Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 40-minute introduction, Ven Jampa Ignyen anchors the Four Noble Truths in a single powerful insight: afflictions like anger and ignorance pervade our experience but never penetrate the essential clarity of mind itself, which he compares to mud stirred into water—eventually the mud settles and clarity returns. From this foundation, he explains how wrong views about our ultimate nature fuel saṃsāra, the endless cycling of rebirth, then maps the escape route: the path as internal awareness and genuine aspiration to leave saṃsāra behind. He contrasts two approaches to liberation—the small vehicle (personal freedom) and the great vehicle (liberation for all beings)—and explains why becoming a Buddha requires the latter. For those encountering Buddhist philosophy for the first time.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 07 Intro to B 2001 05 28.mp3
UUID: 539761e4-b7eb-4d6f-a868-b19537586e83
Teacher: Ven Jampa Ignyen
Collection: y Introduction to Buddhism (Ven Jampa Ignyen)
Date: 2001-05-28
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 40.0 minutes
Words: ~3,986
And these are various types of wrong view in relation to ourselves fundamentally, into the in relation to how we exist. So in a sense, it’s those wrong views that are the source or the origin of our current state. So in understanding that those two truths exist, the truth of origin, the truth of suffering, or the truth of what’s unsatisfactory, then the next two truths are really the opposite of those two. The first two, in fact, reflect our current state, the origin of it and the result of it which we currently experience. And that’s a process.
We’re currently undergoing this process. It’s a contaminated process, and our experience is permeated by that, by this by contamination. The third and the fourth truth are to do with the opposite of that process, the uncontaminated process, which is a path which leads to a state beyond our current experience. In fact, we already have the potential to achieve that state even in the present. The fact that the reason why we can assert that we have this potential is the fact that we have awareness in the present, that we have a mind in the present moment.
And this mind, even though it’s limited at present, even though our current state of mind is permeated by this unsatisfactory state, permeated by dissatisfaction, and so on, that dissatisfaction, that experience hasn’t, permeated to the very essence of the mind itself. So whatever we experience at present and all our experience at present tends to be unsatisfactory, is unsatisfactory. That unsatisfactoriness hasn’t actually permeated to the very essence of the mind. It obscures the mind, but it doesn’t it’s not of the very nature of the mind itself. It’s not of the essence of the mind.
If it were, then there’d be no way of removing it. If in fact that state were to be the very essence of the mind, then in fact we would have problems or even the aspiration to become happy would could not be fulfilled. But when we examine the state of mind that we have at present and the fact that it’s at times, it’s permeated by negative states, at times, it’s permeated by positive states, at times, it’s permeated by anger and hatred and so forth, At other times, it’s permeated by attachment and so so on, is an indication that our mind is continuously changing and that it never takes on the essence of these other states, the essence of, say, anger or hatred and so on. That being the case, then it’s possible that we can actually remove these states from our awareness and purify the mind completely. It’s a little bit like water can become muddy.
If we have water and we throw some dirt into it and mix it up, then the water becomes completely infused with mud. And so it becomes you can’t see anything in the water and so on. Our mind is a little bit like that. Even though the mind itself in its essence is pure, at present, it’s completely permeated by various types of thoughts and experiences. But these thoughts and experiences and so on do not actually affect the very essence of the mind, just as the mud or the dirt doesn’t affect the very essence of the water.
Because if we we know if we leave the water long enough, then the particles of dirt will eventually settle to the bottom and the water will be clear again. So the mind is something like this. Our current state of mind is something like that. But even though it tends to be permeated by doubts and all manner of questions and by dissatisfaction and so on, these are not actually the nature of the mind itself. These are states which arise and endure and then pass away and so on.
But they don’t actually permeate the very essence of the mind. This, of course, is something we need to investigate. And this is where being mindful as much as we can is very useful, just to check on our current state of awareness. For instance, if our our awareness were affected by the mental factors or the mental states at its very essence, then when we have a mind of anger, which is when anger itself arises and it permeates the mind itself, and they’re, like, completely mixed in relation to a particular object. When that happens, it appears as if the mind is of the very essence of anger or hatred and so on.
But then later that anger will subside and one will have liking for something. At that moment of liking something, mind itself becomes completely permeated by this liking, this attraction to something. And then later on, then that will pass away and some other state will arise. So this is an indication that the mind itself, from time to time is mixed with other mental states, other mental factors, but they don’t affect the mind at its very essence. The very essence of the mind at present is this state of knowing, a clarity and cognition towards an object.
This state of mind has always existed for us and will always continue to exist. It’s a component of knowing that we have. Every moment that the mind exists, it it has a a component of clarity, and it knows. It comprehends. It’s true, isn’t it?
Even in the moment, whatever the state of our mind is, there’s at its very essence, it’s it’s knowing and it’s clarity. It’s cognizing. It said that this clarity and cognizing always is maintained in a continuum, and it leads right to the very state of liberation itself. But this is the benefit of having well, is a quality of having the mind. The mind, in very essence, has this function.
And even though various states arise, which they do at present, we have a certain amount of ignorance, certain amount of wrong view. Various states are there, and they arise and pass away very quickly, almost imperceptibly quickly, very precisely. They all have various objects. In a sense, a lot of our experience is almost subliminal. We’re not fully aware of the process under which our mind or by which our mind experiences things, experiences ourselves, experiences the outside world.
But in every moment of mind, there is this clarity that’s there. This clarity is not physical. It’s not made up of atoms and molecules. It’s actually a type of energy almost, like a very subtle substance that just clearly knows, clearly understands things. That’s the essence of the mind itself, the relative essence of the mind.
And because we have a mind, it depends on ourselves. We have a mind and its experience depends on ourselves completely. In a sense, our mind is quite an is a neutral entity. And whatever occurs, whatever experience manifest within our mind is really coming from ourselves. So in every moment, there is experience manifesting.
It’s said to be a process of becoming, of, like, entering, experience. And this process is really coming from within ourselves. And at present, this becoming that we’re experiencing is the first two truths. Whatever whatever our experience is in the present is the first truth, and it’s coming from the past, which is its cause. And at present, our experience tends to be an impure type of unfoldment or a contaminated type of unfoldment or emergence.
And this is reflects the causal process of the first two truths, The truth of origin producing the truth of suffering. And the truth of origin is this the state of ignorance. It’s this current state of unknowing, which is ignorance, then producing the rest of the vast variety of experience that we that occurs to us moment by moment. It’s said to be this an unfoldment of this truth of origin, which is ignorance itself. And what is ignorance?
Ignorance is simply not knowing in the present moment. But it’s not just general unknowing, it’s unknowing focused on the ultimate mode of reality itself. Or in another way of putting it, is unknowing or ignorance of our ultimate state, of how a being, how we as a being actually exist. And this this is the process that we’re most familiar with. In fact, this is the only process we’re familiar with.
This process of becoming that we exist at the very center of that tends to be unsatisfactory. It doesn’t tend to produce the experience that we seek. So therefore, it’s unsatisfactory. And these first two truths are called the afflictive truths. In Tibet, the truths on the side of affliction.
Affliction there meaning meaning something that that makes us uncomfortable. Afflictive. And what that actually refers to these first two truths, is really saṃsāra itself. From a Buddhist point of view, saṃsāra is often talked about. We live in saṃsāra.
This is saṃsāra here. We go to a temple and we’re getting it. Some say we’re we’re outside of saṃsāra for a little while and so on. And that the goal of Buddhists to leave Samsāra. And it appears as if this world that we live in is Samsāra.
And nirvana is somewhere in the universe beyond beyond that. If it exists, it has to be the one, saṃsāra or nirvana, and so on. There’s many things said about about these states. Samsāra, which the first two truths are talking about, is just this process of cycling. Samsāra means to cycle, to go around.
Cycle many times over. And it means actually to take birth many many times over. That’s what saṃsāra is. We’re cycling. We’re taking one birth and then another birth, thousand births, a million births.
For instance, this current birth is an instance where our current existence is an instance of saṃsāra. And saṃsāra also is described by the first two truths. Again, it’s it can be symbolized, saṃsāra, by this side of a of the ocean. That where we live is regarded as saṃsāra. And we stand at the shore of a vast ocean.
On the other side is nirvana or liberation. And How we get to the other side is really in a sense, we can say the other side is the third truth. This side here is the first two truths, Where we are at present, this side, is the truth of unsatisfactoriness and the truth of the origin of that unsatisfactory state. The distant side the far distant place beyond the horizon is like nirvana. We can’t see it.
We assume it exists. How we get from there from here to there is by the third noble truth. Sorry. The fourth noble truth, the truth of the path itself. And a present on this side is like we’re living in a jungle surrounded by the twenty peaks of wrong view.
In order to get to nirvana, we have to enter the path that leads to that state. And entering the path leading to that state is like the second process. And in fact, here we’re talking about two processes. The first process is the afflictive process of the first two truths. Truth of origin, which generates the truth of suffering.
The second two truths is really the truth of path that leads to the truth of nirvana itself or cessation, the third truth. Is this very complicated? Sorry? Very straightforward. It is very straightforward in one sense, but actually seeing it in ourselves, not very easy.
Because at present we act as if our experience and where it’s coming from, our current state of mind and so forth, are pretty much, what, valid or they’re in a sense, they’re not producing our current level of experience. Or even our current level of experience isn’t really saṃsāra. Anyway, this we need to investigate very closely. So anyway, if we accept that we live like in a in a jungle surrounded by the twenty peaks of wrong view, And then to get to nirvana, is beyond this ocean, we need to take the path. We need to take the the fourth noble truth, the truth of path.
Then the only way we can do that is really by understanding the first two truths. Because as soon as one understands how the first two truths come about, in essence, as soon as one understands the second truth, which is the origin of our current situation, one knows how to get beyond it. There’s no one sees through it instantly. But of course, seeing through that is not easy. So this is why actually the first two truths take a huge amount of contemplation because they’re in understanding them, then one knows the questions to ask in a sense.
And then where to begin to look for answers. But that only comes about through really looking closely and beginning to see exactly where we stand. What our situation is. So then you might ask, what is the truth of path? What is this path?
Do we have the path within us? In fact, here the truth of path, which is the fourth truth, is also awareness. The path here means internal path. And the path is a type of awareness. And the definition in Tibetan, the definition of the path is given us, which really refers to this genuine aspiration.
The genuine thought to definitely emerge from saṃsāra. That’s what the path is, which stands to reason because if one seeks to get beyond our current state, then it’s that aspiration, the genuine aspiration, when that arises, that is going to be the very path that one will take. But that also is based on the confidence or the conviction that there is actually a state of nirvana. There is actually a state beyond the current level of experience that we have. Developing conviction that there is a state of enlightenment, that there is a state of purity which we can potentially attain, that we must attain, we will attain, that takes time.
That almost takes leap of faith to accept. But also it can be approached from the point of view of also reasoning about these issues and thinking about the law of cause and effect. Because the the state of nirvana, what it really refers to is is simply the state which is the cessation of all suffering, all levels of suffering, that such a state does exist. Hard for us to conceive of that because at present, everything we do is permeated by this unsatisfactory state. It’s a little bit like the water in the ocean is completely permeated by salt.
Our current experience is completely pervaded by dissatisfaction. Yes. Sure. Yeah. If someone attains a state of nirvana, there are different views on this.
And one set of views is that there are six types of person who attains the state of nirvana. Five of them are of dull faculty and one is of sharp faculty. The five types of dull faculty can fall back to the state of stream enterer or to the path of seeing, But they can’t fall below that level. So that means that if one attains the state of liberation, nirvana, although one may degenerate to some degree, one can never fall back to the state of an ordinary being. That’s right.
That’s right. They can still reincarnate, but they’re not reincarnating by the power of karma and affliction. In other words, they have some control over their rebirth. And also, are not generating new projecting karma. What that means is they’re not developing in their mental continuum the seeds for new rebirths.
The old ones are still there, and in dependence on those old seeds, they can still take rebirth. But when one attains liberation, even though it’s said that some may degenerate to some degree, they can never fall back to a state of an ordinary being. Well, it depends. If a being tames a state of someone tames a state of an or a foe destroyer, which is the state of liberation, and for instance, if they’re a sharp faculty and they don’t degenerate, Then when they pass away, they enter nirvana without remainder. And what happens is they enter cessation state, this state where gross discrimination no longer exists.
In other words, they go into this state of meditation that may last for eons, focused on the cessation of all suffering and even gross discrimination. Discrimination. Now it said from the point of view of the highest vehicle, it said that these beings are then reborn in a lotus, in a pure realm. So in pure realms where Buddhas exist, such liberated beings, they attain rebirth there in the lakes that exist there. There are lotuses, large lotuses growing.
And they are reborn a lotus. And there they remain until the time is right when a Buddha will radiate light at them and wake them from their equipoise state. But that may last for eons while they’re in that state. And then once they’re woken up, then Buddhas will tell them, oh, you’ve although you’ve reached the liberated state, you haven’t finished the path yet, and you must enter the great vehicle in order to complete your path. Then after that, then such beings can take rebirth on earth.
Yes. It’s possible for a liberated being to take rebirth, but they take rebirth not in an uncontrolled fashion. They take rebirth through their own choice where they think there’ll be some benefit. What’s the great vehicle? The great vehicle.
In Buddhism, there’s two said to be two types of vehicle. There’s the small vehicle or the lesser vehicle and the great vehicle. And what these relate to is what a vehicle is is something that’s able to carry a load. And a small vehicle is able to take a load of one person. A great vehicle is a vehicle large enough to carry the load of every sentient being.
The vehicle is a little bit like the boat that takes us from this shore to the shore of nirvana across the ocean. And in a sense, there’s two types of ship or boat that can do it. Either a boat or a vehicle with one person in it, or one that potentially contains all sentient beings. The one that contains all sentient beings is the great vehicle. In other words, if one aspires to attain nirvana, one can either do it for one’s own self or one can expand one’s motivation and decide to do that for the sake of all beings, not just for oneself.
The small vehicle is the vehicle we take just for ourselves. The great vehicle is the one that includes all sentient beings. You might ask, well, why bother taking the the great vehicle if the small vehicle gets to the same place? Actually, the great vehicle goes a bit further than the small vehicle. The the small vehicles in the end only get about a certain way across the vast ocean.
And the small vehicles get to these islands, we could say in the middle, which are paradise. They’re like paradise. There’s no suffering there. They’re liberated places or liberated beings live there. But the Buddhas live on the far side, and it’s only the great vehicle that actually goes that far.
And even those that get to the islands in the middle where which are places of liberated beings where there’s no suffering whatsoever. Still, those beings that live there haven’t attained their full potential, and they still have a residue of ignorance. And they in turn, eventually, must enter the great vehicle and go to the state of Buddhahood. The vehicle itself actually refers to really one’s motivation. So at present, we can and it’s said that everyone is of of a certain vehicle type, We’re either the great vehicle type or the small vehicle type, just by our own particular aspiration from our own side.
If we tend to naturally be attracted to doing things with thinking about others and so forth, this is an indication that one has an maybe an affinity with a great vehicle. One has some interest in that. The great vehicle is very difficult because the great vehicle implies that one is not thinking about oneself or having oneself as the main as the center of one’s aspirations. That in fact, it’s other beings that are more important. And that aspiration is far greater than simply the aspiration for one’s own purpose, purpose, to actually get to the state of nirvana for one’s own purpose.
It’s far better to get to the state of nirvana for the sake of other beings with a view to taking all sentient beings to that state. And in fact, it’s said that a Buddha to become a Buddha, one can only go by the great vehicle. But still, one can become a liberated being with a small vehicle. The vehicle itself is really the mind that enters the path. So it’s a type of awareness that one generates internally.
And that motivation that’s directed towards all sentient beings to attain their welfare, then that’s really the the great vehicle established within one’s own continuum. No. They’re not Buddhas. They’re Oh, those beings those beings are called foe destroyers. Yeah, or enemy destroyers because they overcome the enemy of the afflictions within ignorance and hatred and anger and so forth.
They completely eliminate. They’re liberated beings. They’re enlightened beings, but not completely enlightened. If we were to come across such a being, we they we would be quite amazed. They they have many innumerable qualities.
But still, they’re not Buddhas. They’re approaching the state of Buddhahood. They’re not far from Buddhahood, but they still haven’t generated the great vehicle. But still, they’re quite profound beings. But it’s said that it’s better if possible that instead of ourselves generating a state of nirvana for ourselves alone, that we actually enter the great vehicle, if possible from the beginning.
It will take one to nirvana, but the highest level of nirvana. nirvana in a sense has different levels. This is a very good question. And it does that borders on the on the question about collective consciousness and so so forth. It’s brought up by by different people, such as Jung and so on.
And even within Buddhism, there are some some concepts which are a little similar to that. But from a Buddhist point of view, in general, we have an individual consciousness at present. And in fact, we can see that what we experience at present is not experienced by others. You know, we can be very happy and everyone around us can be very unhappy or vice versa. Everyone around us can be very happy and we ourselves can be unhappy.
Or in fact, everyone can be just on their own level, which is the case. And they may be you know, everyone may be laughing or together and so on, but still everyone has their same individual awareness and feelings. And, of course, we know this. We talk to people about how they experience the same thing. We get the whole variety of different answers.
So we can see in the present that everyone has their own continuum of consciousness. And then also from a Buddhist point of view, these continuums of consciousness don’t merge. In general, they just don’t if they did, then the Buddha should have merged with us already so we were enlightened. That’d be very useful for us. On the other hand, is it that once one attains enlightenment, it’s impossible that one hear the the enlightenment of a Buddha.
One can never, you know, be, what, be clouded by ignorance after that. So in fact, our awareness at present at present is clouded by ignorance.