lamrim

The things He did to further The Doctrine after Gaining these Qualities ~ Heading 6

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English: Atisha with Twenty-eight of the Eight...

Image via Wikipedia ~ Atisha

How He did this in Tibet:

“There is no other pandit who can benefit Tibet,” they said.

The king listened to them…and made it his life’s purpose to bring Atisha to Tibet. Later, after King Lhalama Yeshe had been captured….his nephew visited him.

“If he [Atisha] will see you [Jangchub Oe], give him my message: ‘I gave up my life to the Garlog khan for both the Buddha‘s teachings and your own.” and then….’Nephew, forget about me; think of the Buddha’s teachings!’

After hearing the king’s story…’Atisha then investigated whether it would benefit the Buddha’s teachings if, out of love for his potential Tibetan disciples, he went to Tibet.’

Once Atisha arrived in Tibet , King Jangchub Oe made a request of him….

“Compassionate Atisha,” he said, “for now, do not teach the profoundest and most amazing of Dharmas to your uncivilized disciples of Tibet. I ask that you teach instead the Dharma of the law of cause and effect. Also, may it please the protector to compassionately teach some error-free yet easy-to-practice Dharma, one yourself practice, one that includes the whole path, would be beneficial to Tibetans in general, and encompasses all the intent of the Victorious One’s scriptures — the sutras, tantras, and commentaries.”

How very loving and true the king was. He only wanted the Buddha’s teachings to flourish as they are…not as they had become. His compassionate nature shown through.

‘Atisha was highly pleased by this, and so composed the Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment. In only three folios this elucidates all the thinking of the sutras and tantras. It begins:

“Most respectful homage to all holy victors of the three times,

To their Dharma, and to the Sangha.

Requested by my noble disciple Jangchub Oe,

I shall light the Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment.”

And thus ends the brief outline of the greatness of the authors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have recently started Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment by Atisha….it is wonderful. I highly recommend it. It is clear and it is profound.

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Part One: The Preliminaries Heading 4

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4. The Things He Did to Further the Doctrine after Gaining these Qualities

In India, Atisha held up the teachings and ‘because he showed no sectarianism, he became the crowning jewel of all the Sangha in Magadha as well as across India. He was the acknowledged master of the whole teachings of sutra and tantra to be found in the three baskets and the four classes of tantra. And as for the teachings themselves, it was as if the Victorious Ones himself had returned.”

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Atisha went beyond what most people would have done. He purposely and completely made the teachings his life. And when people see that you are committed, they look deeper. They look beyond what  images appear….they look at the Dharma itself.

That is the point…it is not our reputations, for ourselves, it is our reputation for the Dharma.  The teachings went far due to Atisha’s diligence and dedication and he did this only for the Dharma to flourish.

/!\ Debra

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Part One: The Preliminaries ~ headings 1 – 3

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Portrait of Atisha

Image via Wikipedia Atisha /!\

Heading 1

“To trace a river back to its source, you need to go right back to the snow line. so too must you trace a Dharma back to the Buddha, our Teacher.”  pg 27 of “Liberation..”

It is always wise to know where your information comes from…validating information allows faith to grow. And we need faith…for our practice to flourish. Practice without faith is wasted.

Heading 2

Here we learn of Atisha‘s family background…why he is an entirely reliable source for lamrim (graded teachings). We have now traced the river back to Atisha.

Heading 3

There are many wondrous signs marking Atisha as being more than a mundane Prince. Please read for yourself.

Yet today….these two sections jumped out at me…

“It is hard for us even to give up the things in our pokey little rooms, let alone the power of a price. Contrast this with great Atisha , who gave up his royal position, treating it like spittle left in the dust,…”

Also, this…”Atisha had already become a great scholar and a adept. As we have said, when only eighteen months old he had without any prompting spoken words that proved he was already conversant with bodhichitta. And yet he willingly underwent these hardships [to reach Indonesia], which must convince us that nothing is more fundamental in the Mahayana then precious bodhichitta.”

I cannot say it better…”nothing is more fundamental in the Mahayana then precious bodhichitta”.  Bodhichitta is the reason your practice flourishes. Bodhichitta is the reason your eyes open to new understandings. Bodhichitta.

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Part One: The Preliminaries (Preparing to read and study lamrim)

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Many people might wonder…. ‘Why do we need preliminaries? This is just reading, right?’

My case for preliminaries is this: What we take in to our studies will determine what we get out. Think about this. If we bring a calm and open mind….we will have room for peace and for instruction. When our minds are ‘full’ then what can enter? Full of everyday trivial, full of the busyness of our lives, full of scattered emotions. If the glass is filled with water even one drop will cause it to overflow.

Take time before you read and study to ‘ practice breathing meditation for a few minutes in order to empty your mind of distracting thoughts, and bring your mind to a neutral state.’

Dedication:

Due to all my own merits of the three times

And the merits of all the Buddhas, bodhisattvas and sentient beings,

May the altruistic wish to achieve enlightenment be generated in my mind

And in the mind of all sentient beings without delay for even a second,

And may that which has been generated be increased.

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