Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 43-minute commentary on the Abhisamayālankāra, Khensur Rinpoche walks through five key topics: mind generation, instructions, branches of discrimination, naturally abiding lineages, and the eleven-fold classification of objects of observation. He anchors the teaching in a vivid metaphor—the bodhisattva’s path as two alternating feet. One foot forward through vast activities: the six perfections practiced with bodhicitta. The other through profound activity: meditation on emptiness. Both are necessary. Without either, you cannot walk toward Buddhahood. Together they secure the two accumulations of merit and wisdom. He traces three stages of understanding: belief and hearing, examination and investigation, and direct realization of hidden phenomena.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-08-24 – Side 2 – KR.MP3
UUID: 2b50713c-f1d6-48b3-8438-d6378967fe97
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Ornament of Clear Realization
Date: 1989-08-24
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,117
To 13 according to the basis of the naturally abiding lineages. So the boundaries for the basis for achieving the great vehicle is from the directly taught. What do you say? I think you may be obvious? In other words, explicitly taught.
That which is explicitly taught is from the path of preparation, the path of seeing, and the path of meditation. That is explicitly taught. The general teaching would also include the path of accumulation. So it’s explicitly these three, but in general we can say the the four. Okay.
So we had So next is the objects of observation of achieving. That is the fifth topic, objects of observation of achieving. We’ve covered the branches of definite discrimination, then the basis of achieving. The achievers are the path. The paths are the achievers, such as the path of accumulation, preparation, seeing, meditation.
These are the achievers. The basis of those achievers are the naturally abiding lineages. The basis of achieving is the natural abiding lineage. It serves as the basis for actually achieving. Now the next topic, the fifth topic, is the object of observation of those achievers.
So we have achievers, achievers of the path, what are the objects of observation of those achievers? And this is presented from the point of view of definition, divisions and boundaries. And the definition of the object of observation of achieving is as follows: the basis upon which superimpositions are eliminated by the achiever. Knowables or objects of knowledge synonymous with object of observation Objects of observation of achieving and objects of knowledge are synonymous. So if we divide them, there will be 11.
And the boundaries are the it extends to all established basis. That is to say all phenomenon, established basis. So an achiever of the great vehicle is a path. A path is an achiever of the great vehicle. And this path has an object.
Whatever is an object is an object of observation of an achiever. That is to say, all objects are realized by these achievers. So all objects are taken as an object of observation by these achievers. It understands all objects. And whatever exists is an object of observation, of an achiever, whether it’s a positive object, negative object or an unspecified object.
So a bodhisattva must must understand all all things in order to be able to teach. Therefore, he takes all objects of knowledge as is it as a object of his examination, trying to understand what are positive objects, negative objects, what are unspecified objects. So everything is an object of his observation examination. The the you want to know the 11 or what why the 11? So in general, I mean, all objects of knowledge are an object of observation.
But here, it’s mainly classified. The main classification is into 11. We can classify them all into 11. So we can So these are the simply the main the main points of classification, the main categories that we can classify all phenomena into. You know, generally we can classify, for example, into positive, negative, unspecified.
We can classify mundane phenomena, transmundane phenomena, contaminated phenomena, uncontaminated phenomena in the various paths. So it’s just a matter of classification. So the discussion on emptiness was pertained to the discussion on natural abiding lineage. Here we’re talking about all phenomenon. In order to practice the path, it’s useful to take particular objects as an object of observation.
It’s beneficial to take particular objects in order to actually practice and progress along the path. All objects of knowledge are therefore classified into 11 categories. There’s 11 classes of objects which are made use of on certain paths. As was mentioned, sometimes we take it from the point of view of positive, negative, unspecified, mundane, transmundane, contaminated, uncontaminated. These are classifications of all objects of knowledge for particular particularly useful at certain on certain path.
So just in the case of Australia, Australia is a very vast country. And if we want to somehow carry on an examination of Australia, we narrow it down into smaller areas. And therefore we might examine Sydney or we might look at Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide. We look at these as a way of looking at Australia as a whole. Without looking without looking at each of the individual states, then we would have no way of looking at Australia as a whole.
Or this would be the way to look at Australia as a whole. Likewise, in order to progress along the path, such classifications are useful, are made use of. These very classifications are useful to look at various classes of objects as a way of progressing along the path. So we don’t have much time, so perhaps we’ll take questions on the first five of the 10 topics under the first category exalted knower of all aspects. We’ve covered five: mind generation, instructions, branches of definite discrimination, basis of achieving, and objects of observation of achieving.
Do you have any questions about any of those? So aside from the time factor, if the translation is accurate, then there’s no added obstacle to understanding. The word path is similar to how it’s used in the world in general. A path is a way of going. We travel on a path.
It is a way of going to somewhere. Likewise, a path for us is a way of going to the Buddha ground. It’s the way we go. So that’s very similar to the general usage of the term, the way we travel, the way we go. Now what is a path?
It is an exalted knower which is conjoined with non artificial renunciation. So it’s an exalted knower. Exalted conjoined with the attitude of non artificial renunciation is the definition of a path. An exalted knower can join with the attitude of non artificial renunciation. So it is when practice a path, we’re we’re trying to generate a consciousness.
A path is a consciousness. When that being has generated a renounce, the attitude of renunciation, which is a consciousness, when that person’s consciousness transforms entity into renunciation, then he has generated a path. If he has no way of generating renunciation then that person has not entered into a path, he has not generated a path. So when the individual, a person, generates renunciation then he a path in his mind. That person has entered into a path.
A person who has such a mind is said to be a practitioner of the path. So he then takes various objects or she takes various objects of observation, such as meditation. He might meditate on emptiness, selflessness, impermanence, all of these. By taking these as objects of the mind and meditating on them, the power of the mind is increased. As the power of the mind is increased it grows in strength, then one develops the next path, a more powerful consciousness.
One was on the path of accumulation by taking these various objects, meditating on them, the power of the mind increases to the point where it becomes the path of preparation. Again, taking the various objects on that path as observation, meditating, the power of the mind, the capacity, the ability of the mind is increased and it transforms into the path of seeing. And then again, meditation. Finally, the power of the mind and likewise we say the being who possesses this mind finally achieves the power of his mind, the mind becomes the wisdom truth body, becomes omniscient. And that person is said to be a Buddha who has that mind.
So just as in the case of Rinpoche was showing, a person walks with two legs, placing first one foot, then another foot in front of that, then the foot in front of that, and the foot in front of that. And this is the way the person travels in accordance with placing one foot, then another, then another, and the person is said to travel in this manner. This is the way the person is able to progress along, placing one foot in front of another. Likewise, the bodhisattva is also placing one foot in front of the other in order to travel to the destination of Buddhahood. These are the vast activities and the profound activities.
The vast activities of the path and the profound activities of the path. By meditating on the awakening heart, practicing the activities of the perfections such as generosity, ethics, patience, he would be placing one foot in front. Then he would meditate on emptiness, sitting in meditative equipoise on the emptiness, which is the profound, he would place another foot in front. Then he would return to the vast activities of the bodhisattva, all the perfections, the generosity, ethics, patience, etc, place another foot in front. Then he would turn to his meditative equipoise on emptiness, the profound, and he would place another foot in front.
And in this way these two conjoined, these vast activities and the profound meaning. One conjoined, one alternating. Just like two feet he would travel to Buddhahood. So in order to achieve Buddhahood, we must collect the two accumulations, the accumulation of positive potential and the accumulation of wisdom. With lacking either of these two there’s no way that we can achieve Buddhahood.
Our practice must be constituted of a conjoined collection of these two accumulations. When we’re sitting in meditative equipoise on emptiness, then at that moment we’re collecting the accumulation of wisdom. But at that time we’re not creating positive potential, we’re not collecting the accumulation of positive potential. When we rise up from that meditative equipoise, we enact the various vast activities of the bodhisattva with the intention of the awakening heart through practice of generosity, ethics, patience, effort by these means, then we’re collecting the accumulation of positive potential. We’re not collecting the accumulation of wisdom.
So it is in this way, just like setting one foot in front of another, by firmly establishing one foot then we’re able to draw forth the next foot and pliancy that firmly. It depends upon having planted that firmly, then that will support us while we draw the next foot forward. This is the way we progress along a path, by alternating these two necessary collection of the two accumulations. So here, in accordance with liberation refers to the path of accumulation because the branches of definite discrimination we said was synonymous with the path of preparation, so the path of preparation is subsequent to the concordant with liberation. It is subsequent to the path of accumulation.
Concordant with liberation refers to the path of accumulation. So I made a mistake in translation. It should be belief and examination rather than belief and conduct. I think I said it should be belief and conduct belief and examination. So belief and examination cover the first of the two paths, the path of accumulation and path of preparation.
What this means is that mainly on the path of accumulation, the practitioner is mainly intent upon hearing the teachings of the Buddha, listening to the teachings of the Buddha. So his main emphasis is simply developing the belief in the teachings of the Buddha. Whereas on the path of preparation the practitioner seeks to actually come to understand the meaning of the teachings. So he is examining, investigating what he has heard. On the path of preparation it is classified as examination.
He’s trying to understand the meaning, he’s examining the meaning. So therefore there’s this belief and examination to cover these first two paths. So then when the practitioner achieves the path of seeing, he directly understands the meaning of the Buddhist teaching, his actual understanding, direct understanding of the Buddhist teachings. Therefore he does not rely on either belief or investigating or examining because he actually sees direct understanding. So with respect to the teachings of the Buddha, there are three levels.
There is the obvious, teachings on the obvious, teachings on the manifest, slightly hidden and extremely hidden. At the path of preparation one has realization of those teachings which teach the obvious. But it’s only on the path of seeing that one has the direct realization of those teachings which teach the hidden, that includes the slightly hidden and extremely hidden, such phenomena as the law of cause and effect, emptiness, the 16 moments of the four noble truths, etc. These are hidden phenomena. One does not directly understand those until one has the path of seeing.
But in general, even at the path of preparation, one has a realization of the Buddhist teachings, the meaning of the Buddhist teachings, but not direct realization.