Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute talk, Khensur Rinpoche shows why the Buddha taught the Perfection of Wisdom in three versions — an 8,000-verse condensed text, a 20,000-verse middling version, and a 100,000-verse extensive version — each suited to practitioners of different intellectual capacity. He then presents Maitreya’s Ornament as the commentary that unlocks these hidden teachings by organizing them into eight chapters and seventy topics. Rinpoche sketches the historical setting: Vulture’s Peak, where numberless bodhisattvas from countless Buddha fields gathered to listen. He then moves to the text itself, working through the opening verse and unpacking the first category: omniscience, the exalted knower of all aspects. Pitched at practitioners beginning this classical Buddhist philosophical text.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-05-25 – Side 1 – KR.MP3
UUID: 37ce1ffe-9b4b-45cf-b327-11808eee0201
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Ornament of Clear Realization
Date: 1989-05-25
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,290
I must attain perfect complete Buddhahood for the sake of establishing all sentient beings equal to space and perfect complete happiness and bliss. Therefore with such a motivation I’m going to listen to this teaching on the profound great vehicle in order to achieve that end. So the Dharma that we’re going to listen to is within the Dharma of the great vehicle. It is within the perfection of wisdom. The text, Ornament for Clear Realization, which is an extremely precious, important text.
So the actual text of the ornament begins with the line, and this means the perfection of wisdom. So this word indicates that the text concerns the perfection of wisdom. And the perfection of wisdom is synonymous with resultant perfection of wisdom. And that was the truth body. In order to achieve this end, we have to we make use of the we we need to make we need to make use of a method in order to attain that in, and the method the method is So the perfection that we’re seeking to achieve is the resultant truth body.
This is the perfection of wisdom itself. The method that we use to attain this in is the path perfection of wisdom. In order to engage in the path perfection we must realize emptiness. Emptiness is termed the natural wisdom perfection. And the texts which set out the meaning of emptiness are termed the scriptural perfection of wisdom.
So the scriptural wisdom perfection is those are the teachings actually spoken verbally by the Buddha. Here when we specifically referring to the perfection of wisdom, we are referring to the three discourses of the mother, which are referred to as the mother perfection of wisdom. And they are the extensive, which is made up of 100,000 verses, the stanzas, shlokas. The middling made up of 20,000 verses and the abbreviated which is made up of 8,000 verses. And each verse is made up of four lines.
So these three texts which set forth the perfection of wisdom, making up of the mother perfection of wisdom scriptures, take the same exact subject. There’s no difference in the subject matter. But there’s a difference in the extent to which the subject matter is treated within each of these texts. Now in the case of the abbreviated, it’s very short. The number of verses is short and it presents the subject in a very abbreviated fashion.
Whereas in the middling, the number of verses is middling. But since it explains the subject in a more extensive fashion than the abbreviated, therefore it’s called the middling. And with respect to the extensive, it has very great number of verses and it’s the most extensive detailed explanation. And therefore it is the term the extensive presentation of subject. So there are 21 important Indian commentaries to ornament.
And amongst these 21 commentaries to ornament, the most important or the best of these is clear meaning. It’s entitled Clear Meaning by the master Haribhādra, a great Indian pandit. And Rinpoche recited a verse from his text, commentary which is a commentary to ornament which states that the extensiveness of each of the three mother’s discourses, the abbreviated being few verses and the abbreviated in presentation of the subject, The middling being a middling number of verses but it has a more extensive presentation of the subject and the great or the extensive having the greatest number of verses and the greatest presentation, greatest detail of the subject treated. So if we ask where did the Buddha teach the perfection of wisdom?
This was at Vulture’s Peak. Just prior to teaching the perfection of wisdom at Vulture’s Peak, there occurred in all the various Buddha fields. There are infinite number of Buddhas. Therefore there are infinite number of Buddha fields, numberless Buddha fields. For example, the Buddha field of Maitreya Buddha is Tuśita.
Chenrezig is Potala. Amitābha, Dewachen, or the land of bliss. So there are infinite number of Buddha fields. In all these Buddha fields, there are various trainees undergoing their practices. And they occurred just before the Śākyamūni Buddha was about to give the teachings of perfection and wisdom at Vulture’s Peak, all the thrones in all these various Buddha fields began to shake.
And the students asked, What’s happening? Why are the thrones shaking? And the Buddhas in each of these fields, answered that Śākyamūni Buddha was about to teach the perfection of wisdom in this particular world. And they asked, can we go attend this teaching? And I said, okay.
And so hundreds and thousands of emanations were displayed before this teaching when the when the Śākyamūni Buddha taught the perfection of wisdom at Vulture’s Peak. So because of this, the hearing of this teaching that Śākyamūni Buddha was going to give at Vulture’s Peak that numberless bodhisattvas attended this teaching. And among the various, these numberless bodhisattvas, there was degree various degrees of intelligence. Some were very sharp faculties, some were middling, and some were dull. And so in order to so that they would all understand the Buddha taught on different levels.
Even though he presented the same subjects, the perfection of wisdom to all of them, it was necessary to teach in accordance with their capacities. For those who only needed a few terse words, very abbreviated teaching, he taught them in abbreviated fashion. But the middling and the dull would not be able to understand. It’s simply in dependence upon this. Therefore, For those of middling intelligence, he presented a more extensive explanation of the same subject.
And for the dull it was necessary to give an extensive detailed teaching for them to be able to understand it. And therefore there arose these three levels of the teachings in the varying degrees of length and detail. So the which is recited a verse by Vasubandhu, which which says that there are three degrees of individual, with respect to individuals, there are three degrees of obscurations, three degrees of faculties, and three degrees of desire. Great middling and small. So therefore, in giving the teachings, it’s necessary for those, for example, with small obscurations that only a very abbreviated and terse teaching is sufficient for them to understand it.
An extensive teaching is not needed. But then on the other hand, for those with middling obscurations, in order to dispel their obscuration, it’s necessary to give a slightly more extensive. And those with great obscurations, a very extensive and detailed teaching is necessary. Likewise, for those of different faculties, that is, given to great intelligence. For those of great intelligence, abbreviated teaching is only necessary.
But for those of lesser intelligence, more and more extensive teaching is necessary. And then the teaching must fit the desire of the student, that type of teaching that they like. If like abbreviated teaching then it must be given in an abbreviated fashion. And those who like more middling or a more extensive teaching then each of the various levels of extensiveness must be given according to the desire or the liking of the student. So just as in the case when we were studying Opening the Eye of New Awareness, in coming to an understanding of emptiness, there is the presentation according to study, one presentation which brought about an understanding of emptiness was in terms of the five aggregates, the 12 sources and the 18 constituents.
That for those of highest intelligence, really presenting that the emptiness in terms of the five aggregates is sufficient. They can understand the subject based upon this alone. For those in middling, then it’s necessary to not only teach them the five aggregates, you must also go on to teach the 12 sources. And for those of duller faculties or lesser intelligence, you must not only teach the five aggregates the 12 sources, but go on to teach the 18 constituents as a means for them to understand the subject of emptiness. On this occasion when the Buddha was teaching the perfection of wisdom, there were many highly intelligent bodhisattvas present.
Therefore, he taught the perfection, he taught the, there are two paths, the profound path, which is the understanding of emptiness, and the path of vast activities, which is stages and paths of the bodhisattva. On this occasion, because of the great intelligence of the people present, he directly taught the profound path. And he taught in a hidden way the vast path. He directly taught the profound path, that is emptiness, and in a hidden way taught the vast activities of the vast path of the stages and paths of the bodhisattva. So the direct and hidden teaching.
So approximately four hundred years after the passing into nirvana of the Buddha, for the benefit of those of lesser intelligence who could not understand the hidden teachings presented in the perfection of wisdom, Maitreya wrote, composed the Ornament for clear realizations. Therefore, since he made clear the hidden teachings of the perfection of wisdom, then the trainee intent on the ornament can, in dependence upon it, understand both the direct stages of emptiness and that which was presented in a hidden manner, the activities of the paths and stages, in dependence upon it can come through hearing and reflecting, can realize both of these levels of teachings. So the root text are the actual discourses on the perfection of wisdom. And now we are studying a commentary to the root text. The ornament is a commentary to the root text.
The root text being the actual discourses of the perfection of wisdom. Now in what way, what is the manner in which the Ornament commentates on the root text, on the perfection of wisdom? It takes what was the hidden teaching that is the extensive path, the extensive activities of the path of the bodhisattva and breaks this up into eight categories. These are set out therefore in eight chapters. Now these eight categories are divided further into 70 topics.
So we have eight categories making up the eight chapters of the text. And these eight categories are further divided into the divisions of the 70 topics. In this way, the ornament clearly, unerringly, without mistake, sets forth, commentates upon the perfection of wisdom. And therefore, as we spoke about last week, the actual first lines of the text says, The perfection of wisdom. And then there’s like a, I shall correctly explain by way of eight categories.
So correctly means without mistake, unerring. And these eight categories are the systemizing of the hidden teachings of the perfection of wisdom. So the ornament takes the hidden teachings of the perfection of wisdom in order to explain them clearly, explains them in terms of eight subjects. Each of these subjects corresponds to a single presentation in the text itself. So therefore we have eight categories.
In each category, eight chapters. And each chapter takes up one of these eight categories, which are the subjects of which are being broken down from the perfection of wisdom in order to explain it, and therefore in an unerring clear fashion. So we have eight chapters taking up the eight categories or the eight subjects of the perfection of wisdom. You should write this down. So this is the, Rinpoche just recited, the verse which gives the eight categories.
So I have to So it seems that you like to write things down. We’re going to go through this and list the eight categories, but I have to translate it for you. So the first line. So the first line so it’s a four line verse. The first line remember this is simply an index.
So this might not make any sense. I know it doesn’t. It’s just an index. So the exalted of all aspects the very knower of paths that’s the first line. That’s all.
The very yeah, it is I’m just just a little particle means like emphasis. The very very knower of paths. The very exalted knower of all aspects. And then, and then, then the very knower of all. The very knower of all.
That’s the second line. And then, the very knower of all. The third line is the realization the complete direct realization of all aspects. The complete direct realization of all aspects. That’s the third line.
And then at the end of that third line is and. One, two, three. Bye. By means of the momentary to the peak. That’s and having the fourth line.
And there’s two more lines. Means of the momentary and having gone to peak. Complete enlightenment is actualized momentarily. Complete enlightenment is actualized in one moment. Complete enlightenment is actualized in one moment.
Those are the eight. Before that, this is the sixth line. The Dharma body and Dharma body and those are the eight. Dharma body and those are the eight. Okay?
So we’ll work it out as we go along. So beginning with the first line, we said, in the very exalted knower of all aspects. This refers to omniscient. The very first of the eight categories is the exalted knower of all aspects, and this refers to omniscience. This is the exalted wisdom of a Buddha.
That is simply most, the consciousness of a Buddha. Now, you know, with respect to a flower, the a omniscient consciousness would know the cause of that flower, would know its nature, would know what was going to grow from it, its result. They would know at the time that it actually grew, when it was going to dry up, that is to say die. They would know in complete all the situation, all the facts about that object. This is what we mean by omniscience.