the two truths

8/13/2019 The Two Truths

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The Two Truths

Please prepare this session by generating a mind of enlightenment, bodhicitta, to

benefit the limitless number of sentient beings. I rejoice to have the opportunity

to come here and teach the holy teaching of the Lord Buddha. Most of the

participants in this audience now me, and this gives me an especially good

feeling.

!n important term in Tibetan Buddhism is nang, which means "inner# or "interior.#

$appiness and misery shall not be understood with regard to e%ternal objects,

and to attain ultimate and unchanging happiness, one needs to reali&e one's

innermost being. (ne must strive to study the worings of the mind. )hen we

reali&e our innermost being, we will reali&e the meaning of life and the meaning

of the happiness that we e%perience in our life. In Buddhist teachings, the term

"happiness# refers to authentic happiness.

In the beginning is it important to study the teachings of the Buddha. The ancient

Indian master, called *igniga, said, "Initially one should e%ert oneself in studying,

followed by a phase of reflection, which should be followed a phase of meditation

practice.# By engaging oneself in the study of the Buddha's teachings, one will

achieve peace of mind.

By gleaning wisdom from listening and studying, one can cut through the doubt

and hesitation with regard to the ultimate truth and ac+uire a very determined

mind. )hen one has gained certainty of the ultimate truth through listening and

studying, as well as reflection and contemplation, one needs to implement this

certainty by uniting it with the phase of meditation. By relying on the wisdom that

comes from meditation, one will be able to uproot the disturbing emotions.

The yingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism places a great deal of emphasis on

analytical contemplation, which is the initial process of listening and studying. If

one initially does not ac+uire the wisdom that comes from profound analysis, it is

impossible to ac+uire wisdom from meditation. If concentrative meditation is not

united with the analytical contemplation, by for e%ample only favoring analytical

meditation, the Tibetan e%pression "idiot meditator# may be applicable. o

benefit will come from such meditation. -o, one should unite analytical

contemplation with concentrative meditation. Then, one should only do


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concentrative meditation. I brought up this in order to underline the importance

of the processes of listening, contemplating and meditating. I studied the

teaching of the Buddha for ten years, and then meditation came +uite easily.

!s sentient beings, we are e%troverted. )e tend to perceive e%ternal objective

phenomena through our senses. Therefore, we are not able to turn our mind

inwards and loo at ourselves. It is easy for you to see the stain on somebody

else's face, but it taes effort to see the stain on one's own. The same goes for

the sense of hearing. (ur bodies mae numerous sounds that we seldom hear,

although we easily hear sounds from outside.

Because of the function of the five senses of sentient beings, we are capable of

developing a lot of discursive thoughts. The mind that is occupied with discursive

thoughts is a deluded mind that tries to establish what is pure and what is

impure, what is right and what is wrong, what is deluded and what is not

deluded, what is true and what is untrue.

The deluded mind tries to decide what we see and hear by using our senses. But

the mind of the Buddha perceives e%ternal phenomena in a completely different

way as lacing true e%istence and characteristics. Phenomena that have no

characteristics do not e%ist. To +uote the heart sutra "The 'I' does not have any

true characteristics/ the ear does not have any true characteristics/ the tongue

does have any true characteristics.# This can be applied to all sensory organs, to

the sensory consciousnesses, and to the mind 0 they all lac true e%istence. If all

these things lac true e%istence, then what is the truth1 !ccording to the teaching

of the Buddha, there are two levels of truth.

The first truth is relative truth/ the second truth is absolute truth. The Tibetan

word for relative truth implies "all# and "without essence.# !ll samsaricphenomena are impermanent. -uch phenomena can be very deceptive. It is easy

to observe that all phenomena are impermanent/ one can see an infant born and

gradually grow into a toddler, adolescent, and adult. !lso, our e feelings change.

-ometimes we e%perience joy/ sometimes misery. Impermanence applies e+ually

to the e%ternal element of nature.

It is difficult to find ultimate fulfillment. (ne can aspire to become wealthy, and

thin that one will be happy by the time one has a certain amount of money in

the ban. $owever, as soon as this happens, one wants to have even more. It is


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therefore difficult for a samsaric being to attain ultimate fulfillment.

The Buddha said that lacing something is an illusion, and so is not lacing

something. )hen we lac something that we want we are miserable. This

situation changes when we obtain something that we want, but cannot guarantee

our happiness because new miseries will accompany the possession of new

things.

!ll discursive thoughts can be traced to the three disturbing emotions

attachment, anger and ignorance. The presence of discursive thoughts in a mind

that is filled with these emotions maes it very difficult for us to attain the

omniscient state of the Buddha.

To reali&e relative truth, one must understand impermanence. Impermanence

should be understood in terms of birth. Birth is followed by destruction. If you, as

a meditator, reali&e the meaning of the relative truth in this way, you will receive

immense benefit even if you lac the reali&ation of the ultimate truth. $owever, if

you believe in the permanence of the relative truth with regard to your beloved,

with regard to your spouse, with regard to your friends and family, or material

objects, you will suffer. But again, if you reali&e the impermanence of relative

truth with regards to all those things, you will be at peace.

If one observes the physical e%istence of Buddha -hayamuni, one would see the

nature of impermanence affecting his body, but the mind of Buddha -hayamuni,

is enlightened and don't now the miseries of birth, old age, sicness and death.

The view that holds onto the permanence, the true e%istence, and the singularity

of the e%ternal phenomena, is a perverted view. In contrast, if you reali&e the

impermanent, selfless, empty, and suffering nature of the e%ternal phenomena,particularly with regard to your physical e%istence, your mind will not be

perverted.

To understand the meaning of relative truth, it is essential to reali&e the meaning

of impermanence. Instead of trusting the objective phenomena, one should

reali&e that the e%ternal phenomena do not hold absolute happiness. They are

tainted by misery and suffering. If we reali&e the impermanent nature of the

objective reality of the objective phenomena, such a reali&ation corresponds to

the universal truth. If this understanding develops into the reali&ation of the


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emptiness of the true e%istence of objective phenomena, this is the reali&ation of

emptiness, the absolute truth.

The ultimate truth lies beyond the domain of e%pression and description. !bsolute

truth cannot be e%pressed because our mind is powerless to do so. (ur mind

nows only two things the e%treme of e%istence and the e%treme of non2

e%istence. (ur mind cannot go beyond these two e%tremes. 3or e%ample, if you

cannot see something, you will not believe that it e%ists. The same applies to our

sense organs. 3or e%ample, the ear is rather small, with a small hole, and there is

an infinite number of sounds that we cannot hear. )e believe the sounds we can

hear, we do not believe the sounds we cannot hear. The same applies to the nose,

tongue, and the sin/ their capacity to discern is very wea. Because of this, we

are not able to understand all phenomena.

4arlier I said that the sense organs lac characteristics. Because of this, our

sense organs are incapable of perceiving the whole spectrum of reality. This is

why the Buddha said that the sense organs lac characteristics, or true e%istence.

(ne of the Tibetan scholars said that if our eyes were placed in a different

position, for e%ample vertical, then our reality would be completely changed.

)hen the Buddha said that the three realms are only in the mind, it means that

the actual determining factor is one's own mind. The phenomena are not

determined by the objective reality. They are determined by how our minds

perceive them.

If we close our eyes and prevent our sense organs from being distracted, this is a

ind of meditation. In the sutra the Buddha tals about the threefold meditation

or samadhi meditation 5-ansrit to mae firm, one2pointed concentration6. The

Buddha tals about the samadhi that is associated with the three gates of the

body, speech and mind. 3or e%ample, if you open the gates of your mind or senseorgans, then many discursive thoughts will come through. But if you shut the

gates, then the discursive thought will be bloced from your mind. The Buddha

gave instruction on how to practice closing the gates of one's body, speech and

mind. $e said that one should sit still, remain silent, and concentrate. If you could

practice this simple meditation techni+ue of in a +uiet place for seven days, then

you will certainly be able to suppress your conflicting emotions, at least while you

are meditating. If you cannot do this for one wee, then you probably will not be

able to gain control over your disturbing emotions.


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(ur many past lives have made us very familiar with our disturbing emotions.

Therefore, it is crucial for the meditator to use mindfulness to loo within his or

her mind. This is meditation. In this way, one can practice meditation in formal

sessions and implement whatever meditative e%perience one has gained in the

informal period, into one's daily life. )hen the formal meditation session is

supplemented with post meditation practice, then one is not only able to suppress

and gain control over one's disturbing emotions, but one will be capable of

eradicating the root of the disturbing thoughts and emotions. It is therefore

important to combine the actual meditation session with the post meditation

session.

This has been a very brief presentation of the relative truth and the ultimate

truth. *o you have +uestions1

7uestion Is analytical meditation an absolute necessity for a real meditation

e%perience1

The Buddha teaches about the emptiness of self. (ne should not accept the

teaching of the Buddha at face value/ one should thoroughly analy&e the

teachings. There is a reason the Buddha gave the teaching on emptiness of the

self, and one needs to reali&e the validity of this reason. To do this one must

analy&e and use one's investigative powers. 3or e%ample, in the practice of being

mindful of one's body, one should observe one's body and try to determine

whether there e%ists a self within the body or not. The Indian Buddhist master

8handrairti laid out the seven2fold reasoning of no2self of the chariot. If you

meditate upon this seven2fold reasoning, then you are doing analytical

meditation.

-ince infinite time we have accustomed to thining that an ego e%ists. )hatever

we do is based on the true e%istence of self. )e put a tremendous amount of

trust into the notion. )e trust what "I# thin is true, what "I# state is true.

)hatever the self does, we thin is absolutely right. If we build the ego in this

manner, then this self will become so huge that it maes it difficult for us to see

others.

Because of the law of interdependence, it is impossible to e%perience happiness

for oneself without e%periencing happiness for other sentient beings. This implies


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that our e%perience is intimately connected with that of our fellow beings.

Therefore, the Buddha claims that the e%istence of the self is responsible for

suffering. The Buddha has also said that the altruistic mind brings about benefit

for all living beings. In order to trust the teachings of the Buddha, one needs to

study, listen, reflect and meditate. Then one can become convinced of the validity

of these teachings. This is the foundation of the teaching of the Buddha.

4verybody nows this, but it bears repeating.

I believe that many of you are +uite nowledgeable on this topic, and that many

of you have been practicing for many years. 9ou are therefore a most receptive

audience. It is crucial for a teacher to share his personal understanding with such

an audience.

7uestion But you can study for a lifetime without being finished. )hen does one

now that one should stop studying and go into retreat instead1

)hen you gain a profound certainty with regard to the emptiness of self, you can

drop your studies and apply this understanding to your meditation practice. But

until you develop this profound certainty, you should continue your study. But if

you still pursue your academic study through listening and reading after you have

reali&ed the meaning of the view, this is no point, because you have found your

lost elephant. *uring the time of the Buddha, the elephant was a very special and

beloved animal. That is why the elephant is used as a symbol in the Buddhist

te%ts.

7uestion I am a bit confused about the term "study# in this conte%t, because the

way it is being presented it seems to imply more than an intellectual

understanding 0 that there is an insight as well that must be gained by

meditation. 8an you e%plain a little bit more about the meaning of study in thisconte%t1

If you are capable of digesting the teaching, when you hear instructions from a

meditation master, this teaching will actually create peace in your mind, and this

peace will permeate your body and your speech. Therefore the sign of having

studied and heard teachings is the e%perience of peace. !nd the sign of whether

you have meditated is the absence of discursive thoughts.

By relying on the phase of study and listening you are liely to generate the


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meditative e%perience of shamatha. But such a process alone will not guarantee

the reali&ation of the vipashyana, or insight meditation. :iving rise to the

e%perience of shamatha meditation will bring your closer to the successive

meditation e%periences that will lead you to the e%perience of the vipashyana

meditation.

3or e%ample, while you are studying and listening, instead of letting your mind

become distracted, focus on what you are studying and hearing/ this constitutes

the practice of one2 pointed concentration. !lso, because the objective focus of

your meditation is a virtuous object, because you are studying dharma, your

mind will be protected from non virtuous objects, at least while you are studying.

This type of practice will constitute the practice of both the *harma and

meditation.

Buddhist practice should not be understood only in terms of escaping to an

isolated retreat and staying within a small cell. !ny practice that will lessen one's

discursive thoughts or conflicting emotions constitutes Buddhist meditation

practice. If the phase of study and listening allows you to e%clude discursive

thoughts, then this also constitutes a practice. To use an e%ample, compounds

that cure an illness are called "medicine.# But if these compounds cannot

eliminate illness, you cannot call it "medicine.# If you are able to lessen or prevent

your discursive thoughts from occurring, whether from listening or contemplation

or meditation, then this is the practice of meditation.

Before we enter into the gates of *harma, our minds entertain many polarities

and e%tremes such as e%istence, non2e%istence, good and bad, and so on ad

infinitum. )hen we enter the *harma, the creation of polarities stops, and one

will not loo upon study and listening as not being meditation. )e often thin that

one particular aspect of *harma is not meditation, whereas another is genuinelylined with meditation practice. This habit of creating polarities within the *harma

will interfere with the practice, but if you understand the meaning of *harma

though the process of study and listening, it is possible to unite all the trivial acts

that one performs in one's daily life 0 such as waing up, waling around, sitting

or sleeping 0 within the practice of *harma. 4veryday actions can be transformed

into virtuous actions. This transformation can happen because we now how to do

so.

-ometimes we thin that we can only meditate by separating ourselves from


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In the same way, the practice of humility with regard to all sentient beings is

crucial. If I, as a Buddhist, have a philosophy that is profounder then that of

others, or that my religion is more genuine than others, this will increase ego and

arrogance, which will lead to the condemnation of others. If this is the case, then

my engagement in Buddhist practice does not serve any real purpose.

!s we practice, gradually a shift taes place in our mind so that we are capable of

generating a sense of love and compassion even towards our enemy. This shift

occurs because of a transformation of attitude. !ctually, even if we thin we have

has an enemy, in reality the e%ternal enemy is neither our friend nor our enemy.

The actual nature of the so called enemy eludes both friend and enemy. If you

study the *harma through listening and hearing, reflection and meditation, and

ac+uire the corresponding wisdom, this wisdom will have the power to change

your mind to perceive the reality, as it is, not in limited way. !lso, in a real sense

medicine is not medicine, nor is it poison. It depends on the one taing the

medicine.

)hether you perceive the phenomenal world as pure or impure depends solely on

your perceiving mind. )e cannot describe the e%ternal world as pure or impure.

The e%ternal world escapes both purity and impurity, because in the final analysis

the perceiving mind decides whether it is pure or impure.

This world can be a paradise or a hell. !s the Buddha said, "I have showed you

the path to liberation. ow, whether you gain the enlightenment of liberation or

not is your responsibility.# This means that your attitude and perspective are the

most crucial elements. !s we said earlier, the phenomenal world of the three

realms is nothing more than a creation of one's mind.

If one understands these teachings, then this place can be paradise wherever one

actually is. If one does not reali&e this, one will go through hell on earth. If one

lacs this understanding, then even if one were to meet !mitabha, the Buddha of

boundless light, one will not be able to recogni&e him. But if one reali&es this

meaning, then the ne%t person transfigures into the Buddha of boundless light.

In the sutras, the Buddha says that the nature of all living being is sugatagarbha,

Buddha2nature. In the tantric teaching, the Buddha says that all phenomenal

e%perience and appearance in reality is infinite purity.


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(slo, ;une

Translated by Lama 8hangchub at ?arma Tashi Ling Buddhist 8entre, orway

the two truths

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