Sun Radiance: Thought Transformation, 22 May 1990, part 2

Grasping at the snake to be sitting from its own side without being projected by the mind. Likewise, there is the consciousness which grasp at the flower to exist from its own side without being imputed, projected, designated by consciousness. Which which which in fact is the case with respect to the flower? Is this flower existing from its own side without being designated by the consciousness or is the flower not existing from its own side and in fact being designated by consciousness? So if we apply the meaning to that analogy, the analogy first was that consciousness grasped at that snake to exist from its own side and not as a projection or a designation of the mind is a distorted consciousness.

It’s a mistaken consciousness. That’s the analogy. We take the meaning of the analogy and apply it to the case then likewise the consciousness which grasp at the flower to exist from its own side and not to be designated by an awareness is likewise a mistaken consciousness, a distorted consciousness. It is grasping at true existence. So in this analogy in which we what is actually a rope but we conceive of it or we grasp at this object to be a snake and we don’t understand what the situation really is and how does that come about?

Under what influences, by what power does this grasping at a snake which in fact is not a snake? How does that arise, that mistaken consciousness? So in reality there is no snake there but we misunderstand. How does that misunderstanding come about that we grasp at something which really doesn’t exist to be a snake?

So there is the appearance of a rope as a snake. What causes us to grasp at that as a snake? Another answer? Not really that. Not only that.

If we were to carry on an examination we would come to understand the nonexistence of snake. In dependence upon what would we come to an understanding of the nonexistence of Snake? What would we rely on in order to come to an understanding of the nonexistence of Snake? Due to the influence of the obscuration, the unclarity of the object, if that object was clear we would easily understand that it’s not a snake, that it’s a rope. But there is some obstruction which prevents us from knowing the way the object actually is.

In this case there was a darkness, some obscurity like that it was under this influence of this unclarity, this obscuration which it acts to obstruct us from knowing the way the object is. We aren’t able to know the way that it’s not a snake due to this obscuration. So if we see this snake, We see the snake and he said bring me a torch. And he said, bring me a torch. Bring me a torch.

Somebody brings your torch and you shine your torch. Then you come quite, it becomes, the situation becomes clear. You quite easily come to understand whether there is a snake existing there or not. When you shine a torch, do you come to understand it’s a snake or not a snake? In dependence upon the light of this torch that the situation becomes clear.

Light of this torch is able to clear away the obscuration, that which obstructed you from knowing the way the object actually existed. Once we shine the torch the situation becomes clear. We know the reality of the situation. Shining the torch we come to understand the actual situation of the nonexistence of snake, the no snake situation. And we come to understand, oh, I was just imagining that snake.

It’s not really there. One comes to know the actual situation and understands that you were mistaken in your awareness and this is what we do in coming to with an understanding of emptiness. We know the actual nature of reality and come to an understanding that we were mistaken previously. Likewise, with the flower, if the ultimate mode of existence of the flower is its non true existence, it does not objectively exist but just in the same way that darkness and unclarity obstructed us from seeing the actual situation that in fact the snake didn’t exist. We are also obstructed due to the obscuration of the grasping of true existence which is ignorance.

This obstructs us from actually knowing the ultimate nature of objects just in the way that the darkness, the unclarity prevented us from knowing the actual nature of what was the object in the case of a snake and a rope. So says that it is the ignorance grasping a true existence which acts as an obstruction preventing us from realizing emptiness. So in order to see emptiness we have to eliminate the grasping of true existence. It is the decision within our awareness which has decided that things exist truly that obstructs us from understanding the nature of objects. When we understand that objects do not exist as their grasp, the objects that do not exist as their grasped then we understand emptiness.

So it’s extremely important that we seek to refute, to eliminate grasping the true existence, the conception of true existence. So what are we grasping at in terms of true existence? In the grasping true existence. Quoting from a verse by Nāgārjuna, there are the aggregates, the aggregates of forms, feelings, discrimination, thought constructions and consciousnesses. These are the phenomena.

in dependence upon these phenomena, the person or the I is designated. So there are two. There are the phenomena, the five aggregates and to these five aggregates, the person or the eye is designated, is imputed, persons and phenomena. Therefore, there there are two types of ignorance. There is ignorance which grasps at persons and ignorance which grasps at phenomena.

So there are two types of grasping at true existence. When the object of observation is phenomena, then there is the grasping at the true existence of phenomena. When the object of observation is the eye such as the I am going, I am meeting this I, this self, this person, then there arises the grasping of true existence of persons. So there are these two, the grasping of true existence of persons and the grasping of the true existence of phenomena. So this I, I am going, I am doing, there is the conception which grasps at the true existence of this I.

This is grasping at the true existence of persons which is to be refuted. Then how do we go about refuting? What is the way to refute the true existence? It is necessary that we come to an understanding that the object does not exist the way it’s being grasped at. That the object does not exist the way it’s being grasped at is the way to eliminate the grasping at the object in that way.

If we never come to an understanding that the object which is that the grasping of true existence is grasping at does not exist, then we can never eliminate the grasping of true existence. Going back to our analogy of the rope and the snake, how do we how are we able to eliminate that consciousness which is grasping at a rope as a snake? How are we to eliminate that consciousness which is grasping at a rope as a snake? There is really a rope and it’s grasping it as a snake. How are we to eliminate that consciousness? As we previously explained, by shining the light we come to know that the object which is being grasped at does not exist.

By coming to an understanding that the object that’s being grasped at does not exist, the consciousness which is doing that grasping is eliminated, is pacified. As long as we do not understand that that object which is being grasped at does not exist, that grasping consciousness will remain. We use another analogy, and this time we use the analogy of a magician who by the power of mantra is able to conjure up a beautiful woman. In dependence upon the appearance of this beautiful woman woman, the people in the audience develop a great deal of desire. Now how how are we going to reverse that desire? How are we going to eliminate that desire of consciousness in the minds of the audience.

If they come to understand that that object does not exist the way it appears, that in fact there is no real beautiful woman there. They say, oh wow, I was really stupid. I thought that was a real woman and in fact it was just an illusion. Then that attachment consciousness immediately is eliminated. The desire immediately is gone.

As long as they don’t know that as long as they don’t understand that that object is not in fact a woman, the desire consciousness will remain. The desire’s consciousness will not be reversed. in dependence upon grasping at an object as a real woman there arises a desire and this desire consciousness will remain until it is understood that that object is in fact not a real woman. So the way that we can, as long as we grasp at the self of a person, that is to say that we grasp at a truly existent person, the grasping at the self of a person, which is to say grasping at the true existence of a person can only be eliminated by coming to understand that the object which is being grasped at does not in fact exist. In the same way that the attachment or the desire for a woman, for that woman, that illusory woman can never be eliminated until the object is understood not to exist and then there naturally occurs the loss of power of that desire.

Likewise, once we understand that the object which is being grasped at with respect to grasping the true existence of a person does not exist then automatically the potency of that grasping declines and is eliminated. How are we to come to an understanding of the non true existence of persons? That is to say how are we to come to an understanding of emptiness? We have to again and again listen to the teachings on emptiness. We have to read books, various texts and to meditate to familiarize ourselves with the methods of understanding emptiness.

That mainly we are going to we use reasoning to establish that nothing truly exists. By the various uses of reasoning we come to an understanding that objects in fact do not truly exist. But we must know the way of establishing the non existence of objects. That is we must know the various lines of reasoning by which we establish the non existence of phenomena and persons. And this requires that we listen again and again to the various teachings, that we again read books on the subject, that we familiarize ourselves with the various reasoning and cultivate this through meditation.

Reflecting again and again using the various reasoning as a way of refuting the true existence is the way we come to an understanding of emptiness. So it’s necessary that we listen again and again to the various teachings initially. In listening we have to understand what exactly emptiness is. We have to read the various texts. Out of this listening, reading the various texts will arise the wisdom comes the wisdom arising from listening, the wisdom arising from hearing.

Then it’s necessary to go on to contemplate, to cultivate our understanding using various types of reasoning. Through this we will come to an understanding that true existence does not exist. If true existence existed, it would have to be like this and things can’t be like that. We refute true existence by understanding if it existed then it would have to be like this, like this, like this and we say, oh, it can’t exist that way and we come to an understanding. We develop the wisdom which arises out of contemplation and this is a realization.

This is called an inferential prime cognizer. Those of you who have studied awareness and knowledge know that there are two types of prime cognizers. There is inferential prime cognizer and direct prime cognizer. Inferential prime cognizer is a realization which arises in dependence upon reasoning, upon reasons. This is not going to come, this is not easy, it’s not going to come quickly, but gradually in this manner of cultivation it will come.

So we’re using various types of reasoning to prove the nonexistence of true existence. And that is to say, we use various means of reasoning. This is the root, this is the foundation method which we are coming to an understanding. We should understand, we should use the reasoning that if true existence existed, if things really existed that way, then they’d have to be like this and then they’d have to be like this. And then if they are there and then we check it, are they actually like that?

And then we say, no, they’re not really like that. Therefore, they are not really true existence. And using many varieties of reasons, coming at the subject from many different points of view, using many lines of reasoning and coming to this and this will over and over again, the consciousness becomes more and more powerful which understands the non true existence of phenomena and persons and this is the way we cultivate an understanding of emptiness. So the in the Tibetan text, use a simple analogy to show how this process of overcoming the grasping of true existence by means of the wisdom of understanding the non true existence of objects. It’s in the same way that if there were a dispute between two people and one of them accused the other of being a thief, And obviously he’s not going to, the other person is not going to admit readily to being a thief.

He’s going to hold his position, but the other person begins to offer all kinds of proofs that in fact this person is a thief. He says, I saw you going into my room and then later on I saw you coming out of my room with a big bundle in your hands hiding something and then later and he would offer all kinds of reasoning and proofs. And finally, any objections which that thief might come up with, he would by the power of his reasoning, he would be able to overwhelm him. And then finally, his strength his side of the argument would just completely annihilate any possible position that that thief might be able to hold to. And his position is completely eliminated and then accepted he is in fact a thief.

Likewise, with respect to the grasping at true existence, the wisdom which understands that non true existence proceeds with all types of various reasonings showing how that position cannot be held, all types of proofs which overcome any argument which grasping at true existence might be able to set forth until it in fact completely overwhelms the grasping at true existence and completely eliminates it. Just in the same way that because the thief was holding an invalid position, he was able to be defeated through the use of proof and various reasoning. Likewise, the grasping of true existence is a mistaken consciousness, and those types of reasoning which are in accord with the way things actually are, those valid cognizers are able to overcome it and ultimately eliminate completely. Do you have any questions? So keep it down to a very short five minutes for if you have some questions.

The snake is also not truly existing. The rope is not truly existing. Yeah. So that’s not a So all phenomena are not truly existent. Even the example is not truly existent.