Four Stages of Madhyamaka Practice
The First Stage: Consider All Phenomena are Empty in Nature The Second Stage: Consider Emptiness is Phenomena The Third Stage: Considers Dependent Origination as the Absence of Mental Fabrications The Fourth Stage: Consider Free of Mental Fabrications as Equipoise-nature
Why does the purpose of our Buddhist practice become blurred?
Although we may have been studying Buddhism for a long time, the purpose of our practice often remains vague. Why does this happen? Because we only have a conceptual renunciation, not a genuine one.
The Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Their Theoretical Foundations (Part Two)
In addition to Madhyamaka, the foundational theories employed in Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism also include the Tathāgatagarbha teachings of the Third Turning of the Dharma Wheel, as well as Yogācāra (Consciousness-Only).
What is the practice of winds, channels and essences?
According to Vajrayāna teachings, once the winds are drawn into the Emanation Wheel, sensations of the physical body begin to dissolve, and the appearances of the external world likewise fade away. Thereafter, through the guru’s pith instructions, one proceeds to recognize the true nature of all phenomena.
The Buddha’s Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma
The teachings preserved from the Buddha’s three turnings of the Dharma Wheel became the most fundamental and original theories of Buddhism. Yet these truths were not invented by Śākyamuni Buddha. They were already so in their nature; the Buddha discovered them and proclaimed them, thereby establishing the earliest Buddhist doctrine.
What is the Ālayavijñāna?
What kind of state is the ālayavijñāna? It is a condition in which the six sense faculties have completely quieted down. The eyes no longer truly see—even when open, forms are seen yet not perceived. The ears no longer truly hear—sounds may arise, yet one does not register them. Bodily sensations begin to fade. The tastes and smells perceived by the tongue and nose completely disappear. Even conceptual thinking within consciousness ceases.
Are You Accumulating Merit the Wrong Way Too?
If you do not accumulate merit, there is simply no way to carry out genuine practice. Your mind unconsciously keeps reinforcing this sense of “I” as an individual, and may even use so-called “merit” to armor and protect it. Practicing in this way, you will never experience the Dharma-nature of selflessness (dharmatā), and liberation will remain forever out of reach.
Methods for Not Being Attached to Pleasant Feeling (Part Two)
Another method is to reflect in advance and remind yourself that this pleasant feeling will not last, and that if it changes, you will face it calmly. Repeating this to yourself again and again is what we often call “preparing yourself mentally in advance.”
How Can One Develop Firm Conviction in the Existence of Reincarnation?
In conclusion, we must exhaust all means to establish unwavering conviction in reincarnation. Mere conceptual acceptance cannot provide lasting momentum for practice. Without inner conviction, essential foundational practices—such as the Five Preliminary Practices (Ngöndro)—risk degenerating into hollow formalities, performed perfunctorily and with haste.
The Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Their Theoretical Foundations (Part One)
The theoretical heritage preserved in Tibetan Buddhism is extraordinarily rich. Its two great canonical collections are known as the Kangyur and the Tengyur. The Kangyur contains the teachings spoken by the Buddha, while the Tengyur consists of commentaries and treatises composed by generations of Bodhisattvas and great masters explaining the Buddha’s doctrine.
The Relationship Between Mental Factors and Afflictions
In fact, regardless of what kind of mental factor it is—wholesome or unwholesome—we can only understand it at a relatively coarse level of consciousness; at the level of the ālayavijñāna, we do not understand it at all. Yet no matter how complex these mental factors are, they ultimately produce only three kinds of results: pleasant feeling (sukha), painful feeling (duḥkha), and neutral feeling (aduhkhasukha vedanā).
Methods for Severing the Link Between Saṃskāra and Afflictions (Part One)
In other words, whenever intense mental fluctuations arise—whether good or bad—you should enter into meditative concentration. This is because all fifty-one mental factors, even the wholesome ones, will lead to suffering if not properly counteracted, since they are all connected to grasping at the self of person. This self-grasping is their underlying foundation.
How can we cut off self-grasping ?
When the mind no longer experiences a sense of individuality or control, all afflictions transform into the natural movements of the mind. Greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt all disappear. “Faith” then becomes a kind of faith that is no longer a mental factor.
The Relationship Between the Aggregate of Consciousness and Afflictions (Part 1)
In discussing the relationship between the aggregate of consciousness and afflictions, other forms of consciousness can either give rise to afflictions or be influenced by them. However, the root cause of all afflictions ultimately lies in the manas—that is, in grasping at a self.
How to Prevent the Aggregate of Perception from Arising Afflictions (Part Two)
The moment suffering arises—especially subtle suffering—immediately turn back and observe it: “Oh, you are an illusion.” This “seeing” does not mean looking with the eyes, but placing the mind’s attention upon it—observing and illuminating it, seeing that afflictions are all of mere emptiness.
How to Prevent the Aggregate of Perception from Arising Afflictions (Part One)
We need correct views so that perception no longer generates afflictions. This can be addressed through the cultivation of renunciation (nekkhamma), bodhicitta, and contemplation of emptiness (śūnyatā). For example, when afflictions arise, we can transform suffering into the path through bodhicitta.
How to Define Renunciation ？
For the purposes of our current discussion, “renunciation” refers specifically to a mental attitude that seeks liberation and yearns to be free from the cycle of saṃsāra in the three realms.This is how renunciation is being defined here.
The Relationship Between the Aggregate of Perception and Afflictions
After afflictions arise, the more one thinks, the more afflictions increase. This is called “improper attention” (ayoniso manasikāra). The reason is that we are not thinking in a correct or reasonable way. So how should we think? We must think according to the Dharma teachings; otherwise, the afflictions will only intensify. This is also why those who have not studied Buddhism are unable to deal with their afflictions.
Why Are We Unable to Establish Stable Meditative Concentration? (Part 2)
Even those who seek worldly merit should not cling to such meaningless disputes—how much more so for those who seek liberation? The very purpose of Buddhist practice is to relinquish all that is clung to by the self, and ultimately to recognize that such self does not exist at all. Given this, why should we bother calculating and arguing over worldly interests?
Why is it so difficult for us to attain enlightenment?
Why was Hui Neng able to attain enlightenment by hearing "the mind should act without any attachments" twice? His spiritual capacity was sufficient. As practitioners, we should follow the path that Hui Neng demonstrated. However, why can't we attain enlightenment just by hearing the same line? The answer is straightforward - we lack the necessary capacity.