Entering the Middle Way, 7 March 1991, part 2

So, at this point, the on the first ground, the bodhisattva has generated what is called bodhicitta of exceptional resolve. And by the power of this, he is said to outshine the hearers and the solitary realizers. And this what we mean here by way of analogy is that suppose there’s a great king, and this great king has a child. And this child is the son of the king. And the king has many ministers, and these ministers have great powers and and many excellent qualities.

Still, the very simple by the simple most fact that this child is the son of the king, the ministers show respect to the child just by this one one fact alone. So this child has no other admirable qualities. Still these great ministers with their excellent qualities pay homage to this child by the simple fact that this child is the son of the king. And likewise, by the power of having, that is to say the child outshines the ministers by the simple fact of being the son of the king. And at this point of having attained the first ground, one is said to outshine just by that fact, one outshines all of the hearers and solitary realizers.

So initially, this child outshines the ministers simply in terms of being the son of the king. But as time passes and this and the child studies, trains, and eventually becomes a master in his own right, he then not only he then not only outshines them in terms of being the son of the king, but in terms of his own qualities which he has developed himself as he outshined the minister. So this is the analogy. So explaining that meaning of analogy in terms of the context. Initially upon achieving the first ground, it is that the first ground, bodhisattva, outshines the hearers and the solitary realizers simply because he has become a child of the lineage of the Tathagatas, that is, those thus gone by that mere fact.

But he goes on in his training, and eventually becomes a master in terms of the realization of emptiness, and this occurs at the seventh ground. When he achieves this ground, his the out of his mastery of the understanding of emptiness, he, in his own right, outshines the hearers and the solitary realizers. So he has become a master with respect to emptiness at this point. To exemplify this, in in the time of the snap of a finger, he can enter into and withdraw from meditative equipoise on emptiness. He can do both enter into a meditative equipoise with respect to emptiness and withdraw from that meditative equipoise in the time of a snap of a finger.

And this quality is his mastery over emptiness, and it he outshines everyone up to that point whether it be even the Bodhisattvas below him or or are they additionally the hearers with respect to his mastery of emptiness. So he is said to outshine others in terms of his own qualities. So, you know, we can’t go we can’t list all of the various excellent qualities that that the first ground bodhisattva attains, you know, the various 12 sets of hundreds of qualities. So on the first ground, the bodhisattva attains 12 sets of a 100 qualities. On the second ground, the bodhisattva attains 12 sets of a thousand qualities.

And this is this is progression of the qualities which as one moves up through the grounds until it becomes numberless. On the first ground, the bodhisattva engages in a in the vast in a an extensive practice of the first of the six perfections, that of generosity. So on the first ground, the bodhisattva engages mainly in the practice of generosity. It’s not to say that he doesn’t practice the other perfections such as ethics, etcetera, but his ability in the practice of generosity is most highly increased at the first ground. So this is his main practice.

So at the then on the second ground, the the main practice is is that of the perfection of ethics. On the third ground, that of tolerance. The fourth, joyous effort. The fifth, meditative stabilization. And the sixth, the perfection of wisdom.

So the text, Entering the Middle Way, 10 chapters which are called the mind generations. 10 mind generations are chapters, and these describe each of the 10 perfections which correspond to each of the 10 grounds. So the first of these 10 grounds is that in which is practiced the perfection of generosity. So the cause of the attainment of Buddhahood is the practice of the 10 perfections. And as was mentioned, practice at the on the first is the practice of the perfection of generosity.

So at the we said that the that the the practice of the 10 perfections are the causes for the attainment of Buddhahood. And amongst these, the easiest is that of generosity. So this is practice first, at the first ground, and having attained proficiency in the first ground becomes attains surpassing generosity. So generosity is a mental factor. When we talk about the various things we give, such as clothing, food, these are the substances of giving.

Giving. But generosity in itself is a giving mind. It is a mental factor. So previously in Tibet, when the monks were undergoing their examination for Lharampa Geshe, which is like a doctorate of divinity. And this examination was examination before the Dalai Lama.

And one so there was a debate, and the person who was to answer was unable to do, was not distinguishing between mental factor of generosity and that which is given, the substance of generosity, that he wasn’t able to distinguish between these two. And in the course of this examination, if you don’t answer well, they throw you out and you don’t get your degree. This was a monk from who was, you know, trying to a Geshe was trying to become a the highest degree of Geshe, and he wasn’t able to distinguish to he wasn’t able to make this distinct distinguishing between generosity and the substance of generosity. And the Dalai Lama said, you know, forget it. And and said, leave, you know, ask him excused him.

So when he went back to the monastery, one of one of his one of his friends asked him, why were you excused from the debate? And he said, I I made a mistake. I wasn’t able to I made a mistake in in in my understanding of generosity. So his mistake was that he wasn’t distinguishing correctly between the substance which is given and the intention to give, the thought of giving. Generosity is a kind hearted attitude which thinks to give.

But what is given, whether it’s food or clothing or whatever, is the substance which is given. So so we know better than that, don’t we? Generosity is this kind hearted attitude, which is a giving mind. We know whatever we whatever we have, we we have a thought to give it, and this is the this is the quality of our mind. At the level of the first ground one carries on a extremely wonderful practice of generosity.

It’s complete without a type of practice which is without any without any fault. At the at the level of the first ground, you know, in the case of giving material things like food or drink or whatever, one gives it with great respect and with a great sense of joy at having the opportunity to give. But not only that, what will be given what is one is there’s no there’s no there’s no holding back. Even if someone were to ask for your flesh, that you would cut off with a knife your flesh, and you would give it again with great respect and with a great sense of joy. And there’s there’s the way of giving and what is is completely faultless.

And this is for this reason, it is this giving which or generosity which occurs at the first ground when brought to consummation as it is, is termed the surpassing generosity. There’s not nothing superior. But in this the bodhisattva on the first ground, if they were to cut their body, they they they don’t experience pain. When when we get a when we get a thorn, we experience pain, but they don’t experience pain from cutting even their own body. Yep.

Yep. Yep. Yep. So our body is the body that we have we which experiences pain is a is an embodiment which is assumed under the the force of karma and afflictive emotions. But here, the bodhisattva’s body is not such a type of body.

I’ll just translate the words. Okay? The Oh, oh, oh, the mental abiding(s). The nature of it — it’s a mental abiding(s). Body.

The nature of mind. A body which has the nature of mind or mental abiding(s). So their body is like like a rainbow. You know, a knife just passes through it as it would a rainbow. And also their body does not undergo the the various processes of of of aging, disease, and death.

So for them, you know, they experience no pain in even cutting their flesh. So the giving of their own flesh is as if for us to give away vegetables. Without this. Would they have no sense of miserliness or holding back? They also experience no pain when they cut the flesh off.

So if we cultivate bodhicitta, then we too can attain such a body like a rainbow. So you know, Dharma has tremendous power. These, you know, these practices such as bodhicitta and the realization emptiness, they have great potency. So I think I think you’re a little bit tired. So we’ll we’ll stop there today.

Have you had some questions? So you know we should reflect these wonderful qualities of the bodhisattva and seen these qualities develop a great faith, which is this faith in these qualities, these wonderful qualities is a sense that I have to attain those myself. And therefore, now I have to carry on a practice. I have to meditate, etcetera. If we could expand our appreciation in the sense that what we’ve talked about in terms of these wonderful qualities of the first grounder are just these qualities, you know, we could we could think of as being able to fit in your palm, could fit in your hand.

But the Buddha’s qualities cannot even space cannot hold them. So it’s necessary, first we want to understand the qualities of these various practitioners. We need to understand what these qualities are, and so that we can attain them ourselves. Can, so that we can understand what practices are necessary to attain these qualities, such that we can attain those qualities ourselves by putting in the same practices. And there’s a gradual increase of these qualities as one progresses to higher paths, higher and higher.

The higher paths, the qualities are greater than those of the lesser paths. So, order to, it’s necessary that we understand the distinction between these higher qualities of the higher paths as compared to those of the lower paths so that we can understand what practices are needed to achieve those higher qualities. Also, as we progress through these 10 paths, we will see that there’s increasing in the qualities corresponding to each of the increases in the paths. And this understanding these differences in qualities, that this quality is greater than that of a lower path, this develops this is beneficial in the sense that one develops a sense of wanting to strive for that higher path in order to achieve even these greater qualities than than what is on the lower path. So it is beneficial in terms of developing a sense of striving.

As one increases in one’s qualities, one’s pride becomes less. The less qualities one one has, the more pride one has. Ultimate. This is this is my translation. This is.

bodhicitta. No. Those are just my translation. The same word. Ultimate but ultimate ultimate bodhicitta and conventional bodhicitta.

So ultimate bodhicitta, I mean I just translated as the ultimate awakening mind. But it says, you know, this is my words. Ultimate Sanskrit and bodhicitta, ultimate bodhicitta is the direct perception of emptiness in the continuum of a great vehicle bodhisattva superior, the direct perception. It’s called ultimate because that which is ultimate is emptiness. And it is the mind which is directly perceiving the ultimate.

Therefore, it’s called ultimate bodhicitta. The conventional bodhicitta, what I call conventional awakening heart, is simply the mind which is striving for Buddhahood. It has no connotation of whether an understanding of emptiness or not. There’s no inference. There’s no relationship.

So when when we do the dedication, we may the may the precious mind of bodhicitta here that’s referring to the conventional bodhicitta, like striving for Buddhahood. In in this explanation in terms of the teaching on entering into the middle way, we’re mainly talking about the development of the ultimate bodhicitta or the ultimate mind of enlightenment or the waking mind. Who do you know that’s a bodhisattva superior? I don’t a lot of times, but That was just an appearance for the sake of his students. He didn’t actually die.

Well, that’s basically what I’m asking. Yeah. Actually just when he started his when they started his statement, he said that was there was no death or disease or or aging by the force of karma and afflictive emotions. So it’s just a display for the benefit of the of the students in order that to help them to learn about develop renunciation, help them to about impermanence. So, purpose of the teacher is to teach the Dharma.

That work is finished, then he will display some means such as passing into beyond sorrow, nirvana, etcetera, just to withdraw that display. So said that the superior does not undergo the process of aging, disease, and death. And what he meant was that that he is no his aging, disease, and death is no longer under the control of karma and afflictive emotions. That is to say, we undergo this process out of control. We aren’t in control.

We are this process for us is not in our control, but under control of karma and afflictive emotions. But the bodhisattva superior, he has control over these processes. The disease, illnesses are experiences suffering and which arise from unskillful actions and the bodhisattva superior does not have unskillful actions. Give me give me a pen.