Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute teaching on the Ornament of Clear Realization, Khensur Rinpoche explains why omniscience is presented first in this foundational Buddhist philosophical text: to inspire Bodhisattva practitioners by showing that achieving Buddhahood enables establishing all sentient beings in liberation. He etymologically breaks down the Tibetan word Sangye (Buddha) as “sang” (purifying all obscurations) and “gye” (expanding knowledge to understand all phenomena), then moves into the text’s 70 topics—beginning with mind generation, the first of ten omniscience-related topics. The teaching delves into three types of enlightenment, contrasts hearer and solitary-realizer paths with the Mahāyāna path, and unpacks scholarly Madhyamaka philosophy, specifically how the Prāsaṇgika and Autonomy schools differ on the nature of obscurations. For practitioners with philosophical training.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-06-08 – Side 2 – KR.MP3
UUID: d8126ba5-628f-4a83-aa67-517135400d59
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Ornament of Clear Realization
Date: 1989-06-08
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~1,944
If we were to present it by way of actual developing these pre exalted knowers, we develop the knower bases and knower paths simultaneously. And then when these come to a culmination, we would develop finally the exalted knower of aspects. So the omniscience is the first category explained and this is because in order to develop enthusiasm on the part of the trainee, intent on the ornament, understanding that in order to establish all sentient beings in Buddhahood that he must be able to turn the wheel of Dharma. In order to be able to turn the wheel of Dharma he must achieve omniscience. And so in order to help the trainee to gain enthusiasm for him to strive for omniscience that omniscience is presented first.
So the reason that omniscience is presented first is that in order to create a sense of joy on the part of the trainee in understanding that by achieving omniscience he is able to establish all sentient beings in Buddhahood. And in developing this joy and seeing this possibility, he readily engages in the practice of the path of the great vehicle. As in the case of if one understands a great profit to be gained by engaging in a particular type of business, seeing the great profit, then one will go about to work without any difficulties. We’ll readily go about engaging in various business activities, knowing what profit you’re going to get out of it. Likewise, knowing what are the benefits of omniscience when one readily engages in the difficulties of practicing the path.
So omniscience and Omniscience, perfection of wisdom, and resultant perfection of wisdom are synonymous terms. Omniscience, perfection of wisdom, and resultant perfection of wisdom are synonymous. And the boundary of omniscience is that it is only found at the stage of Buddhahood. It is only found within a Buddha. Therefore, it is only found at the stage of Buddhahood.
So whatever is a consciousness of a Buddha superior or a Buddha, Buddha superior Buddha is an omniscient consciousness. It is a perfection of wisdom. It is a resultant perfection of wisdom. It is pervaded by these. Whatever is in Buddha consciousness, is omniscience, perfection of wisdom, resultant perfection of wisdom.
So the the Buddha’s body, the Buddha’s speech, and the Buddha’s mind are all Buddha’s. So the the hair in a Buddha’s head, fingernails, skin are all Buddhist. Even one hair from the Buddha’s head understands all phenomena. So the word Buddha is a Sanskrit word, Buddha. It was translated into Tibetan as Sangye.
Sangye. S A N G G Y E. Sangye. And these two syllables each have a meaning. Sang means to awake, like to awaken from sleep, to awaken.
And gye means to expand. Expand. So this word, Tibetan word, has two syllables. The first syllable is Sang. Sang means to, for example, to purify, to eliminate.
It means to have purified all thoughts, to eliminate all thoughts, to have purified the two obstructions, the afflicted obstruction, knowledge obstruction. And that’s Sang and Gye means to awaken, like awakening from sleep. It means to unfold like a lotus flower unfolding. To evolve one’s knowledge to the place where one understands all phenomena. Evolve, unfold, awake.
So the word Sangye, to have eliminated all faults, purified all faults on the one hand, and have to evolve an understanding of all phenomena on the other. Evolve the knowledge of all phenomena. So if you have any questions or qualms or doubts. We can talk about three types of enlightenment. Enlightenment of the hearer, enlightenment of the solitary realizer, and then there’s the great enlightenment.
So here we’re talking about the great enlightenment. And this enlightenment and Buddha. So here we’re talking about great enlightenment. Great enlightenment and Buddha are synonymous terms. Actually the word enlightenment in Tibetan is Jang Chub and it has the same etymology as Sangye.
Jang means to purify the obstruction and Chub means to come to realize all phenomena. So it has the same etymology. But they were specifically talking about great enlightenment, that of a Buddha, and not the hearers or solitary realizers of enlightenment. So in the case of a hearer’s enlightenment, what is purified are the afflictions and what is realized is the selflessness of persons. And this is done in order to bring about one’s individual welfare.
So this isn’t the case of the great enlightenment. Question? So the the first among the 70 topics is mind generation. So the So And they said that the mind generation is amongst is the first of these 10 with in regards to omniscience. So in general we have we’re gonna be discussing 70 topics and this first category of omniscience has contains 10 of these topics.
And the first of these 10 topics that’s going to be discussed with respect to omniscience is mind generation. So a Buddhist superior is a being. A being. A Buddha, such things as Buddha’s head, his arm, his leg are all Buddhist, but they’re not beings. So a Buddhist superior is a being, and the various consciousness parts of a Buddhist superior are Buddhist, but they’re not Buddhist superior because they’re not beings.
So as was explained previously that the Buddhist body, speech, mind are all Buddhist, but they’re not Buddhist superiors. They’re not being. So a sentient being is a being who has not abandoned the two obscurations. And Buddha has abandoned the two obscurations, therefore he’s not a sentient being. He’s a being but not a sentient being.
We have to translate some words. A sentient being is who is a being who has not abandoned the two obscurations and a Buddha has so therefore he is technically not a sentient being. It’s a being. Has form. You mean like body?
For example, Buddhist superior has a body. For example, For example, the body has the 32 major and 80 minor marks. So a Buddhist superior is not an emanation of a Buddha, but amongst the different types of emanation bodies, a supreme emanation body is an emanation of a Buddha. Buddha can emanate in any form that he wishes. Whatever benefits the student, would emanate in that form.
Whatever benefits the sentient beings, you know, the bridge, water, dust. So one individual lama is to be looked upon as an emanation of a Buddha. That would be a great benefit if we could meet the Buddhist but you only have that come about by the power of your karma. So do one’s personal positive potential and by the force of one’s karma one is able to meet with the emanation of the Buddha. That wouldn’t be that wouldn’t be an exact translation.
So the consequent school is considered the highest of the schools. Has the most profound presentation. And with respect to that school, they do not differentiate between the conception of the true existence of persons and the conception of true existence of phenomena. They say that these are equally subtle, equally subtle. And that in order to, and that a hearer foe destroyer abandons both of these.
Both the conception of the true existence of persons and phenomena. That they are equally subtle. Therefore since a hearer foe destroyer abandons them they must only be an obstruction to liberation or an objective obstruction. They cannot be a knowledge obstruction. There are no consciousnesses which are knowledge obstructions.
There’s no difference in subtlety between the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena. Therefore they must be both abandoned. In the case of Autonomy Middle Way School, they say that there is a difference in the subtlety between personal selflessness and phenomenal selflessness. That in the case of that and therefore one can a hearer Buddhist, a hearer arhat realizes selflessness of person but does not realize the selflessness of phenomena. Selflessness of phenomena and they abandon the knowledge of they abandon the obstructions and the selflessness of phenomena is the the concept and conception of the self phenomena is a knowledge obstruction which they do not abandon.
So there’s these two levels of abandonment. Personal selflessness and phenomenal selflessness. Consequence school says that they’re both afflictive obstructions and the autonomy school says one of the first selflessness of persons, conception of selflessness of persons is an afflictive obstruction and a and a conception of the self phenomena is a knowledge obstruction. So this differentiation mainly arises due to the difference in the degree of subtlety of the object of negation of these two schools, consequence and autonomy. There’s a difference in degree of the object which is being negated and therefore there rises this difference.
So autonomy middle way school accepts the knowledge obstructions and they posit as knowledge obstructions the conception of true existence. Whereas the the Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka school says that the conception of true existence is not a knowledge obstructions, it’s the latency or the predisposition of the conception of true existence which is a knowledge obstruction. So they both accept knowledge obstruction, just differentiate what they mean by knowledge obstruction. So amongst the four schools, the four tenet, the two upper tenet schools, mind only and the middle way, both the autonomy and Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka schools accept the afflictive obstructions and knowledge obstructions. The two lower schools, the great exposition and the sūtra school, do not accept the existence of knowledge obstruction.
So within the two lower schools, the two lower tenet systems, they do not use this designation afflictive obstructions and knowledge obstructions. They use the designation of the afflictive obstructions and non-afflictive obstructions. So the conception of true existence the conception of true existence is a knowledge obstruction. So the consequence of middle way school, the conception of true existence is a knowledge obstruction.
Amongst the ornament, ornament of a clear realization, is mainly explained from the point of view of the Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka school. This is because among the 21 various commentaries written by the Indian masters, the main commentary which is used is the clear meaning. The main commentary is called Clear Meaning by Haribhādra. Haribhādra was a proponent of Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka school. Therefore, it is explained from the point of view of the Consequence of Middle Way School.
So this is mainly, the text is being mainly explained from the point of view of the Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka school and not the autonomy middle way school. Is Candrakīrti and Buddhapālita. Candrakīrti and Buddhapālita. Those are the main proponents of those two schools. Of course the main figure within the Middle Way School in general is Nāgārjuna.
He set forth the Middle Way School in general, but then this was later being emphasized, certain aspects were emphasized into the two schools of consequence and autonomy. Divided down by these various masters each taking a different position within the middle way school itself. So the main proponent of the Svatāntrika Madhyamaka school was Bhāvaviveka. But the consequence school has two further divisions. The Yogic Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka school and the Sūtra Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka school.
The main proponents of the Yogic Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka school are Candrakīrti and Śāntideva. And the main proponent of the Sūtra consequence of middle way school, is Bhāvaviveka. So during the hardships which he endured during the twelve years of meditation he purified many obstructions and it’s due to having purified these obstructions that he was able to eventually meet with Maitreya. So the direct cause for meeting with Maitreya was the developing compassion. The indirect cause was the twelve years of having purified the obstruction.