a great Tibetan Siddha, and many others like him, we have to consider what work was done previously, what work was done in between, what experiences occurred, what benefit for other beings there was, and what the situation at the time of death was. Dharma practice must be considered from a very broad perspective. Therefore, examining the characteristics of views is very important.
Finally, there are several ways of distinguishing types of views: one is innate, naturally present, such as the view of the perishable aggregates based on the self and the five skandhas; the other is ac- quired through investigation or instruction by a teacher such as the two kinds of Holding as Supreme. Actions based on acquired views are easily abandoned, but actions based on innate views are much more difficult to let go of. According to the Buddha's teaching, the one hundred and fourteen acquired views are abandoned through understanding the meaning of things and developing certainty. The three hundred and sixty innate views only meditation can dispel.
Q. . What is an example of an innate view?
A. It's the view of clinging to a self-the view of the perishable ag- gregates. Clinging to an "I" in the five skandhas, you think, "I'm sick," "I'm in pain," "I'm unhappy," "I'm happy. " Or "I feel," "I perceive," "I think. " These views are always grounded in clinging to an "I" in what is only the five skandhas.
An example of an acquired view would be the different doc- trines of eternalism and nihilism that are learned or based on deduc- tion or inference. Thus, if you have the belief that each person was created by someone, then you will believe that someone must have created the Buddha, even though there is no evidence for that view. That would be an example of an acquired view.
Of the five emotional afflictions, the three major ones, ig- norance, desire, and hatred, are all inherent. The other two, pride and doubt, are acquired. For example, pride may arise from hear- ing yourself praised: "You're great," "You have excellent qualities," "You're beautiful. " One comes to acquire this view of oneself, too. Likewise, being taught that something isn't true could be cause for acquiring doubts. Holding your own views as supreme is also an ac- quired view.
Q. . You said that the main injunction ofthe Buddha's teachings is to test and re-test our views with our own intellect, and that blind faith is to be avoided. Now on some levels of the path, especially the Vaj- rayana, it is not possible for beginners to fathom the answer to all their questions. Faith is said to be extremely imponant and the root of accomplishment here. Could you say something about this son of faith?
A. Whichever vehicle you're practicing, the Hinayana, Mahayana, or Vajrayana, there is no difference-you need the faculty of ex- amination. The Buddha said, "My teaching is like gold: melt it, pound it, cut it-it is always excellent. " So the teaching ofthe Bud- dha can be examined as much as you want, and it will still be true.
Thus all the vehicles are the same in that examining their meaning it will only develop your understanding; as a result, your certainty will allow you to work one-pointedly. The Vajrayana is no dif- ferent. You need to examine: how does one train on this path? what is the fruit of this?
On the Vajrayana path, you must also evaluate the teacher. When the Lama explains the Dharma, does it benefit you? Does it
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benefit sentient beings? Just because it is the Vajrayana Dharma, you can't just think: "It's the Vajrayanal" and set aside any examina? tion. You have to determine whether the Lama has abandoned per- sonal gain and is presenting the teaching for the benefit of all sen? tient beings, leading them on the path to liberation from suffering, and towards Buddhahood. One must examine this carefully; just assuming that because it's the Vajrayana one can't examine the teacher is the wrong attitude. Proper examination is very important. Trust results from it. Certainly you can investigate the great Lamas, like Kalu Rinpoche, Dezhung Rinpoche,* Ling Rinpoche,t and Dudjom Rinpoche. ~ great teachen of all the four schools, and find that they are indeed worthy Lamas. So, even in the Vajrayana, there is no such thing as faith without examination.
If you discover that a teacher is not satisfactory you are always free to leave and find one who can benefit your practice. There are many Lamas who can do so. Once you have investigated and found the Lama to be qualified, then you should put your faith in him. And after you have received profound instructions from a teacher, you can't disparage him. You have established an important con- nection with him, and to criticize him at that point would be a negative act that will destroy your Dharma practice.
Q. . Is it possible that some people do not make any examination whatsoever, yet happen to hold the right point of view? Can you hold blindly and uncritically to the real truth?
A. It is not possible to have attachment to the perfect view, since someone who has the perfect view must have real understanding and experience. Once you have them, there naturally can be no attach- ment or mental blindness.
It is said, "If there is grasping, then it is not "perfect view. " This comes from the famous Shenpa Shidrel [zhen pa bzhi 'bral], a teaching of the Sakyapas consisting of four venes:
If you are attached to this life, You are not a Dharma person.
? A contemporary master of the Sakya lineage, who has taught for many years at the University of Washington.
tLate head of the Geliigpa Lineage and senior tutor to the Dalai Lama.
:I:Chief representative of the Nyingmapa lineage, with numerous Dharma centers in
the West.
If you are attached to samsara, You don't have renunciation.
If you are attached to your own benefit, You don't have Bodhicitta.
If there is grasping,
You don't have the view.
Q. .
Does the tenn "middle path" refer to avoiding the extreme views of nihilism and etemalism? What exactly is it?
A. The middle path (Madhyamaka) rejects both extremes, both the view that says, "Yes, something is," and the view that says, "No, something is not. " You can't definitely assert that something is, because ultimately nothing is seen by the Buddhas. You also can't assert that nothing exists, because the mind is the basis for samsara, the lower realms, and so on. The Middle view is not a synthesis of these opposites, however, because it transcends existence and non- existence.
The basis of the middle path is interdependence-the union of the two truths, the relative and absolute. The path itself is the perfection of merit, which deteriorates, and primordial knowledge, which does not deteriorate. The fruit is the union of the two Kayas-the Rupakaya and the Dharmakaya. The Dharmakaya is the realization of the mind's essence, and benefits oneself. It is the attainment of the ultimate truth. The Dharmakaya doesn't benefit sentient beings directly. Through its power come the two aspects of the Rupakaya: the Samboghakaya and the Nirmanakaya, like light rays from the sun, which function to benefit sentient beings. The Rupakaya is the attainment of the relative truth.
Q. . About testing the truth for oneself-some truths, like that of cause and effect (kanna) don't manifest fully in one lifetime. They can't really be tested except over a period of several lifetimes. Some karma does manifest itself in one lifetime, when the fruits of a good or bad deed take effect, yet many other situations need several lifetimes to come to fruition. How can you test the truth of karma if you can't remember your past lives?
A. Because of the obscuring power of ignorance, it is difficult to understand and trust the full workings of cause and effect. But the truth of the karmic process can be demonstrated in a general way
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through examples and their implications, even though it is not always possible to actually see the precise effects of everything that you do. For example, a mother and father might have five children, each very different from the others. Their ideas are different, their activity is different, their physical characteristics are different, and their situations are completely different. The immediate cir- cumstances, their manner of birth, their environment are clearly the same for each of the children. Yet their lives are different. Likewise, in the world there are all sorts of variations in health, longevity, hap- piness, and so on. All such variations are attributable to karma. If you continually examine the way things occur you will understand something of cause and effect. A day or two is not enough to see results. This is because the obscuration of ignorance is very power- ful.
The Buddha said, "To understand your previous actions look at your present life; to understand your future life look at your pres- ent actions. " If you practice virtue, it will have a good result; if you do evil, the result will be correspondingly negative. To believe precisely and totally in this law is very difficult. We gain conviction through examples and reasoning, but to see the process in detail is difficult. Only a Buddha can know exactly the nature of every single cause and every single result.
In this life if you train in school from the time you're young, you can obtain a good job later on. If you train well at anything the results are good. Likewise one can infer that if the present life is used well, the future lives will be good, although it may be difficult to see. If one's intentions are good and one wishes to benefit others, then this will be a cause for virtuous karma. If intentions are bad, then they'll be a negative cause.
The Buddha said, "Our own intentions are the best way to be kind to ourselves. " Through our good thoughts and positive actions towards others, our own situation continues to improve lifetime after lifetime until we reach Buddhahood.
Q. . When you listed the five emotional afflictions the fifth one was doubt. Isn't the fifth one usually jealousy?
A. In this particular system the fifth obscuration is doubt. In other systems, jealousy is listed here. Jealousy is not a root affliction, but a
subsidiary one. Jealousy is dependent upon hatred, desire and pride, and is therefore a "branch" emotion, whereas doubt, although related to stupidity, is a "principal" one.
The first of the twenty subsidiary emotional afflictions is wrath, which is internal anger that has increased over time and readies one actually to harm other beings through actions such as beating.
The second, malice, is a variety of internal anger. In this case the intention to harm someone has become very powerful and con- tinuous. You can't let go of it and it makes you unforgiving.
The third is rage. When the causes of both wrath and malice become unbearable, you show it-your face turns red and you speak harsh, angry words.
Then, fourth is vindictz"veness, another kind of internal anger that is not expressed. It is the absence of love and compassion. Out- wardly you might appear gentle but inside you seek revenge. Vindic- tiveness causes one to despise others.
The fifth isjealousy. Jealousy is also classified as a kind of inter- nal anger. It is caused by attachment to acquisitions and honor. You can't bear for others to have good things or qualities. Jealousy agitates your mind greatly and, being so unhappy, you can never let it rest. Jealousy arouses anger and causes you to lose much of the merit that may have been gained previously.
Then, sixth, there is deceitfulness. Being attached to acquisi- tions and honor, you hide your faults. Constantly doing this,? you are engaged in a lot of crookedness. This is classified as a combination of desire, anger, and stupidity. It becomes an obstacle to receiving instructions from a teacher.
Seventh is hypocrisy. In order to gain possessions or respect you pretend to have qualities you don't have. Because those qualities are not factual, you are involved in deceiving others. This is classified as attachment and ignorance, and causes you to practice wrong livelihood.
The eighth affliction is shamelessness. This is complete lack of propriety. Here, one's standards do not include the avoidance of evil actions. Shamelessness is classified as a combination of the three poisons and accompanies all root and branch emotional afflictions.
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The ninth is inconsiderateness. With regard to others you do not avoid evil actions. It is also manifest as ingratitude for the good things others have done for you, such as your parents or Lama. While shamelessness relates to yourself, inconsiderateness relates to others. It's also classified as a combination of the three poisons and accompanies all the afflictions.
Then there is concealment. This is covering up your faults to avoid being admonished by others to behave well. It is classified as a mixture of attachment and stupidity, and causes one to feel no remorse.
The next affliction is greed. It is caused by desire. Greed is in- tense clinging to possessions, and causes one continually to want to increase them. & the Buddha said, "Where there is great power there is great evil, where there is great wealth there is great greed. "
The twelfth of the subsidiary afflictions is vanity, a kind of pride. It is being attached to and delighted with one's good health, beauty, youth, good qualities, etc. It is like being intoxicated with oneself.
Then there is the thirteenth, lack offaith. This is a kind of stupidity tb:at causes one to have no interest in perfect objects-the practice of virtue and Dharma-and therefore one accomplishes nothing for oneself or others.
The fourteenth is laziness. Being attached to the pleasure of negative actions, you take no joy in the practice of virtue and think, "It's too difficult for my body and health. " Because this runs con- trary to diligence, you accomplish nothing.
Carelessness comes from the three poisons and laziness. You lose the ability to distinguish between what is good and bad, and therefore cannot take up virtuous actions and abandon evil ones. This lack of concern runs contrary to carefulness.
The next of the afflictions is forgetfulness: you cannot remember clearly virtuous objects. You come wholly under the in- fluence of the other emotions, and the mind becomes distracted. This kind of forgetfulness principally occurs during Dharma prac- tice, for example, when you're going for Refuge or engendering Bodhicitta and are not able to concentrate your mind on what you're doing, or even the meaning of it.
Seventeenth is lack of conscience. This is said to be a "distracted wisdom" because even though you realize what are the right things to do and even understand why they are right, your emotional afflictions prevent you from doing those things. You can't conduct your body, speech, and mind the way you want to when the time comes to do so. It causes moral failings.
Then there is the affliction calledfogginess, which is actually a form of ignorance. It is a state in which the body and mind feel very heavy and you are not able to visualize clearly or to concentrate. It makes you vulnerable to the various emotional afflictions.
There is also wildness that results from desire. You desire cer- tain things, and your mind runs after them; you're not able to stay in a state of serenity. It is a very strong tendency that is an obstacle to shi nay meditation.
Finally, there is distraction. It is classified as consisting of all three poisons. Here, the mind is constantly wandering in different directions and can't stay on any virtuous object. There are many dif- ferent kinds of distraction that are distinguished-internal, external and so forth.
Q. . Sometimes we speak simply of good and bad deeds, while at other times we hear that dualism is a wrong view. How does one reconcile this apparent contradiction?
A. If dualistic distinctions are made with a clear understanding of the law of interdependent origination, they can be useful, as when we differentiate good and bad on the relative level. It is essential, however, to ground these distinctions in the truth of emptiness. Once you lose your basic understanding of relativity and begin to hold the distinctions as real, you've fallen into a wrong view.
Q. . If negative states of mind seem to become stronger in the course of our practice, and even become overwhelming, is that the result of an error in practice, or is it a sign that the practice is taking effect? A. The practice of meditation is difficult. There are many things that occur in the mind. Sometimes negative aspects of mind seem to increase. This is simply a sign that your negativity is becoming clear to you. Tremendous upheaval occurs in the mind when you begin to meditate, and propensities that were previously latent become
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manifest. This doesn't mean that those propensities are increasing, but rather that you are becoming more aware of them.
Medz"tat'ion Pract'ice
Now we'll leave the discussion of the skandhas for a while and return to the meditation instructions given in the teachings of Kar- ma Chamay Rinpoche.
His third meditation is on the law of cause and effect; it is par- ticularly relevant to our discussion of the virtuous and unvirtuous occurrences of mind. His method is traced to the Indian Siddha Shawaripa, one of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas.
Imagine that in front of you is a huge mirror, like a vast televi- sion screen. In this mirror you can see distinctly the six realms of samsara. Think about the fact that after you die and enter the bar- do of Becoming, the force of your previous actions will determine the realm in which you must take rebirth.
Next, visualize Yama, the great Dharma King, on a large throne. Here Dharma refers particularly to laws-rules of conduct. Into his presence is brought someone who has committed many evil acts. From the right and left sides of Yama appear two people who are personifications of karma. One is white, the other black. The white figure speaks on behalf of the defendant, recalling all the vir- tuous things he or she has done: Dharma practice, and so forth. The black figure speaks to accuse the defendant of evil actions. The two argue like lawyers before a judge in a courtroom.
Meanwhile, Yama and the jury are scrutinizing a mirror which shows the actual truth of what the defendant has done in the past; they read a record of all previous deeds. They weigh these on a scale to determine which is heavier, virtue or evil.
Since the jury has authoritative records ? and can judge clearly, it's not possible to lie or to cover up the defenda:iif! > faults. And so the jury decides that this person has committed grave? misdeeds and will now have to go to the deepest hell.
Next a second defendant, a good person, is brought before Yama. Again the evidence is presented: the jury looks into the mir- ror, reads the records, weighs all the deeds; and again, there is no ly- ing or concealing. In this case, when all the evidence has been con-
sidered, even though there has been arguing on both sides, it seems clear that this person who has done virtuous actions is going to be reborn in the higher realms.
If one has a record of virtuous actions, a peaceful disposition, and accomplishment in developing the mind, no accuser can prove the person to be evil. Such a person cannot suffer the ill effects or obscurations that result from wrong deeds. All these appearances in the bardo are only manifestations of previous activity.
Meditate on these two scenes and apply them to yourself. How would you fare in such a situation? Contemplate the results of vir- tuous and evil deeds. Consider the fact that in this situation there is no posssibility of lying about any evil actions you have ever done. There is no one you can ask to help you at this point. Meditate on the certainty of the ripening of your karmic seeds and the inevitable appearance of their fruits. Resolve that when you meet the Dharma King, you won't be in the position of having to be ashamed of previous evil actions. If your activity in this life is virtuous, at the time of death there won't be any need to be ashamed or afraid, because you won't have any feeling of guilt.
This is a meditation from Shawaripa on the events that will oc- cur during the bardo of Becoming.
In Tibet, knowing about this was easy. Among us there were certain unusual people, such as one woman who was famous in my country. After being dead for about seven days, such people could, if nothing had been done to the corpse, come back to life. During those seven days these individuals might see the states of existence, the pure realms, and also the bardo, where they might witness the fates of many people. When they return to life they are able to relate what they have seen. These people are not like Western psychics; this is a somewhat different phenomenon-it's actual experience. Such people have related their experiences to great Lamas such as the Gyalwa Karmapa or Dudjom Rinpoche, and these Lamas have confirmed that their stories were authentic.
I have met one of them, and I can tell the difference between some foolish people I've met in America who claim all sorts of things, and someone who has actually had this kind of experience. You must practice much virtuous activity to be this sort of in- dividual. The person I knew was the mother of Tarjay Gyamtso, my
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root Lama. When my teacher was young, he knew a man who wasn't really much of a practitioner but had posed as a great Lama. My teacher asked his mother how this man had fared after death, in the bardo. My teacher's mother answered, "Oh, him? He wasn't a real Lama, was he? He wasn't a real monk, nor was he even an ethical and virtuous person. Right now, he's trying to communicate with his relatives, telling them that they should do good deeds so that they can avoid the trouble he is having. " In another case she told my teacher about a great Lama of that region, truly a great monk and practitioner, who died and had reached the Pure Realm of Sangdok Palri [zangs mdog dpal ri]. Both of these people in life had seemed to be Dharma people, but when they died the truth was known. When my teacher's mother herself died, her teacher, a great Lama named Garchen Tulku, performed the ritual of transference for her. Through the excellence of her intention and the power of this Lama, she was reborn in the eastern part of the country as a young boy who later became a monk.
In general, the result of practicing the Dharma is that one's future lives do not become worse, but naturally improve in accord- ance with one's practice.
Formation: The Fourth Skandha Continued
Now we return to the fifty-one formations constituting the fourth skandha. We have discussed the five omnipresent ones, the five that determine the object, the eleven virtuous ones, the six root emotional afflictions, and the twenty subsidiary emotional afflic- tions: altogether, forty-seven have been considered.
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diseases in the world were finding room in his flesh. For two months he had taken no solid food, and finally his doctors gave up hope. It was impossible for him to live, and the doctors thought the life? support systems should be disconnected.
But the Karmapa said, "No, I'm going to live. Leave them in place. " And he did live, astonishing the doctors, and remaining seemingly at ease in his situation- humorous, playful, smiling, as if he were rejoicing at everything his body suffered. Then I thought, with the clearest possible conviction, that the Karmapa had submit? ted to all this cutting, to the manifestation of all those diseases in his body, to the lack of food, in a quite intentional and voluntary way: he was deliberately suffering all of these diseases to help minimize the coming pains of war, disease, and famine, and in this way he was deliberately working to avert those terrible kalpas. For those of us present, his death was an unforgettable inspiration. It profoundly revealed the efficacy of the Dharma, and the fact that Enlighten? ment for the sake of others can actually be achieved.
Karma Chamay has given us an excellent way of meditating on death and impermanence. First, you enter again into the realm of the imagination. Visualize that you're alone on a vast plain, empty of all other beings. There are very high mountains, and there is the sound of water. Below the plain in a valley is a large river filled with sentient beings.
Next, the sun sets and it becomes very dark. You are fright? ened. Since you are in an unfamiliar place, you do not know where you are as you walk around in the dark. You become even more afraid. Suddenly you find yourself at the edge of a cliff, and in danger of falling into the river in the gorge below. You grasp at two clumps of grass with your two hands, which keep you from falling into the abyss. As you hang there in great fear, there appears at your right a little white mouse, and on the left a little black mouse that come out from the rocks. The white mouse begins to chew on the bunch of grass your right hand clutches, while the black mouse chews the bunch of grass your left hand holds. The clumps are becoming thinner and thinner. You are in a state of panic because you know that any second now you could fall into the river and drown. And you know the river is full of various creatures that could eat you.
At this point you will realize how negligent you have been in the practice of Dharma. Then you see Lama Chenrezi in the sky, and you make many prayers to him. Lama Chenrezi says, "Whoever is a sentient being has sickness, death, and suffering. The nature of everything is impermanence. When you attain freedom you will practice well. Pray to your Lama. " Then with faith, longing, and determination you pray intensely to Lama Chenrezi. At the moment the two mice finish the last blade of grass, light rays emanate from the heart of Lama Chenrezi and strike one's heart, purifying the obscurations of body, speech and mind. You are instantly reborn as Chenrezi in the pure land of Dewachen. Meditate with love and compassion. Inconveivable numbers of light rays emanate from your heart, touch all the beings of the six kinds, purify their sufferings, evils and obscurations, and guide them to Dewachen.
This meditation could be elaborated upon in many ways. The most important point is what benefits your mind. You should observe the results of the meditation and ascertain which sections of the sequence seem useful for your individual needs. You can em? phasize and spend more time on any one part. In particular, if you are a person with great pride, hatred, etc. , and find it difficult to practice Dharma, this meditation is very beneficial.
Formation: The Fourth Skandha Continued
Of the fifty-one formations, we have already discussed the first twenty-one, which included the five omnipresent ones, the five that determine the object, and the eleven virtuous ones.
Now we will consider the twenty-six unvirtuous mental occur? rences. There are six root emotional afflictions and twenty sub? sidiary emotional afflictions.
Of the six root afflictions only five are emotional afflictions, while the sixth, view, which is divided into five parts, is placed in this category for the purpose of Dharma explanation.
The root of all emotional affliction is ignorance. Ignorance here means not knowing about action and result, the true meaning and way of practice according to the Precious jewels. Not understanding these things is the source or foundation of all emo? tional afflictions. Ignorance itself is unable to perform any function. It obscures the understanding of actions and their results-that vir?
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tue leads to happiness and evil leads to suffering; it obscures the understanding of the Four Noble Truths, of Relative and of Ultimate Truth, and the excellent qualities of the Three Jewels. It obscures the understanding of impermanence and change. Because of all this, all the other afflictions come into being.
The second of the emotional afflictions is desire, which is the grasping at the deteriorating aggregates of the three realms. It pro- duces the suffering of existence and causes all the sentient beings of the six types to circle in samsara. It arises from the obscuration of ig- norance.
There are two types of desire. One is desire of desire, a desire for actual things among the three realms of samsara; it pertains to beings of the six types in the Desire Realm. In the two upper realms, the Form Realm and the Formless Realm, there isn't this manifest desire, but there is the desire for existence. The higher god-states such as infinite space, infinite consciousness, etc. , are the fruit of great merit obtained through samadhi-meditation. But because the grasping at an "I" has not been abandoned, those gods have not turned away from samsaric existence.
Thirdly, there's the emotional affliction of anger. Anger is the relentless desire to hurt other beings. It's impossible to be happy while you're angry, and so we consider it to be the origin of unhap- piness.
The fourth basic emotional affliction is pn? de, an attitude of inflated superiority supported by worldly views. It is thinking, "I'm great," "I'm a high person," "I have great qualities," "I have an ex- cellent form. " There are said to be seven kinds of pride. It prevents you from respecting others and causes you to be unhappy.
The fifth is doubt. It is being of two minds concerning the true meaning. You are not certain whether the Dharma is really true or not. You think, "This isn't true," "this isn't good. " Ignorance is very strong and trust impossible. You become unable to practice virtue and usually are drawn towards negative action.
The sixth is view. Here we mean negative views based on the emotional afflictions. There are views without any emotional afflic- tion, which are considered "Perfect View. " But the views we are discussing are all considered "wrong view. "
There are five types of view. The first is the view based on the perishable aggregates, the strong belief that in the five skandhas
there is actually a self. This view becomes the basis for all wrong views.
Second is the vz"ew that holds to extremes; this is the view that the self or the skandhas exist permanently (etemalism) or that they don't exist at all (nihilism). Both views block the arising of certainty in the Middle Path-the Ultimate View.
The third is the inverted view, which denies that which is real such as the truth of karma, cause and effect, and the Three Jewels. Whoever has this view is not inclined towards virtuous activity.
That completes the three negative views. Then there are the two forms of "holding as supreme"- holdi'ng these views as supreme and holding conduct based on them as supreme. The first of these, the fourth of the wrong views, is the attitude that your erroneous view is the very best. In this case, you are completely convinced that a view such as the denial of karma is true, good, perfect, and you don't look at any other view. Since all that concerns body and speech is a projection of mind, you always need to examine with awareness the validity of your view and not accept it dumbly.
The second of these is holding one~ morality and conduct as supreme. This means holding to conduct and morality that is not conducive to liberation. This kind of view is not beneficial for oneself or others. Still one holds it as being the very best and all other moral disciplines as being untnie and bad.
Because these two-holding one's view as supreme and holding one's morality and conduct as supreme-involve clinging to the five skandhas, they are like a rope that binds you tightly. All activity is exhausting and fruitless. Even if an activity is engaged in with a lot of energy, it is meaningless. These five views are not a means of liberation from samsara and therefore not a real path.
According to the teachings of the Buddha, to determine whether a view is true or not, real or not, you need to examine your own mind. An individual must accomplish liberation in the Dharma by himself. Therefore, you must always decide for yourself whether a view leads to liberation or not. When it does, then you will also understand what is really beneficial for oneself and others now as well as in the future. In short, you always have to use your own in- telligence to investigate these things for yourself. If you don't con- stantly do this, and instead merely cling to a view, you can never at- tain freedom from samsara.
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Fundamentally, the teaching of the Buddha is to practice vir- tue and abandon evil. By using your own intelligence to examine what is right and what is wrong, and to develop this understanding through experience, produces the faith of trust.
We have obtained a human body. Because ofthis, a teacher-a Lama, Friend of Virtue-is needed to explain the mind in words you can understand-human terms-and to guide you. But you always have to decide yourself whether what the teacher says is true, and whether it really works or not: if it is going to be of benefit, who it will benefit, how it will benefit, and when it will benefit. You must always examine such questions, because if you just listen to the teacher and agree automatically just because it is his word, then you're no different from an animal. You have to use your in- telligence to understand the truth.
Once you really understand the meaning and nature of things well, and have reached a decision as to what is true, you should feel confidence in it. There is no need for doubt and a lot of additional activity.
When you're involved in Dharma practice or Dharma work it is not an instantaneous process, where you do something and get an immediate result. You have to look at the situation in its entirety: what work was done before and what kind of fruit has come, what kind or result comes from perfecting oneself. For example, in the case of Milarepa, a great Tibetan Siddha, and many others like him, we have to consider what work was done previously, what work was done in between, what experiences occurred, what benefit for other beings there was, and what the situation at the time of death was. Dharma practice must be considered from a very broad perspective. Therefore, examining the characteristics of views is very important.
Finally, there are several ways of distinguishing types of views: one is innate, naturally present, such as the view of the perishable aggregates based on the self and the five skandhas; the other is ac- quired through investigation or instruction by a teacher such as the two kinds of Holding as Supreme. Actions based on acquired views are easily abandoned, but actions based on innate views are much more difficult to let go of. According to the Buddha's teaching, the one hundred and fourteen acquired views are abandoned through understanding the meaning of things and developing certainty. The three hundred and sixty innate views only meditation can dispel.
Q. . What is an example of an innate view?
A. It's the view of clinging to a self-the view of the perishable ag- gregates. Clinging to an "I" in the five skandhas, you think, "I'm sick," "I'm in pain," "I'm unhappy," "I'm happy. " Or "I feel," "I perceive," "I think. " These views are always grounded in clinging to an "I" in what is only the five skandhas.
An example of an acquired view would be the different doc- trines of eternalism and nihilism that are learned or based on deduc- tion or inference. Thus, if you have the belief that each person was created by someone, then you will believe that someone must have created the Buddha, even though there is no evidence for that view. That would be an example of an acquired view.
Of the five emotional afflictions, the three major ones, ig- norance, desire, and hatred, are all inherent. The other two, pride and doubt, are acquired. For example, pride may arise from hear- ing yourself praised: "You're great," "You have excellent qualities," "You're beautiful. " One comes to acquire this view of oneself, too. Likewise, being taught that something isn't true could be cause for acquiring doubts. Holding your own views as supreme is also an ac- quired view.
Q. . You said that the main injunction ofthe Buddha's teachings is to test and re-test our views with our own intellect, and that blind faith is to be avoided. Now on some levels of the path, especially the Vaj- rayana, it is not possible for beginners to fathom the answer to all their questions. Faith is said to be extremely imponant and the root of accomplishment here. Could you say something about this son of faith?
A. Whichever vehicle you're practicing, the Hinayana, Mahayana, or Vajrayana, there is no difference-you need the faculty of ex- amination. The Buddha said, "My teaching is like gold: melt it, pound it, cut it-it is always excellent. " So the teaching ofthe Bud- dha can be examined as much as you want, and it will still be true.
Thus all the vehicles are the same in that examining their meaning it will only develop your understanding; as a result, your certainty will allow you to work one-pointedly. The Vajrayana is no dif- ferent. You need to examine: how does one train on this path? what is the fruit of this?
On the Vajrayana path, you must also evaluate the teacher. When the Lama explains the Dharma, does it benefit you? Does it
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benefit sentient beings? Just because it is the Vajrayana Dharma, you can't just think: "It's the Vajrayanal" and set aside any examina? tion. You have to determine whether the Lama has abandoned per- sonal gain and is presenting the teaching for the benefit of all sen? tient beings, leading them on the path to liberation from suffering, and towards Buddhahood. One must examine this carefully; just assuming that because it's the Vajrayana one can't examine the teacher is the wrong attitude. Proper examination is very important. Trust results from it. Certainly you can investigate the great Lamas, like Kalu Rinpoche, Dezhung Rinpoche,* Ling Rinpoche,t and Dudjom Rinpoche. ~ great teachen of all the four schools, and find that they are indeed worthy Lamas. So, even in the Vajrayana, there is no such thing as faith without examination.
If you discover that a teacher is not satisfactory you are always free to leave and find one who can benefit your practice. There are many Lamas who can do so. Once you have investigated and found the Lama to be qualified, then you should put your faith in him. And after you have received profound instructions from a teacher, you can't disparage him. You have established an important con- nection with him, and to criticize him at that point would be a negative act that will destroy your Dharma practice.
Q. . Is it possible that some people do not make any examination whatsoever, yet happen to hold the right point of view? Can you hold blindly and uncritically to the real truth?
A. It is not possible to have attachment to the perfect view, since someone who has the perfect view must have real understanding and experience. Once you have them, there naturally can be no attach- ment or mental blindness.
It is said, "If there is grasping, then it is not "perfect view. " This comes from the famous Shenpa Shidrel [zhen pa bzhi 'bral], a teaching of the Sakyapas consisting of four venes:
If you are attached to this life, You are not a Dharma person.
? A contemporary master of the Sakya lineage, who has taught for many years at the University of Washington.
tLate head of the Geliigpa Lineage and senior tutor to the Dalai Lama.
:I:Chief representative of the Nyingmapa lineage, with numerous Dharma centers in
the West.
If you are attached to samsara, You don't have renunciation.
If you are attached to your own benefit, You don't have Bodhicitta.
If there is grasping,
You don't have the view.
Q. .
Does the tenn "middle path" refer to avoiding the extreme views of nihilism and etemalism? What exactly is it?
A. The middle path (Madhyamaka) rejects both extremes, both the view that says, "Yes, something is," and the view that says, "No, something is not. " You can't definitely assert that something is, because ultimately nothing is seen by the Buddhas. You also can't assert that nothing exists, because the mind is the basis for samsara, the lower realms, and so on. The Middle view is not a synthesis of these opposites, however, because it transcends existence and non- existence.
The basis of the middle path is interdependence-the union of the two truths, the relative and absolute. The path itself is the perfection of merit, which deteriorates, and primordial knowledge, which does not deteriorate. The fruit is the union of the two Kayas-the Rupakaya and the Dharmakaya. The Dharmakaya is the realization of the mind's essence, and benefits oneself. It is the attainment of the ultimate truth. The Dharmakaya doesn't benefit sentient beings directly. Through its power come the two aspects of the Rupakaya: the Samboghakaya and the Nirmanakaya, like light rays from the sun, which function to benefit sentient beings. The Rupakaya is the attainment of the relative truth.
Q. . About testing the truth for oneself-some truths, like that of cause and effect (kanna) don't manifest fully in one lifetime. They can't really be tested except over a period of several lifetimes. Some karma does manifest itself in one lifetime, when the fruits of a good or bad deed take effect, yet many other situations need several lifetimes to come to fruition. How can you test the truth of karma if you can't remember your past lives?
A. Because of the obscuring power of ignorance, it is difficult to understand and trust the full workings of cause and effect. But the truth of the karmic process can be demonstrated in a general way
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through examples and their implications, even though it is not always possible to actually see the precise effects of everything that you do. For example, a mother and father might have five children, each very different from the others. Their ideas are different, their activity is different, their physical characteristics are different, and their situations are completely different. The immediate cir- cumstances, their manner of birth, their environment are clearly the same for each of the children. Yet their lives are different. Likewise, in the world there are all sorts of variations in health, longevity, hap- piness, and so on. All such variations are attributable to karma. If you continually examine the way things occur you will understand something of cause and effect. A day or two is not enough to see results. This is because the obscuration of ignorance is very power- ful.
The Buddha said, "To understand your previous actions look at your present life; to understand your future life look at your pres- ent actions. " If you practice virtue, it will have a good result; if you do evil, the result will be correspondingly negative. To believe precisely and totally in this law is very difficult. We gain conviction through examples and reasoning, but to see the process in detail is difficult. Only a Buddha can know exactly the nature of every single cause and every single result.
In this life if you train in school from the time you're young, you can obtain a good job later on. If you train well at anything the results are good. Likewise one can infer that if the present life is used well, the future lives will be good, although it may be difficult to see. If one's intentions are good and one wishes to benefit others, then this will be a cause for virtuous karma. If intentions are bad, then they'll be a negative cause.
The Buddha said, "Our own intentions are the best way to be kind to ourselves. " Through our good thoughts and positive actions towards others, our own situation continues to improve lifetime after lifetime until we reach Buddhahood.
Q. . When you listed the five emotional afflictions the fifth one was doubt. Isn't the fifth one usually jealousy?
A. In this particular system the fifth obscuration is doubt. In other systems, jealousy is listed here. Jealousy is not a root affliction, but a
subsidiary one. Jealousy is dependent upon hatred, desire and pride, and is therefore a "branch" emotion, whereas doubt, although related to stupidity, is a "principal" one.
The first of the twenty subsidiary emotional afflictions is wrath, which is internal anger that has increased over time and readies one actually to harm other beings through actions such as beating.
The second, malice, is a variety of internal anger. In this case the intention to harm someone has become very powerful and con- tinuous. You can't let go of it and it makes you unforgiving.
The third is rage. When the causes of both wrath and malice become unbearable, you show it-your face turns red and you speak harsh, angry words.
Then, fourth is vindictz"veness, another kind of internal anger that is not expressed. It is the absence of love and compassion. Out- wardly you might appear gentle but inside you seek revenge. Vindic- tiveness causes one to despise others.
The fifth isjealousy. Jealousy is also classified as a kind of inter- nal anger. It is caused by attachment to acquisitions and honor. You can't bear for others to have good things or qualities. Jealousy agitates your mind greatly and, being so unhappy, you can never let it rest. Jealousy arouses anger and causes you to lose much of the merit that may have been gained previously.
Then, sixth, there is deceitfulness. Being attached to acquisi- tions and honor, you hide your faults. Constantly doing this,? you are engaged in a lot of crookedness. This is classified as a combination of desire, anger, and stupidity. It becomes an obstacle to receiving instructions from a teacher.
Seventh is hypocrisy. In order to gain possessions or respect you pretend to have qualities you don't have. Because those qualities are not factual, you are involved in deceiving others. This is classified as attachment and ignorance, and causes you to practice wrong livelihood.
The eighth affliction is shamelessness. This is complete lack of propriety. Here, one's standards do not include the avoidance of evil actions. Shamelessness is classified as a combination of the three poisons and accompanies all root and branch emotional afflictions.
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The ninth is inconsiderateness. With regard to others you do not avoid evil actions. It is also manifest as ingratitude for the good things others have done for you, such as your parents or Lama. While shamelessness relates to yourself, inconsiderateness relates to others. It's also classified as a combination of the three poisons and accompanies all the afflictions.
Then there is concealment. This is covering up your faults to avoid being admonished by others to behave well. It is classified as a mixture of attachment and stupidity, and causes one to feel no remorse.
The next affliction is greed. It is caused by desire. Greed is in- tense clinging to possessions, and causes one continually to want to increase them. & the Buddha said, "Where there is great power there is great evil, where there is great wealth there is great greed. "
The twelfth of the subsidiary afflictions is vanity, a kind of pride. It is being attached to and delighted with one's good health, beauty, youth, good qualities, etc. It is like being intoxicated with oneself.
Then there is the thirteenth, lack offaith. This is a kind of stupidity tb:at causes one to have no interest in perfect objects-the practice of virtue and Dharma-and therefore one accomplishes nothing for oneself or others.
The fourteenth is laziness. Being attached to the pleasure of negative actions, you take no joy in the practice of virtue and think, "It's too difficult for my body and health. " Because this runs con- trary to diligence, you accomplish nothing.
Carelessness comes from the three poisons and laziness. You lose the ability to distinguish between what is good and bad, and therefore cannot take up virtuous actions and abandon evil ones. This lack of concern runs contrary to carefulness.
The next of the afflictions is forgetfulness: you cannot remember clearly virtuous objects. You come wholly under the in- fluence of the other emotions, and the mind becomes distracted. This kind of forgetfulness principally occurs during Dharma prac- tice, for example, when you're going for Refuge or engendering Bodhicitta and are not able to concentrate your mind on what you're doing, or even the meaning of it.
Seventeenth is lack of conscience. This is said to be a "distracted wisdom" because even though you realize what are the right things to do and even understand why they are right, your emotional afflictions prevent you from doing those things. You can't conduct your body, speech, and mind the way you want to when the time comes to do so. It causes moral failings.
Then there is the affliction calledfogginess, which is actually a form of ignorance. It is a state in which the body and mind feel very heavy and you are not able to visualize clearly or to concentrate. It makes you vulnerable to the various emotional afflictions.
There is also wildness that results from desire. You desire cer- tain things, and your mind runs after them; you're not able to stay in a state of serenity. It is a very strong tendency that is an obstacle to shi nay meditation.
Finally, there is distraction. It is classified as consisting of all three poisons. Here, the mind is constantly wandering in different directions and can't stay on any virtuous object. There are many dif- ferent kinds of distraction that are distinguished-internal, external and so forth.
Q. . Sometimes we speak simply of good and bad deeds, while at other times we hear that dualism is a wrong view. How does one reconcile this apparent contradiction?
A. If dualistic distinctions are made with a clear understanding of the law of interdependent origination, they can be useful, as when we differentiate good and bad on the relative level. It is essential, however, to ground these distinctions in the truth of emptiness. Once you lose your basic understanding of relativity and begin to hold the distinctions as real, you've fallen into a wrong view.
Q. . If negative states of mind seem to become stronger in the course of our practice, and even become overwhelming, is that the result of an error in practice, or is it a sign that the practice is taking effect? A. The practice of meditation is difficult. There are many things that occur in the mind. Sometimes negative aspects of mind seem to increase. This is simply a sign that your negativity is becoming clear to you. Tremendous upheaval occurs in the mind when you begin to meditate, and propensities that were previously latent become
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manifest. This doesn't mean that those propensities are increasing, but rather that you are becoming more aware of them.
Medz"tat'ion Pract'ice
Now we'll leave the discussion of the skandhas for a while and return to the meditation instructions given in the teachings of Kar- ma Chamay Rinpoche.
His third meditation is on the law of cause and effect; it is par- ticularly relevant to our discussion of the virtuous and unvirtuous occurrences of mind. His method is traced to the Indian Siddha Shawaripa, one of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas.
Imagine that in front of you is a huge mirror, like a vast televi- sion screen. In this mirror you can see distinctly the six realms of samsara. Think about the fact that after you die and enter the bar- do of Becoming, the force of your previous actions will determine the realm in which you must take rebirth.
Next, visualize Yama, the great Dharma King, on a large throne. Here Dharma refers particularly to laws-rules of conduct. Into his presence is brought someone who has committed many evil acts. From the right and left sides of Yama appear two people who are personifications of karma. One is white, the other black. The white figure speaks on behalf of the defendant, recalling all the vir- tuous things he or she has done: Dharma practice, and so forth. The black figure speaks to accuse the defendant of evil actions. The two argue like lawyers before a judge in a courtroom.
Meanwhile, Yama and the jury are scrutinizing a mirror which shows the actual truth of what the defendant has done in the past; they read a record of all previous deeds. They weigh these on a scale to determine which is heavier, virtue or evil.
Since the jury has authoritative records ? and can judge clearly, it's not possible to lie or to cover up the defenda:iif! > faults. And so the jury decides that this person has committed grave? misdeeds and will now have to go to the deepest hell.
Next a second defendant, a good person, is brought before Yama. Again the evidence is presented: the jury looks into the mir- ror, reads the records, weighs all the deeds; and again, there is no ly- ing or concealing. In this case, when all the evidence has been con-
sidered, even though there has been arguing on both sides, it seems clear that this person who has done virtuous actions is going to be reborn in the higher realms.
If one has a record of virtuous actions, a peaceful disposition, and accomplishment in developing the mind, no accuser can prove the person to be evil. Such a person cannot suffer the ill effects or obscurations that result from wrong deeds. All these appearances in the bardo are only manifestations of previous activity.
Meditate on these two scenes and apply them to yourself. How would you fare in such a situation? Contemplate the results of vir- tuous and evil deeds. Consider the fact that in this situation there is no posssibility of lying about any evil actions you have ever done. There is no one you can ask to help you at this point. Meditate on the certainty of the ripening of your karmic seeds and the inevitable appearance of their fruits. Resolve that when you meet the Dharma King, you won't be in the position of having to be ashamed of previous evil actions. If your activity in this life is virtuous, at the time of death there won't be any need to be ashamed or afraid, because you won't have any feeling of guilt.
This is a meditation from Shawaripa on the events that will oc- cur during the bardo of Becoming.
In Tibet, knowing about this was easy. Among us there were certain unusual people, such as one woman who was famous in my country. After being dead for about seven days, such people could, if nothing had been done to the corpse, come back to life. During those seven days these individuals might see the states of existence, the pure realms, and also the bardo, where they might witness the fates of many people. When they return to life they are able to relate what they have seen. These people are not like Western psychics; this is a somewhat different phenomenon-it's actual experience. Such people have related their experiences to great Lamas such as the Gyalwa Karmapa or Dudjom Rinpoche, and these Lamas have confirmed that their stories were authentic.
I have met one of them, and I can tell the difference between some foolish people I've met in America who claim all sorts of things, and someone who has actually had this kind of experience. You must practice much virtuous activity to be this sort of in- dividual. The person I knew was the mother of Tarjay Gyamtso, my
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root Lama. When my teacher was young, he knew a man who wasn't really much of a practitioner but had posed as a great Lama. My teacher asked his mother how this man had fared after death, in the bardo. My teacher's mother answered, "Oh, him? He wasn't a real Lama, was he? He wasn't a real monk, nor was he even an ethical and virtuous person. Right now, he's trying to communicate with his relatives, telling them that they should do good deeds so that they can avoid the trouble he is having. " In another case she told my teacher about a great Lama of that region, truly a great monk and practitioner, who died and had reached the Pure Realm of Sangdok Palri [zangs mdog dpal ri]. Both of these people in life had seemed to be Dharma people, but when they died the truth was known. When my teacher's mother herself died, her teacher, a great Lama named Garchen Tulku, performed the ritual of transference for her. Through the excellence of her intention and the power of this Lama, she was reborn in the eastern part of the country as a young boy who later became a monk.
In general, the result of practicing the Dharma is that one's future lives do not become worse, but naturally improve in accord- ance with one's practice.
Formation: The Fourth Skandha Continued
Now we return to the fifty-one formations constituting the fourth skandha. We have discussed the five omnipresent ones, the five that determine the object, the eleven virtuous ones, the six root emotional afflictions, and the twenty subsidiary emotional afflic- tions: altogether, forty-seven have been considered.
