Simple_Jack

He has a follow up book coming out in April: http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Satipatthana-Bhikkhu-Analayo/dp/190931403X/ref=pd_sim_b_2 Excerpts from Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization by Bhikkhu Analayo -http://www.watflorida.org/documents/Satipatthana_Direct%20Path_Analayo_Free%20Distribution%20Copy.pdf: III.6 SATI AND CONCENTRATION (SAMADHI) The continuous presence o f well-established sati is a requirement for absorption (jhana). Without the support of sati, as the Visuddhimagga points out, concentration cannot reach the level of absorption. Even on emerging from an experience of deep concentration sati is required when one reviews the constituent factors of one's experience. Thus sati is relevant for attaining, for remaining in, and for emerging from deep concentration. Sati becomes particularly prominent when the third level of absorption (jhana) is reached. With the attainment of the fourth absorption, when the mind has reached such a degree of proficiency that it can be directed towards the development of supernormal powers, sati also reaches a high degree of purity, because of its association with deep equanimity. Several discourses testify to the important role of satipatthana as a basis for the development of absorption and for the subsequent attainment of supernormal powers. The role of satipatthana in supporting the development of concentration is also reflected in the standard exposition of the gradual path, where the preliminary steps that lead up to the attainment of absorption include mindfulness and clear knowledge (satisampajanna) in relation to bodily activities, and the task of recognizing the hindrances and supervising their removal, an aspect of the fourth satipatthana, contemplation of dhammas. On the other hand, however, to consider satipatthana purely as a concentration exercise goes too far and misses the important difference between what can become a basis for the development of concentration and what belongs to the realm of calmness meditation proper. In fact the characteristic function of sati and concentration (samadhi) are quite distinct....The difference between these two become evident from the vocabulary employed in a passage from the Satipatthana Samyutta. In this passage the Buddha recommended that, if one is being distracted or sluggish while practicing satipatthana , one should temporarily change one's practice and develop a calm (samatha) object of meditation, in order to cultivate internal joy and serenity. This he termed a "directed" form of meditation (panidhaya bhavana). Once, however, the mind has been calmed, one can return to an "undirected" mode of meditation (appayidhaya bhavana), namely the practice of satipatthana. The distinction drawn in this discourse between "directed" and "undirected" forms of meditation suggests that, considered on their own, these two modes of meditation are clearly different. At the same time, however, the whole discourse is concerned with their skillful interrelation, clearly demonstrating that whatever the degree of their difference, the two can be interrelated and support each other.... IV.2 CONCENTRATION, RIGHT CONCENTRATION, AND ABSORPTION The noun samadhi is related to the verb samadahati, "to put together" or "to collect", such as when one collects wood to kindle a fire. Samadhi thus stands for "collecting" oneself, in the sense of composure or unification o f the mind. The discourses use the term "concentration" (samadhi) in a surpris­ingly broad manner, relating it to walking meditation, for example, or to observing the arising and passing away of feelings and cognitions, or to contemplating the arising and passing away of the five aggregates. In a passage from the Anguttara Nikaya, even the four satipatthanas are treated as a form of concentration. These oc­currences demonstrate that, as used in the discourses the term "concentration" (samadhi) is not restricted to the development of calm (samatha) only, but can also refer to the realm of insight medita­tion (vipassana). Turning to "right concentration" (samma samadhi), here one finds time and again that the discourses equate right concentration with the four absorptions (jhanas)... ....Interestingly, in the Mahacattarisika Sutta and several other dis­courses another definition of right concentration can be found that does not mention the absorptions at all. The importance of the Mahacattarisika Sutta to the present discussion is further highlighted in the preamble to this discourse, which states the topic to be a teaching on right concentration. The definition of right concentra­tion given here speaks of unification of the mind (cittassekaggata) in interdependence with the other seven path factors. That is, in order for unification of the mind to become "right" concentration, it needs to be contextualized within the noble eightfold path scheme. Definitions of right concentration that do not mention absorption attainment can also be found in the Abhidhamma and the commentaries. Thus the decisive factor that qualifies concentration as "right" is not just a question of the depth of concentration achieved, but is concerned with the purpose for which concentration is employed. In particular, the presence of the path factor right view is indispensable. By way of contrast, the Buddha's, former teachers, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, despite their deep concentration attainments, were not endowed with "right" concentration because of the absence of right view. This goes to show that the ability to attain absorption in itself does not yet constitute the fulfillment of the path factor of right concentration. A similar nuance underlies the qualification samma "right", which literally means "togetherness", or "to be connected in one". Thus to speak of the four absorptions or of unification of the mind as "right" concentration does not simply mean that all else is "wrong", but points to the need to incorporate the development of concentration into the noble eightfold path. V THE SATIPATTHANA "REFRAIN" The task of this "refrain" is to direct attention to those aspects that are essential for the proper practice of each exercise. Thus an understanding of the implications of the "refrain" forms a necessary background to the meditation techniques de­scribed in the Satipafthdna Sutta.... ....With the "refrain", the practice of satipatthana turns towards the general characteristics of the contemplated phenomena. At this stage of practice, awareness [i.e. attention] of the specific content of experience gives way to an understanding of the general nature and character of the satipatthana under contemplation. This shift of awareness [i.e. attention] from the individual content of a particular experience to its general features is of central importance for the development of insight. Here the task of sati is to penetrate beyond the surface appearance o f the object under observation and to lay bare the characteristics it shares with all conditioned phenomena. This move of sati towards the more general characteristics of experi­ence brings about insight into the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and selfless nature of reality. Such a more panoramic kind of awareness [i.e. attention] emerges at an advanced stage of satipatthana, once the meditator is able to maintain awareness [i.e. attention] effortlessly. At this stage, when sati has become well-established, whatever occurs at any sense door auto­matically becomes part of the contemplation. It is noteworthy that two of the most popular contemporary vipassana schools of the Theravada tradition both recognize the importance of developing such bare awareness [i.e. attention] of whatever arises at any sense door as an advanced stage of insight meditation. To judge from writings of Mahasi Sayadaw and U Ba Khin, their particular meditation techniques are apparently mainly expedient means for beginners, who are not yet able to practice such bare awareness [i.e. attention] at all sense doors. V.3 IMPERMANENCE The "refrain" instructs the meditator to contemplate "the nature of arising", "the nature of passing away", and "the nature of both aris­ing and passing away". Paralleling the instruction on internal and external contemplation, the three parts of this instruction represent a temporal progression which leads from observing the arising aspect of phenomena to focusing on their disappearance, and culmi­nates in a comprehensive vision of impermanence as such. According to the discourses, not seeing the arising and passing away of phenomena is simply ignorance, while to regard all phe­nomena as impermanent leads to knowledge and understanding. Insight into the impermanence of the five aggregates or of the six sense-spheres is "right view ", and thereby leads directly onto real­ization. Thus the direct experience of impermanence represents in­deed the "power" aspect of meditative wisdom. These passages clearly show the central importance of developing a direct experi­ence of the impermanent nature of all phenomena, as envisaged in this part of the satipatthana "refrain". The same is reflected in the commentarial scheme of the insight knowledges, which details key experiences to be encountered during the path to realization, where the stage of apprehending the arising and passing away of phenomena is of central importance. The other two characteristics of conditioned existence - dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) and anatta (absence of a self) - become evident as a consequence of a direct experience and thereby realistic appre­ciation of the truth of impermanence. The discourses frequently point to this relationship between the three characteristics by pre­senting a progressive pattern that leads from awareness of impermanence (aniccasanna) via acknowledging the unsatisfactory nature of what is impermanent (anicce dukkhasanna) to appreciating the selfless nature of what is unsatisfactory (dukkheanattasanna).... ....The importance of developing insight into the arising and passing away of phenomena is highlighted in the Vibhanga Sutta of the Samyutta Nikaya, according to which this insight marks the distinc­tion between mere establishment of satipatthana and its complete and full "development" (bhavana). This passage underlines the im­portance of the "refrain" for a proper development of satipatthana. Mere awareness of the various objects listed under the four satipatthanas might not suffice for the task of developing penetrative insight. What is additionally required is to move on to a comprehen­sive and equanimous vision of impermanence. Direct experience of the fact that everything changes, if applied to all aspects of one's personality, can powerfully alter the habit patterns of one's mind. This may well be why awareness of impermanence assumes a particularly prominent role in regard to the contempla­tion of the five aggregates where, in addition to being mentioned in the "refrain", it has become part of the main instruction. Continuity in developing awareness of impermanence is essential if it is really to affect one's mental condition. Sustained contempla­tion of impermanence leads to a shift in one's normal way of experi­encing reality, which hitherto tacitly assumed the temporal stability of the perceiver and the perceived objects. Once both are experi­enced as changing processes, all notions of stable existence and sub­stantiality vanish, thereby radically reshaping one's paradigm of experience. Contemplation of impermanence has to be comprehensive, for if any aspect of experience is still taken to be permanent, awakening will be impossible. Comprehensive realization of impermanence is a distinctive feature of stream-entry. This is the case to such an ex­tent that a stream-enterer is incapable of believing any phenomenon to be permanent. Understanding of impermanence reaches perfection with the realization of full awakening. For arahants, awareness of the impermanent nature of all sensory input is a natu­ral feature of their experience. Apart from encouraging awareness of impermanence, this part of the "refrain" can also, according to the commentarial view, be taken to refer to the factors (dhammas) that condition the arising and the disappearance of the observed phenomena. These factors are treated in the Samudaya Sutta, which relates the "arising" and "disappearing" of each satipatthana to its respective condition; these being nutriment in the case of body, contact for feelings, name-and-form for mind, and attention for dhammas. Within the framework of early Buddhist philosophy, both impermanence and conditionality are of outstanding importance. In the course of the Buddha's own approach to awakening, recollection of his past lives and the sight of other beings passing away and being reborn vividly brought home to him the truths of impermanence and conditionality on a personal and universal scale. The same two aspects contributed to the realization of the previous Buddha, Vipassi, when after a detailed examination of dependent co-arising (paticca samuppdda), satipatthana contemplation of the impermanent nature of the five aggregates led to his awakening. V.4 DEPENDENT CO-ARiSING (PATICCA SAMUPPADA) ....This distinction between the principle and the twelve links as one of its applications is of considerable practical relevance since a full understanding of causality is to be gained with stream-entry. The distinction between principle and application suggests that such an understanding of causality need not necessarily require a personal experience of the twelve links. That is, even without developing the ability to recollect past lives and thereby directly experiencing those factors of the twelve links that supposedly pertain to a past life, one can still personally realize the principle of dependent co-arising. Compared to the entire set of twelve links, the basic principle of dependent co-arising is more easily amenable to direct contemplation. A discourse in the Nidana Samyutta, for example, applies "dependent co-arising" to the conditioned relation between contact and feeling. Such direct application of the principle to subjective experience occurs also in the Vibhanga, which relates dependent co-arising to single mind-moments. Another example of a direct application of the principle of condi­tionality can be found in the Indriyabhavana Sutta, which qualifies pleasure and displeasure arising at any of the six sense doors as de­pendently arisen (paticca samuppanna), a usage that is not related to past or future lives. The same holds true for the Madhupindika Sutta's detailed analysis of the perceptual process. This discourse depicts the "arising" (uppada) of consciousness "in dependence" (paticca) on sense organ and sense object with contact being the coming "together" (sam) of the three. This passage reveals a deeper significance of each part of the term paticca sam-uppada, "dependent" "co-" "arising", without any need for different lifetimes or for the whole set of twelve links. Thus realization of dependent co-arising can take place simply by witnessing the operation of conditionality in the present moment, within one's own subjective experience. V.5 THE PRINCIPLE OF DEPENDENT CO-ARISING AND ITS PRACTICAL APPLICATION To speak of dependent co-arising is to speak of specific conditions related to specific events- Such "specific conditionality" (idappaccayata) can be illustrated in the following manner: When A is B comes to be. With the arising of A B arises. When A is not —» B does not come to be. With the cessation of A —» B ceases. The operation of dependent co-arising is not confined to a strictly linear sequence of events in time. Rather, dependent co-arising stands for the conditional interrelation of phenomena, constituting a web of interwoven events, where each event is related to other events by way of both cause and effect 73. Each conditioning factor is at the same time itself conditioned, which thereby excludes the pos­sibility of a transcendent, independent cause. Within these interwoven patterns, the centrally important specific condition, from the view point of subjective experience, is volition. It is the mental volition of the present moment that decisively influ­ences future activities and events. Volition itself is under the influence o f other conditions such as one's habits, character traits, and past experiences, which influence the way one experiences a particular situation. Nevertheless, in as much as each volition in­volves a decision between alternatives, one's volitional decision in the present moment is to a considerable degree amenable to per­sonal intervention and control. Each decision in turn shapes the habits, character traits, experiences, and perceptual mechanisms that form the context of future decisions. It is precisely for this rea­son that systematic training of the mind is imperative. In the Satipatthana Sutta, a more specific application of condition­ality to the practice of meditation becomes apparent during most of the contemplations of dhammas. Here one finds that the meditator's task in relation to the five hindrances is to observe the conditions for their arising and removal. Regarding the six sense-spheres, con­templation should disclose how the process of perception can cause the arising of mental fetters at the sense doors. In the case of the awakening factors, the task is to recognize the conditions for their arising and further development. Coming to the four noble truths, this last contemplation of dhammas is in itself a statement of condi­tionality, namely of the conditions for dukkha and its eradication. In this way, the principle of dependent co-arising underlies a range of applications in the fourth satipatthana..... 73: The complexity of the conditional interrelation of phenomena is illustrated in the Patthana of the Pali Abhidhamma from a variety of angles with altogether twenty-four types of conditions. Thus, for example, the conditioning influence exercised by A on B [A --> B] could, from a temporal perspective, take place not only with A arising ear­lier than B (purejatapaccaya), but also if both arise simultaneously (sahajatapaccaya), or even when A arises later than B (pacchajatapaccaya). It could be the presence of A (atthipaccaya), but also its absence (natthipaccaya), that conditions B. Moreover A could be the active cause (kammapaccaya), or it could exert its conditioning influence while being itself a resultant effect (vipakapaccaya), or else A could be both cause and effect, when A and B are related to each other by way of mutuality condition (annamannapaccaya). VII.1 CONTEMPLATION OF FEELINGS The Pali term for "feeling" is vedana, derived from the verb vedeti, which means both "to feel" and "to know ". In its usage in the dis­courses, vedana comprises both bodily and mental feelings. Vedana does not include "emotion" in its range of meaning. Although emotions arise depending on the initial input provided by feeling, they are more complex mental phenomena than bare feeling itself and are therefore rather the domain of the next satipatthana, contempla­tion of states of mind.... ....The first part of the above instructions distinguishes between three basic kinds of feelings: pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. According to the discourses, developing understanding and detachment in re­gard to these three feelings has the potential to lead to freedom from dukkha? Since such understanding can be gained through the prac­ tice of satipatthana/ contemplation of feelings is a meditation prac­tice of considerable potential. This potential is based on the simple but ingenious method of directing awareness to the very first stages of the arising of likes and dislikes, by clearly noting whether the pres­ent moment's experience is felt as "pleasant", or "unpleasant", or neither.Thus to contemplate feelings means quite literally to know how one feels, and this with such immediacy that the light of awareness is present before the onset of reactions, projections, or justifications in regard to how one feels. Undertaken in this w ay, contemplation of feelings will reveal the surprising degree to which one's attitudes and reactions are based on this initial affective input provided by feelings.... ....The distinction between worldly (samisa) and unworldly (niramisa) feelings is concerned with the difference between feelings related to the "flesh" (amisa) and feelings related to renunciation. This additional dimension revolves around an evaluation of feeling that is based not on its affective nature, but on the ethical context of its arising. The basic point introduced here is awareness of whether a particular feeling is related to progress or regress on the path. Unlike his ascetic contemporaries, the Buddha did not categori­cally reject all pleasant feelings, nor did he categorically recommend unpleasant experiences for their supposedly purifying effect. In­stead, he placed emphasis on the mental and ethical consequences of all types of feeling. With the help of the above sixfold classifica­tion, this ethical dimension becomes apparent, uncovering in partic­ular the relation of feelings to the activation of a latent mental tendency (anusaya) towards lu s t irritation, or ignorance. As the Culavedalla Sutta points out, the arising of these underlying tenden­cies is mainly related to the three worldly types of feelings, whereas unworldly pleasant or neutral feelings arising during deep concen­tration, or unworldly unpleasant feelings arising owing to dissatis­faction with one's spiritual imperfection, do not stimulate these underlying tendencies. The conditional relation between feelings and such mental ten­dencies is of central importance, since by activating these latent ten­dencies, feelings can lead to the arising of unwholesome mental reactions. The same principle underlies the corresponding section of the twelve links of dependent co-arising (paticca samuppada), where feelings form the condition that can lead to the arising of craving (tanha). This crucially important conditional dependence of craving and mental reactions on feeling probably constitutes the central reason why feelings have become one of the four satipatthanas. In addition, the arising of pleasant or unpleasant feelings is fairly easy to notice, which makes feelings convenient objects of meditation. A prominent characteristic of feelings is their ephemeral nature. Sustained contemplation of this ephemeral and impermanent na­ture of feelings can then become a powerful tool for developing dis­enchantment with them. A detached attitude towards feelings, owing to awareness of their impermanent nature, is characteristic of the experiences of an arahant. Another aspect inviting contemplation is the fact that the affective tone of any feeling depends on the type of contact that has caused its arising. Once this conditioned nature of feelings is fully appre­hended, detachment arises naturally and one's identification with feelings starts to dissolve. VII.2 FEELINGS AND VIEWS (DITTHI) The cultivation of a detached attitude towards feelings is the intro­ductory theme of the Brahmajala Sutta. At the outset of this dis­course, the Buddha instructed his monks to be neither elated by praise nor displeased b y blame, since either reaction w ould only u p­set their mental com posure. Next, he comprehensively surveyed the epistemological grounds underlying the different views prevalent among ancient Indian philosophers and ascetics. By way of conclu­sion to this survey he pointed out that, having fully understood feel­ings, he had gone beyond all these views. The intriguing feature of the Buddha's approach is that his analy­sis focused mainly on the psychological underpinnings of view s, rather than on their content. Because of this approach, he was able to trace the arising of view s to craving (tanha), which in turn arises dependent on feeling.” Conversely, by fully understanding the role of feeling as a link betw een contact and craving, the view -form ing process itself can be transcended. The Pasadika Sutta explicitly pres­ents such transcendence of view s as an aim of satipatthana contem ­plation. Thus the second satipatthana, contemplation of feelings, has an intriguing potential to generate insight into the genesis of views and opinions. Sustained contemplation will reveal the fact that feelings deci­sively influence and colour subsequent though ts and reactions. In view of this conditioning role of feeling, the supposed supremacy of rational though t over feelings and emotions turns out to be an illusion. Logic and thought often serve merely to rationalize already existing likes and dislikes, which in turn are conditioned by the arising of either pleasant or unpleasant feelings. The initial stages of the perceptual process, when the first traces of liking and disliking appear, are usually not fully conscious, and their decisive influence on subsequent evaluations often passes undetected.... ....In ancient India, the Buddha's analytical approach to views formed a striking contrast to the prevalent philosophical speculations. He dealt with views by examining their affective underpinnings. For the Buddha, the crucial issue was to uncover the psychological atti­tude underlying the holding of any view, since he clearly saw that holding a particular view is often a manifestation of desire and attachment. An important aspect of the early Buddhist conception of right view is therefore to have the "right" attitude towards one's beliefs and views. The crucial question here is whether one has developed attachment and clinging to one's own views, which often manifests in heated arguments and disputation. The more right view can be kept free from attachment and clinging, the better it can unfold its full potential as a pragmatic tool for progress on the path. That is, right view as such is never to be given up; in fact, it constitutes the culmination of the path. What is to be given up is any attachment or clinging in regard to it. In the context of actual meditation practice, the presence of right view finds its expression in a growing degree of detachment and disenchantment with conditioned phenomena, owing to a deepen­ing realization of the truth of dukkha, its cause, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation. Such detachment is also reflected in the absence of "desires and discontent", stipulated in the satipatthana "definition", and in the instruction to avoid "clinging to anything in the world", mentioned in the satipatthana "refrain". VII.3 PLEASANT FEELING AND THE IMPORTANCE OF JOY ....After his awakening, the Buddha declared himself to be one who lived in happiness. This statement clearly shows that, unlike some of his ascetic contemporaries, the Buddha w as no longer afraid of pleasant feelings. As he pointed out, it was precisely the successful eradication of all mental unwholesomeness that caused his happi­ness and delight. In a similar vein, the verses com posed by awak­ened monks and nuns often extol the happiness of freedom gained through the successful practice of the path. The presence of delight and non-sensual joy among the awakened disciples of the Buddha often found its expression in poetic descriptions of natural beauty.... ....The skillful development of non-sensual joy and happiness was an outcome of the Buddha's first-hand realization, which had shown him the need to differentiate between wholesome and unwhole­some types of pleasure. The satipatthana instructions for contem­plating feelings reflect this wisdom by distinguishing between worldly and unworldly types of pleasant feelings. The ingenuity of the Buddha's approach w as not only his ability to discriminate between forms of happiness and pleasure which are to be pursued and those which are to be avoided, but also his skillful harnessing of non-sensual pleasure for the progress along the path to realization* Numerous discourses describe the conditional de­pendence of wisdom and realization on the presence of non-sensual joy and happiness. According to these descriptions, based on the presence of delight (pamojja), joy (piti) and happiness (sukha) arise and lead in a causal sequence to concentration and realization. One discourse com pares the dynamics of this causal sequence to the nat­ural course of rain falling on a hilltop, gradually filling the streams and rivers, and finally flowing down to the sea. Once non-sensual joy and happiness have arisen, their presence w ill lead naturally to concentration and realization. Conversely, without gladdening the mind when it needs to be gladdened, realization will not be possible.... VIII.1 CONTEMPLATION OF THE MIND During the later part of the previous satipatthana, contemplation of feeling, awareness was concerned with the ethical distinction between wordly and unworldly feelings. The same distinction occurs at the start o f the next satipatthana, which directs awareness [i.e. attention] to the ethical quality of the mind, namely to the presence or absence of lust (raga), anger (dosa), and delusion (moha).... ....Underlying this satipatthdna is an implicit shift in emphasis from the ordinary way of experiencing mind as an individual entity to considering mental events as mere objects, analysed in terms of their qualitative characteristics. Contemplation of the mind also in­cludes, in accordance with the satipatthdna "refrain", awareness of the arising and passing away of the states of mind being contemplated, thereby revealing the momentary character of all mental events. In addition, sustained contemplation of the mind will also expose the degree to which what one takes to be one's own mind is in fact influenced by external conditions. In this way, realizing the impermanent and conditioned nature of the mind accords with the general thrust of satipatthana towards detachment and non-­identification. VIII.4 FOUR "HIGHER" STATES OF MIND ....The theme underlying the contemplation of these four higher states of mind is the ability to monitor the more advanced stages of one's meditative development. In this way, within the scope of con­templation of the mind, sati can range from recognition of the pres­ence of lust or anger to awareness of the most lofty and sublime types of mental experience, each time with the same basic task of calmly noticing what is taking place. The emphasis given in this satipatthana to mindful contemplation of deep levels of concentration is noteworthy. Among the Buddha's contemporaries, experiences of absorption often gave rise to speculative views.34 The Buddha's distinctive departure from these speculations was his thoroughly analytical treatment of the medita­tive absorptions, aimed at understanding their composite and con­ditioned nature. This analytical treatment is exemplified in the Atthakanagara Sutta, which states that one should regard the experi­ence of absorption as merely a product of the mind, a conditioned and volitionally produced experience. Such understanding then leads to the conclusion that whatever is a product of conditions is also impermanent and subject to cessation. Insight into the imper­manent nature of deep levels of concentration also forms part of satipatthana practice, when the instruction in the "refrain" to con­template the nature of arising and passing away is applied to the higher states of mind listed for contemplation. Undertaken in this way, satipatthana in regard to higher states of mind becomes a practi­cal expression of the Buddha's analytical attitude towards the entire range of mental experience. X .I THE FIVE AGGREGATES Clearly recognizing and understanding the five aggregates is of considerable importance, since without fully understanding them and developing detachment from them, it will not be possible to gain complete freedom from dukkha. Indeed, detachment and dispassion regarding these five aspects of subjective personality leads directly to realization. The discourses, and the verses composed by awakened monks and nuns, record numerous cases where a penetrative understanding of the true nature of the five aggre­gates culminated in full awakening. These instances highlighted the outstanding potential of this particular satipatthana contemplation. These five aggregates are often referred to in the discourses as the "five aggregates of clinging" (pancupadanakkhanda). In this context "aggregate" (khandha) is an umbrella term for all possible instances of each category, whether past, present, or future, internal or exter­nal, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, near or far. The qualifica­tion "clinging" (upadana) refers to desire and attachment in regard to these aggregates. Such desire and attachment in relation to the aggregates is the root cause for the arising of dukkha. The sequence of these five aggregates leads from the gross physi­cal body to increasingly subtle mental aspects. The first of the aggregates, material form (rupa), is usually defined in the discourses in terms of the four elementary qualities of matter. A discourse in the Khandha Samyutta explains that material form (rupa) refers to whatever is affected (ruppati) by external conditions such as cold and heat, hunger and thirst, mosquitoes and snakes, emphasizing the subective experience of rupa as a central aspect of this aggregate. Next in the sequence of the aggregates come feeling (vedana) and cognition (sanna), which represent the affective and the cognitive aspects of experience. In the context of the process of perception, cognition (sanna) is closely related to the arising of feelin g, both depending on stimulation through the six senses by way of contact (phassa). The standard presentations in the discourses relate feeling to the sense organ, but cognition to the respective sense object. This indicates that feelings are predominantly related to the subjective repercussions of an experience, while cognitions are more con­cerned with the features of the respective external object. That is, feelings provide the "how" and cognitions the "what" of experience. To speak of a "cognition" of an object refers to the act of identifying raw sensory data with the help of concepts or labels, such as when on e sees a coloured object and "re-cognizes" it as yellow, red, or white, etc. Cognition to some extent involves the faculty of memory, which furnishes the conceptual labels used for recognition. The fourth aggregate comprises volitions (sankhara), representing the conative aspect of the mind. These volitions or intentions corre­spond to the reactive or purposive aspect of the mind, that which re­acts to things or their potentiality. The aggregate of volitions and intentions interacts with each of the aggregates and has a condition­ing effect upon them. In the subsequent developments of Buddhist philosophy, the meaning of this term expanded until it came to in­clude a wide range of mental factors. The fifth aggregate is consciousness (vinnana). Although at times the discourses use "consciousness" to represent mind in general in the context of the aggregate classification it refers to being conscious of something. This act of being conscious is most prominently re­sponsible for providing a sense of subjective cohesiveness, for the notion of a substantial "I" behind experience. Consciousness depends on the various features of experie ce supplied by name-and-form (namarupa), just as name-and-form in turn depend on consciousness as their point of reference.24 This conditional in terre­lationship creates the world of experience, with consciousness being aware of phenomena that are being modified an d presented to it by way of name-and-form.25 To provide a practical illustration of the five aggregates: during the present act of reading, for example, consciousness is aware of each word through the physical sense door of the eye. Cognition understands the meaning of each word , while feelings are responsible for the affective mood: whether one feels positive, negative, or neutral about this particular piece of information. Because of volition one either reads on, or stops to consider a passage in more depth, or even refers to a footnote. The discourses describe the characteristic features of these five aggregates with a set of similes. These compare material form to the insubstantial nature of a lump of foam carried a way by a river; feel­ings to the impermanent bubbles that form on the surface of water during rain; cognition to the illusory nature of a mirage; volitions to the essenceless nature of a plantain tree (because it has no heartwood); and consciousness to the deceptive performance of a magician. This set of si iles points to central characteristics that need to be understood with regard to each aggregate. In the case of material form, contemplating its unattractive and insubstantial nature cor­rects mistaken notions of substantiality and beauty. Concerning feelings, awareness of their impermanent nature counteracts the tendency to search for pleasure through feelings. With regard to cognition, awareness of its deluding activity uncovers the tendency to project one's own value judgements onto external phenomena as if these were qualities of the outside objects. With volitions, insight into their selfless nature corrects the mistaken notion that willpower is the expression of a substantial self. Regarding consciousness, un­derstanding its deceptive performance counterbalances the sense of cohesiveness and substantiality it tends to give to what in reality is a patchwork of impermanent and conditioned phenomena. Owing to the influence of ignorance, these five aggregates are ex­perienced as embodiments of the notion "I am". From the unawakened point of view , the material body is "Where I am", feel­ings are "How I am", cognitions are "What I am" (perceiving), voli­tions are "Why I am" (acting), and consciousness is "Whereby I am" (experiencing). In this way, each aggregate offers its own contribu­tion to enacting the reassuring illusion that "I am". By laying bare these five facets of the notion "I am", this analysis of subjective personality into aggregates singles out the component parts of the misleading assumption that an independent and un­changing agent inheres in human existence,thereby making possi­ble the arising of insight into the ultimately selfless (anatta) nature of all aspects of experience.... 24 The importance of this conditional interrelation is highlighted at D II 34 and S II 105, where Buddha Vipassi and Buddha Gotama respectively (both still at the bodhisatta stage at this point), on investigating dependent co-arising up to this reciprocal rela­tionship between consciousness and name-and-form, concluded: "I have found the path of insight leading to awakening." 25 D II 56: "Consciousness conditions name-and-form ... name-and-form conditions consciousness." ("Name", according to M 1 53, comprises feeling, cognition, volition, contact and attention.) X.2 THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE TEACHING ON ANATTA At the time of the Buddha, a variety of differing views about the na­ture of the self existed. The Ajivika teachings, for example, proposed a soul having a particular colour and considerable size as the true self. The Jains posited a finite soul, similarly possessed of size and weight. According to them, the soul survived physical death, and in its pure state it possessed infinite knowledge. The Upanishads proposed an eternal self (atman), unaffected by the vicissitudes of change. Upanisadic conceptions about such an eternal self ranged from a physical self the size of a thumb abiding in the heart area and leaving the body during sleep, to an unobservable and unknowable self, immaterial, free from death and sorrow , beyond any worldly distinction between subject and object. In the Upanishadic analysis of subjective experience, this eternal self, autonomous, permanent, and blissful, was taken to be the agent behind all the senses and activities. The materialist schools, on the other hand , rejected all immaterial conceptions o f a self or soul. In order to account for causality, they proposed a theory based on the inherent nature (svabhava) of material phenomena. According to them , a human individual was just an automaton functioning according to the dictates of matter. From their perspective, human effort was of no avail and there was no such thing as ethical responsibility. In this con text, the Buddha's position cuts a middle path between the belief in an eternal soul and the denial of anything beyond mere matter. By affirming karmic consequences and ethical responsibil­ity, the Buddha clearly opposed the teachings of the materialists. At the same time, he was able to explain the operation o f karmic retribution over several lifetimes with the help of dependent co-arising (paticca samuppada) and thereby without bringing in a substantial unchanging essence. He pointed out that the five aggregates, which together account for subjective experience, on closer investigation turn out to be impermanent and not amenable to complete personal control. Therefore a permanent and self-sufficient self can ­not be found within or apart from the five aggregates. In this way, the Buddha's teaching of anatta denied a permanent and inherently independent self, and at the same time affirmed empirical continu­ity and ethical responsibility. X.3 EMPIRICAL SELF AND CONTEMPLATION OF THE AGGREGATES Not only does the Buddha's penetrating analysis of self provide a philosophical refutation of theories proposing a substantial and un­changing self, it also has an intriguing psychological relevance. "Self", as an independent and permanent entity, is related to notions of mastery and control. Such notions of mastery, permanence, and inherent satisfactoriness to some degree parallel the concepts of "narcissism" and the "ideal ego" in modern psychology. These concepts do not refer to articulate philosophical beliefs or ideas, but to unconscious assumptions implicit in one's way of per­ceiving and reacting to experience. Such assumptions are based on an inflated sense of self-importance, on a sense of self that continu­ously demands to be gratified and protected against external threats to its omnipotence. Contemplating anatta helps to expose these assumptions as mere projections. The anatta perspective can show up a broad range of manifesta­tions of such a sense of self. According to the standard instructions for contemplating anatta, each of the five aggregates should be con­sidered devoid of "mine", "I am", and "myself".This analytical ap­proach covers not only the last-mentioned view of a self, but also the mode of craving and attachment underlying the attribution of "mine" to phenomena and the sense of "I am" as a manifestation of conceit and grasping. A clear understanding of the range of each aggregate forms the necessary basis for this investigation. Such a clear understanding can be gained through satipatfhana contempla­tion. In this way, contemplation of the five aggregates commends itself for uncovering various patterns of identification and attach­ment to a sense of self. A practical approach to this is to keep inquiring into the notion "I am" or "mine", that lurks behind experience and activity. Once this notion of an agent or owner behind experience has been clearly recognized, the above non-identification strategy can be implemented by considering each aggregate as "not mine, not I, not my self". In this way, contemplation of the five aggregates as a practical application of the anatta strategy can uncover the representational aspects of one's sense of self, those aspects responsible for the for­mation of a self image, Practically applied in this way, contempla­tion of anatta can expose the various types of self-image responsible for identifying with and clinging to one's social position, profes­sional occupation, or personal possessions. Moreover, anatta can be employed to reveal erroneous superimpositions on experience, par­ticularly the sense of an autonomous and independent subject reaching out to acquire or reject discrete substantial objects. According to the Buddha's penetrative analysis, patterns of identi­fication and attachment to a sense of self can take altogether twenty different forms, by taking any of the five aggregates to be self, self to be in possession of the aggregate, the aggregate to be inside self, or self to be inside the aggregate. The teaching on anatta aims to com pletely remove all these identifications with, and the corresponding attachments to, a sense of self. Such removal proceeds in stages: with the realization of stream-entry any notion of a permanent self (sakkdyaditthi) is eradicated, whilst the subtlest traces of attachment to oneself are removed only with full awakening.... ....A well-known simile of relevance in this context is that of a chariot which does not exist as a substantial thing apart from, or in addition to, its various parts. Just as the term " chariot" is simply a conven­tion, so the superimposition of 'T -dentifications on experience are nothing but conventions. On the other hand, to reject the existence of an independent substantial chariot does not mean that it is im­possible to ride in the conditioned and impermanent functional as­semblage of parts to which the concept "chariot" refers. Similarly, to deny the existence of a self does not imply a denial of the condi­tioned and impermanent interaction of the five aggregates.... X.4 ARISING AND PASSING AWAY OF THE AGGREGATES According to the Satipatthdna Sutta, to contemplate the five aggre­gates requires a clear recognition of each, followed by directing awareness to their arising (samudaya) and their passing away (atthagama). This second stage of practice reveals the impermanent char­acter of the aggregates, and to some extent thereby also points to their conditioned nature.... ....In practical terms, contemplating the arising and passing away of each aggregate can be undertaken by observing change taking place in every aspect of one's personal experience, be these, for example, the cycle of breaths or circulation of the blood, the change of feelings from pleasant to unpleasant, the variety of cognitions and volitional reactions arising in the mind, or the changing nature of conscious­ness, arising at this or that sense door. Such practice can then build up to contemplating the arising and passing away of all five aggre­gates together, when one comprehensively surveys the five aggregate-components of any experience and at the same time witnesses the impermanent nature of this experience. Contemplating the arising and passing away of the five aggre­gates also highlights their conditioned nature. The interrelatedness of impermanence and conditionality with regard to the five aggre­gates is practically depicted in a discourse from the Khandha Sam­yutta, in which realization of the impermanent nature of the five aggregates takes place based on understanding of their conditioned nature. Since the conditions for the arising of each aggregate are impermanent, this passages points out, how could the conditionally arisen aggregate be permanent?... XI.1 THE SENSE-SPHERES AND THE FETTERS ....According to the discourses, to develop understanding and detach­ment in regard to these six internal and external sense-spheres is of central importance for the progress towards awakening. An impor­tant aspect of such understanding is to undermine the misleading sense of a substantial "I" as the independent experiencer of sense objects. Awareness directed to each of these sense-spheres will re­veal that subjective experience is not a compact unit, but rather a compound made up of six distinct "spheres" each of which is de­pendently arisen. Each of these sense-spheres includes both the sense organ and the sense object Besides the five physical senses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body) and their respective objects (sight, sound, smell, flavour, and touch), the mind (mano) is included as the sixth sense, together with its mental objects {dhamma). In the present context, "mind (mano) represents mainly the activity of thought {mannati). While the five physical senses do not share each other's respective field of activity, all of them relate to the mind as the sixth sense. That is, all perceptual processes rely to some extent on the interpretative role of the mind, since it is the mind which "makes sense" out of the other senses. This shows that the early Buddhist scheme of six sense-spheres does not set pure sense perception against the conceptual activity of the mind, but considers both as interrelated processes, which together bring forth the subjective experience of the world.... ....Often these six senses and their objects occur in descriptions of the conditioned arising of consciousness (viniiatia).7 An intriguing as­pect of this conditional situation is the rote that subjective influence plays in the perceptual process * Experience, represented by the six types of consciousness, is the outcome of two determinant influ­ences: the "objective" aspect on the one hand, that is, the in-com ing sensory impressions; and the "subjective" aspect on the other hand, namely, the w ay in which these sense impressions are received and cognized. Supposedly objective perceptual appraisal is in reality conditioned by the subject as much as by the object. One's experience of the world is the product of an interaction between the "sub­jective" influence exercised by how one perceives the world, and the "objective" influence exercised by the various phenomena of the ex­ternal world.... ....Although a fetter arises in dependence on sense and object, the binding force of such a fetter should not be attributed to the senses or objects per se. The discourses illustrate this with the example of two bulls, bound together by a yoke. Just as their bondage is not caused by either of the bulls, but by the yoke, so too the fetter should not be imputed to either its inner or its outer conditions (for example eye and forms), but to the binding force of desire... XI.4 THE INSTRUCTION TO BAHIYA ....The activities of seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing mentioned in the Bahiya instruction occur also in the Mulapariyaya Sutta. This discourse contrasts the arahant's direct comprehension of phenomena with the ordinary way of perception through misconceiving the cognized data in various ways. The Chabbisodhana Sutta relates the elaborations absent from what is seen, heard, sensed, and known by an arahant to freedom from attraction and rejection. Other pas­sages discuss the same set of activities w ith an additional emphasis on avoiding any form of identification. This injunction is particu­larly pertinent, since according to the Alagaddupama Sutta the activi­ties of seeing, hearing, sensing, and know ing can lead to wrongly developing a sense of self. Passages in the Upanisads indeed take these activities as evidence for the perceiving activity of a self. According to the Bahiya instruction, by maintaining bare sati at all sense doors one will not be "by that", which suggests not being car­ried away by the conditioned sequence of the perceptual process, thereby not modifying experience through subjective biases and distorted cognitions. Not being carried away, one is not "therein" by way of subjective participation and identification. Such absence of being "therein" draws attention to a key aspect of the instruction to Bahiya, to the realization of anatta as the absence of a perceiving self. Neither being "by that" nor "therein" also constitutes a compara­tively advanced stage of satipatthana practice, when the meditator has become able to continuously maintain bare awareness [i.e. attention] at all sense doors, thereby not being "by that" by remaining free from "clinging to anything in the world ", nor being "therein" by continu­ing to "abide independently", as stipulated in the satipatthana "refrain". According to the final part of the Bahiya instruction, by maintain­ing awareness [i.e. attention] in the above manner one will not be established "here" or "there" or "inbetween". Away of understanding "here" and "there" is to take them as representing the subject (senses) and the respective objects, with "inbetween" standing for the condi­tioned arising of consciousness. According to a discourse from the Anguttara Nikaya, it is the "seamstress" craving (tanha) which "stitches" consciousness ("the middle") to the senses and their obj­ects (the two opposite ends). Applying this imagery to the Bahiya instruction, in the absence of craving these three conditions for per­ceptual contact do not get sufficiently "tied " together, so to speak, for further proliferations to occur. Such absence of unnecessary pro­liferation is characteristic of the cognitions of arahants, who are no longer influenced by subjective biases and who cognize phenomena without seif-reference. Free from craving and proliferations, they are not identified with either "here" (senses), or "there" (objects), or "in between" (consciousness), resulting in freedom from any type of becoming, whether it be "here", or "there", or "inbetween". XII.2 THE CONDITIONAL SEQUENCE OF THE AWAKENING FACTORS In the conditional sequence of the awakening factors, "investigation-of-dhammas" (dhammavicaya) develops out of well-established mindfulness. Such investigation-of-dhammas seems to combine two aspects: on the one hand an inquiry into the nature of experience (by taking "dhammas" to stand for "phenomena"), and on the other a correlation of this experience with the teachings of the Buddha (the "Dhamma"). This twofold character also underlies the word "inves­tigation" (vicaya), derived from the verb vicinati, whose range of meaning includes both "investigating" and "discriminating". Thus "investigation-of-dhammas" can be understood as an investigation of subjective experience based on the discrimination gained through familiarity with the Dhamma. Such discrimination refers in particular to the ability to distinguish between what is wholesome or skillful for progress on the path, and what is unwholesome or un­skillful. This directly contrasts investigation-of-dhammas with the hindrance doubt (vicikiccha), which arises owing to lack of clarity about what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. XLll THE IMPLICATIONS OF DUKKHA ....The need for careful translation of the term can be demonstrated with the help of a passage from the Nidana Samyutta, where the Buddha stated that whatever is felt is included within dukkha. To understand dukkha here as an affective quality and to take it as implying that all feelings are "suffering " conflicts with the Buddha's analysis of feelings into three mutually exclusive types, which are, in addition to unpleasant feeling, pleasant and neutral feelings. On another occasion the Buddha explained his earlier statement that "whatever is felt is included within dukkha" to refer to the imperma­nent nature of all conditioned phenomena. The changing nature of feelings, however, need not necessarily be experienced as "suffer­ing", since in the case of a painful experience, for example, change may be experienced as pleasant. Thus all feelings are not "suffer­ing", nor is their impermanence "suffering", but all feelings are "un­satisfactory", since none of them can provide lasting satisfaction. That is, dukkha as a qualification of all conditioned phenomena is not necessarily experienced as "suffering", since suffering requires someone sufficiently attached in order to suffer. XIII .3 CONTEMPLATION OF THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS Each of the four noble truths makes its own demand on the practi­tioner: dukkha has to be "understood", its origination has to be "abandoned", its cessation has to be "realized", and the practical path to this realization has to be "developed". In particular, the five aggregates are to be understood, ignorance and craving for exis­tence are to be abandoned, know ledge and freedom are to be real­ized, and calm (samatha) and insight (vipassana) are to be developed.... XIV.4 NIBBANA: NEITHER ALL-EMBRACING UNITY NOR ANNIHILATION In order further to clarify the distinctive character of the Buddha's conception of Nibbana, in the remainder of this chapter I will set it off against the realization of all-embracing unity (as envisaged by the "non-dual" religious traditions), and also against annihilationism. While early Buddhism does not deny the distinction between sub­ject and object, it does not treat this distinction as particularly im­portant. Both are insubstantial, the subject being nothing other than a complex of interactions with the world (object), while to speak of a "world" is to speak of what is being perceived by the subject. Unity, in terms of subjective experience, entails a merging of the subject with the object. Experiences of this kind are often the out­come of deep levels of concentration. Nibbana, on the other hand, entails a complete giving up of both subject and object, not a merger of the two 58. Such an experience constitutes an "escape" from the en­tire field of cognition 59. Although Nibbana partakes of non-duality in so far as it has no counterpart 60, its implications nevertheless go far beyond experiences of oneness or unity.61 58 e.g. S IV 100 speaks of a cessation of all six sense-spheres, an expression which the commentary explains to refer to Nibbana (Spk II 391). Another relevant reference could be the standard description of stream-entry (e.g. at S V 423), which speaks of the insight into the fact that whatever arises will also cease, an expression that may well hint at the subjective experience of Nibbana, whence all conditionally arisen phenom­ena cease. Similarly the declarations of realization at M III 265 and SIV 58 point to a cessation experience. Realization as a cessation experience is also reflected in the writ­ings of modern meditation teachers and scholars, cf e.g. Brown 1986b: p.205; Goenka 1994a: p.113, and 1999: p.34; Goleman 1977b: p.31; Griffith 1981: p,6io; Kornfield 1993: p.291; Mahasi 1981: p.286; and Nanarama 1997: p,8o. Cf. also footnote 30, page 257 above. 59 M 138; this "escape" from the whole field of cognition is identified by the commentary with Nibbana (Ps 1176). Similarly Thi 6 refers to Nibbana as the stilling of all cognitions*60 The question "what is the counterpart of NibbanaT' (at M1304) was a question which, according to the arahant nun Dharamadinna, cannot be answered. The commentary Ps II 369 explains that Nibbana has no counterpart.61 This much can be deduced from a statement made by the Buddha (M II 229-33) that with the direct experience of Nibbana all views and standpoints related to an experi­ence of unity are left behind and transcended. Cf. also S II 77, where the Buddha re­jected the view "all is one" as one of the extremes to be avoided. Furthermore, according to A IV 40 and A IV 401, in different celestial realms either unitary or diversi­fied experiences prevail, so that a categorical statement like "all is one" would not accord with the early Buddhist description of cosmic reality. Cf. also Lingi967: p.167 Experiences of oneness were actually not unknown to the early Buddhist community, but even their most refined forms, experi­enced with the immaterial attainments, were not considered to be the final goal. Just as the Buddha him self did not feel satisfied with what he had experienced based on the indications received from his first teachers so he admonished his disciples to go beyond and transcend such "transcendental" experiences. Some of his disciples had achieved various non-dual experiences, while others had real­ized full awakening without experiencing any of the immaterial attainments. The latter were the living proof that such attainments, far from being identifiable with Nibbana, are not even necessary for its realization. In order properly to assess the early Buddhist concept of Nibbana, it needs not only to be distinguished from views based on experi­ences of unity, but also has to be differentiated from the theories of annihilation held among the deterministic and materialistic schools of ancient India. On several occasions the Buddha was in fact wrongly accused of being an annihilationist. His humorous reply to such allegations was that he could rightly be called so if this meant the annihilation of unwholesome states of mind.... ....In fact, according to the Buddha's penetrating analysis the at­tempt to annihilate self still revolves around a sense of selfhood, though being motivated by disgust with this self. In this way annihilationism is still in bondage to a sense of self, comparable to a dog moving in circles around a post to which it is bound. Such crav­ing for non-existence (vibhavatanha) forms indeed an obstacle to the realization of Nibbana. As the Dhatuvibhanga Sutta explains, to think in terms of: "I shall not be" is a form of conceiving as much as the thought: "I shall be". Both are to be left behind in order to proceed to awakening. To maintain that an arahant will be annihilated at death is a misun­derstanding, since such a proposition argues the annihilation of something that cannot be found in a substantial sense even while one is still alive. Therefore any statement concerning the existence or annihilation of an arahant after death turns out to be meaning­less. What Nibbana does imply is that the ignorant belief in a sub­stantial self is annihilated, an "annihilation" which has already taken place with stream-entry. With full awakening, then, even the subtlest traces of grasping at a sense of self are forever "annihilated", which is but a negative way of expressing the freedom gained through realization. Fully awakened to the reality of selflessness, the arahant is free indeed, like a bird in the sky, leaving no tracks.

http://books.google....itations&f=true "Gampopa had perfected the view and the meditations of calm abiding and superior insight in the Madhyamaka context according to the Kadampa system when he came to Milarepa. When Gampopa offered his realization to him, Milarepa said, “As for the aspect of calm abiding in your practice, however good all of this may be, it does not go beyond being a cause for rebirth in the higher realms of samsara. As for the aspect practice of superior insight, all of this entails the danger of divergence into the four deviations from emptiness. It may well serve as a remedy for some portions of reification, such as clinging to real exis- tence. However, since it is not able to cut through the entirety of clinging to extremes, there is the danger that the whole complex of this excellent view and meditation itself could turn into cognitive obscurations. Hence, if one is fettered, there is no difference between being fettered by an iron chain and being fettered by a golden chain.” Later, Gampopa said about this, “If I had not met the great master Milarepa, I would have risked rebirth as a long-lived god.”

This is an excerpt from Nan Huaijin's The Diamond Sutra Explained: "...As to the perfect reward body, the rupakaya, this is the result of one's cultivation work and is very difficult to achieve. I mentioned before the thirty-two marks of a Buddha and the eighty detailed physical characteristics. The body of anyone who has succeeded in cultivation, attained the Tao, has undergone a complete physical transformation. This physical body is the reward body. Why is it called the "reward body"? Actually, everyone's body is a "reward body." If throughout one's life one is very comfortable and fortunate, this is the reward of previous virtue. Others may experience a lot of pain and suffering and lead a very pitiful life. Their body is the result of non-virtuous actions in a previous life. Through cultivation work, we transform this karmic reward body. In the Taoist school, they describe the process as getting rid of illness to lengthen one's life and achieving immortality. This is talking about transforming the reward body. Achieving the perfect reward body is gaining complete liberation, changing mortal bones into immortal bones and gaining every kind of super power. This is extremely difficult to achieve. The perfect reward body is very difficult to cultivate. The Taoist cultivation, opening qi mai, as well as Esoteric cultivation, opening the three channels and seven chakras, both start from the reward body. Samatha and samapatti (stopping and introspection), the Pure Land practice of reciting the Buddha's name and vipassana meditation are all examples of practices which mainly cultivate the dharmakaya. When one cultivates to the point where he or she has at will another body outside of this physical body, this is the sambogakaya or transformation body functioning. This is a very basic overview of the three bodies. The average person who practices Buddhist or Taoist cultivation works on the dharmakaya. The Esoteric school emphasizes the achievement of the three bodies because only when one achieves the three kayas has one successfully completed the Path. This is also called completion in one lifetime. "In one lifetime," means in this one lifetime to settle the question of life and death, to succeed at achieving the three bodies. In theory, this can be done, but in actuality, it is of the utmost difficulty. One must achieve perfection of vinaya (discipline), samadhi and wisdom as well as completely transform this physical body of four elements born of one's parents. Only this can be called completion in one lifetime ." As a direct response, to Drew Hempel's musings on Lu Kuan Yu's "Taoist Yoga", I post this excerpt from Nan Huaijin's "Tao & Longevity": "It is unfortunate that those who learn Taoism have confused the different traditions. Some students thought that all they had to do was find a good master who would teach them a hidden secret, and they could become an immortal instantly. They therefore ignored the study of the principles of the Taoist methods. Taoist methods were not organized into a science of immortality with principles, rules, systematic sequences, and methods. As a consequence, these practices lend to calamity rather than to the achievement of immortality." On the preceding page, Nan Huaijin asks a rhetorical question, on the different emphasis of meditation methods: "...Whether one is Buddhist or Taoist, there is one question regarding meditation that should be asked: "Is there any method that neglects or abandons the physical body, the sensations, emotions, mental states or thoughts associated with it?" As for "dead tree zen", I always assumed that this referred to clinging to a state of samadhi or the absence of discursive thoughts. Chan Master Dahui, was a critic of the "silent illumination" that was practiced during his time, which lead to him introducing the usage of the hua-tou.

According to ChNN's interpretation which is unique among Dzogchen masters. By the way does asunthatneversets post above apply to the general explanation of the statements or does it also apply to ChNN's way of explaining it?

http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=15425&start=600 They are the same thing. And no, I was slightly mistaken before. The reason people see the five lights everywhere they look is that they no longer have traces to reify the five elements as the five elements because their consciousness has become free of all traces of the two obscurations, i.e. with those removed, what remains is wisdom. Of course, there is nothing substantial that is ever removed, from such a mind. Then we gave this from the Rig pa rang shar: Son of a good family, one must recognize the awareness [shes pa] free from grasping as one’s own state. Or the Rang grol: A vidyā that performs actions does not exist in the essence of pure awareness. Or the Mind Mirror of Samantabhadra has an interlinear note: The nature of one’s vidyā is light. Since kāyas are the gathered in the sphere of wisdom, the meaning of the view of Samantabhadra is realized. Further, there is vidyā and the wisdom that arises from vidyā. Further, vidyā that is free from extremes and beyond multiplicity does not transcend awareness (shes pa) and knowing (rig), endowed with a core of empty wisdom free from the extremes of things. The Sun and Moon Tantra states: At that time, that fortunate one when the appearances are self-evident, the non-abiding awareness is called “natural”. Anyway, there are too many references in various Dzogchen texts which state quite clearly that the basis is just one's mind. This is consistent with Buddhadharma. Other explanations are not. http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=15425&start=620 The basis is not the five lights. The five lights are expressions of wisdom. Those all just exist in one's mind, as Shabkar points out. The basis is not something separate from you the person, and it is not some uniform transpersonal field. It is just your own mind and it's essence. By the way, I never thought the basis was a transpersonal field. But have become aware that many people interpret it as such, and therefore, I'm writing to correct this misapprehension. In other words, Dzogchen teachings about the basis are actually "disappointingly" Buddhist and not so radical after all.

Loppon-La, has explained a number of times, that Dzogchen cosmology is identical to the cosmology laid out in the abhidharma-kosha, with the exception that it is from the POV of Dzogchen hermeneutics. Posts from Loppon Namdrol explaining the view of co-dependent arising and its relation with the 'basis' of Dzogchen: http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=15425&start=420 ... All awarenesses are conditioned. There is no such thing as a universal undifferentiated ultimate awareness in Buddhadharma. Even the omniscience of a Buddha arises from a cause.... Omniscience is the content of a mind freed of afflictions. Even the continuum of a Buddha has a relative ground, i.e. a the rosary or string of moments of clarity is beginingless. Origination from self is axiomatically negated in Buddhadharma, Each moment in the continuum of a knowing clarity is neither the same as nor different than the previous moment. Hence the cause of a given instant of a knowing clarity cannot be construed to be itself nor can it be construed to be other than itself. This is the only version of causation which, in the final analysis, Buddhadharma can admit to on a relative level. It is the logical consequence of the Buddha's insight, "When this exists, that exists, with the arising of that, this arose."... Cognitions arise based on previous cognitions. That's all. If you suggest anything other than this, you wind up in Hindu La la land.... http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=15425&start=440 This occurs because of latent traces of karma and affliction left over from the previous eon, according to a commentary attributed to Garab Dorje on the Single Son of All the Buddhas Tantras. So this neutral awareness that rises out of the basis upon the stirring of vāyu in the basis actually has a cause. Amazing! Mere clear vidyā, this mere intermediate realization, it is not a buddha, is not a sentient beings, neutral, dependent on both conditions. For example, it is like a stainless crystal ball, which can produce fire or water through the condition of the sun or the moon. Likewise, vidyā, the essence of the mind, arises as the suffering of samsara or the bliss of nirvana through conditions. The Three Kāyas Tantra from the Ka dag rang shar... The basis does not have a cause, just like space does not have a cause. But it is a repository for the build up of traces nevertheless. The way samsara arose at first is, when the trio of vāyu, vidyā and space arose from the undifferentiated basis, since vidyā was unstable because of isolation, and engaged in self-delusion, panicked at sound, frightened of the light, and fainted at the light and was covered by ignorance. After it engages in self-delusion, the duality of outer objects and inner mind arises. The mere thought of self arising from other, and other arising from self, disturbed the karmavāyus. Mind is built up by the vāyu, the analytical mind analyzes objects. The self-deluded awareness demarcated sensation and since it did not recognize it own appearances, apparent objects were apprehended as a duality. Since that accumulated traces of karma, a physical body was appropriated and the suffering of delusion is uninterrupted. For example, sentient being formed out of ignorance are like being stuck pitch dark. The Clear Lamp from the Ka dag rang shar The whole process is clearly personal and individual, not transpersonal.... Space is a repository for all things, one does not have to reify space to understand that. "Rang byung ye shes" means "wisdom that arises from oneself". This point is very clearly explained in many places. In any event, we can consider that the Vima Nyinthig commentary attributed to Garab Dorje authoritative: "From now on, the stirred pit of samsara will no appear as the six kinds of living beings. for twenty thousand eons, sentient beings, having severed the stream of samsara, will not appear with a bodily form. After that, from the arising of the subtle latent defilements of different actions, it will be equivalent with the production of the previous samsara and nirvana" Thus we find out that all this business about the basis and so on is really just a way to talk about what happens in the so called dark eons, when everything below the third and fourth rūpadhātu are held to disappear, even though the origin of the basis is often couched in terms to place in an unimaginable primeval beginning. Its a Buddhist way to try to talk about origins without talking about origins. "I can't find where it started so I am going to call it 'self-originated'." But if someone thinks it is pointing to some transcendental uber consciousness, well, if that is what someone thinks, I think someone doesn't really understand Dzogchen at all. If someone thinks the basis is consciousness, or some cognitive or noetic principle, they have understood nothing... Nyibum* states: As such, because the basis, one’s unfabricated mind, arose as the essence of reality of a single nature, there is no need to search elsewhere for the place etc., i.e. it is called self-originated wisdom. The basis is nothing more nor nothing less this. *the son of Zhang stong Chobar, the terton of the Vima Nyinthig... http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=15425&start=460 ...So basically, all that fancy Dzogchen lingo about the basis and so on is really just talking about a mind stream that is proposed to have a primordial start point which is completely free of proliferation. We can trust Nyibum about this because his father invented/revealed the Nyinthig tradition and he himself was a great scholar who studied widely... It doesn't really mean anything. The continuum of a mind has no beginning. What is being proposed in (some) Dzogchen texts is that at some idealized point in the most distant past beyond our imagination there was a time when our mind was in a state of non-fabrication. At that time this non-fabricated mind, aka the basis, was not aware of itself or anything else but contains within it all the qualities of buddhahood. Then somehow, and it is never really explained how, our own mind's cognitive potentiality [rtsal] stirs and rises up ['phags] out of itself giving rise to neutral awareness that either becomes prajñā or ignorance depending on whether it recognizes its own potentiality or not. This kicks off the division between samsara and nirvana. It is completely personal and is not transpersonal at all. But unfortunately, because Dzogchen texts are not very clear about this, the account of the basis tends to be interpreted transpersonally, most likely due to the proliferation of Advaita. It is my deeply held conviction that this transpersonal account which is favored by many people is a total misunderstanding based on reading these texts in Tibetan for the past 20 years and receiving detailed teachings on them from a variety of very qualified masters.... I prefer to put my faith in the guy whose father started the whole Nyinthig thing. And what is says is verified in many Dzogchen tantras, both from the bodhcitta texts as well as others. The basis is not a backdrop. Everything is not separate from the basis. But that everything just means your own skandhas, dhātus and āyatanas. There is no basis outside your mind, just as there is no Buddhahood outside of your mind.... So is the basis. They are both dharmas. Or as the Great Garuda has it when refuting Madhyamaka: Since phenomena and nonphenomena have always been merged and are inseparable, there is no further need to explain an “ultimate phenomenon”. An 12th century commentary on this text states (but not this passage): Amazing bodhicitta (the identity of everything that becomes the basis of pursuing the meaning that cannot be seen nor realized elsewhere than one’s vidyā) is wholly the wisdom of the mind distinct as the nine consciousnesses that lack a nature. In the end, Dzogchen is really just another Buddhist meditative phenomenology of the mind and person and that is all.... http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=15425&start=480 Because these things are regarded as afflictive, whereas Dzogchen is trying to describe the person in his or her originally nonafflictive condition. It really is just that simple. The so called general basis is a universal derived from the particulars of persons. That is why it is often mistaken for a transpersonal entity. But Dzogchen, especially man ngag sde is very grounded in Buddhist Logic, and one should know that by definition universals are considered to be abstractions and non-existents in Buddhism, and Dzogchen is no exception.... It's your own rigpa, not a transpersonal rigpa, being a function of your own mind. That mind is empty.... The distinction is crucial. If this distinction is not made, Dzogchen sounds like Vedanta.... The way that great transference body arises: when all appearances have gradually been exhausted, when one focuses one’s awareness on the appearances strewn about on the luminous maṇḍala of the five fingers of one’s hand, the environment and inhabitants of the universe returning from that appearance are perceived as like moon in the water. One’s body is just a reflection, self-apparent as the illusory body of wisdom; one obtains a vajra-like body. One sees one’s body as transparent inside and out. The impure eyes of others cannot see one’s body as transparent, but only the body as it was before... Shabkar, Key to One Hundred Doors of Samadhi Outer appearances do not disappear even when great transference body is attained. What disappears are the inner visions, that is what is exhausted, not the outer universe with its planets, stars, galaxies, mountains, oceans, cliffs, houses, people and sentient beings.... Rigpa is just knowing, the noetic quality of a mind. That is all it is.... http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=15425&start=520 The basis, as I have already shown, is just your own clear and empty mind. There is no vidyā apart from your own mind's vidyā.... ...the neutral awareness that can become vidyā or avidyā comes from the basis. As I said the basis is just your own mind. It is not some unitary ontological basis for everything. If it were, it would be no different than brahman. Say that it isn't sat is no help, since brahman too is considered beyond existence and non-existence. If there is a difference, it is that the basis, one's own mind, is also not established.... http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=15425&start=540 In the highest Yogacara school, the non-aspectarian school, there is in fact no container universe to reincarnate into since the containers universe is merely a projection of seeds in the ālayavijñāna. Dzogchen does not reject the outer universe in the same. Instead it interprets the pre/non-afflictive states of the five elements as "the five lights". But we can understand that the most subtle form of the five elements exist within consciousness. Wisdom is also just a name for a pre/un-obscured consciousness. The basis is not a universal phenomena. though it is discussed in a manner resembling that for convenience. Each person has their own basis. This is why each person experiences delusion and liberation separately and at different times. Because the basis seems to be discussed as it it were some universal "pleroma", to borrow a phrase from the Gnostics, this causes some people to go off the deep end and conclude it is some universal phenomena out of which everything arises rather than be a quality shared by everything that arises.... It is simple: the basis has nothing to do with afflicted mind, the one we ordinarily experience.The two statements may be reconciled in the following way. The basis is simply a way of talking about the components of the universe — earth, water, fire, air, space and consciousness — from the point of view their luminous intrinsic purity. A way of saying this in Tibetan in Dzogchen terms would be ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་རང་བཞིན་གྱིས་ཀ་དག་དང་ལྷུན་གྲབ (all phenomena are pure and naturally perfect by nature); a gsar ma equivalent presentation might run ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་རང་བཞིན་གྱིས་དག་པ་དང་འོད་གསལ་བ (all phenomena are pure and luminous by nature). The Kalacakra tantra makes a very important point about this, as Tagtshang Lotsawa points out in his survey of the Vimalaprabha: Great bliss and empty forms [śunyatābimba, stong gzugs] are shown to exist in the basis with this wisdom element of the basis [gzhi] because Bhagavan Vajsattva Mahāsukha explains that all three realms exist in oneself in the commentary of the third verse of this [adhyātma] chapter, and it is established through the citation of the root text and commentary of “wisdom merged into emptiness”. What is this wisdom? He again clarifies: Bearing the name “wisdom”, this consciousness that exists pervading the bodies of all sentient beings is merged into that emptiness which pervades all sentient beings, including the sentient beings of the bardo and the formless realm. This is taught in the commentary as existing through a relative mode. In Kalacakra, for example, the wisdom element is considered to be the five elements counted as one. Tatshang again: As such, from among the ten elements, the first five are enumerated individually, i.e., the elements of space, air, fire, water and earth. Counting the latter five as one, since they are made into one so called “wisdom element”, these six elements form this womb-born body. The fact that points towards the same meaning as the basis in Dzogchen is provided by him here: This statement of the root text “Wisdom is merged into emptiness, uniform taste, unchanging, and permanent” is intended for the mind of the apprehending subject that apprehends the object of the empty form established through the power of meditating on the main [devatā]. Here, the meaning of uniform taste, unchanging and permanent are though to be “complete in perfection.” Further, the meaning of permanent is said to be freedom from obscurations. That also intends intrinsically lacking obscuration or without the obscurations of movements. Though there is nothing to identify here in inseparable uniform taste, while produced conditionally, the intention is that the apprehended object and the apprehending subject have a single essence, and that a transforming continuum is not possible. This is an extremely important point and demonstrates why the body of light is possible through either Dzogchen thögal or the path of the two stages. Now, someone might object that it is inappropriate to cite the Kalacakra to clarify points in Dzogchen tantras, but then if this is so, then all great masters from Nubchen on down to Dudjom Rinpoche are at fault for using such tantras as the Mañjuśrīnamasamgiti to clarify Dzogchen.... http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=15425&start=580 Defining the basis as a sort of fabric out of which appearances arise does not solve the problem of individuated consciousnesses. What is the basis in fact? The Dzogchen tantras describe this as "wisdom". This wisdom is said to have three aspects [rnam pa], original purity, its svabhāva; natural perfection, its prakṛiti; and compassion, the inseparability of the first two. Even discussing wisdom as a the basis, even a nonsubstantiated basis as in Dzogchen does not make sense if that wisdom is not describing a noetic entity. Simplistic solutions like refusing to define it as one or many simply raise more questions than they answer. There are two propositions: B1, the basis as a transpersonal field out of which everything in samsara and nirvana is instantiated through its non-recognition. B2 the basis is meant only to apply to any given sentient beings. Since this applies to all sentient being, here the basis is like fire, fire as light and heat as a quality, every instantiation of fire has light and heat. Likewise, every sentient beings shares common characteristics because they are sentient, they have consciousness. Dante, your position is B1, and while I can understand how people are lead to accept B1 as the message of Dzogchen teachings, it is an exaggeration in my estimation. Instead, I think B2 is the more proper understanding, based for example on Nyibum's remark that the basis is one's unfabricated mind. This is an authoritative citation that must be addressed and heeded. For example, the Mind Mirror of Vajrasattva states: That is one’s own basis but it was not recognized by oneself. The samsaric three realms are formed through delusion. 
Then, after the afflictions become more coarse, different forms of sentient beings emerge, deluded from the basis in that way.” This just means that each and every sentient being is deluded from their own basis; even though the basis is described in generic terms, it is not the case that all sentient beings ultimate share one basis. The basis is uniform in its nature, if you will, among all instantiations of sentient beings but each and every sentient being's basis is unique to that being. Since the Dzogchen tantras do describe wisdom as being a repository for traces, again we can try to explain this through B1 or B2. In the B1 scenario, the basis would have to like a bank, where different people placed their traces, kind of like samsara accounts. A B2 scenario is much simpler, since it is only means that since sentient beings did not recognize their own unfabricated minds, then they begin to develop the traces of action that produce our common karmic visions of the six realms. This is certainly the intent of Shabkar when he writes: Therefore, since appearances are not fixed, whatever appears [appears] because of the power of traces. And: Therefore, everything is an appearance of the mind. Since everything is created by the concepts of the mind, in reality, all of the appearances of the mind are empty. More importantly Shabkar states: Self-originated primordial wisdom appearing as vidyā is also the mind... There are no appearances at all apart from the mind. And: This is the introduction that confirms the basis, the natural reality of the mind essence. Compare these last two with Nyibum: As such, because the basis, one’s unfabricated mind, arose as the essence of the sole reality, there is no need to search elsewhere for the place etc., i.e. it is called self-originated wisdom. (Apologies for the last version, which was from an earlier unedited version by mistake) My present position therefore, is B2, the basis is just the way a sentient being's consciousness [shes pa rather than rnam par shes pa] or mind [sems, citta] is talked about in Dzogchen texts prior to being afflicted for all the reasons I mentioned earlier.... ....Wisdom is suitable as a basis for traces, or so the Dzogchen texts tell us.... Ka dag or emptiness, the correct description of the basis according the the man ngag sde texts. But as pointed out in these same texts, the basis is not merely emptiness. It also has "wisdom" (ye shes), which is a kind of shes pa or sems, a primordial or pristine consciousness, as opposed to a rnam shes, an aspected consciousness that possesses concepts. Basically, even though Dzogchen texts describe such a "beginning time", I personally don't believe that there is a start point ever. The description of such a start point is merely a literary device, much as Samantabhadra is a literary device. The five elements are also included in wisdom, etc., so there is no contradiction between saying that the basis is wisdom, and the basis is empty. The problem comes only if one imagines that basis is somehow a unitary entity, a fabric, which provides the basis for the arising of sentient beings and buddhas on an objective level. But if, as I have come to understand, it is not referring to an objective entity or context, then the basis is easily described as a a set of general features which every noetic entity that we call "buddhas" or "sentient being" shares in common as an idealized "initial" set of conditions. The only difference between buddhas and sentient beings then is the extent to which they recognize this set of general features within their own continuums. Hence in this respect the so called original general basis merely describes an abstract set of qualities, but is not itself an instantiation of those qualities in any way. Those qualities are only instantiated in a sattva, a being. In this way the basis is not one, because it is instantiated individually; it is not many because it is a uniform set of qualities that are being instantiated across all beings. This way, the general Buddhist dictum which extends all the way down to Vasubandhu's Kośabhaṣ (and clearly the authors of the Dzogchen tantras were familiar with it because they use the Kośa cosmology in such tantras as the Rigpa Rangshar), matter arises from mind/s. I.e. the order of the arising of matter presented in virtually all buddhist texts is: Consciousness --> space --> air --> fire --> water --> earth. In Dzogchen texts we see an analogous sequence: wisdom --> blue light --> green light --> red light --> white light -- yellow light; which when reified becomes the standard Buddhist sequence above. The only difference between the two sequences is that the former sequence occurs when the latter sequence is not recognized for being what it is, the display of a given being's own noetic capacity.... http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=15425&start=600 ...since this ye shes is personal, never transpersonal, and at the time of the basis, is merely describing the mind (shes pa, sems) in a pre-afflictive state. Tibetans translate jñāna as ye shes. That term "ye shes "is frequently translated as "pristine awareness" or "primordial wisdom", etc. I am saying that Dzogchen authors take this term very literally (a literalism criticized by people like Sakya Pandita) because they are taking this mode of shes pa (jñatā, jñānatā, parijñāna, etc.), which they describe as ye shes to mean that the original state (ye nas) of the mind (shes pa) is pre-afflictive, and Dzogchen is the path to recover that primordial state. I am not saying that this consciousness is a universal plenum, like brahman, from which all beings arise; that is exactly the mistake I think most people fall into when studying Dzogchen, i.e. they wind up falling into an unintentional brahman trap. Thus what I am saying is the basis is personal, not universal. Each's being has their own basis since they each have their own mind, the characteristics of the basis (essence, nature and compassion) are general, and apply to all minds, just as all candles on a table are separate and unique, but all flames on those candles bear the same qualities, heat and light. The fault that I suffered from was not seeing the fact that rnam shes (vijñāna), shes rab (prajñā), ye shes (jñāna), shes pa(jñatā) are all talking about one thing, different modalities of a single continuum from sentient being hood to Buddhahood, based on language in man ngag sde texts, reinforced very strongly by Longchenpa, which make a very hard distinction between sems (citta) and yeshe (jñāna) without recognizing the distinction is not in substance, but merely in mode i.e. afflicted/non-afflicted. Really, I am not saying anything that is terribly controversial. I am recognizing that I was mislead by the hard distinction made by Longchenpa and others who, for didactic reasons, make a hard distinction between mind and wisdom when what they are really doing is making a hard distinction between utterly afflicted minds and utterly pure minds, and providing a literary mythology (the universe arises out of the basis) to explain the separation of sentient beings and buddhas. I have similarly come to the conclusion that the account of the basis arising out of the basis and the separation of samsara and nirvana at some imagined start point unimaginable eons ago is just a literary myth, and it does not need to be taken literally.

This is also an inherent feature in the Dzogchen tantras, but Dzogchen dispenses with the "two truths" model altogether, and instead explains the difference in terms of vidya [rigpa] vs. avidya [marigpa]: http://thetaobums.com/topic/33574-substance-dualism-in-buddhadharma/ http://www.dharmawhe...lusion&start=60 A tantra called Uprooting Delusion from the dgongs pa zang thal cycle provides the following description: The way sentient beings arise: that nameless general ground, is non-conceptual and not established at all, invisible and unclear, from which when the bifurcation occurs, since vāyu, vidyā, and space separate, [3/b] the intrinsic sound of the elements produces vibration. From the inside of the darkness of the clear part of appearances, as soon as a storm of fire emerges, scattering everywhere, Vidyā, like the mind of a lunatic, is dazed and reeling. Since vidyā lacks confidence in its own appearances, it panics at sound, is frightened of rays, and through awareness not taking its own place, the ignorance that arises simultaneously with it is called “the causal ignorance. Because of a lack of mindful attention, self and other are grasped as a duality, and both outer and inner dependent origination occur. The whole universe arises through awareness looking externally. All sentient being arise through awareness looking internally. Through looking there, fearful appearances arise, through looking here, ‘self’ arises. Many mistakes arise from the single mistake about the appearances of here and there. Because of being mistaken about a self, there is a mistake about other, attachment to self, aversion to other. From the seed of attachment and aversion, the whole outer universe and inhabitants are mistakes. Because one is held as two, [4/a] that is called the delusion of dualistic grasping. Since one imputed and mistook outer and inner, that is called “the imputing ignorance”. Because of familiarity of subject and object of that, from the thick buildup of traces, there was entrance into the state of samsara. That is how the six migrations occurred.” http://www.dharmawhe...lusion&start=80 ...the String of Pearls states: Having been gripped by the apprehender and apprehended in the aggregates, elements and gateways, one remains in samsara itself for a long while, within the belly of the three realms one is placed in the prison of name and matter, [352] bound by the chains of ignorance, covered with dense black darkness of samsara, attached to the spicy taste of passion, one is bound by the noose of confusion, tormented by the hot fire of hatred, one’s head is covered by pride, the gates of jealously are locked, surrounded by the armies of resentment and so on, tied about the neck with the noose of apprehender and apprehended, stuck in the swamp of past traces, one’s hands are shackled with ripened karma, the mother of karma is joined with her child, one following the other just like a water wheel, alternating between good and bad bodies, born in different forms, and through heightening one’s self-grasping one sinks to the bottom of the ocean of suffering, one’s heart is grabbed by the goad of the evil destinies, one binds oneself with the enemy, afflictions. Fire appears as water to hell beings, as hunger and thirst to hungry ghosts, as fog to animals. the aggregates, gateways and elements appears as the five elements to humans, those are also pleasurable, painful and neutral, as weapons and armor to asuras, and as desirable things to gods. For example, just like a rapidly spinning fire wheel one abides continuously in samsara for a long while. Such various appearances are like seeing a snake in a rope since what isn’t there is held to be there, both the outer and inner container and contents form, and if that is investigated, it is a rope, i.e. the container and contents are already empty the ultimate with the form of the relative." The mistake then is seeing as there what isn't there, which is why this tantra, among others uses the rope/snake example. What this tantra is stating is that deluded appearances we see that are predicated in the basis do not exist in the basis and are not appearances of the basis, but rather misapprehensions of the appearance of the basis. http://www.dharmawhe...delusion#p89967 Sentient beings are deluded about the display of the basis. When they cease to be so deluded, they are buddhas. The basis never displays as anything other than the five lights. Further, The Luminous Space states: That mind is produced out of the dualistic graspingto the six objects of the manifestation of wisdom. How can that [mind] be produced? Since [the mind] is produced from that ignorance that does not recognize the intrinsic manifestation of wisdom [the mind] is produced. Sentient beings, rocks and trees are assembled by delusion about the basis. But the basis only displays one way. It does not display as both samsara and nirvana. Since that critical point of luminous empty vidyā was not recognized, grasping onto that produced the five elements, and the causal thigle [was produced] from the refined part of those. The body was produced from that [refined part] and energy [rtsal] of wisdom produces the five sense gates in that [body]. Within those [sense gates] the five wisdoms are produced. The five [sense gates] grasping onto those [five wisdoms produce] the five afflictions. After first being created by the energy of wisdom; in the middle, it was not recognized that the body of the refined part of the assembled elements actually is the five wisdoms, since this was not realized, through intellectual views, the non-sentient and sentient both appear, but don’t believe it. Here, it is actually five wisdoms to begin with; in the middle, when the body is formed from assembly of the elements through ignorance grasping onto those [five wisdoms] also, it is actually the five wisdoms. The five aggregates, sense organs, and afflictions also are actually the five wisdoms. In the end, since one transcends accepting, rejecting, proofs, and negations since those are realized to not be real. As such, the sign of non-duality is [the body] disappearing into wisdom without any effluents because the critical point of the non-duality or sameness of the non-sentient and the sentient was understood according to the Guru’s intimate instruction. The basis only is the five wisdoms and only displays as the five wisdoms -- the rest is delusion. Ignorance [avidyā] is not a display of the basis, it is delusion about the display of the basis. Knowledge is not a display of the basis, it is the absence of delusion about the display of the basis. One basis, two paths, two results.

That shouldn't apply across the board in every situation. There are times when there's a need for elaborate explanations.

Shurangama mantra in Sanskrit: SECTION 1: THE VAJRA DIVISION (EASTERN DIRECTION) NAMO SARVA TATHAGATA SUGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHAYA. NAMO SARVA TATHAGATA KOTI USHNISHA. NAMO SARVA BUDDHA BODHISATTVEBHYAH. NAMO SAPTANAM SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHA KOTINAM, SASRAVAKA SAM-GHANAM. NAMO LOKE ARHANTANAM. NAMO SROTAPANNANAM. NAMO SAKRIDAGAMINAM. NAMO ANAGAMINAM. NAMO LOKE SAMYAK-GATANAM SAMYAK-PRATIPANNANAM. NAMO RATNA-TRAYAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE DRIDHA-SURA SENA PRA-HARANA RAJAYA TATHAGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE AMITABHAYA TATHAGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE AKSHOBHYAYA TATHAGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE BHAISHAJYA-GURU-VAIDURYA-PRABHA-RAJAYA TATHAGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE SAMPUSHPITA SALENDRA RAJAYA TATHAGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE SAKYAMUNAYE TATHAGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE RATNA KUSUMA KETU RAJAYA TATHAGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE TATHAGATA KULAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE PADMA KULAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE VAJRA KULAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE MANI KULAYA. NAMO BHAGAVATE GAJA KULAYA. NAMO DEVASINAM. NAMO SIDDHA VIDYA-DHARANAM. NAMO SIDDHA VIDYA–DHARA RISHINAM, SUPANU-GRAHA SAMARTHANAM. NAMO BRAHMANE. NAMO INDRAYA. NAMO RUDRAYA UMA-PATI SAHEYAYA. NAMO NARAYANAYA LAKSHMI SAHEYAYA PANCA MAHA-MUDRA NAMAS-KRITAYA. NAMO MAHAKALAYA TRIPURA-NAGARA VIDRAVANA KARAYA ADHI-MUKTIKA SMASANA VASINI MATRI-GANA NAMAS-KRITAYA. EBHYO NAMAS-KRITVA IMAM BHAGAVANTAH TATHAGATOSHNISHAM SITATAPATRAM. NAMO APARAJITAM PRATY-ANGIRAM. SARVA DEVA NAMAS-KRITAM. SARVA DEVEBHYAH PUJITAM. SARVA DEVESA PARIPALITAM. SARVA BHUTA GRAHA NIGRAHA-KARIN. PARA VIDYA CHEDANA-KARIN. DUR-DANTANAM SATTVANAM DAMAKAM DUSHTANAM NIVARANIN. AKALA-MRITYU PRA-SAMANA-KARIN. SARVA BANDHANA MOKSHANA-KARIN. SARVA DUSHTA DUH-SVAPNA NIVARANIN CATURASITINAM GRAHA SAHASRANAM VIDHVAMSANA-KARIN. ASHTA-VIMSATINAM NAKSHATRANAM PRASADANA-KARIN. ASHTANAM MAHA GRAHANAM VIDHVAMSANA-KARIN. SARVA SATRU NIVARANIN. GHORAM DUH-SVAPNANAM CA NASANIN. VISHA SASTRA AGNI UDAKA UT-TARANIN. APARAJITA GHORA, MAHA-BALA CANDAM, MAHA-DIPTAM, MAHA-TEJAM, MAHA-SVETAM JVARA, MAHA-BALA-SRIYA-PANDARAVASINI ARYA-TARA BHRI-KUTIM CED VA VIJAYA VAJRA MALITI, VI-SRUTAM PADMAKSHAN, VAJRA-JIHVA CAH MALA CED VA APARAJITAM, VAJRA-DANDI VISALA CA SANTA VAIDEHA PUJITAH, SAUMI RUPA. MAHA SVETAM, ARYA-TARA, MAHA-BALA APARAJITA, VAJRA SAMKALA CED VAH VAJRA KAUMARIH KULAM-DHARI, VAJRA HASTA CA MAHA VIDYA TATHA KANCANAH MALIKAH, KUSUMBHA RATNA CED VA VAIROCANA KUTA-STHOSHNISHA, VI-JRIMBHA MANA CA VAJRA KANAKA PRABHA LOCANAH, VAJRA-TUNDI CA SVETA CA KAMALAKSHA,SASI-PRABHA, ITY-ADI MUDRA GANAH, SARVE RAKSHAM KURVANTU ITTAM MAMASYA. SECTION 2: THE JEWELS DIVISION (SOUTHERN DIRECTION) OM! RISHI-GANA PRA-SASTA TATHAGATOSHNISHA SITATAPATRAM HUM BHRUM JAMBHANA HUM BHRUM STAMBHANA HUM BHRUM MOHANA HUM BHRUM MATHANA HUM BHRUM PARA VIDYA SAM-BHAKSHANA-KARA HUM BHRUM SARVA DUSHTANAM STAMBHANA-KARA HUM BHRUM SARVA YAKSHA RAKSHASA GRAHANAM VIDHVAMSANA-KARA HUM BHRUM CATURASITINAM GRAHA SAHASRANAM VINASANA-KARA HUM BHRUM ASHTA-VIMSATINAM NAKSHATRANAM PRA-SADANA-KARA HUM BHRUM ASHTANAM MAHA GRAHANAM VIDHVAMSANA-KARA RAKSHA RAKSHA MAM. BHAGAVAN TATHAGATOSHNISHA, MAHA PRATY-ANGIRE, MAHA SAHASRA-BHUJE, SAHASRA-SIRSHAI, KOTI SATA SAHASRA-NETRE, ABHEDYA JVALITA NATANAKA, MAHA VAJRA-DHARA TRIBHUVANA MANDALA, OM! SVASTI BHAVANTU ITTAM MAMASYA. SECTION 3: THE LOTUS DIVISION (WESTERN DIRECTION) RAJA-BHAYA, CORA-BHAYA, AGNI-BHAYA, UDAKA-BHAYA, VISHA-BHAYA, SASTRA-BHAYA, PARACAKRA-BHAYA, DUR-BHIKSHA-BHAYA, ASANI-BHAYA, AKALA-MRITYU-BHAYA, DHARANI-BHUMI-KAMPA-BHAYA, ULKA-PATA-BHAYA, RAJA-DANDA-BHAYA, NAGA-BHAYA, VIDYUT-BHAYA, SUPARNIN-BHAYA DEVA-GRAHA, NAGA-GRAHA, YAKSHA-GRAHA, GANDHARVA-GRAHA, ASURA-GRAHA, GARUDA-GRAHA, KIMNARA-GRAHA, MAHORAGA-GRAHA, RAKSHASA-GRAHA, PRETA-GRAHA, PISACA-GRAHA, BHUTA-GRAHA, PUTANA-GRAHA, KATAPUTANA-GRAHA, KUMBHANDA-GRAHA, SKANDA-GRAHA, UNMADA-GRAHA, CHAYA-GRAHA, APA-SMARA-GRAHA, DAKA-DAKINI-GRAHA, REVATI-GRAHA, OJAHARINYA, GARBHAHARINYA, JATAHARINYA, JIVITAHARINYA, RUDHIRAHARINYA, VASAHARINYA, MAMSAHARINYA, MEDHAHARINYA, MAJJAHARINYA, VANTAHARINYA, ASUCYAHARINYA, CITTAHARINYA, TESHAM SARVESHAM SARVA GRAHANAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI PARI-VRAJAKA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI DAKA DAKINI KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI MAHA-PASUPATI RUDRA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI TATTVA GARUDA SAHEYA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI MAHA-KALA MATRI-GANA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI KAPALIKA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI JAYAKARA-MADHUKARA SARVARTHA-SADHANA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI CATUR-BHAGINI KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI BHRINGI-RITI NANDIKESVARA GANAPATI SAHEYA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI NAGNA SRAMANA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI ARHANTA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI VITA-RAGA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI BRAHMA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI RUDRA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI NARAYANA KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI VAJRA-PANI GUHYAKADHIPATI KRITAM. VIDYAM CHIDAYAMI KILAYAMI RAKSHA RAKSHA MAM BHAGAVAN ITTAM MAMASYA. SECTION 4: THE BUDDHA DIVISION (CENTRAL DIRECTION) BHAGAVAN SITATAPATRA NAMO STUTE. ASITA NARAKAH PRABHA SPHUTA VI-KAS SITATAPATREH, JVARA JVARA, DAKA DAKA, VI-DAKA VI-DAKA, DALA DALA, VI-DALA VI-DALA, CHIDA-CHIDA, HUM HUM PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT SVAHA HE HE PHAT. AMOGHAYA PHAT. APRATIHATAYA PHAT. VARA-PRADAYA PHAT. ASURA VIDARAKAYA PHAT. SARVA DEVEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA NAGEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA YAKSHEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA GANDHARVEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA ASUREBHYAH PHAT. SARVA GARUDEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA KIMNAREBHYAH PHAT. SARVA MAHORAGEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA RAKSHASEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA BHUTEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA PISHACEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA KUMBHANDEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA PUTANEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA KATAPUTANEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA AUSHTRAKEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA DUR-LANGHITEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA DUSH-PREKSHITEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA JVAREBHYAH PHAT. SARVA KRITYA KARMANI KAKHORDEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA APASMAREBHYAH PHAT. SARVA SHRAMANEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA TIRTHIKEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA UNMADEBHYAH PHAT. SARVA VIDYA ACHARYEBHYAH PHAT. JAYAKARA-MADHUKARA SARVATHA-SADHAKEBHYO VIDYA ACHARYEBHYAH PHAT. CATUR-BHAGHINIBHYAH PHAT. VAJRA KAUMARI KULAM-DHARI VIDYARAJEBHYAH PHAT. MAHA PRATY-ANGIREBHYAH PHAT. VAJRA SAMKALAYA PRATY-ANGIRA RAJAYA PHAT. MAHAKALAYA MATRI-GANA NAMAS-KRITAYA PHAT. INDRAYA PHAT. BRAHMANAYA PHAT. RUDRAYA PHAT. VISHNUYA PHAT. VAISNAVIYE PHAT. BRAHMIYE PHAT. VARAHIYE PHAT. AGNIYE PHAT. MAHA-KALIYE PHAT. RAUDRIYE PHAT. KALA-DANDIYE PHAT. AINDRIYE PHAT. MATRIYE PHAT. CHAMUNDRIYE PHAT. KALA-RATRIYE PHAT. KAPALIYE PHAT. ADHI-MUKTIKA SMASANA VASINIYE PHAT. YE KECID SATTVA. SECTION 5: THE KARMA DIVISION (NORTHERN DIRECTION) DUSHTA-CITTA, PAPA-CITTA, RAUDRA-CITTA, VI-DVE-SHA-CITTA, AMITRA-CITTA, UT-PADAYANTI, KILAYANTI, MANTRAYANTI, JAPANTI, CYUT HANTI. OJAHARA, GARBHAHARA, RUDHIRAHARA, MAMSAHARA, MEDHAHARA, MAJJAHARA, VASAHARA, JATAHARA, JIVITAHARA, BALYAHARA, MALYAHARA, GANDHAHARA, PUSHPAHARA, PHALAHARA, SASYAHARA. PAPA-CITTA, DUSHTA-CITTA, RAUDRA-CITTA DEVA-GRAHA, NAGA-GRAHA, YAKSHA-GRAHA, GANDHARVA-GRAHA, ASURA-GRAHA, GARUDA-GRAHA, KIMNARA-GRAHA, MAHORAGA-GRAHA, RAKSHASA-GRAHA, PRETA-GRAHA, PISACA-GRAHA, BHUTA-GRAHA, PUTANA-GRAHA, KATAPUTANA-GRAHA, KUMBHANDA-GRAHA, SKANDHA-GRAHA, UNMADA-GRAHA, CHAYA-GRAHA, APASMARA-GRAHA. DAKA-DAKINI-GRAHA, REVATI-GRAHA, JAMIKA-GRAHA, SAKUNI-GRAHA, MATRI-NANDI-GRAHA, MUSHTIKA-GRAHA, KANTHAPANINI-GRAHA, MISHIKA-MAHISHAKA-GRAHA, MRIGARAJA-GRAHA, MATRIKA-GRAHA, KAMINI-GRAHA, MUKHA-MANDIKA-GRAHA, LAMBA-GRAHA. JVARA EKAHIKA, DVAITIYAKA, TRAITIYAKA, CATURTHAKA, NITYA-JVARA, VISHAMA-JVARA, VATIKA, PAITTIKA, SLAISHMIKA, SAM-NIPATIKA, SARVA JVARA, SIRO’RTI, ARDHAVABHEDAKA, AROCAKA, AKSHI ROGAM, MUKHA ROGAM, HARDA ROGAM, GHRANA SULAM, KARNA SULAM, DANTA SULAM, HRIDAYA SULAM, MARMAN SULAM, PARSVA SULAM, PRISHTHA SULAM, UDARA SULAM, KATI SULAM, VASTI SULAM, URU SULAM, NAKHA SULAM, HASTA SULAM, PADA SULAM, SARVA ANGA-PRATYANGA SULAM; BHUTA, VETADA, DAKA DAKINI, JVARA, DADRU, KANDU, KITIBHA, LUTA, VAISARPA, LOHA-LINGA; SASTRA SAM-GARA, VISHA YOGA, AGNI UDAKA, MARA VAIRA KANTARA, AKALA-MRITYU; TRY-AMBUKA, TRAI-LATA, VRISCIKA, SARPA, NAKULA, SIMHA, VYAGHRA, RIKSHA, TARAKSHA, CAMARA, JIVITA BHITE TESHAM SARVESHAM. MAHA SITATAPATRA, MAHA VAJROSHNISHA, MAHA PRATY-ANGIRAM, YAVAT DVADASA YOJANA ABHY-ANTARENA SIMA BANDHAM KAROMI. DISA BANDHAM KAROMI. PARA VIDYA BANDHAM KAROMI. TEJO BANDHAM KAROMI. HASTA BANDHAM KAROMI. PADA BANDHAM KAROMI. SARVA ANGA-PRATYANGA BANDHAM KAROMI. TADYATHA: OM! ANALE ANALE VISADA VISADA, BANDHA BANDHA BANDHANI BANDHANI, VIRA VAJRAPANI PHAT, HUM BHRUM PHAT SVAHA. NAMO SARVA TATHAGATA SUGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHAYA SIDDHYANTU MANTRAPADAYA SVAHA.

I didn't write that sentence so you should take it up with the person who posted that on those forums. This is excerpts of Hsuan Hua's actual commentary on the Shurangama mantra: http://cttbusa.org/shurangama6/shurangama6_8.asp So, the Shurangama Mantra was not spoken by Shakyamuni Buddha himself in the flesh, but rather it was proclaimed by the transformation-body Buddha he sent out into empty space. As to the mantra, no one understands it. Nor is it possible to explain it syllable by syllable and line by line. But if you want to understand it, I can try to explain it for you. However, this is not the time for that, because we are in the middle of the explanation of the Shurangama Sutra, and the mantra alone couldn't be completely explained in a year, or even in three years, or even ten years. So, at this point it cannot be explained thoroughly. I will simply explain the general meaning of the mantra. The mantra has five divisions which correspond to the five directions : north, south, east, west, and the middle. The eastern division is the Vajra division, with Akshobhya Buddha as the teaching host. The southern division is the Production-of-Jewels division, with Production-of-Jewels Buddha as the teaching host. The central division is the Buddha division, with Shakyamuni Buddha as the teaching host. The western division is the Lotus division, with Amitabha Buddha as the teaching host. The northern division is the Karma division, with Accomplishment Buddha as the teaching host. There are five divisions, because there are five huge demonic armies in this world. There are demons to the east, south, west, north, and in the center. Since there are these five demon armies, not just five demons, the Buddhas also cover the five directions to suppress the demons. If there were no Buddhas, the demons could appear openly in the world. Within the five divisions of the mantra there are, in general, more than thirty dharmas, and it has more than a hundred dharmas that can be discussed in detail. There are five major kinds of dharmas: 1) Dharmas of accomplishment. This means that with this dharma, you will be successful in what you seek or in what you vow or wish for. 2) Dharmas of increasing benefit. This means that when you recite this mantra, you can increase benefits which you yourself seek and you can also increase benefits for other people. 3) Dharmas of hooking and summoning. This means, literally, to "hook in" and catch and to call with a command all the weird beings, demons, and ghosts. No matter how far away they might be from you, you can bring them in and capture them. For instance, suppose one of them is harming someone, and when they finish they run away. If one knows how to use the dharma of hooking and summoning, then no matter how far that being may have run, you can arrest him. 4) Dharmas of subduing. Demons also have spiritual penetrations and mantras which they use. When you recite your mantras, they recite their mantras. But if you can use the Shurangama Mantra, you can smash through all their mantras. I've told you before about the section of the mantra which is for smashing the demon kings. It also is effective in destroying their mantras and spells. Although I've taught you this already, it bears repeating here. Those who have not studied this yet can take note of it. Why was it that as soon as the Shurangama Mantra was recited the former Brahma Heaven mantra lost its effectiveness? It was because of the "Five Great Heart Mantras." Chr Two Ni E Jya La Mi Li Ju Bwo Li Dan La Ye Ning Jye Li These five lines are called the "Five Great Heart Mantras." It is the fundamental mantra for destroying the mantras and spells of the heavenly demons and adherents of externalist ways. It doesn't matter what kind of mantra they come up with; you can destroy it with this one. Their mantras will lose their effectiveness. This dharma I've just transmitted could sell for several million dollars, but I do not sell it. Seeing that you have a certain amount of sincerity, I transmit it to you absolutely free. 5) Dharmas of dispelling disasters. Whatever calamity is due to occur can be prevented. For instance, suppose a person was due to fall into the sea and drown, but by reciting the Shurangama Mantra, he avoids the catastrophe. He might fall into the sea, but he doesn't drown. Perhaps you are in a boat that ought to sink, but you recite this mantra and the boat does not go down. Maybe you're in an airplane that is destined to crash, but you recite the Shurangama Mantra and the plane lands without incident. I'll tell you something incredible. I was going from Burma to Thailand, an air route that is particularly dangerous. But during that trip, the plane didn't show the effects of any turbulence. The ride was absolutely smooth. Even the pilot commented, "Why has it been such smooth going on this trip?" He had no idea that during that ride the gods, dragons, and the rest of the eightfold division, as well as Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, were on all sides of the airplane guarding and protecting it. That's the way the dharma of dispelling disasters works. When there clearly should be an accident, it can change big disasters to small ones and make small ones never even happen. Usually what happens is there's "alarm but no danger" if you recite the Shurangama Mantra. In general, the mantra contains dharmas of auspiciousness. This means that when you recite the Shurangama Mantra, everything goes just as you'd like it to. It's really lucky and extremely auspicious. The advantages of the mantra are so many that one could not even begin to express them in several years time. But at this time, I'll limit my explanation to these few dharmas and meanings.

Mostly it has to do with reducing the possible effects of past unripened actions and clearing karmic obstacles to progression on the path while generating merit to sustain continual progress on the path.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.044.than.html Loka Sutta: The World Dwelling at Savatthi. There the Blessed One addressed the monks: "I will teach you the origination of the world & the ending of the world. Listen & pay close attention. I will speak." "As you say, lord," the monks responded to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said: "And what is the origination of the world? Dependent on the eye & forms there arises eye-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair come into play. This is the origination of the world. "Dependent on the ear & sounds there arises ear-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the nose & aromas there arises nose-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the tongue & flavors there arises tongue-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the body & tactile sensations there arises body-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the intellect & mental qualities there arises intellect-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair come into play. This is the origination of the world. "And what is the ending of the world? Dependent on the eye & forms there arises eye-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. Now, from the remainderless cessation & fading away of that very craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress & suffering. This is the ending of the world. "Dependent on the ear & sounds there arises ear-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the nose & aromas there arises nose-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the tongue & flavors there arises tongue-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the body & tactile sensations there arises body-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the intellect & mental qualities there arises intellect-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. Now, from the remainderless cessation & fading away of that very craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress & suffering. This is the ending of the world." http://thetaobums.com/topic/33577-satipatthana-the-direct-path-to-realization/ XI.1 THE SENSE-SPHERES AND THE FETTERS ....According to the discourses, to develop understanding and detach­ment in regard to these six internal and external sense-spheres is of central importance for the progress towards awakening. An impor­tant aspect of such understanding is to undermine the misleading sense of a substantial "I" as the independent experiencer of sense objects. Awareness directed to each of these sense-spheres will re­veal that subjective experience is not a compact unit, but rather a compound made up of six distinct "spheres" each of which is de­pendently arisen. Each of these sense-spheres includes both the sense organ and the sense object Besides the five physical senses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body) and their respective objects (sight, sound, smell, flavour, and touch), the mind (mano) is included as the sixth sense, together with its mental objects {dhamma). In the present context, "mind (mano) represents mainly the activity of thought {mannati). While the five physical senses do not share each other's respective field of activity, all of them relate to the mind as the sixth sense. That is, all perceptual processes rely to some extent on the interpretative role of the mind, since it is the mind which "makes sense" out of the other senses. This shows that the early Buddhist scheme of six sense-spheres does not set pure sense perception against the conceptual activity of the mind, but considers both as interrelated processes, which together bring forth the subjective experience of the world.... ....Often these six senses and their objects occur in descriptions of the conditioned arising of consciousness (viniiatia).7 An intriguing as­pect of this conditional situation is the rote that subjective influence plays in the perceptual process * Experience, represented by the six types of consciousness, is the outcome of two determinant influ­ences: the "objective" aspect on the one hand, that is, the in-com ing sensory impressions; and the "subjective" aspect on the other hand, namely, the w ay in which these sense impressions are received and cognized. Supposedly objective perceptual appraisal is in reality conditioned by the subject as much as by the object. One's experience of the world is the product of an interaction between the "sub­jective" influence exercised by how one perceives the world, and the "objective" influence exercised by the various phenomena of the ex­ternal world.... ....Although a fetter arises in dependence on sense and object, the binding force of such a fetter should not be attributed to the senses or objects per se. The discourses illustrate this with the example of two bulls, bound together by a yoke. Just as their bondage is not caused by either of the bulls, but by the yoke, so too the fetter should not be imputed to either its inner or its outer conditions (for example eye and forms), but to the binding force of desire... http://thetaobums.com/topic/33576-the-magic-of-the-mind/ ....The trends that set in with the vortical interplay between consciousness and name-and-form, continue through the subsequent links of the formula of Dependent Arising. The six sense-spheres bifurcate themselves precipitating a dichotomy of an 'internal' and an 'external' with its concomitant notions of a 'here' and a 'there', Contact, in a specific sense, is a sequel to this very dichotomy. It implies a principle of discrimination between two things and consciousness fulfils this condition, “Dependent on the eye and forms, friends, there arises eye-consciousness, a coming together of the three is contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ” (M. I. 111. Madhupindika S.). The canonical simile of the friction between two sticks illustrates this aspect of contact. With feeling, the split in experience becomes sufficiently palpable as to call forth the notion: 'I am'. “Where, friend, there is no feeling at all, would there be any such notion as: 'I am' ?” “There would not, Lord." (D.II 67. Mahànidàna S.). The discriminative function of consciousness is seen here in the form of distinguishing three feeling-tones and hence sometimes one finds consciousness itself being defined in terms of knowing discriminatively (vijànàti) the three grades of feeling -- 'pleasant' (sukha), 'unpleasant' (dukkha) and 'neither unpleasant-nor-pleasant' (adukkhamasukha). Out of this discrimination there arises craving (or 'thirst') for the pleasant and consequently, a reaching-out --a 'grasping'-- for the same. In the process of 'grasping' there is involved a kind of 'projection' of desires (cf.`nati' -- inclination, bent) whereby the split in experience widens into a definite gap between a subject and an object. `Becoming' or `existence' is the make-believe attempt to bridge this gap which, however, forever remains unabridged, for the material on which it relies is perpetually crumpling up underneath. ^^^^^ This is the principle of dependent origination which forms the basis for buddhadharma.

Repentance in this case should not be conflated with "original sin", but viewed in terms of dependent origination. By chanting the names of the 88 buddhas one generates merit i.e. positive force. By confessing of one's harmful or destructive actions, of body, speech, mind, generated from the imprints of ignorance, craving, aggression: one sows the seeds for liberation in one's mindstream. Repentance then becomes a means, to direct one's attention towards one's actions of body, speech, and mind, that perpetuates one's experience of samsara.

These posts from DW can help clarify this matter: http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=15577&start=40 Malcolm: ...For example, in the Zangs Yig Can, Vimala writes: What is that “vidyā?” Vidyā with knowledge obscurations is knowing and lucid. Here it is clearly stated that Vidyā can possess obscurations of knowledge. And: 1) Characteristic is called “the vidyā which designates general phenomena and just its own names.” Its action is just-that-itself being a clear non-conceptual awareness, which is polluted by many cognitions. 2) Appropriating the basis*: when all cognitions are created when abiding in one’s body, and existing within its own clarity; this is called “the unripe vidyā.” *basis here refers to the body. There are three more: the vidyā present in the basis the vidyā of insight the vidyā of tögal He concludes: Are those vidyā’ the same, or are they different? There is nothing other than a single essence. Therefore, vidyā has different modes depending on whether or not you have received instruction or not. The essence of the vidyā does not change. But the context of how it is understood changes depending on whether you are on the path or not. This is why it is termed "contaminated by many cognitions", and so on. ... Mutsuk: If that can help understanding, the concept of unripened Rigpa (ma-smin-pa'i rig-pa) is pretty simply explained by Longchenpa in his Tshig-don-mdzod (I'm translating back from JL's translation and transcripts): de yang gzhi nas ’phags pa’i rig pa sa bon lta bu grol ’khrul gang byed ma nges pas ma smin pa’i rig pa zhes bya ste/ /sangs rgyas su smin par byed pa ni rtogs pa’i shes rab kyis byas te Furthermore, since the Awareness that arises from the Base is like a seed, uncertain to produce either freedom or delusion, it is called “unripened Awareness” : that which will mature it into full Buddhahood is the Sublime Knowledge of realization. In other words, following Khenpo Jikphun (transcript from JLA) : « — You have the Base (gzhi) of the natural state. That state has a knowledge (rig pa) which, owing to the dynamism of the state (which is not static), flashes out of the Base. The mode (tshul) in which it arises or flashes (‘phags pa) out of the Base is uncertain (ma nges pa) since the nature of this mode will vary according to realization [and non-realization]. Therefore this state of Rigpa is styled as “unripened” (ma-smin-pa) because it has not yet been “brought to maturity” through the Prajna or Sublime Knowledge that realises its very nature. In case, one does not recognize the nature of the epiphany (sounds, rays and lights) of the Base, one enters the mode (tshul) of ignorance (ma-rig-pa) and one errs into delusion (‘khrul pa). If one recognizes the nature of this epiphany (sounds, rays and lights as being our own natural manifestations [rang-snang]), then one enters the mode of Rigpa and that of freedom (grol ba). This is why "uncertainty (ma nges pa) is associated with the notion of unripened Awareness (ma-smin-pa'i rig-pa). When that Awareness is clearly experienced for what it is, then there is no uncertainty anymore.» ... asunthatneversets: The point is that vidyā, while in essence is undefiled, can become associated with the contamination of non-recognition, karmic traces and habitual tendencies which cause it to become confused, and when that occurs vidyā becomes one's mere clarity [cognizance] of mind. "General delusion [avidyā] is caused by the stain of vidyā [rig pa] not recognizing the manifest basis, through which vidyā itself becomes polluted with delusion. Though vidyā itself is without the stains of cognition, it becomes endowed with stains, and through its becoming enveloped in the seal of mind, the vidyā of the ever pure essence is polluted by conceptualization. Chained by the sixfold manas, it is covered with the net of the body of partless atoms, and the luminosity becomes latent." - Longchenpa It is true that these afflictive traces are empty from the very beginning, however that doesn't mean we are innately in recognition of this, and even after recognition of wisdom has occurred, traces still continue to surface. This is why the nature of mind is not equivalent to primordial wisdom, because the nature of mind is endowed with traces which must be exhausted through familiarization with the view. The 'gradual improvement' or refinement of vidyā is the entire path of Dzogchen. Beginning with the ignorance [avidyā] of a sentient being where vidyā appears as the mere indeterminate clarity of mind, one then seeks to recognize the nature of mind. Once recognition of the mind's nature has occurred avidyā is then overturned, but karma is still arising incessantly and habitually. It is true that while resting in the view, those karmic propensities arise as wisdom, but in the beginning the individual will eventually succumb to those propensities, distraction will ensue and the view will be temporarily lost (just as you said, this is the point where rigpa doesn't last). As a result of this oscillation between distraction and vidyā, practice is divided between meditation (effortless resting in the natural state) and post-meditation (everyday relative experience). Meditation and post-meditation are not fully intermingled until the path of no more learning, which is essentially buddhahood. Dharmakāya (as unobscured buddha mind) only becomes fully evident once obscurations and traces are cleared. The less one's knowledge of wisdom is obstructed, the more 'refined' one's vidyā becomes: From the Necklace of Precious Pearls Tantra: "The dharmakāya is the exhaustion of contamination." and "When divested of this mind, one is expansively awakened into buddhahood."

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You mean you didn't notice when I posted a topic on Tsongkhapa's Lam Rim Chen Mo?

I'm a Gelugpa. I have no problem with it.

Forget it.

You don't think this is similar to Sri Nisargadatta's "nothingess" experience do you?

Jim Carrey endorses Eckhart Tolle.

What does it look like then when you post stuff like this?

Forget it.

Yet, you can't overcome your own biased double standards when encountering the teachings of buddhadharma. What's up with that?

I personally find it all amusing.