The Tree of Enlightenment

More documents

Recommendations

Info

We discussed this in Chapter 11, when we noted that the body grows old, weak, and sick, and that the things around us are also impermanent and constantly changing. Our feelings, too, are constantly changing. Today we may respond to a particular situation with a feeling of pleasure; tomorrow, with displeasure. Today we may perceive an object in a particular way; later, under different circumstances, our perceptions will change. In semidarkness, we perceive a rope to be a snake; the moment the light of a torch falls on that object, we perceive it to be a rope. Our perceptions, like our feelings and like the material objects of our experience, are ever-changing and impermanent; so, too, are our volitional responses. We can alter our habits. We can learn to be kind and compassionate. We can acquire the attitudes of renunciation, equanimity, and so forth. Consciousness, too, is impermanent and constantly changing. Consciousness arises dependent on an object and a sense organ. It cannot exist independently. As we have seen, all the physical and mental factors of our experience – like our bodies, the physical objects around us, our minds, and our ideas – are impermanent and constantly changing. All these aggregates are constantly changing and impermanent. ey are processes, not things. ey are dynamic, not static. What is the use of this analysis of personal experience in terms of the five aggregates? What is the use of this reduction of the apparent unity of personal experience into the elements of form, feeling, perception, volition or mental formation, and consciousness? e purpose is to create the wisdom of not-self. What we wish to achieve is a way of experiencing the world that is not constructed on and around the idea of a self. We want to 146
see personal experience in terms of processes – in terms of impersonal functions rather than in terms of a self and what affects a self – because this will create an attitude of equanimity, which will help us overcome the emotional disturbances of hope and fear about the things of the world. We hope for happiness, we fear pain. We hope for praise, we fear blame. We hope for gain, we fear loss. We hope for fame, we fear infamy. We live in a state of alternate hope and fear. We experience these hopes and fears because we understand happiness, pain, and so forth in terms of the self: we understand them as personal happiness and pain, personal praise and blame, and so on. But once we understand them in terms of impersonal processes, and once – through this understanding – we get rid of the idea of a self, we can overcome hope and fear. We can regard happiness and pain, praise and blame, and all the rest with equanimity, with even-mindedness. Only then will we no longer be subject to the imbalance of alternating between hope and fear. 147
Page 1 and 2:
The Tree of Enlightenment Dr Peter
Page 4 and 5:
CONTENTS About the Author..........
Page 6 and 7:
Part ree he ajrayana Chapter Twenty
Page 8 and 9:
out the uthor P eter Della Santina
Page 10 and 11:
uthor’s ote F rom 1983 to 1985 wh
Page 12 and 13:
ship. Finally, I want to thank all
Page 14 and 15:
CHAPTER ONE uddhism: odern erspeiv
Page 16 and 17:
mind, while in traditionally Buddhi
Page 18 and 19:
is story illustrates the practical
Page 20 and 21:
one’s own personal experience is
Page 22 and 23:
e procedure adopted here is analyti
Page 24 and 25:
transformation, whereas in Buddhism
Page 26 and 27:
emained separate and distinct, but
Page 28 and 29:
coveries at Mohenjo-daro and Harapp
Page 30 and 31:
Whereas in the religion of the Indu
Page 32 and 33:
look at some of the prominent facts
Page 34 and 35:
Buddhism was a protest against, or
Page 36 and 37:
CHAPTER THREE e ife of the uddha N
Page 38 and 39:
inated by the correctives of renunc
Page 40 and 41:
Siddhartha, being the faster runner
Page 42 and 43:
permanently put an end to suffering
Page 44 and 45:
CHAPTER FOUR e our oble ruths W ith
Page 46 and 47:
the formula of the Four Noble Truth
Page 48 and 49:
measures to remedy the disease. Suc
Page 50 and 51:
lives often brings us into contact
Page 52 and 53:
all right, but it would be still be
Page 54 and 55:
as we take the tree stump to be a p
Page 56 and 57:
ply because we have not experienced
Page 58 and 59:
emedy the situation here and now, t
Page 60 and 61:
earth, water, fire, and air, the su
Page 62 and 63:
overly tight string produces an unp
Page 64 and 65:
CHAPTER FIVE orality I n Chapter 4
Page 66 and 67:
you will find that the basic rules
Page 68 and 69:
In this context, right speech impli
Page 70 and 71:
ever, some of the developments in r
Page 72 and 73:
Very briefly, these are the origin,
Page 74 and 75:
CHAPTER SIX ental evelopment I n th
Page 76 and 77:
ing the way we experience things an
Page 78 and 79:
itself. Indeed, if you look at the
Page 80 and 81:
Recognizing the value and importanc
Page 82 and 83:
the mind on the object without dist
Page 84 and 85:
CHAPTER SEVEN isdom W ith this chap
Page 86 and 87:
Buddhism, faith is preliminary and
Page 88 and 89:
when you are sure you have understo
Page 90 and 91:
will experience the happy effects o
Page 92 and 93:
greed, anger, envy, and jealousy. I
Page 94 and 95:
of samsara, the cycle of birth and
Page 96 and 97: others are less fortunate, why some
Page 98 and 99: In the same way, according to the l
Page 100 and 101: Here we can see at work the princip
Page 102 and 103: Similarly, there are five alternati
Page 104 and 105: in heaven can we escape our karma.
Page 106 and 107: CHAPTER NINE ebirth I n this chapte
Page 108 and 109: convincing case for the reality of
Page 110 and 111: death, we are reborn at every momen
Page 112 and 113: ey suffer from the human beings who
Page 114 and 115: ealms is undesirable. e three lower
Page 116 and 117: continue to circle endlessly among
Page 118 and 119: tinuity of cause and effect exists,
Page 120 and 121: On the basis of the Buddha’s own
Page 122 and 123: in this life result in rebirth in a
Page 124 and 125: less lives, combined with new actio
Page 126 and 127: impurities are eliminated, actions
Page 128 and 129: objective is admirably achieved thr
Page 130 and 131: can understand that fire is hot and
Page 132 and 133: is process of the constant change o
Page 134 and 135: emember the certainty of our own de
Page 136 and 137: their techniques of meditation and
Page 138 and 139: Although we know that certain thoug
Page 140 and 141: And when wisdom arises, we experien
Page 142 and 143: for a collection of trees. In this
Page 144 and 145: to turn an indefinite experience in
Page 148 and 149: CHAPTER THIRTEEN e undamentals in r
Page 150 and 151: art wo e ahayana
Page 152 and 153: to have taught innumerable living b
Page 154 and 155: dissemination of the Dharma. During
Page 156 and 157: school of realistic pluralism known
Page 158 and 159: is compassion for all living beings
Page 160 and 161: CHAPTER FIFTEEN e otus utra T he pe
Page 162 and 163: physician who has been away from ho
Page 164 and 165: Just as each plant benefits from ra
Page 166 and 167: nations of his children, the father
Page 168 and 169: But because our ambitions and aspir
Page 170 and 171: the Mahayana tradition. It is also
Page 172 and 173: e passage from wisdom to the perfec
Page 174 and 175: independent existence of things. On
Page 176 and 177: ory as well as to meditation. In th
Page 178 and 179: CHAPTER SEVENTEEN e ankavatara utra
Page 180 and 181: speaks does not participate in thes
Page 182 and 183: and nirvana, both the phenomenal wo
Page 184 and 185: (1) the transcendental dimension is
Page 186 and 187: CHAPTER EIGHTEEN e hilosophy of the
Page 188 and 189: the sutras, and in the approach of
Page 190 and 191: It is interesting to note that thes
Page 192 and 193: far as cause and effect are identic
Page 194 and 195: say that perception is proved by it
Page 196 and 197:
there’: they depend, rather, on t
Page 198 and 199:
CHAPTER NINETEEN e hilosophy of ind
Page 200 and 201:
opment of Buddhist thought. We all
Page 202 and 203:
milk, but it would appear as nectar
Page 204 and 205:
ern science. e atom as well as its
Page 206 and 207:
the source of the phenomenalizing a
Page 208 and 209:
to cause and effect, to samsara. e
Page 210 and 211:
that the philosophy of emptiness wa
Page 212 and 213:
Just as this was taking place withi
Page 214 and 215:
ience suffused by great bliss. Whil
Page 216 and 217:
it white, blue, or otherwise?’ Su
Page 218 and 219:
the apparatus needed to produce a m
Page 220 and 221:
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE ahayana uddhism
Page 222 and 223:
for the practice of unwholesome act
Page 224 and 225:
mothers to you, should continue to
Page 226 and 227:
dom. Similarly, without a concentra
Page 228 and 229:
tary reassociation with fictitious
Page 230 and 231:
ese three bodies or dimensions of B
Page 232 and 233:
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO e rigins of the
Page 234 and 235:
Let us spend a moment on the origin
Page 236 and 237:
throughout India. Nagarjuna and Asa
Page 238 and 239:
Asanga asked, ‘Where have you bee
Page 240 and 241:
was also a professor at Nalanda. On
Page 242 and 243:
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE hilosophical a
Page 244 and 245:
y a magician using certain magical
Page 246 and 247:
e object now appears to him without
Page 248 and 249:
Mahayana both in its starting point
Page 250 and 251:
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR ethodology A s
Page 252 and 253:
death, whereas nirvana is unconditi
Page 254 and 255:
and nirvana is intellectual or dire
Page 256 and 257:
us we can see that not only are obj
Page 258 and 259:
lizes a variety of phenomena, and t
Page 260 and 261:
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE yth and ymbolis
Page 262 and 263:
necklaces of severed heads, ornamen
Page 264 and 265:
of knowledge in the Garden of Eden.
Page 266 and 267:
alike, the name of a thing is a sou
Page 268 and 269:
Red, which is the color of fire, is
Page 270 and 271:
On the broadest level, we have been
Page 272 and 273:
e idea of interpenetration is found
Page 274 and 275:
the realm of the hell beings. It is
Page 276 and 277:
sees no distinction between samsara
Page 278 and 279:
ody of each individual person. ey a
Page 280 and 281:
You can see how, in the Vajrayana t
Page 282 and 283:
(4) death and impermanence, and (5)
Page 284 and 285:
that these general preliminaries ar
Page 286 and 287:
and others require alternative ritu
Page 288 and 289:
of conditioned reality, they do not
Page 290 and 291:
it is then the task of the practiti
Page 292 and 293:
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT e ajrayana nit
Page 294 and 295:
formation of the five aggregates in
Page 296 and 297:
eserved for actually introducing th
Page 298 and 299:
environment, the situation of the i
Page 300 and 301:
initiation. ese methods or keys are
Page 302 and 303:
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE ajrayana uddhis
Page 304 and 305:
ties, and his achievement of Buddha
Page 306 and 307:
the tutelary deity, in other words,
Page 308 and 309:
and the sound of the mantra so that
Page 310 and 311:
CHAPTER THIRTY n ntroduion to the b
Page 312 and 313:
is said that when he returned to ea
Page 314 and 315:
and so forth. is is the difference
Page 316 and 317:
ontology, which means the study of
Page 318 and 319:
ticularly interested here. ese are
Page 320 and 321:
esponsibility because if the self i
Page 322 and 323:
emained silent, and after a time Va
Page 324 and 325:
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO ethodology I n t
Page 326 and 327:
already have some intellectual acqu
Page 328 and 329:
To arrive at the ultimate picture o
Page 330 and 331:
these component parts do not exist
Page 332 and 333:
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE nalysis of ons
Page 334 and 335:
(lokiya) and are concerned with the
Page 336 and 337:
ditioned by any of the three unwhol
Page 338 and 339:
we have fifty-four types of conscio
Page 340 and 341:
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR e orm and ormle
Page 342 and 343:
as evidence of the existence of a t
Page 344 and 345:
‘striking,’ or ‘mounting.’
Page 346 and 347:
formless-sphere absorption, which d
Page 348 and 349:
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE upramundane ons
Page 350 and 351:
ness (the fruit consciousness of th
Page 352 and 353:
consciousness, the fruit consciousn
Page 354 and 355:
e clarity of that flash remains for
Page 356 and 357:
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX nalysis of ental
Page 358 and 359:
to a particular object whereas atte
Page 360 and 361:
e third group of unwholesome mental
Page 362 and 363:
disassociated with knowledge, or as
Page 364 and 365:
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN nalysis of oug
Page 366 and 367:
Heedlessness is the source of death
Page 368 and 369:
ere are four types of physical thou
Page 370 and 371:
sciousness, too, are either wholeso
Page 372 and 373:
where he is. He stretches out his a
Page 374 and 375:
ply have subjective and objective f
Page 376 and 377:
porary thought about matter. Scient
Page 378 and 379:
sciousness. is intermediate positio
Page 380 and 381:
e only way we can avoid this plural
Page 382 and 383:
existence, (12) repetition, (13) ka
Page 384 and 385:
vious karma has an influence and se
Page 386 and 387:
lar way identifiable in terms of th
Page 388 and 389:
CHAPTER FORTY e irty-even aors of n
Page 390 and 391:
Mindfulness with regard to the body
Page 392 and 393:
Truths and in the destruction of th
Page 394 and 395:
iver the eastern part and the other
Page 396 and 397:
ment, equanimity is that integrated
Page 398 and 399:
are the keys to self-development, a
Page 400 and 401:
of right effort, right mindfulness,
Page 402:
conditioned, relative, and empty na
show all

The Tree of Enlightenment

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?