Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Ven Jampa Ignyen examines the six root afflictions—attachment, anger, pride, ignorance, doubt, and false view—with a practical focus on recognizing how they operate in your own mind. In this 106-minute session, he walks systematically through each: attachment as the engine of rebirth; anger escalating from subtle irritation to violent action; pride in seven forms, rooted in self-grasping; ignorance as both absence of knowledge and active misunderstanding. He stresses that the real work of practice is learning to identify these states as they arise. Using concrete examples and arguments from texts like the Bodhicaryāvatāra, he shows how each affliction damages our happiness and freedom. The teaching is conversational and investigative, suited to practitioners with Buddhist foundation ready to examine their mental streams directly.
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File: 2012 11 06 01 – Jampa Ignyen 20121106 Mind & Cognition061112.mp3
UUID: c494c218-6f0d-4929-a166-d09b17bb341e
Teacher: Ven Jampa Ignyen
Collection: Mind & Cognition (Ven Jampa Ignyen)
Date: 2012-11-06
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 106.3 minutes
Words: ~10,605
So it’s a challenging topic: minds and mental factors. And so far we’ve covered How many mental factors have we covered so far? Sixteen? Eleven and five, eleven and ten, twenty one. Lots!
We’ve done a fair number quite briefly. We’ve done out of the six groups how many of the six have we done? Three. What are the three groups we’ve done? Omnipresent.
Say object determining. Yep. It is object ascertaining. Yul ne in Tibetan. Yung ne.
Ne means to ascertain or determine something and yul is the object. Even in Tibetan it’s a bit of a strange compound that they’re translating from the Sanskrit. Object determining. Really it means that those sorts of mental factors that are involved with acquiring knowledge concentration, wisdom. And then after that what do we have?
Eleven virtues. The eleven virtuous mental factors. So all in all we’ve how many have we done? Twenty one. Right.
So we’ve done twenty one. How many are there altogether? Fifty one all up and so how many left? Right. Now it’s Yes and these are all the really interesting ones.
The ones we’re really familiar with. So we got thirty left and those thirty are divided in which way? They’re mainly non virtuous. Six, twenty and four. Yeah.
And what are the six? The root afflictions or the fundamental afflictions? Secondary. How many in the secondary? Twenty.
Right. And the what’s left over? Four variables. Yep. Okay.
So good if we know those six divisions. And those six divisions are really divided up into virtuous, neutral, non virtuous. Right? So the main way we divide them up is really ethically in their ethical value. So the first ten are what?
Neutral. They can become virtuous through the influence of the virtuous mental factors. Okay, so the first ten are neutral. The group of eleven, the third group is virtuous. So they’re all positive by their very nature.
Then the group of six, they’re generally non virtuous but not all of them. The twenty secondary? What are they? They’re pretty much non virtuous. And the variables?
Either or. Exactly. They’re variable. Why? Because they could be ethically positive, ethically neutral or non virtuous.
So really how we’re looking at the mental factors is in terms of their value to us ethical value. So neutral, virtuous then predominantly non virtuous in a bit of sort of a mixed section for three, four and four, five and six divisions. Okay now there were sections that we haven’t just we don’t have time to cover all the detail which is a pity but you have the text and so you can read yourselves just quickly at the end of the Eleven Virtues round page forty three. Just a one point there too. The non harm there really is compassion.
It’s the mental factor of compassion there. That last one, the eleventh. That’s non violence ahimsa. It really refers to karuṇā or compassion as well. And what what is love?
Non hatred. Yeah. So we need to keep that in mind. Love and compassion are there in the mental factors. Right.
So then we have the closing remarks on virtuous states right at the end there. Now that’s useful to read through that because it gives like, right at the bottom of page forty three, have well, in general, virtuous mental factors are said to be of five kinds. Those that are virtuous by nature, by connection, by secondary connection, due to motivation and because in an ultimate sense they’re virtuous. Ultimate virtue is emptiness. In the universe that which is by nature virtue is these eleven virtuous mental factors.
If we have to point at virtue anywhere that’s what it is. These eleven positive mental factors. And anything becomes virtuous by somehow being associated with those eleven. It’s even said that physical objects can become virtuous due to a virtuous mind affecting it. But a mind becomes virtuous how?
Because it mixes with it one or more of these eleven virtuous mental factors. So our practice is really cultivating these eleven virtuous mental factors. The only way we can make the mind virtuous is by generating one or more. One way we can investigate to see whether our mind is virtuous is by looking and seeing do I have faith? Has faith arisen?
Has shame arisen? Has what? Embarrassment arisen? And so forth. Has non attachment arisen?
Has non hatred arisen? Has non delusion arisen? And so forth. You know we can go through the eleven. It’s useful if we know the eleven.
There’s only eleven of them. So really the work of the path is really making the mind virtuous and the work of the path is kick starting the mind into a virtuous state by generating one or more of those eleven. So that’s our work right there with those eleven. Okay so then it talks about virtuous by nature which are these on the next page, page forty four, it goes on to talk a little bit about why they’re virtuous by nature. Nature.
And we can think about that too. Why are they positive by nature? Why is something like non attachment virtuous by nature? It’s very useful to think about this. Non attachment.
We’re so used to attachment diving into attachment engaging, entering attachment all the time. If the mind becomes attached implication is the mind is not going down a virtuous path. In a way we need to contemplate these issues. So this section afterwards page forty four-forty five has a little bit of information more information on the general way of looking at these eleven virtuous mental factors. But we don’t have much time so that’s more like homework.
Right, so we’ll skip along to the six fundamental afflictions on page forty seven. So there are six here. So the first one mentioned is attachment and then anger, pride, ignorance, doubt and false view. Yep false view or afflictive view. So there’s six in all.
So these six of all the mental factors that arise these are regarded as root afflictions. Or they’re they’re not the actual three poisons. Three poisons are which? Yeah those three. Yeah.
It’s the attachment is really it’s not only a root affliction it’s one of the it’s not only one of the six root afflictions it’s actually one of the poisons as well. So it has like a very central part to play in non virtue. So attachment, hatred, ignorance. Or anger as well. Attachment, anger.
One thing too is that often anger and attachment are mutually implied one by the other. Although they’re not the same thing. Okay so they’re the six. So the defining characteristics of the afflictions in general is explained in the Abhidharma Samuccaya as follows: So this is the definition of an afflicted mental state. It arises with the characteristics of perturbation or non pacification or the mind not being pacified.
The mind not being comfortable. The mind not being at ease. The mind not being able to just rest. So this is what the affliction means. It means that the mind is experiencing a level of dissatisfaction.
Like a bit of you know grit in the food or a stone in the shoe or a certain level of discomfort there. So this is what affliction means. Often it occurs on a very subtle level. But just the idea of discomfort is what is meant by affliction here. So it’s a type of mental factor that when it manifests in the mind stream it what can one say?
It creates an unpleasant or disturbing or unsatisfactory state of mind. Mirumwa also is unsuitable. So it is an awareness that perturbs the mental continuum when it arises. I will now explain the nature of these six individually. Now attachment comes up first.
Why does attachment come up first? That pretty much is yeah. Yep. Yeah. Our home is even called desire.
Called attachment. Why is attachment so prominent? Why isn’t why not anger realm or why not some other? It actually it’s yeah the cause for being reborn at this level is our attachment. Attachment sorry?
It often leads into anger attachment. First attachment arises towards an object and then over a period then one will generate because of that initial attachment, one will later generate hatred for it or anger towards it. In a way, attachment conditions the arrival of aversion. Yeah. They we’re often experiencing, you know, either one or the other in relation to objects.
But often it’s the attachment that arises initially which is an invalid assessment of the object to begin with the attachment towards it. Because the attachment is just looking at the positive attractive side of the object only looking at what’s attractive. So it’s unstable. It means that because it’s a wrong assessment at some point it conditions it will condition the arrival of just seeing what’s the faults of that object and when that occurs then one hates the object. One gets angry towards the object.
So they’re equally at fault. Attachment and the aversion or the hatred and the anger are equally at fault because they’re not a balanced assessment of that object itself. Okay so attachment comes up first but this is something that we need to investigate ourselves. You know to be aware of attachment when it arises and observe it to see what it does. What is attachment?
As the Abhidharma Samuccaya says, it is attachment for things of the three realms and it has the function of producing suffering. So just a very here Asaṇga, the author of the Abhidharma Samuccaya, gives just a very brief that’s all that’s needed. Attachment for things, objects within the realm of existence, within any of the three realms or within the universe itself. Attachment is just that, the attraction to an object. It is the mental state that is obsessed with a contaminated entity through seeing it as delightful.
So attachment ten attachment becomes attachment when it focuses on a contaminated object and it sees it interprets that object as being just pleasant or positive and so on. Contaminated refers to anything that’s not uncontaminated such as emptiness. It’s primarily that. It’s primarily the way we look at the object but an object is said to be said to be contaminated if by looking at it it will tend to give rise to attachment and hatred and so forth. But really what you know the problem there is not so much from the side of the object it’s from the side of the observer who’s generating the attachment and the hatred towards the object.
But we say that because the object has the potential to give rise to hatred or attachment in the mind streams of others it itself is contaminated. Like say that chair in front of us is contaminated. The emptiness of the chair is uncontaminated. Selflessness of the chair. Yeah.
Yeah. And then it’s uncontaminated because we view it and it acts like a medicine. It acts to quell the afflictions understanding its emptiness. Yeah. Buddha’s completely uncontaminated.
A Buddha their physical body is uncontaminated. Their mental continuum Yep. Completely uncontaminated. So therefore even if we were to look at the physical body of a Buddha attachment cannot arise even though we see the the body of a Buddha as attractive. So that seeing the Buddha’s body as attractive is not attachment because it’s not an overestimation of what’s there.
In fact because a Buddha by definition only has positive qualities, no negative qualities at all. So it’s a correct assessment. If we Oh we can see what’s there. No. That Yeah.
True. Right. That’s true. That’s a good point. Probably it’s only in hindsight once we attain Buddhahood and we can it’s only when you become a Buddha can you see who else is a Buddha.
Yeah. Yeah. That’s a good point. But it said attachment, you know, what’s its function? It’s just looking at the attractive in the object.
And there are potential objects in the universe that are purely attractive. Like the body of a Buddha is attractive because it’s only generated from virtue. In fact, the thirty two major marks, the eighty minor marks come about through practicing every type of virtue for three countless eons. So when we look at it, it’s attractive. No.
It’s only done calling the object contaminated is only from a particular point of view. It’s not to blame the object. It’s really to remind ourselves that we have to take care of when viewing that object because we’re susceptible to becoming attached to it. If we look at that chair you know we might become attached to it. We’re always susceptible with any object of our senses to become attached.
But if we come across an uncontaminated object then attachment’s not a possibility. But to that extent everything has an aspect of emptiness. Everything has an attribute of emptiness. If we’re able to see objects at that level, a very deep level, then we don’t get attached. It’s like the medicine, the antidote to attachment.
Oh, right. Yeah. Well, that’s right. The emptiness here is really emptiness is something that actually exists in the way it appears to exist. And therefore it’s an ultimate truth.
And if we can understand that, if we can see that level in an object we don’t get attached to the object because that’s the uncontaminated level of the object. But for us we only view things on a very superficial level on a contaminated level. And therefore we’re getting attached all the time. We just look around anything that’s attractive: color and shape. It’s like it’s so quick!
Just the eye just the and the eye looks around and then we have attachment which is on a conceptual level You know like: Oh I like that I’m attached, I’m attached, attached. And this process is very very energy consuming. Yeah, yeah we’re susceptible to attachment. We almost we’re so it’s so ingrained within us. It’s so habitual that you know we’re there already.
Developing detachment takes a lot of hard work, lot of analysis over a long period. But we need detachment because that’s a virtuous mental state. Virtuous mental factor. Right now just being having a mental factor the mental factor that sees a contaminated entity contaminated entity as pleasant, nice, delightful, attractive and so on is what attachment is. So as it says underneath by attachment focuses on an external or an internal object that is beautiful and attractive and that leads to craving for it.
For example, just as it is difficult to remove grease that has soaked into a cotton cloth likewise it is difficult to separate attachment from a focal object which it desires and is going out to or is seeking. Attachment can be categorized into three: Desire Realm Attachment, Form Realm attachment, formless realm attachment. And the Abhidharmakośa explains two types: desire realm attachment and attachment for existence. So attachment for existence is explained as the last two, that is form realm attachment and formless realm attachment. So for us we’re just involved with desire realm attachment.
So just ordinary objects that we bump into all the time we’re getting attached to. Are we getting attached to them? Sorry? Yeah. How much attachment do we have?
Probably immeasurable. We have immeasurable attachment. Yeah probably on the if we had a scale in front of us the non attachments right up here. The advertisement marketing! I mean we’re bad enough!
Exactly! If we had all the media if we could take all the media and newspapers and advertisements and so forth away and put them into one corner we’re still thoroughly attached to the world around us. Oh yeah! They recognize the fundamental problem is still there but yeah for us we’re bombarded by advertising all the time. And we have to be critical.
We have to look at all the claims that are made about objects and whether we should buy things or not. But even on a subtler level we need to investigate just how we are attracted to things. And That’s an object though isn’t it? Yep. Oh, we’re attached to so many things.
We’re quite complicated beings and we can find ways of being attached that, you know, brilliant and so creative. Yeah, that’s right. We have attachment. We have the mental factor of attachment arising all the time. Well of course we have many imprints for attachment that can manifest at any point.
And we also have probably two levels of attachment: manifest attachment and unmanifest attachment which are mental factors that are fully functioning and mental factors that are like on the back burner. So that we can be involved with what we’re currently doing with the mind and we get attached to things. But then morning wears on and that initial attachment dies down but it doesn’t completely cease. It’s like there on the back burner and we just have to think about that object again and there it’s fully we awaken that fully manifest attachment again. So a lot of our mental factors are like that.
They’re either initially they’re fully manifest and then they die down. So that’s why it’s so easy for us. You know anger is very similar. It’s fully manifest and then it dies down. We just have to think about that object and fully manifest again and that indicates that the mental factor hasn’t gone to an imprint level.
So we we can have a number of these types of unmanifest states like attachment occurring in our mind stream through the day. Okay. There’s a desire realm attachment is desire and craving through perceiving the five sense pleasures such as form, sound and so forth. The grouping of attachment within the two upper realms and calling it attachment for existence is for the purpose reversing the error that the meditative attainments within the form and formless realms are the path of liberation. Okay, so that’s an issue that comes up in different schools.
The statement that its function is to produce suffering is for the purpose of understanding that since the root of all suffering within the three realms of saṃsāra is birth connected to saṃsāra itself, the principal cause of birth within saṃsāra is attachment craving itself. Right. So attachment being listed first is due to attachment being the engine of existence rebirth. Because although the root is ignorance it’s attachment that is like facilitates the process makes it all work. Like in the twelve links of dependent origination three are attachment Which ones are attachment?
Wait, so there’s two: Craving and grasping. Craving and grasping what are they? The eighth and ninth links. Their attachment and their ignorance is the what? First link.
So one of ignorance and two types of attachment are what are keeping the wheels of rebirth cycling. Anyway, we’re just summarizing what’s said at the end there. Okay so attachment is something we need to avoid. Now anger, the second. Anger is explained in the Abhidharma Samuccaya as follows: What is anger?
It is malevolence, a sort of ill will in regard to sentient beings or to suffering or to the conditions or the source of suffering. Its function consists of providing a basis for discomfort and malicious malicious conduct. Okay. So we’re all completely familiar with anger. So anger has different levels and we’re susceptible to every level.
Anger often starts off as just a little slight irritation just barely perceptible. We’re just a little bit impatient with something. And then from there we can expand it to really being annoyed. And beyond that if it gets if we allow it to develop beyond that then we it can actually bring us to the point of acting verbally. And then even acting on a physical level hitting someone.
So we’re used to this. We know the all of these stages we’re completely familiar with and we understand how difficult it is once it manifests how difficult it is to quell it, to stop it. It can be almost impossible. We can remain annoyed for a long time. So for that reason it’s better to stop it initially.
Be prepared prepare oneself not to get angry as much as possible. There’s no way that by allowing oneself to become angry it gets it out of the system so to speak. It’s a bit like a poison. But just taking a little bit of the poison, you know, is not good. Taking more of it is even worse.
This is why it’s called a poison. It doesn’t matter how much you take of it, it still remains poisonous. Doesn’t help us. Anyway, we’re all completely familiar with anger. Anger is malevolence that cannot tolerate the three objects that may give rise to anger and which harms the three objects that may give rise to anger.
The three objects that give rise to anger are sentient beings, our own sufferings, and situations that occur due to these sufferings. The basis for malevolence is said to be ninefold according to the Ratnāvalī. Malevolence comes from nine causes. It is the intent to harm others on the part of one who is concerned about some misfortune in the three times with regard to oneself, one’s friends, or one’s enemies. So if we perceive harm that’s being done to myself, my friends or benefit being given to one’s enemies in the past, present and the future we have nine different types of occasion then where anger manifests or can manifest.
Nine different causes. So one of the purposes of going through these the nine divisions here is that it just helps us to get a context for our anger because generally we don’t step back and try and differentiate different types of anger. Like current anger or past anger or future anger. Anger towards directed towards an enemy and so forth. Or or just how that harm where the harm is coming from and where it’s directed.
So if the harm is directed towards one’s friend, to oneself, and so on. Yeah. Yeah. It’s actually all imaginary. There’s nothing there that’s valid.
There’s not one moment of anger that has any validity. From beginning this time up till now it’s all a misconception. All anger by definition is a misconception. Is not even although we attempt to justify it our attempts to justify it are just self defeating. It just makes us unhappy, unhappy, unhappy.
And there’s no way we can justify it. And we often realize ourselves that no matter how many reasons we bring to bear we still don’t feel right about the reasons we’re bringing to bear. It doesn’t resolve anything and so on. So any anger is a misconception. It often appears very convincing but actually misconception.
Same with attachment. All attachment is a misconception. False assessment of an object. Unreliable. Wrong.
All these are all instances of wrong awareness. Unreliable. And the Ratnāvalī says, Malevolence comes from nine causes. Now with regards to this, the Lamrim states, anger is malevolence in relation to objects such as sentient beings, suffering and bases of suffering, such as weapons, thorns and so forth. So we get annoyed even at a weapon.
We get annoyed we step on a thorn and we get annoyed with the thorn. We stub our toe and we kick kick the rock with our other foot and hurt our other foot. We break things, we slam our fists into walls, we break precious objects, we all of this through anger at different objects that we perceive to be source of harm to us or and so on. All of these actions are completely unjustified. It is an abusive mind that intends to harm those objects.
The anger really sets out to harm. Harm whatever object it may focus on. The function of anger causes discomfort or causes unhappiness in this life and produces immeasurable suffering in future lives. It would it’s bad enough that it would it rubs us of our happiness now engaging in anger. But the fact that the anger could potentially throw us into hell for an eon you know goes without saying.
That it’s like it’s like the most dangerous weapon that one could have. The anger. And we’re susceptible to using it at any point without much restraint. So we really have to investigate the faults of anger. As the Bodhicaryāvatāra states: One’s mind does not experience peace nor obtains happiness or delight, nor goes to sleep when we lose sleep, nor feels secure when hatred embraces a tormented mind.
Those whom one honors with wealth and respect and also one’s dependence, even they wish to slay the master who has hatred. If another person has hatred, we they’re in danger of harm. If we have hatred we’re in danger of harm. This also applies to anger. With anger we’re potentially in danger for our own sake and also for others.
Others are in danger. We’re in danger. Even relatives are disenchanted with someone who has hatred or anger. Even though he gives, he is not honored. In brief, there is no sense in which someone prone to anger is well off.
Right. So these types of verse these instructions pith instructions like that are very useful for us just to go through from time to time, just to remind ourselves that we’re still prone to becoming angry. Another thing is that we often get angry and we’re very skilled at not showing it. We get annoyed but we know how to cover it up and conceal it. It’s a passive aggression.
Yeah. It’s there and we allow it to remain thinking that it’s justified. And that again you know it’s very harmful to us harmful for our health. Physically it’s bad for us. It’s a misconception.
It’s completely wrong. It doesn’t harm except ourselves. It really is a poison like in eating cyanide or something. If That’s right. Yep.
Oh exactly! It’s false. Yeah. Yeah. Or what if it’s genuine then it’s fine but if you’re doing it out of anger the deep down you’re angry and you hate but you give then the gift is not appreciated and so on.
In fact you know it could be scorned or it could be accepted but you know nothing their opinion of such a person does not improve through it. All through having that anger deep within. So as with all of these things it depends on understanding the fault. Until we understand the fault in something we can’t get rid of it. At present we haven’t understood the fault of anger.
Just superficially we think oh yeah it does have that fault it does have that fault. But we still haven’t got to the point where that has penetrated to the point where My word! What am I doing? Getting angry. It’s just you know it’s something I have to avoid at all costs.
Better I die than generate one moment of anger. We haven’t got to the point where we’ve seen the fault yet. So therefore reading things like the Jātakamāla is useful. If one is discolored by the fire of anger, even wearing ornaments will not allow one to appear beautiful Even if one goes to sleep on a comfortable bed, a mind with a sharp pain of anger will be miserable. And we know that so well.
How many times in this life do we go to bed and we can’t sleep because we’re thinking around and around something? And what’s that coming from? It’s really mainly it’s anger. One forgets the benefit forgets the benefit that was done for him and tormented by anger, one travels the unwholesome path. So one enters the unwholesome.
One enters. One generates anger, so the mind becomes non virtuous. One enters non virtue. One’s fame and achievements decline so one’s good reputation begins to suffer because of one’s inner anger that is obvious to other people. Even prosperity fades like the waning moon, so even one’s wealth also fades.
Although supported by dear friends, though through anger one’s human endowment will tumble into the abyss, So one’s rebirth is affected. One’s intelligence degenerates, even the sharpness of one’s mind. Anger is making the mind dull. Is that true? We seem to be sharper when we’re angry, we’re decisive.
You know, okay, the enemy has been determined and I have a full focal object there. I’ve determined the focal object then the fault. I’ve nailed it. The mind seems to be very sharp and very clear but as the Jātakamāla states: one’s intelligence degenerates through the anger. Losing sight of benefit and harm.
Contradictory thoughts will lead to confusion. Right, so that sort of thinking of the harm that one that has been inflicted on oneself by others and getting angry in with regard to that makes the mind dull and one’s intelligence degenerates. In becoming habituated to negative action through anger, one will experience suffering for of years in the lower realms. Even an enemy who goes to great lengths to manifest great harm could do could not do more harm than this. So that anger will throw us into rebirth as an animal, rebirth as a hungry ghost, rebirth in the hell realms.
We don’t have an external enemy on the planet or in the universe that can do that to us. Anger is Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I’d suggest that in those cases, you know, like the anger in the temple, it’s probably not actually anger because anger must be motivated to harm. Right? If it’s not motivated to harm then it may appear like anger. It might have the wrath a wrathful appearance like anger but deep down there’s not the anger to harm. It’s a bit like a mother when the mother slaps a child to keep the child away from the fire it’s not actually anger because it’s not motivated to harm the child.
What the anger is the real essence of anger there is that it’s out to harm. It’s really out to So there are types of mental state or emotional state that may appear to be anger but deep down they don’t fit the definition. They’re okay. In fact it’s good to have a wrathful appearance at times in order to get things done. But if the motivation there is not the harm but you know to get the work done you know achieve a purpose for beings here or there.
Know, like Jesus, you know, overturning the tables of the money changers and so on. Probably the motivation is not to harm the money changers. It’s just to show them that this way is, you know, it’s inappropriate action. You know, teach them something not to harm them. The opposite.
So it’s so we have to investigate what what the intention is. The next one is pride. What is pride? It is puffed up attitude and reliance upon the false view of the perishable aggregates, the perishable or the impermanent mind body continuum. Our mind body.
Its function is to provide a basis for disrespect and suffering. So a puffed up inflated attitude qualities is pride. We’re all susceptible to pride. It comes up all the time. Pride and jealousy.
The five poisons. Three poisons plus pride and jealousy. Okay. So pride is to be avoided. It is a mental state that has an inflated attitude and thinks whatever wealth or quality is a basis for arrogance.
Here the Lamrim states, pride is based on the false view of the perishable aggregates. And in the view of the perishable aggregates is just the afflictive view of the self. So pride arises because we have a wrong idea about the I. We have a misconception about what the I is and based on that misconception we can generate pride. Seven types of pride.
I’m not sure we have seven in here. Does. Pride is also hard can be very hard for us to see. Also I’d say that sometimes a little bit of pride is a good thing. Like if we take pride in our work, pride in our study that can push us to study so we’re better than others.
That can be useful but we have to understand the limitations as well. Or it’s really pride in a con in a particular context like the context of, say, the work one is doing or the study that one’s engaging in or but sometimes that pride can lead to a good outcome. So even though the pride itself is non virtuous, If it’s kept you know within a reasonable limit it can be of some use to generate. But in general, it’s yeah. There’s also things like divine pride and so on.
These are also a little bit different in some yogic practices. Practices. Pride is based on the false view of the perishable aggregates or the afflicted view of the self, and it is an inflated attitude based on any external or internal circumstance that is high or low, good or bad, which partakes of the special aspect of superiority. Yes, it’s a sense that I am better. I should be better.
I am better. We’re susceptible to pride. Also it’s often hard for us to see the good qualities in other beings and so pride is easy for us to generate because we don’t really understand just how you know all the good qualities that other beings possess if we understood that we would be a little bit more humble than what we are. And due to our pride often teachings or just opportunities for advancement don’t present themselves due to our pride. It’s a huge obstacle.
Yep. Was more like high self esteem, isn’t it, pride? The opposite. Low self esteem, no, it doesn’t necessarily mean that. It just it’s really having a, you know, a sort of an attitude towards oneself that basically reflects where one actually is.
Doesn’t exaggerate the qualities one has. That’s all. Not diminishing them below what one has that’s low self esteem that’s not necessary. Low self esteem yeah it’s like a defeatist attitude though. That’s a type of laziness.
Know it’s laziness that thinks: Oh I can’t do it. Know I don’t have the qualities to do that. I don’t have the potential. I don’t have the patience. I don’t have the intellect.
I don’t have this. I don’t Right? That’s the type of laziness. It’s called the lelo. Laziness of discouragement.
Being discouraged. Discouraged. Defeatist. Of defeatism. That also has to be ripped out by the roots.
That’s useless. Because we have vast potential. But in dealing with us we have to know what our faults are. We have to have a keen awareness of our own faults. That helps us to avoid you know the worst aspects of pride that we’re susceptible to.
Okay, they’re now halfway down, almost halfway down. The statement based on the false view of the perishable aggregates is accordingly taught because all occurrences of pride are based on the intellectual grasping at an I which thinks I am. So just the conception I am is at the root of pride. Now that conception there is the afflictive view of the self, not the correct view. There are seven forms of pride when categorized: Pride just ordinary pride, excessive pride, pride beyond pride, pride of thinking I am, conceited pride, pride of inferiority and wrongful pride.
Okay. The first: pride is an inflated attitude in which one thinks: I’m distinctly more superior than underlings such as this. That’s really, you know, like I’m much better. Excessive pride is an inflated pride in which one thinks I’m distinctly more superior than my peers than those equal to me. So first pride is the pride about those who are below oneself.
Then there’s pride directed towards those that are equal to oneself. And pride beyond pride is an inflated attitude in which one thinks I am superior to those who are superior to me. So there’s those three types of pride. And of course we’re susceptible to all three. We may think that we should have the pride in the first case that pride that I’m superior to those who are what?
Underlings. Underlings. The pride thinking I am is an inflated attitude in which one thinks having investigated the appropriate appropriated aggregate sort of mind body continuum I am So just the thought I am is a type of pride in other words. When I think I am this, I am that, that thought is even included within the seven types of pride. Attitude.
It’s an attitude that superimposes something upon the object more than what is there. So they’re both included within pride. Do you know what we’re doing with pride is we have the have the ignorance of the self or the view of the contaminated or the afflicted view of the self based on that then we think that we’re superior to other other beings around us. So two things are happening at the same time. But that thought that I am itself associated with the afflicted view of the of I is also pride.
Conceited pride is an inflated attitude in which one thinks I have achievements even though one has not attained anything. So that’s another type of pride. Conceded pride. Pride of inferiority is an inflated attitude in which one thinks: I am small and inferior compared to those who are distinctly superior. So okay that is included as a type of pride.
Or I’m a little bit less I’m a little bit inferior to those who are vastly superior. It probably has more of that connotation. Now those that are vastly superior to ourselves and we look at everything: Oh I’m just a little bit you know a couple of notches down not that far Less than them! It’s amazing we just have pride we generate all the time towards others. We walk down the street and maybe half a dozen instances of pride arises as we walk along when we look at other people: Oh you know I’m better than that person.
Oh I’m vastly superior to that person. Oh that person’s probably just a little bit better than me. Just these thoughts come up you know all the time and often we don’t there’s not much there’s no filter there they just run on and on and it’s like we’re sitting there Oh yes. True. Oh that’s how it is.
We sort of affirm them as they go and it’s like instances of pride. Rifle pride is to think that one has obtained virtuous qualities while lapsing into a place or while going astray. So while doing something more virtuous, for instance, we think, oh, this is virtuous. I’m doing something virtuous. An example is to think that one has attained good qualities when one is possessed by a demon.
Also, Vinaya Agama states, to feel proud about what is actually a matter of shame. So this teaches that this form of pride is when, for example, one abandons and weakens this prescribed limits of the Vinaya or the ethical code and presumptuously maintains that associating with households Householders is benefiting others. Well that Okay. That might sound a little bit I wouldn’t say pejorative of householders but from the point of view of the ordained, the ordained have to be very careful when mixing with lay people. Otherwise the lay people will complain.
Most of the Vinaya rules, I would say it’s a majority, arose due to complaints by the lay people about the ordained. So the ordained have to be very careful when they’re with the laypeople otherwise laypeople will complain about their behavior. Sorry? Oh you name it! Extra food, money, touching money, too many possessions, they’re too wealthy, they’ve got the robes are too good of quality, they have a car, have a motorbike, they have a television, they have a their house is too fine, their food is too good, they’re supposed to be renunciants.
What are they doing? They’re using all the water. They have five showers a day. Why are they doing this? Why If you go back into the early history of the the ordained Sangha then there’s many issues arise.
So the ordained beings have to be careful and be very respectful of the lay community. Anyway, that brings up a number of issues. Okay now there’s another way of looking at those seven that is pretty much the same that is given in the Abhidharmakośa and in the Ratnaveli. These are two texts. How are we doing for them?
Okay. Okay, we’ll skip that section there because we’ve done that first section what the seven are. Now we’ll skip ahead to fifty two: Ignorance. Just as an aside, actually to really begin to get an idea of these mental factors does take a long time. This should be obvious to us because through this entire life we’ve experienced these mental factors but we still don’t identify them when they arise, when they manifest, when they’re oppressing us.
We often don’t fully understand, oh, there’s pride. That’s because of pride or or that’s anger deep down or there’s attachment and so on. We don’t clearly understand them when they manifest. Part of why we, of course, are going through them now is to begin a process of then checking our mind stream to see what’s there on a regular basis. For instance this is the basis of the what?
The six session yoga. So many people have the commitment for six session yoga. True? Anyone here has six session yoga? Okay no one has.
Alright. To practice really the basic practice is to check every three hours, every four hours to see what state one’s mind is in. Right? Maybe you just step back. Okay, what’s there?
Of course the five omnipresent are there. Okay. A few of the object ascertaining are there. Any of the virtuous? You know?
What do I have there? Faith? A bit unclear? Probably not. Shame, embarrassment, all this, you know, non attachment, non hatred, love, compassion, so on.
Are they there? What sort of state? But more often it’s like, well there’s a bit of anger, resentment, hatred, wrath, pride, jealousy. These things are actually manifest. So why we do this you know is just for that reason so we can more clearly identify the ones that have to be eliminated.
Because if we don’t identify them there’s no way we can eliminate them. If we can’t identify them we can’t even see the fault. We can’t even begin the process of understanding them to be at fault. Fault. Right so then ignorance.
So ignorance is the basic. Really it’s the main root affliction. What is ignorance? It is the lack of knowledge with regard to the three realms of existence. So it’s just a lack of understanding.
The absence of understanding. It’s like darkness. So internally due to ignorance our internal state is like darkness. It should be light. It should all be clear.
You know and it should be just a when we look inside it should be like oh which of the eleven positive mental factors are manifesting? Oh those are there and these are there. Instead when we look internally it’s unclear. It’s dark due to ignorance. So this misknowledge or misunderstanding or non understanding is a mental state that is confused about the true mode of being of all things.
This ignorance is a mental state. As a mental state is explained as confusion that does not understand does not understand and as a mind that apprehends its object incorrectly. So in a way there are two elements here. No, it’s just mere lack of understanding and something that also does not comprehend correctly. Among these two definitions, the actual statement in the Abhidharma Samuccaya explains ignorance to be a misknowing mental state.
The explanation according to the Pañcaskandhaprakaraṇa by Vasubandhu agrees with Asaṇga thus both brothers assertions are in accord. Those two brothers are very important, Asaṇga and Vasubandhu. The pictures are on the back wall up here. The third from the right is Vasubandhu and the one to the right of the buddha is Asaṇga. However, Dharmakīrti is another one who’s right across to the right hand side, asserts ignorance to be the confusion that incorrectly apprehends its object.
In this way there are two points of view with regards to ignorance: The position that ignorance is an incorrect apprehension object all equally assert the principal antidote of ignorance is the discerning awareness or the discernment that realizes essencelessness or emptiness. So in a sense ignorance can be regarded as something passive just the lack of knowing or something in a more active sense something that actively misunderstands. There’s a lot of debate about this. So the author is just covering it in a few words. When ignorance is categorized it is twofold: the ignorance that is confused about cause and effect and ignorance that is confused about the meaning of suchness.
So there’s two types of ignorance: Not only external cause and effect but internal cause and effect which is the more important. And then ignorance about the final mode of abidance of the world around us are the two main types of ignorance. But of course there’s many types of ignorance. There’s many types of ignorance as there are phenomena inhabiting the universe. Yeah.
Sorry? Ascertaining means understanding here. The statement okay. Where are we? Satya’s the ignorance that is confused about cause and effect accumulates the karma that leads to the lower realms, and the ignorance that is confused about the meaning of suchness accumulates the karma that makes one that makes one cycle in higher reverse.
That okay? Yeah. The ignorance about cause and effect on an ethical level that virtue generates, you know, happiness and non virtue generates unhappiness. Ignorance about that will act as a cause for rebirth in lower realms. But ignorance that understands ignorance that is merely the ignorance of the way objects exist in a final mode of abidance of a being who understands the law of cause and effect will really only generate rebirth in the higher realms.
Is that okay? Yeah, that’s There’s many very interesting issues that come up. At present we we probably have a not so much ignorance of cause and effect. We are quite aware that our actions do potentially produce a result for us. But we’re not completely free of engaging in non virtue.
But certainly we have probably our main ignorance is the ignorance of reality of how things actually exist. And in general with our current level of ethical practice if we maintain that we will continue to take rebirth in the higher realms. So in one sense our main ignorance that we focus on is the ignorance surrounding the nature of the existence of things. Other afflictions occur oh wait a minute. The statement that its function consists in providing a basis for the occurrence of the afflictions, doubt, and erroneous ascertaining things means the following: Other afflictions occur dependent upon ignorance, and dependence upon them karma occurs.
Dependent upon karma, all sufferings of saṃsāra occur. Therefore all afflictions and faults occur dependent upon ignorance. And the Pramāṇavārttika, the text on valid cognition, states: One who first believes in the self will always cling to a self. Not sure why a capital S there for self. Due to this clinging, one thirsts for pleasures and that thirst hides the faults of those things that are imagined to bring pleasure.
So really from ignorance one engages in actions, one generates intentions and so forth. One enters the whole process of rebirth and experience within rebirth. It is the contamination itself. That ignorance is the contaminating factor. Ignorance is neutral though.
It’s not non virtuous. Anger, attachment, pride non virtuous. Ignorance because ignorance can support virtue as it says here it is it means that ignorance itself is neutral. It is. It’s a root affliction and it supports all the afflictions but it is neutral.
On the basis of ignorance. Yes. Yep. Absolutely. Otherwise, there’d be there’d be no hope for us.
We would be unable to generate virtue. If ignorance were non virtuous, we would be in the deepest hell permanently. It just gives us a little bit of room. Okay. We’ll leave ignorance there and we’ll skip now on to doubt.
Now doubt also is interestingly, doubt is put in here as a root affliction. And so it shows the problematic nature of doubt. Potentially problematic nature of doubt. What is doubt? It is the incertitude with regard to the truths.
Truths there meaning the four noble truths. And its function is to provide a basis for not becoming involved with that which is virtuous. So it doesn’t just mean any sort of doubt. It means doubt focusing on the truth of suffering, the origin of suffering, cessation of suffering, path leading to that cessation. So that doubt is afflictive.
It is a mental state that oscillates between two extremes concerning the four truths. Oscillates to two extremes in relation to karmic cause and effect and so on. This doubt obstructs all virtuous activities. So if we have a doubt about whether doing something is gonna doing a positive virtuous thing is gonna produce a positive result. If we have a doubt then that will stop us from doing it.
So it becomes extremely problematic for us. A great obstacle. It’s just a doubt that say looks at the four noble truths and all cause and effect and remains as a doubt that just simply prevents one from engaging or entertaining those ideas. Makes one step back and think: Oh well cause and effect karma and its result might be true, might not be true, can’t decide, could be, may not be. And so according that we you know we don’t engage in say virtuous action that It that’s right.
It’s exactly. It’s maintaining the doubt, an afflictive doubt. It’s often described as afflictive doubt. Yeah, it sort of traps one in a position where one can’t make up one’s mind one way or the other. True.
It’s not to say that we don’t need to investigate we do need to investigate and bring up our doubts about them. It’s more just allowing the doubt to remain without investigating. Instead of investigating to check you know that truth of suffering is it true or is it not true? If we investigate the truth of suffering then you know gradually we come to a conviction that yeah suffering what is suffering and the feeling of suffering? Does that occur?
Yes. So where’s it coming from? Okay now this is said to have a cause origin. What is origin? The origin is karma affliction.
What are the afflictions? Six root afflictions are twenty secondary afflictions. Let me think about this. So instead of going into that investigation just stepping back and saying: Don’t know. You know, could be this way, could be the other way.
Just allowing the what can one say? Allowing one to reside in doubt on that issue. It is, it is. Where the issue is too important to put to one side. But allowing oneself to put it to one side and not you know investigate because if one investigates it’s possible to resolve these issues.
They’re not rocket science it’s sort of I mean there are there are things that can be settled. Oh, yeah. Blind faith is is a type of faith which is virtuous, but it’s not a very enduring and stable type of faith. It’s easily easily what topples over. What we need is like convictional faith that is supported by reasoning and logic and common sense.
But developing that faith then rests on dealing with the doubt, you know, investigating the doubt. So doubt here is just that doubt about these four noble truths. It’s not any any other sort of doubt. It’s not doubt about what I’m gonna be doing next Tuesday or what I’m gonna eat tonight. All of that they’re not afflictive.
Doubt as the doubt is here. This means the doubt that would prevent one from engaging in virtue. You know, instead of being generous, for instance, to thinking, oh, it’s not gonna have a positive end. Like, generosity will lead to wealth, for instance. So this is a very unskillful the most unskillful form of doubt.
Right. And then we have the sixth type is false views or afflictive view. So there are five afflictive views. So there’s another five afflictive views that are contained within view. Sorry for that we got another five.
Probably there should be fifty six mental factors. No fifty five mental factors all up. We include but there are five here on afflictive view. So the first one: the false view of the perishable aggregates or the contaminated view of the self. Might be just an easier way of writing that out.
The contaminated view or the afflictive view of the self. What does it mean there, the false view of the perishable aggregates? It just means focusing on the mind body continuum and grasping a self to exist within them or to exist in relation to them. Right, that’s the first one. Then extreme views.
The belief that views the first three views are supreme. The belief that ethics and false ethics and aesthetic asceticism is supreme. False ethics and false asceticism is meant here. Not just any not that ethics. Ethics actually is a very good thing but false ethics here is meant.
The belief and wrong view. Wrong view at the end. So there’s five types here. So the author then goes into these five types. How are we doing?
You’re holding up very well! There’s a lot of material in here and everyone here everyone’s working generally. I’ve a lot of things to do during the day and so you know it’s not easy to come along and then think through these issues and then only get five minutes or two minutes or a minute thirty five seconds to think about one thing before we leap to something else. False ethics or just false ideas about what ethics is. Like, you know, engaging in, you know, like killing to in order to establish a purpose.
Blood sacrifice for instance. Or certain types, you know, taking ethical vows, you know, to stand on a bed of nails that will overcome one’s past negative karma. One will These types of activity in the West we don’t have much of a problem about that. You don’t see people standing on beds of nails or walking around with their hand in the air to overcome past negative karma. Because our society is very materialistic.
We don’t worry at all about future lives, about where we’re gonna be reborn and exhausting karma. But this you find in the East. If you go to India you do find people engaged in various activities. You know, extremes extremes of asceticism extreme ideas about ethics. Right, so the first one is the most important that is the view that the perishable aggregates constitute a self or the afflictive view of the self.
The false view that the perishable aggregates constitute a self is explained in the Abhidharma Samuccaya as follows: What is the false idea concerning the perishable aggregates or the mind body? It is any acceptance, assertion, idea, inclination or point of view which considers as true the idea of a self or belonging to a self with regard to the five appropriated aggregates or the mind body. Just any wrong or misleading idea about the mind body continuum that we have, it goes in this first one. Such as the mind body, the I is fixed. I am fixed.
I don’t change from moment to moment. And so on. These are afflictive views of the self. It is an afflicted discernment that grasps onto the idea of I and mind through perceiving or through focusing on the five aggregates or the mind body. Right.
Really, it’s our current sense of I that we have. When I think I, I the thought I, what’s it focusing on? What picture what picture comes to mind when I think I? Body. Often it’s the body.
True? So the thought of I that arises in relation to the mind body is what’s meant here. That thought of I in relation to the mind body is a misconception for us. And it’s afflictive because it it leads immediately into attachment to anger to all of these other negative mental states. So it’s afflictive.
So it’s there is reason for calling this view of this view a false view of the perishable aggregates constitute itself because the Lamrim states, regarding this, since perishing or impermanent or transient means impermanent and collection, aggregates mean and collection means manifold. In the in the Sanskrit the term is satkāyadṛṣṭi. In the Tibetan it’s jig tshogs. Jig means to perish moment to moment or be destroyed moment to moment. Tsog means collection.
So that’s where we get the perishable aggregates here. It’s like an impermanent collection of things that has a continuum in time is the basis of designation of I. So all false views that arise in that process are here regarded as the afflictive view of the self. Is that okay? This the impermanent collection that’s referred to here are the the impermanent mind body that are a collection of things that come together.
Right. How are we doing here? Is that is that clear? Which little paragraph? Yep.
Right. Okay. So regarding this, since perishing now he the translator here. Perishing means impermanent. Collection means manifold or many things come together.
So that’s referring to the aggregates. Perishable aggregates. Alright? The low the locus of this view is merely an impermanent and and manifold thing. Nevertheless, one applies the term false view that the perishable aggregates constitute a self for the purpose of teaching that an that a permanent and unitary individual does not exist.
Okay. So the afflictive view of the self is called the view of the perishable aggregates to counter the view that there is a fixed I, a non perishing single entity that is an I within our mind body continuum. I’m not sure if that makes it any clearer but which for the purpose of teaching it. Okay we’re trying to what we’re doing the right at the end it says a permanent and unitary individual does not exist. So there is no permanent single entity that is an I.
So in order to remind ourselves of that, we call this view here the view of the perishable aggregate. Right? Because perishable, that term refutes the self being permanent, and aggregate refutes it yep. Reve aggregate refutes it being unitary. It’s yeah.
It’s a bit of a should have been divided up a little bit, that sentence. It’s more sentences. More sentences is often better. This is the tyranny of the translator you see. Often the translators misuse the little bit of power they have.
Oh, the really what the fifth one. The fifth one. Consciousness. That’s the subtlest. The five aggregates are a progression in subtlety.
And cause to subtle. Form is the coarsest. Feeling is the next cause. Discrimination is the next cause. Intention is next cause and consciousness is the subtlest.
Right? In the death process you lose the physical body. Then the course feelings subside, course discrimination subsides, course intention subsides. So you’re left with subtle consciousness. So that fifth aggregate in the form of the clear light mind is the vehicle which travels to the next life.
Subtle, yeah subtle levels of intention and feeling are there. Yep. Because they’re omnipresent for us. Unless of course yeah it is anyway without going into too many debates on this. Okay look we will four four four four.
We’re getting close to a Well, maybe we’ll leave it there. The main thing is of these six we have attachment, anger, pride, ignorance, doubt, and view. And in view view we have another five. So we’ve done the first of the five. Now this first of the five is the one that we’ve got to overcome.
It’s the view of the perishable aggregates or the afflictive view of the self. In fact do you know if we had the time just wrong view is the fifth of the five types of afflictive view. That’s the view that there is no causation. Oh, it’s extremely important. But we really don’t subscribe to that view.
I hope. That’s the worst type of view of all. Doesn’t exist. There’s no karmic result of an action. So that’s the worst possible view because then this is where, you know, the whole argument with humanitarian I mean, if you if you I have the view that we only have one life.
That’s the false that’s wrong view. If you if we just think that we live in one life, whatever we experience in this life only came from this life, it denies internal causation. Right? That’s the worst possible view one can have. Trying to explain everything in this life by just what has occurred in this life is a type of wrong view.
Oh, these are themselves are neutral. Like ignorance, the views are neutral. And they can exist we can have a, you know, various various examples of these five types of afflictive view. I mean, we have the view of the what? The perishable aggregates already.
And we engage in all manner of virtuous action with that and so on and also the other. Wrong view if we had wrong view, we probably wouldn’t bother with virtue. But there is some sort of it’s an interesting interesting one because people still engage in virtue even though they think there’s just one life. But really it’s it’s getting very close to wrong view. Anyway, we can look at that.
Yep. Yes. Yeah. Lokta. Yes.
Lompa. As the three mental actions. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
Look. We’ll just do a quick dedication. So please, if you can read ahead a little bit for tomorrow night, then we’ll do the see if we can get through the twenty You just know that it’s not compulsory but Main thing is what we’ll try and do tomorrow also is look at the three the three root the three roots of non virtue which are attachment, anger, and, ignorance, and see how they relate to the twenty secondary afflictions as well. But maybe we won’t be able to go into too much depth, but anyway. Right.
Okay. Dedication. So we protect our any virtuous imprints that we’ve laid down in our mind stream from anger. Due to the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of a Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state. May the supreme jewel, bodhicitta, that has not arisen, arise and grow, and may that which has arisen not diminish, but increase more and more.