instructions on the heart sutra1

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Venerable Khenpo Chkey Gyaltsen

Instructions on The Heart Sutra

Presented at Karma Chang Chub Choephel Ling, Heidelberg, in June 2011.

This article of teachings that Venerable Khenpo Chkey Gyaltsen generously impartedis dedicated in memory of His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche the Third,Karma Lodr Chkyi Senge (1954-1992),to the long life of His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche the Fourth,Karma Lodr Chkyi Nyima,of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje,of all prestigious Khenpos and Lamas of the Karma Kagy Lineage,and to the preservation of the pure legacy of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodr Thaye.

Venerable Khenpo Chkey Gyaltsen graduated from Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies atRumtek, Sikkim, in 1991. After his graduation, he was appointed Khenpo at the Institute along with Drupon KhenpoLodr Namgyal and seven others from the same graduating class that year. He taught at Nalanda Insitute for one anda half years. To serve the projects and activities of His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, in 1992 he joinedPullahari Monastery, which is the Main Seat of His Eminence in Nepal. Today he resides at Lava Kagy Tekchen LingMonastery and Retreat Center, which is the Main Seat of His Eminence in India. Khenpo also travels to help guide

and teach at His Eminence's centers in S.E. Asia, Africa, Europe, and Canada.

Introduction

This is my second visit to Karma Chang Chub Choephel Ling . I am very happy to be here and greet everyone kindly.Let us first recite The Dorje Chang Lineage Prayer that was composed by Bengar Jampl Zangpo.

It is taught in the Kagy tradition and also in this prayer that devotion (ms-gs in Tibetan) is the head of meditation.No matter how mu ch one studies and meditates, one wont receive the blessings of the lineage and will notaccomplish much in ones Dharma practice as long as one does not have devotion. If one wants to practice well, it isvery important to have devotion and to receive the blessings of the lineage. There are many ways to awakendevotion in ones mind. The best way to cultivate sincere devotion is to call, with one-pointed attentiveness, allLamas of the unbroken transmission lineage and to request their blessings. We recite The Dorje Chang LineagePrayer together for this reason.

Before receiving the sacred teachings, it is necessary to give rise to the mind of awakening. bodhicitta in Sanskrit,byang-chub-kyi-sems in Tibetan. Bodhicitta is the wish to attain perfect enlightenment to be able to help all sentientbeings, who are as innumerable as space is vast in extent and who, at one time or another, were all our kindmothers. We aspire to help them attain what we think is best for them - perfect enlightenment. Knowing that this isthe only way to really help them, please receive the instructions and contemplate the profound meaning of ThePrajnaparamita Sutra - The Sutra of Transcendent Wisdom. It is called The Heart Sutra in its condensed version.

The correct view is crucial for any Buddhist practice. The main point of the correct view is dependent origination,rten- brel in Tibetan, which is also referred to as rten -byung, dependent appearance. The main point of practice isnot to harm others, which is based upon love and compassion. One aspires never to hurt anyone and practices this.

If one integrates the view and practice in ones life, one will be engaging in the path of Dharma quite well.

Integrating the view of dependent appearance in union with practicing not to harm others is dbu-ma, the Tibetanterm that means the middle way. The practice of the middle way consists of gaining freedom from all complexitiesand extremes, which is synonymous with the term emptiness, shunyata in Sanskrit, stong -pa-nyid in Tibetan. Wecan read many texts and can easily understand and speak about emptiness, but its quite difficult when it comes toour behaviour and actions. To progress along the path of practice, we need to understand why all things are emptyof inherent existence and we need to realize that the true nature of all things is emptiness.

Since all things arise and appear in dependence upon other things, they are devoid of independent existence andthus are empty of inherent existence. All phenomena are merely temporary, dependent manifestations that appearwhen causes and conditions prevail. It is possible and we can experience phenomena in this way when they

manifest. And so, all phenomena are empty due to dependent origination, and phenomena can arise and appearbecause they lack inherent existence, i.e., due to emptiness. It is important to understand the view, which is thebasis of meditation, and it is important to meditate. Then ones practice will be very good.

In his description of Mahamudra, Jamgon Kongtrul Lodr Thaye taught that without the view, one is anything but all-knowing and in that case one is like a blind person. Furthermore, one will not benefit oneself or anybody else if one


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has understood the view but doesnt meditate. Then one is like a stingy rich person who benefits no one. Itsimportant to gain certainty of the view and at the same time to practice meditation.

Again, the view is realizing that dependent origination and emptiness are not exclusive but are mutually inclusive,i.e., all phenomena are empty because they depend upon many factors to be what they are. This is the middle viewand it pertains to the way all things really are. Ones realization of the middle view and meditation will be very goodand beneficial if one understands this. The view of emptiness is the basis for ones practice and is explained in greatdetail in The Prajnaparamita Sutra, which we will look at in its condensed version during this seminar.

It is very important to gain an understanding of dependent appearance and emptiness in union with practicing non-violence. Yet, it can happen that one has a false idea of emptiness and thinks that it means nothing-ness. If onethinks like this, one would see no reason to acknowledge the law of karma, the Sanskrit term that was translatedinto Tibetan as ls and means that all results have causes and every cause leads to a result. Then one thinks thatthere is no reason to give up negativities and to diminish and overcome ones obscurations; or one blames emptinesswhen things go wrong and thinks one doesnt have to do anything to change unsatisfact ory situations. This happenswhen one has the extreme view of nihilism. We need to gain an understanding of emptiness in connection withdependent origination and, at the same time, cultivate love and compassion. Simply talking about emptiness andfailing to develop love and compassion help no one. Ones life becomes meaningful when one learns about andrealizes emptiness while, at the same time, caring for others. Uniting the view of emptiness in connection withgaining an understanding of dependent origination and not harming others are very important practices ofBuddhism.

The great yogi Jetsn Milarepa taught: Know that all phenomena are like a dream. Meditate uncontrived love andcompassion. He furthermore taught that we need to develop more and mor e compassion for those beings that arenot able to realize that all things are like a dream.

His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche the Fourth, Karma Lodr Chkyi Nyima,at Vulture Peak, Rajagriha.

The Heart Sutra

The Title

The original sut ra is entitled, The Prajnaparamita Sutra and literally means The Sutra of the Great Mother. Thereare several versions, a long, a medium-long, and a short one. The long version consists of 100,000 verses in 12volumes, the medium-long version consists of 25,000 verses in 3 volumes, and the short one consists of 8,000 versesin one volume, making 16 volumes in all. It would be very difficult to study all of them. This is why they are kept onmonastery shrines and are objects of our offerings and prayers. Since it would be difficult to study all of them, thereis the shorter, condensed version, known as The Heart Sutra. Just as the heart is the most important organ in thebody, The Heart Sutra is the essence of the 16 volumes of The Prajnaparamita Sutra. Because it is a summary of

the entire volumes and condenses the contents into a very concise point, The Heart Sutra is the essence, i.e., theheart of wisdom- awareness, shes -rab-snying-po.

A Short Historical Account

The sacred root text of the condensed version of The Prajnaparamita Sutra commences with the line, di -skad-bdag-gis-ths-pa-ds-gcig-na:

At one time I heard this discussion .

evam

may rtam (Skt.; Pli, evam me sutam). Thus have I heard. After this preamble, known as the nidna , thediscourse itself is narrated. nidna (Skt.; Pali, link). A contributory cause or condition. It is the term used for each of

the twelve links that constitute the chain of Dependent Origination

This line was written by Bodhisattva Vajrapani, who compiled the sutra after the event on Vulture Peak had ended .What did he hear? That the Buddha, a noble assembly of realized and ordinary bodhisattvas, shravakas, gods,
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humans, and many other beings had met on Vulture Peak, which is situated outside the small town of Rajagriha inthe Indian state of Bihar. They were all present while the Buddha was in meditation, and they received his blessing.For most of them, it seemed as if the Buddha had entered meditation specifically on this occasion, but - because ofalways being in meditation - for the Buddha there is no difference between the meditative and post-meditativestate. Vajrapani tells us that the Buddha had entered the meditative state called profound illumination. Due to thepower of Lord Buddhas meditative absorption, Venerable Shariputra was able to ask Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvaraprofound questions about prajnaparamita, transcendent wisdom -awarene ss, and to receive most significantanswers from him. Avalokiteshvara is the Sanskrit name of sPyan-rs-gzigs (pronounced Chenrezig), who is the Lordof Compassion.

While being a compendium of questions that Venerable Shariputra asked about the paramita of wisdom-awareness(prajnaparamita in Sanskrit, shes-rab-kyi-pa-rol-tu-byin-pa in Tibetan) and answers that Bodhisattva Chenrezig gave,the designation sutra in the title means that The Heart Sutra contains words spoken by the Buddha. There arethree criteria for the designation sutra. One criterion is words actually spoken by the Buddha; the second criterionis words spoken or written down through the Buddhas blessing, and the third is texts that the Buddha authorized.The Heart Sutra was written down through the Buddhas blessing, was authorized by him, and records words thathe spoke.

When the question and answer session that took place in the presence of the enlightened Buddha had come to aclose, Bodhisattva Vajrapani compiled the text and entrusted it to the nagas . Vajrapani is Phyag-na-rdo-rje in Tibetanand means vajra bearer. Nagas (klu) are powerful long -lived, serpent-like beings who inhabit bodies of water and

guard what we call archives. When times were right, the great Indian mas ter Noble Nagarjuna retrieved this sacredtext from the realm of the nagas and transmitted it to worthy disciples.

To understand what can be called an archive system in modern terms, let us recall that in the 8th centuryPadmasambhava travelled to Tibet and imparted many profound teachings to the Tibetans. But at that time therewerent many people who appreciated th em. For this reason and for the benefit of future generations,Padmasambhavas teachings were hidden in the earth as gter -ma, treasure texts. When times are ripe, termas arediscovered and revealed by gter- stn, treasure revealers. In the same way, the nagas have archives of treasuretexts. They had kept and guarded The Prajnaparamita Sutraand The Heart Sutrain their archives.

Due to the blessing of the Buddha, Venerable Shariputra and Bodhisattva Chenrezig were able to engage in adialogue on Vul ture Peak at Rajagriha. It wasnt yet possible for most attendees of the gathering to appreciate andpractice the profound teachings on emptiness that were presented on that occasion. For this reason, the text washidden as a terma and kept in the archives of the nagas. The Buddha had prophesied that 400 years after his passinginto parinirvana a tertn would retrieve this text from the realm of the nagas and would disclose it to disciples whowere capable of understanding the instructions and would benefit by practicing them. This tertn was AryaNagarjuna. Based on the prajnaparamita texts, his disciples were able to practice mahayana. And so, there is asimilarity regarding the concealment of Guru Rinpoches sacred texts in Tibet and the retrieval of The Heart Sutraby Noble Nagarjuna.

The Instructions of The Heart Sutra

As said, The Heart Sutra is the written document of the dialogue between Bodhisattva Chenrezig and VenerableShariputra. The first verse is:

Once the Blessed Victor was dwelli ng on Vulture Peak Mountain in Rajagriha, together with a great gathering of thesangha of monks and a great gathering of the sangha of bodhisattvas. The Blessed One was in the samadhi thatexpresses the Dharma and is called profound illumination. At that time Noble Chenrezig, the BodhisattvaMahasattva, while practicing the profound prajnaparamita, saw in this way: he saw the five skandhas to be empty ofnature .

While never separate from samadhi, at that time refers to the time that the Buddha manife sted to the assembly.This magnificent event enabled Bodhisattva Chenrezig and Venerable Shariputra to engage in a dialog aboutprajnaparamita and for Chenrezig to perfectly explain its meaning and the practices to realize it fully. As stated in thefirst verse, to begin with, it is necessary to understand that the five skandhas are by nature empty, i.e., devoid ofinherent existence. Because Shariputra asked, Chenrezig taught how to train to fully realize transcendent wisdom-awareness.

In The Heart Sutra it is written:

Then, through the power of the Buddha, Venerable Shariputra said to Noble Chenrezig, the BodhisattvaMahasattva:How should a son or daughter of noble family who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita train?


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Addressed in this way, Noble Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva, said to Venerable Shariputra:O Shariputra, a son or daughter of noble family who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita should see inthis way: seeing the five skandhas to be e mpty of nature.

Bodhisattva Chenrezig answered Shariputras question by stating that practitioners who aspire to realizeprajnaparamita need to have the right view by understanding that the five skandhas are empty of inherent existenceand they need to ascertain emptiness by meditating on the instructions.

The Five Skandhas

Skandha is the Sanskrit term that was translated into Tibetan as phung- po and means aggregates. The skandhas arethe five aspects that comprise the physical and mental constituents of a sentient being. The five skandhas (phung-po-lnga) are: form, feeling, distinguishing perception, mental formation, and consciousness.

We need to know that like the roots of a plant - the five skandhas are the bases of samsaric existence. We haveaccumulated negative karma throughout all our past lives because of our conflicting emotions and thus we createdthe skandhas and the suffering that we experience in this life, in all its variations and different kinds. In the past, wecreated the skandhas for this life due to not knowing that emptiness is the basis of all appearances and experiences.We are overwhelmed by the five skandhas and thus cling to them as real, which is what clinging to phenomenameans. We purport the existence of appearances that we apperceive and believe they stand in opposition to thepersonal self that we believe in and cling to as real. So, there are two aspects of clinging: clinging to phenomena that

we think truly exist and are other than the self that we think is a true entity and cling to as real. In short: Due tohaving accumulated the causes in our past lives, in this life we experience the unsatisfactory and painfulconsequences that we created by clinging to a self and to what we refer to as others. In that manner, we pave theway for unending suffering in our present and next lives.

To overcome clinging to others, it is necessary to understand and realize the teachings of The Heart Sutra, whichtell us that all skandhas lack true existence and are by nature empty of reality . ( , . . ) . As a result, we will surmount our belief in a personal self and thus will stop clinging to it as real.The text explains in detail and step-by-step that each and every skandha is empty of an own essence. Byunderstanding that phenomena have no true essence and are therefore not real, we are able to overcome clingingto the belief that the self truly exists. We will look at this after you have asked any questions that you might have.

Question: You mentioned that there are three criteria for the definition sutra. I didnt understand the differencebetween the second and third. Khenpo: The teachings of The Heart Sutra were heard and composed due to the blessing of the Buddha. It iswritten that the Buddha was abiding in profound samadhi and that even though he did not speak the text as weknow it, through the power of his meditation and blessing those individuals who heard him heard the truth. Thethird criterion is a teaching that he authorized to be conveyed after his parinirvana. The Gyulama by Mait reya is anexample for the third kind. While in Tushita, the Buddha appointed Maitreya as his regent. So, Lord Buddha hadpermitted and had blessed the sacred texts by Maitreya. We can regard The Heart Sutra as both. The Buddhablessed this flawless text through the power of his samadhi, he authorized the text through his spoken words thatare recorded in the last lines.Same student: So theres no difference between the two? Do the shastras (the commentaries) also belong to thethird category? Khenpo : The Heart Sutra fulfils both criteria. It isnt a commentary. Its a sutra. Commentaries are always written

by others.

Next question: I understand that the consciousness is also an aggregate. I also understand that clarity is inseparablefrom the mind. If consciousness is an illusion, is emptiness, and at the same time is clarity, then this seems to be acontradiction. How is this solved? Khenpo: So, how can it be an aggregate-o?Same student: Its an illusion. How do I deal with this? Khenpo: Agg regate doesnt only refer to form or matter. Aggregate means a collection, and we have five mainaggregates that each consists of many parts. The term consciousness is general, but the consciousness or mindalso has many parts. If it were a singular entity, we might not call it an aggregate. There are countlessconsciousnesses . We just have to think about how many concepts we develop from moment to moment. How manyconcepts have we developed during the two hours we have been together now? Basically, we have six primary

consciousnesses. The mind consciousness constantly develops many thoughts. Put together, we call themaggregate of consciousness.

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It is recorded in The Heart Sutra that Shariputra asked Chenrezig: How should a son or d aughter of noble familywho wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita train? Chenrezig answered: O Shariputra, a son or daughterof noble family who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita should see in this way: seeing the five skandhasto b e empty of nature. This means to say that no phenomenon is a solid, static entity, rather, all things are empty ofinherent existence. It is necessary to understand and meditate on this.

The central topic of The Heart Sutra is emptiness, stong -pa-nyid. There are various ways to study and understandemptiness, step-by-step . One way is to understand that , for example, as long as milk hasnt turned into yoghurt, it isempty of being yoghurt. A second way is to understand and acknowledge that yoghurt isnt milk. A third way is toknow that objects are empty of each other , e.g., a cow is empty of being a horse and a horse is empty of being acow. A fourth way is to consider i mpossibilities , e.g., that flowers cannot grow in the sky. These are examples for thefour ways to understand that all phenomena are empty , but they do not suffice to realize the meaning of emptiness.

{ :http://www.cttbusa.org/heartsutra/hs10.htm The Heart of Prajna Paramita Sutra . Verses and Commentary by Venerable Master Hsuan HuaPrajna and Emptiness.. Therefore, when Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound prajna paramita, he illuminated the five skandhas and saw thatthey are all empty.To talk about prajna is to talk about emptiness. Fundamentally there are many kinds of emptiness , but now for simplicitys sake, I will

explain five basic kinds:

1) Insensate emptiness. This kind of emptiness lacks any knowing consciousness ; it has no awareness. This emptiness, the ordinaryemptiness known to most people, is called insensate emptiness because it consists merely of the emptiness we can see with our eyes, and itlacks its own awareness . It is the false, insensate emptiness people see in places where there is nothing at all. That lack of anything in a place is not the true emptiness.

2) The emptiness of annihilation. This is emptiness as it has been understood by those of certain external paths, none of whom understandthe principle of true emptiness. They say that when people die they cease to exist, that is, they are annihilated. And so their version ofemptiness is called the emptiness of annihilation.

3) The emptiness of analyzed dharmas. This emptiness is a contemplation cultivated by those of the Small Vehicle. They analyze form as form, mind as mind, and sort them into their constituent dharmas without realizing that they are all empty . They only go so far asto say that because a perceptible characteristic can be analyzed as one of various form-dharmas, that because feeling, cognition, formation,and consciousness can be analyzed in terms of various mind-dharmas, they are empty( , .. .. ,

, , ). As a consequence, those of the two vehicles are not certified as ones who have accomplished the wonderful meaning of trueemptiness. They stop at the transformation city (The enlightenment of those of the two vehicles (Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas) is comparedto a city conjured up by magic that has no real existence. The source of the well-known image is the Dharma Flower Sutra(Suddharmapundarikasutra). A reference to the same analogy is found further on in the verse commentary: Partial truth with residue is justa conjured city.) They stand there, at that empty and false place, cultivating the contemplation of the emptiness of analyzed dharmas. Thatis what is called superficial prajna, not profound prajna.

Cultivators of superficial prajna can end the birth and death of their delimited segment (Sanskrit pariccheda; Chinese fen duan literally

share -section), but they are unable to transcend the birth and death of the fluctuations (Sanskrit parinama; Chinese bian yi ). Wh at ismeant by these two kinds of birth and death? The first refers to the body, and the second to thoughts. Everyone has a body; you have yours, Ihave mine, everyone has his own share. The body is a share and one lifetime from birth to death is called a section. It cou ld also be saidthat everyone has his own form-section: you are five feet tall, he is five foot six inches, and that person is six feet tall. Each person has his ownsection, so this is the birth and death of ones share -section or delimited segment.

The Holy Ones of the fourth stage of Arhatship have ended the birth and death of their delimited segments, but they have not yet ended thebirth and death of fluctuations. Fluctuations refers to the transformations which are the source of the birth and death of the delimitedsegment, because the birth and death of fluctuations refers to nothing more than all the various false thoughts. The false thoughts flowalong: one thought ceases to exist and the next thought is born; then that thought ceases to exist and a third is born, and so forth. That kindof successive production and extinction is also a kind of birth and death. At the fourth stage of Arhatship, false thinking has not beenextinguished entirely. The stage of the Bodhisattva of the Mahayana, the Great Vehicle, must be reached in order to put an end to the birth

and death of fluctuations. Then there are no more false thoughts.

The birth and death of fluctuations is at the root of our birth and death. Why is it that we are born and then die? Only because we have falsethoughts. And where do the false thoughts come from? From ignorance. It is because there is ignorance that all false thoughts are produced.
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4) Bodily dharma emptiness. The fourth kind of emptiness is cultivated by the Condition-Enlightened Ones, the Pratyekabuddhas, who havethe bodily experience of the emptiness of dharmas ( ). emptiness of impossibilities

5) True emptiness. Bodhisattvas cultivate the contemplation of the emptiness of wonderful existence. When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattvawas practicing the profound prajna paramita, he was cultivating the contemplation of the emptiness of wonderful existence. When heilluminated the five skandhas and saw that they are all empty, he was cultivating at the level reached by profound prajna with the abilityobtained from profound prajna.

The prajna of your own nature is the deep and secret cause means that deep within your own nature lies the secret seed.

}

Perfect emptiness (yang-dag- pai-stong-pa- nyid) as taught in The Heart Sutra is understood fully by realizing thatbecause no phenomenon is established by itself and things merely appear as relative realities, all phenomena are bynature empty. If we carefully examine phenomena (chs in Tibetan), we will discover that every appearance andexperience by nature has no inherent existence. We understand emptiness correctly and have the right view if weunderstand that the five skandhas are not established from their own side, are aggregates that appear on therelative level of existence, and are like appearances in a dream.

What is the purpose of seeing that the five skandhas are empty of a true nature? Because there is suffering in cyclicexistence. We dont experience manifold kinds of suffering haphazardly or without a cause. We created and

accumulated the causes for the suffering that we presently experience because, in all our past lives, we acted inreliance upon our conflicting emotions and thus engaged in negative activities. Conflicting emotions and negativekarma give rise to the five stained skandhas (zag- bcs in Tibetan, which is also translated as contaminatedoutflows ). In this regard, we speak of a self that experiences suffering. We call any appearance and experiencemine, and thus we cling to both I and mine, i.e., self and others. Clinging to a self and others causes us toaccept what we like, to reject what we dont like, or to be indi fferent about many things that we perceive.

The great variety of conflicting emotions (klesha in Sanskrit, nyon-mongs in Tibetan) cause us to accumulate negativekarma and thus to remain bound in samsara. Samsara is the Sanskrit term that was translated into Tibetan as khor -ba and means vicious round of birth and death and rebirth within the realms of conditioned existence. To becomefree from samsara, we need to examine the five skandhas and realize that they are empty of a real nature.

Continuing with the root text, Noble Chenrezig presented four arguments showing that the first skandha of form isempty by nature. He taught:

Form is emptiness; emptiness is form. Emptiness is no other than form; form is no other than emptiness .

What are forms? Forms are objects that can be seen with the eye organ and apperceived with the eyeconsciousness. What is the abiding condition or mode (gns-tshl) of a form (gzugs)? The Buddha said in a sutra:Form is just filled -out air. He taught tha t forms can be compared to balloons or water bubbles. The more air oneblows into a balloon, the larger it becomes; then its form and color also change, and finally it busts. This shows thatballoons arent stable but are subject to change. Why is this so? Because each and every object that has a form is amere appearance that isnt established (ma -grub -pa) and therefore is devoid of truth (bden-pa-med-pa). As it is, weare deluded about the true nature and mode of the objects that we see and think that they are true existents. Theobjects that we see and look at seem to be solid and real but arent. If we investigate thoroughly, we will discoverthat everything that we see is empty of an own nature, i.e., every form is emptiness, gzugs-stong- pao.

Objects that are perceived with the eye organ and apperceived with the eye consciousness are forms that have ashape and color; we can touch and identify them. We might ask, how can an object that we are able to touch andsee be empty ? Objects consist of many parts. If we investigate tangible objects of perception, we would realize thatthey consist of many parts and that they change . As long as we dont investigate, we remain stuck in wishful -thinking and believe that perceptible and tangible objects are solid entities that exist of their own accord and thatlast . Every phenomenon is composed of many small parts, and each small part consists of many smaller parts. Nomatter how long or how much we search, we will never find a form that doesnt consist of smaller parts that, in turn,also arent subject to change . This is about coarse objects that can be perceived and are emptiness. , - . , (, , , ..),

.

The second instruction that deals with the first skandha is that emptiness is form, stong-pa-nyid-gzugs-so. Wehavent understood emptin ess and ask ourselves, what is the natural mode of forms? The natural mode of every

form is emptiness (stong-pa-nyid-red) (


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) . As long as we havent understood this but remain deluded about the real mode of forms, we experienceemptiness as an aspect of appearances and thus merely impute that emptiness is form . ( )

The third instruction is that emptiness is no other than form, gzugs-ls-stong-pa-nyid-gzhn-ma-yin. Objects areforms that we can perceive with our eye organ and that we deludedly apperceive with our eye consciousness as trulyexisting, solid entities . Other than that, there are no forms. The abiding nature of each and every form is chs-kyi-dbyings, which means suchness. There is no form outside suchness.

The fourth very important instruction that Chenrezig gave to Shariputra about the first skandha is that form is noother than emptiness, stong-pa-nyid-ls-kyang-gzugs-gzhn-ma-yin-no. The true nature of all forms is emptiness.There is no form that is separate from emptiness ( . ) . Should there be a form that is separate from emptiness, it would be an entity thatnever changes. It is difficult for us to believe that emptiness appears as a form because we think that a form cannotbe empty. On the relative level, forms are mere appearances. On the absolute level, forms are suchness, i.e.,emptiness and dependent appearances inseparable . There is a story that I want to tell. Maybe it fits with thissituation.

Once there was a farmer who had many cows. They were very happy to eat green grass and only ate green grass.One day the farmer ran out of green grass and only had straw. He had to find a way to convince the cows to eat the

straw. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to convince cows who only eat green grass to eat straw?Student: Wait until they are very hungry. Next student: Maybe the farmer found a way to dye the straw green or gave the cows green-tainted glasses to lookthrough. Khenpo: Actually, the story goes with the green glasses. So, the farmer made green-tainted glasses for the cows tolook through. Everything appeared green to them when they looked through the glasses, and then they ate thestraw. Actually, the straw was empty of being green (i.e., form is emptiness). It appeared green to the cows (i.e.,emptiness is form ). Staying with the story, the green color is not separate from the straw, and the straw is notseparate from the green color -- for the cows, not for us. Actually, when cows are hungry, they eat anything they arefed, and they are good cows. My example is about silly cows. In terms of understanding reality, we are just as silly asthe cows that had to have green glasses.

The four points about form apply to all skandhas. They are: Form is emptiness; emptiness is form. Emptiness is noother than form; for m is no other than emptiness. We need to meditate these instructions . Whether we sit on acushion or chair, it is important to sit straight while meditating . If you have any questions now, please ask.

Question: We laugh about the silly cows because we t hink that we are better and more intelligent than they are. Inthe same way, I can imagine that somebody who is wiser than we are laughs about us. How can we communicatewith individuals who are wiser than we are? Khenpo: It will be like laughing while playing with silly cows. Why will we be laughing? Because we know that thestraw is not green grass and that we tricked the cows into believing it is. So, the cows are the objects of ourcompassion, snying-rje-kyi-yl. It is the same with us. Realized individuals see our illusions and faults. They teach usantidotes that we can apply. Lord Buddha realized the true nature of all things. He saw that beings were deludedabout the true nature of things and that they therefore experienced a great variety of suffering. He taught theDharma to help beings become free from the never-ending cycle of suffering. Let us take the example of a mother

and child sleeping in one room. The child will be very frightened if it sees a vampire in its dream. It wont help thechild if the mother whispers, Dont worry. Its just a nightmare. The only way to free her child from fear is to wakeit up. Then the child will see that there is no vampire in the room. So, waking the child up is the best solution. In thiscase, the mother sees that the nightmare is nothing-ness, that her child is deluded while dreaming, and is thereforeexperiencing so much suffering. In the same way, the Buddha saw that the best way to help the many deludedbeings become free of the suffering they were experiencing was to teach them the Dharma.

Question: It is clear that it is possible to intellectually understand emptiness. But what emphasis is the teachersblessing, which is like the relationship between a mother and her child? Khenpo: Not everyone has the same capacity. Some disciples have a very clear and sharp mind and can understandeasily and quickly, which doesnt mean that they have realized emptiness. Based upon knowing the meaning ofemptiness, one meditates more and more and gradually realizes shes-rab-chen- po, great wisdom -awareness. This is

one way. Another way is to call to the Lama with sincere devotion and to request his blessing so that one quicklyunderstands emptiness, accumulates merit, and dispels ones obscurations. If we diminish the many obscurationsthat we have, then one day we will realize the meaning of emptiness. These are the two methods, and both lead torealization of emptiness.

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Before continuing with the instructions on the profound prajnaparamita, I want to remind you to give rise to thepure motivation of bodhicitta, which is the wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.

In the great vehicle of mahayana, there are three categories of giving rise to the awakened mind. The first is the motivation (kun-slong) to be like a shepherd who sees to it that none of the sheep in the flock ( )he is guardinggo astray( ), that every one is nourished well, and that all of them are safe in the barn before he goes torest; this is the simile for the wish to help others become free from the realms of painful existences by attainingenlightenment before one does . The second motivation is the wish to be like a boatman who reaches the oppositeshore of the river together with everyone in his boat ; this is the simile for aspiring to attain enlightenment togetherwith everyone else. The third motivation is the wish to be like a mighty ruler who has the best means to guaranteethat every subject in his kingdom obeys his commands, is safe, and has a good and successful life; this is the similefor aspiring to attain enlightenment first in order to be able to help everybody else attain the same high state.

We saw that the first skandha is not solid and real, has no true nature, and is emptiness. The second skandha isfeeling, tshor-ba. Like the skandha of form, feelings have no own nature (rang-bzhin-med-pa), lack truth (bden-pa-med-pa)( ), and are emptiness (stong-pa-nyid-yin).

What is a feeling? The definition of a feeling is simply to experience something. How can one experience things?Happily, painfully, or indifferently. Who or what simply experiences things? Only the mind, sems-tsam.

Feelings are unstable and fleeting. They change from moment to moment and are like water bubbles that arise whenwater is splashed and bust again real fast. If we recall the pain and happiness that we have experienced in our life,we could think that it is the same pain or joy that we might presently be experiencing. Upon investigation, we willdiscover that past feelings were transitory and, other than in our memory, didnt last. We will find that feelings donttruly exist and are emptiness. Concerning momentary feelings, for example, one immediately suffers when onelearns that a close friend had a bad accident and feels relieved when learning that it was a false alarm. This showsthat feelings such as happiness and suffering (bde-ba and sdug-bsngl) are merely momentary, impermanentexperiences of the mind. They arise, change, and cease, therefore they lack true existence and are by natureemptiness. , , , - , . , , , . , ( ). , , , . , , , . , , ( ). How do feelings arise? Through one of the six gates (khams- drug, six interactional sense fields). The first gate is theeye consciousness, mig-gi-rnam-par-shes- pai-khams. An eye consciousness arises when our eye organ has come intocontact with and perceives an object (i.e., a form that has a color and shape). This means to say that a feeling aboutan object arises through the interaction of a perceived object and the respective sense consciousness. This feelingcan be pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. We cling to the pleasant things that we see and like. We reject unpleasantthings we see and even feel annoyed or become angry about them, and we are indifferent about objects that wedont perceive as pleasant or unpleasant. So, one of the three kinds of feelings of the eye consciousness arises whenthe eye organ has come into contact with an o bject that can be seen. The Tibetan term for coming into contact

with is reg and means to touch .

In the same way, we have a pleasant, an unpleasant, or an indifferent feeling about a sound (sgra) after our earorgan has come into contact with that sound. Then we apperceived that sound with our ear consciousness, rna- bai-rnam-par-shes-pa. For example, we feel very happy if we think that an opera performance we experienced was goodor we are unhappy if we think that it wasnt good. In fact, we can be v ery unhappy about a performance and evenbecome angry when feeling that we didnt get what we expected. Maybe we feel that the performance wasnt thatgood, wasnt that bad either, and conclude that it was okay. So, these three kinds of feelings can arise through theear consciousness.

The third sense consciousness is the nose consciousness, sna- bai-rnam-par-shes-pa. Depending on our nose organ,we apperceive smells, odors, scents with our nose consciousness. A scent (dri-ma) can be experienced as pleasant,

unpleasant, or neutral. We accept and cling to scents that we feel are pleasant and reject those that we feel areunpleasant. Feeling indifferent about something we smelled is also an interaction . The fourth sense consciousnessis the tongue consciousness, lce- bai-rnam-par-shes-pa. We apperceive something that can be tasted (ro) with ourtongue organ and feel that it tasted delicious, unpleasant, or neutral. The same with the fifth sense consciousness,which is the body consciousness, ls-kyi-rnam-par-shes-pa; it apperceives an object that can be touched (reg-bya)and experiences it as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Such an object can be soft, smooth, coarse, and so forth. For


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example, we dont feel good when somebody slaps us, and we feel good when we rub oil on our skin. We can al sofeel indifferent about many things that we touch. The sixth consciousness is the mind consciousness, yid-kyi-shes-pa.Phenomena (chs) are objects (yl) that the mind consciousness apperceives and experiences as pleasant,unpleasant, or neutral.

So, we have six sense consciousnesses with which we apperceive an object that the respective sense organ comesinto contact with. The ensuing feeling of each interaction can be pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, so there areeighteen ways that feelings can arise and be. This is all right, as long as we dont have sympathy or antipathy, i.e., aslong as we do not accept or reject feelings that we have about things that we perceived. Should we cling to ourfeelings in one way or another, we would be creating suffering, which nobody wants to experience. By paying toomuch attention to our feelings, we become very sensitive and emotional. In such cases, we care about our feelingstoo much. We cannot deal with our emotions and sensitivities as long as we think that feelings truly exist andconsequently we create suffering.

As it is, we have feelings that are temporary and do not last long. Depending upon what we learn or experience, wehave countless pleasant and unpleasant feelings, from the time we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep atnight, each and every day. None of them last long. The Buddha said that because they have no true existence,feelings are like water bubbles that bust real fast. Feelings are impermanent and change from one moment to thenext.

We saw that it is written in The Heart Sutra: Form is emptiness; emptiness is form. Emptiness is no other than

form; form is no other than emptiness. Although it is not written in the root text, it is also the case that feeling isemptiness, and emptiness is feeling. Emptiness is no other than feeling, and feeling is no other than emptiness.

If we investigate well, we will find that every feeling is devoid of an own essence, i.e., is empty of a true nature.Why? There are two reasons (rgyu-msthn-gnyis), which are good to know. One reason why feelings are emptiness isbecause every feeling arises and passes from moment to moment, i.e., every feeling is impermanent, mi-rtag-pa. Thesecond reason is that every feeling is a collection of causes and conditions (rgyu-dang-rkyen)( ???? ),i.e., feelings are not created , ma-skyes-pa. These are the two reasons why every feeling is emptiness.???????????????????

There are two principles of reality that are subsumed in the two truths, bden-pa-gnyis. Ordinary beings do notrealize that every feeling is emptiness, which is the ultimate truth , dn-dam-bden-pa. The argument that emptinessis feeling is the relative truth , kun-rdzob-bden-pa. We experience feelings and, due to being deluded about theirtrue nature, we think that they are real. But they are mere experiences of relative realities, i.e., they seem to beindependent existents but arent. The arguments that empt iness is no other than feeling and feeling is no other thanemptiness are the same as in the discussion of form. If we examine the skandha of feeling as we did form, we willattain the perfect view, which is that emptiness and all appearances are inseparable , byer-ba-med-pa.

In Buddhism, it is taught that on the relative level of existence, all phenomena are only appearances, chs-thams-ce-snang-ba- tsam. If we understand and realize this, we wont be bound to samsara, wont have any problems, andwont ex perience suffering. As long as we think appearances and experiences are real and cling to them, we willexperience continuous suffering, will not be able to become free, but will remain in the vicious rounds of samsara.

Because he had attained enlightenment, the Buddha saw how the many phenomena in the world of relative realityappear and are; he was not attached to them and did not cling to them as true existents. We have not realized the

inseparability of emptiness and appearances, i.e., that form is emptiness and emptiness is form, or feeling isemptiness and emptiness is feeling, and thus we cling to phenomena as real. This causes the various kinds ofsuffering. We need to realize the inseparability of appearance and emptiness in order to become free of sufferingand to attain lasting happiness.

The third skandha is distinguishing perception, du -shes. Just like form and feeling, distinguishing perception isemptiness; emptiness is distinguishing perception. Emptiness is no other than distinguishing perception, anddistinguishing perception is no other than emptiness.

Distinguishing perception is defined as clinging to characteristics, i.e., marks (mtshn-ma in Tibetan). Everyphenomenon has particular characteristics, and our distinguishing perception is deluded about them. Apperceiving amirage (mig-rgyu) as water exemplifies deluded perception. For example, thinking it is possible to quench ones thirst

by clinging to the thought that a mirage is water is what deluded distinguishing perception entails. Has anybody seena mirage in Germany? Where?Student: On the street in the hot summer. Khenpo: Seeing a mirage is not a mistaken perception and doesnt mean that you are deluded because you simplysee the movement of the color with the eye organ, whereas thinking it is water is what being mistaken means. For


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example, thinking they can quench their thirst, animals living in the desert often run and run towards a mirage thatthey see, but it always remains in the distance, and they never reach it. They are deluded by the color.Translator: What kind of animal?Khenpo: It doesnt matter. Any animal.Student: Antilope.Khenpo: Yes, antilope.

We label an object according to its marks that we perceive. Lets imagine that we have two computers, one is a blackMacintosh and the other one is a white Apple. Our eye organ perceives the black and white items and does notdifferentiate their brand names, which are simply mental imputations. We are not aware of the fact that labels are

just labels and think that the perceived objects that we label with our mind consciousness (the Macintosh and Applein our example) really exist. If we examine, we will discover that a brand name is not a color, not a sound, not ataste, not a scent, and cannot be touched, rather, it is merely an imputation of our mind consciousness . We are notaware of the fact that we simply label the things we perceive. We take them to be real, which is what mistakendistinguishing perception means. This is why the third skandha is of the nature of delusion, sprul- pai-rang-bzhin. Forexample, we can say, Okay, I dont see the label of a computer, but I see its color, or we can say, I see its shape.We could argue that the color is one computer and the shape is another computer. In truth, the object that we callcomputer consists of many parts that function in a specific way and that can be used for a specific purpose. If wetell people that we only apperceive the marks of a computer with our eye consciousness, most of them will disagree.It wont be possible to convince all of them, so we have to just sit down and be quiet. Let me tell a story to illustratethis.

Once a kings personal astrologer predicted that acid rain would fall from the sky in a weeks time and would driveanybody who drank that water crazy. The king was the only one in the kingdom who was able to store safe drinkingwater for his personal use. After the acid rain had fallen, everybody in the kingdom except the king - drank thewater and went crazy. They spoke the same words and acted in agreement with each other. The king didnt. Thepeople pointed their fingers at him and said to each other, Our king is crazy. The king had no means to convincethem that he was all right. Do you know what the king did? He drank the contaminated water, became crazy, andthen everybody in the kingdom had the same attitude, acted alike, and nobody blamed anyone of being crazyanymore because they were all crazy.

The fourth skandha is mental formation , du -byed. Just like the first three, mental formation is emptiness;emptiness is mental formation. Emptiness is no other than mental formation, and mental formation is no other thanemptiness. It can be compared with the stem of a banana tree; if one peels away its layers, one will find that it ishollow. The description of a mental formation is that it arises, abides for a moment, and ceases.

There are 51 mental factors of mental formation, which I will not discuss here. One category of mental formationthat I want to speak about is non-associated formation . For example, seeing mudras made with the hands is a non-associated formation. These movements arent perceived as mind or matter, i.e., we dont perceive a hand when wesee it move. Another example for a non-associated formation is a ring of red fire that is made by quickly spinning a litstick of incense around in a circle. We dont see the burning tip of th e incense stick but a ring of fire, so that is a non-associated formation. Because it is based on the five skandhas, the designation person is simply an imputation andis therefore also a non-associated formation.{True, real. To go along with reality; follow; accord with the truth ( yath -bhtam ) yath -bhta (Skt.). The way things are in actuality; a term used to designate the true nature of phenomena or direct experience

unmediated by the superimposition of false concepts such as the idea of an inherent and permanent identity or self ( tman ). As such, theterm is used in Mahyna synonymously with emptiness ( nyat ) , actuality (tattva) ( ) , suchness ( tathat ) ( ), and so forth.}

The fifth skandha is consciousness, rnam-par-shes-pa. Consciousness is by nature empty of an essence. Like theother four skandhas, consciousness is emptiness; emptiness is consciousness. Emptiness is no other thanconsciousness, and consciousness is no other than emptiness. This applies to all six consciousnesses of the fifthskandha. The six consciousnesses of the skandha of consciousness are: the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, thebody, and the mind consciousnesses. Specific causes and conditions have to prevail and come together for aconsciousness to arise.

There need to be three conditions so that a consciousness can arise. The first is the focal condition. This means thatthere has to be an object that is fit to be perceived with a sense organ , e,g., there has to be an object that has aform and color and that can be seen. The second condition is the dominant condition, which means that the senseorgan that makes it possible to perceive an object has to be intact ( ), e.g., the eye organ has to beintact so that an object can be seen. The third condition is the main causal condition . This means that there has tohave been a previous moment of a specific consciousness for a next moment of that consciousness to arise. Each of
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Eight Descriptions of Ultimate RealityContinuing with The Heart Sutra, Chenrezig described ultimate reality in eight points. Concer ning the first two, hetaught, Shaa- rii-bu/de-ltar-chs-thams-cd-stong-pa-nyid-de/mtshn-nyid-med-pa:

Shariputra, like that, all dharmas are emptiness. There are no characteristics.

We saw that the five skandhas are emptiness. There is no phenomenon that is not part of the five skandhas. And so,we understand the first description of ultimate reality, all dharmas are emptiness.

The second description, There are no characteristics, means that on the relative level we apperceive thecharacteristics of phenomena, give them a name, and can speak about them. For example, we say that fire is hotand burns and call anything that has those characteristics fire. Although an apperceived phenomenon is empty ofinherent existence, devoid of characteristics, and merely imputed, all phenomena function and can serve a purpose.( )Every definition of a phenomenon consists of three aspects. They are: its general characteristic (mtshn-nyid ), its

particularities (mtshn-ma ), and specific examples (mtshn-gzhi ). Water isnt defined when it is said that water iswet because this is a description of water. Smoke indicates that there is fire. Illustrative examples for water arerivers and lakes. Terms like water and fire are mere imputations (mtshn -rtag) that clearly and concisely point tothe general characteristics and particularities of a phenomenon that is referred to on the relative level. Other than inthe mind, dharmas that we apperceive, define, describe, and name ultimately have no inherent existence and nocharacteristics.

The third and fourth descriptions of ultimate reality are, ma-skyes-pa/ma- gags -pa:

There is no birth. There is no cessation.

It seems as if phenomena arise, abide, and cease, which is a deluded way of seeing them. All phenomena are bynature empty of true existence, so they are unborn , i.e., they are not born and do not cease.

Appearances arise on a relative level, and it seems as though they are born and cease. If we want to develop a keenunderstanding, we can study the commentaries of the middle way school and discover that things are not born anddo not cease as they seem but that we apperceive them delusively. If we dont develop a clear understanding andinsight (rig-pa), we might find ourselves believing that, for example, a plant just happens to exist. But it is evidentthat a plant can only grow after a seed has been planted in the earth and is provided with the necessary conditions.

Investigating the process of cause and result (rgyu-dang- brs -bu), we ask, does the cause exist or has it perishedwhen the result has appeared ? There can only be these two possibilities. What do you think?Student: The cause must be gone when the result appears. Khenpo: It is normal to say that the cause has perished when the result appears. Cause and result must have aconnection, though; there has to be a relationship. If a cause has perished when its result appears, it means that thecause is non-existent. Investigating further, we ask, how can there be a relationship between a result that is anexistent and a cause that is a non-existent? In that case, it would be impossible for a resultant existent to beconnected to its causal non-existent . That is why some people argue that the cause still exists when its result hasappeared. But a cause and its result cannot exist simultaneously. If somebody argues that its not a problem, that acause and its result can co-exist, then it would be conclusive that a flower exists in its seed and no effort is needed togrow a flower, i.e., there is no purpose in exerting any effort to get a result. Thinking that a cause and its result co-

exist is very contradictory.

To better understand similar arguments about cause and result, we can study the elaborate explanations that arepresented in the commentaries on the middle way school, madhyamika in Sanskrit, dbu-ma in Tibetan. Thesecommentaries expound in great detail that there is no true birth and no true cessation . On the relative level,phenomena appear to arise and cease but they are perceived wrongly. On the absolute level, phenomena that seemto arise, abide, and cease are empty of independent existence. The thoroughly established, ultimate truth (yong-grub -dn-dam-bden-pa) is that phenomena are free of being created, free of abiding, and free of cessation. Sinceappearances are not established (ma- grub -pa), they are not born (ma-skyes-pa) and therefore do not cease (ma-gags -pa).

The fifth and sixth descriptions of ultimate reality are, dri-ma-med-pa and dri-ma-dang-brl-ba:

There is no impurity (and) no freedom from impurity.

The ultimate truth of how things really are (gns-lugs) is that since phenomena are simply mental imputations, theyare not impure and not free of impurity , i.e., they are neither obscured nor free of obscurations. What are impuritiesand obscurations? Due to actions that are based on conflicting emotions (ls-dang-nyn-mong-pa-la-rten-de), a


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great variety of suffering arises. Afflictive actions are the cause of all suffering in samsara, and suffering is thecharacteristic of samsara. Our essence is not obscured and deluded by our emotions, though.

By dispelling our obscurations (sgrib-pa) through meditating the path (lam) while practicing the Dharma (chs), wewill be diminishing our obscurations and thus will be traversing the grounds of a bodhisattva.In the end, we willrealize the true nature of our mind and will have attained the state of a buddha. That is how it is explained inrelation to the relative truth. But relative realities, the path as well as emotions and ensuing actions, are empty ofinherent existence and ultimately do not truly exist. Nevertheless, by eliminating our negativities while practicing thepath, we will be purifying our obscurations, and when we have completely done so, we will have realized the truenature of our mind. But if we purify obscurations that dont truly exist while practicing a path that is empty of a truenature, then freedom from obscurations is also an illusion. For example, there is no medicine for a sickness thatdoesnt exist.

The seventh and eighth descriptions for the way things are (gns-tshl) are, bri-ba-med-pa/gang-ba-med- pao:

There is no decrease. There is no increase.

The statements that there is no decrease and no increase pertain to sems-kyi-gns- lugs, the way the mind abides,its mode. The minds mode is bde -bar-gshegs- pai-snying-po, which is the Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit termtathagatagarbha . Minds au thentic mode is the heart (snying-po) of One Gone Thus (bde-bar-gshes-pa). In StandardEnglish, tathagatagarbha is translated as buddha nature.

All sentient beings have buddha nature. As long as we have not realized our buddha nature that is replete with thesame excellent qualities (yn-tn) that a nirmanakaya manifestation has and that is not different from theenlightened Buddha, we will continue wandering in samsara. For this reason, we need to practice the path.Nirmanakaya (sprul-pa'i-sku) is the aspect of buddhahood that manifests out of compassion to help other beings.While practicing the path to perfect buddhahood, our conflicting emotions and obscurations decrease. As theybecome exhausted, the excellent qualities of the buddha nature unfold and manifest. But, as stated, ultimatelynothing is diminished or removed and nothing is increased or attained. Nevertheless, we practice the path on therelative level in order to realize and manifest our innate buddha nature.

While bound in samsara, we are filled up with many defects and faults (khyong). When they have been completelydispelled and we have attained perfect buddhahood, i.e., nirvana, then all qualities of a buddha (sang-rgys-kyi-yn-tn-thams-ce) will have spontaneously become manifest. Yet, all faults as well as all qualities are empty of trueexistence, so, while practicing the path, we have no faults that characterize samsara and decrease and no qualitiesthat characterize nirvana and increase . Rather, since beginningless time, all qualities of the buddha nature arealways and already present within each and every one. Let me give an example for both descriptions. We arefrightened when we think that a rope we see in a dark room is a snake. When the light is switched on, weimmediately see that the rope is a rope and not a snake. We then realize that we were deluded and in that wayspontaneously become free of our fear. Since the rope was never a snake to begin with, a snake was not removedwhen we realized that we were deluded. Our fear was due to our deluded apperception of a snake that didnt exist.The rope did not change or become better when the light was turned on, rather, the rope was as it is.

Every sentient being has the buddha nature, so every one has all enlightened qualiti es. While in samsara, we dontrealize the nature of our mind and therefore havent been able to achieve enlightenment, yet we never spoiled andwill never spoil the enlightened qualities of our buddha nature. Buddha Shakyamuni didnt improve the excellent

qualities that he always and already had when he achieved enlightenment because the buddha nature neverbecomes better or worse. The difference between ordinary beings and the Buddha is that he realized the buddhanature and thus achieved enlightenment an d beings bound to samsara havent. Whether one is in samsara or hasachieved liberation from samsara, the enlightened qualities of the buddha nature can never be changed and willalways be the same. This is the meaning of the seventh and eighth description s, There is no decrease. There is noincrease.

Six Points of Training

Following, Bodhisattva Chenrezig taught six points of training to realize prajnaparamita. The first point is becomingexpert in the five skandhas. It is written in the root text:

Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no distinguishing perception, no mental formation,no consciousness.

The five skandhas are merely momentary, adventitious stains (blo-bur-gyi-dri-ma) that conceal our buddha nature,but b ecause they lack inherent existence and thus are empty, ultimately cant. By engaging in analytical meditation,we understand that the skandhas are empty of inherent existence and, at the same time, are relative realities. We


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We saw that feelings arise through one of the six gates of perception (dhatu in Sanskrit, khams in Tibetan). The thirdpractice is becoming expert in the twelve ayatanas and six dhatus.The twelve ayatanas and six dhatus make eighteen

potentials or constituents (khams-bco-brgyd), which can be compared to seeds .

The constituents or potentials can be subsumed in three sets, each consisting of six. The first set is the six senseobjects, i.e., a form or color, a sound, a smell, a taste, a tangible object, and a phenomenon. The second set ofconstituents is the six sense faculties of the sense organs, i.e., the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, andthe mind. The third set of constituents is the six consciousnesses that arise in dependence on the correspondingfactors listed in the previous two sets. So, the third set of constituents is the eye consciousness, the earconsciousness, the nose consciousness, the tongue consciousness, the body consciousness, and the mindconsciousness. Ultimately, no constituent has an own essence and therefore all of them are emptiness. The shortverse in the root text is:

There is no eye constituent up to no mind constituent; nothing exists up to mind consciousness constituent.

We have dealt with emptiness in great detail. It is important to not only talk and read about emptiness but tocorrectly study and understand each point in the order presented here and step-by-step. To practice correctly, it isnecessary to gain certainty that the five skandhas, twelve ayatanas, six dhatus, and eighteen constituents have noinherent existence and are emptiness. Merely gaining certainty is of little benefit, though. We need to practice sothat we experience and realize the meaning of prajnaparamita.

The fourth practice is becoming proficient in the truth of dependent origination, rten- brel. The verse in the root texttells us:

There is no ignorance. When there is no exhau stion of ignorance, there is no old age and death. There is nothing upto the exhaustion of old age and death.

The twelve links of dependent origination can be examined in two ways. One way is to begin with ignorance and togo through the links up to and including old age and death. They can be studied the other way around, namely, fromthe link of old age and death to that of ignorance. The entire process of dependent origination can be seen in thetwelve images that are depicted in the outer circle of w hat is called The Wheel of Twelve Links of DependentOrigination, rten -'brel-yan-lag-bcu-gnyis-kyi-'khor-lo, in short srid- pai-khor -lo, The Wheel of Life. The picture ofThe Wheel of Life as we know it dates back to the times of Buddha Shakyamuni. Let me tell the story.

During the times of Buddha Shakyamuni there was a king of Oddiyana who was friends with a great master. As wasthe custom, friends gave each other presents. The king of Oddiyana offered an invaluable present and his friend hadgreat problems thinking of a present in return that would be just as precious. He asked the Buddha, who advised himto draw a picture of The Wheel of Life and to give it to the king. The great master drew the picture and gave it to theking, who was extremely happy and grateful to see the law of cause and result illustrated in such a clear andaccessible way.

At the hub of The Wheel of Life are three animals, a bird, a pig, and a snake. They symbolize the three main mindpoisons (dug-gsum) that determine our be haviour. The bird symbolizes greed and desire (dd -chags), the pigsymbolizesanger (zhe-sdang), and the snake symbolizes delusion (gti-mug). There is a ring around most depictions ofthe hub; the lower part is black, symbolizing unvirtuous activities that lead to lower rebirths in samsara, and the

upper part is white, symbolizing virtuous activities that lead to higher rebirths in samsara. There is a next ring that isdivided into six sections; they branch out to larger and elaborate illustrations of the six realms of existence. The sixclasses of beings (gro -ba-rigs-drug) experience a rebirth in one of the six realms of existence due to their actions.The lower class of beings are hell beings (dmyl-ba), tormented hungry ghosts (yi-dvags), and animals (dd- gro); thehigher class of beings are humans (mi), demi-gods (lha-ma-ying), and celestial beings or gods (lha). The outer ring isdivided into twelve sections and each section has a picture that illustrates each link quite poignantly.

Starting with the upper right image in the outer circle, tell me, what do you see?Student: Somebody wearing a long skirt and using a cane.Another participant: Its a woman.Khenpo: Its a hunched, older person who needs a cane to get where he is going. This image symbolizes ma-rig-pa,not knowing, which is the first link of dependent origination. Other translations of ma -rig-pa are unawareness,

non- recognition of intrinsic awareness, ignoring intelligence, ignorance. Based on ma -rig-pa, we accumulate a greatamount of karma, which is the second link and is called du -byed, karmic creation; the image in The Wheel of Life isa potter who is making a pot. The third link, which is based on the second and first links, is rnam-shes,consciousness; it is symbolize d by the icon of a monkey. Due to not knowing and karmic creation, consciousnesshas been arising since time without a beginning. The fourth link, ming-dang- gzugs, name and form, is usuallyillustrated by a picture of five people in a boat and rowing across a great river; they represent the nominal skandhas.


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We can imagine that the link of name and form is like a fetus in the body of a woman. The fifth link, skye-mched-drug, the six perceptual entrances, is symbolized by the icon of a house with six win dows. They represent the sixfaculties (dbang-po-drug) of the sense organs that are the bases of perception and apperception. The six sensefaculties and sense organs develop further, until an object can be perceived by a respective sense faculty of a senseorgan. The sixth link is reg- ba, contact, which is illustrated by a man and woman embracing each other. At thisstage, the sense faculties and organs are fully developed and therefore it is possible to come into contact with anobject that is fit to be perceived. When this interaction occurs, feeling, tshor-ba, the seventh link, takes place; theicon is a person who has been struck in the eye by an arrow. Based upon a feeling that is experienced through havingcome into contact with an object, the eighth link arises. It is sred- pa, which means thirst, craving. The icon is a mandrinking beer. We can supplement this icon by adding a picture of a woman eating chocolate ice cream. Grasping,len-pa, the ninth link, arises due to craving. The icon shows a monkey picking fruits from a tree. Due to craving andgrasping, the tenth link arises, which is becoming, srid-pa; it is depicted by a pregnant woman. It follows that theeleventh link, kye-ba, shows a woman giving birth to a baby. Where there is birth, there is ageing and death, rga-shi,which is the twelfth link in The Wheel of Life. The icon shows a corpse wrapped in cloth and being disposed. Thoseare the twelve pictures (ri-mo) that illustrate dependent origination.

The figure clutching The Wheel of Life in its teeth is Yama, the Sanskrit name for gshin- rje, The Lord of Death. Dueto the three main mind poisons, living beings create and accumulate the karma that drives them to be reborn in oneof the six realms of existence (gns-ris-drug). Yama will continue clutching samsara as long as we have not realized

the ultimate nature of our mind, which is not different than the mind of the Buddha. The Buddha is seen outside thewheel. This means that, because he attained liberation, he is not in samsara. He is pointing to the moon (zla-ba,pronounced da -wa).

Since it is very beneficial to reflect the meaning of karma and the resultant rebirths in one of the six realms ofsamsara, a painting of The Wheel of Life can always be seen at the entrance to monasteries. The picture is veryprecise, so it makes it easy to bring to mind and reflect karma and its results. Receiving teachings or reading Dharmabooks that consist of a thousand words arent as effective as directly seeing the defects of samsara and the infalliblelaw of karma in this picture or painting. One immediately sees that benevolent actions lead to positive results andmalevolent actions lead to painful results. The Buddha had instructed his disciples that a painting of The Wheel ofLife should be at the entrance to every monastery and that somebody who is knowledgeable should always beavailable to explain its meaning to visitors.

In summary, the twelve links, which are aspects of chs- nyid (dharmata in Sanskrit, the reality of existence), a re: (1)not knowing (ma-rig- pa), (2) karmic creation (du -byed), (3) consciousness (rnam-shes), (4) name and form (ming-dang-gzugs), (5) the perceptual entrances (skye-mched), (6) contact (reg-ba), (7) feeling (tshor-ba), (8) thirst andcraving (sred-pa), (9) grasping (len-pa), (10) becoming (srid-pa), (11) birth (kye-ba), and (12) ageing and death (rga-shi).

To eliminate three doubts that one can have, the twelve links are explained in reverse order. The three doubts are:doubting that there were past lives, doubting that there are future lives, and doubts regarding how this life cameabout. It is obvious that due to not knowing we have accumulated karma through karmic creation and, based uponthe mind consciousness, have taken birth as a human being in samsara. In the same way, the mind of every livingbeing that has died takes birth in one of the realms of existence. Because we were conceived, we have paved theway to name and form. When we were born and as we grew up, our sense organs developed, enabling us to come

into contact with objects. Depending upon how we feel about an object that we came into contact with, we graspand cling to things we apperceive, and thats how we live. We know that we were born and wander through life. Inthis life, we accumulate karma and after we have died, we enter the intermediate state of srid-pa-bar-do,becoming. Following, we are born in a realm of conditioned existence due to dependent origination and againbecome old and die. So, based on the first link, in our past lives we created the karma that determined our situationand experiences in this life. In the same way, all living beings create the conditions and circumstances for their nextlife. This is how, starting from the first link, the twelve links function.

We read in The Heart Sutra that Chenrezig taught: There is no ignorance. When there is no exhaustion ofignorance, there is no old age and death. There is nothing up to the exhaustion of old age and death. This pertainsto the exhaustion of the twelve links, namely, when not knowing has been dispelled and liberation has beenattained, then we are not involved in karmic creation and therefore do not create and accumulate karma. When the

twelve links of conditionality are exhausted for us, we no longer wander around and then are not reborn in samsara.As a result, we do not experience old age and death.

Chenrezig taught:

Like that, there is no suffering, no origin (of suffering), no cessation (of suffering), and no path.


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These instructions pertain to the four noble truths, 'phags-pa'i-bden-pa-bzhi. They are: the truth of suffering, thetruth of the origin of suffering, the truth of cessation of suffering, and the truth of the path that is practiced torelinquish suffering.

We saw that the five skandhas, six gates of perception, twelve sense fields, dependent origination, and so forth areultimately not established and that all appearances and experiences are in truth emptiness. It is the same for thefour noble truths. The ultimate truth of suffering (bdug-bsngl-bden-pa) is that it is emptiness, so there is nosuffering. The ultimate truth of the cessation of suffering (gog -pai-bden-pa) is that since there is no suffering, thereis no suffering that is relinquished. Therefore, the ultimate truth of the path (lam-kyi-bden-pa) is that there is nopath.

It is very important to differentiate the relative and ultimate truths (kun-rdzob-bden-pa and dn-dam-bden-pa). Onthe relative level of worldly life, we cannot avoid experiencing the first noble truth, the truth of suffering (sdug-bsngl-gyi-bden-pa). We create the karma that leads to a congruent result; this is the second noble truth, the truthof the cause (kun- byung -gi-bden-pa). It is possible to become free from samsara that is marked by suffering; this isthe third noble truth, the truth of cessation (gog -pai-bden-pa). But it is necessary to practice the path that leads tocessation of suffering, which is the fourth noble truth, the truth of the path (lam-gyi-bden-pa). On the relative level,the four noble truths are valid and feasible. On the ultimate level and just like everything else, the four noble truthsare emptiness. If we do not differentiate between relative and ultimate realities, we will be very confused when welearn that the four no ble truths that the Buddha taught arent valid.

The next practice instruction is realizing that

There is no primordial wisdom, no attainment, (and) no non-attainment .

The statement that there is no primordial wisdom (ye-shes) is an ultimate truth and pertains to the five paths thatlead to excellent realization of prajnaparamita. The five paths (lam-lnga) are: the path of accumulation (tshogs-lam),the path of practice or unification (sbyor-lam), the path of seeing (mthong-lam), the path of meditation (sgom-lam),and the path of no-more-learning (mi-slob- pai-lam). To develop primordial wisdom (ye-shes), we engage in all fivepaths and, by applying the antidotes so that we give up what needs to be given up at a specific stage on each path,the wisdom that is attained on that path naturally unfolds. Since the defilements that we strive to remove ultimatelydo not exist and are empty, it is not necessary to develop wisdom when on the fifth path of no-more learning. Forexample, it would be senseless to continue rowing the boat when one has arrived at the other shore of a river thatone tried to reach. In the same way, it would be senseless applying antidotes to remove faults and defects that donot exist. And so, when the ultimate result has been attained, there is no primordial wisdom.

No attainment in the above line refers to unity (zung-jug) , i.e., not staying in differences by grasping and clinging .Ye-shes is non-dual wisdom that is not newly attained because it always was and already is the innate wisdom thateach and every living being has . No non-attainment pertains to liberation. Having reached the ultimate state, theadventitious stains (blo-bur) that momentarily concealed our true nature have been dispelled, so primordial wisdomdoes not need to be uncovered. No attainment implies that there is attainment. But ultimately there is noattainment, so there is no non-attainment.

The Benefits of Practicing

Therefore, Shariputra, bodhisattvas have no attainment because they abide by means of the praj naparamita.Since there is no obscuration of mind, there is no fear. By completely transcending falsity, (they) arrive atliberation of nirvana.

In these lines, Chenrezig spoke about the excellent benefits of practicing the path. He taught that when all fleeting,adventitious stains have been removed, then there is no fear, and when all delusions have been dispelled, liberationwill have been attained.

By practicing each path, more and more obscurations are relinquished and as a result, further stages are attained.The ten stages of a bodhisattvas development into a fully enlightened buddha are called bhumi in Sanskrit, sa -bcu inTibetan. The ten bhumis are: the joyous, the stainless, the radiant, the brilliant, the hard to conquer, the realized,the far-reaching, the unshakable, the good intelligence, and the cloud of Dharma.

Many coarse adventitious stains that conceal the true nature of our mind are dispelled by practicing the first twopaths, which are the path of accumulation and the path of practice or unification (tshogs-lam and sbyor-lam). Thesepaths are practiced by placing the mind in the samadhi that is like a magical illusion (sgyu- phrul -gyi-ting-nge- dzin).The Sanskrit term samadhi means the state of deep concentration (ting -nge- dzin in Tibetan). Having relinquished


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coarse obscurations by having practiced the first two paths, more subtle stains still need to be relinquished to realizethe true nature of all things, chs- nyid (suchness, the ultimate nature of phenomena, dharmata in Sanskrit).

During the post-meditation period and while involved with daily activities, we do not cling to what is called khor -gsum in Tibetan, the three spheres. They are the three focal points, i.e., subject, object, and activities . We see thatthe three spheres are just as illusory as persons and events in a movie.

Let me explain the meaning of the statement that there is no fear (skrag-pa-med-pa). By engaging in the practices ofthe third path of seeing, more subtle obscurations are relinquished and as a result primordial wisdom manifestsmore clearly. By perfecting the practices of the third path, a bodhisattva attains the first bhumi. Then he or shepractices the fourth and fifth paths, the path of meditation and the path of no-more-learning. In that way, abodhisattva traverses the other nine bhumis, until reaching the tenth. This is the way of a bodhisattva who, withoutever being discouraged, abides in pa- boi-ting-nge- dzin, the samadhi of a hero.

When at all times a bodhisattva abides in rdo-rje-lta- bui-ting-nge- dzin (vajra -like samadhi), he or she hasdispelled all conflicting emotions and subtlest cognitive obscurations and thus has attained omniscient buddhahood,sangs-rgys-kyi-sgo- phang.

The Results

By means of prajnaparamita, all the Buddhas of the three times fully awaken to unsurpassable, perfect, complete

enlightenment.

Just as the Buddhas of past aeons and Buddha Shakyamuni of the present aeon realized enlightenment by relying onprajnaparamita, all future Buddhas will attain enlightenment by directly realizing the view, i.e., the eight profoundstatements about reality. All Buddhas gained certainty of the view, whole-heartedly engaged in the practices of thepath, and attained enlightenment.

Every living being aspires to become free and attain liberation, particularly disciples who have embarked on the pathof Dharma. This is the reason we study and practice the instructions that are given to us in The Heart Sutra. Torealize the perfection of wisdom, prajnaparamita, various disciplines are taught in the three vehicles of Buddhism.The three vehicles (theg-pa-gsum) are the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana; the latter is also calledmantrayana.

Practitioners of the different vehicles achieve a different result (brs- bu, fruit). Shravakadisciples of sutrayanapractice to conquer pride by realizing that there is no independent self; the result is becoming an arhat (dgra-bcom-pa, foe destroyer). Like shravakas (nyn -ths, hearer), pratyekabuddhas are also followers of hinayana (theg -pa-dmn, literally lesser vehicle). By meditating the twelve links of dependent arising, pratyekabuddhas achieveenlightenment for themselves, which is why they are called solitary enlightened ones (rang -sangs-rgys). Byaccomplishing the bodhisattva stages, a practitioner of mahayana (theg-pa-chen- po, great vehicle) achievesenlightenment for the benefit of others. Practitioners achieve the result of the specific vehicle they follow andpractice by understanding and meditating the instructions that are given in The Heart Sutra. This is why ThePrajnapa ramita is called The Great Mother, yum -chen-mo, a-ma-chen-mo.

Repeating the prajnaparamita mantra that is given to us in The Heart Sutra is just as beneficial as the practicespresented in this text. The next verse describes the mantra.

The Benefits and Results of Repeating the Mantra

Therefore, the great mantra of prajnaparamita is the mantra of great awareness, the unsurpassed mantra, themantra that equals the unequalled, the mantra that pacifies all suffering. Since it is non-deceptive, know that it istrue.

Therefore at the beginning of this verse refers to the foregoing passage which states that due to havingunderstood and practiced prajnaparamita, all Buddhas of the past had manifested the final result. When noblepractitioners understand the teachings well and realize the meaning of prajnaparamita, then they fully manifestprimordial wisdom for the benefit of all living beings. This is to say that they manifest an appearance that really andtruly helps others.

The prajnaparamita mantra (sngags) has an innate power that enables the true essence of the practitioner whorepeats it to manifest. The true essence is the dharmakaya (chs- sku, truth body). The dharmakaya is the first ofthe three perfect bodies of a buddha that ordinary beings cannot see. Rig- pai-ye- shes (primordial wisdom ofcognitive awareness) is one of the main results that unfolds by repeating the mantra.


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Since primordial wisdom freely manifests when last traces of ignorance (ma-rig-pa) have been dispelled, theprajnaparamita mantra is called rig-pa-chen- poi-sngags, the mantra of great cognitive awareness. It is also calledthe mantra that fulfills all wishes because the aspiration prayers of disciples who repeat it will come true. It isfurthermore called the unsurpassed mantra (bla -na-med- pai-sngags) because it enables practitioners who repeatit to realize chs- nyid, suchness of all things. It is also called unsurpassed because it is the mantra that is beyondall worldly propositions and ways (jig -rten-gyi-theg-pa) as well as beyond the hinayana vehicles of shravakas andpratyekabuddhas. It is also called the mantra that equals the unequalled (mi -mnyam-pa-dang-mnyam-par-byed-pai-sngags) because it enables practitioners who repeat it to realize those aspects of wisdom that manifest to notonly benefit oneself, as is the case for the dharmakaya, but to manifest for the benefit all living beings. Themanifestations that benefit all living beings are the sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya of perfect buddhahood.Sambhogakaya is the Sanskrit term that was translated into Tibetan as long-spyod-rdzog- pai-sku, which means thebody of enjoyment; it can on ly be experienced by bodhisattvas. Nirmanakaya is sprul-sku in Tibetan and meansemanation body; it is the third body of enlightenment that can be met and experienced by ordinary beings. Thus,the prajnaparamita mantra is unequalled, i.e., incomparable, because it embodies the inseparability of the threekayas of a buddha and the inseparability of samsara and nirvana, i.e., conditioned existence that is marked bysuffering and the state of utter peace. For that reason it is called the mantra that pacifies all suffering (sdug -bsngl-tham-ce-rab-tu-zhi-war-byed- pai-sngags). How does suffering arise? Based upon conflicting emotions thatdetermine each action , living beings accumulate karma and, as a result, experience suffering. By repeating theprajnaparamita mantra, the roots of all suffering and pain, which are the negative emotions, are completelyovercome and removed.

The last description in the above verse states that the prajnaparamita mantra is non-deceptive and is true (mi-tshun-ba-dang-bden-pa). This refers to the dharmakaya that manifests for the benefit of others through the two formkayas, the sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya. The dharmakaya is free of all adventitious stains (blo-bur- brl -ba); it isnot created and does not cease, therefore it is changeless (mi- gyur -ba).

Like that, the prajnaparamita mantra is non-deceptive (mi-tshung-ba, i.e., mi-slu-ba) and true (bden-pa). ThereforeChenrezig taught: bden-par-shes-par- bya, Know that it is true.

The Mantra

Having learned about the benefits and results of repeating the prajnaparamita mantra, we will now look at themantra. Chenrezig instructed:

The prajnaparamita mantra is spoken in this way:

/ Tayatha / Om Gate Gate Paragate Par

instructions on the heart sutra1

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