LAM RIM Graduated Path to Enlightenment LAM ... …

1 Losang Dragpa Buddhist Society (LDC) , Jalan 17/21F, 46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, : + 603-7968 3278 Fax: + 603-7956 7280 Email: Website: Lama Tsongkhapa s Foundation of All Good Qualities & Lam Rim Chenmo Commentaries by Geshe Tenzin ZopaLAM RIM Graduated path to Enlightenment Commentaries by Geshe Tenzin ZopaLAM RIMG raduated path toEnlightenment2 Editor s NoteA little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The great Nalanda Pandit, Lama Atisha understood this well and with a mighty heart of mercy & compassion, set out to marshal the Buddha s 84,000 teachings found in hundreds of sutras and thousands of verses into a logical, sequential set of teachings to guide the spiritual seeker on the path , to emerge from ordinariness, to liberation and onto full Buddhahood.

2 This manner of presenting the Buddhadharma came to be called Lam Rim, the Graduated path to a bodhicitta motivation and courage no less than that of Lama Atisha, our Resident Geshe, the Virtuous Friend Geshe Tenzin Zopa embarked on teaching Lama Tsongkhapa s two well-known Lam Rim texts the concise Foundation of All Good Qualities and the epic treatise Lam Rim Chenmo the Great Treatise on the Stages of the path . This book chronicles the commentaries given by Geshela who energetically probed, prodded and provoked us in thought so as to initiate within each listener & each reader, a process of awakening reflection transformation - realisation.

3 Geshela says Samsara is all upside-down and the Lam Rim aims to set us the right-way up. Only then is lasting happiness and perfect wisdom within our book is dedicated to our Gurus HH Dalai Lama, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Khenrinpoche Lhundrup Rigsel and Geshe Tenzin Zopa who are our lamps for the path to Enlightenment , without whom we would be living meaningless lives that merely exhaust whatever positive karma we have. To these Upholders of the Teachings, we bow down. huei34 Foundation of all Good Qualities by Lama Tsongkhapa commentary by Geshe Tenzin ZopaIntroductionWe need to engage in the proper study of the Buddhadharma.

4 Otherwise, even if we have the inspiration to meditate, it would be like a crippled person without limbs trying to climb a rocky mountain. We then need to apply the Buddha s teaching into our daily lives to gain experiential realisation of the teachings. Buddha was like us in the beginning. In many lifetimes, Buddha was born in the hell realm, in the animal realm, in the god realm, in the human realm. He was a king, a beggar, a family person many times over and totally overwhelmed by the delusions of ignorance, anger attachment, self cherishing, egoistic mind and grasping.

5 Therefore, Buddha was very much like us. Think of it - every being wishes only happiness and not suffering. And the wish is for lasting, ultimate happiness. However, this can only be achieved when one becomes a Buddha. Therefore Shakyamuni Buddha while on the path , was inspired to obtain ultimate happiness, to become the perfected one, to become omniscient, to be able to see every living beings mental state in order to effectively guide them. Due to that, he cultivated the three principal aspects of the path namely, renunciation, bodhicitta and emptiness.

6 Firstly, he renounced worldly life. Then, he engaged into the supreme method called bodhicitta, the great compassion, unconditional love for all beings alike. He engaged in the teachings on dependent-arising (which is Right View) and emptiness/selflessness. All these are embodied in the Lam Rim teachings, the Graduated path to Enlightenment . 5 The Lam Rim is the roadmap to Enlightenment . It is like a GPS which helps us find our way to the destination of Buddhahood. Without the map, our kneeling in front of the Buddha statues, scriptures, relics whilst enabling us to receive blessings, will not be enough.

7 How to study the Buddha s teachingsThe Buddha gave 84,000 teachings embodied in these three important aspects of the path (renunciation, bodhicitta and emptiness) in order for us to overcome suffering and become like him. In his wisdom, the Buddha also gave advice on how to study the Teachings. First, we need to cultivate the wisdom of listening to the Dharma ( study Dharma) to be familiar with the roadmap to Enlightenment . Secondly, Buddha advised to adopt the wisdom of contemplation ( understand the meaning of the teachings through analysis and integration into one s daily life) and thirdly, to adopt the wisdom of meditation which is to habituate ourselves with the teachings.

8 Hence, the studying of Dharma is crucial and the starting point. During the stage of contemplation, you will reach a point where you find an approach advised by the Buddha which you find really beneficial and one that you are able to keep in your heart. Keep familiarising your mind with this through meditation and use it repeatedly in your actions, speech and thoughts. Over time, the teachings will become so deeply embedded in your mind that it will become second nature to you. Right now, we often get angry or anxious. This is because we constantly think angry thoughts and thereby habituate with them.

9 Replace these with virtuous thoughts instead! Through frequent contemplation, virtue will become a habit and that will be the sign of success of your meditation. 6To help us gain some sense of faith and trust in these teachings, it is necessary to know the history of the Buddha s teachings. Brief history of the Buddha s teachings Shakyamuni Buddha during the 1st Turning of the Wheel of Dharma at Sarnath, taught the 4 noble truths to those of the Theravadan inspiration. In the 2nd Turning of the Wheel at Rajgir (near Bodhgaya) he gave the Mahayana teachings suited to those practitioners who aspired to achieve great compassion/bodhicitta and wisdom realising emptiness.

10 At the same time, Buddha revealed the teachings on Tantra at Amravati . It needs to be understood that Buddhist Tanta is totally different from Hindu tantra . There is a misunderstanding of tantra even in Tibet. Buddhist Tantric deities are often depicted as wrathful and embracing consorts. Know that these are symbols representing the unification of compassion and wisdom realising emptiness. They have nothing to do with ordinariness. Buddhist tantric practice is about pure morality and discipline, so one should not mix this with practices of other faiths.