Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 100-minute teaching, Ilia S. Durovic provides a foundational Buddhist philosophical analysis of the path to enlightenment, with special emphasis on the Bodhisattva aspiration. He opens by clarifying a seemingly simple but crucial distinction: which enlightenment does one actually seek—past (historical Buddha), present (suggesting one is already enlightened), or future (one’s own attainment within one’s own mental continuum)? Only the future enlightenment is one’s own responsibility and relates to the listener. Durovic then systematically distinguishes the Bodhisattva goal from Hīnayāna paths: Shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas seek personal liberation, while Bodhisattvas cultivate enlightenment for the sake of others, motivated by great compassion and the wish-fulfilling mind of bodhicitta. He walks through the etymology of “Buddhahood” (Sangye in Tibetan: dispelling the two obscurations and expanding omniscient wisdom), the necessity of the Bodhisattva’s Buddha nature for transformation, and the progressive stages of the path—accumulation, preparation, seeing, and meditation—each requiring realisation of emptiness. Throughout, he emphasises that enlightenment is not distant escape but accessible through gradual mental cultivation, using his own example of learning English to show how persistent effort yields transformation. The Q&A session addresses whether all beings can achieve Buddhahood, the relationship between mental continuum and person, Pure Lands, and the path of seeing in relation to abandoning grasping at self. Directed at serious practitioners with some Buddhist grounding.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 08112016SALAM 2 – KR.mp3
UUID: 82acd84b-2684-462a-abd2-a832af761808
Teacher: Ilia S. Durovic
Collection: Rinpoche's Story
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~4,551
The microphone. Microphone is falling apart. No. The microphone is broken. It’s good to begin by trying to see what the object of attainment or that which is driven for by Bodhisattvas is.
And the object of attainment of Bodhisattvas is the state of enlightenment. Now here does Buddhahood refer to past Buddhahood, to present Buddhahood or to future Buddhahood? So the state of enlightenment which Bodhisattva strive for for the sake of others is the state of full and utter enlightenment. Now, from your perspective, is this the past, the present or the future state of enlightenment or Buddhahood? As far as past Buddhahood is concerned, it is past, it is over.
We no longer have a relation to it. Now, if it were the present state of enlightenment of Buddhahood, that would mean that we have at present attained full enlightenment, which is obviously not the case. And therefore, the object of attainment which Bodhisattvas strive for for the sake of others is a future state of enlightenment. Here we must identify the foundation of this future state of enlightenment. What is the meaning of Buddhahood in Tibetan?
The term Buddhahood is Sangye. These two syllables have the following meaning. Sang means to dispel, specifically to dispel the two obstructions, the two avaranas. The obstruction to of the afflictions and the obstruction to omniscience. Gyé in Tibetan means to increase or to enhance.
This refers to the attainment of a state of omniscience which knows all objects of knowledge. So what precisely does the attainment of full enlightenment means? It means that something within our self, our mind or our consciousness actually is turned into the state of full enlightenment, specifically the state of omniscience, the state of an omniscient exalted wisdom. There are numerous terms which refer to the state, but it does not refer to somehow moving towards some object out there. So here therefore when one refers to attaining the state of full enlightenment, is not like meeting up with relatives or friends.
It refers to a transformation of the mind through a process which involves training in the aspects of the Four Noble Truths which are to be trained in and abandoning those aspects which are to be abandoned. And here when I say we, this refers to the I and as I mentioned last time, there is a relationship between the I and the continuum of consciousness. While the person and the continuum of consciousness cannot be said to be one. They can be said to be of one nature and different isolates. This is a good way to present it.
Now, when I refer or we refer in general conversation to attaining full enlightenment, we tend to think automatically of becoming Buddha Śākyamūni. This is impossible. Buddha Śākyamūni is of the past. Buddha Śākyamūni attained full enlightenment in the past. There is no attaining the state because we are a different mental continuum.
So Buddha Śākyamūni himself said, I do not help beings through blessings nor do I benefit through sacred ablutions. I help beings through teaching thusness. And here thusness refers among others to the four noble truths. So in this context, is through training our own minds, through realizing the four noble truths that we can be benefited by the Buddha’s teachings. So, when Bodhisattvas strive for full enlightenment, they are striving for an object of observation which is full and utter enlightenment for the sake of others.
This is fundamentally different from the goal of both hearers and solitary realizers, Shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas who are striving instead for a liberation. In other words, a nirvana for their own sake. Now this liberation is indeed called a truth of cessation, but to the difference of the goal of Bodhisattvas, it is not a state of mind. It is merely aim for for one’s own sake. So there is a major difference between fully characterized practitioners of the lower vehicle such as hearers and solitary realizers and fully characterized practitioners of the great vehicle such as Bodhisattvas.
Whereas fully characterized practitioners of the lower vehicle, the Hīnayāna strive for the attainment of liberation for their own sake and upon attaining the state remain in a state of bliss without particular concern for others. The goal of Bodhisattvas is radically different. Motivated by the wish to benefit others, they strive for the state of full and utter enlightenment. Wishing upon attaining the state to benefit others who teaching them for instance, the multiplicities of the four noble truths. So the great difference arises from the fact that Hīnayāna practitioners such as hearers and solitary realizers focus heavily on the wisdom component of the path, trying to realize selflessness for their own sake and upon attaining this remain in a state of bliss.
So, as Bodhisattvas have two objects of observation for the sake of others and for the nurture enlightenment, it is important to clarify what precisely full and utter enlightenment is. The state of full and utter enlightenment is not one which can be attained rapidly in one or two years. It calls for gradual and incremental training. And therefore, the state of full enlightenment is one in which we lead our mental continuum to perfection as I said in the Abhidharmakośa of Vasubandhu. The teacher is one who dispels the benightedness of all phenomena.
Then we have to examine for ourselves whether or not it is possible to lead our mental continuum to such a state or not. The state we are aiming for is not a state of becoming Buddha Śākyamūni. Now, we have to see whether it is possible to train our mind or not. This mental training is something which we see in daily life. We study for instance to train our mind.
Your translator speaks numerous languages. He was not born speaking these languages. He had to train his mind to learn how to speak them. So our goal here is to train our mental continuum to eventually turn it into the state of full and utter enlightenment. Now this is only possible because we have what is known as the tathagata-garbha or the Buddha nature within our mind stream.
Here, it is important to distinguish between the object of attainment of hearers and solitary realizers, which is difficult for us to understand. It is the noble truth of cessation, and the object of attainment of Bodhisattvas, which is full and utter enlightenment, a state in which the mind connects or understands all phenomena. So our goal must be the future, our future full enlightenment to come. So our goal therefore is this future enlightenment to come which is our own. This is the one we have a relation with.
It is our own uncommon enlightenment. There is no shared enlightenment which we can all attain. Such a thing does not exist. Then all of this depends on the amount of effort we put into it. If we put effort, we will attain the subject of attainment.
If we don’t, it simply will not happen. There are numerous debates regarding this in the second section Pāramitā studies on whether all sentient beings can attain full enlightenment or not. So in this process of progression for full enlightenment, we pass through the five paths and while we are passing through the path of accumulation and of preparation of the Mahāyāna, we remain in our ordinary body. Our body of contaminated aggregates, even though there is a profound mental transformation. It is however said that from the level of the path of seeing onwards, we attain what is known as a mental body.
So what precisely is the goal therefore and why do Bodhisattvas strive to attain it? The goal of Bodhisattvas is full and utter enlightenment and they strive to attain it for the sake of others. Once they have attained full and utter enlightenment, they benefit trainees through teaching. Then the benefit of attaining for another enlightenment is that they understand fully the dispositions and the goals or the objects of observation of the trainees, which until that point they do not understand. For instance, Geshe-la was saying at present, he really doesn’t have a clue whether you are connecting to what he is saying or not.
He just talks and you are there. Whether something is happening or not, he does not know. Then when he for instance attains full and utter enlightenment, he will be able to communicate with each of you precisely in the requisite way. Then, in my own case, I just explain things as I see them and you may or may not connect to this presentation. I don’t have any clue.
However, a fully enlightened being would identify exactly where the practitioner is at present and what his goals are. Is he or she a hearer by nature, a solitary realizer, a bodhisattva and the Buddha will explain precisely the Dharma which is of benefit to that practitioner. Then if you look at it this way, it’ll be easier to understand What precisely at present is preventing us from teaching or communicating with others in such a way? It is the obscurations within our mind which arise from the ignorance of benightedness, which covers our mind. Now, once we are able to dispel this ignorance, we will be able to know all objects of knowledge.
What precisely dispels this ignorance? Its opposite. Its opposite is not great compassion or bodhicitta. Its opposite is the wisdom realizing emptiness. So as Vasubandhu says in Abhidharmakośa of Vasubandhu, he who through teaching dispels the benightedness which surrounds the fog, which surrounds phenomena, and rescues beings from the mud of cyclic existence is the teacher.
And here it is precisely to attain that state, that state of full and utter enlightenment that we generate bodhicitta which is its cause and generate in turn great compassion which is the cause thereof. So therefore, it is critical initially to identify clearly the object of attainment, which is full and utter enlightenment. Having identified this, we identify the cause of this attainment, which is conventional bodhicitta and then the cause of conventional bodhicitta, which is great compassion. And finally, the cause of great compassion, which as I explained previously is definite emergence. And this is therefore the reason for which we train in bodhicitta, was defined as a special mind endowed with both aspirations caused by great compassion.
So the object of attainment therefore is full and utter enlightenment and to attain this object of attainment, we need to generate conventional bodhicitta and in turn to generate the cause of conventional bodhicitta which is a great compassion. Then for some full and utter enlightenment is far away, for others fully enlightened, fully nurtured enlightenment is close by. In your cases you have received many teachings on this. Then it is really very very pleasant to think about these topics and obviously it is up to ourselves whether we do think about them or not. Whether we have the time to do so or not.
If we do think about them and eventually generate the sense that this is really how things are, then we will have started to travel on the path. So the definition which is given of the path of accumulation in the lesser Lam Rim, the lesser grounds and paths is a particularly beautiful definition. It is the clear realization of Dharma. Now this definition actually is a definition which summarizes the meaning of the path of accumulation taught in Maitreya’s Abhisamayālamkāra. In Maitreya’s treatise and this in turn summarizes the meaning of the vast, middling and lesser and specifically the 8,000 verse Prajñāpāramitā sūtra.
So, here when one refers to the clear realization of Dharma, Dharma here refers to emptiness and this connects directly to definite emergence. Now the definition of the path of preparation, as you know, is the clear realization of meaning. And the difference with the definition of the path of accumulation, the clear realization of Dharma, is that the clear realization of Dharma refers to an understanding and a realization of emptiness based on hearing and thinking. Whereas at the level of the path of preparation, the clear realization of the meaning refers to a realization of emptiness which is arisen from meditation. In other words, relies on insight.
Now regarding this the definition of the path of seeing the clear realization of truth. Here, this refers to the direct realization of emptiness. So it is important here to understand clearly the necessity of the sequence one progresses from the path of accumulation to the path of preparation to the path of seeing. To attain the path of seeing, it is essential to have attained the path of preparation. To attain the path of preparation, it is essential to have attained the path of accumulation.
So, what is the reason for which to attain the path of seeing it is indispensable to have attained the path of preparation previously? Why? So, minds which have arisen from meditation are twofold. You have conceptual minds arisen from meditation and non conceptual minds arisen from meditation. If you wish to attain the path of seeing of the Mahāyāna, which is a non conceptual direct realization of emptiness, how could you hope attaining it without first having a conceptual realization of emptiness?
And this is a realization of emptiness, which arises in dependence on the inseparable union of calm abiding and insight. Now, the next question is, why to attain the path of preparation is it indispensable to have attained the path of accumulation first? Joanna, the question. Why did you say direct? Why you do not gain a direct realization of emptiness on the path of accumulation?
You said direct. So, at the level of the path of preparation, one has attained a conceptual realization of emptiness arisen from meditation. To attain this, it is indispensable to rely on realizations of emptiness arisen from thinking and before that realizations of emptiness arisen from hearing. Now, these experiences are reasoned from thinking and hearing occur at the level of the path of accumulation of the Mahāyāna. So now at the level of the path of seeing of the Mahāyāna, what is the object of abandonment?
It is the imputed grasping at a self. What precisely is this imputed grasping at a self? It is this predilection, this conception which thinks when we experience phenomena, they are out there. This is abandoned at the level of the path of seeing. And after meditative equipoise on emptiness, one enters into the state of subsequent attainment.
In the state of subsequent attainment, all conventional phenomena exist as mere appearances. During subsequent attainment on the path of seeing, obviously, both bodhicitta and great compassion, as well as love are present within the mind stream of the Bodhisattva. bodhicitta is present and if its cause great compassion were not present, then bodhicitta could not arise. So they are both present and during subsequent attainment, the bodhisattva even though all phenomena appear as being established from their own side, in no way conceptually assent to this appearance. The predilection of phenomena is being established from their own side is eliminated.
So at present the bodhisattva resolves to abandon the cause of the appearance of phenomena as being established from their own side. And this is the innate grasping at a self. With this resolve in mind, the Bodhisattva then causes the continuum of direct realization of emptiness which had been initiated at the beginning of the path of seeing to become manifest once again and upon reentering in meditation enters the path of meditation. So, here the process of abandonment on the path of meditation of the innate grasping at a self or the innate grasping at true existence occurs in 10 steps. The nine first steps of the nine first grounds are subdivided each into three.
The greater middling and smaller. The last one is subdivided into two. The coarser and the more subtle. Now, when the mind is in meditative equipoise on emptiness, in other words, when the mind has a direct realization of emptiness, there are no conventional appearances of any type. So we will explain in detail later on the path of meditation.
What is important today is to focus on the object of attainment, the state of Buddhahood, Sangye in Tibetan. What this means and within the three types of Buddhahood past, present and future, which one we can attain. Past we cannot attain, it is past. Present we would be fully enlightened at present. This is a future one which we should attain and to realize that attaining full enlightenment does not mean becoming becoming somehow Buddha Śākyamūni.
Our mental continuum has no relation whatsoever to Buddha Śākyamūni. Buddha Śākyamūni no longer exists. He has disappeared. Now that does not mean we do not have a personal relations with faith with Buddha Śākyamūni. So here these positions depend on which school of tenets one subscribes to.
For instance, the two Hīnayāna schools of tenets Vaibhāṣika and Sautrandika both assert that not only does Buddha Śākyamūni no longer exist, but his mental continuum has been severed or interrupted. He is completely non existent. The Cittamātra and Madhyamaka schools of tenets, the Mahāyāna schools of tenets disagree and assert that the continuum of Buddha Śākyamūni does still exist, and this this depends on one’s own position. There are strong arguments for both. Let us therefore reflect and ask ourselves whether through continual development of our mental continuum, we can become like Buddha Śākyamūni or not.
During a couple of minutes, let’s generate the motivation in this way. Please open the page one. So at present, we have to make a clear distinction between conceptual and non conceptual consciousnesses such as sensory consciousnesses. It is only the conceptual consciousnesses which can be enhanced in this way. I’m not quite sure how one could enhance non conceptual consciousnesses.
And here what is required to attain our goal is courage, perseverance, determination. So with perseverance, which is described as follows as a great river. Perseverance should flow like a great river uninterruptedly. Then if we practice in this way, eventually we will attain our goal of full and utter enlightenment. So take my own example, when I came here, I wasn’t able to string correctly a couple of English words together to ask for a cup of tea.
Sometimes I would say, do you like a cup of tea when I really wanted a cup? Are you like a cup of tea? And eventually, would you like a cup of tea? Then as I had no understanding of English, the words were meaningless. Then over time, I learned how to speak English well.
Then the same thing for us. It is through time, through gradual practice that we will attain our goal, and we should not inflict too much hardship on our bodies precisely because there is a connection between body and mind. Then we really can’t speak of enthusiasm or perseverance if it lasts a couple days, a couple of months or a couple of years. And we should initially focus on realistic goals, such as trying to generate bodhicitta. Then, if we can generate bodhicitta, and certainly we can, how happy we will be?
Then I will take at present your questions, one question per person, and if we finish that, then you can ask extras. My question is about why would there be an argument about whether some people may or may not be able to achieve full enlightenment given that all people have a kernel of kindness within them, all beings have a kernel of kindness in their mind streams that can be developed. So why would that be the case? So here we have to reflect really carefully on the meaning of full and utter enlightenment, which is the object of observation, and how one would go about attaining full and utter enlightenment. And then if we proceed in this way, then we will not stop at the mere words.
Okay. And the second. During the study group tonight the questions came up again about the meaning of mind stream and mental continuum and I had a try at describing what I thought might have been the difference was that mental continuum seems to be the flow of mental events whereas mind stream seems to be weightier and when you achieve a level of realization then that mind is endowed with the weight of that realization and continues to arise night and day. Could Geshe-la make some comment on that? So the term mental continuum is strictly mental when it does not contain non mental realizations, but if it contains mental realizations, it becomes what’s known as a non associated compositional phenomena.
And I ask Geshe-la’s permission to add something for your question. Mindstream and mental continuum translate the same term in Tibetan. Then your question about the mental continuum is a very good one because it is a difficult topic. Since the mental continuum refers both to that continuum which proceeds to full and utter enlightenment, but also to that continuum which arises from previous lives. And after all, mind certainly the course minds are interrupted during deep sleep.
Then, how can we speak of the mental continuum being purely mental in this context? Hi. Could could Geshe-la explain further what is meant by the I and consciousness? Is one mind, one nature and one isolate? So a good way to understand the fact that the person in the mental continuum are of one nature, but different isolates is with the following example.
If one imagines that one is having an excellent meal, then the taste of the good food is conveyed by the sensory consciousness to mental consciousnesses. And in dependence on the sensation of good food, the thought this is good arises. in dependence on this conception, one then imputes the person. So, let me put it like this. The pleasant sensation which arises in dependence on the taste of a good food gives rise to the conception which thinks, I had a good meal.
Now here, I is imputed on the sensation of good food. Okay. And third one. Just want to follow-up to the previous question. Geshe-la used the example of a good meal, I was just wondering, for the beings on the path of meditation, they abandoned the innate grasping at self, would that person still have a good meal?
Will have a good meal? They don’t rely at all on ordinary meals like ours containing normal nutritive substances. If I understood correctly, it was said that Buddha Śākyamūni had disappeared. So I’ve got two questions from that like, where did he disappear to and if a person was to gain full and utter enlightenment, would they also disappear? So everything depends on one system of tenets.
For the Hīnayāna, the Vaibhāṣika and Sautrāntika school, when an arhat attains liberation or a Buddha attains full enlightenment, then at the end of that life, at death, they are annihilated. Their mental continuum disappears. Then if you ask where did Buddha Śākyamūni go? Well, his body was buried in eight stupas in India. That’s what’s left.
Then according to Mahāyāna, this is not the case. So the reason the Vaibhāṣika and the Sautrāntika say that upon the attainment of the state of liberation, in other words becoming an Arhat or full enlightenment, at the end of that life the continuum is severed and one ceases to exist, is that if one continued to exist, one would continue to reincarnate and one could only reincarnate under the power of karma and afflictions, but these have been eliminated. Because they only believe in reincarnation in this world. So then the Mahāyāna teaches that there are other places where one can be reborn which are Pure Lands. So, the Pure Lands are terribly convenient, Geshe-la says.
Are you reborn in the Pure So the Pure Lands are not some sort of heaven with houses and cars and buildings in which one is reborn. It is taught that when being attains full enlightenment through the force of the vow, the pledge taken in a previous life, that being creates his or her own pure land and this is a mental land created to the subtle mental energies of that being. Geshe-la, I think you said from the path of seeing onwards you have a mental body only. Could you explain that a bit more please? So here when we speak of a mental body, it is not a body which is related to this body of flesh and blood which is arisen from semen.
It is instead of the nature of mind, it is an uncontaminated body. And Geshe-la, last week you mentioned about Tenzin going into the kitchen and seeing yesterday’s breakfast and then having a thought that this is yesterday’s breakfast. I’m just wondering is that thought a permanent phenomenon? No, it’s not permanent, it’s a consciousness. The reason for it which it is not permanent is as follows, because it changes these these conceptions or these thoughts can both improve or deteriorate.
Just now, Geshe-la was talking about the path of meditation. Object of abandonment is the grasping at self, But I didn’t understand the part when he talked about appearing on their own side is eliminated. What does he mean by that? When we speak of the appearance of establishment from its own side, it refers to the fact that when you look at tables, walls, buildings, they appear to exist out there from their own side. Is it possible for us to experience the innate grasping itself or is it the case that our acquired grasping itself or of phenomena is too strong for us to experience innate grasping?
Yes. We definitely have an experience of the innate grasping at self or the innate grasping at true existence because it is simply the fact that phenomena appear from their side as being established from their own side. Then to identify innate grasping, the innate grasping at self is a difficult matter. So listen now, I’d like to ask you, within the three Buddhahoods, past, present, and future, which is the one we wish to attain? Okay future Buddhahood where is it?
So, therefore, the best way to look at it is to view Buddhahood as something which will eventually exist within our own stream. Now whether when we have attained a path of uninterrupted abandonment, have attained Buddhahood or not, is something we have to examine. Have we attained full enlightenment at that point? Future Buddhahood? Okay.
So we have said that the cause of Buddhahood is bodhicitta and great compassion. Then are we connected to Buddhahood or not? Do we touch Buddhahood or not? So what is this Buddha nature? So how are we going to access the path?
It’s extremely helpful therefore to think in this way, does full enlightenment exist or not? If it exists, what are the means to attain full enlightenment? Okay, stop here today please. Thank you. Just a reminder about Lhabab Düchen on the twentieth, Guru Puja at 06:00, which I think is Sunday the twentieth, 06:00.