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Attain permanent liberation from the sufferings

of samsaric rebirth

The Five Object-ascertaining Mental Factors

The five object-ascertaining mental factors are:

1 Aspiration

2 Firm apprehension

3 Mindfulness

4 Concentration

5 Wisdom

They are called ‘object-ascertaining’ mental factors because the objects of these mental factors are necessarily particular objects.

ASPIRATION

DEFINITION OF ASPIRATION

The definition of aspiration is a mental factor that focuses on a desired object and takes an interest in it.

Aspiration, desire and wish are synonyms. Thus, we are reading this book because we developed an aspiration, a desire, or a wish to do so.

FUNCTION OF ASPIRATION

The main function of aspiration is to induce effort. For example, if we lack the aspiration to receive teachings or to meditate we will put no effort into these activities. All tasks, whether worldly or spiritual, must be preceded by aspiration if we are to apply ourself to them. The success of our actions depends upon how much effort we put into them; and the stronger our aspiration, the stronger our effort will be. If our aspiration is weak our effort will also be weak; and if we completely lack aspiration we will do nothing at all.

It is most important to cultivate appropriate aspirations. For example, at the beginning of each meditation in the Lamrim teachings there is an explanation of the benefits of doing that meditation and the disadvantages of not doing it. The purpose of these explanations is to help us to develop the aspiration to engage in the meditation.

DIVISIONS OF ASPIRATION

There are four types of aspiration:

1 Wishing to meet an object

2 Wishing not to be separated from an object

3 Wishing to obtain an object

4 Wishing to be released from an object

Each of these can be virtuous, non-virtuous or neutral, depending upon its motivation. Examples of the first are wishing to meet Spiritual Guides, Buddhas or Bodhisattvas; or wishing to meet our family and friends. Examples of the second are wishing not to be separated from our Spiritual Guides or our Dharma practice; or wishing not to be separated from our friends, our possessions or our home. Examples of the third are wishing to attain Dharma realizations such as renunciation, bodhichitta and wisdom; or wishing to obtain material possessions, high status, good reputation or other worldly achievements. Examples of the fourth are wishing to be free from samsara, the two obstructions, or self-cherishing and other non-virtuous minds; or wishing to escape from people or situations we dislike.

Every sentient being develops many aspirations each day, but they are all included within either the aspiration to obtain happiness or the aspiration to be free from unhappiness. There is no one who does not have these two aspirations; they are our basic wishes from which all our other wishes arise. Even tiny insects have these two wishes and strive to fulfil them. Unfortunately ordinary beings do not know the real causes of happiness and suffering, and so in their pursuit of happiness they often bring suffering upon themselves, and in striving to avoid suffering often increase it.

There is also a twofold division of aspiration:

1 Mistaken aspirations

2 Non-mistaken aspirations

A mistaken aspiration is any wish that is not consistent with our basic aspirations to experience happiness and avoid suffering, and a non-mistaken aspiration is one that is ­consistent with these basic aspirations. The difference between a wise person and a foolish person is his or her aspirations. Even if we have not studied extensively, if our aspiration is good and unmistaken we will naturally engage in virtuous actions, which will result in happiness; but if our aspirations are mistaken we will not succeed in finding happiness no matter how great our worldly intelligence. Often criminals are highly intelligent and clever but because their aspirations are mistaken they commit crimes for which they are sent to prison.

If our wishes are not good, this is a sign that we do not possess true wisdom. Some people study Dharma for many years but receive little benefit, and their understanding remains only intellectual. The main reason for this is that their aspirations are not pure. Although superficially they have some interest in Dharma, deep down their real interest is in worldly things. Other people whose aspiration is pure receive genuine experience of Dharma even though they have not studied extensively. Their correct aspirations encourage them to engage in pure, virtuous actions, and these result in pure effects. What we accomplish depends primarily upon what we wish for, and so if our wishes are pure we will obtain pure results from our practice. The most important thing, therefore, is to develop and maintain correct aspirations. The supreme aspiration is bodhichitta, the wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. With this aspiration all our actions become causes of attaining Buddhahood.

Basically Dharma practice is quite simple because all we need to do is to receive correct Dharma teachings by ­listening to qualified Teachers or by reading authentic books, an­d then mix our mind with these teachings by meditating on them. Whenever we listen to teachings or read Dharma books we should develop a correct aspiration, or motivation, concerning each subject, and maintain this aspiration with single-pointed focus. We need to cultivate virtuous aspirations such as the wish to seize the essence of our human life, renunciation and bodhichitta. If we meditate on these aspirations continuously, eventually they will arise spontaneously in our mind. Training in this way is the very essence of Dharma practice.

FIRM APPREHENSION

DEFINITION OF FIRM APPREHENSION

The definition of firm apprehension is a mental factor that makes its primary mind apprehend its object firmly.

This mental factor is present in all realizations. If a correct awareness holds its object firmly through the force of this mental factor it necessarily realizes its object. Although some wrong awarenesses hold their objects firmly, they are not realizations because their objects do not exist and so there is no actual understanding. The reason why non-ascertaining direct perceivers do not realize their objects is that they lack this mental factor.

FUNCTION OF FIRM APPREHENSION

The main function of firm apprehension is to make its primary mind apprehend its object firmly and thereby to realize that object. It also acts as a cause of mindfulness and concen­tration. Unless we understand an object firmly, with certainty, it is very difficult to keep our mind on it for long. Without firm apprehension our mind is like flowing water or a leaf in the wind. The reason we find it more difficult to keep our mind on a subtle object such as emptiness than on a gross object such as our breath is that we do not yet have firm apprehension of subtle objects.

There are three special types of firm apprehension observing emptiness that are attained during our spiritual development: one on the patience level of the path of preparation, one on the path of seeing, and one on the eighth ground. These are explained in teachings on the perfection of wisdom.

DIVISIONS OF FIRM APPREHENSION

There are two types of firm apprehension:

1 Correct firm apprehensions

2 Mistaken firm apprehensions

The first includes all firm apprehensions whose engaged object exists. An example of the second is grasping very tightly to a wrong view – for example, believing with strong conviction that this world is created by Ishvara. Even if we have wrong views, if we do not hold them very strongly they will not be very harmful because they can quickly be dispelled by listening to correct teachings; but if our wrong views are made firm by mistaken firm apprehension it will be very difficult for us to overcome them.

MINDFULNESS

DEFINITION OF MINDFULNESS

The definition of mindfulness is a mental factor that functions not to forget the object realized by the primary mind.

Mindfulness can focus only on an object that has already been realized; it is not present in the first moment of realizing an object. Mindfulness maintains the continuum of the original cognition by not forgetting the object. The reason an object is not forgotten is that the primary mind does not forget it, and the reason the primary mind does not forget the object is that it possesses the mental factor mindfulness. If a primary mind lacks mindfulness it will immediately forget its object. Without mindfulness our mind is like a leaky vessel – no matter how much we study we will not be able to retain anything.

Mindfulness is essential whenever we are listening to, contemplating or meditating on Dharma teachings. It is the life-force of Dharma practice. If our mindfulness declines, our knowledge and realizations will be lost. In Friendly Letter Nagarjuna says:

If mindfulness degenerates, all Dharmas degenerate.

FUNCTION OF MINDFULNESS

The function of mindfulness is to prevent distractions. The more stable our mindfulness, the fewer distracting thoughts we will have. If we meditate with strong mindfulness our mind will remain on its object without distraction and we will naturally develop stable concentration. At the moment the only type of mindfulness we can use is the conceptual mindfulness associated with gross levels of consciousness. We cannot yet use subtle mindfulness associated with subtle levels of consciousness, which is why we are unable to think clearly or meditate while we are asleep. When through meditation we learn to use subtle mindfulness we will be able to meditate even during sleep.

Dharma practitioners need to make a continuous effort to improve their mindfulness, both in and out of meditation. There are some teachers, such as the eighth-century Chinese monk Hashang, who teach that the way to meditate is simply to relax and let the mind go blank. This is very harmful advice because if we emphasize this practice our mindfulness will deteriorate and we will forget all we have learnt. Our Dharma realizations will degenerate and we will become dull and stupid.

DIVISIONS OF MINDFULNESS

In the Mahamudra teachings, mindfulness is divided into:

1 New mindfulness

2 Old mindfulness

Mindfulness functions both to keep the mind on an object that has not been forgotten, and to bring back to mind an object that has been forgotten. Until we attain the fourth mental abiding we sometimes forget the object of meditation and have to make an effort to remember it. To do this we need to rely upon new mindfulness. On the fourth mental abiding the power of mindfulness is complete and we never forget the object during the meditation session. From this point onwards all our mindfulness has to do is to keep a hold of the object. This is called ‘old mindfulness’.

There is another twofold division of mindfulness:

1 Mindfulness with movements of mental sinking and mental excitement

2 Mindfulness without movements of mental sinking and mental excitement

Although the power of mindfulness is completed on the fourth mental abiding, there still remain subtle mental sinking and subtle mental excitement within that state of non-forgetfulness. It is not until the eighth mental abiding that all movements of mental sinking and mental excitement cease.

Dharma texts advise us that if we wish to attain tranquil abiding we should try to do so while we are young because as we get older our powers decline and the power of our mindfulness decreases. Compared with old people, young people have clear and stable mindfulness. With stable mindfulness it is easier to develop concentration and eventually to attain tranquil abiding.

CONCENTRATION

DEFINITION OF CONCENTRATION

The definition of concentration is a mental factor that makes its primary mind remain on its object single-pointedly.

Concentration serves to focus our mind on one object. It can develop only when the object is held firmly by mindfulness. Most primary minds have a degree of concentration, but simply possessing good concentration does not mean that we have attained Dharma realizations. The concentrations that are mentioned in the Lamrim teachings are necessarily virtuous, but not all concentrations are virtuous. Sometimes concentration is neutral and sometimes it is non-virtuous. For example, when a black magician forms a curse he has strong concentration but this concentration is non-virtuous. Non-virtuous concentration should be avoided, but we need both virtuous and neutral concentration. Neutral concentration is necessary to prevent our mind from becoming distracted during mundane tasks, such as driving, sewing and cooking. For example, if we are distracted while we are driving we may have an accident, and if we are distracted while we are working we will be inefficient and make many mistakes. Without at least some concentration we could not even make a cup of tea.

Concentration is particularly important for our spiritual practice. Practices such as reciting mantras, listening, contemplating and meditating are effective only if they are done with a concentrated mind. Actions done with a distracted mind do not have much power and are subject to many errors. As Shantideva says in Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life:

Buddha, the All Knowing One, has said

That reciting mantras and prayers, and enduring spiritual hardships,

Even for a long time,

Are to no avail if the mind is distracted elsewhere.

Pure concentration has four qualities: lucidity, clarity, strength and stability. When the mind is free from the clouds of distracting conceptions it becomes bright and clear, like a cloudless sky; this is known as ‘lucidity’. ‘Clarity’ means that the object appears clearly and vividly to the mind, ‘strength’ that the object is held firmly by strong mindfulness, and ‘­stability’ that the mind abides single-pointedly on its object.

FUNCTION OF CONCENTRATION

The main function of virtuous concentration is to make the mind peaceful. In Precious Garland Nagarjuna says:

From giving comes wealth,

From discipline comes happiness,

From patience come attractive forms,

From effort comes the fulfilment of wishes,

From concentration comes peace,

And from wisdom comes liberation.

When our mind is free from the turbulence of distracting conceptions it becomes calm and smooth. When we are enjoying internal peace and happiness our craving for external sources of pleasure naturally declines and it is easy to remain content.

Pure concentration also helps to make our body and mind comfortable, flexible and easy to use in the practice of Dharma. This serviceability of the mind, which is called ‘suppleness’, is one of the main benefits that come from concentration. Although at present we have a certain degree of concentration when we meditate, it is relatively weak and short-lived, and so the suppleness it produces is subtle and difficult to recognize; but as our concentration becomes stronger and more stable our suppleness will also improve.

It is not just the intensity of suppleness that is important, for suppleness must also be firm and long-lasting. If we have suppleness that lasts for twenty-four hours a day we will always find it easy to engage in virtuous actions because we will never become physically or mentally tired; and we will always be delighted to listen to, contemplate and meditate on Dharma teachings. With this joy in Dharma practice we will find no difficulty in accomplishing the five paths, the ten grounds and the realizations of the two stages of Tantra.

Suppleness is the real opponent of laziness. According to Dharma, laziness is not just attachment to sleep and physical ease – it is any mind that is disinclined to engage in virtuous activities. There is no more important spiritual task than to eliminate laziness. With suppleness, virtuous activities such as contemplation or meditation become a pleasure and there is no reluctance to engage in them. The attainment of supple­ness depends upon concentration, concentration depends upon effort, effort depends upon aspiration, and aspiration depends upon recognizing the benefits of concentration. Ordinary people regard samsaric enjoyments, possessions and money as beneficial and so they put all their effort into acquiring these; but Dharma practitioners see the great benefits of concentration and strive earnestly to attain it.

Concentration gives us the freedom to accomplish whatever we wish for. Without concentration our mind has no freedom but is forced to go wherever it is led by attachment, hatred or other delusions. A person who has good, virtuous concentration has control over his mind, and his mind does what he wants it to do, like a well-trained horse that obeys its rider. By improving our concentration we can attain tranquil abiding, superior seeing, clairvoyance and miracle powers, and eventually complete all the paths to enlightenment; but if we lack concentration we will not be able to make any progress on the paths and grounds of the Mahayana, and so we will not be able to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, all mundane and supramundane attainments depend upon concentration.

We need concentration not only during formal meditation but also when we are listening to teachings or reading Dharma books. For example, if we read a book with a distracted mind we will not understand the meaning clearly. We may think that the fault lies in the book but in reality it lies in our distracted mind.

DIVISIONS OF CONCENTRATION

There are three ways of dividing virtuous concentration: from the point of view of realm, from the point of view of its effect and from the point of view of its object. There are nine levels of concentration from the point of view of realm:

1 Concentration of the desire realm

2 Concentration of the first form realm

3 Concentration of the second form realm

4 Concentration of the third form realm

5 Concentration of the fourth form realm

6 Concentration of infinite space

7 Concentration of infinite consciousness

8 Concentration of nothingness

9 Concentration of peak of samsara

In samsara there are nine realms in which sentient beings can take rebirth: the desire realm, the four form realms and the four formless realms. The desire realm has two levels: happy migrations, which include the realms of humans and gods, and unhappy migrations, which include the realms of hungry spirits, animals and hell beings.

There are nine levels of desire realm concentration:

1 Placing the mind

2 Continual placement

3 Replacement

4 Close placement

5 Controlling

6 Pacifying

7 Completely pacifying

8 Single-pointedness

9 Placement in equipoise

After we attain the ninth level, placement in equipoise, we go on to attain tranquil abiding, which marks the beginning of the concentration of the first form realm. There are four form realms: the first form realm, second form realm, third form realm and fourth form realm. There are also four formless realms: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness and peak of samsara. Peak of samsara is the highest of the nine realms, and the desire realm is the lowest.

Corresponding to the nine realms there are nine levels of being, nine levels of mind and nine levels of concentration. The grossest mind is that of a desire realm being. The mind of a being of the first form realm is slightly more subtle, and so on, until the concentration of peak of samsara, which is the most subtle mind within the nine realms.

To attain a mind of the first form realm it is not necessary to take rebirth in the form realm because we can attain tranquil abiding without abandoning our human body. Compared with the minds of the desire realm, form realm minds are more subtle, peaceful and concentrated. Although form realm beings still experience attachment to inner peace they have no anger and no attachment to external objects. Desire realm minds, on the other hand, are very gross and rough, and easily give rise to strong delusions. Without training in meditation it is difficult for beings in the desire realm to develop pure, virtuous concentration because their minds are so gross and distracted. However, if we train in meditation over a long period of time our mind will gradually become more ­subtle, our distractions less intense, and our meditation deeper. Eventually we will attain tranquil abiding and become free from the problems of desire realm beings.

There are two types of concentration from the point of view of their effect:

1 Mundane concentrations

2 Supramundane concentrations

Mundane concentrations are concentrations that are not motivated by at least renunciation and therefore cause only samsaric happiness. If our motivation for attaining tranquil abiding is to take rebirth in the form realm, for example, our concentration will be a mundane concentration because it will cause rebirth in samsara. Concentrations that are motiv­ated by renunciation or bodhichitta are supramundane concentrations because they lead us beyond samsara, to liberation or enlightenment.

There is another twofold division of concentration from the point of view of its object:

1 Concentrations observing conventional objects

2 Concentrations observing ultimate objects

Since there are many different types of conventional object, there are many different concentrations observing conventional objects; but since there are not different ultimate objects, from the point of view of their object there are not different concentrations observing ultimate objects.

It is also possible to divide concentrations from the point of view of their duration. Concentrations can range from a few moments of single-pointedness to an absorption that lasts forever. Once we attain tranquil abiding our concen­tration will be capable of remaining on an object for as long as we wish. The concentration of a Buddha never weakens but remains focused on its object forever. Foe Destroyers are also able to remain in concentration on the same object for very long periods.

WISDOM

DEFINITION OF WISDOM

The definition of wisdom is a virtuous, intelligent mind that makes its primary mind realize a meaningful object.

We need to understand or realize meaningful objects such as the existence of past and future lives, karma and emptiness. The chapter on meditation later in this book presents fourteen meditations, and the book The New Meditation Handbook presents twenty-one meditations. The objects of all these meditations are meaningful objects. Understanding these objects will bring great meaning to this life and to countless future lives. Many people are very intelligent in destroying their enemies, caring for their families, finding what they want and so forth, but this is not wisdom. Even animals have such intelligence. Worldly intelligence is deceptive, whereas wisdom will never deceive us. It is our inner Spiritual Guide who leads us to correct paths, and it is the divine eye through which we can see what we need to know, what we need to abandon, what we need to practise and what we need to attain. Also, it is only through wisdom that we can understand the very extensive and subtle subject of karma, the special connection between our actions in former lives and our experiences in this life.

FUNCTION OF WISDOM

In general, wisdom functions to eliminate doubts and misunderstandings, and in particular it functions to dispel ignorance. If we understand the benefits of developing wisdom we will naturally strive to attain it. The opposite of wisdom is ignorance. Nothing harms us more than ignor­ance – it is the source of all our problems and the root cause of all our negative actions of body, speech and mind. There is no better way to use our precious human life than to strive to overcome our ignorance, and the way to do this is to develop wisdom.

To attain enlightenment we need to eliminate ignor­ance and its imprints from our mind. The Tibetan word for ‘Buddha’ is ‘sang gye’, in which ‘sang’ means ‘purified’ and ‘gye’ means ‘accomplished’. A Buddha, therefore, is someone who has completely purified his or her mind of ignorance and its imprints. At present our mind is like the sky obscured by clouds. The only reason we do not realize all phenomena is that our mind is obscured by ignorance and other delusions. Once these are eradicated our mind will naturally become the omniscient mind of a Buddha, realizing all phenom­ena directly and simultaneously. The way to dispel the clouds of ignorance from the sky of our mind is to cultivate wisdom; therefore there is no more important task than to increase our wisdom.

DIVISIONS OF WISDOM

There are three types of wisdom:

1 Wisdom arisen from listening or reading

2 Wisdom arisen from contemplation

3 Wisdom arisen from meditation

Wisdom arisen from listening or reading is a wisdom that arises through listening to or reading Dharma instructions. Wisdom arisen from contemplation is a wisdom that arises through contemplating Dharma instructions, and wisdom arisen from meditation is a wisdom that arises through meditating on the meaning of Dharma instructions. The third wisdom is called ‘superior seeing’, which means that it is superior to the other two wisdoms All three wisdoms are necessarily valid cognizers.

In the Vinaya Sutras Buddha says:

You should generate wisdom in dependence upon concentration, which itself depends upon moral discipline.

This means that to develop the wisdom of superior seeing we first need to attain the concentration of tranquil abiding, and to attain tranquil abiding we need to practise pure moral discipline.

There is also a sevenfold division of wisdom:

1 Great wisdom

2 Clear wisdom

3 Quick wisdom

4 Profound wisdom

5 The wisdom of expounding Dharma

6 The wisdom of spiritual debate

7 The wisdom of composing Dharma books

All these wisdoms and special methods for accomplishing them are explained in detail in the book Heart Jewel.