His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Menu
Search
Social
Language
  • The Dalai Lama
  • Schedule
  • In Pictures
  • Videos
English
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
LIVE Webcasts
  • Home
  • The Dalai Lama
  • Schedule
  • News
  • In Pictures
  • Videos
Messages
  • Compassion and Human Values
  • World Peace
  • Environment
  • Religious Harmony
  • Buddhism
  • Retirement and Reincarnation
  • Tibet
  • Articles, Transcripts and Interviews
  • Acceptance Speeches
  • Dolgyal (Shugden)
Teachings
  • Practical Advices for Attending the Teachings in India
  • Training the Mind
  • Words of Truth
  • Introduction to the Kalachakra
Office
  • Public Audiences
  • Private Audiences
  • Media Interviews
  • Invitations
  • Contact
  • The Gaden Phodrang Foundation
Books
  • Heart to Heart
  • The Little Book of Joy
  • Searching for the Self - Library of Wisdom and Compassion Vol 7
  • This Fragile Planet: His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Environment
  • Courageous Compassion - Library of Wisdom and Compassion Vol 6
  • The Little Book of Encouragement
View all books
  • News

Second Day of Nagarjuna's ‘Precious Garland of the Middle Way' October 4, 2019

Share

Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, India - Following the recitation in Pali of the Mangala Sutta and the chanting of the ‘Heart Sutra’ in Chinese, His Holiness the Dalai Lama drew attention to a verse that Chinese Buddhists add at the end.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama greeting monks from Taiwan as he arrives for the second day of teachings at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on October 4, 2019. Photo by Ven Tenzin Jamphel

May the three poisons be eliminated,
May the light of wisdom shine forth,
May we face no inner or outer obstacles
And may we train in the bodhisattva path.

“All spiritual traditions encourage us to restrain ourselves from harming others and falling prey to destructive emotions,” he explained. “The mind is not unchangingly polluted by defilements, but we have become accustomed over beginningless time to being subject to the three poisons. Here we pray that we be free from them. The remedy is to cultivate wisdom, so the next line prays that the light of wisdom shine forth. To support that we need to cultivate single-pointed concentration, which in turn is based on discipline and the observance of ethics.

“Thus, overcoming the afflictive emotions involves the three trainings—ethics, concentration and wisdom. These are strengthened and enhanced if we cultivate bodhichitta. We need to make effort and use our intelligence. To focus on the object we want to understand takes concentration. Generating that requires mindfulness and introspection.

“A Buddha is one who has overcome all defects and shortcomings. To attain enlightenment we need wisdom and the awakening mind of bodhichitta. The root of highest enlightenment is compassion, which endows us with the determination to reach enlightenment and the conviction that it is possible to do so.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing the gathering on the second day of teachings requested by a group from Taiwan at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on October 4, 2019. Photo by Ven Tenzin Jamphel

“Attaining Buddhahood involves the Truth Body and the Form Body, which are achieved through accumulating wisdom and merit respectively. The essence of the Dharma is the awakening mind of bodhichitta and wisdom understanding emptiness. Practice of these will yield enlightenment, but even on a day to day basis they are useful. As Shantideva writes in his ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’”:

Whatever joy there is in this world
All comes from desiring others to be happy,
And whatever suffering there is in this world
All comes from desiring myself to be happy.

If I do not actually exchange my happiness
For the sufferings of others,
I shall not attain the state of Buddhahood
And even in cyclic existence shall have no joy.

“If you are selfish, you’ll be miserable, even in this life. The more you dedicate yourself to others, the happier you’ll be. Selfishness is short-sighted and narrow-minded. All 7 billion human beings are equal in their desire to be happy and avoid suffering, but we cause problems for ourselves. If we remained as we were when we were children, the world would be more peaceful. But as we grow up, we become more calculating and discriminatory.

Members of the audience, some of the more than 1100 from Taiwan attending the teachings, listening to His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on October 4, 2019. Photo by Ven Tenzin Jamphel

“Look at the world today. The violent conflicts we see here and there are a direct result of selfishness. The mechanism of warfare originates in a feudal outlook. Despite cherishing their own dear lives, soldiers fight, kill and are killed because they take orders. Traditionally kings and lords have given those orders on the basis of a divisive outlook that views others in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’.

“If you’re able to reduce negative behaviour in your day to day life, avoiding harming or bullying others and gaining some experience of bodhichitta, you’ll be more contented, your health will improve and you’ll find members of your community are friendlier towards you. Making a point of helping others wherever you can is a cause of the high status Nagarjuna’s ‘Precious Garland’ refers to. Dedicating yourself to the benefit of others brings courage and inner strength.”

His Holiness observed that when the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths, what is true suffering, true origin, true cessation and true path, he also explained the selflessness of persons. In the subsequent perfection of wisdom discourses he asserted that not only do persons lack an independent self, but the mind/body combination, which is the basis of a person, is empty of intrinsic existence too. This indicates the selflessness of phenomena.

His Holiness noted that consciousness is the basis of the designation of self, and that for proponents of the Mind Only School this is the foundational consciousness. The Mind Only School asserts the reality of mind, but denies the external existence of phenomena. The Middle Way School asserts that nothing has any intrinsic existence whatever, even the mind. Things exist merely by way of designation. Within the Middle Way School, the Autonomists retain a sense of objective existence when they declare that the object to be negated in analysis is the notion that things have independent existence without reference to cognition. They don’t break through to realize emptiness.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama spaking on the secon day of teachings at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on October 4, 2019. Photo by Ven Tenzin Jamphel

Chandrakirti, presenting the Consequentialist position in his ‘Entering into the Middle Way’, states that we cannot assert any form of objective existence in anything whether it is external or internal—otherwise there would be logical fallacies.

The key is to distinguish what is definitive and what is provisional. Texts belonging to the Buddha’s third round of teachings, such as the ‘Unravelling of the Thought’ suggest that what was taught in the first and second rounds are provisional, while what was taught in the third round is definitive. The focus of the second round was the object clear light, but the focus of the third round was the subjective mind of clear light. The content of the three rounds of the Buddha’s teachings, the Four Noble Truths, the Perfection of Wisdom and Buddha-nature, the luminous mind of clear light progressively leads you to enlightenment, much as climbing a mountain brings you to the summit.

Soon after his enlightenment the Buddha is said to have expressed his thoughts as follows: 'Profound and peaceful, free from elaboration, uncompounded clear light, I have found a nectar-like Dharma. Yet if I were to teach it, no-one would understand what I said, so I shall remain silent here in the forest.' We can understand this verse as anticipating the teachings he would eventually give. 'Profound and peaceful' refers to the first round of the Buddha's teachings; 'free from complexity' refers to content of the second round, while 'uncompounded luminosity' refers to the third round.

His Holiness picked up his copy of the ‘Precious Garland’ and began to read, starting with the title in Sanskrit—Ratnavali. The verses deal with how to achieve high status by refraining from the ten unwholesome deeds as well as another six, including drunkenness. High status, such as life as a free and fortunate human being, is the basis for attaining definite goodness, which is defined as liberation.

A view of the crowd in the courtyard of the Main Tibetan Temple watching His Holiness the Dalai Lama on big screens during the second day of teachings in Dharamsala, HP, India on October 4, 2019. Photo by Ven Tenzin Jamphel

As His Holiness stopped for the day, he told the audience that he would read the remainder of the first chapter of the book tomorrow. He will also conduct a ceremony for generating the awakening mind of bodhichitta and grant the permission of a deity, Rigpa Macha Chenmo, which is popular amongst Chinese and Japanese Buddhists.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • All Content Copyright © The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Copy

Choose Language

  • Tibetan
  • Chinese
  • Korean
  • Hindi
  • Japanese
  • Italiano
  • Deutsch
  • Mongol
  • Russian
  • Français
  • Tiếng Việt
  • Español

Social Channels

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube

Choose Language

  • Tibetan
  • Chinese
  • Korean
  • Hindi
  • Japanese
  • Deutsch
  • Italiano
  • Mongol
  • Russian
  • Français
  • Tiếng Việt
  • Español

Search Website

Popular Searches

  • Schedule
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Homepage
  • The Dalai Lama
    • Biography and Daily Life
      • Principal Commitments
      • Brief Biography
      • Birth to Exile
      • Retirement
        • 52nd Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day Statement
        • Message to 14th Assembly
        • Retirement Remarks
      • Reincarnation
      • Routine Day
      • Questions & Answers
    • Previous Dalai Lamas
      • Short Biographies of the Previous Dalai Lamas
    • Events and Awards
      • Chronology of Events
      • Awards & Honors 2000 - Present
        • Award & Honors 1957 - 1999
      • Dignitaries Met 2011 - Present
        • Dignitaries Met 2005 - 2010
        • Dignitaries Met 2000 - 2004
        • Dignitaries Met 1990 - 1999
        • Dignitaries Met 1954 - 1989
      • Travels
        • Travels 2010 - Present
        • Travels 2000 - 2009
        • Travels 1990 - 1999
        • Travels 1980 - 1989
        • Travels 1959 - 1979
  • Schedule
    • 2023 Archive
    • 2022 Archive
    • 2021 Archive
    • 2020 Archive
    • 2019 Archive
    • 2018 Archive
    • 2017 Archive
    • 2016 Archive
    • 2015 Archive
    • 2014 Archive
    • 2013 Archive
    • 2012 Archive
    • 2011 Archive
    • 2010 Archive
    • 2009 Archive
    • 2008 Archive
  • News
    • 2023 Archive
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2022 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2021 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2020 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2019 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2018 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2017 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2016 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2015 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2014 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2013 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2012 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2011 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2010 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2009 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2008 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2007 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2006 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2005 Archive
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
  • In Pictures
  • Videos
  • Messages
  • Teachings
    • Practical Advices for Attending the Teachings in India
    • Training the Mind
      • Training the Mind: Verse 1
      • Training the Mind: Verse 2
      • Training the Mind: Verse 3
      • Training the Mind: Verse 4
      • Training the Mind: Verse 5 & 6
      • Training the Mind: Verse 7
      • Training the Mind: Verse 8
      • Generating the Mind for Enlightenment
    • Words of Truth
    • Introduction to the Kalachakra
  • Office
    • Public Audiences
    • Private Audiences
    • Media Interviews
    • Invitations
    • Contact
    • The Gaden Phodrang Foundation
  • Books
  • LIVE Webcasts