2010 Class 11 - April 28

You can download high quality MP3's from Class 11, held on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, by right clicking the links below.

The Tracks are divided to ease both downloading and listening.

Track 1 - Why are we Stuck in Cyclic Existence?

“Those whose minds are attached to cyclic existence will continue to wander there constantly.” 

• Operation of Attachment and Grasping (Links of Dependent Origination) at time of Death. 
• Karma: Projecting (Throwing) & Completing; Contaminated & Uncontaminated.

Track 2 - Review Topics of Monday Class, April 26:

• Maitreya Gave Five Texts to Asanga. 
• Sources/Subject of the Ornament for Clear Realizations. 
• Sanskrit treatises’ Explanatory Methodology of Five Limbs.
• Limb of Purpose verses of the Ornament for Clear Realizations:

Ven. Kelsang Wangmo re-translated Gyeltsab Rinpoche’s text in class:

"In the last class I confused myself with my explanation. So I’ve added a few words to the (original) translation below [see Fn 1]  to make it more understandable:

The path of the exalted knower of all aspects, the Omniscient Mind, which is Explained by the Teacher, the Buddha, in these Mothers (the Perfection of Wisdom sutras), Is not experienced by others.

In order for the intelligent to behold the meaning of the Sutra, which is The entity of (or explains) the ten Dharma practices (the Ten Topics that illustrate the Omniscient Mind), through establishing mindfulness [on them], cultivating the so-called 'easy realization' is the purpose of [my] composing [the Ornament].

[In this revised translation, the bold font is the original text.]

"I read it a bit fast but if you get the recording and transcript, . . . you can read again what I’ve just said.  Basically, the Purpose of the Ornament is [to help students] to easily understand the path that leads to omniscience, which path includes all of the Eight Clear Realizations, the main topic of the Ornament — the Eight Clear Realizations are all the Paths to Omniscience."

• 21 Indian Commentaries on the Ornament for Clear Realizations.

Track 3 - Review of Handout 3 topics covered in April 26 class, cont.

• Titles of Sanskrit-Tibetan treatises:
• Haribhadra’s Clarifying the Meaning.
• Meaning of Abhisamayalamkara (Ornament for Clear Realizations.
• Four Ornaments.
• Meaning of ‘Treatise’.
• Bundles.
• Homage.

Track 4 - Ven. Wangmo explains and parses Gyeltsab Rinpoche’s Essence of the Ornament:commentary on Haribhadra's Clarifying the Meaning commentary on Maitreya's Ornament for Clear Realizations, a commentary on the hidden meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras.

• How text is Structured: Outlines (by Gyeltsab Je); Root Text (Ornament text); Commentary (Haribhadra’s text); Explanation (Gyeltsab Je’s text is interpolated into Haribhadra’s).
• Haribhadra’s Verse [see Fn 2]  is a Homage,Promise of Composition & Limb of Purpose.
• Purpose Relationship Passage - Four Properties of a Treatise
• Four Properties of Haribhadra’s Clear Meaning commentary
• Four Properties: Subject Matter, Purpose, Essential Purpose, Relationship.

Track 5 - Gyeltsab Je's Explanation of Haribhadra's verse, cont.

• Four Properties of Haribhadra’s Stanza reveal 4 Properties of the Clear Meaning.
• Value of ‘Debate’ – Discuss!
• Gyeltsab Je’s explanation of Qualities of Haribhadra’s Homage
• Refuge –Actual meanings of Refuge & the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha Jewels

2010 - Class 9 - April 23 - MP3's

Download high quality MP3's from Class 9, held on Friday, April 23, 2010, by right clicking the links below.

The Tracks are divided to ease both downloading and listening:

Track 1 - Delusions: Buddhist 'jihad'. Correct Reasoning - Antidote to Delusion.

Track 2 - Gyeltsab Je's Introduction to the Essence:  Asanga's Commentary on Maitreya's Great Vehicle Treatise of the Sublime Continuum (Uttaratantra).  Extensive, Medium & Brief Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. Unique Middle Way-Consequentialist (Prasangika) Assertion: Fundamental Vehicle Method practitioners must realize Emptiness to attain Nirvana.

Track 3 - Arya Asanga Commentary on the Uttaratanta shows that: Asanga was a Middle Way Consequentialist (Prasangika); One Final Vehicle - Prasangika Tenet. Maitreya's Ornament for Clear Realizations: Paths of Three Lineage Bearers - Three Knowers; Definite Entity, Number & Sequence;

Track 4 - Selflessness: Lack of Self-Sufficient Substantially Established Person.

Track 5 - Haribhadra, a proponent of the Middle Way-Yogacara Autonomy school. Q&A re Fundamental Vehicle & Emptiness.

Track 6 - Chandrakirti - Middle Way Consequentialist (Prasangika) Trail-Blazer. Bhavavevika - Middle Way Autonomy (Svatantrika) Trail-Blazer. Middle Way Autonomy Sub-Schools: Distinguishing Assertions (Self-Knowers & External Existence) of Sutric-Autonomy (Sautantrika-Svatantrika) - Bhavavevika Trail Blazer & Yogic-Autonomy (Yogacara-Svatantrika).

Track 7 - Shatarakshita Trail Blazer of Yogic-Autonomy (Yogacara-Svatantrika.).  Mind Only sub-schools' Assertions & Trail Blazers: True Aspectarian (Vasubandhu) & False Aspectarian (Dignaga). Sutra Sources of the Ornament for Clear Realizations: 17 Sutras: 6 Mothers & 11 Sons. Three Principal Sutra Sources.

Track 8 - Explanatory Method of Five Limbs - utilized in Sanskrit treatise composition.  Tibetan Outlines.  Our text.

2010 Class 7 - April 19 - MP3's

You can download high quality MP3's from Class 6, held on Monday, April 19, 2010, by right clicking the links below.

The Tracks are divided to ease both downloading and listening:

Track 1 - What Makes Our Practice Buddhist Practice? Subtle & Coarse Impermanence. How Many years are free for Dharma Practice in a modern human life? 'Yo-Yo Mentality' / Worldly Concerns and Daily Stress. Four Seals in Everyday Life.

Track 2 - Gyeltsab Rinpoche’s Ornament of the Essence – Introduction, cont. Review Verses & Prose Text covered in Class 6. Acharya Asanga's Qualities.

Track 3 - Spread of Buddhism. Arya Asanga, Mind Only Trail-Blazer. Manifest, Slightly Hidden & Extremely Hidden Phenomena. Teachings that Asanga from Maitreya

Track 4 - Five Treatises of Maitreya. Maitreya & Asanga texts for Mind Only system. Middle Way Trail-Blazer, Nagarjuna used the King of Meditative Stabilization & the Teachings of Akshayamati sutras to differentiate definitive sutras from those requiring interpretation for the Middle Way, Madhyamika school.

Track 5 - Differentiating the Three Wheels of Buddha's teachings as Definitive or Interpretable in the Mind Only, Chittamatra, School. Mind Only's Three Natures/Phenomena: Other-Powered, Thoroughly Established & All Imputed. Subject matter of Three Wheel's categorization of Buddha's teachings. Mind Only assertions. "Such is the Quality of the Buddha's speech". Buddha's Emptiness teachings in the First Wheel, Second Wheel and Third Wheel. The Bodhisattva Paramarthasamudgata question and Buddha's reply in the Third Wheel Sutra Unraveling the Thought, the definitive sutra for Mind Only.

Track 6 - Why Arya Asanga, a Middle Way Consequentialist tenet holder, re-introduced the Mind Only tenet system. Gyeltsab Je's Introduction sets out the Mind Only & Middle Way Schools interpretations of the Three Wheels as Interpretable or Definitive. Classroom Q&A. Middle Way & Mind Only Schools' meanings of 'definitive and interpretable sutras' differ.

Portion of text by Gyeltsab Rinpoche’s Ornament of the Essence – Introduction, covered in this class:

2010 Class 6 - April 16 MP3's

You can download high quality MP3's from Class 6, held on Friday, April 16, by right clicking the links below.

The Tracks are divided to ease both downloading and listening (rewinding on many devices is easier in a smaller file):

Ven. Kelsang Wangmo presents the Assertions of the Mind Only school and answers questions raised in the following tracks from Class 6 of the 2010 Perfection of Wisdom course at IBD beginning at 1:41 min.on Track 1.

Track 1 - of the Mind Only School: the Lack of External Existence.

Track 2 - Mind & its Objects are One Entity. External Existence is an Impossible Mode of Existence, yet Things Exist as mere appearances to mind.

Track 3 - Three-Fold Division of Phenomena & Three Natures (Other Powered, Thoroughly Established & All Imputed). Negation of an Impossible Mode of Existence is an Existent. Illustrations of Mind Only's Three Natures. Non-Affirming Negations.

Track 4 - How can a Negation (Emptiness) Be a Phenomenon? Emptiness: the Negation of Something that Never Exists for Mind Only & the Middle Way schools. Why we study Mind Only tenets.

Track 5 - Using logic to remove belief in the deceptive appearance of phenomena.

Track 6 - Nirvana: a non-Affirming, Negative (Permanent) phenomena. Negations: Affirming & non-Affirming.

Track 7 - What is the Difference between Nirvana & Enlightenment? Fundamental Problem: Ignorance that Mis-perceives Reality. Antidotes to Delusion lead to Nirvana with 'residue of Obscurations to Omniscience. Two Itineraries for the Journey to Nirvana & Enlightenment.

Track 8 - The Meaning of Selflessness. How can phenomena come into being by virtue of our designation?

Track 9 - Ven. Wangmo continues to parse and explain the course's English text by Gyaltsab Je from the last paragraph of p. 1 - part of paragraph 1, p. 2: