Stages Of Meditation: Book Club III, Episode 4

In the fourth episode of Book Club III, Sarah Sati reads from chapters three and four of the text Stages of Meditation. This book, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, serves as a concise commentary on the text of the same name by Kamalashila. In chapter three, the Dalai Lama discusses the idea of compassion and the specificity necessary for the expression of authentic compassion to take place.

In chapter four, listeners are introduced to what this specific process is and where to begin on the path to the expression of compassion. Sarah recaps the previous session before reading and offers space for practical application through a guided meditation practice, as well as practice homework 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.

Transcript

Okay,

So welcome.

We are now at the fourth session of our book club series on stages of meditation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kamala Sheila.

I'm so glad to be back and spending this time with you as we continue this journey together.

So thanks for joining me.

I'm Sara Sati,

As a reminder,

Your host for book club.

And just to kind of reiterate,

Book club is an opportunity for us to really dive deeply into a text.

And what we are able to do through this is explore not just the teachings,

But their application in our everyday lives.

So we're really in book club,

We take a text,

And we look at this sort of ancient Buddhist philosophy and these practices,

And we look at how can these be applicable to our day-to-day experience.

So in this system,

We're really taking a gradual,

Mindful approach to understanding and practicing these concepts.

So we're not in any rush here.

Today,

We'll be reading from chapters three and four of the book,

And these will just continue to deepen our exploration of meditation practice and its essential qualities,

According to Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist science.

But before we get started,

Let's,

Like we normally do,

Take a brief moment just to settle in.

You don't have to change anything,

However you are is perfect.

But if you'd like to close your eyes or adjust your position,

Take a moment now to do that.

Perhaps you'd like to take a few deep inhales and exhales,

Maybe through the nose and out of the mouth.

You can imagine with each exhalation that you let go of anything that has been happening before now,

Anything that may be happening after now.

Just simply bring yourself into this moment completely.

And take a moment here to reflect on why you come to book club.

Why are you here today and what brings you back to these teachings and back to this community?

Just allow that motivation to arise within you.

However it shows up in a vision,

In words,

In a sensation in the body.

Bring a little clarity to your purpose for being here today.

And then together,

Let's set a collective intention.

You can repeat the words after me,

I'll say them twice and call in response,

Or you can just simply listen.

May our study and practice today benefit not only ourselves,

But all beings.

May our study and practice today benefit not only ourselves,

But all beings.

May we cultivate open hearts and open minds.

Allowing the wisdom and compassion of these teachings to transform our lives.

Allowing the wisdom and compassion of these teachings to transform our lives.

Just let that sink in.

And if your eyes were closed,

Perhaps gently opening them.

And then settling in for today's session.

So in our last session,

If you remember,

Or if you were present for that,

We explored chapters one and two of this text.

So if you remember,

This text is the Dalai Lama commenting on a text that Kamalashila had written.

And Kamalashila was a really instrumental in developing the system of Buddhism inside of Tibet.

And this is often how a modern day text in Buddhism works.

It's a commentary on an older text,

And that's a common process where practicing Buddhists and monks,

They are given an opportunity to really digest one text through the retelling of it in a new or more condensed way.

In chapters one and two,

We started talking,

We really started getting deep into this content,

And we looked at some pretty important concepts.

One of them was the idea of conditioned existence,

If you remember that.

And so what is conditioned existence?

If you remember us talking about this,

It's really the idea that all things in the phenomenal world arise based on causes and conditions.

And so how does that apply to improving our lives?

Well,

We talked about this idea of ignorance and that we are recognizing that ignorance,

Which is the root of all suffering,

Arises due to conditions.

And this is actually good news because if it arises due to conditions,

It can be overcome by changing those conditions.

And that is what we are beginning the process of doing in our lives.

So this understanding leads us to the idea that we are looking at reality from a flawed perspective.

And I talked a lot about this last time,

But I'll just briefly recap.

The majority of our suffering is coming from looking at reality as though things are permanent,

As though they are independent.

And as though they are one single thing or completely unchanging.

And when we say,

OK,

This is what ignorance is,

We can look to the opposite of that to understand reality and how it really exists.

And this is looking at reality as interdependent,

Impermanent and constantly in flux.

In fact,

Nothing,

Not even for a single second,

Is ever staying the same.

Everything is constantly in change.

And that learning to view reality from this perspective,

From interdependent,

From impermanent,

From multiplicity,

Is what we'll call this changing nature.

This is actually the antidote to ignorance.

And that's exciting news because it's telling us that ignorance,

Which causes our suffering,

Can be overcome by recognizing reality as it exists.

And that's what we're working to do together.

And then chapter two goes a little bit further and it starts to say,

OK,

Well,

We have to train the mind in order to realize this.

The mind is the king of everything.

It overrules the senses.

It overrules the body.

You know,

This is a controversial subject.

So you really want to think on it.

You remember in Buddhism,

Nothing is taken at face value.

We have to take a teaching in and then we ask ourselves,

Is this true?

And we do that by comparing truth to our direct experience.

So we say,

You know,

If I want to exercise on a daily basis and the body is really like I need to get up and move,

I need to get up and move.

But the mind says,

No,

Who wins?

The mind is the boss.

The mind decides,

Is this a good smell or a bad smell?

Is this a good feeling or a bad feeling?

So we started to talk about that in chapter two,

That in order to recognize reality as it is,

We have to train the mind.

But how do we do that?

The Dalai Lama really emphasized here that to make progress,

We have to have not only the correct methods,

But also the proper sequence.

And he spoke about compassion.

And this is really what Kamalashila presents,

Compassion as the foundational starting point for this training.

And that this training,

Like any process,

It really requires the right ingredients and then these careful steps.

Just I talked about following a recipe or one of the examples Kamalashila gives is you can't get milk by milking a cow's horn or a bull's horn.

So we need not only the right methods.

We don't want to just know how to milk something,

But we also want to know where to milk something and in what order to make something to get the right results.

And then we practice together and in our practice,

We work to start familiarizing ourselves with this concept of compassion.

And the homework was focused on investigating the truth about this idea,

Like are things permanent or impermanent?

Are they independent or interdependent?

Are they static and unchanging or are they constantly in flux?

And so I invited you in your day to day life to start investigating this for yourself because that's really where realization happens.

It happens on the level of direct experience.

So we're going to now expand upon this content today and deepen our understanding of the expression of compassion and how to really unlock this natural expression that's hiding within us.

And I'll be reading from chapters three and four.

If you go all the way back to session two,

The Dalai Lama invited us to set our proper motivation for listening,

And so I'm going to revisit that every time before we begin a new reading.

And so let's take a moment now to establish this proper motivation for listening.

I just want you to find a seat,

Even if it's lying down,

Even if you're standing,

Just in a in a way you want to position the body that your attention is elevated.

So I want you to elevate your attention so that you are really listening to the words and that you're not embodying any of these three flawed ways of listening,

Like a turned over cup or a cup with holes in it or a dirty cup.

And then just listen to these words and take them into your heart.

I shall listen to the intermediate stages of meditation by the great Kamala Sheila in order to attain supreme Buddhahood for the sake of sentient beings vast as the expanse of space.

Okay,

Just settle yourself in and I'll begin the reading.

Chapter three,

Compassion.

Moved by compassion,

Bodhisattvas take the vow to liberate all sentient beings.

This is Kamala Sheila speaking.

And now the Dalai Lama.

Compassion is essential in the initial stage,

In the intermediate stage,

And in the final stage of spiritual development.

In accordance with this popular teaching,

Bodhisattvas,

Great beings who are strongly motivated and moved by compassion,

Pledge to attain the state of omniscience for the welfare of all sentient beings.

This determination is the awakening mind of bodhicitta,

Which is an altruistic thought derived from compassion.

Kamala Sheila.

Then by overcoming their self-centered outlook,

They engage eagerly and continuously in the very difficult practices of accumulating merit and insight.

By the power of generating the awakening mind of bodhicitta,

They undergo the bodhisattvas training,

Which includes developing the six perfections without questioning how long it will take to fulfill it.

As a result,

They are gradually able to accumulate immense merit and insight without much effort.

Kamala Sheila.

Having entered into this practice,

They will certainly complete the collection of merit and insight.

Accomplishing the accumulation of merit and insight is like having omniscience itself in the palm of your hand.

Therefore,

Since compassion is the only root of omniscience,

You should become familiar with this practice from the very beginning.

The Dalai Lama.

Here,

The author mentions that compassion is the only root or foundation of omniscience.

The word only stresses that compassion is an essential cause of omniscience,

But does not negate other causes and conditions.

It emphasizes the point that compassion is a necessary cause because omniscience cannot be achieved without compassion.

If compassion alone were sufficient,

Then the earlier statement about the need to train in compassion,

The awakening mind of bodhicitta,

And skillful means would be contradicted.

Kamala Sheila.

The compendium of perfect dharma reads,

O Buddha,

A bodhisattva should not train in many practices.

If a bodhisattva properly holds to one dharma and learns it perfectly,

He has all the Buddha's qualities in the palm of his hand.

And if you ask what that one dharma is,

It is great compassion.

The Dalai Lama.

Here,

The Buddha strongly emphasizes the importance of compassion.

It is on the basis of compassion that the awakening mind of bodhicitta is generated and the individual engages in the deeds of a bodhisattva and so attains enlightenment.

The corollary of the thesis is that without compassion,

You cannot generate the supreme awakening mind of bodhicitta that cherishes others more than yourself.

Without this altruistic attitude,

It is impossible to practice the Mahayana deeds of bodhisattvas,

Such as the six perfections,

And without following this procedure,

You cannot achieve the omniscient state of Buddhahood.

This is why compassion is so important.

Kamala Sheila.

The Buddhas have already achieved all their own goals,

But remain in the cycle of existence for as long as there are sentient beings.

This is because they possess great compassion.

They also do not enter the immensely blissful abode of nirvana like the hearers.

Considering the interests of sentient beings first,

They abandon the peaceful abode of nirvana as if it were a burning iron house.

Therefore,

Great compassion alone is the unavoidable cause of the non-abiding nirvana of the Buddha,

The Dalai Lama.

Compassion is highly commended in many treatises and its importance cannot be overemphasized.

Chandrakirti paid rich tribute to compassion,

Saying that it was essential in the initial,

Intermediate,

And final stages of the path to enlightenment.

Initially,

The awakening mind of bodhicitta is generated with compassion as the root or basis.

Practice of the six perfections and so forth is essential if a bodhisattva is to attain the final goal.

In the intermediate stage,

Compassion is equally relevant even after enlightenment.

It is compassion that induces the Buddhas not to abide in the blissful state of complacent nirvana.

It is the compassion-motivating force enabling the Buddhas to enter non-abiding nirvana and actualize the truth body,

Which represents fulfillment of your own purpose,

And the form body,

Which represents fulfillment of the needs of others.

Thus,

By the power of compassion,

Buddhas serve the interests of sentient beings without interruption for as long as space exists.

This shows that the awakening mind of bodhicitta remains crucial even after achieving the final destination.

Kamalashila's reference to another treatise by Chandrakirti supports the validity of this thesis and also has the advantage of helping to persuade his audience.

Generally,

In the Buddhist tradition,

Philosophical views do not have to be proved by scriptural authority alone.

In fact,

Individuals must rely primarily on logic and reasoning to gain faith and conviction in the philosophy.

Objects of knowledge can be broadly classified as obvious phenomena,

Partially concealed phenomena,

And completely concealed phenomena.

There is no need to use logic to prove the existence of obvious phenomena.

We can experience and understand them directly and thus ascertain their existence.

Since partially concealed phenomena cannot be ascertained through direct experience,

They need to be established by applying logic.

The object of analysis is then understood by inferential cognition based on experience.

Several lines of reasoning may be necessary to achieve this purpose.

People whose understanding is of an initial level of development cannot possibly examine completely concealed phenomena through the science of logic.

Such phenomena can hardly be established in relation to our experience either.

This is where we have to rely on valid scriptural authority.

The reliability or authority of scriptural teachings needs to be established first.

Likewise,

The validity or credibility of the teacher who gave such teachings must be proven.

Scriptural authority must be able to withstand a three-tier analysis.

That teachings concerning obvious phenomena are not contradicted by direct apprehension.

That teachings concerning partially obscure phenomena are not contradicted by inferential cognition and that its teachings concerning very obscure phenomena are not contradicted by inferential cognition based on faith.

The validity of such scriptural authority in turn should be tested by logical reasoning.

As it is taught that the teachings are true or valid in relation to the main meaning or the chief goal,

Their validity concerning other goals can be understood by inference.

Our chief goal is the state of definite goodness,

Nirvana and omniscience.

While favorable rebirth as a human being or God is an ordinary goal.

So when teachings that propound the process for realizing definite goodness are not found to be faulty under logical examination.

It is simply not possible for them to be faulty with regard to the ordinary goal.

It is a matter of common sense that when something is true with respect to the difficult aspects of a question,

It's being true concerning simple matters is beyond doubt.

Furthermore,

The teacher who gave these teachings was an honorable and dependable person.

He gained his realization through the power of his practice of compassion because he possessed great compassion.

He was truly motivated to benefit all sentient beings by the force of great compassion.

He gave the teachings in order to demonstrate the course of the path that helped him to eliminate the obstacles and transcend to the state of highest perfection.

The Buddha taught in the light of his own experience and since he had direct realization of ultimate reality,

He was extremely proficient in revealing the truth.

His service was unconditional and tireless and he was prepared to work for the interest of sentient beings for eons irrespective of the nature of the task involved.

Understanding and reflecting on these points should help us gain conviction in the validity of his teachings.

For these reasons,

It is said to be wise to cite certain textual teachings to substantiate a thesis or a practice.

Such a process has a great purpose.

It dispels numerous unwarranted doubts and instills new insights.

Chapter 4.

Developing equanimity,

The root of loving kindness.

The Dalai Lama.

Compassion is one of the major causes for realizing the state of omniscience.

It is important at the beginning of the practice,

During the practice,

And even after realizing the results of our spiritual endeavor.

Now,

The question is how should we meditate on it?

Kamalashila.

The way to meditate on compassion will be taught from the outset.

Begin the practice by meditating on equanimity.

Try to actualize impartiality toward all sentient beings by eliminating attachment and hatred.

The Dalai Lama.

Compassion is a mind that focuses on the sentient beings that are miserable and wishes them to be free from suffering.

Compassion can be of three types,

Depending on the aspect of wisdom that accompanies it.

These three are compassion focused on sentient beings,

Compassion focused on phenomena,

And compassion focused on the unapprehendable.

All three are the same in being minds that earnestly desire sentient beings to be free from their misery.

They are distinguished not in terms of their aspect,

But in terms of their object of focus.

Because all three have the same aspect of wishing sentient beings to be separated from suffering,

Compassion focused on sentient beings is so called because it focuses merely on sentient beings without specifying their characteristics of being impermanent or empty of inherent existence.

Compassion focused on phenomena refers to that compassion,

Which not only focuses on sentient beings,

But also focuses on sentient beings characterized by impermanence.

Likewise,

Compassion focused on the unapprehendable refers to that compassion,

Which focuses on sentient beings characterized by the unapprehendable or their lack of inherent existence.

When we look at it from another angle,

The merit of generating a kind thought is obvious.

This is true whether you believe in a particular religion or not.

A person's general goodness is in direct correlation to the force or quality of the kind thoughts he or she generates.

A kind person finds a lot of admirers and they feel close to such a person.

We can observe this phenomenon even among animals.

Animals exhibit great joy and delight when they see people who are kind to them and they enjoy being around such persons.

Conversely,

People who are aggressive and hold evil designs are regarded with suspicion even by animals and birds.

Animals and birds run away when they hear their voices or even their footsteps.

Therefore,

A kind motivation or a kind heart is an extremely valuable quality.

People who possess compassion are amiable to all and their pleasing nature attracts friends everywhere.

It is easy to observe this attraction of their compassionate motivation when we notice even strangers taking delight in their company.

Let us take some simple examples that clearly illustrate the meaning of kindness.

For instance,

When someone smiles,

It creates joy in other people's hearts without costing anything.

Unless we are peaceful and joyful at heart,

We will have no guarantee of winning friends,

Even if we possess great wealth.

When we are competitive and aggressive,

It is hard to gain much substantial benefit,

Even if we lavish wealth on others.

On the other hand,

Those who are sincerely interested in helping others have peace and joy at heart.

They create an atmosphere of harmony around them.

Thus,

It should be clear that a kind heart and a helpful attitude are the very foundation of happiness.

Both for others and ourselves for now and forever.

The positive qualities produced by helpful intentions are widely recognized as worthwhile and desirable.

All the major religions of the world teach their followers to become good people,

To practice patience,

And to develop an interest in helping others.

There is unanimity concerning the positive value attached to these fundamental principles.

In Buddhism,

Particularly,

Since its doctrine is based on compassion,

A great deal of emphasis is placed on this practice.

So what is the Buddhist technique for meditating on compassion?

On the one hand,

We need to develop loving kindness towards suffering beings,

And secondly,

We must identify the nature of suffering.

Maintaining awareness of these two points and focusing your mind on the infinite number of beings,

You will be able to generate a strong wish that all of them gain freedom from suffering and its causes.

You should begin the process by attempting to develop loving kindness for beings who are in misery.

For this purpose,

Meditation on equanimity is taught.

If we examine the state of our ordinary minds,

We may see how they segregate sentient beings into three groups.

Those to whom we feel close,

Those to whom we feel aversion,

And those toward whom we are indifferent.

We regard certain beings as close friends and relatives.

We hold others at a distance with the thought that they have harmed us,

Our friends,

Relatives,

And possessions in the past,

That they do it now and will do the same thing in the future.

With thoughts like these,

We generate aversion toward those beings.

Under such circumstances,

Even if we talk about cultivating compassion for all beings,

In reality,

As far as our own purposes are concerned,

Our compassion toward others is one-sided and superficial.

Therefore,

In order to generate true compassion for all beings,

We must first develop an attitude of equanimity,

An impartial thought that views all sentient beings equally.

It is also important to recognize that although we feel close to our friends and relatives and are generally kind to them,

This particular kindness springs from attachment and grasping.

A selfish motive is behind our apparent kindness.

We are biased,

Thinking that this person has benefited me in this way or that person related to me in that way.

So when we use the term kindness in everyday terms,

We refer to something that would more accurately be called attachment.

What do we mean when we speak of a truly compassionate kindness?

Compassion is essentially concern for others' welfare,

Their happiness,

And their suffering.

Others who wish to avoid misery as much as we do.

Others wish to avoid misery as much as we do.

So a compassionate person feels concerned when others are miserable and develops a positive intention to free them from it.

As ordinary beings,

Our feeling of closeness to our friends and relatives is little more than an expression of clinging desire.

It needs to be tempered,

Not enhanced.

It is important not to confuse attachment and compassion.

In some texts,

The term attachment is used to denote compassion.

Though attachment shares some similarity with compassion,

It is produced in dependence on the misconception of true existence.

Compassion,

On the other hand,

Does not necessarily depend on the misconception of true existence.

A compassionate thought is motivated by a wish to help release beings from their misery.

Broadly,

There are two major techniques for developing equanimity.

According to the first,

We think about the uncertainty of relationships and about impermanence and suffering,

And come to see the futility of clinging to some people and hating others.

According to the second technique,

Seeing that all beings are the same in terms of wishing to gain happiness and to be free of suffering,

We try to develop an impartial attitude toward all beings.

The root text briefly summarizes the second method for developing equanimity.

Kamalashila.

All sentient beings desire happiness and do not desire misery.

Think deeply about how,

In this beginningless cycle of existence,

There is not one sentient being who has not been my friend and relative hundreds of times.

Therefore,

Since there is no ground for being attached to some and hating others,

I shall develop a mind of equanimity toward all sentient beings.

Begin the meditation on equanimity by thinking of a neutral person,

And then consider people who are friends and foes.

The Dalai Lama.

All sentient beings are exactly the same in that everyone desires happiness and seeks to avoid misery.

We are not isolated entities disconnected from each other.

The happiness and suffering of other beings affects us.

This mutual relation is obvious,

Sentient beings have been kind and have benefited us directly and indirectly throughout beginningless time.

These beings are intrinsically the same as us in their pursuit of happiness and effort to avoid suffering.

Thus,

It is essentially logical for us to train in cultivating an impartial attitude,

Wishing for the happiness of all beings.

In order to actualize a state of mind that regards everyone equally,

At times it can be more effective to meditate on particular individuals.

Visualize three individuals,

One who has done us harm in this life,

Our enemy,

One who has benefited us directly,

Our friend,

And one who has neither harmed nor benefited us,

A stranger.

When we examine the mind's usual automatic response,

We note that regarding the enemy,

The mind thinks,

This is my foe.

It becomes irritated and resentful or hateful.

Thinking about the friend,

The mind feels relaxed and comfortable.

Toward the stranger,

There's neither irritation nor feelings of delight.

The next step is to look for the reasons for these types of responses.

The reasons are in fact superficial and based on narrow self-serving attitudes.

We are attached to friends and relatives because of the temporary benefit they have brought us in this life.

We hate our enemies because of some harm they have inflicted on us.

People are not our friends from birth,

But become so due to circumstances.

Neither were our enemies born hostile.

Such relationships are not at all reliable.

In the course of our lives,

Our best friend today can turn out to be our worst enemy tomorrow,

And a much hated enemy can change into our most trusted friend.

Moreover,

If we talk about our many lives in the past,

The unreliability of this relationship is all the more apparent.

For these reasons,

Our animosity towards enemies and attachment towards friends merely exhibits a narrow-minded attitude that can only see some temporary and fleeting advantage.

On the contrary,

When we view things from a broader perspective with more farsightedness,

Equanimity will dawn in our minds,

Enabling us to see the futility of hostility and clinging desire.

When,

Through prolonged meditation,

We are able to equalize our feelings towards those three individuals,

The friend,

Foe,

And stranger,

Gradually extend the scope of the meditation to our neighbors,

Our fellow citizens,

And our compatriots.

Eventually,

We extend the meditation to include all the beings in the world.

Starting with specific individuals is an effective way to develop perfect equanimity.

If we initially meditate on a vast number of beings,

Our practice of equanimity may appear to be fairly sound,

But when we're confronted by specific individuals,

We'll realize how little ground we've gained.

For this reason,

The technique of gradually expanding the scope of our meditation is praised and recommended by many masters of the past.

Let us consider the concept of the beginningless cycle of existence.

It may be described on one level as a continual cyclical process from one instant to the next under the influence of disturbing emotions and karma.

This situation has its causes,

But the causes are not permanent.

If the causes were permanent,

The result would have to be permanent.

Neither is the cycle of existence a product of the intention of Ishvara,

Whom some believe to be the creator.

So what is the cycle of existence?

It comes into existence sharing the essential nature of its causes.

The two root causes for being born in the cycle of existence are karma and disturbing emotions,

With the latter dominating.

The ignorance that is a misconception of true existence is the most serious among the three principal disturbing emotions.

Ignorance that is a misconception of true existence is not something imported from elsewhere,

But is a creation of consciousness.

The natural thing to do is to investigate whether consciousness exists or not.

It may be difficult to come to any definite conclusions,

And we may have to limit ourselves to saying it exists in the nature of things.

However,

The ignorance that is at the root of all the other disturbing emotions,

And that is a cause for birth in the cycle of existence,

Comes into existence at the same instant as consciousness.

And consciousness has no beginning.

If we were to assert that consciousness does have a beginning,

Numerous fallacies would ensue.

If,

For example,

We accept an inanimate physical entity as consciousness's starting point,

By implication,

We are accepting results from inappropriate causes.

In normal cause and effect relations,

Both cause and effect are of the same category.

When we observe the cause and effect relations of physical objects,

The result maintains intrinsically the same nature as its cause.

Consciousness,

Too,

Follows a similar pattern.

Every moment of consciousness produces a subsequent result of the same category,

That is,

Another moment of consciousness.

For these reasons,

Buddhist scriptural texts expound the notion of beginningless mind,

And the beginningless existence of sentient beings.

Thus,

The cycle of existence is said to have no beginning.

The text mentions that in the course of being born in this beginningless cycle of existence,

Sentient beings have been our relatives countless times.

Here,

We need to recall and reflect on the kindness of sentient beings.

Every one of them has benefited us directly or indirectly.

The kindness and benefit rendered by our friends and relatives of this life are quite obvious.

Even strangers are of immense value as a basis for accumulating merit.

Loving kindness and compassion are cultivated in relation to the infinite number of sentient beings by remembering their kindness to us.

As an outcome of these practices,

The awakening mind of bodhicitta is generated.

Thus,

The training to accumulate merit and wisdom is done in relation to sentient beings,

And we are enormously benefited.

Therefore,

We depend on the kindness of sentient beings to achieve the final unsurpassed goal.

It is from this perspective that the Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life by Shantideva explains that sentient beings and Buddhas are equal in terms of their helping individuals attain the state of Buddhahood.

Sentient beings are of immense value and help,

Regardless of their intentions.

On a mundane,

Conventional level,

Enemies are those who cause us harm,

And we are hostile to them for doing so.

But viewed in another light,

We can gain great experience and training from our relationships with our enemies.

It is in relation to enemies that we can primarily practice patience and tolerance,

And thus reduce the burden of anger and hatred.

We should take maximum advantage of this opportunity to enrich and enhance our practice of patience.

It is for reasons like these that some treatises describe our enemies as our best teachers.

In short,

All sentient beings,

Including our enemies,

Give us great help in various ways and directly or indirectly render us much-needed service.

Kamalashila.

After the mind has developed equanimity toward all sentient beings,

Meditate on loving-kindness.

Moisten the mental continuum with the water of loving-kindness and prepare it as you would a piece of fertile ground.

When the seed of compassion is planted in such a mind,

Germination will be swift,

Proper,

And complete.

Once you have irrigated the mindstream with loving-kindness,

Meditate on compassion.

To illustrate the way,

The Dalai Lama,

To illustrate the way to generate benevolence and compassion,

Kamalashila draws an analogy with the cultivation of crops.

Just as a seed will grow if you plant it in a ground moistened with water,

You can cultivate compassion when you have prepared the mind with thoughts of loving-kindness as the basis.

Having cultivated equanimity toward all sentient beings,

We should see all sentient beings as similar in having been our close friends and relatives in many lives and is similar to us in desiring happiness and disliking suffering.

Having trained your mind in this way,

You will feel very close to all beings and develop great empathy for them.

The more an individual finds sentient beings attractive and dear to his or her heart,

The more he or she will be concerned about their misery and pain.

Therefore,

Having meditated on equanimity,

We should meditate on loving-kindness.

Having moistened our mind with the water of loving-kindness,

If we plant the seed of compassion in it,

Its growth will be swift and smooth.

Okay,

So let's just take a closer look because honestly,

This is a small book,

But it's pretty heady because it's really rooted in really traditional Buddhist philosophy.

It is traditional Buddhist philosophy.

It's coming from the mind of someone who was really the motivator for propagating the teachings of the Buddha in this particular way,

In this slowly revealing,

In this stages method.

So rather than a direct result,

We're just gradually taming the mind and working with the mind in ways that reveal what we're really after.

So that can be a lot to digest.

So we'll just kind of do it together.

And I really want to encourage you to remember that it's not about hearing something once and then,

You know,

Having it develop as insight or wisdom.

It takes a lot of time and that's really the whole idea here with stages of meditation is that we're taking the time to learn the right process and the right techniques.

And in that way,

We're allowing our mind stream to clear itself up on its own,

In its own unique time.

And that's going to be different,

Really different for everybody.

So in chapter 3,

The Dalai Lama is really focusing here on the foundation for developing omniscient mind,

The omniscient mind of a Buddha.

What does that mean,

Right?

This is like the ultimately compassionate,

Expansive mind.

Omniscient is knowing everything at once.

It's that everything can be known.

The knower can be known,

The knowing can be known,

The object of known,

What is known can be known,

All together.

And the root of all of this is compassion.

So how is compassion defined?

I think we have a Western definition or we have a sociocultural definition in the developed world.

And the Buddha's teachings offer us a sort of pushback against that definition.

So now we're starting to look at compassion in relationship to the philosophy of Buddhism.

And this is defined as,

In this context,

It's defined as the wish for others to be free from suffering.

That's it.

And we are included in that wish.

So it's not just that we are looking outward and wanting others to be free from suffering,

But included in that we are part of all sentient beings.

So it may even be more appropriate to say the wish for all sentient beings to be free from suffering.

And that includes ourselves.

This is really a deeply personal and a universally expansive quality.

And that is something that the Dalai Lama,

I think,

Touches on beautifully,

That cultivating compassion involves confronting our own biases and learning to extend care to everyone,

Not just the people we feel close to or agree with.

So in this chapter,

The Dalai Lama is discussing the idea that compassion is the root of awakening and that none of the other practical tools,

Like the six paramitas,

The six perfections,

Can even be actualized until we have developed this compassionate or this altruistic thought.

And bias is a really important term here because we have to understand that it is our biased way of viewing our relationship to other people that inhibits our capacity to reveal this expansive,

Unlimited,

Compassionate nature.

And so when we work first with other things,

Like the six paramitas,

For instance,

And we come into those and we say,

Okay,

I'm going to practice generosity,

If we haven't worked at the level of our inner biases,

We're going to say,

I'm only going to be generous to this group,

But I'm not going to be generous to this group.

Therefore,

Working,

If you're not familiar with the six paramitas,

These are,

I won't really go into depth on this,

But these are considered the six perfections in Buddhism,

And they are generosity,

Morality,

Or the sort of right conduct,

Patience,

Diligence,

Meditative concentration,

And wisdom.

So it's really the first five paramitas where we put effort towards,

And then wisdom kind of dawns out of these.

But you can see,

It's really easy to see as we look at this logically and we analyze it,

That if we still have a biased mind,

Then no matter how much we try,

Generosity is only going to be so effective.

There's going to be a limit to it.

Morality is only going to be so effective.

There's going to be a limit to it.

Same with patience or diligence.

We're going to say,

Okay,

Well,

I'm going to be patient with this group,

But this group doesn't deserve my patience.

Now I want to flip the camera just slightly.

And I want to say,

That's not just a bias that we direct outward,

But we and we have to work on that bias.

So developing equanimity from an outward perspective,

But that's also a bias that we direct inward.

We are biased to ourselves.

There are certain emotions that you allow,

You freely allow.

Oh,

Yes,

I'm allowed to feel this.

And then there are others that you say,

This is a bad one.

I don't,

I don't let myself feel this way.

And that's the truth with thoughts.

That's the truth with sensations.

There are some things that we allow and other things we don't because we're classifying things as good and bad.

But the whole fundamental essence of these teachings is that we are learning that things are neither good or bad.

Everything is neutral.

And when we can position our mind in that way and really understand it,

Not from blind faith,

Not like,

Oh,

Yeah,

The Buddha said so,

So it must be true,

But from logical analysis,

We can see that things have a generally neutral nature.

Emotions are neutral.

Sometimes they're good and sometimes they're bad.

It just depends on the circumstances.

So we are attending to bias externally,

Developing the mind of equanimity,

But we are also flipping that internally.

And we are looking at ourselves and saying,

How am I internally biased in some way?

And how does that inhibit me from finding equanimity on an internal level?

So chapter four goes into more depth.

Now,

We're saying,

Okay,

We know compassion is that first thing that we need to be focused on.

That's really the root of everything.

We need to develop the compassionate mind.

How do we do that?

Right?

So we need to know our target and now we need to know our correct sequence to achieve that target.

And if you remember from the homework last week,

I invited us to become familiar or last session.

I invited us to become familiar with the concept of compassion and to begin to look deeply into it because that's really a first step with anything.

We want to start familiarizing ourselves with it.

What is compassion?

Is this right about compassion?

Is it the wish to be free from suffering?

One of my teachers,

Mignon Rimpoché talks about even blinking the eyes,

Even adjusting our posture is an evidence,

Is evidence of this intrinsic compassionate nature.

You know,

If you're sitting still for a while and then you move your seat,

Why do you do that?

You do that because on a very basic level,

You wish to be free from discomfort.

You blink your eyes because they get dry and you want to be free from discomfort.

This is on a very basic primal level.

You don't even have to think about it.

You just do it.

Sometimes with meditators,

Especially in the beginning,

Right?

You'll be sitting and you'll you'll be meditating and you'll think I better not move or I have an itch and I'm not supposed to scratch it or I shouldn't blink if my eyes are open or something like this.

And this is actually wrong thinking.

We don't have to not respond to basic needs.

If you need a drink of water while you're meditating or a sip of tea,

You take one.

And taking one is part of the practice.

It's recognizing this very innate compassion that exists inside all of us at every single moment in time.

Okay,

So back to chapter 4 where we're talking about the process.

So how do we start?

You know,

Sometimes I think I hear teachers and they go right into the idea of developing compassion.

Sit have compassion for yourself.

Now have compassion for someone you love this and that but Kamala.

Sheila is saying wait,

Wait,

Wait,

Wait,

Let's back up.

The first step to really realizing compassion is recognizing equanimity the mind of equanimity.

Compassion is not a singular independent concept.

It's rather this resultant experience of the correct understanding of the way reality operates.

And so for this reason to allow compassion to naturally express itself.

We're invited on a very practical level to work systematically on releasing the ignorant misconceptions that cloud us from it.

So what are these ignorant misconceptions?

Well,

One is that there is any difference between you and me between someone you love and someone you hate.

So we're starting now to break compassion down into its pieces.

And the first piece that we work with is equanimity.

Okay,

So we want to develop this idea of equanimity.

And how do we do this?

We have to understand the fact that as though it may seem otherwise at the very root of our desires.

Everyone has the same wish the wish to be free from suffering and the wish to have more happiness.

And so in the first stages,

We're just looking to eliminate these early biases that we have and these are very deeply rooted and in these deep roots.

They really leave us believing that some people are worthy of my compassion like,

You know,

Maybe the cat down the street,

But not the homeless person.

We have this bias.

We say,

Oh,

You're worthy,

But you're not worthy.

And that's why this first step is equanimity.

And equanimity is really the practice of developing an even-minded attitude toward all beings.

It's free from attachment.

It's free from aversion.

It's free from indifference.

So it's free from the ignorance.

We normally apply to things.

And when we cultivate this state of balance,

It allows us to view everyone with this equal care and concern without being swayed by personal preferences like,

I like you or I dislike you.

The Dalai Lama is really emphasizing that without equanimity,

Our compassion will always remain limited and biased.

So how do we work with it?

How do we work with equanimity if that's the first stage?

Well,

We have to reflect on this idea that at the very basis,

All beings have these wishes,

The desire to have happiness and to be free from suffering.

And by contemplating this changing nature of our relationships,

Right?

I mean,

Maybe you can think of it right now.

Maybe you have a friend and they were a really good friend,

But then they did something and now you hate them for some reason.

Maybe it's a family member.

They were so close to you.

They were your favorite aunt or uncle and then they did something and now you never will talk to them again.

Maybe it's your mother or father.

You know,

This is common in the developed world.

Really right now,

Especially people are never talking to their family of origin again.

Why is that?

We're putting heavy expectation on all of the people in our lives and this is actually creating more suffering.

So you hear somebody say,

Well,

My mom or dad did me wrong.

It's a lot of times.

It's the mom,

You know,

My mom's a narcissist so I I can never talk to her again,

You know,

We're we're forgetting that at the fundamental level,

All of this behavior is just clouding.

What's really true,

Which is that maybe the strategies the person is using aren't effective,

But the fundamental wish it's the same even if the strategy is flawed and when we really understand that on a deep level,

We begin to loosen our attachment to the people we love and we begin to loosen our aversion to the people we dislike and we start to see that everybody really deserves to be free from suffering.

Everybody deserves to be happy and equanimity invites us to approach every being with the same open-hearted concern.

So it's really quite beautiful equanimity.

Just yeah,

I just love to think about this idea and that is what we are going to do today.

We are going to practice with equanimity.

And I'll talk a little bit more about the homework for this in between sessions where we'll start to apply this into our daily life.

But let's practice for a moment.

So find a position that you can meditate and we'll call it meditation,

But let's not call it meditation because sometimes that gives us this like,

Oh,

It has to look a certain way.

Let's just sit together and think about stuff and feel stuff and and let's let that stuff be equanimity.

So find a position where you can do that with as little discomfort as possible so you can really focus on the topic.

And you can keep your eyes open or close your eyes,

Whatever feels good to you.

Just rest here for a moment,

Perhaps focusing on softening your body and finding some release of tension or maybe you want to direct your attention to your breath.

Not changing anything necessarily unless it needs to be changed,

But simply just settling in and releasing resistance to whatever experience you're about to have.

I want you to bring to mind four people.

Yourself,

Someone you really love,

Someone you really don't love,

And someone that's fairly neutral.

So take a moment just to bring those four people to mind.

Really let them be particular people.

Try not to let it be vague.

Let it be clear.

Like,

Okay,

Me.

Maybe you think my cat or my daughter or my best friend,

Person you love,

Somebody you don't like,

Maybe your boss.

I don't know.

I don't have a boss,

But somebody like that.

And then somebody you don't really know that well,

Like the person who you always see at the gas station or somebody you pass often when you're on a walk in the mornings or something like this.

Just bring four really clear concrete people to mind.

And take a moment here to think about each one individually.

Just think about yourself.

And when you think about yourself,

Notice what feelings or sensations arise in the body.

Is it easy to think about yourself?

Do you feel some kind of discomfort or nothing at all?

Maybe you feel pretty neutral about you.

That's okay also.

Just checking in.

And then be systematic here and do this and moving down the line.

The person you love.

How does it feel to think about the person you really love really on a body level?

What is the visceral response?

And then moving down the line to the person you don't love and the person that you feel neutral to just take a few minutes in silence to do this.

Start to recognize there's differences.

That you don't feel the same about everyone,

Even yourself.

You may have a very different reaction to a person you love than a person you don't love.

And if nothing is coming up,

Don't worry.

We're just playing.

We're just experimenting.

So there's no right way to do this.

Just start to recognize are there differences in the way you view these four people?

What are the stories?

Without a doubt.

There's a story.

This person.

I love and I view them this way because.

This person.

I don't love and I view them this way because.

Can you hear the stories?

Can you recognize that there are stories that you're telling yourself around why you do or don't feel a particular way about one of these four people?

Drop the story.

Maybe you want to visualize it like take every story that you have about you about the person you love the person you don't love the neutral person put all those stories in a bag.

Lift it up over your head and throw it into the air and let it go.

And from this free of story perspective.

See everyone as totally neutral.

Including yourself.

And ask yourself this.

Is there anyone here?

Anyone out of these four people?

Who doesn't wish to be free from suffering?

Is there anyone here who doesn't want to be happy?

Really ask that do any of these four people including myself want to suffer?

Want to not be happy?

Is it the case that all four of these people?

Wish to be free from suffering?

Is it the case that all four of these people wish to have more happiness?

Ask those questions really ask and look you need to take a break.

You just take a break and rest with the breath.

Come back.

Come back.

Come back.

Now without any story.

Having asked this question.

How does it feel?

Think about these point these four people.

Just like you.

The person you love wishes to be free from suffering and to be happy.

Just like you the people you don't love.

They wish to be free from suffering.

And to have happiness.

Just like you every stranger that you encounter.

Wishes to be free from suffering.

And have happiness.

Listen to me.

You wish to be free from suffering.

You wish for happiness.

Now you have to go a little deeper.

You have to say who here among this group of four doesn't deserve to be happy.

What comes up?

What comes up on a physical level on a visceral level?

What do you feel?

Who here among this group of four doesn't deserve to be happy?

Now from this place.

Starting with yourself.

Just gently offer the wish.

You be free from suffering.

And that you have more happiness.

Maybe you want to say it.

Maybe you just want to feel it.

May I be free from suffering?

May I have more happiness?

And then apply this to everyone in your group.

The person you love.

The person you don't love.

And the person you don't know.

Each one sequentially.

May this person be free from suffering really try to see them and really try to feel it.

And may they have happiness.

May this person be free from suffering.

And may they have happiness.

Maybe it's hard for the person that you feel a little aversion towards and that's even better.

Feel that.

Don't deny that.

Don't look away from that.

Notice that at the very core of your being even a person who has done you absolutely wrong.

You don't wish to suffer.

And for just a moment.

Really recognize use the thought.

And then make the thought of feeling.

I am no different from anyone else and no one else is any different from me.

At the core.

We all just want to be free from suffering and we all just want to be happy.

And perhaps take a deep breath in and out.

Maybe you want to do that two or three times.

Let go of the practice just rest here for a moment.

If your eyes have been closed gently open them.

Move around a little bit.

And come back to our shared space.

Yeah,

So maybe this goes easy,

You know,

You're like,

Oh,

Yeah right away.

Whoo.

Every I don't have anybody.

I don't love.

I can always think of people but I actually don't.

Really have anybody.

I don't love but for a long time.

I did.

Was it my mom?

It wasn't that I didn't love her but it was a complicated relationship and I was one of those people that it was like,

I don't know.

I just was blaming my mom,

You know,

Blaming my mom for things.

It was my childhood.

Great.

No was a lot of people's childhood.

Not great.

No,

It doesn't it's not an excuse.

What equanimity does is it allows us to start to view not just the people In our lives with a more even mindset.

So we're not like grabbing at some people and pushing other people away.

But it also allows us to recognize that experience is multifaceted.

It's it's never one.

Nothing is ever one thing or person's fault.

There's always a variety of causes and conditions that lead to the outcomes that we experience in our lives.

And this practice I really can honestly speak from experience and I have to tell you like I'm not I don't have almost any realization like I I practice but I'm I'm just like a lowly mid middling practitioner like I have nothing really great to share but I will say this on this experiential level.

It's just been life-changing on the relative just the way that I work with people the way that I relate to people but also the way that I process past experience and integrate that past experience into my day-to-day life has been totally transformed by the teachings of the Buddha and specifically by practices like equanimity and loving-kindness and compassion,

Which will we're going to keep moving into as we go further into the the book.

And so I can say with direct experience it is transformational and that's what we're doing.

We're transforming the mind the mind is flawed because the minute we were born the minute we were conceived we were sort of given passed on to a flawed way of looking at reality.

We were taught that this is the way reality works.

This is the way we define conceptual reality and most of those things were absolutely wrong.

I was telling someone yesterday like when it comes to parenting anytime you hear yourself saying well,

That's how it was done when I was a kid should be like a bell ringing that you should immediately like drop that and do the exact opposite because most of us were taught conceptual reality in a completely backwards way.

We were taught love is conditional.

You only give it to some people and you don't give it to others.

We were taught that compassion is more like pity and that it's an exhaustible thing that we need to be careful and protect ourselves less.

We get burned out on caring for others and only some people deserve it and other people don't these are wrong and they're actually leading us to suffer way more and way more unnecessarily than we need to otherwise and so it's not this.

Lottie da Pollyanna perspective where we're just like everyone's great and I love everyone remember that that's not what we're doing that is not the work here.

It's not just pretending that everyone deserves to be thought of in the positive or we should only think about the good stuff that that really like turns me even though I'm not supposed to feel any aversion like that way of working is also flawed because it's one-dimensional.

We are stopping the process of being one-dimensional.

We're dropping that we're not one-dimensional.

It's not like this is good and that is bad.

That's never the case.

There's always an argument for one or for the other.

That's why we have attorneys or laws or whatever because we need to put things in boxes and we need to argue for this case or argue against that because really logical assessment never ever puts all the burden on an on a singular entity because there is no singular entity everyone and everything is interconnected.

So we're working there,

You know,

Where any number of degrees advanced or not And we are working with ourselves in the unique way that we are exactly.

So for this session,

I'm going to invite you to do a little homework as usual.

And what I really want you to do is I want you to continue to work with this concept of equanimity first on the cushion.

You know,

We've been working with shamatha and just sitting with resting on the breath and I want you to keep that at the beginning of your practice.

But now attend a 15-minute practice every day really reflecting on the shared wish that all beings want to be free of suffering and experience happiness.

Sometimes what happens in these teachings is that we go slowly,

Right?

We start with ourselves and we work with ourselves for a long time.

I really prefer the method of bringing everybody to the party at one time.

There's no need to delay.

We don't need to wait just thinking about our enemy isn't going to hurt us bring them to the show,

You know,

Let's start working right now.

Right now is the time to be working with our enemy with the mind of equanimity.

So however,

It works best for you though is the right way.

So don't take my word as this is how it has to be.

So on the cushion working with the practice of shamatha and then adding in contemplation on equanimity and really just noticing any biases that come up any judgments or any resistance and practicing really opening up your heart to those things.

And then off the cushion.

This is sort of like bonus homework.

I want you to start bringing this practice into your daily interactions and this is a practice that I have worked with a lot in my life and I really really love but it's you can just when you're out in public you're at the grocery store you're at the beach or you're wherever you start to look out on people and you think to yourself just like me they and then you can insert anything you want.

Just like me they sometimes feel insecure just like me.

They wish to have a partner that loves them just like me.

They want to make a living and survive in this crazy expensive world like whatever resonates with you,

Right?

It doesn't have to be what what I say.

It should be what resonates with you.

So looking out it's a secret practice.

Nobody knows you're doing it.

You're just in your mind just like me that person and you do it with everybody.

You see as often as you think about it and just bringing your mind not back to only the cognitive cognition.

Not only the thought but the physical visceral experience of recognizing that everybody is really just like me.

Now,

Here's where it's hard.

Somebody cuts you off on the road.

Okay,

They cut you off your driving and then you say just like me sometimes that person doesn't pay attention.

Now,

We're really bringing light to our flaws,

But you know,

I'm not perfect.

I'm really really not perfect.

I'm super super flawed.

So you say I love this practice.

I go out just like me,

Right?

I can never judge anyone because I have been the worst person on the planet,

You know many many times in my life and so you say just like me that person is suffering from ignorance just like me that person is in a rush and wants to get somewhere early and isn't paying attention that is just like me and then we're really taking it out of the realm of being a Pollyanna who wants everything to be perfect and we're starting to see that nothing is perfect and everyone is flawed including ourselves and let's break that barrier if you're kind of person who thinks you're perfect like let's break that down right away because that's getting in the way of your close connections to others and your success in life.

Nobody wants to be friends with someone who's perfect.

Who thinks they're great all the time right the immediately do some people pop up into your mind they do for me.

So those are the kind of people that you're like because they push up against what we know is true that I am not perfect and so when I'm around somebody who thinks they are and constantly tells me so it really makes me feel a certain kind of way because the fundamental wisdom that we are unlocking is already there.

It's not like we have to develop the wisdom the wisdom is there.

We just have to uncover it and that wisdom is often tangible through the visceral experiences that you have so when you're with somebody and you start to feel a certain kind of way that's the wisdom coming through and you just have to check in about what is that wisdom.

I could go on and on about this but the truth is you don't want to say that wisdom is I am an independent person and need to protect my boundaries and take care of myself and no no no it's more like the wisdom of impermanence interconnectedness the constant changing nature of reality the truth of everything being flawed that's the wisdom we're talking about so it's a more fundamental deeper wisdom than just like me me me we're dropping the me me me.

As much as we can.

Okay,

That was a big session today and I appreciate your time as usual but let's wrap it up let's close with a dedication just remembering the homework working with equanimity on the cushion and off the cushion.

Let's dedicate any any merit we've achieved today so you can just close your eyes for a moment maybe or keep them open if you need to and just listen to these words.

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

May the equanimity we cultivate bring about greater peace understanding and compassion.

And ourselves and the world around us.

May all beings be free from suffering.

And find true happiness.

I'm Sarah Sati.

Thank you so much for joining me today and I hope to see you next time as we continue this journey with the stages of meditation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kamalashiva.

I'll see you next time.