Class 13 - Qualities of Buddha Jewel & Dharma Jewel

Download PDF's of Class Handouts, Notes, and MP3 Tracks from the 13th class of Spring 2012 term held on Wednesday, May 9.  FYI:  No class was held on Monday, May 7.

DOWNLOAD Handouts - text for Class 13:

Handout 12 - General Meaning's 5 Topics that explain Three Refuge Objects:  #2 - Identifying the nature (i.e., meaning) of the three objects of refuge:  Nature (i.e., meaning)  of the three Jewels according to:  a) Hearer Tenets (Vaibashika & Sautantrika Tenets), cont.  b)  Mahayana Tenets (Chittamatra, Madhyamika Svatantrika & Madhyamika Prasangika Tenets): (1) Nature (meaning) of the (i) Buddha Jewel, (ii) Dharma Jewel (per 8 qualities cited in Maitreya’s Uttaratantra (Sublime Continuum).

Handout 13 - General Meaning's 5 Topics that explain Three Refuge Objects:  #2 - (b)  Mahayana Tenets: (1) Nature (meaning) of the (ii) Dharma Jewel, cont.; and (iii) Sangha Jewel (per 8 qualities cited in Maitreya’s Uttaratantra (Sublime Continuum).  #3 - Difference between Conventional Refuge (not a genuinely final refuge) & Ultimate Refuge (genuinely final refuge, e.g., Buddha Rupakayas).

ALL SPRING 2012 PDF Handouts are HERE.

DOWNLOAD MP3 TRACKS:

Track 1 - Review:  Buddha Jewel’s Eight Qualities per Mahayana Tenets:

     (1) Unconditioned quality - Buddha’s Mental Consciousness lacks true existence (one aspect of the Nature Truth Body, Svabhāvakāya):  Correspondence to:

• Aspect of Sentient Beings’ Buddha Nature; & 
• Three Salient Points re lack of inherent existence of sentient beings’ mental consciousness.

Track 2 - Review, cont.  

        (2) Spontaneously Accomplished quality - Svabhāvakāya is free of adventitious defilements so Buddhas act to benefit spontaneously, without conceptual intentions.

        (3) Not Realized by Other Conditions (i.e., words & conceptuality) quality:

• Lack of Inherent Existence of any phenomena is a Slightly Hidden phenomena that can be Experienced by Sentient Beings, e.g., Nature Body (Svabhāvikakāya) that is free from the defilements of inherent existence (can be experienced by Arya in meditation);
• Extremely Hidden phenomena cannot be experienced by Sentient Beings, e.g., Nature Body (Svabhāvikakāya) that is free of adventitious defilements (which can only be realized by Buddhas’ Self-Originated Exalted Wisdom).
• Meaning of adventitious: Sanskrit:  āgantuka means:  newcomer, stranger, guest; Tibetan: (lo bo wa - གློ་བུར་བ་) means:  temporary, superficial, transient, passing. 

Track 3 - Conclude presentation of Eight Qualities of Buddha Jewel:

        (4)  Knowledge; (5) Love; & (6) Activities are Qualities for Others’ Benefit.
        (7)  Own Benefit Quality subsumes Qualities 1-3.
        (8)  Others’ Benefit Quality subsumes Qualities 4-6.

• DHARMA JEWEL (introduction).
• Two Aspects of Dharma Jewel:  Arya Paths and Cessations.

Track 4 - Dharma Jewels (per Maitreya) possess at least one of Eight Qualities that reflect the Two Aspects:

• Cessations [Quality 7] subsumes Qualities: (1) Inconceivable; (2) Free of 'the Two'; & (3) Free of Conceptual Awareness. 
• Arya Paths [Quality 8] subsumes Qualities: (4) Pure; (5) Luminous; (6) Aspect of an Antidote; Cessations.
• Quality (7) that which is [freed from attachment], i.e., Cessations; 
• Quality (8) that which frees from attachment, i.e., Arya Paths.

• Traditional Mode of Dharma Studies.

Dharma Jewel Qualities (1-3)

      
(1) Unconditioned quality -  Inconceivable – Free of the Four Extremes of being:

1. truly/ultimately existent, 
2. non-existent, 
3. both [ultimately existent & non-existent], and
4. neither [truly existent nor non-existent].

(2) [Handout 13]: Free of 'the Two', i.e., free of Contaminated Karma & Afflictions.

(3) Free of Improper Conceptual Mental Engagement (ཚུལ་མིན་ཡིད་བྱེད་ཀྱི་རྣམ་རྟོག་):
Free of a Mind that mind that grasps onto the inherent existence of the I and others by perceiving all its:

• objects as inherently existent; 
• objects as being inherently pleasant, unpleasant or neutral; and 
• its own feelings of pleasure, displeasure, or neutrality as inherently existent. 
• E.g., attachment arises for an object (person, situation) due to perceiving our feelings of pleasure as truly existent and as qualities of that truly existent object.  Mind realizing Emptiness directly cannot be affected by such improper conceptual mental engagement, so that freedom is a quality of the Dharma Jewel.

NOTES of Class 13 (May 9) rough draft transcript of class offered for what it's worth.

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This is the 13th class of the Spring 2012 term Perfection of Wisdom course
which addresses Refuge, the 3rd sub-topic of the 2nd Topic
(Mahayana Practice Instructions) of Chapter 1 of Maitreya's
Ornament for Clear Realizations - Abhisamayalamkara.