Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute teaching from June 1989, Khensur Rinpoche breaks down the eight-fold structure of the Ornament: three objects of meditation (the aspects of the three exalted knowers), four meditators (the four preparations), and one result. Using emptiness meditation as an example, he traces the progression from analysis through direct realization to habituation, then explains how the four preparations follow the actual sequence of practice to overcome afflictive and knowledge obstructions. He emphasizes that studying this material plants deep imprints in the mind for future realization, and addresses practitioners on the paths of accumulation and preparation—especially those with bodhicitta and some understanding of emptiness. The talk closes with practical guidance: pursue depth in reflection and mutual discussion rather than cursory study.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-06-01 – Side 2 – KR.MP3
UUID: 5ddd5965-b502-452f-a733-82107f2a9140
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Ornament of Clear Realization
Date: 1989-06-01
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,474
Is the mind, and in this case it’s the preparation. The preparation is the mind thinking or meditating on the bodhicitta. It’s called a it’s preparation it’s a consciousness. And it’s object, just as in our case it was emptiness, here the object of the meditation is the aspects of the three exalted knowers. Aspects of the three exalted knowers.
So the necessity to set forth So the reason that we set forth eight categories is because there are three objects of meditation. That is, the three aspects of the three exalted wisdoms. There are four meditators which are doing the meditating, that is the four preparations. And there is one effect as a result of the meditation. There are three objects of meditation: four meditators meditating, and one result of the meditation, making eight categories.
So this for the moment we’re just setting forth why we enumerate eight categories is going to become clearer as we go along and actually go into detail of these eight categories. Here, just setting forth why we enumerate eight categories, that there are three objects of meditation, there are four meditative consciousnesses, and there is one result of meditation. Therefore there is eight categories. We’ll explain what these mean. So each of these four preparations are going to meditate on the three aspects of the three exalted knowers.
For example, the preparation for the complete completing aspects that consciousness is going to meditate on the aspects of the three exalted knowers. And the peak preparation is going to meditate on the aspects of the three exalted knowers. And the third and fourth preparations are each going to meditate upon the object, the three aspects of the three exalted knowers. Taking an example of meditating on emptiness, that the mind is thinking about the nature of emptiness. Initially it examines, analyzes, you know, what is the object, what is emptiness.
And after, so this is previous to actual realization of emptiness. Then after a while there attains one attains realization. And one only thinks about emptiness. One simply sets the mind on what one has realized. There’s no longer any examination.
So there’s this period of analysis, examining. One enters into the object and then having realized that’s prior to realizing the object. And then having realized the object, one simply abides only on emptiness and cultivates that understanding. Habituates oneself to that understanding. That’s when fixes or abides.
So the as was explained in the previous teachings, amongst the three exalted knowers, first is presented the knower of aspects, then the basis knower, then path knower. And this order of presentation is not according to the order of actual development, but simply the same order as it is presented in the perfection of wisdom discourses. That is to say in the mother extensive middling and abbreviated sutras. This is the order that they’re presented in and therefore they’re presented in this order. But in the bodhisattva there was actually training, a trainee intent upon the ornament.
This would not be the order of actual generation. That the bodhisattva would first generate simultaneously basis knower and path knower, and then only upon attaining Buddhahood would he or she generate the knower of aspects. Therefore, this way of setting out the three knowers is simply according to the way they are set out in the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. But on the other hand, the four preparations are set up according to practice. That is to say that the first one generates the preparation for complete aspects, the second, the peak preparation, the third and fourth preparations.
So then the eight categories as a whole are set forth according to the textual presentation, the textual presentation in the Perfection of Wisdom Discourses. This order is. So the foundation of these eight categories set forth the Compendium of the Paths of the Great Vehicle, compendium, or gathering together of the paths of the great vehicle, the foundation of the eight categories. But on the other hand, the way of actually practice, the way one would meditate is that first one would meditate the preparation for completing the aspects, that is the first preparation, taking as the object of meditation the aspects of the three exalted knowers. Then having generated that, one would develop the peak preparation, taking as the object the aspects of the three exalted knowers.
Having developed that, then one would develop the third preparation with the same object, the fourth preparation with the same object. And why is one engaging in these meditations? It is in order to abandon the two obstructions, the afflictive obstruction and the knowledge obstruction. And when one has abandoned the by means of the four preparations, the knowledge obstructions, one attains resultant Truth Body. Then then we all attain Buddhahood.
It’s not easy to attain Buddhahood. So this is an explanation according to the perfection vehicle. That is to say as the sūtra vehicle. But according to the method of the extraordinary method of the tantric vehicle, it’s not necessary to go through all these trainings. So according to the perfection vehicle, all the bodhisattvas must proceed through all of these trainings in order to achieve Buddhahood.
Therefore, if we are seeking Buddhahood according to the perfection vehicle, then we have to go through all these various trainings. So all the Buddhas of the past, they trained, they achieved the Buddhahood in this way. Those of the present and those of the future will proceed to attain Buddhahood in this way. So what we’re discussing is the way of practice, the way of practicing the path for a trainee intent upon the ornament. That is someone who is training in accordance with the ornament of a clear realization, how they would practice their path.
So we are trying to understand how a practitioner who is training or intent upon the ornament, someone who is training in accordance with the paths and stages as set out in the ornament, the various methods, how they go about doing it so that we ourselves can emulate their method of practice. So why are we listening and reflecting upon the ornament? It is because we are seeking Buddhahood. And the ornament sets forth the way previous Bodhisattvas have achieved Buddhahood. It sets forth their various practices and how they travel the path, how they progress it higher and higher to their final achievement of Buddhahood.
Understanding these practices, then we too can begin to implement their various methods and progress along the path to the same end that they achieved. So we’re studying in order to understand how the previous practitioners progressed along their path. Then having understood that we can practice in accordance with these methods for achieving the various paths and stages. So are you all going to progress along the path? So even if we aren’t able to progress along the path in this life in the future, it’s because we are laying down latencies or predispositions for understanding the path that we will quickly gain the realizations of the path when we actually have the actually in the situation of intense practice.
That just in the case of having previously gone to a country, visited there, when one returns to that place one can one comes to the understanding of which where is this and where is this, where is this located, how do I get to that place, quickly comes back to one. Just a little jogging of the memory as it were. So again in this case, even if we’re not able to progress along all the paths that we’re studying, make use of all the various methods, that in the future when it becomes necessary that we’re in this situation to actually begin that particular practice, to progress along that particular path, then we will gain that path very quickly. It will rise in our mind very quickly due to the force of understanding this presentation, having the latencies or predispositions towards that understanding in one’s mind. So, you know, we should try to train well.
That is, we should think very forcefully about the different subjects being taken up, the various meanings. You know, the greater force that we make use of in thinking about these subjects, the greater the imprint is going to be planted in our mind. You know, making prayers to be able to travel these paths, to be able to implement these methods that we’re studying. That all of these are going to if we simply study in a very cursory manner, kind of not really thinking very deeply about then we’re going to there’s going to be imprints, but it’s going to be very light imprints. But if we think about it very deeply, with a great deal of force in our mind, then we’re going to have very stable, very firm, very powerful types of imprints, which are going to be a great benefit to us in the future.
So, Maitreya set forth the ornament particularly for a particular trainee. And when we talked about the trainee intent upon the ornament, this was the special trainee that Maitreya was seeking to aid in presenting the ornament as a means for understanding the perfection of wisdom. These two types of trainees are those practitioners on the paths of accumulation and preparation. Either of these two paths are the trainees intent upon the ornament. Maitreya has particularly set the ornament out for these particular special trainees.
When a practitioner reaches the path of seeing, becomes a superior, then he realizes the meaning of all the discourses, all the sutras. Therefore it’s not necessary for him to train in the ornament. So this is the particular trainee. When we talk about the trainee intent upon the ornament, it is the practitioner upon the path of accumulation and preparation. Training in the ornament.
So the trainee for the intent upon the ornament is an intelligent practitioner. He or she has directly entered into the great vehicle. That is to say, he has not previously entered into either the hearer vehicle or solitary realizer vehicle. Through cultivating the various means for developing bodhicitta, such as recognizing all sentient beings as one’s mother, remembering their kindness, etc. He goes on to achieve bodhicitta and the path of accumulation directly without having gone indirectly by means of any of the lower paths.
So trainee intent upon the ornament is that it’s an intelligent bodhisattva, it was the highest intelligent bodhisattva who has developed the awakening heart and has a realization of emptiness. So, spend some time answering questions. Do you have any questions? In general. So in general we can see that there are many practitioners who have realized emptiness who haven’t even entered into a path yet.
But if someone directly realizes emptiness then they attain the path of seeing. Direct realization of emptiness, not general realization of emptiness. So in general there are two prime cognizers. There is a direct and inferential. So we can have an inferential prime cognition of emptiness without having direct.
So, this, yeah, this this what this trainee intent upon the ornament who has realized emptiness would be a subsequent cognizer. Amongst the seven types of awarenesses that we studied there was the direct, inferential, and then a subsequent. So this would be a subsequent cognition of emptiness. So there are three levels of objects of knowledge. Obvious, or sometimes called manifest, slightly hidden, and extremely hidden.
Know, obvious or manifest are the various objects that we see around us. Slightly hidden are such things as emptiness. So we realize that in dependence upon a sign or a reason. Slightly hidden phenomena realized initially in dependence upon a sign or a reason. So the definition of subsequent cognizer is a knower which realizes that which has been previously realized.
A knower which realizes that which has been previously realized. That is to say, one realizes something by inferential cognition and then subsequent to that, after that, one remembers or re realizes what that you remember by means of inference. That is called that re-realization. Understanding what’s been understood previously is subsequent cognition. Any questions?
Ask ask ask a question. If you have a question that’s good. If you don’t have a question then no problem. So, you know, take what you what you have, your notes, what you’ve written down, also what you have in your mind, and take it home and think about it. Read it, read over your notes again, and then think about what the meaning is, and then it’s sure that some doubts will come up in your mind.
That, you know, if take what you’re what’s being presented and you again and again, again and again think about it, again and again more and more, you develop a liking for it. You know, that they begin to understand more and more things and you develop a liking. And this liking It has the quality of creating more forceful impressions upon the mind imprints upon the mind. Because you’re enjoying this, it will have more impact or imprint on your mind. And this is a very beneficial effect.
So take what you’ve written or what you thought about and reflect again and again upon it. So it’s, you know, and it would be good if you know, if you could, when you saw each other, you know, you could ask questions to each other about what you were studying. It’s difficult when you just go to your own individual homes and you don’t hear anything more about what you’ve been studying, but then you have to rely on the notes that you’ve written and just try to reflect upon them. When you come together and you have a chance and you can ask each other questions about what you’ve been studying. That’s it.
That’s it. So So perhaps it would be probably a great benefit if maybe once every month we took the time and we that you brought all your questions, you know you could even write them down and we could just spend all our time just trying to clear up all the questions, answer, you know clear up any doubt. So it would be very excellent if you were able to come to class uninterruptedly, continually without having a without having a break. There’s only eight of us here. So studying the ornament is extremely beneficial.
We implant very powerful latencies, impressions upon the mind. Just like as the ocean is very vast and deep, likewise the ornament is very vast and deep text, and listening to it and reflecting upon it imprints a great deal of latencies to be able to realize the great vehicle in the future.