The path to enlightenment
Before diving into this weekend’s post, just a couple of words about my new book The Dalai Lama’s Cat & The Claw of Attraction as it appears on Amazon.
I am delighted to report that, unlike last year, there have been only a few cases of people being unable to access the book on Amazon.com.
For those of you who like to listen to the audio version, I am recording this next week, and I understand it will be launched in late January or February 2024.
Unfortunately, in Australia, amazon.com.au is showing The Claw of Attraction for sale, but when people buy it, they find themselves reading Awaken the Kitten Within (the previous book). Hay House Australia, who publish my work in this territory, are aware of the problem and are in touch with Amazon to resolve it asap.
I suggest that if any of you live in Australia and plan to buy the book, the safest bet is to buy/order a paperback copy from your local bookstore.
I hope to be able to share better news for Australians next week.
In any given week I may write a post about how to cultivate happiness, what it means to be sentient, or the death process. These are all core Tibetan Buddhist subjects, but I am sometimes asked how they fit together. Is there some structure behind them? A format in which they are arranged?
By way of further distraction, I am just as likely to write about these subjects in story form as in non-fiction, given my enthusiasm as a baker of Dharma donuts. Who would relish sitting down every Saturday to a jar of strawberry jam and a spoon with which to eat it? But offer someone a delightfully fluffy donut with a generous blob of jam in the middle and what could be nicer?
Neither the diversion of storytelling, nor the hopping from one subject to another should distract us from the fact that there is, indeed, a rigour and coherence to all that I write about. I would like to use this opportunity to briefly step back and talk you through the structure of Tibetan Buddhist teachings, given that many of you may still be reading or digesting my most recent confection, The Dalai Lama’s Cat & Claw of Attraction.
The Path to enlightenment structure
The most appropriate starting point is my precious guru, Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden. Fluffy as some of my creations may be, there was nothing at all fluffy about him! Geshe-la was a Lharampa Geshe, which means that he was recognised by the Dalai Lama and other pre-eminent lamas as one of the most outstanding scholars of his day. He had a comprehensive understanding of all the main texts of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and when he came to the West he wrote Path to Enlightenment, in which he distilled all the most essential instructions.
As the Dalai Lama explains in his Foreword to Geshe-la’s book, Path to Enlightenment teachings originate from a small text by the Indian master Atisha who went to Tibet in the eleventh century. Atisha felt that the Tibetans needed a concise explanation of the entire path and its stages. The text has become the mainstay of Gelugpa Buddhists, and its teachings are shared across all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions.
These teachings also form the basis of whatever comes out of my ‘Dharma-baking oven,’ and I hope you find it helpful, or at least reassuring, to know about the following context.
Some of you may find what follows a little dense in texture, but you don’t have to eat it all at once. In fact, it’s a very good idea to pause occasionally between spoonfuls.
I have set out the structure below, followed by a few, brief notes. Feel free to dip in or out as you go.
Remember Buddha’s teachings offer a wide range of subjects and practices, some of which may be more immediately engaging to you than others. If you find any of these subjects of little or no interest - that’s fine. Leave them to one side. You may come to find that, in time, they take on a greater relevance.
But before you skip away from this post completely, please scroll down to the very bottom for the gorgeous elephant calf photo from Wild is Life/Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery.
THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT STRUCTURE
Guru yoga
How to meditate
PATH OF SMALL SCOPE
Precious human rebirth
Impermanence and death
Karma
Taking refuge
PATH OF MEDIUM SCOPE
The four noble truths
The 12 dependent links
PATH OF GREAT SCOPE
Bodhichitta
The six perfections - generosity, ethics, patience, joyous perseverence, meditation, wisdom
Calm abiding
Special insight
Realising the teachings
The Path to Enlightenment comprises three separate paths, each with their own teachings. Our purpose is not simply to understand these subjects as we do at school or university, but to realise them – that is, for our understanding to deepen to the point that it changes our behaviour. Our goal is not to accumulate facts, but to transfrom our reality.
The three paths are not three separate programs. Rather, subjects on the first path are incorporated into the second, which in turn are incorporated into the third.
Before we even get to the three paths, we are presented with two foundation subjects:
Guru Yoga: Our guru is the basis of our Dharma journey. As Geshe-la says: “A guru is more than a teacher; he is a spiritual master or guide to whom you make a special commitment. Because of that commitment, a guru can help you to develop your mind and quickly put an end to suffering and delusion.”
Our culture is tragically so degenerated that for many people the world ‘guru’ instantly conjures up connotations of corrupt predators. We need to let go of all that. There are still immaculate and inspiring gurus. Our job is to find our own – a huge subject in itself.
As practitioners we see our teachers as Buddha-like, as gurus, because it is they who offer the wisdom and practices which move us closer to enlightenment. In particular, many of the weighty texts of our tradition would be impenetrable without our teacher/guru to guide us.
How to Meditate: Defined as “acquainting the mind with an object of virtue,” meditation is not a practice confined to sitting on a cushion, but cultivating mindfulness to the extent that we manage what our minds are doing 24/7. Formal sitting is an important part of this, but so too is what we do between meditation sessions, which is where we spend most of our time.
Let’s turn to the first of the three paths.
The Path of Small Scope
Under the guidance of our teacher/guru, and with a regular meditation practice in place, we enter the path of small scope. Why ‘small?’ Because we seek only to avoid personal suffering and enjoy personal fulfilment. It’s all about me! The main subjects of this path are:
Precious human rebirth: To be born as a human being with an interest in the Dharma, along with the time and capacity to practice, was described by Buddha himself as unlikely as a blind, crippled turtle that comes to the surface of the ocean once a century, just happening to stick its head through a golden yoke floating on the waters. That is, virtually impossible. And yet, this is you and me.
This subject explores the extraordinary unlikelihood that we have the life we do, along with the unique opportunities we enjoy, in contrast to the relentless sufferings of most living beings.
Impermanence and death: Death is certain, the time of death is uncertain and when we die the only thing that remains is very subtle consciousness. Following on from the previous subject, this perspective informs us where to invest our time and effort. Getting too caught up in worldly concerns may benefit us in this lifetime to some extent, but what then?
Karma: Our experience of reality is, to a large extent, a projection of our mind. This isn’t to say that people and things out there don’t exist, but that contrary to how it seems, the way they exist is largely shaped by us. We experience things differently because of our karma – karma being the dynamic propensities we create and empower from moment to moment with every act of thought, speech and deed.
Most of the way we experience reality was shaped by causes we created in past lives. If we wish to avoid suffering and maximise wellbeing in this life as well as in whatever follows, the best we can do is to create the causes for happiness – as well as create the conditions for previous happiness-creating karma to ripen. Also to avoid creating the causes for misery, along with the conditions for previous misery-inducing karma to ripen.
Refuge: When we seek escape from the rain, we take refuge inside a building. When we seek escape from the unpredictabilty of karma, impermanance and death, we take refuge in the historical Buddha as a source of inspiration, his teachings, the Dharma, as our guide and the Sangha, or enlightened elders, for support. This is when we formally become Buddhists. Such a conviction helps purify negative karma, accumulate virtue (a virtue being the cause of future happiness) and prevent us from the worst sufferings, because when we consciously take charge of our minds, our behaviour changes and so too our karma.
The Path of Medium Scope
We have taken refuge and are becoming masters at managing our karma. But we have this nagging recognition that there’s no end to the ups and downs of reality. Try as we might to get things perfect, impermanence guarantees everything must come to an end. Which is how we find ourselves on the path of medium scope. What we seek is a happiness that is permanent. Any takers?!
Samsara is defined as “a mind afflicted by karma and delusion.” Such a mind continues to perpetuate experiences of a false ‘me,’ ‘myself,’ and ‘I,’ which inevitably propels us through realities in which suffering is inescapable. In nirvana there is no karma or delusion, including no false ‘me.’ A practitioner who attains nirvana has no suffering and experiences only bliss.
The main subjects of the path of medium scope are:
The Four Noble Truths: Buddha’s first teachings after attaining enlightenment offer a clear-eyed analysis of ordinary human life. Generally, most people experience recurring dissatisfaction ranging from boredom to acute pain. The causes of this suffering are many and varied, but the underlying reason is a fundamental misunderstanding about the way that we and ‘reality’ exist. Once this misunderstanding is corrected, we not only permanently rid ourselves of dissatisfaction, but abide in a state of profound wellbeing.
The 12 Dependent Links: How, exactly, do the causes created at one time arise as experiences in the next? What are the mechanisms by which we have unknowingly created the life we now experience? Most of all, how do we break the links of causation? Understanding the nature of reality is at the heart of these teachings – and our permanent contentment.
The Path of Great Scope
On the path of medium scope we are heading towards abiding wellbeing and serenity – but wait! What about Mum, Dad, the kids and our fur babies? Not just from this lifetime, but from all our previous ones. We’ve probably had them before, right? Along with a little black book crammed with names and contact details. That’s a lot of beings we’ve loved and cared for, and who loved and cared for us. Are we just going to hope they somehow muddle their way to nirvana all on their own, or are we going to use our own extraordinary good fortune to help them?
The path of great scope is founded on the concept of bodhichitta, the mind of enlightenment, defined by Maitreya as “for the sake of others, wishing to attain complete, perfect enlightenment.”
The main subjects in this path are:
Bodhichitta: what it is, and how to develop it from an inspiring idea into our way of being. By practising equanimity, we come to recognise how all living beings are exactly like me in seeking happiness and the avoidance of pain. What more benevolent intention is there than to strive for their benefit as well as our own?
The six perfections: giving, ethics, patience, joyous perseverance, meditation and wisdom. Understanding how these three outer and three inner practices are to be cultivated, particularly their perfection – that is, motivated by bodhichitta, recollecting shunyata and dedicated for the benefit of all beings.
Calm abiding: how to cultivate concentration in meditation to the point that we can focus on any chosen object for as long as we wish without effort. The merit accumulated through previous practices, especially bodhichitta and the six perfections, is vitally important in attaining such a state.
Special insight: applying the extraordinarily focused mind of calm abiding on the ultimate object of concentration, shunyata – the nature of reality.
Entering the Vajrayana
Vajrayana, or highest yoga tantra, part of the Path of Great Scope, is available to practitioners with the very good fortune to have a teacher qualified to offer appropriate empowerments. One synonym for Vajrayana is the results path, indicating that these practices are different from others on the path of great scope which focus on causes of enlightenment.
What would it be like if the result of Buddhahood had already been attained, is the kind of question asked in the Vajrayana. In what way would ‘I’ exist as an enlightened being? How would everyday reality seem? What actions would ‘I’ carry out in relation to others?
Another synonym for Vajrayana is ‘secret,’ which is why I can’t write much more about it. But if you're interested, I would recommend the inimitable Lama Yeshe’s book ‘Introduction to Tantra.’
Summary
So there you have it, dear readers. That’s the outline of the Path to Enlightenment. Everything I write about fits into it somewhere – overtly or in a deeper way. I am sure you recognised many of the themes. Does it matter that we may jump from a subject in the path of great scope to one in the small, and back again from week to week? Not really. They form less of a sequence than a tapestry - all are inter-related. After a while, hopefully the themes will start to join up for you and form an extraordinary and coherent vision.
Turning to fiction vs non-fiction, one of the wonders of storytelling is how it can engage hearts as well as minds in a way that’s seldom possible in non-fiction. And how meaning and experience can be conveyed going beyond words alone.
So, it’s back to the kitchen for me, and next weekend I look forward to sharing a freshly baked batch of Africa Dharma cookies with you!
For further reading, I recommend The Path to Enlightenment, written by The Dalai Lama, which distils the essence of the teachings into a short, accessible book, about 200 pages in length.
If you are already a serious practitioner, and would like a traditional, comprehensive and rigorous explanation, incorporating highlights from many of the great texts of our tradition, then I recommend Path to Enlightenment by Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden, 1,000 pages long. This book is not currently available on Amazon, but there are copies to be found on ebay, etc. Ideally, it should be studied with the help of a teacher/guru.
P.S. I want to share this special image of Elliott with you. He is the youngest orphaned elephant at Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery, and just like us wishes for happiness and to avoid suffering - but he lost his Mum and all his herd when he was only weeks old. Now he is supported in part by your subscription. Thank you for your compassion.
If you know of someone who may find this week’s post helpful, please feel free to share it.
Thank you for the photo of sweet Elliott. May he be happy and healthy and feel safety and love all around him.
Thank you for this outline! It is helpful sometimes to read through the whole recipe and even page through the cookbook to get the context and a deeper appreciation of the dharma treats offered! How old is that baby elephant? He must be an infant, he’s so tiny in elephant terms!