Download Tibetan Buddhist Thought: Exploring Reality

Tibetan Buddhism
THE MYTH AND MAGIC
OF VAJRAYANA
Three Turnings of the Wheel
 First Turning: in Deer Park, Sarnath
Teaching: 4 Noble Truths
Basic Vehicle/Hinayana
Practitioners: Shravakas (Listeners) and Pratyekabuddhas
(Solitary Realizers); Fruition: Arhat (“Foe-destroyer”)
 Second Turning: at Vulture Peak Mountain, Rajgrih
Teaching: Emptiness (shunyata) and compassion (bodhichitta)
Great Vehicle/Mahayana
Practitioners: Bodhisattvas; Fruition: Buddha
 Third Turning: at various times and places
Teaching: Mantra and buddha nature
Diamond Vehicle/Vajrayana
“Result vehicle”: Taking the result as the path
The Four Noble Truths
 1. The Truth of Suffering (dukha)
Birth, old age, sickness, and death
 2. The Truth of the Origin of Suffering
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Karma and ignorance (avidya, marigpa)
 3. The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
 4. The Truth of the Path
The Eightfold Noble Path
 1. Right view
 2. Right intention
 3. Right speech
 4. Right action
 5. Right livelihood
 6. Right effort
 7. Right mindfulness
 8. Right concentration
Three Higher Trainings
 Ethics:
refraining from 3 physical non-virtues: killing, stealing,
sexual misconduct
4 verbal non-virtues: lying, divisiveness, harsh
speech, meaningless chatter,
3 mental non-virtues: greed, wish to harm, and
wrong view
 Concentration/meditation
Shamatha (calm abiding): Analytical meditation and
resting meditation
Vipashyana (clear seeing)
 Wisdom (Skt. prajna, Tib. sherab)
Tibetan
Canon:
“Kangyur”
The Words
of the
Buddha
Mahayana (Great Vehicle)
 Second turning of the wheel
 Key teachings: Shunyata (emptiness or openness)
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and bodhichitta (heart or mind of enlightenment)
Practitioners: Bodhisattvas
The path: The five paths and the ten levels (bhumis)
Literature: Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom)
Fruition: Buddhahood
Two Types of Obscurations and Identity
 Emotional obscurations
Identity of the individual
selflessness of the person
- Imputed self
- Instinctive self
 Cognitive obscurations
Identity of phenomena (dharma)
identitylessness of things
Bodhichitta
 “The heart of awakened mind”
 Def: The wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of
all sentient beings.
 Aspirational Bodhichitta:
The four immeasurables –
love, compassion, joy, equanimity
 Engaged Bodhichitta:
The six perfections:
Generosity, discipline, patience, joyful diligence,
meditation, wisdom
Four Immeasurables
 Immeasurable love: wishing happiness and the causes of
happiness
- Antidote to enmity (and attachment)
 Immeasurable compassion: wishing freedom from
suffering
- Antidote to anger (and pity)
 Immeasurable joy: wishing all sentient beings never to be
separated from happiness
- Antidote to jealousy
 Immeasurable equanimity
- Antidote to indifference and prejudice (and
clinging)
Samsara and Nirvana
 Samsara (Skt.; lit. “wandering”)
= Cycle of rebirth
 Nirvana (Skt.; lit. “blowing out, extinguishing”)
Spread of Vajrayana in Tibet
 3rd-11th century development of Tantra in India
 Early transmission in Tibet: 7th cent.
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= Nyingma School
King Songtsen Gampo (609-649?)
Trisong Detsen (754.797)
Ralpachen (815-836)
Second dissemination (from 978 onwards)
Rinchen Sangpo, Atisha, (founder of Kadampa)
= eventually Sarma (“New”) Schools
Later Dissemination
 Ascent of Mongols in 12th century = priest-patron
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relationship with Sakya
1249 treaty Godan – Sakya Pandita
1st Compilation of Kangyur and Tengyur
Tsongkhapa (1357-1419)
15th century: Gelukpa ascent to power
1578 Sonam Gyatso meets Altan Khan = establishment of
Dalai Lama title
5th Dalai Lama (1617-1682), “Great Fifth,” First Dalai
Lama to rule over a unified Tibet with Mongol protection
The Wheel of Life: The 12 Links
The 12 Links of Dependent
Origination
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1. Ignorance
2. Karma/formations
3. Consciousness
4. Name and form
5. 6 senses
6. Contact
7. Feeling
8. Craving
9. Grasping
10. Becoming
11. Rebirth
12. Old age and death
Metaphor
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Blind man
Potter
Monkey
Boat w/ 4 passengers
House w/ 6 openings
Couple kissing
Man w/arrow in eye
Man takes drink
Man picks fruit
Pregnant woman
Childbirth
Corpse
3 Kayas (Bodies)
 Dharmakaya (“Embodiment of Truth”)
Ultimate state of nirvana; no form
 Sambhogakaya (“Embodiment of Enjoyment”)
Form of light; not accessible to ordinary beings
 Nirmanakaya (“Embodiment of Manifestation”)
Physical emanation
3 Types of Nirmanakaya
(acc. to Ray)
 1) Fully enlightened Buddha, e.g. Buddha
Shakyamuni
 2) Realized human being, e.g. tulkus
 3) Created objects, e.g. stupa
Philosophical system (tenet)
 Drubtha (grub mtha’)
 siddhanta
 “established/final conclusion”
Three Prajnas (or Wisdom Tools)
 Wisdom of Listening
 Wisdom of Contemplation
 Wisdom of Meditation
The Four Seals:
What Makes You a Buddhist or Not a Buddhist
 1. Everything compounded is
impermanent.
 2. Everything tainted is suffering.
 3. All phenomena are empty and devoid
of self.
 4. Nirvana is peace.
Four Buddhist Approaches
YANA
SCHOOL OF
PHILOSOPHY
KEY MASTERS
Hinayana
Vaibhashika
(Tib. chedrak mawa,
Particularist)
Vasubandhu (4th century)
Hinayana
Sautrantika (Tib. dodépa,
Followers of Sutra):
- According to scripture
- According to reasoning
Vasubandhu
Mahayana
Chittamatra
(Tib. Sem tsampa,
Mentalist)/Yogachara
(Tib. naljor chöpa,
Practitioners of Yoga)
Asaoga (4th century)
Vasubandhu
Mahayana
Madhyamaka (Tib. Uma,
Middle Way)
-Svatantrika
(Uma rang gyüpa)
Nagarjuna (2nd century)
Bhavaviveka (500-570)
Sāntarakrita (700-785)
Candrakirti (600-650)
Dignaga (480-540 CE)
Dharmakirti (7th century)
The Two Truths
“The doctrines that Buddha taught are based upon two truths:
Worldly conventional truths and truths that are ultimate
objects.
Those who do not know the distinction between these two truths
Do not know the profound suchness in Buddha’s teachings.”
Nagarjuna, Treatise on the Middle Way
 Conventional truth
(samvpti-satya, kundzob denpa)
 Ultimate truth
(paramartha satya, döndam denpa)
The Two Truths for the Vaibharika
“When objects are destroyed or mentally dissected,
They can no longer be identified by the mind.
Such things like pots or water, are relative;
All else besides is ultimately existent.”
Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakosha
5 Skandhas (Aggregates)
= What constitutes a person
 Form
- Outer form: E.g. five elements: wind, fire, etc.
- Inner form: the body and its organs
 Perception: The sensory perceptions
 Feeling: Positive, negative, or neutral
 Formation: mainly thoughts/concepts (51 types)
 Consciousness: 6 consciousnesses of eye, ear, nose,
tongue, touch, and mental perceptions
The Two Truths of the Sautrantika
“Here, what is genuinely able to perform a function
Is what genuinely exists.
Everything else is seemingly existent.
These are explained as specifically characterized and
generally characterized (chi dön) phenomena.”
Dharmakirti, Commentary on Valid Cognition
Sautrantika (Followers of Sutra)
 Relative truth: Generally characterized (concepts)
 Absolute truth: Specifically characterized (the
objects we directly perceive)
Concepts are not problematic in themselves – it is our
confusion about them. We do not see concepts
accurately, just as they are.
Sautrantika
 Sautrantika following scripture
 Sautrantika following reasoning (Dharmakirti and
Dignaga)
Perception is a two-step process: In the first
moment, the senses perceive the object directly,
without any concepts. In the second moment,
concepts enter in and we label.
Direct Perception (acc to Sautrantika)
as opposed to inference
 Sensory perception (non-conceptual)
 Sense consciousness
 Self-awareness
 Yogic perception
Main Points (Sautrantika)
 Consciousness is self-aware (rang rig) and other-
aware (shen rig)
 We perceive the external world indirectly through
mental representations
 There is a clear distinction made between perception
and concepts
 The three times are imputed.
Four Buddhist Approaches
YANA
SCHOOL OF
PHILOSOPHY
KEY MASTERS
Hinayana
Vaibhashika
(Tib. chedrak mawa,
Particularist)
Vasubandhu (4th century)
Hinayana
Sautrantika (Tib. dodépa,
Followers of Sutra):
- According to scripture
- According to reasoning
Vasubandhu
Mahayana
Chittamatra
(Tib. Sem tsampa,
Mentalist)/Yogachara
(Tib. naljor chöpa,
Practitioners of Yoga)
Asaoga (4th century)
Vasubandhu
Mahayana
Madhyamaka (Tib. Uma,
Middle Way)
-Svatantrika
(Uma rang gyüpa)
Nagarjuna (2nd century)
Bhavaviveka (500-570)
Shāntarakrita (700-785)
Chandrakirti (600-650)
Dignaga (480-540 CE)
Dharmakirti (7th century)
Does the External World Exist?
 Vaibhashika: The partless particle is real and the
momentless moment is real.
 Sautrantika: I perceive it, so it must exist.
 Chittamatra: Only mind exists, the external world is
illusory like a dream.
 Madhyamaka: Conventionally, there is no argument
with ordinary people. Ultimately, things are neither
real nor unreal, but interdependent.
Something is ultimately real when it is
 Permanent (takpa)
 Singular (chikpu)
 Independent (rangwang)
Mind Only
“The … realms of existence are merely mind.”
Buddha, in the Perfection of Wisdom
(Prajnaparamita) in 8,000 Verses
“The world is led by mind
And drawn by mind.
All phenomena are controlled
By one phenomenon, mind.”
Buddha, in the Collection of Related Teachings
Refuting the Partless Particle
“When six other particles are joined to it,
The subtle particle will have six parts.
If the six all simply converge together,
Then even compounds will be infinitesimal.”
Vasubandhu, Twenty Verses
Eight Types of Consciousness
1-5) Five types of consciousness of the senses:
• Consciousness of the eye
• Consciousness of the ear
• Consciousness of the nose
• Consciousness of the tongue
• Consciousness of the body
6) Mental consciousness
7) Afflicted consciousness or emotional mind: the subtle
grasping which produces all the ignorance, destructive
emotions and confusion of samsara.
 8) Allground consciousness (alaya): it is neutral, neither
positive nor negative.
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Main Points of Chittamatra
 No material objects can ultimately be established,
only mind.
 There is no duality between perceiver and what is
perceived.
 To establish all things as being the mind destroys the
whole mechanism of samsara and thus leads to
liberation.
Three Natures (Chittamatra)
Imputed nature (kun tag): the false, that which is
labeled or projected, e.g. the self, “mine”, names, etc.
e.g. Thinking Robert de Niro is really the Godfather
Dependent nature (shen wang):
mind and mental events of the beings in the three realms,
the perception of the eight types of consciousnesses,
sense objects
e.g. The images, colors, movements on the screen
Ultimate nature (yong drup): the completely existent
Self-awareness, nondual cognition devoid of object and
subject
e.g. The light bulb in the film projector that makes
everything else appear
Chittamatra’s Two Truths
“Perceived objects and perceiving subjects’ duality is
relative.
Consciousness that is empty of duality is genuine.
This is the presentation of the mind-only school.”
Jamgon Kongtrul, Treasury of Knowledge
“The whole purpose of Madhyamaka
is to prove
that everything we think is wrong.”
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
No View, No Fault
“If I had a position,
Then I would be at fault,
But because I have no position,
I can only be without fault.”
Nagarjuna, Refutation of Objections, Verse 29
Ten Questions the Buddha
Answered With Silence
 Is the universe eternal,
 not eternal,
 finite,
 or infinite?
 After death, does a Buddha continue to exist,
 not continue to exist,
 both,
 or neither?
 Are the body and the “self” the same entity,
 totally separate and different entities?
Shunyata
 Def: emptiness of inherent existence
 Three fundamental principles to prove shunyata:
 a) Impermanence and change
 b) Lack of unitary existence (nothing is just one, self-
contained entity, everything is composed of many
parts and particles)
 c) Lack of independent existence (for example,
things are defined in relation to each other)
Beyond Existence and Non-existence
“Existence” is the view of permanence,
“Non-existence” is the view of extinction,
Therefore, the wise do not abide
Either in existence or in non-existence.
Nagarjuna, Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way
Wisdom
“When real and unreal both
Are absent from before the mind
Nothing else remains for mind to do
But rest in utter peace, from concepts free.”
Shantideva, Way of the Bodhisattva
The Five Great Madhyamika Arguments
 The investigation of the essential nature: ‘neither one
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nor many’
The investigation of causes: the diamond splinters
(or vajra slivers)
The investigation of results: refuting existent or nonexistent results
The investigation of both causes and results
The investigation of interdependence
The Four Extremes
“There is no existence nor non-existence,
Neither both nor not both.
Those who are free from the four extremes
Are referred to as “Madhyamikas”.”
Ornament of the Middle Way
Interdependence
“There is not a single thing
That does not arise interdependently.
Therefore there is not a single thing
That is not emptiness.”
Nagarjuna
Arising: Examining the Cause
 If things truly exist,
 they have to be produced, or arise, either from
themselves,
 from something other than themselves,
 from both of these, or
 Without a cause.
Refutation
“Not from self, not from other,
Not from both and not from neither—
Not from any entity at all anywhere,
Is there ever any production.”
Nagarjuna, Fundamental Verses of the Middle Way
“Since things do no arise from self, other, both, nor
without cause,
They have no inherent nature at all.”
Chandrakirti
Shunyata = Possibilities
“If emptiness is possible,
Then everything is possible,
But if emptiness is impossible,
Then nothing else is possible either.”
Nagarjuna, Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way
Divisions of Madhyamaka
SCHOOL OF
PHILOSOPHY
Madhyamaka
KEY MASTERS
“Middle Way”
Nagarjuna (2nd cent)
Aryadeva (3rd cent)
Prasangika
“Consequentialist”
Buddhapalita (6th cent)
Chandrakirti (600-659)
Shantideva (8th cent)
Svatantrika
“Autonomous School”
Bhavaviveka (500-570)
Rangtong
“Self-Empty”
Shentong
“Other-Empty”
Yogachara
Synthesis of Chittamatra
and Madhyamaka
SUBSCHOOLS
Shantarakshita (700-785)
Kamalashila
Why Holding on to a Self Leads to Suffering
“When there is a self, one believes there is other.
From these images of self and other come attachment
and aversion.
As a result of getting wrapped up in these,
All possible faults arise.”
Dharmakirti
Perfection of Wisdom
“Form is emptiness,
Emptiness is form.
Form is no other than emptiness,
Emptiness is no other than form.”
From the Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Wisdom
Interdependence: Beyond 8 Extremes
“Everything that arises interdependently is
Unceasing and unborn,
Neither non-existing nor everlasting,
Neither coming nor going,
Neither several in meaning nor with a single meaning.”
Nagarjuna, Introduction to Fundamental Verses of the
Middle Way
Fruition
“What is without abandonment, without attainment,
Without annihilation, without permanence,
Without cessation, and without arising
Is said to be nirvana.”
Nagarjuna, Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way
Divisions of Lineages
LINEAGE
KEY MASTERS
Bon
Nyingma
“Ancient” or “Old
Translation”
SARMA
“New Schools”
Kadam
Padmasambhava
Atisha
(arrived in Tibet 1042)
Kagyü
“Oral Lineage”
Tilopa (988-1069),
Naropa (1016-1100)
Marpa, Milarepa
Karmapas
Sakya
“Gray Earth”
Virupa (9th or 10th C),
Drogmi
Sakya Panditas
Gelug
“Way of the Virtuous”
Tsongkhapa (1357-1419)
Dalai Lamas
RIMÉ
“Non-sectarian”
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro
Separation from the Four Attachments
 If you are attached to this life, then you are not a
Dharma practitioner.
 If you are attached to existence (samsara), then you
do not have renunciation.
 If you are attached to your own interests, then you
do not have the mind of enlightenment
(bodhichitta).
 If there is grasping, then you do not have the view.
Künga Ningypo (1092-1158)
Tantric Initiation
 Vase initiation (found in all tantra sets)
 Secret initiation (only in highest tantra)
 Wisdom initiation
 Word initiation
= relation to 4 vidyadhara states
= purpose to attain the 4 kayas (Dharmak.,
Sambhogak., Nirmanak., Svabhavikakaya)
4 CLASSES OF TANTRA
 Action Tantras: Outer activities, purification rituals,
e.g. fasting
 Performance Tantras: Emphasize external activities
and internal yoga, view of oneself as companion of
deity
 Yoga Tantras: visualizing oneself as actual deity.
Emphasizes internal yoga.
 Highest Yoga Tantras: Generation and completion.
Subtle energies, winds, channels.
5 Buddha Families
Buddha
Vajra
Ratna (Jewel)
Padma (Lotus)
Karma (Action)
Name
Vairochana
Akshobya
Ratnasambhava
Amitabha
Color
White
Blue
Yellow
Red
Green
Poison
Ignorance
Anger
Greed
Desire
Envy/jealousy
Wisdom
All-pervasive
Mirror-like
Equanimity
Discriminating
All-accomplishing
Position
Center/East
East/Center
South
West
North
Mudra
Teaching
Earth touching
Generosity
Meditation
Fearlessness
Symbol
Wheel
Vajra
Jewel
Lotus
Double Vajra
Consort
Tara
Mamaki
Lochana
Pandaravasini
Samayatara
Skandha
Form
Consciousness
Sensation
Perception
Formation
Element
Space
Water
Earth
Fire
Air
Amoghasiddha
Two-armed
Avalokiteshvara
(Chenresig)
Thousand-armed
Avalokiteshvara
The Fourteen Dalai Lamas
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1st: Gyalwa Gendun Drubpa 1391-1474
2nd: Gyalwa Gendun Gyatso 1475-1542
3rd: G Sonam Gyatso 1543-1588
4th: G Yonten Gyatso 1589-1617
5th: G Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso 1617-1682
6th: G Tsangyang Gyatso 1682-1706
7th: G Kalzang Gyatso 1708-1757
8th: G Jampel Gyatso 1758-1804
9th: G Lungtok Gyatso 1805-1815
10th: G Tsultrim Gyatso 1816-1837
11th: G Khedrub Gyatso 1838-1856
12th: G Trinley Gyatso 1856-1875
13th: G Thubten Gyatso 1876-1933
14th: G Tenzin Gyatso *July 6, 1935
The Fifth Dalai Lama
(1617-1682)
Bardo (Inbetween States)
Acc. to The Tibetan Book of the Dead (lit. “Liberation
by Hearing While Inbetween”):
 The natural bardo of this life
 Bardo of dying
 Bardo of suchness, which features the experience of
visions of various Buddha forms
 Bardo of becoming, or rebirth
 Bardo of dhyana (meditation)
 Bardo of dream (the dream state during normal
sleep).
The Bardo of Dying: Dissolution of the Elements
 1. Outer dissolution:
- Earth and skandha of form dissolves into
- Water
- Fire
- Air
- Space
 2. Inner dissolution
- White and red element meet, natural luminosity
dawns
Phowa: Transference of
Consciousness
Spread of Vajrayana
 India: Vajrayana flourished in India until the 11th century.
 China and countries with Chinese influence (e.g. Taiwan):
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began first half of the 7th century CE (close to Shingon).
Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet and Himalayan region (Bhutan,
Sikkim, Ladakh)
Japan: In 804 CE, the Japanese monk Kukai founded the
Shingon school of Vajrayāna Buddhism, which has continued
to the present time. Also Tendai sect (Vajrayana influences).
Indonesia and Malaysia: established in the late 8th century,
driven out by Islam in the 13th century.
Mongolia: began during the 13th century (Prince Godan), but
revival in the 17th century and 20th century.
Nepal: Newari Buddhism
Russia: especially Kalmyck region, currently revival.