Class 5 - Truth of Suffering - Five Aggregates, Six Categories

Download PDF's of Class materials and MP3 Tracks from the 5th class of Fall 2011 term held on Wednesday, September 21:

DOWNLOAD Handouts used in Class 5 & Class NOTES  (i.e., very rough transcript):

2011 Handout 6 - Five Contemplations of the Sufferings of Encountering what is Unpleasant, cont. 3-5.  Five Contemplations of the Sufferings of Separation from what is Pleasant.  Suffering of Not Getting What We Want.  Five Contemplations of the Sufferings of Having the Five Aggregates - 1-3, (cont. in Handout 7.)

2011 Handout 7 - Sufferings of Having the Five Aggregates, cont. 4-5.  Six-Fold Categorization of Suffering (cont. in Handouts 8 & 9):  1):  1) Suffering of Uncertainty.

2011 Handout 8 - cont. Six-Fold Categorization of Suffering:  2) Suffering of Insatiability.  3) Suffering of Having to Give up our Bodies Repeatedly.  (cont. in Handout 9)   

Class 5 NOTES - rough draft transcript - offered for what they are worth. (If you are interested in assisting in proofing/editing, contact Ven. Tenzin Nordron.)

ALL FALL 2011 PDFs re Truth of Suffering are HERE.

DOWNLOAD MP3 TRACKS:

Track 1 - Buddha said:

In brief, the Five Contaminated Aggregates are suffering.

Two of the Five Aggregates are Mental Factors:

• Discrimination - ordinary and intellectual.   
• Feelings 

Understanding the Five Aggregates in relation to the four Form Concentrations and four Formless concentrations. 

• Five-fold Categorization of Feelings (in terms of coarser/subtler; easier/harder to overcome):
• Limited Discrimination of Desire Realm must be overcome to attain Form Realm.
• Form Realm Concentrations overcome Worldly/Contaminated Feelings - only Buddhist Path can overcome the Neutral contaminated feeling.
• First Concentration of the Form Realm overcomes the mental feeling of displeasure.
• Second Concentration of the Form Realm overcomes the unpleasant feeling associated with physical consciousness.  
• Third Concentration of the Form Realm overcomes the pleasurable feeling associated with mental consciousness.  
• Fourth Concentration of the Form Realm overcomes the pleasurable feeling associated with physical consciousness. 

• Having then transcended the Extensive Discrimination of Form Realm, one may attain the Immeasurable Discrimination of Formless Realm.  Buddhism does not urge attainment of Formless Realm rebirth with its four concentrations of: 

• Limitless Space, Limitless Consciousness, Nothingness, Peak of Cyclic Existence.

Track 2 - Suffering of (having) the Five Aggregates (5 points) – [Handout 6, p. 2]:

• Five (contaminated) Aggregates are Vessels of Suffering (1) in the future; (2) that presently exists; (3) the Suffering of Suffering. [Handout 7] - (4) the Suffering of Change

Track 3 - Five Contaminated Aggregates are vessel of

• (4)  Suffering of Change, cont.; and of 
• (5) Pervasive Compositional Suffering. 
• Neutral Feelings are a Pervasive Compositional Suffering.

Track 4 - Necessity ofunderstanding First Noble Truth in order to generate Renunciation (which is required to generate Bodhicitta).

Six Categories of Suffering

     1.  Suffering of uncertainty. [Handout 8] - regarding the relationships we have with other people.

     2.  Suffering of insatiability:  As it says in the Compendium of the Perfections (a Perfection of Wisdom Sutra):

You get what you want,

Use it up, then acquire more,

And still you are not satisfied

What could be more pathetic than this? 

     3. Suffering of having to give up our bodies repeatedly.

4th - 6th Sufferings [(4) Suffering of repeated rebirth.  (5) Suffering of repeatedly descending from high to low.  (6) Suffering of having no companions.] in Class 6.

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This is the 5th class of the Fall 2011 Perfection of Wisdom course
addressing the Four Noble Truths, the 2nd sub-topic of the 2nd Topic
(Mahayana Practice Instructions) of Chapter 1 of Maitreya's
Ornament for Clear Realizations - Abhisamayalamkara.