Talk given by: The
Venerable Deshung Rinpoche
1983
Translated by Jared Rhoton
Los Angeles, California
In undertaking to
study the Dharma, we need to understand that there is a right way
to do it. As you listen to this exposition of Buddhist teachings,
put aside all distractions and focus your mind with single-minded
intent upon its words and their meaning. This, too, should be done
in an attitude of remembrance of all those beings who are unable to
hear the teachings of enlightenment. Bring them to your mind with
thoughts of love and compassion and with a resolve that, on their
behalf, you will learn the Dharma rightly, remember it, experience
it and realize it through your own efforts.
In order to purify the mind of ordinary conceptualizations about
the nature and value of Dharma, you should also think of your
teacher as being none other than Shakyamuni Buddha himself. For if
the Enlightened One himself were here before you, he would not
teach other than this Dharma.
Visualize your teacher in the form of Shakyamuni Buddha and
imagine that boundless rays of golden light shine forth from his
body to touch all living beings. These lights remove from them and
from oneself obstacles to the experience of the Dharma Realm and
establish them in the pure joy of liberation. As these rays of
lights touch your heart, think that there arises in your mind
insight into the true sense of the Dharma that is being
expounded.
Think of yourself as being none other than the Bodhisattva of
Wisdom, Manjushri, who in fulfillment of his vow, tirelessly seeks
out all the teachings of the Dharma on behalf of suffering beings.
Imagine that you are receiving this Dharma in the pure realm of the
Buddhas. There, all things are seen, not as substantial and real in
the way that we see them through delusion, but as similar to the
images that appear in a mirage or in a dream. Without grasping at
anything as real, allow your mind to dwell, in the state of
emptiness. In these ways, your efforts to learn here and how will
approximate the transmission of holy Dharma as it takes place on
the level of ultimate reality.
All such opportunities as this --- to hear, to learn, and to
integrate within one's own consciousness the teachings of
enlightenment taught by Shakyamuni Buddha --- are extremely rare.
Very few beings have such an opportunity. Many live their lives cut
off from the Dharma. They have no access to the path of liberation.
As a result, they suffer and, through delusion, create more
suffering for themselves and for other beings. This suffering goes
on and on; it is endless and manifold in its manifestations.
It was truly spoken in the sutras that it is rare for beings to
hear even the name of the Buddha. Throughout countless lifetimes,
most beings do not have even that much of a chance for liberation
from their delusion and pain. Every teaching should, therefore, be
valued as rare, and cherished while one still has the opportunity
to receive it.
Fortunate beings such as ourselves, who now have the advantages
and leisure of human life at a time when the teachings are present,
should be mindful of our situation. Human life is extremely short.
It passes away more rapidly than the falling waters of a mountain
stream. Our life is passing away swiftly and death lies ahead for
each one of us. In this world, distractions are many and obstacles
are rife. It is hard to find the will to practice Dharma. It is
hard to awaken within our minds the resolve to win enlightenment,
hard to apply ourselves rightly to this resolve in a way that truly
benefits ourselves and other.
Yet we must find the strength to awaken this resolve within
ourselves through reflection upon the facts of our human existence
and the facts of existence as a whole. For we, like other beings,
are being carried along by the great river of karmic propensities
(actions born out of attachment, aversion and ignorance). At the
time of death, the propensities of our mind will determine our
future whether we shall again find such an opportunity to receive
and practice the Dharma or whether we shall have lost it for good,
whether we shall suffer in the lower realms among the hell-beings,
hungry ghosts, and animals, or find ourselves bereft of Dharma
among the gods and titans.
The law of karma that turns the great wheel of interdependent
origination, the inexorable cycle of deluded mental processes, will
carry us away from this unique opportunity to take hold of, and be
rescued by, the saving Dharma. If we remain under the control of
this round of delusion, the evolution of the twelve nidanas, or
links of interdependent origination will cause us helplessly to
roam about from one state of existence to another. If we do not
break free from the wheel of delusion through wisdom and right
understanding of the Way, we are sure to continue to experience
pain. If we do not make this break, the three kinds of pain --- of
impermanence, of pain itself (in the lower realms), and of
conditioned existence --- will continue to plague us. This is the
future that awaits each one of us who fails to pause, reflect, and
make a sincere effort to realize these Dharma truths.
In a situation such as ours, what are we to do? This was the
matter upon which the Enlightened One, Shakyamuni Buddha, pondered
for years and it is through His great compassion for beings like
ourselves that we have had revealed to us a way whereby we might
free ourselves from our plight.
The Buddha taught a path of liberation based upon purity and
morality, a path of experience that consists of right study,
reflection and meditation, a path that has as its end the
attainment of the great happiness of freedom. Through His skill in
means and knowledge of the various kinds of beings and the various
karmic propensities which cause beings to differ from each other,
He expounded several systems of practice.
First, He taught the system of the Hinayana Buddhism with its
concept of individual salvation. For others of greater spiritual
capacity, He taught the noble doctrines of the Great Way of
Mahayana Buddhism with its concept of universal salvation. In the
Mahayana system, one takes the Bodhisattva's vow to liberate all
living beings as well as oneself. It has as its result the
attainment of the three kayas, or aspects of perfect enlightenment.
However, this path of Mahayana practice requires that three
incalculable aeons be spent in perfecting the qualities of
Bodhisattvahood.
For those whose compassion for the world is intense, who find it
intolerable that beings be kept waiting so long before one is able
to free them from suffering and establish them in the happiness of
liberation, Lord Buddha expounded the swift path of Vajrayana
Buddhism. Because of the superior meditative techniques of this
system, it becomes possible to attain Buddhahood in a very short
while.
If one preserves one's vows and meditates diligently, one will
attain perfect enlightenment - -- Buddhahood --- in this very
lifetime. But this system does require that one be endowed with
superior mental faculties: one must be extremely intelligent and
diligent. Yet one can be assured of enlightenment either in the
bardo state or in the next life-time if one is only of mediocre
abilities, understanding, and diligence. Even if one has very
little spiritual development and is unable to practice at all, one
is still assured of the attainment of Buddhahood within not more
than sixteen lifetimes.
This last system taught by the Buddha is, therefore, extremely
effective. Buddhists who are moved by intense compassion for the
world, who have resolved quickly to free beings from suffering and
to establish them in happiness should apply themselves to this
system of practice. The qualities that are required here are
courage, diligence in practice, and enthusiasm for virtue.
These three systems of Dharma expounded for beings of different
spiritual capacities are all of great benefit to the world. Through
them, all beings may find a way to liberation. Whoever receives the
Dharma receives benefit, for it was taught by the Compassionate
Buddha to help us achieve our aims. We all seek happiness and try
to avoid pain. The Dharma shows us the way to remove the causes of
pain and to attain the experience of supreme well-being.
Yet there is the danger of taking hold of Dharma wrongly. If
this danger is not avoided and one's approach to Dharma is faulty,
'Dharma' becomes a cause of harm instead of benefit. This is not
the intent of the Enlightened Ones nor of those masters who have
entrusted it to us.
Recognise and avoid this danger: it is called
'narrow-mindedness'. It manifests in sangha circles in the form of
sectarianism: an attitude of partiality, a tendency to form deluded
attachments to ones own order and to reject other schools of
Buddhism as inferior.
I have seen this narrow-minded spirit detract from Buddhism in
my own land of Tibet and, during the past 20 years of my stay in
America, I have also seen it grow among the many Dharma centers
founded here by Tibetan teachers and their disciples. It is always
with sorrow that I observe sectarianism take root among Dharma
centers. It is my karma, as a representative of Buddhism and as a
Tibetan, to have the opportunity and responsibility to speak out,
when asked, against this 'inner foe'.
It was common in Tibet for the least spiritually developed
adherents of each of the four great orders to nurture this spirit
of sectarianism. Often monks and lay disciples of one order would
refuse to attend the services of other orders. Monks would refuse
to study or read the literature of others simply because they were
the writings of masters who belonged to another lineage - -- no
matter how good the literature might be.
The great Nyingma order - - - the Order of the Ancient Ones - -
-has its own special pride. Some of its followers feel that, as
members of the earliest school, they have profound doctrines
unknown to the later schools of Tibetan Buddhism. They maintain
that somehow their doctrine of 'Great Perfection, is superior to
the 'Mahamudra' perception of ultimate reality. They make this
claim even though, by logic and the teachings of the Buddha
Himself, we know it is not possible that there could be any
difference in the realization of ultimate reality. They also claim
that theirs is a superior path endowed with secret teachings and
levels of Dharma unknown to the other schools.
The Gelugpa school, founded by the great Tsongkhapa, has its proud
adherents, too. They think they are sole guardians of the teachings
that were transmitted into Tibet by the great pundit Atisha, even
though these are available and commonly practiced in the other
orders. They have pride in proclaiming a superiority in moral
conduct. They feel their observance of monastic discipline and
their custom of devoting many years to study before finally turning
to the practice of meditation constitute a superior approach to
Vajrayana practice. They consider themselves to be superior both in
deportment and in learning.
Certain followers of the Sakya order also have their conceit
about learning. They believe that only their school understands and
preserves the profound teachings that were introduced into Tibet
from Buddhist India. It is common for these Sakya scholars to look
down on the practitioners of other orders, thinking that other
Tibetan Buddhists are ignorant practitioners whose practice is not
supported by right understanding of the Dharma's true meaning.
Some Kagyu adherents have their own special pride. They claim
that their lineage of masters is so superior that they themselves
should be considered superior --- as heirs of Tilopa, Naropa,
Marpa, Milarepa and Dagpo. These masters, it is true, were very
great but it does not necessarily follow that one who claims to be
an adherent of their tradition is also great. The greatness of
these masters depends upon their realization. Blind allegiance to
these masters cannot make Kagyu practitioners superior.
All of these are attitudes commonly found among Tibetan Buddhist
monks and lay people. They may be common attitudes but they are not
Buddhist attitudes. The great Kagyu master and Ris-med proponent,
Kongtrul Rinpoche, stated that a wise person will have faith in the
teachings of all orders, will love the Dharma found in each just as
a mother cherishes all her children. A wise person's mind is vast
like the sky, with room for many teachings, many insights, many
meditations. But the mind of an ignorant sectarian is limited,
tight, and narrow like a vase that can only hold so much. It is
difficult for such a mind to grow in Dharma because of its
self-imposed limitations. The difference between the wise Buddhist
and the sectarian Buddhist is like that between the vastness of
space and the narrowness of a vase. These are the words of Kongtrul
Rinpoche.
The great sage of the Sakya Order, Sapan wrote in his Three Vows
that, in his youth, he studied extensively the literature of all
the orders of Tibet, under different masters. He made special
efforts to learn, understand, and realize the doctrines of these
different schools and never despised any of them. He cherished them
all.
Long-chen Rab-jampa, the great scholar of the Nyingma Order,
practiced similarly. He received transmission of Dharma from
masters of all four orders without discrimination. From the
biography of the great Tsongkhapa, we learn that he, too, studied
extensively under masters of all orders. The great Khyentse Wangpo,
foremost teacher of the Ris-med, or non-sectarian movement, wrote
in his autobiography that in his youth he had studied under one
hundred and fifty masters of all the four orders of Tibetan
Buddhism.
Kongtrul Rinpoche, another Ris-med master, included all the
essential doctrines of each of the four orders, as well as of the
minor subsects, in his great masterpiece, The Treasure of
Doctrine.
All of these great masters, the greatest minds that Tibetan
Buddhist history have produced, agreed that there is no place in
the pure Dharma for a sectarian attitude. The Buddha Himself taught
in The Book of Discipline and in various sutras that those Buddhist
who form attachments to their own school of Buddhism and despise
the teachings, masters and followers of other schools, create great
harm for themselves and for the Buddhist community as a whole.
First of all, one who despises another Buddhist school despises
the Buddha. He impairs the transmission of the Dharma. The presence
of the Dharma is jeopardized by such an attitude, and one becomes
cut off from its transmission. This is so because one's refuge vows
are based upon reliance on the Enlightened One, His Teachings, and
the Holy Community. If one rejects Dharma one breaks one's refuge
vow and thereby becomes cut off from the Dharma. By rejecting this
Dharma that is the only door to happiness for beings and oneself,
one accumulates inexhaustible sin.
Therefore, the Buddha taught that one should also not despise
the Dharma of non-Buddhists for it is their source of happiness and
benefit. One should not despise or harbour contempt for the
doctrines of the Hindus, Christians, or other non-Buddhist
religions because this attitude of attachment to one's own side
while rejecting the possibility of differences is harmful to one's
own spiritual career.
Those people who harbour voiced or unvoiced contempt for the
teachings and the lineage of other schools incur great sin and
terrible consequences. Worst of all, this attitude is as
unnecessary as it is harmful.
Students of Dharma ought to be moved by faith in the teachings
of the Buddha to renounce the distractions, delusions, and bonds of
the world and to direct their efforts toward purifying their minds
of obstacles, obscurations, and sins. They should devote themselves
to efforts in accumulating those virtues and realizations that
bring about Buddhahood and great benefit for themselves and others.
This is the real task that each Buddhist has before him or her. Our
work is not one of competing or vying with other Buddhist
practitioners, thereby creating obstacles for them and for
ourselves. This was not the responsibility set before us when we
took upon ourselves the vows of refuge and the vows of
Bodhisattvahood.
Faith is the foundation of the Dharma. It is faith in the
authenticity and the truth of Buddhist teachings and confidence in
the efficacy of the path to enlightenment that impels us to take
upon ourselves the commitments of vows. It moves us to take upon
ourselves the commitments of the monastic vows, novice vows, or the
precepts of the lay householder.
In all of these, our faith in the authenticity of the Three
Jewels is. the cornerstone of the vows and trainings to which we
commit ourselves. If we reject the Dharma of other Buddhists, we
destroy our own commitment to Dharma. We impair our standing in the
Dhaka and create an obstacle to its reception. We destroy the
cornerstone of our own spiritual career.
For these reasons, keep always in mind the great value of
Dharma. Reject within yourself and in others any attitude that
promotes the lessening of faith. We strive always for pure faith
--- faith that is intelligent, based upon the understanding that we
must cherish these Three Jewels as the foundation of our own hopes
for Buddhahood.
People who adopt this narrow-minded attitude of sectarianism are
usually ignorant of the doctrines that other orders possess.
Instead they base their sectarianism upon lineage. They reject the
teachers, rather than the teachings of other schools.
The lineages of each of the three systems of discipline, which
form the structure of Dharma training for all Buddhists, are
derived directly from Shakyamuni Buddha himself. The Pratimoksha
vows originated with the Buddha and were transmitted in success ion
through the great Indian sages to the Tibetan patriarchs They have
continued in a pure and unbroken succession down to our present
time.
The same is true of the profound doctrines and precepts of the
Bodhisattva's' 5 vows, which were also taught by the Shakyamuni
Buddha and transmitted through the great sages of Buddhist India
and Tibet. From the master Nagarjuna we have the Manjushri
tradition' of the Bodhisattvas vows and from the master Asanga and
his successors we have the 'Maitreya tradition'
Similarly, in the Vajrayana, all the tantras were expounded by
Buddha in His tantric form --- that of Vajradhara. These tantras
and their instructions were transmitted from Vajradhara to various
masters of Buddhist Tibet. Those same tantras and instructions have
been transmitted purely, without interruption, down to the present
time. They are common to all of the four orders. Though the lineage
of masters may vary from order to order, there is no flaw in the
purity and continuity of their transmission.
These three sets of vows provide the framework or structure that
enables each one of us to progress on the path to liberation. Thus,
there is no fault in any school, or its doctrines or its lineage.
Where in all these could an intelligent person find justification
for sectarianism?
It is certainly natural and permissible that we might feel a
special affinity with one or another school or be drawn to a
particular system of practice, to a particular circle of meditators
or to a particular teacher. But when we do this, we must also be
sure to watch our mind and weed out from it any feelings of
contempt for, or aversion to, other schools of Buddhism. We should
not shun their teachings or their teachers. Whenever we act simply
out of attachment to our own order or from a wish not to be
receptive to the teachings or teachers of other orders, we are
indulging ourselves in this very harmful attitude of
sectarianism.
One whose Dharma career is tainted by narrow-mindedness and
attachment to one's own interests while rejecting those of others
will never overcome the many obstacles to the attainment of wisdom
or insight.
Sectarianism turns the pure Dharma into poison through it, one
accumulates great sin. In this life one will be frustrated in one 5
own Dharma efforts. Upon death, one will fall into hell as swiftly
d5 an arrow shot from a bow. These are the consequences of spending
a lifetime in rejecting others' spiritual efforts on such
narrow-minded grounds.
Therefore be mindful not to indulge in this attitude that brings
so much unsought harm upon yourself. Do not create obstacles to
your own Dharma. Strive instead for pure faith and maintain that
faith in all manifestations of the Three Jewels, no matterwhether
they are represented in one school of Tibetan Buddhism or in
another. Painstakingly nurture your refuge vows and pure faith and
thereby grow truly in the Dharma.
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