Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The question driving this 94-minute commentary is deceptively simple: how does one actually recognize emptiness in terms of the mind? Khensur Rinpoche opens with calm abiding’s result — a space-like clarity in which the conventional nature of mind becomes identifiable — then surveys how masters including Saraha, Lama Zhang, and Marpa each approached that recognition. He then makes a pivotal move: all these methods are stabilizing meditations, not analytic meditation, and since emptiness is a slightly hidden phenomenon, reasoning is required to realize it. This leads to a clear framework of three categories of knowables — manifest, slightly hidden, and extremely hidden — with their corresponding modes of valid cognition. The session closes with Q&A on the subtle distinction between conventional truth and the truth of conventionality. Best suited to practitioners already working through a Mahāmudrā text.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 13 MM 1997 02 18.mp3
UUID: 249a94fe-41ad-49cb-bf8e-85e4618b638e
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Mahāmudrā 1996-97 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1997-02-18
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 94.0 minutes
Words: ~4,418
So we begin with the cultivation of love, understanding that all sentient beings do not possess the bliss of liberation nor do they even experience uncontaminated of happiness. They do not, in fact, have real happiness. And that developing the attitudes expressed in the thoughts, it would be wonderful if all living beings had happiness and the causes of happiness. May they have happiness and the causes of happiness. I myself will lead them to the state where they have happiness and the causes of happiness.
But not only do they not have real happiness, but additionally, they are tortured by suffering. It’s hard for them to even breathe. It’s hard it’s as if they were saturated, inebriated with suffering. And developing the attitudes expressed in the thought, It would be wonderful if all living beings were free of suffering and the causes of suffering. May they be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
I, Myself, will lead them to a state whereby they are free of all suffering and the causes of suffering. In order to actually lead them to such a state where they are completely free of suffering and where they experience complete happiness, that I must myself achieve a state whereby I have eliminated all my various faults and brought to fulfillment all my excellent qualities. Therefore, I must attain Buddhahood. This is the awakened heart. And developing the motivation that in order to achieve this end, I am going to listen to, reflect, and meditate upon the essence of the universal vehicle, the teachings on the great seal, and thereby be of vast benefit to all living beings.
We have cultivated as our motivation the precious awakened heart. And now we’re going to proceed to listen to the Dharma, and within the dharma, the dharma of the universe of vehicle, which is very profound and extremely great worth. And we have come here enduring a great deal of difficulty. You know, it’s very hot and it’s very It’s not easy what we’re doing. And now, from your side, in the context of this difficulty, you’re going to listen and I’m going to explain.
And we should consider what a wonderful opportunity has been presented to ourselves in the context of such a motivation and listening to these precious teachings that all of the various negativities that we have created in past lives which would have brought about rebirth in places of great intense heat are being purified at this very moment through our making this great effort in the context of the great difficulties of bearing with the heat. So listening to the dharma in such a difficult context, we accumulated tremendous collection of creative potential, of merit. So not thinking of the difficulty, but thinking of what a wonderful opportunity which has been afforded ourselves. Okay. Very good.
So we’ve talked about the necessity for the cultivation of calm abiding. But what is the result that we achieve by cultivating calm abiding? Where does it lead ourselves? Through the cultivation of calm abiding, that we can abide in meditative equipoise and take here as our object that of the mind. Our object of observation is that of the mind.
And not just having taken the object of the mind, but in the context of this meditative equipoise, there is an absence of obstructions, obscurations. There is an absence of the various afflictive emotions, that laxity and excitement are not present. Our mind is in an extremely clear state. That it’s like space, like clear as a sky without any clouds. And in this clarity of mind, which dawns and is taken as an object of observation, various objects are able to appear to ourselves very clearly, just like all the various phenomena which form, which are reflected in a mirror.
All phenomena are reflected in the mirror of the mind. So taking this clarity which dawns as an absence of all these inhibiting factors such as laxity, excitement, and afflictive emotions, then this is the result that we have achieved by cultivating calm abiding, that we are now able to maintain and meditate equipoise on the very clarity of the mind as a result. So we, in this clarity which we have been able to induce, and in the context of which we are able to see the very nature of the mind itself. That there dawns vacuity. That the mind is not formed.
It is like space. So there is a clearness, a vacuity, a space like quality. Now we can’t point to it and say, this is this, or this is this, any feature about it. It is simply the space like clarity which now dawns when the various hindrances to the cultivation of calm abiding have been stilled. Now it is necessary that we recognize, that we identify this as the nature of the mind.
Now with respect to the nature of the mind, there is a conventional nature and the ultimate nature. Here we are referring to the conventional nature of the mind. Such great masters as Tsongkhapa and other great Tibetan masters have said that this dawning of the clarity of the nature of the mind itself, the mode of the conventional being of the mind itself is like emptiness. It is similar to emptiness. So at this point, Pänchen Lobsang Tubwang Dorje Chang Chökyi Gyaltsen points out that what is appearing when the clarity of the mind dawns is the conventional nature of the mind.
The mind is appearing, but only its conventional nature. By conventional, we mean all phenomena aside from emptiness. All phenomena other than emptiness are conventionalities. So this is the conventional nature of the mind. It is not one is not identifying the ultimate nature or the emptiness of the mind, but one is identifying the conventional nature of the mind or recognizing the conventional nature of the mind.
And it is at this point that Pänchen Lama Losang Tubwang Dorje Chang Chökyi Gyaltsen goes on to say, Having identified the conventional nature of the mind, I will now go on to explain the instruction given to me by my teacher on the great seal, Sangye Yeshe, in which we are able to identify the emptiness in terms of the mind. So we’re going to go on to identify or recognize the emptiness in terms of the mind. The what? Emptiness of the mind. So with regard to this, there are two traditions.
There is the tradition prior to Je Tsongkhapa, which that is explanation according to previous Tibetan, previous to Je Tsongkhapa, previous Tibetan masters and Indian masters on how to, the way in which to recognize the emptiness, emptiness in terms of the mind. And the second tradition is that presented by Je Tsongkhapa himself. So now there is a quote by the great Indian master Saraha, and he goes on to say of the mind. First, in general, terms of phenomena, we can talk about in general two types of phenomena in general. That is a form and the mind.
The mind generally being that which does the various thinking that has this to do this, I’m going to do that, I’m not going to do this. That thinking aspect, that function, the mind in general. So pointing to this phenomena of mind, that this mind is the seed of both liberation and cyclic existence. That it is like the root of both. That through the mind, our present mind, we continue to circle within cyclic existence.
If, on the other hand, this very mind were to realize emptiness, become a bodhisattva, and then we could achieve Buddhahood. So it is the same mind as the base, the root. It is the seed of both nirvana, a passage beyond sorrow, and that of cyclic existence. So it is in dependence upon the dysfunctional patterns of our own minds that we go on to accumulate various types of negative actions or karmas. By negative dysfunctional patterns such afflictive emotions as attachment and ignorance and pride, etc.
That these obscure the mind and motivate us to involve ourselves in negative types of actions, creating negative karmas, as a result of which we go on to take rebirth in unfortunate migrations experiencing extreme suffering. But it is this same mind which is able to which can be caused to attain healthy states, can cultivate functional patterns within it. That it can be caused to develop altruism, love and compassion, thinking that those who are without happiness to give them happiness. Thinking that those who experiencing suffering, may their suffering be eliminated, that is to say, they can develop love and compassion. Having developed love and compassion to go on to develop an exceptional resolve, that I myself will eliminate their suffering, I myself will lead them to happiness.
And I will, in order to do that, I must achieve the state of Buddhahood, that is to say, developing the awakened heart. And as a means at which one actually enters into the universal vehicle, practices all the various paths and grounds, proceeds through the practice of the Sixth Perfection until brings to consummation all of one’s excellent qualities, the achievement of Buddhahood. It is the same mind which is able to achieve that end. It was by means of cultivating calm abiding that we were eventually able to identify the actual nature of the mind, that is to say, its conventional nature. That we developed a stability of mind and were able to identify the nature of the conventional mind.
So this was the result of having cultivated calm abiding, a stability of mind and the ability to identify the conventional nature of the mind. Now, we then have to go on to identify the ultimate nature of the mind, that is to say emptiness in terms of the mind. So we have to settle the meaning of emptiness. If we realize emptiness then we will achieve liberation. If we don’t realize emptiness we will continue to circle within cyclic existence.
So whether we continue to circle it within cyclic existence or we achieve liberation, both of these meet down to the realization as to whether or not we realize emptiness. If we don’t realize emptiness, we are bound within cyclic existence and will continue to suffer. If we realize emptiness, then we can eventually achieve Buddhahood. So the root of both liberation and cyclic existence comes down to whether or not we realize emptiness. So how are we to realize emptiness in terms of the mind?
And we are it’s necessary that we search out the mind, that we perform and we investigate and analyze for the mind itself, trying to find the mind. Now this according to, again, Saraha, that we abide in a meditative equipoise and we take as our object of observation the mind. And now we begin to perform an analysis. Now where is the mind? Does the mind exist externally?
Does it exist internally? Is the mind newly produced? Does it abide? Does it cease? So eventually we will come to the conclusion that we cannot find a we cannot find the mind.
That we cannot find it externally, that we cannot find it internally. We cannot find a mind which is newly produced, one which continues to abide, nor one that ceases to abide. And so haven’t come to that conclusion, when one’s at the time that one sees that, that there is nothing which exists, what we can find as the mind, then we have attained the meaning of great seal. We have been introduced to the mind itself. We have been in performing the analysis of mind we have been introduced to the mind, the nature of mind, and have found the meaning of the great seal.
Then according to another master on the way that we are to proceed, coming to realization of emptiness in terms of mind, that is Lama Zhang Rinpoche. Where he says that we are to search out the mind. That we are, you know, we are to search out from the from in terms of the body to look from the crown downward through to the very tips of our toes, that we are to search out all the various parts of the body the middle, the upper, the lower that we will then see that the mind is not established in any way as form, that it is not the color of the body, it’s not the shape of the body, and that we will, once we recognize that the mind is not established in any way, when we come to a recognition of the non establishment of the mind, then we have recognized the empty nature of the mind. So I said one has recognized the empty nature of the mind. That’s not correct.
One has seen the nature of the mind, not the empty nature, but just has seen the nature of the mind. Okay? And then Marpa goes on to say that the nature of one’s own mind and the nature of the Buddha’s mind are the same. That it is simply the difference being only that a Buddha has abandoned all stains of the mind, whereas we have not. That they are still in the nature of the Dharmakāya or the truth body.
So, again, I go back to I correct my correction. I said, one sees the nature of the mind. That so that nature is the emptiness of the mind. So these are the different masters asserting different ways in which we can realize the emptiness of the mind. So that one was searching the crown through the tip of the feet and one will eventually come to see the emptiness of the mind or the reality of the mind.
So here reality means the emptiness of the mind. And then here another master explains the method in which we are to proceed is that we should set aside all thoughts of the past, not allowing our mind to dwell upon anything that has happened in the past. That we should cease wondering about the future, what is still to come, but simply place the mind, place our awareness on the present consciousness and its clear and pure nature. And one will come to, in this manner, to recognize the emptiness of the mind. So with all with regard to all of these these modes of realizing emptiness in terms of the mind that we’ve just presented, these are just the assertions or the thoughts of these previous masters.
We haven’t come to a clear cut decision on how to go about it. We’re just listing various ways in which these previous masters asserted that we could realize the emptiness of the mind up to this point. So, Rinpoche is emphasizing that Losang Tubwang Dorje Chang Chökyi Gyaltsen is simply listing various masters and their assertion on how we are, how to go about realizing emptiness in terms of the mind. So that’s all he’s doing up to this point, listing various masters and their assertions on how to realize emptiness of the mind. So now he lists another method whereby to realize the emptiness of the mind.
That various objects are continually dawning on the mind or appearing to the mind. Various forms and sounds and odors, etc. And various thoughts are appearing to the mind. Various skillful thoughts, unskillful thoughts. So we are simply to abide and take notice of whatever dawns on the mind without becoming involved in them.
And then eventually all of the objects will disappear from the mind itself. All thought will begin to disappear. All objects of the mind will as it begin to disappear. And there will, at this point, dawn a clear vacuity, like space, on the mind. And this is the way to go, to proceed in realizing emptiness in terms of the mind.
To then observe this vacuity, this clear vacuity like space, which then dawns upon the mind when all thoughts and objects of the mind have ceased, have disappeared, have disappeared. So, okay, now there’s another method which is asserted by Lama Zhang. And this is very similar to what we talked about in The Cultivation of Calm Abiding. Here he says that we are to abide in meditative equipoise observing the mind. And then whenever a thought is generated, we are to immediately block that thought.
So immediately upon whenever thoughts arise, stop the thought. And eventually, all the varieties of the thought will cease and there will develop, there will dawn a clarity of mind and we are to remain observing that clarity for a long period of time and this is the way to realize the emptiness of the mind. So what we have just listed is the assertion by many past great masters previous to Tsongkhapa, previous to Marpa and the great Tibetan masters. It’s not to say that this represents the assertions of all the past masters, but some of the past would assert that this is the way to go about realizing emptiness. So, you know, It’s quite possible that due to having listened in the past, and having again and again reflected upon what was heard, that very profound latencies, predispositions were implanted within the mind.
And then upon reflection upon them, upon these methods again, that they were able to see the view of emptiness. They were able to realize the view of emptiness in dependence upon these latencies or predispositions within their mind. This is quite possible. So just talking about objects of knowledge or knowables, objects of knowledge, that means all phenomena, objects of knowledge. We can classify them into three categories in general: the manifest, slightly hidden, and extremely hidden.
So all knowables can be classified into these three categories. So what is the difference? So as we said, the knowables can be condensed into three categories. Those are manifest, slightly hidden, and extremely hidden. Now, what is the difference?
First, we have to understand different ways that we can validly understand, that we can validly realize an object. So, with regard to valid cognitions, there are two types. There is direct perception and inferential cognition. Perception and inferential cognition. The Sanskrit term for valid cognition is ‘pramāna’.
‘Pra’ means first or new. ‘Mana’ means to realize. So a valid cognition is that which newly realizes its object, of which there are two: direct perception and inferential cognition. But then again, inferential cognition can be divided into two more: that of inference through the power of the fact, and inference through belief. So we have altogether three types of valid cognizers or valid cognitions.
So, what do we mean by manifest? So, these are for examples that in the, all of the various colors and shapes that we are able to see with our eyes, the colors of white, the colors of red, the various shapes, round, square, short, long. These are all manifest phenomena. The sounds that we hear, the various sounds that we hear with our ear, the odors that we smell with our nose, the flavors whether it’s sour, sweet, etc, that we experience with our tongue, The objects of touch that we experience through the body consciousness, whether they’re smooth or rough. These all are examples of manifest phenomena.
So, why do we give the name Manifest to this category of phenomena? As we said, there were three types of valid cognitions. And the first of these was valid direct perceivers. Valid direct perceivers don’t require any reasoning. They don’t have to think about their object.
Simply by seeing their object, for example, looking to their object, they understand their object. So they understand their object directly without having to think about the object to consider it. Simply by observing, they come to realize. So this is the connection between the word and it doesn’t come through quite in English, but manifest and direct perceiver. There’s a connection between direct meaning, manifest having the idea of directly observable.
It’s obvious, obvious. So, the manifest phenomena are those which are realized by the various sensory consciousnesses, the various valid sense direct perceivers. Therefore, they’re called manifest phenomena or obvious phenomena. So we’re we’re talking a little bit of philosophy here. Logic.
So you definitely have to understand this or you’re not going to realize emptiness. So, we’ve talked about manifest phenomena. And now the second category that is slightly hidden phenomena is extremely important category. So, what do we mean by slightly hidden phenomena? These are phenomena which for an ordinary person cannot be realized by means of their sensory consciousnesses, but the person must necessarily use a process of reasoning in order to come to realize them.
So what do we mean by hidden phenomena? By way of example, we can list the Four Noble Truths, our hidden phenomena. And within the Four Noble Truths, the first of the Four Noble Truths is that of true sufferings, which has four characteristics: that of suffering, impermanence, emptiness, and selflessness. Each of the Four Noble Truths has four characteristics making a total of sixteen. And in order to realize those sixteen characteristics of the Four Noble Truths, we have to proceed by means of reasoning.
Most of what we’re seeking to develop, realization, coming to understand emptiness, liberation, the awakened heart, the various paths and grounds of the vehicles, the means to eliminate our various faults and generate all the excellent qualities. In order to attain all of these, or attain liberation, the emptiness, the realized emptiness to develop the awakened heart, it’s necessary that we proceed through a method of reasoning. We must make use of a process of reasoning. Simply non reasoning method probably won’t get us to most of these attainments. So that’s the slightly hidden phenomena, but what about the extremely hidden phenomena?
So, with regard to realizing extremely hidden phenomena, we cannot merely rely upon reasoning alone. We also must rely on Scriptural authority, for example, teachings of the Buddha, that through a combination of reasoning and relying upon Scriptural authority, we can come to realize extremely hidden phenomena are extremely difficult to realize. So those are the three categories of knowables. And we talked about there were these objects are the knowables, and that there were valid cognizers which know these objects. Now we said that manifest phenomena could be known by valid direct sensory perceivers.
Valid direct sensory perceivers by means of which we can know manifest phenomena. The remaining types of phenomena is necessary that we realize them through a valid inferential cognizer, a valid inferential cognizer, which thereby, therefore we must depend upon reasoning. So slightly hidden phenomena are known by means of a valid inferential cognizer and moreover that by means of the power of evidence or the power of the fact, an inferential cognizer which realizes its object by the power of fact. But even the more difficult category of phenomena, that of extremely hidden phenomena. We not only have to use reasoning, but we also must rely upon scriptural authority.
And therefore, this is realized by a valid inferential cognizer through the power of belief. So a combination of both scriptural authority and reasoning is necessary in order to realize extremely hidden phenomena. So the emptiness of the mind, which we’re trying to realize, it is a slightly hidden phenomenon. And therefore, being a hidden phenomenon is necessary that we, in order to realize it, we realize it in dependence upon a process of reasoning. All of the various assertions which have been presented up to this point as to means of realizing emptiness did not clearly mention a process of reasoning.
And moreover, with regard to meditation, there are two types. There are stabilizing meditation and analytic meditation. And all that has been presented thus far in terms of realizing emptiness, they all are merely stabilizing meditations. They do not perform an analysis. Without analytic meditation, we cannot realize hidden phenomena.
So initially, in the cultivation of calm abiding, if we were to use the mind, we first tried to examine and identify what the mind is. But having once identified it, then we stabilized upon that mind which identified. We placed the there was single pointed placement in meditative equipoise upon the mind once it was identified. So it was a stabilizing meditation. So we’re going to stop there for the evening.
We want to go into a thorough explanation of what we mean by analytic meditation, so we’ll take that up next week. Also, it’s hot. So we’ll stop here and spend five minutes if you have some questions. So in that context, Okay, because the question is Dale’s assumption that the conventional nature of phenomena is only realized subsequent to realizing the ultimate nature of phenomena. First, you have to realize the ultimate nature of phenomena.
Subsequently, that you can understand the conventional nature of phenomena. But in the explanation, once the stabilization is gained with regard to the mind, the conventional mind is identified. In that dawning of the conventional mind, then therefore, it not realizing the conventional nature of that object? The conventional mind is dawning. But is it that’s the question.
So according to Candrakīrti in his, entering into the middle way or supplement to the middle way, he said that the conventional is realized first and that is the means by which one attains the ultimate. Now, there’s a so first, in terms of conventionalities conventional phenomena and ultimate phenomena, conventional phenomena are realized first because they act as a means for realizing ultimate phenomena. But, there’s another way that we can phrase this, and it’s a different meaning. For example, in terms of the flower, truth of the conventionality of the flower is a subtle conventionality. And in order to realize that, one must first have realized the ultimate truth of the flower.
In order to realize the truth of the conventionality, Not the conventional truth, but the truth of the conventionality of the flower. Then in order to realize that, one must first have realized the ultimate truth of the flower, The truth of its ultimacy. The ultimate truth of the flower. Yeah. There’s a big difference between the conventional truth and the truth of conventionality.
Truth of conventionality is much more subtle. Good. Nice, cool breeze is blowing.