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 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: