Tenets, 28 August 1994, part 1

I must remove the sufferings of all mother sentient beings who are countless as the limitless extent of the space and I must lead or place them to ultimate happiness. To be able to accomplish that, I all train in removing the impure thoughts of the mind and to attain the excellent qualities of the mind such as mindful enlightenment, wisdom emptiness and so forth. Through that way I must at any rate eventually attain this state free of all mental shortcomings and complete with all excellent qualities. That is called full enlightenment and it arises spontaneously if one has earlier repeatedly trained on it again and again through meditative familiarization. Motivated by such kind thought, I will here take interest in the learning of the subjects of the teachings especially through a perspective of the great vehicle altruism. Whatever I have learned I will let on and analyze through reflection, through that way try to gain an ascertained understanding on what I have learned.

Having gained ascertained understanding I will meditatively familiarize with them and through such way I will make a to be of most effective and maximum benefit to all sentient beings. In order to overcome these two types of obscurations, we then have the antidotes which come under the title the grounds and the paths. And the grounds and paths in meaning meaning are the realizations or the excellent qualities of the mind which needs to be attained through one’s effort and training within one’s continuum. Because if one through training generates these grounds and paths within one’s continuum then they directly become opponent able to overcome those impure thoughts and their imprints. So in the next part of the discourse group’s explication there comes the presentation of grounds and paths.

Our grounds and paths are basically the same thing but given two different names from the perspective of two different functionings two different functionings as seen from different perspective. So in meaning we can say the two things, grounds and path, refer to the same thing. The meaning of grounds is explained this way. It is the realization within the continuum of someone who has entered the path and which becomes the basis for the resultant many excellent qualities. Or to repeat, ground is the realization within the continuum of someone who has entered the path which becomes the basis for the resultant many excellent qualities and that can be seen as the definition, the meaning, the understanding of our ground.

By path it means the knowledge within the continuum of someone who has entered the path and which is retained by by spontaneous spontaneous definite exit or literally retained by non unmade up, unmade up definite exit. What it means as a means of qualification, first one must have definite exit, renunciation, so spontaneous that there is all the time a thoroughly trained feeling of wanting to exit out of saṃsāra by being aware of all the sufferings, dissatisfaction and so forth. Out of such definite exit if one hasn’t attained any realizations then that becomes the meaning of path and so that’s how it is then if to repeat the definition goes the knowledge within the continuum of someone who has entered the path which is retained by spontaneous definite exit. Here one can take the meaning of the knowledge as not different from our realization and that is the meaning and the definition of path. With regards to the understanding of what is ground and why that term is used, well we already seen in our last session of last Thursday that in say in example normally in conventional worldly working a field or ground is the one on the basis of which all trees, plants, flowers, so forth, and harvest so forth very richly grows.

Grows so they all depend on the ground for their growth. Like that here ground is used for with similar meaning because it is basis on this fundamental quality of the mind called ground, the realization out of which there grow all the excellent qualities of the mind and that’s how it can be seen that the example and the meaning match one another. The understanding of path is similar to the normal usage of the term path in old convention where path is understood as the one which leads to a destination and on which one has to travel or go upon to reach the destination. In the similar fashion here, path, it means the very base base upon which the person who has seen saṃsāra as faulty and wished to go towards liberation walks on, travels on. This can be further seen as clearer by asking questions on dependence on the part where does the person go to.

The answer is obviously the person wants to go to liberation so it is the path leading the person to liberation. Who is the one going to liberation on that path? Well it is the person who has developed the thought of definite exit wanting to come out of saṃsāra by saying it as faulty. Now with regards to path there are five classifications with each path but before going into that let’s look at the format of three vehicles leading towards liberation and enlightenment. That basically there are three vehicles and the first two vehicles are offshoot of lower vehicle in the classification of lower vehicle and great vehicle because basically there are two vehicles the lower and the great vehicle and when lower vehicle is subdivided it has two subdivisions the vehicle of the hearers or the listeners, hearers is the popular term, the vehicle of the hearers and the vehicle of the individual enlighteners or what’s called popularly solitary realizers.

So those are the two lower vehicles and then the third is the great vehicle. Now let’s look in the context of the hearers vehicle there are five paths whoever chooses to enter in hearers vehicle will gradually through training make up first to the first path and then go up to the second, then third and fourth and when arrives at the fifth path the person has perfected in training in that particular vehicle. And then in the individual enlighteners vehicle when a person enters that vehicle then through training one first makes up to or arrives on the first path and then second path, third, fourth and when the person arrives on the fifth path then the training has been completed in that vehicle. Likewise with the great vehicle when a person enters into that vehicle through training one arrives first on the first path, then second, third, fourth, when the person arrives on the fifth path then one has completed the training in that path. Therefore in each of the three vehicles whenever the practitioner achieves the fifth path that is the perfection, the culmination of training in that particular vehicle.

If we look at the three vehicles in the perspective of lamrim format, then the five paths of the great vehicle includes into the great practitioner or the practitioner of the great scope, the great practitioner. And then the other two, the paths of the other two vehicles, the hearers and individual enlighteners, they both get included in the intermediate practitioner or the practitioner of the intermediate scope. And small practitioner is like a preliminary to all those two. Here when the explanation on the grounds and paths is being presented, because it is presentation according to the Vaibhāṣika school and the specific exponent tenet therefore it would be the presentation of the grounds and paths according to lower vehicle. There the presentation would divide into two parts the paths of the hearers and the paths of the individual enlighteners.

So perhaps for what’s called uniformity’s sake I will stick with the popular translation the second being the path of the solitary realizers. So there are those two what’s called paths when the lower vehicle is divided into two. Now the difference between hearers and solitary realizers is of course no doubt both are same being of lower vehicle but there is difference and the difference is due to the mental bravery, the mental strength, the mental strength being bigger, greater in one and relatively lower in the other and out of that difference in the mental strength there comes about the difference in the capability to accumulate greater and lesser merits therefore that obviously results in the longer and shorter duration taken to achieve their results and that’s how out of those reasons reasons of of difference difference there there is is the the classification classification into into the two hearers and solitary realizers. The reason why the hearer to take the hearer the reason why the hearer has to develop the grounds and paths through meditative familiarization and training is because the hearer needs and wishes to overcome the ego grasping at a person and the seed of impure thoughts such as attachment, hatred and so forth produced by that ego grasping.

That is relevant because in order to overcome the ego grasping at person and the impure thought, the seeds of impure thought produced by that, there is no other way without firstly one’s self developing within one’s self the realizations called the paths, the grounds and grounds and so forth. And as regards what is meant by overcome the impure thoughts or to discard or to use the word to literally abandon to what is meant by to abandon the impure thoughts is it means to make those impure thoughts and ego grasping at person absent completely from one’s mind, a mind stream. So to completely get rid of that. In doing so then when a hearer attains the first path that is the path called path of accumulation of multitudes of merits or simply path of multitude or path of merits. The reason why that path is called the path of multitude or path of merits is because in order for the person to achieve liberation and later on to go ahead through successive paths that is the initial path on which the person start accumulating merits, that is the very initial stage where the multitudes of merits are being accumulated initially at that stage.

So the first path is the path of merits or what is literally called path of multitude to be interpreted as the path where multitudes of merits are being initially accumulated on that part. Now the second part on one’s training there is the path of $1 and the meaning of preparation is no different in normal application in our day to day working such as we would say, oh today I have to prepare for the project and tomorrow I will actually go ahead with carrying on of the project and after tomorrow the project would be completed so there is a preparation, the actual doing and the conclusion or completion. Like that here this part, the second path is the path of preparation for the next ahead and the meaning will be clarified. So in this way, we have done the first two paths. The third path is called the path of seeing because it is the initial path where one directly sees the meaning of selflessness because so far earlier to that say during the second path of preparation one does realize the meaning of selflessness but that realization is through concept not directly, clearly, directly whereas at this third path one directly realizes sees the or meaning of selflessness.

And then the next path, the path of meditative familiarization or simply path of meditation is called by that name because that is the path where one meditatively familiarizes with the continuity of that direct seeing of selflessness. So path of meditative familiarization is the path where one meditatively familiarizes with the continuity of directly seeing selflessness and these two parts then meaning the third and fourth path of seeing and path of meditative familiarization and meditation are like the actual state of the accomplishment, the actual state of training. And then the path of no more training is where one has attained the desire or the aim or result liberation. So that is the conclusion part, the result. Together we can then split the five paths in the context of preliminary, actual and conclusion into three parts.

The first two paths becoming the preliminary or the preparatory path and then the second, next two paths, third and fourth becoming the actual duration of the path. And then the last fifth path being the conclusion, the perfection path. Oh, it would be good to give a clear perspective to what is being said through an example. Let’s say if Let’s someone is mounting an attack towards you maliciously then in earlier anticipation you would prepare to challenge such possible attack from the person say someone an enemy. So there would be a stage where one prepares the preparatory and then with the actual combat where one defends oneself against an attack and face to face meets with the person that is like the actual time of combat.

And then the third stage would be where one becomes victorious and the winner. So there are those three parts. So the first two parts are like the preparatory stage of preparing. And then the second and third and fourth path are the actual timing or the actual duration one mounts a challenge to the opponent. And as regards the actual mounting of the challenge to the opponent here we first specify what is what are the opponent to challenge so called enemy to be referred here.

Well they are the ego grasping at person and the impure thoughts produced by that ego grasping at person. So against those one mounts the challenge the combat and the actual combat is of two phases. During the first phase meaning during the path of seeing the third part one mounts challenge against gross impure thoughts and the gross ego grasping. And during the second stage of the challenge one mounts the challenge against the subtle ones. So those against two types of the gross and subtle opponents, one mounts the two phases of challenge.

Of seeing, the third path, there are there are 112 impure thoughts to be challenged and to be abandoned, to be discarded away through the path of seeing. So in a way, we can say during the third path of seeing, the things to challenge and overcome are the 112 impure thoughts. During the second phase of the overcoming which is the part of meditative familiarization, there are 81 types of impure thoughts to be abandoned by the force of that part and those 81 are called the impure thoughts to be abandoned by the part of meditative familiarization. When one has overcome all of them, meaning the eight one hundred twelve and eighty one, then one has attained the state of Arahant, the state of foe destroyer. And the reason why that state is called the state of foe destroyer is because one has destroyed, eliminated all foes, all enemies.

The 112 enemies or impure thoughts to be overcome by path of seeing and 81 impure thoughts to be overcome by the part of meditative familiarization. And the part and the very state of foe destroyer is the state where one has where one has removed all suffering, where one has abandoned saṃsāra, one has attained liberation and so forth. Now from the perspective of the five paths that state is called path of no more training and the reason for being called as such is because at that state one no more trains in order to overcome the impure thoughts because the impure thoughts have already been overcome, have already been abandoned, there is nothing left to be abandoned, therefore nothing to train on. So one has attained the state of no more training. In the case of hearers, we can say the main practice to develop is the realization of the selflessness of person in the meaning as realizing this person has not self sufficiently existing in substance.

Along with that wisdom or realization one does the practice of accumulating small amount of merits. Therefore such view of selflessness combined with accumulation of small amount of merit, one attains the path of merits and path of preparation and that could take about two lifetimes at the most to make up to the second path. And then in the third life or third rebirth one could make, if it is very swift, the swiftest speedy, most speedy practitioner in that context, then in the third rebirth, one could go from path of seeing, path of meditative familiarization, and to no-more-training path. All those three are within one lifetime. Together then in the case of a more speedy practitioner in that context one could attain the perfection and achievement of the result within three lifetimes.

Or whether it is mundane situation and projects or whether it is or it is dharmic situations and projects, how quick and good the actual accomplishment of the thing or project becomes depends on how good the preparation was done. If one has done the preparation preparation part part well then the actual project wouldn’t be that difficult and would be good. If the preparation was bad then the actual project would be equally bad and difficult to be accomplished. Like that here, why reason the practitioner is able to make speedy advancement within the last lifetime traversing the last three paths is because the preparatory stage has been so well done during the first two paths, then during those two paths the practitioner has prepared so well by that force or power of the preparation the actual path and its attaining becomes good. Like that was with the hearers.

Like that, the solitary realizers format of the five paths.