WISDOM ACADEMY

Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions Part II

VEN. THUBTEN CHODRON

Lesson 1: Introduction to the Higher Training in Wisdom

Reading: Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions

Pages 115–116

BUDDHISMOne Teacher, Many Traditions))!1))

Bhiks˙u Tenzin Gyatso

t h e f o u r t e e n t h d a l a i l a m a

and

Bhiks˙un

˙ı̄ Thubten Chodron

Foreword by Bhante Gunaratana

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© 2014 Tenzin Gyatso and Thubten ChodronAll rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication DataBstan-’dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935– author. Buddhism : one teacher, many traditions / Bhikshu Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-61429-127-6 (cloth : alk. paper)1. Buddhism—Doctrines. I. Thubten Chodron, 1950– II. Title.BQ7935.B774B85 2014294.3’4—dc23

2014007555

ISBN 978-1-61429-392-7 ebook ISBN 978-1-61429-151-0

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Maps on pages xxvi–xxviii by XNR Productions, Inc.Cover photograph by Vincent Marcil. Cover and interior design by Gopa&Ted2, Inc.

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6 | The Higher Training in Wisdom: Thirty-Seven Aids to Awakening

Built on the foundation of the higher trainings in ethical conduct and concentration, the higher training in wisdom involves the practice

of the thirty-seven aids to awakening (bodhipakkhiyā-dhamma, bodhipakṣya-dharma) and leads to insight. While not all thirty-seven aids are considered higher training in wisdom, they all directly or indirectly contribute to the cultivation of the wisdom that understands selflessness and the four truths correctly and thus leads to liberation.

The thirty-seven aids are explained in both Pāli and Sanskrit sūtras and are valued practices in all three vehicles. In the Sanskrit tradition, they are explained in detail in both the Abhidharmakośa and Abhisamayālaṃkāra. Candrakīrti’s Madhyamakāvatāra also speaks of them. In the Pāli canon, their chief source is the Mahāvagga in the Saṃyutta Nikāya. The passages on the thirty-seven aids here are almost word for word the same as in the Sanskrit Daśabhūmika Sūtra. The main differences in how the thirty-seven aids are practiced in the Śrāvaka and Bodhisattva vehicles is that bodhisat-tvas do them with a bodhicitta motivation and apply them to all sentient beings. For example, when establishing mindfulness of the body, bodhi-sattvas meditate on the impermanence and foulness of both their own and others’ bodies. From the Madhyamaka perspective, practitioners of all three vehicles meditate on the thirty-seven aids with the view of their being empty of inherent existence. Tibetan monastics study the thirty-seven aids in their curriculum, and I encourage them to do more meditation on these, especially the four establishments of mindfulness.

The thirty-seven aids are divided into seven sets, and in the Sanskrit tra-dition, these are correlated with the five paths. This does not mean that practitioners on either the previous or subsequent paths do not practice them. Rather, the practice of a particular set becomes full-fledged and fully qualified at a certain level of the path.

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116 | b u d d h ism : o n e t e ac h er , m a n y t r a d i t i o n s

Cultivating the four establishments of mindfulness and reflecting on their specific and common characteristics enables us to understand the four seals that determine a teaching to be the Buddha’s doctrine. These are mentioned in the Samādhirāja Sūtra in the Sanskrit tradition: (1) all conditioned phenomena are impermanent, (2) all polluted phenomena are unsatisfactory, (3) all phenomena are empty and selfless, and (4) nirvāṇa is true peace.

Once we understand these, especially that nirvāṇa is peace, we will want to engage in the practice to attain nirvāṇa. This leads to practicing the four supreme strivings, which are the nature of joyous effort. Through putting forth effort, we develop concentration, which involves the four bases of supernormal power. If we have not previously attained serenity, we do so now.

We then put special attention on the five faculties and five powers to overcome all unfavorable conditions and attain the union of serenity and insight on selflessness. The seven awakening factors and the noble eightfold path are then cultivated to actualize nirvāṇa.

Here these seven sets are spoken of as qualities attained by those on the first four of the five paths, not with regard to an ordinary person who has yet to enter a path. However, some scriptures explain the thirty-seven aids for those who haven’t entered a path, giving us clear directions on how to practice in our daily lives. The explanation is taken from both the Pāli and Sanskrit traditions. Each emphasizes certain points that complement the perspective of the other.

Four Establishments of Mindfulness

The four establishments of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna, smṛtyupasthāna) focus on the body (kāya), feelings (vedanā), mind (citta), and phenomena (dhamma, dharma). To “establish mindfulness” means to place our mind-fulness on an object comprehended by wisdom. Body refers to three kinds of body: (1) the internal (five cognitive faculties), (2) the external (five sense objects), and (3) both internal and external (coarse physical sense organs). Feelings refers to pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feelings, both those accompanying sense consciousnesses and those accompanying our thoughts and other mental states. Mind refers to the six primary consciousnesses, and

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