Stages Of Meditation: Book Club III, Episode 2

In the second episode of Book Club III, Sarah Sati reads from the introduction to the text Stages of Meditation, a book by his holiness the Dalai Lama that serves as a concise commentary on the text of the same name by Kamalashila. In the introduction, the Dalai Lama offers crucial insight into the avoidance of the three flawed ways of listening and primes us for how best to be with these teachings to receive the highest benefit.

Sarah recaps the previous session before reading and offers space for practical application through shamatha meditation practice, as well as practice homework for between sessions.

Book Club is an opportunity to look deeply into a spiritual text using a Western perspective. Each session includes a practice opportunity, reading, synopsis of reading, and optional practice homework. It is not necessary to own the book yourself, just show up to the sessions and enjoy listening as you allow your mind and body to integrate what you hear at it's own pace.

Transcript

Okay.

So welcome back.

This is the second session of the third edition of book club.

I'm your host,

Sarah Sati.

And in this third edition of book club,

We are exploring the book,

As I just mentioned,

Stages of meditation by His Holiness,

The Dalai Lama.

And this is similar to what I've done in the past,

Which is we are working with a text that is actually a commentary by a current Buddhist master on a text,

A commentary on a text by an older Buddhist master.

So guru or scholar or something.

And that has been the case.

That was the case for the last book I used in the last book club that I hosted.

And that is the case in this one as well.

So what we are really doing is we're just exploring this text,

Which is a commentary on the text with the same name stages of meditation by Kamalashila.

So it's a pleasure to be here again,

And continue this journey with all of you that are joining me.

Just to remind you,

Or for those of you who are joining for the first time,

Book club is a space where we study a Buddhist text together as a community.

And we work to bring the teachings from that text into our daily lives.

So it's really a practical experience.

Each week,

We explore the reading,

I clarify key ideas,

We often have meditation practice together.

And then I love to offer optional practice homework,

If that's something that you are interested in.

And that's just a way for us to take these teachings out of our thinking mind and bring them into our lived experience,

Which is really important if we are practitioners,

And we are looking to utilize these teachings for our own inner transformation.

So today,

We're going to be focusing on the introduction only,

It's a little bit longer of a chapter.

And so I thought I will just leave it with the introduction and allow us to kind of slowly and gradually work our way into this text.

And I think Kamalashila would approve,

Since that is really the foundation of his approach.

And as we spoke about in the last session,

How he influenced the development of Buddhism across Tibet.

So in this introduction,

Today,

We are really looking at crucial insights that allow us to kind of go further in setting up a foundation for how we will be listening to these teachings.

And so we learn about the practice of listening according to Buddhist thought,

And the role of patience,

And really the importance of embracing the present moment.

But first,

Before we go any further,

I just want to briefly recap our previous session.

There was a little delay in uploading the sessions due to some technical difficulties on my part.

So they are live or about to be live now,

Or the first,

Excuse me,

The first session is about to be live now.

So my apologies for that.

But if you did not join for the first session,

It's no big deal.

That was really,

Again,

Just a foundational session setting us up for why the book was written,

Or why it was translated,

And the Dalai Lama's hope for people who were reading or taking the teaching.

So if you were there,

This is just a brief recap.

But if you weren't there,

In our last session,

We really talked about Kamalashila.

So Kamalashila is the author of the original text that the Dalai Lama is commenting on.

And we spoke about Kamalashila's background and his role in shaping the gradual path to enlightenment through these two facets of the meditation practice.

And again,

This text is really a practical text on meditation,

On the practice of meditation.

And what Kamalashila did was,

He basically said,

We need to bring together calm abiding,

This idea of shamatha meditation,

And insight,

Vipassana.

And that when we bring these two together,

That's when we create a structured platform for enlightenment to arise out of.

So the structured step-by-step approach,

Which actually emerged victorious in this famous Samye debate,

Which I talked a little bit about last time,

Where Kamalashila was invited from India to debate a Zen Buddhist master from China around this idea of the gradual path.

So this Zen Buddhist was putting forward the idea that it should be the direct path to realization.

So we're talking really about two ways of understanding enlightenment.

One is directly understanding,

Directly reaching enlightenment.

And the other is a gradual buildup to reaching enlightenment.

And everybody thought Kamalashila would lose,

But in fact came to this debate and definitely won over the audience.

And that is why his process came to be written and then came to be spread across Tibet.

So we talked a lot more about that.

And we also touched on the purpose of meditation as a transformative practice.

So we're really looking to transform the mind,

To bring about the best magnificent qualities of the mind.

And this is one where wisdom and compassion grow over time,

Rather than the idea that they would arrive all at once.

And this perspective really invites us to practice patience,

Knowing that each session contributes to a gradual unfolding of our understanding.

And that's actually one of the main reasons why I chose to go a little slower in this third edition of Book Club.

If you've been kind of following me across time,

My first edition of Book Club was like fast,

Fast.

And the second was,

I think,

A perfect pace.

And on this one,

I want to just go a little bit slower in honor of this idea that when we take our time with something,

And we really savor the experience of it,

Then we give ourselves the opportunity to develop some crucial qualities that are really necessary in today's modern world.

And one of those specifically is this idea of patience.

As I touched on last week,

We're really living in a time that is,

As you already know,

I don't need to tell you,

Fast,

Go,

Go,

Go.

We want it now.

We want same day everything.

And we don't want to do it for ourselves.

But that isn't what meditation is about.

That is nothing like what Buddhism is about.

This is really an uncovering,

A revealing process.

And depending on the individual,

It may take any number of lifetimes,

Or it may happen quite quickly.

And that really,

In the Buddhist thought,

Has to do with how much merit you've attained so far in your experience,

Or all your lifetimes.

But I digress.

As I said,

I always offer a little homework.

So last week,

Or last session,

We were able to work with shamatha,

Just a very brief amount of time,

We sat for two minutes in silence,

And then I invited you to apply that homework in your life in between sessions.

So hopefully,

You had a chance to do that.

We're really,

Even if you're a deep practitioner,

And you've been practicing forever,

We're kind of going back to the beginning,

Back to the basics,

So to speak.

And in this way,

We're starting fresh,

But this time,

We're paying more attention.

So I heard this great quote yesterday,

And I think it really applies today,

When you get to the end,

Start again,

But this time,

Pay closer attention.

And I think that that's something that we can all benefit from,

Even if we haven't gotten to the end of something,

We can take a step back,

Even if we think we're quite proficient.

And now we can look at that thing that we've gained proficiency in with a different eye,

With a more sensitive eye.

And that's what I invite you to do,

Whether you're an advanced practitioner,

Or quite new to the Buddha's teachings,

We're really looking at these teachings with a much more sensitive eye.

And we're looking at ourselves in context,

In relationship to these teachings with that sensitivity as well.

So how am I experiencing this?

Is it going well?

Is it challenging?

Am I feeling this sort of restlessness around the slow quality of its development?

We can use everything that's happening for us as an opportunity to gain more insight.

And as we have heard,

And we'll continue to hear that's a crucial element to our path on awakening.

So before we go any further,

Let's take a moment to ground ourselves and settle into today's teaching.

You can close your eyes if you'd like.

Just take a deep breath.

Begin to bring your awareness inward.

Just notice how you feel right now.

Are you feeling restless?

Or are you feeling calm and relaxed or somewhere in between?

There's no right answer.

Perhaps you want to play with the breath a little bit here with each exhalation,

Extending the exhale slightly,

Slowing it down,

And intentionally inviting yourself to soften and relax.

And now take a moment to simply reflect on why you're here today.

What draws you to these teachings?

What are you hoping to cultivate or learn through this study and practice?

Just simply allow that motivation to arise in your mind.

It may arise clearly,

But if it doesn't,

This is also okay.

You're simply inviting yourself to ask the question,

What am I doing here today?

And allowing whatever the answer is to arise on its own.

And now as a group,

Let's set a collective intention.

You can just simply listen to my words.

If you have something that resonates for you that you'd like to speak,

I invite you to do that now.

May our study and practice benefit not only ourselves,

But all beings.

May we approach these teachings with open hearts and open minds,

Allowing them to bring greater wisdom and compassion into our lives.

You can just let that sink in for a moment.

And then perhaps return your awareness to your breath.

And if your eyes have been closed,

Gently open them and bring yourself back into our shared space.

Okay,

So I'm going to dive right into the reading to honor our time.

I'm reading from Stages of Meditation by His Holiness,

The Dalai Lama.

And today,

I'm going to be reading from the introduction.

So just sit back and listen in any way that feels good for you.

And just know that we're about to learn how the Dalai Lama and how the Buddhist teachings have invited us to listen to teachings in general.

So this may be quite new,

But I think it's very valuable information.

In the words of the superior Nargajuna,

If you wish to attain the unsurpassed enlightenment for yourself in the world,

The root is generation of an altruistic thought that is stable and firm like a mountain,

And all embracing compassion and a transcendent wisdom free of duality.

Those of us who have lived our lives in the past,

And those of us who have lived our lives free of duality.

Those of us who desire happiness for others and ourselves temporarily and in the long term should be motivated to attain the omniscient state.

Compassion,

Altruistic thought,

And the perfect view are the fundamentals and lifeblood of the path to highest enlightenment.

At this juncture,

We have faith in the doctrine of Lord Buddha and have access to his teachings.

We are free from the major obstacles and have met the contributory factors such that we can study the vast and profound aspects of Buddha's teaching,

Contemplate their contents,

And meditate on their meaning.

We must therefore use all these opportunities so that we won't have cause for regret in the future,

And so that we don't prove unkind to ourselves.

What Karamgeshe Sampua has said strikes at the central theme.

This verse greatly moves me from the heart.

Teaching and listening are proper when they are beneficial to the mind.

Controlled and disciplined behavior is the sign of having heard teachings.

Afflictions are reduced as a sign of meditation.

A yogi is the one who understands reality.

One thing that should be very clear is that Dharma teachings have only one purpose,

To discipline the mind.

Teachers should pay attention and see to it that their teachings benefit the minds of their students.

Their instructions must be based upon their personal experience of understanding the Dharma.

Students too should attend teachings with a desire to benefit their minds.

They must make an all-out effort to control their undisciplined minds.

I might therefore urge that we should be diligent in following the instructions of the great Kadampa Geshes.

They have advised that there should be integration of the mind and Dharma.

On the other hand,

If knowledge and practice are treated as unrelated and distinct entities,

Then the training can prove ineffective.

In the process of our spiritual practice,

We must examine ourselves thoroughly and use Dharma as a mirror in which to see reflected the defects of our body,

Speech,

And mind.

Both the teacher and the student must be motivated to benefit themselves and others through the practice of the teachings.

As we find in the Lamrim prayers,

Motivated by powerful compassion,

May I be able to expound the treasure of Buddha Dharma,

Conveying it to new places and places where it has degenerated.

The Buddha's doctrine is not something physical.

Therefore,

The restoration and spread of Buddhism depends on our inner spirit or the continuum of our mind.

When we are able to reduce the defects of the mind,

Its good qualities increase,

Thus affecting positive transformations is what the preservation and promotion of the Buddha's doctrine means.

It is obvious that the doctrine is not a tangible entity,

That it cannot be sold or bought in the marketplace or physically constructed.

We should pay attention to the fundamentals,

Like the practice of the three trainings,

Renunciation,

The awakening mind of bodhicitta,

And the wisdom realizing emptiness.

The responsibility for the preservation and furthering of Buddha's doctrine lies upon those of us who have faith in that doctrine.

This in turn depends on our attraction to the Buddha and respect for him.

If we don't do anything constructive and expect that others will,

Then obviously nothing is possible.

The first step is to cultivate within our minds those positive qualities taught by the Buddha.

After properly disciplining our own minds,

Then we may hope to discipline others' minds.

The great Tsongkhapa has clearly stated that those who have not disciplined themselves have hardly any chance of disciplining others.

Acharya Dharmakirti has taught this principle in very lucid terms.

When the technique is obscure to you,

Explanation is naturally difficult.

Bodhisattvas with such an intention ultimately aim to attain the state of enlightenment.

For this purpose,

They engage in the practices of eliminating the disturbing emotions that afflict the mind.

At the same time,

They endeavor to cultivate spiritual insights.

It is by following such a process of eliminating negative qualities and cultivating positive ones that bodhisattvas become capable of helping other sentient beings.

The commentary on Dignaga's Compendium of Valid Cognition also says,

The compassionate ones employ all means to alleviate the misery of all beings.

Therefore,

Those of us who believe in the Buddha's teachings should try our best to generate virtues.

This is extremely important.

It is especially relevant in this age when the Buddha's doctrine is degenerating.

We Tibetans are making noise and criticizing the Chinese for the destruction they have caused in our country.

But the important thing is that as followers of Buddhism,

We must diligently adhere to its principles.

The teachings are only purposeful when we see the advantages of practicing,

Undertake the discipline,

And affect positive transformations in our hearts.

Listening to lectures on other subjects has a different purpose.

There we aim to gain ideas and information.

You might wonder what the signs are of a true Dharma practitioner.

Practice should begin with the ethical discipline of abstaining from the 10 non-virtuous actions.

Every negativity of body,

Speech,

And mind should be properly identified and its antidotes fully understood.

With this basic knowledge,

An individual should eliminate negative actions like stealing,

Lying,

And so forth,

And practice honesty,

Kindness,

And other virtuous deeds.

Ordained monks and nuns have to follow the rules of monastic discipline.

These are meant to discipline the way one wears the monastic robes,

Communicates with others,

And so forth.

Even the manner of looking at other people and the correct ways of addressing other people are taught in the rules of monastic discipline.

For a Dharma practitioner,

One of the major challenges is to counter our disturbing emotions and finally free ourselves from them.

The difficulty of this is due to the simple truth that disturbing emotions have,

From beginningless time,

Caused us to suffer all kinds of miseries.

If someone bullies us or an enemy persecutes us,

Then we raise a hue and cry.

External enemies,

However brutal they are,

Only affect us during one lifetime.

They have no power to harm us beyond this life.

On the other hand,

Disturbing emotions are our inner enemies and can definitely cause disaster in future lives.

These are,

In fact,

Our worst enemies.

The real test for a Dharma practitioner comes from this angle.

If our disturbing emotions are reduced,

Then our practice has been effective.

This is the main criterion in determining a true practitioner,

Regardless of how holy we appear externally.

The whole purpose of meditation is to lessen the deluded afflictions of our mind and eventually eradicate them from their very roots.

By learning and practicing the profound and vast aspects of the teaching,

A practitioner with prolonged familiarity with and meditation on selflessness eventually gains an understanding of reality.

We are engaged in teaching and listening,

And it is essential to know the proper ways,

The effective methods of listening to the teaching.

This constitutes the elimination of the three defects of a listener,

Likened to a vessel,

And the cultivation of the six favorable intentions.

The first of the three defects is listening in a way that is like an upside-down container.

This means that physically we may be attending to the teachings,

But mentally we are busy somewhere else.

So when someone is teaching,

We are,

In fact,

Not listening at all.

In such a case,

We have no interest in the teaching and,

In fact,

Did not hear anything that is taught.

This is obviously a great obstacle to learning,

And we must eliminate this problem and attend to the teaching with keen interest.

The second of the defects is to listen in a way that is like a container with holes.

This means that even though we are listening to the teachings,

We do not retain their contents.

In this case,

We lack mindfulness and memory.

Practice of Dharma means that we should be able to benefit from what we have heard.

It's not a pastime like listening to a story.

The teachings give us guidance on how to live meaningful lives and how to develop proper attitudes.

So in order to benefit from the teachings,

We must retain them with mindfulness.

In all kinds of learning processes—listening,

Reading,

Etc.

—we must pay full attention and should endeavor to remember their contents.

When our interest is half-hearted,

We only remember half the points,

And we retain them for only a short time.

We should reflect and think about whatever we have heard over and over again.

In this way,

The knowledge will stay in our mind for a long time.

Another technique for remembering instructions is debate,

As it is practiced in the traditional debating schools.

The third defect of a listener concerns the motivation and is likened to a vessel containing poison.

When we listen to the teachings,

We must avoid deluded motives.

All activities,

Particularly Dharma practices such as listening to and reading scriptural texts,

Must be done with a wholesome motivation.

We should aim to control the undisciplined mind and then gradually attain the state of Buddhahood to benefit all sentient beings.

I urge you not to treat the Dharma knowledge like any other kind of science just to earn a living.

Now let me turn to the main topic,

The text by Kamala Sheela known as the Stages of Meditation.

The author was immensely kind to Tibet.

The great Tsongkhapa referred to him as an honorable scholar,

And the title is befitting.

Of the several treatises he wrote,

Illumination of the Middle Way and this text are the most highly respected.

The transmission lineage of the Three Stages of Meditation texts is fairly rare.

In the central and southwestern regions of Tibet,

Its transmission was not widely known.

Maybe it was available in isolated and remote areas.

Kunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen received the lineage in Kam,

And Serkong Rinpoche received it from him.

At that time,

I was not able to receive the transmission,

Although I wanted to.

I thought that since the text is not very long,

There wouldn't be much difficulty in receiving it later.

Instead,

I put my efforts into receiving teachings on some of the major treatises like the Great Commentary on Kala Chakra by Bhutan Rinchen Druk,

And Summary Tantra in Kala Chakra,

And the six volumes of the Annotations of the Great Commentary called Stainless Light.

I was away in Switzerland when I received a telegram saying that Serkong Rinpoche had passed away,

And Yongzin Ling Rinpoche was in poor health.

Then it struck me that I was paying the price for my laziness and not having taken teachings on the Stages of Meditation texts.

My mind was filled with sorrow and a sense of loss.

Afterward,

I would ask who held its lineage of transmission whenever I met Lamas and Geshes.

Once,

When I was in Bodhgaya,

I met the Sakya,

Abbot Sanjay Tenzin.

He told me that he had received teachings on the Stages of Meditation from an old Lama from Kam who was in Lhasa on pilgrimage.

Later,

I thought that since Kunu Lama Rinpoche had also received the teachings from Kam,

The lineage would be the same.

I also thought that it would be fine to receive the teaching.

Previously,

When I embarked on new texts,

I would consult Yongzin Ling Rinpoche,

But then he had passed away.

At that time,

Venerable Gen Nyima was also at Bodhgaya,

So I told him the situation and asked for his opinion.

He said that it was a good idea.

In this way,

I received the teaching transmission from the Sakya Abbot,

Sanjay Tenzin.

I felt very happy and fortunate,

And that automatically freed me from feelings of remorse.

This Sakya Abbot is quite well known and used to be a respected master in Sakya itself.

Now he's in his 80s.

It seems there are no written commentaries on this text,

At least I haven't seen any.

The Great Tsongkhapa quotes from it at length in his Great Stages of the Path,

So I think it would be appropriate if I supplemented my commentary from there.

Kamalashila did a wonderful service for the Buddha's doctrine.

With a steadfast and kind motivation,

He established a perfect foundation for the Buddha's teaching during his lifetime in Tibet.

The Tibetan religious king Trisong Detsen invited Acharya Sankar Shantarakshita and Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava.

These three great beings were extremely kind to the snowy land of Tibet.

It was through their collaboration that a complete form of Buddhism,

Including the tantras,

Was properly established in Tibet.

Acharya Shantarakshita saw the possibility of misunderstanding and misinterpreting the philosophy,

And so he left instructions to invite Kamalashila when such occasions arose.

History reveals that these were the reasons Kamalashila was invited to Tibet and composed the Stages of Meditation.

At the end of the first part,

The author states that he composed the text at the request of King Trisong Detsen.

For the benefit of the Tibetan people,

And to establish the Buddhist doctrine among them,

The great Kamalashila very kindly came to Tibet.

The three parts of the Stages of Meditation were written in Tibet,

And the Chinese Vashang became the catalyst for the composition.

The content of his general philosophy is a different matter,

But the Chinese Vashang's interpretation of the Buddhist view was definitely mistaken.

Acharya Kamalashila wrote this text to preempt the advancement of those wrong views.

What we may note here is that the great beings in those days exhibited much scholastic and moral strength.

They used very refined language while refuting wrong views and didn't target their opponents as individuals.

What they actually did was to formulate a lucid and clear presentation of the fundamental philosophical view,

Meditation,

And conduct as taught by the Buddha.

In that fashion,

The Buddha's doctrine outshone the inferior and wrong views,

Which declined on their own.

So this precious text has a special karmic link with Tibet,

The land of snows.

It is obvious that the author Kamalashila was immeasurably kind to the Tibetans,

But history reveals that the Tibetans made some mistakes instead of showing proper gratitude.

Certain inappropriate incidents occurred.

Looking at it from another angle,

It was something like the saying in Tibetan,

Where the Dharma flourishes,

The devil is also active.

In order for well-founded temporal and spiritual institutions to last in Tibet,

Guru Rinpoche created favorable conditions and blessed the environment.

Even during such a time,

There were people saying unhelpful things.

It seems at times even the king did not fulfill all the wishes of Guru Rinpoche.

It is sad to note these things.

Of course,

There are other ways of looking at it.

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have nothing to do save work in the interest of all sentient beings.

Lord Avalokiteshvara has a special link with Tibet and has done great kind deeds through numerous manifestations.

We Tibetans,

However,

Face unending problems,

Even up to the present time.

Still,

We must not lose heart.

The international situation is fluid and constantly changing.

Their support for the truth and truth is precious.

We have so far been able to establish proper foundations for our future.

We should all work diligently to fulfill our individual interests of this life and the lives beyond,

Paying equal attention to the common cause.

We are all fortunate to be able to study this wonderful text.

It would be wise on our part to learn its guiding principles and try to transform our lives.

Within the context of Buddhist teachings,

The generation of a positive attitude is very important.

I urge you to listen with a wholesome motivation,

Thinking,

I shall listen to the intermediate stages of meditation by the great Kamalashila in order to attain supreme Buddhahood for the sake of sentient beings,

Vast as the expanse of space.

The quality of any action of body,

Speech,

And mind is primarily determined by the motivation.

Thus,

Any action done with positive motivation brings virtue and happiness and becomes a cause to attain Buddhahood in the long run.

On the other hand,

If a good or healthy motivation is missing,

Then even apparently spiritual practices could bring negative consequences in place of virtue.

Since the line between them can be very thin at times,

Individuals need to pay extra attention to this aspect.

In this text,

The author presents the essence of the path of both the Hinayana and the Mahayana vehicles.

He expounds the mode of practicing conventional bodhicitta and the six perfections with special emphasis on calm-abiding meditation and special insight.

Those of you who are new to Buddhism and not familiar with the modes and procedures of practicing the teachings should try to form a coherent understanding of this text because on the basis of this knowledge,

You will be able to understand other treatises without great difficulty.

This text can be like a key that opens the door to all other major Buddhist scriptures.

Okay,

That concludes the introduction.

So you can just take a moment,

A silent moment,

As we transition.

There's no rush.

Now that we're through the introduction,

I just want to simply clarify some essential points that the Dalai Lama is making.

As I kind of primed us before,

One of the key topics he introduces is the importance of listening with the right motivation and awareness.

So he describes three flawed ways of listening that we should really try to avoid.

I encourage you to extract these from just how we would listen to a Buddhist teaching and really be thinking about how avoiding these three flaws of listening can benefit us in every area where listening is required.

So the first flaw or area that we want to avoid listening like is called listening like an overturned vessel.

This occurs when the mind is closed.

It's totally closed off.

It's like an upside down cup that can't receive any liquid.

We're present physically,

But we're not actually open to hearing the teaching.

I have one teacher,

Mingyur Rinpoche,

And he says,

You know,

It's one thing to have the merit to be somewhere to hear teachings,

But it's quite another thing to have accumulated enough merit to actually hear what the teachings are saying.

So we don't want to be like an upside down cup.

We want to be like an open vessel.

The second flawed way of listening,

The Dalai Lama talks about is listening like a dirty vessel.

So here we're listening,

But with a polluted mind by distractions or biases or preconceptions.

So this is like pouring clean water into a dirty cup and the teaching becomes muddy by our own mental clutter.

And the third flawed way of thinking or listening is listening like a leaky vessel.

And so finally,

Even if we're open and we're attentive,

We may struggle to retain what we hear.

And we just allow it to slip by without absorbing its depth.

And of course,

None of these flawed ways of listening are going to allow us to extract what is crucial to extract from the teachings.

To listen in a way that allows the teachings to penetrate deeply,

We need to be like a clean,

Upright,

And whole vessel.

Ready to take in the teachings fully,

Not having any preconceptions,

Not being distracted,

And not forgetting.

So this is the mindfulness aspect as well.

So we don't only want to be present,

Right?

We want to be present in the right way.

And then we want to use that presence as a way to continue to remember that right way that we are attaining to be.

So this approach to listening is essential,

Not only in formal study,

But also in our interactions with others,

With other experiences,

Because listening in this way really allows us to connect more fully and genuinely with whatever the object of listening is.

The Dalai Lama also touches on the fleeting nature of time in this introduction,

And he shares this story where he waited to receive the teachings on this text until it was almost too late.

And when he was finally ready,

His teacher had nearly passed away,

One had already passed away,

And he felt like,

Oh,

He maybe had missed his chance.

I bring our minds to this now because this really serves as a reminder that the time to cultivate our path,

The time to study,

The time to benefit others,

The time to cultivate virtuous qualities is now.

It's not some time in the distant future when you finally retire,

Or you've earned enough money,

Or circumstances are exactly right.

We need to do it now,

Because we don't know at any moment this beautiful,

Precious opportunity we've been given may evaporate.

So we're invited to recognize that each moment of our practice is an opportunity that may never come again,

And this encourages us to engage fully,

Now,

Without delay.

And so also this statement that Dalai Lama says,

I shall listen to the intermediate stages of meditation by the great Kamalashila in order to attain supreme Buddhahood for the sake of sentient beings,

Vast as the expanse of space.

We will actually start using that as our motivation before the readings,

Now that we're jumping into the commentary on the actual text.

We're really looking to prime our minds in the right way.

I'm inviting you to come on this journey with me,

Not just for entertainment purposes.

If you're bored,

You know,

Go watch a Netflix show or something like that.

This process is to cultivate a transformation in our minds and our hearts.

And so we're hearing from these teachings that the way to do that is like this.

And so if we listen like this,

If we set our minds and our intentions like this,

Then the Dalai Lama is saying we are going to get the most benefit from these teachings.

So we're not operating on blind faith here.

Now is a real opportunity for us to examine for ourselves,

Is this true?

But the only way to do that is to treat this experience like a laboratory setting and come into it with these preconditions that the Dalai Lama has outlined for us,

And then observe,

Do we in fact derive more benefit from the teachings than we otherwise would have if we listen in this way with this motivation?

So we are going to practice in this way from here forward.

Let's practice a little bit together.

These practices are more general and vague as we build up to the practices that will be presented in the text.

And today we're just going to be working a little bit more with shamatha,

But we're going to extend the length of time that we sit together in silence.

We'll focus on this idea of cultivating patience and presence,

Which are essential qualities for steady progress on the path according to the Buddha's teachings.

What's really important here is that for one,

You recognize that the more you pay attention to the mind,

Perhaps the more challenge you witness.

So the mind may ramp up if you were here for the first session,

Or if you have listened to the recording,

Then you know that I spoke about this idea of the waterfall of experience,

Waterfall-like thoughts.

When we first begin to pay attention to the mind,

It can feel like it can feel like thinking ramps up.

This is actually an illusion.

It's just that we've never really noticed how crazy and chaotic the thinking mind actually is.

The thing is,

As we're working on calm abiding,

This idea of shamatha meditation,

And we're looking to rest the mind,

We often have to go through a fire to get there.

So this may not be the case for everybody,

But just to set yourself up that while we take a little longer in silence together,

You may find that you hit a wall of intensity where it feels like maybe the practice isn't working.

Maybe the mind will never quiet and rest.

This is a good sign and not a bad sign.

And it is a crucial moment to stay anyway,

A crucial moment to stay anyway.

So that's what we'll be doing together now is we'll just be staying,

Whether it's good,

Bad,

Or any number of other experiences you might have,

We are practicing staying with it in an undistracted way.

So find a meditation posture that feels good for you.

You can close your eyes or leave them open if that feels more safe.

And then for just a few moments here,

Simply bring your attention to the breath.

And you can imagine just a little bit in front of the nose,

The breath coming in,

And out.

Maybe you're even sensitive to the space right at the nostrils.

Let your mind focus in that area.

Don't change your breath in any way.

There's no need to slow it down or speed it up.

You can just simply observe it in its natural state.

And we're going to sit for five minutes together in total silence.

And as we do this,

I want you to simply observe any restlessness,

Any boredom,

Any urge to get up,

Any sleepiness,

Any experience that happens at all.

Just simply observe it without getting caught up in it.

You don't have to judge them as good or bad experiences.

You just simply notice the experiences and see them all as just temporary fleeting aspects of experience,

Really cultivating this equanimous mind,

A sense of equanimity.

Each time a thought or distraction arises,

And you find yourself somewhere besides observing the breath,

Noticing experience,

Just gently bring yourself back.

And this is how we are cultivating patience.

The kind of catch 22 about developing patience is that you actually have to be put in situations that would normally create heavy impatience.

And we are building up our tolerance,

So to speak,

Like getting in an ice bath.

The first time you get in,

Maybe you can only just get in and pop right out.

But over time you build up a tolerance to the cold water.

And that's the same thing with patience.

We build up a tolerance to restlessness.

We build up a tolerance to boredom.

We build up a tolerance to the desire to drop what we're doing and do anything else.

And as we build up that tolerance,

Something very magical happens.

And we begin to relax.

We begin to let things come and things go.

And it's just no big deal.

So we can practice that now together.

Just sit here,

Five minutes of silence.

Let whatever happens happen.

It's no problem.

Wherever you are in your mind,

You can drop the focus on the breath and just begin to bring yourself back into our shared space,

Perhaps blinking the eyes open if they've been closed and just gently coming back to our time together.

So the homework for this in-between session time is going to stay the same.

I want to continue to invite you to play with and work with shamatha meditation.

But if you're somebody who is new to if you're somebody who is new to meditation and you just really were working with like the two or three minutes that I suggested from last session,

I'm going to invite you to extend that a little bit.

We really want to extend it because I don't know if anybody's familiar with fasting,

But I'll use this example of fasting.

If you've ever played around with fasting from food,

Then you know,

Like one day of a fast is actually much harder than for instance,

Like three or four days.

And that's because the first day is always the hardest.

But then after the first day,

Your body kind of settles in and you sort of meter your energy levels out a little bit.

And it begins to get a little bit easier.

And that is the same thing with our meditation practice.

Like those first few minutes,

They're hard.

It's like running also like the first mile can be really hard,

But then you settle in after that first mile,

That first two miles.

And those are more like the warmup.

And then the next six miles feel quite good for those of you who might be a runner like myself or anything like that,

You know,

Applies here.

You can think so we want to start building up time.

It doesn't have to be so long.

And I love this idea.

Mingyur Rinpoche brings,

Which is not unique to him.

It's actually coming from the Buddha's teachings is short times,

Many times short times,

Many times.

What do we mean by that?

We mean that in any particular sitting session.

So let's say you've decided,

Okay,

I've been sitting two,

Three minutes.

Now I'm going to start 10 minutes,

15 minutes.

During that session,

You just keep coming back to it.

You pay attention to the breath a little bit,

And then maybe you fatigue and you drop the attention.

You let the mind wander for a second,

And then you come right back into it.

Or you continue to refresh the practice.

You notice you're there,

You're paying attention to the breath,

And perhaps you notice that the attention begins to wane a little bit and boom,

You refresh the practice in some way.

Maybe that's by adjusting your posture.

Or sometimes I use blinking when I sit with eyes open.

You can find something that works for you.

But as you do this,

This kind of longer shamatha sit,

You're starting to bring this sense of equanimity that we're talking about here into that practice as well.

Really seeing signs of restlessness,

Boredom,

Sleepiness,

Seeing them all as just experiences in this equanimous mind,

This equanimous way.

There's no difference between them.

Everything comes in,

It wants your attention,

But if you don't give it your attention,

It naturally leaves on its own.

So you're just beginning to watch and notice this.

And as you pay attention to your breath,

If you find yourself distracted,

You just bring it back again and again.

Just really remembering that if you want to be a more patient person,

You have to bow down to every single experience that is painfully inviting you to be impatient.

You really have to bow to those experiences.

And you have to say like,

Thank you,

My beautiful child,

Who is just totally all over the place today,

Because I need this.

I need this in my life so that I can develop this quality of patience or fill in the blank,

Whatever thing really causes you stress or discomfort and creates the opposite of patience in your life,

You want to bow to those experiences because they are coming to offer you a unique opportunity to develop this quality of patience.

And as we do this more and more,

Allowing ourselves to stay present,

Even through these moments of discomfort,

We begin to really build up powerfully these capacities for resilience and inner calm.

Okay,

And then I want to offer a bonus homework.

So in between sessions,

I would love if you feel up for it for you to try applying the Dalai Lama's advice on listening in any area where listening is required for you.

So whether that's in conversation with friends or family,

Co-workers,

Just really set out to avoid these three flawed ways of listening,

And really practice keeping an open mind and staying present and retaining what has been shared.

And just notice how this quality of attention affects your connections and interactions,

And perhaps observe any insights that might arise for you as you listen in this mindful way.

Okay,

That concludes our session for the day.

So let's close with dedicating our merit.

And just turn your attention inward for a moment.

Notice how you feel right now.

I'd like us to bring our minds to the idea that many,

Many people either don't have the opportunity to practice or to hear teachings,

Or they don't know they have that precious opportunity.

And we want to dedicate these practices to those people.

So you can just listen as I say this dedication.

May the merit of our study and practice today benefit all beings.

May the wisdom and compassion we cultivate ripple out into the world,

Bringing peace and healing to all those we encounter.

Maybe taking a few deep breaths and sending out the exhales,

Like rays of light across the planet.

And then letting go.

Okay,

Thank you so much for joining me again for episode two of the third edition of book club,

The stages of meditation with the Dalai Lama and Kamalashila.

I'm Sarah Sati.

And I appreciate so much your presence and time and the fact that you are dedicated to transforming your life.

It's a gift for me to offer these,

These teachings and offer this book club to you.

As usual,

The recording will be edited and posted as soon as possible.

So it will be there for you to share with friends or loved ones or to be listened to.

And I hope that you'll take that opportunity.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

Until next time.