Lessons from the Lamrim: Part 2

Here are more questions and answers from Lamrim class, for your learning pleasure. Do take the time to read the answers and if you have any questions or require any clarification, please reach out and ask!

Question:

Reference to Lamrim text Day 1.

1. Page 9.The great Tsongkapa is referred to as the king of the three realms, which three realms are being referred to in this context?

2. Page 10. …..”If you want to achieve physical rebirth of a Brahma, an Indra “- which realm is this, god or demi-god?……..”If you want to go to pure realms such as Abhirati, Sukhavati or Thushita” – what’s the pure realm in this context – god realm?

3. Page 10. The paragraph continues ….. “you can achieve the states of liberation or omniscience through this present rebirth.” – does this mean one can achieve liberation in the human realm, thus will not endure rebirth?

4. Page 10. Please elaborate further …. the state of Vajradhara, as it’s defined as illusory body and great bliss?

5. Page 13. The Great One taught the Dharma,…who’s revered as The Great One? Je Tsongkapa?

6. Page 15. Please add context/color to ….”when reborn as a god of the desire realm, one suffers because of one displays the omen of death. The gods of the [two] higher realms do not have any manifest suffering.”

7. Page 16. Quick overview of path of Hinayana & Mahayana.

8. Page 17. “The bodhisattvas abiding to the pure levels…. “ please clarify pure levels ( how many levels are there from human to Buddhahood ?)

9. Page 18. …..”make a few prayers, or even manage a few of the nine mental stages”( what are the 9 mental states?).

10. Page 24. Who does the author ref to as “these two departed nobelman?”Tsongkapa, Atisha, Nagarjuna or Pabongka Rinpoche ?

General Qs

1. While rebirth is the cycle of life associated/governed to the law of cause and effect, can one stop rebirth ?

2. Which category will Mother Theresa fit into, bodhisattvas?

3. What’s the difference between Buddhahood, bodhisattvas, boddhichitta & arhat?

4. Is the Lamrim a concise summary of all the below mentioned text?
* Lamp on the Path of Enlightenment
* Unlocking the Door of Supreme Path
* Lineage of Deeds Bestowing Great Blessing
* Great Sages of the Path
* Essence of Refined Gold
* Manjushri’s Own Words
* Easy Path & Swift Path
* Essence of Eloquence

My apology for the long string of questions. Thank you for your patience and please pardon my ignorance. 🙏🏻

Answers:

In very brief, since each of your questions can be a blogpost unto itself! Bear with me, the message is coming in a few parts and too long to copy/paste in one go 🙂

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1. Page 9. The great Tsongkapa is referred to as the king of the three realms, which three realms are being referred to in this context?

The three realms being referred to here are the desire, form and formless realms.

The Desire Realm consists of the 6 realms (gods, demigods, humans, animals, pretas, hell realms) and are dominated by attachment to the senses.

In the Form Realm, these beings have actualised the four jhanas. These are states of meditative absorption where you can remain single-pointedly on an object as long as you want to. It’s called the Form Realm because those beings have a body but it’s a very ephemeral form (not like ours that suffers from illness and so on). This realm includes many of the heavenly/god spheres and is characterised by temporary bliss and peace.

In the Formless Realm, its inhabitants are very immersed in various states of meditation and don’t have a body. These four bases when reached are associated with an Arhat.

2. Page 10. …..”If you want to achieve physical rebirth of a Brahma, an Indra “- which realm is this, god or demi-god?……..”If you want to go to pure realms such as Abhirati, Sukhavati or Thushita” – what’s the pure realm in this context – god realm?

A pure realm is a celestial abode of a Buddha. For example, Tushita is the pure realm of Maitreya. Kechara is the pure realm of Vajra Yogini. Sukhavati (sometimes called the Western Paradise) is the pure realm of Amitabha. Abhirati (sometimes called the Eastern Paradise) is the pure realm of the Buddha Akshobhya.

You want to take rebirth in those places because when you’re there, everything is primed for you to learn and practise the Dharma, so you can gain realisations very quickly. There’s nothing in those lands to distract. Our Rinpoche once said that even when the wind blows in Kechara, you can hear the voice of Vajra Yogini teaching the Dharma.

3. Page 10. The paragraph continues ….. “you can achieve the states of liberation or omniscience through this present rebirth.” – does this mean one can achieve liberation in the human realm, thus will not endure rebirth?

You can only achieve liberation (enlightenment) as a human; even Buddha Shakyamuni took one final rebirth in the human realm (Prince Siddhartha) in order to become enlightened. You can’t achieve liberation as an animal or a hungry ghost, for example. Once you achieve liberation then yes, you won’t have to endure rebirths. You are liberated from karma, ignorance and everything that creates the causes for you to continue leading a cyclical existence.

4. Page 10. Please elaborate further …. the state of Vajradhara, as it’s defined as illusory body and great bliss?

Vajradhara – he is the primordial Buddha and depicted as dark blue in colour. When we refer to “the state of Vajradhara”, it’s synonymous with complete realisation because Vajradhara represents the supreme essence of buddhahood and enlightenment itself. (His name itself means “Ruler of the Vajra Beings”)

Illusory body – this state is achieved upon successful practice of a type of tantric contemplation (yoga) on the illusory nature of phenomena.

Great bliss – quoting Lama Yeshe: “to achieve enlightenment we use the practice of inner fire to cause all the airs, or vital energies, within our body to enter, stabilize, and absorb in the central channel of our subtle nervous system. This leads to the experience of simultaneously born great bliss. This bliss — which is not mere sentimental pleasure but a profound experience beyond our ordinary imagination — is then unified with the wisdom that understands emptiness in a process that eventually leads to the union of the illusory body and the absolute clear-light wisdom, and finally to full enlightenment.”

Hence in the context you’re seeking clarification about, it is saying that when the illusory body and great bliss are unified, the subsequent result is Vajradhara (representing the enlightened state).

5. Page 13. The Great One taught the Dharma,…who’s revered as The Great One? Je Tsongkapa?

Buddha Shakyamuni, the originator of all the teachings. It’s a reverential way of referring to him.

6. Page 15. Please add context/color to ….”when reborn as a god of the desire realm, one suffers because of one displays the omen of death. The gods of the [two] higher realms do not have any manifest suffering.”

As a god, you’re surrounded by unimaginable beauty and objects designed solely to please the senses. Your every desire is catered for. The gods are tall, young, healthy, strong and beautiful (Rinpoche said even the most beautiful supermodels in the human realm cannot compare to them). Plus, the gods’ lifetimes are so long that they appear immortal to humans.

BUT once a god has exhausted their karma to lead a comfortable life, they will suffer a lot as their bodies gradually degenerate. That’s when they start to suffer the omen of death because all of a sudden, their looks fade for no reason. For the first time, they begin to smell (like death and decay). Because of this, the other gods avoid them because they are only interested in pleasing their own senses. You end up abandoned and left to die totally alone.

Then as a god’s life begins to end, they start to have visions about their impending lower rebirth and once they die, that’s where they go immediately. So it is huge suffering and you can do nothing about it because it’s too late and you already spent your whole life pleasing your own senses.

7. Page 16. Quick overview of path of Hinayana & Mahayana.

There’s a very good overview on Rinpoche’s blog so I won’t reproduce it here: http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=44689

8. Page 17. “The bodhisattvas abiding to the pure levels…. “ please clarify pure levels (how many levels are there from human to Buddhahood?)

The levels here refer to the ten levels of bodhisattvahood, not levels of human to Buddhahood. The 8th, 9th and 10th stages are referred to as “the pure levels” because from the 8th level onwards, enlightenment is guaranteed. (it’s described in more detail later in the Lamrim)

9. Page 18. …..”make a few prayers, or even manage a few of the nine mental stages” (what are the 9 mental states?)

The nine mental stages refer to the nine stages of mental development. It is observed during shamatha meditation (“calm abiding”) which is a meditation practice to develop the ability to focus the mind in single-pointed concentration. Meditators in this practice observed that our minds ‘unfold’ in the same process, and this was traditionally depicted in Buddhist art as a monk chasing and finally capturing an elephant. The elephant is the example of the mind (there is a deeper symbolism behind this but too long for WhatsApp).

Stages 1 & 2 – the elephant is being led by a monkey (who represents distractions). However, through study and practice of Dharma, the monk can capture and subdue the elephant. Gradually both the monkey and the elephant turn white, representing the meditator’s ability to maintain the power of concentration.

Stages 3 & 4 – the meditator’s ability to fix and hold their concentration steady. The meditator has lassoed the elephant and gradually the monkey. Everyone turns to look at the meditator to indicate that distractions acknowledge who is in charge now.

Stages 5 & 6 – the meditator begins to lead the elephant, and the monkey follows the mind rather than leading it. The mind is controlled and disciplined. The mind is finally pacified.

Stage 7 – the monkey leaves the elephant and stands behind the meditator, and pays homage.

Stage 8 – the meditator is in complete control. Single-pointed concentration is achieved.

Stage 9 – the stage of mental absorption. Perfect equanimity is found and the path has ended. The elephant rests beside the meditator who sits at ease. Now out of the meditator’s heart streams rays of light like a rainbow.

10. Page 24. Who does the author ref to as “these two departed noblemen?” Tsongkapa, Atisha, Nagarjuna or Pabongka Rinpoche ?

Two noblemen (aristocrats) whom the teachings were being given in memory of. Pabongka Rinpoche is in essence dedicating the teachings to them.

A general note – if someone enlightened like Tsongkhapa, Atisha, Nagarjuna and so on is being referred to honorifically or reverentially, it will always be capitalised. e.g. “the Conqueror Shakyamuni”, “the Great One Buddha Shakyamuni”, “the Hero Vajradhara”, “Shakyamuni, Lion Amongst Men”.

General Qs

1. While rebirth is the cycle of life associated/governed to the law of cause and effect, can one stop rebirth ?

You can by becoming a Buddha. The only being free from karma (which is the cause of rebirths) is a Buddha.

2. Which category will Mother Theresa fit into, bodhisattvas?

Possibly. She could have been a bodhisattva who manifested in human form to benefit sentient beings.

3. What’s the difference between Buddhahood, bodhisattvas, boddhichitta & arhat?

Buddhahood: the state of being fully enlightened. Someone who has achieved Buddhahood is a Buddha.

Bodhisattvas: someone who has taken a vow to save all sentient beings, regardless of how many there are and where they are. A bodhisattva takes the vow that until all sentient beings are free from ignorance and cyclical rebirth, they will delay their own enlightenment. In other words, “I won’t liberate myself until I have helped everyone else liberate themselves.” So a bodhisattva willingly takes rebirth over and over again to fulfill their vow. This also means a bodhisattva is someone who is eventually going to become a Buddha in a time to come.

Bodhicitta: the spontaneous wish to attain enlightenment motivated by great compassion for all sentient beings. This is combined with renouncing our attachment to the illusion of an inherently existing self.

Arhat: an Arhat is a practitioner who is in the final stage of spiritual evolution – the stream enterer, the once-returnee, the non-returnee and the Arhat. The Arhat is one who has extinguished all desire, all ignorance which leads to rebirth.

The difference between a Buddha and an Arhat: a Buddha discovers the supreme path with his own efforts, without recourse to a teacher. The Arhat achieves Buddhahood with the guidance from a Buddha. There is another category called Pratyekabuddhas (Solitary Buddhas), who also become enlightened without any teacher, but they are unable to teach others. After his disciples became Arhats, Shakyamuni sent them out to teach the Dharma.

4. Is the Lamrim a concise summary of all the below mentioned text?

The word “lamrim” refers to “stages of the path to enlightenment”. So when people say “lamrim”, they are referring to the school/set of teachings that came from Atisha, who combined the two streams (Profound and Extensive lineages) that came down from Buddha Shakyamuni. Atisha then composed A Lamp on the Path of Enlightenment (which combined the two streams) and then that became the root text for all subsequent lamrim teachings and commentaries.

In our specific case, when we say “Lamrim” in class, it’s just a shorthand way of referring to the book “Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand”. Many different versions/volumes of the Lamrim exist.

In the same way we call our teacher “Rinpoche” on a day-to-day basis, it’s a ‘faster’ way of referring to our guru. Or how we say “Buddha” as a faster way of referring to “Buddha Shakyamuni”. Many different Rinpoches and Buddhas exist.

Reflections and Teachings