Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Kyab conducts the ninth in a series of Tuesday classes on the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, a foundational Buddhist ethical text. This 97-minute session completes the teaching on calm abiding meditation by walking through the nine progressive levels of mental stability, from initial placement of focus on a Buddha image to the mature equipoise where concentration becomes effortless. He explains the five obstacles to meditation—laziness, forgetfulness, dullness, agitation, and over-application of antidotes—and the eight specific remedies, emphasizing that balance is critical. Geshe Kyab then pivots to insight meditation, using the sevenfold reasoning on the chariot to teach analytical investigation into selflessness and interdependence. He stresses that calm abiding alone, however blissful, cannot liberate without the wisdom of the second meditation, comparing the pair to legs and eyes. Directed at practitioners with some prior Buddhist study, the session is practical and technical, supporting serious practitioners preparing for retreat or deepening daily practice.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2017 06 13.mp3
UUID: ab905eab-6e96-41f1-8a25-1ac2c47ab7a9
Teacher: Geshe Kyab
Collection: 37 Practices Tuesday (Geshe Kyab)
Date: 2017-06-13
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 97.4 minutes
Words: ~8,341
Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Page thirty-four, please. I go for refuge until I am enlightened to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and Bodhisattva assembly. By the practice of giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha for all sentient beings.
May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness. Free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May all sentient beings be inseparable from the happiness that is free from suffering. May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment for friends, hatred for enemies. Reverently, I prostrate with my body, speech, and mind.
A pleasant cloud of every type of offering actually emerges. I declare all my negative actions accumulated since beginningless time. Rejoice in merit of all others. Please remain until the end of cyclic existence and turn the wheel of Dharma for living beings. Dedicate this merit towards great enlightenment.
Page ninety-seven, please. Short mandala offering. Mantra, please. Thank you. Okay.
Last week we talked about the Bodhisattva practice number twenty-nine. That’s last week. Yes. And twenty-nine. Today I am going to do some part of the twenty-nine because I couldn’t finish that — nine levels of mental stability, which is also very important to know. Then the practice number thirty, thirty-one, possibly maybe thirty-two.
So next week, I will finish the thirty-seven practices. A few verses are going to be next week. Then I think Tuesday the twenty-seventh is going to be the new class, the Foundation of All Good Qualities. I think, yeah, the twenty-seventh of this month is going to be the new class. So last week we discussed some part of the calm abiding or the mental stability, mental quiescence.
This one is the basic meditation. When we are talking about it, actually this one is particularly what we are talking about. However, there are many different ways people do this meditation, of course. But it’s important to know when you meditate, there are some five faults and eight antidotes. So last week we talked about the five faults and eight antidotes.
Down here somewhere. These are also last week — we talked about the six relying-on preconditions for meditative serenity. So preparation of meditative serenity, there are six requirements. So if this first six here is this: these are the general — Buddhism and non-Buddhism.
You need these six requirements. Dwelling in an appropriate area, having little desire, being content, completely giving up many activities, pure ethical discipline, completely getting — I don’t know what is this — getting rid of thoughts of desire, etc. So these are both Buddhism and non-Buddhism because this meditation is — you say it? — common for Buddhism and non-Buddhism. The next six requirements are for the people who are practicing Buddhadharma.
So these are the — I’m sorry. Where is that? Now a little bit here, maybe I think. Uh-oh. No, no.
Maybe I missed something. So these are the posture, you know, body position — how to do the body position. Okay, here something is missing. One minute.
Okay, now I don’t know. Something is happening here in the computer. I cannot concentrate — here, here, here, three things. It’s difficult. Anyway, I think we did that last week.
See, now my time is — if I search then — Okay. I’m just going to show you. Last week, I hope you may have this written down there. But something is missing from this computer. I don’t know why.
I saved. Okay. Now another one is missing. Okay. I’ll leave it this way.
This one is the six requirements. Also, there are another six requirements. Last week we talked about it. I put down on the screen. Those are the — only for the — these six requirements are for the Buddhism and non-Buddhist practitioner, whoever is meditating.
And the next six requirements that I gave you last week, now I cannot move down. See? I don’t know why. There’s nothing here. Maybe this way.
This is not moving. Some obstacle today. It’s not moving. I tried to move up and down, but I couldn’t do. See?
Okay, that’s good. Thank you. Maybe this is better. This is what I just mentioned. Here are also the meditative postures.
You can just look at the screen. I finished this one — body position, how to do body position and hand and tongue, everything is here. And also we talked about the five faults: laziness, forgetting instructions, dullness and agitation, non-application of antidotes, over-application of antidotes. So these are very, very important to understand. These are the five faults. When you meditate, of course laziness is one thing that occurs. Then forgetting instructions. If you forget the instructions, that means then you cannot meditate because there are no instructions. Dullness and agitation.
Dullness is very much your mind is downgrading, very sleepy mind. Also dullness does have gross dullness and subtle dullness. So the agitation is part of the attachment. You are agitated. That means your mind is not on the object.
Your mind is agitated, meaning you are distracted. So which is part of the attachment. Also agitation is also the gross agitation as well as subtle agitation. Non-application of antidotes. When there are some faults or mental dullness or agitation, you must be applying the antidote.
So then now, after applying the antidote, which is the antidote — whatever antidote for which fault — once you apply it, then you need to leave it that way. But if you do overapply the antidote, this over-application of antidote is also not good. So this is another fault. Over-application of antidote is another fault. So the main thing is the balance is very important.
It’s the same as when you cook something, if you put some of those masala ingredients in it, if you have a good balance, food would be good taste. If one side of the ingredient is too much, then food is not tasty. Nobody eats, isn’t it? Balance is very important. Here is also mental stability.
You need so much balance. Some people may think they know how to meditate. So now here is everything here. Now you know whether you’re really meditating or not. These are the basic meditation.
We are not talking about the analytical yet. We are talking about — this is the basic meditation, you know. It’s very, very important to understand. Sometimes here in the West, there are so many things you can hear from different teachers. On the internet, there are many things they put down there.
People feel good about it. It’s good, you know, but sometimes it’s not so good because people are just seeking only that kind of meditation. Then if you do that, there wouldn’t be any progress. Finish. Because all those things, when you look at the internet sometimes, also they sell very well, you know, and they make a lot of money too because of the way they express things — perfect for the Western mind.
But now it comes like this, difficult. But this is the pure. This is actually how you’re supposed to meditate. You need all this also — to understand the five faults, eight antidotes, and nine levels of stability. This is the real.
This is from the book, not I made it. Or I just brought some from the internet. No, it’s from the book. It’s from the Buddha himself. This is the calm abiding.
This is the mental quiescence. See? Of course, in order to successfully meditate like that, we need to learn everything we need to learn. And learning is not only just looking at the screen and just noting down and finishing. Note, look at there, note down, then now go back and do.
Then now here, inside you need to get some experience, your own experience, following the instructions. So that’s why the forgetting instructions is another fault. So that’s why you need mindfulness. These are the five faults. And now down here are the eight antidotes.
See, here is the faith, aspiration, enthusiastic perseverance, pliancy, mindfulness, alertness, application of antidotes, non-application of antidotes. These are the eight here. So now here is the application of eight antidotes. How to apply those eight antidotes? Faith, aspiration, enthusiastic perseverance and pliancy as antidotes to laziness.
If you are lazy to meditate, you need faith, you need to build up faith. Why you need to meditate? You need some — you need to understand the benefit of meditating. Aspiration, enthusiastic perseverance, pliancy, these are the antidotes to laziness. Because then you feel like meditating.
If you do have faith in this meditation or aspiration, enthusiastic perseverance and pliancy, then mindfulness as antidote to forgetting instructions. If you forget the instructions, you need to build mindfulness. You need to increase mindfulness. In order to increase mindfulness, you need to do more contemplation. You need to do more thinking consistently about all the instructions of meditation.
Application of alertness is an antidote to mental dullness and agitation. Mental alertness is also called vigilance, or watchful mind, whether dullness occurs or not, whether agitation occurs or not. That’s called a watchful mind. A lot. You need to do a lot.
Although your mind is meditating, another mind must be watchful, like the same as like spying, you know, you are spying whether your mind is in the right place or maybe mind is agitated or mind is maybe too much downgrading or dullness or not. So these are — you need another mind to watch. So that’s called alertness. Okay. And application of antidotes to counter there are non-applications.
When you need to apply the antidotes, you apply the antidotes to counter when there is non-application. Non-application of antidotes to counter there is over-application. The point is when you need to apply the antidote, if you don’t apply the antidote, that’s one fault. And so that’s why you must apply the antidote. But then if no need to apply the antidote, and if you overapply the antidote, which is a fault, so that’s why you need to — you shouldn’t be applying over-antidote.
Something, you know — maybe you need that — balance is very important. So both of these are the — one must be applied antidote, and one is if you apply over-antidote, which is also not good, you need to stop. You shouldn’t be applying antidote at all. So now I’m going back. So these are what we did last week.
I’m just wondering, another six requirements are missing. I don’t know why. So these are the body positions. Very interesting. Somewhere here must be.
Today is this one now. Nine levels of calm abiding. So these are very important. Okay. Firstly, placement or setting.
Okay, having all these requirements, six requirements, and also you learned now the five faults and eight antidotes, then how to apply the eight antidotes to five faults. Everything you learned now, and everything is on the table, let’s say now. So now you are ready to meditate, isn’t it? So then now there are tantric ways of meditating this calm abiding and sutric ways. Today we are going to talk about only the sutric way how to meditate calm abiding.
But then now, you need one object. So now object is — generally speaking, in calm abiding, you don’t need any specific object in this meditation. You can select any object. However, I am going to suggest it is good to select the object as a Buddha’s image. However, first you need to look at the Buddha’s image, what a Buddha looks like, because Buddha is the holy being.
Then you need to set up Buddha’s image, you know, the size of your thumb. This much size. The size of your thumb. That Buddha’s image — first look at the Buddha’s image. Then after that, you cannot meditate looking at Buddha’s image.
Meditation is not done by the eyes. Meditation is done by the mental consciousness. Once you look at the Buddha’s image, then now you need to build a similar image, which is called mental image. Okay? So that mental image of the Buddha is then your object of observation, and also the size must be not bigger than your thumb.
Now the problem is where should I be putting Buddha’s image? Up somewhere in the sky, or maybe down? No. This is now very critical. If you put too much lower Buddha’s image, mental dullness occurs.
But if you put too much up, mental agitation may occur. Okay? That’s why this Buddha’s image — above your navel, space above your navel, maybe somewhere here, better. Or you can also set it between your two eyebrows. How do you say it?
This one is eyebrow. Eyebrow, yeah? Between two eyebrows. Here, middle of your forehead. This much, you know.
I’m just giving you an idea. Maybe here. Or maybe the space above your navel. Am I saying navel? Navel.
Sorry, navel pronunciation. Navel, yes. Thank you. Navel, not the navy. Yes.
Above — space above your navel. Thank you. Usually I don’t use these small other words, you know, sometimes pronunciation is — anyway. Or between these two eyebrows. Okay? Here.
So that’s only the size of your thumb, not bigger than that. And also Buddha’s image must not be just the image like a stone or not something like a picture. Also think about the living Buddha. Living Buddha also has some natural light. When I was saying living Buddha, it doesn’t mean that you are also imagining Buddha as an ordinary living human being or something like this.
Real Buddha. Living and real Buddha’s image. You need to think about it. I have here a real Buddha and also the nature of light, surrounded by the nature of light and beautiful. It’s very much fresh.
And so something like that you need to imagine. Not just the stone Buddha or just the Buddha in the picture, not like that. So once you do that, then now you need to observe, isn’t it? So that’s why the first one is the placement or setting. You need to set that Buddha’s image as your object of observation.
Now you need to observe. So that’s the meaning of your focus. Focus on that image, living Buddha, visualized. So that’s now the meaning of how to set mind on the object. Okay.
So — Okay. So placement or setting. Now placement is the first step. First step you are setting mind on that image, living Buddha’s image, size of thumb.
Now beginning, don’t try to see that Buddha’s image clearly, you know, you cannot do that. Beginning. It’s okay. Beginning a little cloudy, but try to see it like a shape of a Buddha, but also have this notion there is a living Buddha, the yellow robes wearing, but it’s a little cloudy, foggy. It is okay.
No problem. No problem. That’s the beginning now. But then now, if you can hold that cloudy shape of the living Buddha during the time of twenty-one times we take breath in and out, inhalation and exhalation — during twenty-one times, if you can hold it, then you are already in placement.
You are in this first level out of the nine levels. Do you understand? That’s called placement or setting. So then now second one is — even though when you do this meditation, you know, there would be distractions. Of course, why not?
But what I’m saying here is if you can hold that foggy image of the Buddha, same as during twenty-one times breathing — maybe one minute, I’m not sure — twenty-one times. Check it out. If you can hold that even though it is a little fuzzy, a little cloudy, without distracting, without losing it — if you can hold it for twenty-one times of breathing, the duration of the breathing, then you are really in placement or setting, which is very good, which is the first progress. During that time, there would be many, many disturbances. You will wonder why so many of these popping-up things.
You may feel, oh, maybe these are something new. These are not new disturbances. These are already in our mind. Now everything is popping up because you try to do some good things. You try to focus on something. Regularly, we don’t look at it that way, so that’s why even though all these distractions are within our mind, we didn’t realize.
But then now when you try to focus and concentrate, all these pop up. See? But don’t worry about that. It’s very normal in the beginning. So at this point, are good things — what you need to do: stop concentrating and focusing on that Buddha’s image that you selected as object of observation, you can do maybe some breathing meditation, in and out, maybe twenty-one times, or maybe nine times.
Try to trick your mind. So this will help you to cut out those distractions. Okay, this will help you. So that’s another trick you can do. Or you can just stand up and maybe go a little bit here and there, try to make yourself comfortable, then go back and meditate or do some walking meditation also.
So that’s now the first one. I’m moving a little quickly. Second one is the continual setting, rgyun du ‘jog pa, continually. Now not only just the placement or setting, now you are continually setting. So that means continually setting, so this one is the same thing.
There would be some popping-up things, like distractions, things happening. But if you do continually put some effort — continually this placement or setting — then maybe, you know, sometime you can be able to hold the object maybe duration of one full mala of Om Mani Padme Hum. Hundred and eight here. Om Mani Padme Hum.
Duration of one full mala of Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum. Without losing the object, without distracting from the object. If you can hold the duration of one full recitation of Om Mani Padme Hum, then you are in continually setting.
So that’s very good progress. Much better than the first one. Then the patch-like setting, lan te ‘jog pa. So this one is the patch-like setting, it’s the patching. Same thing — you try to really continually set, but then sometimes your mind distracts, mind runs away from the object, you are bringing back and patching.
You know, sometimes when we get tearing in our clothes, we patch pieces of materials or cloth, you know, something like that. So your patching, patch-like setting will help you to more familiarization. So meditation means you need to familiarize, more familiarization, and you need to familiarize that particular object. So even though sometimes you lose the object, but now because you already approached — you finished placement and continual setting progress — because of these wonderful two levels of progress, very easy to bring back mind and set on the object because of the progress of the placement and the continual setting. Then the close setting.
Okay. Close setting is now you are quite — really almost coming to the halfway of this level. Close setting. Because now our problem can be forgetting instructions, could be. Because now getting better and better, sometimes too much is going on in our mind.
So that’s why mindfulness is very, very important at this point. Okay, close setting is the improved mindfulness. So then you will be at that level of the calm abiding — close setting — if you improve your mindfulness. Then the controlled setting, number five. Because of the close setting, you improve your mindfulness very strongly, you know, maybe pushed a little bit because you feel that now progress is much better, so I want to improve my mindfulness because instructions should not be forgotten.
Maybe sometimes because of this application of strong mindfulness, because of that, when you approach controlled setting, you may really — you know, dullness occurs. Maybe dullness because of the strong — remember, sometimes a strong antidote is also not good. It’s possible. But I cannot tell you. I can tell only my own meditation, you know.
But this is generally speaking, you are the one who needs to find out what is happening at that level. But generally speaking, because at the time of the close setting, you improve the mindfulness to not forget the instructions. Because of that, when you try to approach the controlled setting, then maybe dullness could occur. Okay, dullness. So that’s why at this point you need shes bzhin, means mental alertness.
See now? Now you need mental alertness. Why I’m saying, oh — Okay, Tibetan. Okay. That’s what you need now, mental alertness.
Whether mental dullness is happening or not. So it’s very, very important. Or am I having mental dullness, gross mental dullness, or subtle mental dullness. So that’s why now mental alertness is very, very important. So when mental — this gross level mental dullness is something like you have stability, however, no clarity.
When you are focusing that image, you have stability nature. But no clarity. So that’s called gross-level mental dullness. But then you have both — stability, clarity. Both, which is good.
But not so strong holding it. Any minute or any time you could lose clarity, so is the stability. Could lose. So that’s called subtle level mental dullness. Many times practitioners misunderstand when they are having this subtle level mental dullness, because of subtle level mental dullness, stability is there, clarity is there.
They feel like, oh, maybe now I have achieved calm abiding. Yes. But after all, no. Because they are still not strong holding it. For instance, I have a glass of water, and my hand is holding the glass.
Stability — let’s say, just an example. I have stability, so does clarity. Just an example. But I’m not holding strongly. If I don’t hold strongly, I could lose my hand.
I can break the glass. See? Something like this. What I need? Very strongly hold.
Like this. Then now I cannot lose the glass. I cannot break the glass. Something like that. There is stability.
Mind is calm and peace, which is calm abiding. Calm. Clarity, you can see the image very clearly. But the problem is not so strong. Not so strong holding it for as long as you can.
But then sometimes clarity may disappear, or maybe the stability may disappear. See? So that’s now control. Yes? Yes, controlled setting.
Then the pacification. Pacification is — because at the time of controlled setting, you had this dangerous mental dullness, both the gross dullness or subtle one. Then you apply the antidotes because of this — you vigilantly apply the mental alertness. And you apply the antidote, whatever antidote needed at that point. But then when you — pacification is number six — because at the time of the controlled setting, mental dullness occurs.
And then what you need to do, you need to bring up your mind, actually. You know, try to bring up your mind. And how can you do? So that’s why you need to understand, you need to feel some happiness. Also faith is very important.
Faith is very important. And also, as much as you can, try to bring your mind up. Dullness is the sleepy mind, a little depressed, downgrading. So in order to cut out the dullness, you need to bring your mind up. So this point is that you need to really feel the benefit of meditating, and try to think about many virtues also.
Stop meditating. And now you have some analytical thinking. You know, have some thinking about all these virtues, the bodhicitta, and how beautiful generating bodhicitta, and so much benefit of meditating. Make a little, you know, mind try to bring up. Because of that, when you — pacification, then maybe another danger may occur.
Maybe you try to bring the mind up too much. Now maybe the agitation — danger is the agitation. Okay? That could be at the time of pacification. Yes.
So at this point, what you need is to apply another antidote to bring the mind a little bit down. Not too much down because you need to make balance. So at this point you can also think about the suffering of lower realms, suffering of hell beings, you know, a little bit kind of try to bring the mind a little downgrade, a little bit, because too much up is not good. So that’s why you need to bring a little bit down, make this balance.
So that’s the pacification. Of course, the same thing, you need to apply also the alertness. Alertness, all of this is needed. Then the complete pacification. Complete pacification, yeah, complete pacification is — complete pacification is almost now you will be going to have a realization of mindfulness, I think.
Then you will be very good for it, you know. Almost then it’s very easy to protect against the dangers of mental dullness and agitation because once you approach the complete pacification, your mindfulness is now realization of the mindfulness. Mindfulness will be very much solid, more solid than before. So this point is — even though you need some effort to control the mental dullness, so is the agitation.
However, your mindfulness is going to be very, very strong mindfulness. Okay. Complete pacification. Then the single-pointed, which is number eight. Single-pointed, which is before number nine.
So, here is the rtse gcig pa, yeah, single-pointed, here it says single-pointed, and then ‘du byed pa which is number nine. Single-pointed is not yet you have achieved calm abiding. However, at this point — because from your effort, try to concentrate and focus on the object, then in order to control the mental dullness and agitation, you put strong effort to — you know, until you are doing that meditation — I don’t know how long you do, one hour, two hours, three hours.
With that strong effort to control the danger of those two faults, dullness and agitation, once you start putting effort, then during that meditation time, whatever how long you do, during that meditation, there is no mental dullness and agitation occur. See? Because of the strong effort or diligence, because of that, then the mental dullness and agitation totally cannot appear until you stop that duration of meditation.
It could be three hours, four hours, or it could be five hours, because calm abiding is saying you must meditate calm abiding except eating, going to the bathroom, or sleeping, then you need to meditate. Now, this meditation is what would be your duration? A few hours? There wouldn’t be any mental dullness and agitation because of the power of effort.
So that’s single-point — level of single-pointed, which is number eight. Then the equipoise, or equal setting, which is number nine. So this point is that now you are very much familiar. It’s almost realization of familiarization. Almost similar like — here they give you an example also.
Even though you are saying — just an example — twenty-one Tārā’s prayers, let’s say, you don’t need that much effort. You can say twenty-one Tārā’s prayers very effortlessly. Effortlessly you can say it. Or you can also — any sort of prayers you do daily basis. Without effort, you can say it.
Effortlessly you can say twenty-one Tārā’s prayers. Effortlessly you can say other prayers. Because at this point, don’t need effort. Same as, now you can be able to focus on that image effortlessly. There’s no need of effort.
Totally non-effort, effortlessness. Okay. So equipoise or equal setting. But not yet you are approaching calm abiding. You are very much now in realization of familiarization.
You know, you can very easily set mind on the object, very easily. Stop it. There wouldn’t be any dullness, any agitation. When you put — when you set your mind on virtues, that mind goes totally on virtues. There is no stopping.
But then after this familiarization, continually you are meditating, meditating, meditating, meditating, then when really it’s called the physical and mental pliancy — when you achieve physical and mental pliancy after meditating, after arriving at the ninth level, at the moment that concentration is called calm abiding. Now you achieve calm abiding. Yes. Totally you achieve calm abiding.
So then you are physically pliant, so is mentally. First, physically, you feel such a, you know, because of all these virtues, physically you feel this bliss. Because of that physical bliss feeling, then your mental state would be pliant or blissful. You know, feeling bliss. Like that.
So then — I think your mind is very, very easy to whatever you do, like virtues, everything is going to be virtues like that. You cannot move it. It just becomes very solid. Once you really observe any meditation, you can just observe very easily. Unbelievable kind of bliss, physically and mentally.
So that’s called calm abiding. Beautiful, isn’t it? However, you cannot stop now. Now you need to move on to the second meditation, insight meditation, is now thirty. If you look at the textbook, yes.
Without method, the other five perfections are not enabled to achieve fully accomplished Buddhahood. Therefore, to practice prajna with method — rejecting the — how do you say? Svabhava, the reality of independent, permanent self-existence of the actor, the act, the acted upon — is necessary.
Without prajna, the practice of the other five perfections is like blindness. With prajna like sight, therefore it becomes a true cause of Buddhahood. To attain this we must have the union of prajna and method. What is the nature of prajna? Seeing the — how do you pronounce — threefold? Threefold — this is the practice of the Bodhisattva.
The point is that the prajna is the wisdom. Method is the calm abiding, which is considered as method, like practice of generosity, practice of morality, practice of patience, practice of effort, concentration. These are considered as method point of the practice. Then prajna is now — you need both in order to eliminate the pain and the suffering.
So that’s why this one is — without the wisdom, all other perfections, you know, are like blindness. Practice of the generosity, practice of the morality, practice of patience, practice of effort, practice of concentration. These are all blindness without the prajna or the wisdom. Okay. So also this one is — now we are talking about the insight meditation, which is the analytical meditation.
So this one is also we should realize the non-inherent existence of the — how you say — the giver, giving, and recipient. Sometimes this one is — doer, the deed itself, and the recipient of the deed, I think. Yeah. That’s called — doer. Doer.
Doer and the deed itself, and the recipient of the deed. In all of these three, the non-inherent existence of the doer, the deed itself, and the recipient of deed. So that’s what you need to do. That is actually the analytical meditation. Okay.
Of course, the main thing is, let’s say, selflessness. That’s what we are talking about here. Meaning different ways. Selflessness is the way we’re talking about it. Selflessness is the way we need to meditate, which is also called wisdom.
And down here I have something, just one simple example. Here is the — sevenfold reasoning of the chariot. Here. Here. Sevenfold reasoning of the chariot is now you are analyzing the selflessness actually, you know.
So here is the example is the chariot. Am I saying chariot? Chariot. Yeah, chariot. Usually I call it horse cart.
That’s what I used to call it. Tibetan chariot. Of course nowadays I don’t know if there is a chariot. Actually yes, in New York, I saw it in Manhattan. You can ride the horse, you know.
They are not the same as all these chariots. But here is the example they are giving you as a basic example is the chariot. Then now you are analyzing which is exactly this chariot, which one is that. And now there is no chariot which is other than its parts. Because the chariot must be inside its own parts.
There is no chariot which is the same as its parts. There is no chariot which possesses its parts. There is no chariot which depends on its parts. There is no chariot upon which the parts depend. There is no chariot which is the collection of its parts.
There is no chariot which is the shape of its parts. The point is that let’s say chariot is one thing. Just think about a car. Just a car, you know. Think about the same thing like which one is a car?
Parts of the car? Or which one is car? I mean if you look at — if you try to find the car by searching the parts of the car, you cannot find it. But you cannot say there is no car. Car is the basis of its parts.
Like for instance, a person cannot be a person separate from its parts, which is the five aggregates. Let’s say five aggregates are all parts, you know, five aggregates are the whole basis. You cannot say person separating from its five aggregates, but you cannot also say five aggregates are a person either. You cannot say a person is beside the five aggregates either.
I mean if you look at it that way, you cannot find the self. See? So that is why now here is saying, reasoning used by Candrakīrti in his Madhyamakāvatāra, in order to establish the selflessness of the individual, and show that the self is merely a designation applied to an assembly of parts in just the same way that the designation chariot is applied to the assembly of its parts, etc. — the wheel, axle, body, and so on.
Anyway, so that’s why the self is here merely a designation applied to an assembly of parts. However, our five aggregates — five aggregates are the basis of self. So this is particularly the Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka’s point of view. That is exactly — on this basis of five aggregates, then we label the person or self onto our five aggregates.
That’s it. Just the nominal or the label — that much as self exists. But other than that, there is no self existing inherently, or truly, or intrinsically, or naturally. So that’s why these are — really you need to meditate and you need to do this analytical meditation on a daily basis. So then once you have this realization of this analytical meditation, then you achieve the second meditation, which is Vipashyana, or penetrative insight.
Then you approach, you achieve that one. So then the union of the calm abiding and insight meditation can be able to defeat all obscurations so that you can be able to liberate from saṃsāra, which is very, very good. However, many other non-Buddhist practitioners, they don’t meditate on the second one, but they already achieved their first meditation, which is the calm abiding.
So then the problem is that they really misunderstand because of this mental and physical pliancy, they are so much in attachment. So this is no peace, this is liberation. But then when they wake up from the meditation, when they see their hair, long hairs are cut by rats, then they feel a little uneasy. Sometimes in some cases maybe they get angry towards the rat.
And when they get angry towards the rats, then they knew now, okay, this is not good. I think maybe there is no liberation. After all, there is no liberation at all. Then sometimes they can also see — they will be born in the lower realms because of their particular faults. So then again they feel another wrong view.
There’s no liberation. Everything is just — how you say it — it’s just an illusion. There’s no liberation. So see, they get angry. They go down. The problem is — what I’m saying is the problem is they have not achieved second meditation, which is the Vipashyana, or the penetrative insight, which is the wisdom.
They only won one side of the meditation, which is not so powerful. It’s good, but not so powerful. That’s why Buddhism is saying, no, it’s not enough. After achieving calm abiding, you must meditate second one, which is very, very important. Second meditation is very important.
One meditation is almost like you have wisdom, you are very intelligent, your mind is very sharp, but then you have no legs, what can you do then? If you have no legs, what can you do even though your mind is very sharp, very intelligent? Sometimes many things you couldn’t do, isn’t it? So the calm abiding is like our legs, or two feet like that, two feet this.
You need to stand up. Then the wisdom — two legs, if you do have wisdom, intelligence, if you are smart, then you can do so many good things. That’s just an example. So we need both calm abiding and insight in order to fully liberate from saṃsāra. Okay?
So that’s why all these very much complicated sort of teachings, you know. But it’s not so complicated because I put down on the screen. So how can you make more than that much easier now? I’m trying to put down on the screen. But only now your side is that you are the one who needs to do this meditation one after another one, one after another one.
The book says, let’s say if you already have all these six requirements, altogether twelve — Buddhist people’s requirements — and you learn the body positions, how to do, and also you learn everything, all these nine levels. Everything — and five faults and eight antidotes. Now you have everything on your table. But then now if you meditate everything properly, within six months you can be able to achieve calm abiding.
Especially if you do this meditation with tantric — if you do have some guru yoga initiation, then there are different ways you can do it much, much quicker than the sutric one. Sometimes only sutric calm abiding takes not six months, it takes so long a time. So that’s why the tantric meditation is also very, very important.
Of course, I wouldn’t recommend if someone is new to go and get tantric initiation. There are some requirements. If you are ready, then you are ready. Then you need to do this meditation, maybe going to some Kangaroo Island or some other place, not inside the city. No.
It is difficult. Noise. So that’s why the six requirements I put down — I have no idea. Another six requirements. What happened? Anyway, so that’s why these six requirements are very, very important.
Okay, break now.
When you were meditating and breathing, and your past — you mean it came from your past? You are thinking of your past. Something really happened in the past? You are thinking that? Yes.
So you are distracted, actually. Yes. You are distracted. So, yes. That is also considered as distractions.
Because when you meditate, focus on whatever you’re focusing on. But now you are not meditating. You are thinking of your past. Actually, the past is already gone. That’s why you need to really build more faith in that concentration.
You need to build more faith. So, I think yours is mainly the agitation, not the dullness. You are agitated. Agitation is part of attachment. See?
So you should be detached. What is the benefit of thinking about your past? The past is already history. You need to think about what is the benefit. The benefit is the present meditation.
It’s the benefit in the future. So that’s why you need some detachment from your past. Maybe still you are holding something, whatever happened in the past. You must let go. See?
That’s what you need to do. You need to let go of it. Think about the past history. Present and future are very important. In order to be bright for the future, this present life is the most important.
Because you need to cause now. If not now, then when? Okay? So, this is exactly what last week we talked about it. Here are the six requirements.
Dwelling in an appropriate area. So this one is not only just the area only, but also it’s good to have someone near you. Someone is also meditating. Also, that person is also a good meditator, not a bad one. Because if he meditates well, when you try to behave badly, you feel, oh, someone is seeing me.
I must be careful. But that person is good. You need a good person there. Of course, you know, it depends on where you meditate. Also saying sometimes it’s dangerous to be alone, especially in some areas.
So that’s why before you go there and meditate, you must make sure all these six different requirements. Some area, maybe there are so many dangerous animals there, even in the jungles and the mountains. You must know there are some dangerous animals, or maybe some thieves, or some people may come and rob you, although you have nothing.
Especially women alone, sometimes dangerous. But, yeah, everything is where you meditate. Rinpoche was talking about it. Dangerous means that. So that’s why appropriate area is very important. It’s not only just dangerous from the thieves or the animals, also dangerous if you meditate in that place — maybe that place has so many spirits, bad spirits, which is also dangerous for your life also.
So before you really — if you do know in that area or inside of that cave there is some ghost or spirit, first you need to check out — the good one or the bad one. The good one is a good one. They don’t harm you. The bad one is harming you. So maybe you need to do some torma offering things.
If you have to have that area, if you have no choice, then you may need to do some torma offering to tell the spirit, please don’t harm me. I will do this every evening. I’m going to offer you this torma, this food. Then that spirit will not harm you. Or you can just move on to some other place.
See? These are everything you need to check out. So that’s called danger. Sometimes alone. So you need a brave heart. First thing is, it’s not easy to achieve calm abiding.
All these six requirements are very, very important. Anyone? But I’m not discouraging you. You can meditate calm abiding inside the city also. Little by little, it’s okay. But what I’m saying is it’s very difficult to achieve calm abiding.
I cannot achieve calm abiding in my flat. I can hear so many noises. My neighbor, bang bang bang, children, airplane, you know. And sometimes I’m laughing, wow, from here, there, even from space also, there’s noise. So how can — because then you’re distracted very easily.
See? It’s difficult. That’s why the rural area is very important. Means that. Dharamsala — some of the meditators, I know them very well. I think they have been there now almost twenty, thirty years.
I think they have already achieved more than calm abiding. The Dharamsala mountains are — I don’t think I heard. Sometimes some thieves can, but nowadays no. It’s a very much isolated area. And the Tibetan exile government also — you can donate money to those meditators — going to the office of the Tibetan exile government.
They collect some donations, and this meditator, every three months, comes down to pick up their food. In the winter, maybe six months, they stay in the mountains. All the food is already there for six months. Everything, whatever they need, and they come down. I think the Tibetan exile government is organizing for them.
It’s very nice. These are very important. This is also part of the six requirements. You need to find good water. Everything is very, very important because you are really putting your life there.
It’s very important. Not only just putting your life there, you try to do something good. So that’s why you need to make sure everything is there before you go there. So that’s why it’s good to go to the place that past times some lamas meditated. That’s why many people go to Dharamsala and Bhutan, because of the many, many high lamas.
They went there, they meditated, and they passed away. How beautiful to go. If you find something like that, oh, blessed. But here in Australia, the best thing is the Kangaroo Island, Dharmaling. That’s the best.
But still, I wouldn’t say that it’s really perfect, because it’s luxury, you know? But for me, it’s absolutely luxury. I mean, the kitchen is separated, the dining is there, two rooms, wow. Still some distraction. I will be distracted there because it’s a little luxury for me.
But if you compare meditating in Adelaide over there, that’s one hundred times better to go there. Maybe this one is the test. Then maybe you can go somewhere in the future. Maybe this is going to be a good test. Anyone?
Geshe-la, there isn’t — in meditation, if you’re in a very quiet place — when you come back to the real world, then you’re quite easily disturbed, aren’t you? Once you are oppressed — come — no. Once you have achieved calm abiding, even if you stay in Sydney and Adelaide, they will fly on the skin. No problem at all.
They know how to control everything now. They have this power. Yes. Because that’s why the calm abiding is great. It doesn’t matter if there is some noise out there or airplanes, because they can focus very well. They can concentrate very well. It doesn’t matter — I don’t know who is going to do that.
Even if you play music at the back side of them, they wouldn’t hear it. Why? Because they are very much into it. Yes, if you are halfway, if you come to the place where it’s noisy, yes, it’s a problem. So that’s why it’s better to stay there until you achieve calm abiding.
Once you achieve calm abiding, if you come down, no problem at all. They are great. Absolutely no problem at all. They can focus very well now. When they focus, there’s no noise because they are very good at that. This is the power of achieving calm abiding.
And then you still need to practice the calm abiding to keep that focus? Continually. That’s right. So if you didn’t practice regularly, then you’d lose that focus. That’s why the second meditation is very important, wisdom now. Once you achieve calm abiding, you are great.
But calm abiding is only not enough. As I mentioned to you, some of the Hindu practitioners achieve calm abiding. And they achieved calm abiding, they achieved all these concentration form realms, everything blissful. Physically, mentally, pliancy. Very good. But now, problem is when they get up from the meditation, after hundreds of thousands — they meditate, when they get up, when they see their hairs are now cut by rats.
And in here, they feel a little uneasy, which is not good. Now they try to get angry. That’s a problem now. Once you get angry — another thing is that sometimes they also achieve clairvoyance. And when they are not meditating, sometimes they just look at their future.
Where will my future be? When they see they are going to be born in hell realms, they get so angry. Why? I’m already in this bliss meditation, you know? Or maybe there’s no liberation at all.
Just they meditate, and they get all these so many assumptions and things. Then there’s another problem. So that’s why the second meditation, analytical, is reality, actual fact. Second meditation will help you to understand the reality, ultimate reality. So that’s why, in unity with the calm abiding and insight, the second meditation can be able to defeat all obscurations.
Once you defeat the obscurations, then you are really free from saṃsāra, which is supposed to be. Then, the next thing is you need to achieve full enlightenment. Now you are halfway to enlightenment. Now you need to do Mahāyāna practice. But it depends — depends on if beginning you practice Mahāyāna, or first you are practicing Theravāda.
It depends on that. If you are practicing at the beginning of Theravāda, once you liberate from saṃsāra, then you need to engage Mahāyāna. In the beginning, you already engaged Mahāyāna, but maybe now you are approaching Mahāyāna level eight. Then you need to do more meditation, something like that.
Eventually, you’re going to be fully enlightened. It depends on what context you are practicing. Okay? Thank you very much. Page thirteen, please.
Lord of Dharma, who is acquainted with various dispositions of those to be subdued, make clear, in the light of your well-spoken advice, secret and core teachings, essence of the Buddha’s teaching, foremost and holy Lama — to you who are supremely kind, I offer this mandala of faith. O Lama, please, please bless my mindstream.