Читать книгу The New Eight Steps to Happiness - Geshe Kelsang Gyatso - Страница 9

The Preliminary Practices

Inner realizations do not arise magically from the earth, nor do they fall from the sky. Gaining deep experience of the practices explained in Eight Verses depends upon certain inner conditions, which we can create by engaging in the preliminary practices. Just as a farmer needs to prepare the ground before he plants his crop, so we need to prepare our mind before we can hope to harvest a crop of spiritual realizations. There are many people who are very interested in meditation but who, not understanding the importance of the preliminary practices, neglect them and consequently are disappointed when their efforts in meditation do not yield results. They are like a farmer who fails to weed, fertilize or water his field, yet still expects his crop to flourish. The more conscientiously we practice the preliminaries, the more easily we will gain realizations from our practice of training the mind.

The preliminary practices perform three functions: they purify our mind of negativity; they accumulate merit, good fortune or good luck; and they help us receive the blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Purifying our mind is like removing rocks and weeds from a field before sowing the seeds. At the moment our mind is polluted by the imprints of negative thoughts and the potentials left by all the non-virtuous actions that we have performed in the past. Until we remove this negativity from our mind through the practice of purification, it will obstruct the growth of virtuous qualities and our meditation will not produce results.

Secondly, we need to endow our mind with the strength to support the growth of Dharma realizations by accumulating merit. Merit is the positive energy of virtuous actions. Just as well-fertilized soil will produce an abundant harvest, so if our mind is enriched with merit we will harvest a bountiful crop of spiritual realizations.

Thirdly, we need to receive the blessings of the holy beings. Unless our mind is watered by a rain of blessings, or inspiring energy, from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, it will remain like a dry field in which the seeds of spiritual realizations sown through meditation are unable to grow. The way to receive blessings is to develop strong faith and devotion in the holy beings and request them to bless our mind. Just as rain can bring a desert to life, so if our mind receives the blessings of the holy beings our virtuous potentials will be activated and spiritual realizations will grow in our mind.

If we prepare our mind well by purifying negativity, accumulating merit and receiving blessings, our meditations will be very successful. A simple way of doing this is to begin each meditation session on training the mind by reciting the prayers entitled Essence of Good Fortune, found in Appendix III, while contemplating their meaning and engaging in the appropriate visualizations. For those with less time, a more condensed practice called Prayers for Meditation can also be found in Appendix III. Both sets of prayers contain the six preparatory practices for successful meditation. These are:

1. Cleaning the meditation room and setting up a shrine

2. Arranging beautiful offerings

3. Sitting in the correct meditation posture, going for refuge and generating bodhichitta

4. Visualizing the Field for Accumulating Merit

5. Offering the seven limbs and the mandala

6. Requesting the holy beings to bestow their blessings

The instructions on the six preparatory practices are based on the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. Atisha received these instructions from his Guru, Lama Serlingpa, and subsequently this tradition flourished throughout the Kadampa world.

Both Essence of Good Fortune and Prayers for Meditation include the practice of Guru yoga, which is the gateway to receiving the blessings of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In this particular practice we visualize Buddha Shakyamuni in the space in front of us, surrounded by all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Focusing on Buddha Shakyamuni, who is seen as one with our Guru, or Spiritual Guide, we develop faith and request his blessings. When reciting these prayers as a preparation for meditation on Eight Verses it is auspicious to make a minor alteration to the visualization. At the heart of Guru Buddha Shakyamuni we visualize Buddha Amitabha, who has a red-colored body and sits with his two hands in the gesture of meditative equipoise. Alternatively we can visualize Buddha Amitabha instead of Buddha Shakyamuni. The reason for making this slight alteration is to strengthen our connection with Bodhisattva Langri Tangpa, who, as already explained, is an emanation of Buddha Amitabha. Visualizing in this way helps us to develop greater faith in the author of these verses and in his instructions, and this will help us to receive his inspiring blessings more quickly.

Buddha Amitabha is known as the “Vajra Speech Buddha,” which indicates that he is the manifestation of the speech of all Buddhas. In the future all living beings will meet this Buddha in the aspect of an ordinary being who will guide them along the path to enlightenment. Buddha Amitabha, Buddha Amitayus and Buddha Vajradharma are the same in nature, differing only in aspect. On the crown of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion, Buddha Amitabha, his Spiritual Guide, is always present. In the same way, on the crowns of all faithful disciples, Buddha Amitabha, their Spiritual Guide, will always be present.

Apart from this change in the visualization, the remaining preparatory practices are exactly the same. A brief explanation of the six preparatory practices will now be given.

CLEANING THE MEDITATION ROOM

AND SETTING UP A SHRINE

Cleaning practice

We know from our own experience that dirty and untidy surroundings tend to bring our mind down and drain our energy, while a clean and tidy environment uplifts our mind, making it clear and vibrant. When people invite special guests into their home it is natural that they show their respect by making an effort to clean the house beforehand. In our meditation session we invite all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to appear before us, accept our offerings and prayers and help us in our meditation, so it is only natural that before we begin our session we should spend some time cleaning our meditation room.

Having physically cleaned our room, we should imagine that our environment transforms into the Pure Land of Buddha. We feel that all the enlightened beings are delighted to come into our meditation, and that our mind becomes lucid and concentrated. It is very helpful to recall the story of Lam Chung, whose sole practice was sweeping the floor of the temple. Imagining that he was sweeping away his delusions, Lam Chung spent all his time cleaning the temple, and by doing so he purified his karmic obstructions, received Buddha’s profound blessings and spontaneously developed high realizations. This story is explained in detail in the book Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Setting up a shrine

If our circumstances permit, it is very beneficial to set up a shrine with representations of Buddha’s body, speech and mind. A shrine provides a focus for our faith, serving as a continual reminder of the Buddhas, through whose kindness living beings have the opportunity to attain permanent inner peace and the supreme happiness of enlightenment.

In the center of our shrine, to represent Buddha’s body, we place a picture or statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, and of any other holy beings who have a special connection with our daily practice. On the left side of the shrine, to represent Buddha’s speech, we can place a Dharma book; and on the right side of the shrine, to represent Buddha’s mind, we can place a stupa.

When we go for refuge to the Three Jewels, we make commitments to regard all images of Buddha as actual Buddhas and all Dharma books as actual Dharma Jewels. It is therefore very important to treat Buddha images and Dharma books with respect. We should arrange them beautifully in a place that is clean and elevated, and not put them down casually like a cup of tea. Dharma books are a principal means for dispelling our ignorance, the source of all our problems, but if we treat such books with disrespect it only causes our ignorance to increase. We should therefore not leave Dharma books on the floor, step over them or mix them with ordinary books or magazines.

One of the best methods to increase our faith in the Buddhas and to receive their blessings is to gaze at an image of a Buddha again and again, regarding it as an actual Buddha who is supremely kind to all living beings. When we see a Buddha statue, for example, instead of thinking of it as an object made of metal or stone, or focusing on its artistic faults or merits, we should feel that we are in the presence of a real living Buddha and develop deep faith. By viewing images of Buddhas in this way, it is as if we are opening a window in our mind through which the blessings of the holy beings can enter. This special way of viewing Buddha images is based on wisdom, not ignorance, and serves to increase our faith and receive blessings.

The representations of Buddha’s body, speech and mind are so blessed that, even if we have no faith, just seeing them blesses our mind. There was once a man called Shri Datta, who had committed many extremely negative actions such as trying to poison Buddha. Many years later, when he was an old man, Shri Datta became interested in Dharma and requested Buddha to grant him ordination. It is said that to receive ordination we need at least some small virtuous potentiality that is a cause of liberation; but when clairvoyant disciples of Buddha examined Shri Datta they were unable to find a single such potentiality, and so they declared him unfit for ordination. However, these disciples could not see the subtle karmic potentialities that are seen only by enlightened beings. When Buddha looked into Shri Datta’s dark mind he saw a tiny potentiality for virtue, and he told his disciples, “Many eons ago Shri Datta was a fly who landed on some horse dung near the stupa of a Buddha. It was raining heavily and the water carried the dung, together with the fly, around the stupa. Although the fly had no intention of circumambulating the stupa, it nevertheless received Buddha’s blessings just by seeing the stupa, and this left on its mind a virtuous potentiality to attain liberation.” Buddha then granted the ordination. As a result, Shri Datta’s positive potentiality increased and he attained liberation in that lifetime.

In the Lamrim teachings it says that just seeing an image of a Buddha places a potentiality on the mind that is a definite cause of enlightenment, and which nothing can destroy. This potentiality is likened to a tiny wisdom nectar pill that is swallowed and passes through our body intact, uncorrupted by all bodily impurities. Because Buddha is a completely pure object wholly beyond samsara, the imprint of seeing a Buddha image has a special quality that does not belong to samsara, and even if it is placed in a mind filled with delusions it can never be corrupted or destroyed. This imprint or potentiality is also compared to a spark with the power to ignite a fire that in time consumes a haystack the size of the world. We have seen how, due to the imprint of seeing a stupa, Shri Datta was able to generate the wish to enter the path to liberation, and by practicing Dharma, burn away all the delusions in his mind.

From these examples we can understand how seeing images of Buddha has the same function as seeing actual living Buddhas. In a similar way, making offerings and prostrations in front of Buddha images has the same function as making offerings and prostrations in front of living Buddhas, and accumulates the same amount of merit. This is why it is considered so important to have a large and beautiful statue of Buddha in Buddhist temples, because then anyone who visits the temple and sees the statue is creating the cause to attain liberation and enlightenment.

ARRANGING BEAUTIFUL OFFERINGS

In front of the images of Buddha on the shrine we can arrange beautiful offerings such as flowers, incense, light and food, as well as bowls of water, regarding the water as pure nectar. We can also imagine that all the objects of enjoyment of humans and gods, such as gardens, palaces, mountains and lakes, are transformed into pure and precious offerings to the Buddhas.

The purpose of making offerings is not because the Buddhas need anything from us, but for the effect it has on our own mind. There are many people who place beautiful flowers on the graves of their loved ones, and even though the dead person is not there and cannot benefit from their offerings we cannot say that these actions are meaningless. How much more meaningful it is then, to arrange beautiful offerings with a mind of faith in front of Buddha images, because the Buddhas are actually present and can take delight in our offerings.

Having attained omniscient wisdom, a Buddha knows when we are making offerings to him or her. Moreover, a Buddha’s body and mind are the same nature, and wherever his mind exists so does his body. Our mind and body are different natures, and while our mind is not obstructed by physical obstacles, our body is. Our mind can easily roam the universe, but our body has to remain on the ground. A Buddha’s body, on the other hand, is no more obstructed by matter than his or her mind, and can travel just as freely. Because a Buddha’s mind is mixed with the ultimate nature of all phenomena and is free from the obstructions to omniscience, it pervades all phenomena; and because his body and mind are the same nature, his body is also all-pervasive. From this we can understand that Buddhas are present everywhere and that there is no place where Buddha does not exist. Buddhas are like the sun and our ignorance is like the clouds that obscure the sun. When clouds disperse we see that in reality the sun has been shining all along, and in a similar way, when we remove the clouds of ignorance from our mind we will see that the Buddhas have always been present all around us.

SITTING IN THE CORRECT MEDITATION POSTURE, GOING FOR REFUGE AND GENERATING BODHICHITTA

Sitting in the correct meditation posture

Although meditation is an action of mind, rather than of body or speech, as our mind and body are closely related it is important to sit in a correct posture when we engage in meditation because this will help us to maintain a clear and concentrated mind. If we are sitting on a cushion we should try to sit cross-legged, ideally in the vajra posture with each foot resting on the opposite thigh, but if this is too difficult we should sit in a posture as close to this as possible while remaining comfortable. If we are sitting on a chair we should have our feet resting on the floor. Our back should be straight, and the right hand should be placed on the left hand with the palms facing upward and the tips of the thumbs slightly raised and just touching at the level of the navel. The mouth should be gently closed, with the tongue touching the back of the upper teeth. The head should be inclined slightly forward, the eyes slightly open and the shoulders level. We should try to adopt this posture during formal meditation sessions, but in general we can meditate in any position and at any time—while we are resting, eating, cleaning and so forth.

Once we are in the correct meditation posture we should try to calm our mind, because with a busy and distracted mind neither our preparatory practices nor our actual meditations on training the mind will be successful. To dispel our distractions we can engage in the following simple breathing meditation. As we exhale we imagine that we are breathing out all our distracting thoughts in the form of dark smoke, which disappears into space; and as we inhale we imagine that we are breathing in the blessings of all the Buddhas in the aspect of white light, which enters our body and dissolves into our heart. We focus single-pointedly on this process of exhalation and inhalation, breathing out our distractions and breathing in Buddha’s blessings, until our mind has become clear and peaceful. At this stage our mind is like a clean white cloth that we can now color with a virtuous motivation such as compassion or bodhichitta.

Going for refuge

Having calmed our mind, we now go for refuge to the Three Jewels. The Three Jewels are the Buddha Jewel—all fully enlightened beings; the Dharma Jewel—the spiritual realizations developed through practicing Buddha’s teachings; and the Sangha Jewel—the Superior practitioners who have realized ultimate truth directly. Understanding that it is only these Three Jewels that have the actual power to protect living beings from fear, danger and suffering, we imagine and believe that in the space before us is the living Buddha Shakyamuni surrounded by all other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, like the full moon surrounded by stars. Then with strong fear of samsaric rebirth and with deep faith in the power of the Three Jewels to protect us, we recite the refuge prayer and make a strong determination to rely upon Buddha, Dharma and Sangha until we attain enlightenment.

Generating bodhichitta

We then generate the motivation of bodhichitta. The value of our meditation, and indeed of any virtuous action, depends primarily upon the motivation with which we engage in it. If we meditate with the motivation just to relax and improve our physical health, our meditation may accomplish these goals but it can hardly be considered a spiritual practice. The highest motivation of all is bodhichitta, the wish to attain full enlightenment to help all living beings. If we meditate with this motivation the merit of our meditation will be limitless. To generate bodhichitta we think:

Each and every living being trapped in the prison of samsara is experiencing danger, fear and suffering, life after life, endlessly. If I myself attain enlightenment my emanations will pervade all worlds and protect every living being. I must become a Buddha for the benefit of all living beings.

With this motivation we recite the bodhichitta prayer three times.

Going for refuge to the Three Jewels is the gateway through which we enter Buddhism in general, and generating bodhichitta motivation is the gateway through which we enter Mahayana Buddhism. Since the strength of our bodhichitta depends upon the strength of our love and compassion, we then recite the following prayer from the depths of our heart:

May everyone be happy,

May everyone be free from misery,

May no one ever be separated from their happiness,

May everyone have equanimity, free from hatred and attachment.

With bodhichitta motivation we then engage in the practices of accumulating merit, purifying negative karma, receiving the blessings of the Buddhas and contemplating and meditating on Eight Verses of Training the Mind.

VISUALIZING THE FIELD FOR ACCUMULATING MERIT

We imagine that in the space in front of us is the living Buddha Shakyamuni, who is one nature with our Spiritual Guide, surrounded by the lineage Gurus, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other holy beings. At the heart of Buddha Shakyamuni is Buddha Amitabha, who is the same nature as Bodhisattva Langri Tangpa, the author of Eight Verses of Training the Mind. We focus on the assembly of these enlightened beings, and when we perceive a rough mental image we meditate on this for a short while. This assembly is called the “Field for Accumulating Merit” because just as external crops grow from seeds sown in an external field, so the internal crops of merit or good fortune grow from the seeds of faith and devotion sown in the field of all enlightened beings.

Although these holy beings are in reality present in front of us, because of our ignorance and negative karma we cannot see them. Even so, we can communicate with them by means of visualization. If we find it difficult to visualize the Buddhas, or if we do not develop any special feelings when we do so, this is because in the depths of our heart we do not believe that they are actually there. However, as already explained, Buddhas are everywhere. Visualizing Buddhas is not like a children’s game of make-believe, but a way of opening our mind to what is already there. Buddha Shakyamuni said, “Whenever anyone with faith visualizes me, I am there.” On an overcast day, although we cannot see the sun directly we have no problem imagining it shining behind the clouds because we know that it is there. In the same way, even if our visualization of the Buddhas is very unclear we should have no doubt that they are really present before us. If we engage in visualization with full confidence that the living Buddhas are in front of us, our mind will definitely make a connection with them, and gradually the clarity of our visualization will improve.

At the beginning we do not need to visualize the Buddhas in detail; instead we should simply believe that they are present in front of us and develop strong faith. Through the power of our faith and familiarity, visualizing the Buddhas will eventually become effortless. We do not find it hard to visualize our mother, because we know her so well. In a similar way, when through studying and developing faith in Dharma teachings we come to understand the nature, functions and good qualities of Buddhas, it will be easier for us to visualize them. It is also important to understand how we too can become a Buddha, for when we are confident that enlightenment is a possibility for us we will naturally feel much closer to those who have already attained enlightenment.

OFFERING THE SEVEN LIMBS AND THE MANDALA

To accumulate merit and purify negativity we now offer the practice of the seven limbs and the mandala. The seven limbs are: prostration, offering, confession, rejoicing, beseeching the holy beings to remain, requesting the turning of the Wheel of Dharma and dedication.

Prostration

Focusing on the assembly of Buddhas in the space before us, with a mind of deep faith and respect we press the palms of our hands together at our heart and recite the appropriate line from the prayer of seven limbs.

Offering

To empower our mind with the positive energy needed to attain full enlightenment for the sake of all living beings, we make extensive offerings to the assembly of holy beings. We make not only the offerings we have arranged on our shrine, but also use our imagination to offer all objects of enjoyment existing throughout the universe, such as beautiful gardens, lakes, trees and mountains, as well as the sun, the moon and the stars.

Confession

In the presence of the great Compassionate Ones, the assembly of Buddhas, we confess with a mind of great regret all the non-virtues and negative actions that we have accumulated in this life and in countless previous lives, and we promise that from now on we will not commit them again. In this way we purify our mind of our burden of negative karma and remove the principal obstacles to spiritual development.

Rejoicing

To rejoice means to appreciate and take delight in the good fortune, virtue and happiness of others. If we rejoice in others’ good qualities, this will create the cause for us to develop similar qualities ourself. Overcoming all feelings of jealousy and competitiveness, we should rejoice in the virtues of all beings—those still in samsara and those who have completed the spiritual path to enlightenment. All those who are now Buddhas once wandered the painful paths of samsara, just as we still do now. However, through their great effort they entered the Bodhisattva’s path, and progressing through all its stages, attained complete enlightenment. From the depths of our heart we rejoice in their virtuous attainments and pray to become just like them.

Beseeching the holy beings to remain

Without Spiritual Guides, who are manifestations of Buddha’s compassion, to lead sentient beings on the path to liberation, this world would be plunged into spiritual darkness. From the depths of our heart we request Buddha’s emanations to remain with us until samsara ceases.

Requesting the turning of the Wheel of Dharma

As a result of the gods Brahma and Indra requesting Buddha to turn the Wheel of Dharma, Buddha taught many methods for curing the disease of the delusions, which have led countless beings to liberation from suffering. To ensure that these teachings remain in this world we request the holy beings to teach the precious Dharma.

Dedication

At the end of any virtuous action we should dedicate the merit that we have created toward the complete and perfect happiness of all living beings. If we do not dedicate our merit in this way, it can easily be destroyed by anger or other strong delusions, or dissipated through the fulfillment of our self-centered wishes. By dedicating our merit toward our own and others’ enlightenment, however, we safeguard it and thereby ensure that it will never be exhausted. In particular we dedicate all our virtuous actions, both past and present, toward gaining the realizations of Eight Verses of Training the Mind, and thereby to attaining the supreme happiness of full enlightenment.

These seven practices are called “limbs” because they support our meditation just as limbs support our body. Without bodily limbs we cannot accomplish much in the way of physical actions, and in a similar way, without the limbs of accumulating merit and purifying negativity we cannot accomplish much in the way of meditation. The practices of prostration, offering, beseeching and requesting accumulate merit; the practices of rejoicing and dedication multiply merit; and the practice of confession purifies negative karma. A detailed explanation of the seven limbs can be found in the book Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

Offering the mandala

The word “mandala” in this context means “universe.” When we offer a mandala to the holy beings we are offering everything—the whole universe and everyone in it. Since the merit we create when we make an offering accords with the nature of that offering, instead of offering an ordinary, impure universe we mentally transform the whole universe into a Pure Land filled with precious objects and inhabited by pure beings. Imagining that we are holding this pure universe in our hands, we offer it to all the enlightened beings. In this way we are offering everything that we have or could wish for. Making mandala offerings is very powerful, and if we wish for good fortune and spiritual attainments we should offer a mandala every day. A detailed explanation on making mandala offerings can be found in the book The New Guide to Dakini Land.

REQUESTING THE HOLY BEINGS

TO BESTOW THEIR BLESSINGS

Requesting blessings

The word for blessing in Tibetan is “jin gyi lob,” which literally means “to transform.” When we request blessings we are asking for our mind to be transformed from a non-virtuous state to a virtuous state, and from an unhappy state to a happy state. Most importantly, we need to transform our mind into the mind of an enlightened being, and it is for this purpose that we request the holy beings to bestow their blessings upon our mind so that we may attain the realizations of the stages of the path to enlightenment. To do this we recite the Prayer of the Stages of the Path while concentrating on its meaning.

Receiving blessings

We then imagine that due to our heartfelt requests the holy beings bestow their blessings, which descend from their hearts in the form of lights and nectars. These enter our body and mind, pacifying our negativity and obstacles and increasing our merit, lifespan, inner peace and Dharma realizations. We meditate on this experience for a short while.

Having received the blessings of all the holy beings we now imagine that all the holy beings surrounding Guru Buddha Shakyamuni dissolve into light and gather into him. He dissolves into Buddha Amitabha at his heart, who comes to the crown of our head. We mentally prostrate and make a short mandala offering to our Spiritual Guide in the aspect of Buddha Amitabha at our crown, and pray to him by reciting Eight Verses of Training the Mind:

With the intention to attain

The ultimate, supreme goal

That surpasses even the wish-granting jewel,

May I constantly cherish all living beings.

Whenever I associate with others,

May I view myself as the lowest of all;

And with a pure intention,

May I cherish others as supreme.

Examining my mental continuum throughout all my actions,

As soon as a delusion of self-cherishing develops

Whereby I or others would act inappropriately,

May I firmly face it and avert it.

Whenever I see unfortunate beings

Oppressed by evil and violent suffering,

May I cherish them as if I had found

A rare and precious treasure.

Even if someone I have helped

And of whom I had great hopes

Nevertheless harms me intentionally,

May I see him or her as my holy Spiritual Guide.

When others out of jealousy or anger

Harm me or insult me,

May I take defeat upon myself

And offer them the victory.

In short, may I directly and indirectly

Offer help and happiness to all my mothers,

And secretly take upon myself

All their harm and suffering.

Furthermore, through all the above practices,

Together with a mind undefiled by stains of conceptions of the eight extremes

And that sees all phenomena as illusory,

May I and all living beings be released from the bondage of mistaken appearance and conception.

We recite Eight Verses with deep faith in Guru Amitabha, repeating three times the particular verse on which we are going to meditate. We then imagine that through the power of our prayer, streams of light and nectar descend from Guru Amitabha’s body, purifying our body and mind of all negativities, delusions and obstructions and ripening our potential to gain the realization of the meditation. We then engage in the meditation and finish with the appropriate dedication prayers.

Manjushri