Geshe la continued his lesson today on how we should practise as Buddhists by concentrating on the aspects relevant to the Mahayana Buddhist path. In so doing, Geshe la also took the chance to explain further, a topic raised by a student during the last lesson concerning the difference between the Hinayana tradition (the Path of the Elders, or hereinafter, the Theravada) popularly known in Chinese as 南传佛教 and the Mahayana tradition 大乘佛教 which in turn has two sub schools namely sutra (宪宗) and tantra（密宗）. Whilst Geshe la explained the theoretical differences between the two traditions, emphasised that the Four Noble Truths form the fundamental tenet of all Buddhist practice, and the existence of differences between the traditions or the nomenclature suggesting the former as the “Lesser” Vehicle （小乘） and the “Greater” Vehicle （大乘佛法）respectively, ought not to prevent all of us from regarding ourselves as one in that we are all, without exception, disciples of the Buddha.
Geshe la started by referring to the 3 Turnings of the Wheel of the Buddha, which explain why we have the common classification of Theravada and Mahayana traditions.
The 1st Turning of the Wheel took place when the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths, which is the foundation of any Buddhist practice, regardless of which tradition one practices in. The teachings are preserved in the Pali Canon, Pail being the language of the common people on the Indian sub continent during the time of Lord Shakyamuni Buddha.
The 2nd Turning of the Wheel focuses on the Perfection of Wisdom in the form of cognising emptiness , commonly referred to as the Prajnaparamita teachings i.e. the Emptiness teachings, or in essence, the teaching that all phenomenon are empty of inherent existence. The ubiquitous Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra) comes in here. It explains Buddhist ethics and morality from the standpoint of compassion grounded in the wisdom of emptiness from the standpoint of the emptiness of self, objects, and knowledge itself.
This is a unique aspect of the Mahayana tradition. These teachings appeared and were preserved in the language of Sanskrit, which happened to be the language of the scholars of India during the time of the Buddha. The teachings are credited to the Indian saint Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamika principles, which focus on the Middle Way, which explains the right view as the complete freedom from the four extreme views: existence, non-existence, both, or neither.
The 3rd Turning of the Wheel which becomes increasingly profound, focuses on the “Mind Only” teachings, which Geshe la did not go into in any level of detail, and by way of introduction, differs from the 2nd Turning which set out the nature of emptiness from the object of knowledge, whilst the 3rd Turning focuses on the nature of emptiness from the subject of knowledge.
Geshe la then observed that the Theravada teachings guide the practitioner towards becoming an Arhat who is liberated from the wheel of Samsara, but the Mahayana practitioners’ goals are to attain ultimate Buddhahood, and it is therefore their belief that the Mahayana practices of the 5 paths and 10 levels (of the Boddhisattva) as introduced during the last lesson, need to be pursued.
Geshe la then emphasised that Mahayana practitioners need to understand and practice the Theravada teachings as well as the other teachings specific to Mahayana. It is only through this that one comes to the firm conviction that these are all teachings of the Buddha, and that the teachings are not contrary (nor are they mutually exclusive) to each other. Geshe la explained that it is due to the different cognitive abilities and predispositions of us human beings that the Buddha skilfully adopted different modes of instructions, recognising and catering to this phenomenon. People come in different shapes and sizes, whether in terms of wisdom, ability to exercise compassion etc.
It was for this reason that our lineage founder Lama Tsongkhapa said in his Lam Rim Chenmo (The Graduated Path to Enlightenment) likened Buddha to a doctor, and sentient beings as patients suffering from ailments. Because there are so many in this human world, and indeed so many other sentient beings in the 6 realms, the Buddha had devised many different ways to aid sentient beings – not every medication is suitable for every patient even though the ailment that the patient suffers from may well be the identical. The Buddha was a very skilful doctor, who adopted skilful means to cure sentient beings from their poisons of ignorance, attachment (desire), aversion (hatred), pride, jealousy. It is these poisons that cause us to be propelled towards happiness easily, and yet descend into despair, simply by virtue of for example, hearing praise one moment, and criticism the next moment.
Mahayana practitioners should therefore not have any deluded views as to the superiority of the Mahayana practice, and instead realise that there are different paths that suit different sentient beings. All are disciples of the Buddha and we should be grateful for the chance to be learning together.
Geshe la went on to introduce the Nalanda tradition and how the study of Buddhism flourished in India at Nalanda (which was founded in the birth place of one of the Buddha’s lead disciples, the Ven Shariputra). The Mahayana tradition was safely preserved there for many years, and whilst not all of the abbots and pandits of Nalanda were practising in the Mahayana tantric tradition, many in fact here.
The Class then had an interesting question & answer session, during which two broad topics were discussed. The first was in relation to whether people can have collective karma, over and above their individual karma. The second was in relation to the prerequisites for the practise of tantra.
On the first issue, Geshe la confirmed that it is possible for a group of people, or even a country, to have collective karma and referred to a story during the time of the Buddha, when the Buddha and his disciples failed, despite using their special powers, to save some villagers who had committed the karma of killing in their previous life. A large fish which had been savagely beaten to death and eaten in its last life by a hoard of villagers, had reincarnated into the king of the neighbouring empire, and attacked the people of the place where the Buddha and his disciples were. The Buddha explained that in the absence of repentance and purification of their negative karma, even the powers of the Buddha and his leading disciples, were powerless to change the effects of their collective karma.
Geshe la clarified however, that whilst most negative events that happen to us in this life may be by reason of past negative causes ripening in this life, some are due to obstacles which are external to one’s own karma – causes (akin to seed 恶业) are to be distinguished from conditions (akin to environmental conditions障碍). He emphasised that the latter can be more easily ameliorated, and that karma is a very broad and complicated topic which has to be approached carefully.
On the second question, Geshe la explained that one can only practise tantra with an empowerment or an initiation that has to come from a lineage holder for that particular deity/ yidam that one wishes to and/or is deemed fit to practise in. He cautioned however that one always has to examine the lineage holder to ensure that the guru has a proper line of initiations, and it is important to avoid a situation where an initiate later loses confidence in that guru, which would result in breaking the laws of samaya and are gross downfalls for both student and teacher.
Geshe la explained that there are vows associated with any initiation, and one has to be committed and religious in terms of practising (in secrecy no less in order to preserve the sanctity and efficacy of the tantric practice) and upholding of the vows associated with the initiation, as well as undergo retreats, in order to achieve any realisation. Geshe la cautioned that without these commitments, tantric practice takes one nowhere, and a proper empowerment is always a start.
We thank Geshe la for his kindness and wisdom, and may all be well and happy. May the merits of this teaching inure to the benefit of all sentient beings in Singapore and beyond.