Class 4 - Nature & Categories of Mahayana Path of Preparation

The 4th class of Spring 2014 term was held on Monday, the 14th day of April. The Mahayana Path of Preparation is the topic of the first half of the term.

Download the Spring 2014 Course Text-PDF, prepared by Geshe Kelsang Wangmo.

Please NOTE: Geshe Wangmo presented an overview of the Mahayana Path of Preparation in the 7th Class of the Spring 2013 Term. You can download the Recorded MP3 tracks of that class, together with a transcript of NOTES from the class, and the Handouts Geshe Wangmo prepared as the text for that class at this blog's April 24, 2013 POST.

DOWNLOAD Recorded MP3 Tracks of Class 3:

Track 1 - Review (Mental Support required to move from one level to the next on the Path of Preparation, i.e., a Concentration).

Q&A Discussion, e.g.,

• Concentrations: Human beings can generate/have Concentrations. 
• Concentrations are required to move from one level of the Path of Preparation to the next level; 
• Not all moments on the Path of Preparation (or the Path of Seeing) are Concentrations as practitioners are not always in meditation and, even in meditation, when focused on the Method aspects of the path, may not be on a Concentration.

Track 2 - 2. Nature (of the Mahayana Path of Preparation).

[Handout pp. 30-1 - continuing Six Topics that introduce this Path [Handout p. 27] in Panchen Sonam Drakpa's General Meaning (phar phyin spyi don - ཕར་ཕྱིན་སྤྱི་དོན་).

Terminology:

• Path of Concordance with Liberation (ཐར་པ་ཆ་མཐུན་) - synonym of Path of Accumulation.   
• Clear Realization of the Truth - synonym of Path of Seeing.

Introduction to aspects of the Nature of this Path:

• Path of Preparation:  
• is mundane Mahayana path; 
• arises subsequent to the completion of its cause, the Path of Concordance with Liberation; 
• is a similitude of the Clear Realization of the Truth

Explanation of Relevent Passages from Three Commentaries [Handout p. 31]:

Arya Asanga, Summary of Manifest Knowledge (Skt. Abhidharmasamuccaya; Tib. mngon pa kun btus - མངོན་པ་ཀུན་བཏུས་):

Whatever exists on the [path of] accumulation also exists on the [path of] preparation

Vasubhandu, Commentary on Distinguishing Dharma and Dharmata (Skt., Dharma Dharmata Vibhanga; Tib.: chos nyid rnam 'byed kyi 'brel ba - ཆོས་ཉིད་རྣམ་འབྱེད་ཀྱི་འབྲེལ་བ་):

All are thoroughly distinguished by [awarenesses arisen from] hearing, contemplation, and meditation

Gyaltsab Je, Ornament of the Essence (རྣམ་བཞད་སྙིང་པོ་རྒྱན་):

[The nature of the Mahayana Path of Preparation is] a mundane Mahayana path [that arises] subsequent to the completion of a concordance with liberation, and that is a similitude of the 'clear realization of the truth'. [The Mahayana Path of Preparation] is not solely limited to being wisdoms arisen from meditation, because there are many cases of [Mahayana Paths of Preparation that are] wisdoms arisen from hearing or contemplation.

Q & A

Track 3 - 3. Categories (of the Mahayana Path of Preparation) [Handout 31-2]

 
Each of the four levels - Heat, Peak, Forbearance & Supreme Dharma have three sub-divisions:  Small, Middling, Great.  12 levels of the Mahayana Path of Preparation.

Differing interpretations regarding the meaning of the three subdivisions:

Gyaltsab Je follows a sutra quote ('categories from the point of view of temporary states'):

The categories [from the point of view of] temporary states are the three: small, middling, and great. The categories [from the point of view] of nature are the four: heat, and so forth.

Panchen Sonam Drakpa agrees with this interpretation that the three subdivisions correspond to the beginning, middle and end of each level.

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This is the 4th class of the Spring 2014 term of

the Perfection of Wisdom course
which addresses 3rd Topic - Mahayana Path of Preparation
of Chapter 1 of Maitreya's
Ornament for Clear Realizations - Abhisamayalamkara.