If a sick man goes to the doctor to be cured of a fever his doctor may advise him not to eat meat. If the same man returns to his doctor later because he is suffering from anaemia his doctor may this time advise him to eat meat. If the sick man ignores his doctor’s advice on the grounds that he has prescribed contradictory cures, he will not become well. A doctor gives different cures for different diseases. In the same way, Buddha gave different instructions for different afflictions. Not one remedy is superfluous or redundant. For our own sake we need to apply each different instruction at different times; and if we are to help others whose situation and experiences differ from our own we need to know all the methods and when and how to apply them.
If we know how to practise the whole Lamrim we will know how to practise all other scriptures. Whenever we receive any other teaching we will know where to place it within Lamrim. In this way each new instruction we receive will amplify and reinforce those we have already learnt. Suppose someone is given a handful of rice that he or she cannot use immediately. If that person has nowhere to store the rice he will not be able to put it to good use and will have to throw it away, but if he has built a storeroom to hold bags of different cereals he will be able to put the rice in the appropriate bag and increase his store. When the time is right he will be able to put the rice to good use. Lamrim is like such a storeroom. For example, Hinayana teachings can be stored amongst the stages of the path of a person of intermediate scope, Mahayana teachings can be stored amongst the stages of the path of a person of great scope, Vajrayana teachings can be stored amongst the stages of Secret Mantra within Lamrim, teachings on dependent relationship and the middle way can be stored within the stage of superior seeing, and so forth. Without studying the entire Lamrim we may receive many different instructions and still be wondering what to do, like a person standing with a handful of rice wondering where to put it. If we are like this, we will waste most of the instructions we receive.
While the great Tibetan Master Je Phabongkhapa was living in Kham in eastern Tibet, a Geshe arrived there from one of the great Gelug monasteries and went to receive practical instructions from a Nyingma Lama. The local people concluded that the Gelugpas had no practice since such a great Geshe needed to go looking for one. When Je Phabongkhapa heard of this he said that it was a great shame that this Geshe had wasted so many years of instruction by failing to realize that all his previous study was to be put into practice. It was possible for the Geshe to lose so much time only because he had not built the storeroom of Lamrim within his own mind.
we will take all buddha’s teachings as personal advice and put them into practice
By studying the complete Lamrim we will see that there are no contradictions between any of Buddha’s teachings and that all of them are to be put into practice. Knowing this we will take each instruction as personal advice and gain experience for ourself, thus discovering that every instruction is perfect and reliable.
When we practise Buddha’s teachings we should do so without omitting or adding anything. In Sublime Continuum of the Great Vehicle Maitreya says:
In this world there is no one more skilled than Buddha.
His omniscient mind directly perceives all objects to be known, without exception.
Therefore we should practise whatever Buddha taught.
If we impose our own interpretations or omit anything we are destroying Buddhadharma.
Pure Buddhist instructions are only those that have been received through a pure, unbroken lineage from Buddha Shakyamuni. Lamrim has all of these instructions and is the very method for putting them into practice.
we will easily realize buddha’s ultimate intention
Buddha’s ultimate intention is that all living beings attain full enlightenment by gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path. These are included within five: the realizations of the three principal aspects of the path – renunciation, bodhichitta and the correct view of emptiness; and the realizations of generation stage and completion stage of Secret Mantra. To realize Buddha’s ultimate intention is to gain all these realizations and thus fulfil the greatest wish he has for us.
The three pre-eminent attributes explained so far can be differentiated by contemplating the analogy of a painter. Just as a painter knows that all his implements are necessary if he is to paint a picture, and he knows the specific function of each of them, so practitioners of Lamrim understand that all Buddha’s teachings are necessary if they are to attain enlightenment, and that there are no contradictions between any of the teachings. Just as a painter proceeds by putting all his tools to use in painting his picture, so practitioners of Lamrim understand that each and every one of Buddha’s instructions must be taken as personal advice and put to use in their lives. Just as by making use of his tools a painter eventually completes his work and fulfils the wish of his patron or employer, in a similar way practitioners of Lamrim will attain enlightenment and thereby fulfil Buddha’s ultimate intention.
In Condensed Exposition of the Stages of the Path Je Tsongkhapa says that if we listen to or teach Lamrim only once, we receive the benefits of having heard or taught the entire Buddhadharma. Similarly, if we practise the whole Lamrim we will be practising, directly or indirectly, all Buddha’s teachings. Therefore we do not need to feel dissatisfied with Lamrim or search for other instructions to practise.
we will naturally become free from the great fault and from all other faults
The great fault is the fault of rejecting Dharma as a result of wrongly discriminating between Buddha’s scriptures. If we think that some scriptures are good and others are bad, or if we think that some are reasonable and others are not, we will incur the great fault of rejecting Dharma. We are also rejecting Dharma if out of sectarianism we maintain that some scriptures are unnecessary for higher practitioners, thinking, for example, that some scriptures are for Bodhisattvas and others are only for those who have a more limited aspiration. By studying and practising the complete Lamrim we are prevented from making this mistake. When we understand the real purpose of each instruction and see that none of them is contradictory, and when we practise the instructions for ourself, proving by experience that each one is correct and reliable, we will never reject or belittle any of them.
By studying and practising the complete Lamrim we will also overcome every other fault because each instruction is a perfect opponent and all faults find their opponents within Lamrim. For example, the stage of training our mind in faith and respect for our Spiritual Guide destroys faulty attitudes of anger or disrespect towards our Teacher and frees us from regarding him or her as an ordinary person. All the other stages of training the mind function in a similar way to eliminate mistaken states of mind and the actions they induce.
It is quite easy to learn what are the pre-eminent qualities of Lamrim, but it is rare to find someone who has realized these by direct experience. To gain such experience we need to put every instruction into practice. If we realize that Lamrim is to be practised in its entirety, our realizations and insights will increase and we will gradually become familiar with virtuous habits of mind. Our state of mind next year will be better than our state of mind this year. Eventually we will gain the highest realizations. If we always remember the pre-eminent qualities of Lamrim we will never feel discouraged, and we will generate joyous effort in bringing the methods to bear upon the problems we experience in our daily lives.
Contents Page
Asanga
Listening to and Teaching Dharma
explanation of how to listen to and teach dharma
Traditionally, disciples learn Dharma by first listening to oral instructions from their Spiritual Guide. Since listening is the basis for contemplating and meditating on Dharma it is especially important to listen well – with an open and attentive mind