Be Nonjudgmental of Lost Sheep

Be nonjudgmental of the lost sheep whose behavior would damn them by their wicked deeds.

Furthermore, do not label them "damned" or call them "wicked." Only the truly apostate are only destined to stand before the Fire. Therefore while they live, there is still hope for reconciliation.

For we who are children of the light are only projecting our fear of their destiny, if they do not repent of their wickedness, by judging them thusly.

Yet it is up to the children of the light to bring light into the darkness of the lost. Thus, treat kindly and firmly the lost sheep, and patiently guide them back to the Lord.

The Buddha Represented by The Three Jewels and the Three Kayas

In the Eight Thousand Verse Prajñāparamitā, Sakyamuni Buddha said:
"The mind is devoid of mind, For the nature of mind is clear light."

The Three Kayas — the Three Bodies of the Buddha, the Trikaya — describes both the truth in us, as three aspects of the true nature of mind, and to the truth in everything.

According to the Rigpa school, "Everything we perceive around us is nirmanakaya, its nature, light or energy is sambhogakaya; and its inherent truth, the dharmakaya."

"Imagine a sky, empty, spacious, and pure from the beginning; its essence is like this. Imagine a sun, luminous, clear, unobstructed, and spontaneously present; its nature is like this. Imagine that sun shining out impartially on us and all things, penetrating all directions; its energy, which is the manifestation of compassion, is like this: Nothing can obstruct it and it pervades everywhere." — Sogyal Rinpoche

Regarding the nature of the mind, Nirmanakaya represents the energy manifested in compassion, unobstructed and present in everything; sambhogakaya, the nature of the unobstructed clear light of luminosity that is spontaneously present; and dharmakaya, the essence of the truth that is empty, spacious, and pure from the beginning.

Having taken refuge in the Three Jewels, the disciple actually takes refuge in the qualities of realization, as embodied in the Three Bodies of the precious Buddha who is the identity that embodies all three kayas.

Foremost, the Dharmakaya, which arises from accumulation of wisdom — the Truth Body of Tathagata, who is the embodiment of Truth.

It represents the Absolute nature of all things, and embodies the very principle of enlightenment and knows no limits or boundaries, being the unconditioned truth that is empty of conditions, the emptiness in which the mind and all phenomena are originally empty of any identity as the Unborn, into which illusion and ignorance, and any kind of concept, have never entered,

Thus it is empty of a conceptualizable essence of mind which has potential.

That potential takes the form of luminosity recognized as the Sambhogakaya, which arises from accumulation of merit — the Enjoyment Body, the body of mutual enjoyment, the embodiment of form that only appears to bodhisattvas as the aspect of the Buddha, or the Dharma, that the disciple meets in visions and in deep meditation as a body of bliss or clear light manifestation.

Being beyond dualistic limitation and beyond space and time, it pervades everything.

This is the basis for the arising of the Nirmanakaya, which also arises from accumulation of merit — the created body which manifests in time and space, the dimension of ceaseless manifestation, the physical body of the Buddha, appearing as the tamer of various beings, both pure and impure, and is the manifestation of enlightenment, in an infinite variety of forms and ways, in the physical world.

---

Originally posted: February 23, 2013 7:35 PM

References:

• Prajna
  
• Prajna or transcendent wisdom: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Prajna
  
• Prajna: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prajna
  

Prajnaparamita

• Quote on clear light: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Quotations:_Prajnaparamita_in_Eight_Thousand_Verses
  
• Prajnaparamita: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Prajnaparamita
  
• Prajnaparamita: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prajnaparamita
  
• Heart Sutra: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Sutra * The Heart Sutra is known as Prajnaparamita Hrdaya.
  

Vajrasattva: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Vajrasattva * Since he represents the 100 Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana), Vajrasattva is one of the precious Buddhas mentioned in the text of this blog entry.

Three Jewels / Three Gems

• Refuge in the Three Jewels: http://www.darahasa.ca/buddhism-doctrines/refuge-in-the-three-jewels.shtml
  
• Three Jewels: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Three_Jewels
  
• Clear light: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Clear_light
  

Three Bodies of the Buddha:

• Trikaya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trikaya
  
• Three kayas: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Three_kayas
  

We Betray an Unsound Mind

By amending our mistakes, we get wisdom.
By defending our faults, we betray an unsound mind.

-The Sutra of Hui Neng

"Amend our mistakes" refers to repentance for violating the five precepts for laypeople. This requires developing a sense of shame.

"Wisdom" refers to the ability to choose wisely, based on amending past mistakes.

"Defending our faults" refers to how an unskillful person acts when his mistakes are highlighted.

"Unsound mind" refers to the ordinary Monkey Mind, committing mistakes that hide Buddha Nature. Recovering Buddha Nature, the mind encounters the brightness of the Bodhi Mind.

With repentance, we desire to amend our mistakes.

Afterwards, wisdom helps us to helps us to learn from our mistakes by reminding us about those amended mistakes.

When a person defends her faults, she shows signs of an unsound mind.

When a person admits to her fault, it is possible to amend her mistakes.

This is known as "getting wisdom."

---

Originally posted: Feb 11, 2006 2240H
Update posted: March 8, 2013 2057H

Enlightenment is Always With Us

From birth until death, the potential of Enlightenment is present within all sentient beings as Buddha Nature.

During life, mental and physical negativities arise as afflictions to distract us from it, due to the ego's grasping onto the illusion of permanence.

These negativities leads to suffering due to the Five Poisons of desirous attachment, aversive anger, and delusive ignorance, and their daughters, pride born out of ignorance and desire, and jealousy arising attachment and aggression.

The Five Poisons are the destructive emotions.

Through meditation and mindful practice of wisdom, the charitable acts of kindness to help, and the loving sacrifice in service to other sentient beings aid in satisfying the ego, pacifying it.

Once the ego is pacified, the mental and physical negativities are replaced with the antidotes of love, compassion and insight,which are strengthened through practice and training.

Buddha Nature represents the essential nature of the mind, which is pure and undefiled by the destructive emotions.

When joy comes easily, and the mind is easily calmed through meditation, the antidotes have succeeded in curing it of the Five Poisons.

For that joy arises due to Buddha Nature, the seed of Enlightenment itself.

Thus Enlightenment is always with us, like the pure white light of freedom.

---

References:

The Gandavyuha Sutra: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatamsaka_Sutra#The_Gandavyuha_Sutra
Five poisons:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleshas_%28Buddhism%29#Five_poisons
  
• http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Five_poisons
  wli>http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Disturbing_emotions
  

The Primordial Buddha is not a God or a Creator

"...The tantric tradition is the only one which explains the Dharmakaya in terms of Inherent clear light, the essential nature of the mind; this would seem imply that all phenomena, samsara and nirvana, arise from this clear and luminous source. Even the New School of Translation came to the conclusion that the "state of rest" of a practitioner of the Great Yoga--Great Yoga implies here the state of the practitioner who has reached a stage in meditation where the most subtle experience of clear light has been realized--that for as long as the practitioner remains in this ultimate sphere he or she remains totally free of any sort of veil obscuring the mind, and is immersed in a state of great bliss.

"We can say, therefore, that this ultimate source, clear light, is close to the notion of a Creator, since all phenomena, whether they belong to samsara or nirvana, originate therein. But we must be careful in speaking of this source, we must not be led into error. I do not mean chat there exists somewhere, there, a sort of collective clear light, analogous to the non-Buddhist concept of Brahma as a substratum. We must not be inclined to deify this luminous space. We must understand that when we speak of ultimate or inherent clear light, we are speaking on an individual level." — His Holines the Dalai Lama

What the Dharmakaya Is

Dhamrakaya is Inherent clear light and the essential nature of the mind.

All phenomena experienced in samsara and nirvana, arise from "this clear and luminous source".

Thus, the inherent clear light == the clear and luminous source == Dharmakaya

Description of the practitioner of Great Yoga

"The state of rest" of a practitioner is "the state of the practitioner who has reached a stage in meditation where the most subtle experience of clear light has been realized".

Thus the state of rest refers to the mind at rest in the samadhi called "Great Yoga"

The Stage of the Ultimate Sphere

By implication the stage of ultimate sphere is a level of meditative experience.

This stage is known as "The ultimate sphere".

Two things happen to the practitioner who remains in the ultimate sphere. He or she

1. "remains totally free of any sort of veil obscuring the mind", and
   
2. "is immerse in a state of great bliss".

The Clear Light Defined "Ultimate source" -- "the clear light" == the ultimate sphere called "clear light" == Dharmakaya "The clear light is closest to the notion of a Creator, since all phenomena, whether they belong to samsara or nirvana, originate therein." All phenomena originate in the clear light. Phenomena experienced in samsara (this life of birth and death) or in nirvana (enlightenment). The following is an error in thought that the Dalai Lama affirms to be a fallacy:: "collective clear light, analogous to the non-Buddhist concept of Brahma as a substratum." The reason why it is untrue: the deification of the clear light risks its worship which is a form of superstition. Ritual worship of deities is not Buddhist. Therefore the clear light is not a God to be worshiped. Buddhist do not worship Buddhas or Buddhist deities, for they symbolize positive qualities of the human mind and thus are used to help relieve suffering both in this world and the next. Ultimate clear light is experienced on an individual level. Therefore the clear light is not a God or a Creator. These two paragraphs imply that the deification of God and the existence of God violate the Buddhist tenet of non-self. Buddha is not A God or Creator Given that God lives a life of infinite existence that lasts an exceedingly long time called "eternal life", it follows that God is immortal, since immortality as a form of permanence lasts an infinite length of time. Non-self is understood to be the principle of impermanence. Ergo God's existence violates the Buddhist principle of impermanence which states that all sentient beings last for a finite length of time. Therefore the Primordial Buddha of Vajrayana is not a God or Creator. Instead, he represents the higher consciousness of clear light in which all phenomena of samsara and Nirvana are experienced without being attached to them. In this context, "higher consciousness" refers to the state of mind attained through deep meditation, ritual chanting and other rituals specific to Vajrayana.

---

The Dalai Lama's answer on a Creator and Creation: http://hhdl.dharmakara.net/hhdlquotes22.html
Seven Virtues: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_virtues

The Dew on The Grass

A person getting enlightened is like the moon reflecting in the water. The moon does not get wet, the water is not disturbed. Though it is a great expanse of light, it reflects in a little bit of water; the whole moon and the whole sky reflect even in the dew on the grass; they reflect even in a single drop of water. Enlightenment not disturbing the person is like the moon not piercing the water. A person not obstructing enlightenment is like the dewdrop not obstructing the heavens.

-Dogen, "Flowers Fall"

"The moon" represents the person who is spiritually awakened, who is on the path to enlightenment.

"Reflecting" represents the art of active meditation, where the spiritually awakened contemplates reality as bright and clean.

"The expanse of light" refers to the sky, and is a metaphor for the light of compassion, Amitayus.

"Water, "the dew in the grass", "the dewdrop" and "the single drop of water" refers to the transient nature of being. It also refers to the material essence of life.

"The heavens" refers to the spiritual essence of life.

"Enlightenment" refers the spiritual state of mind where the Pure Land practitioner is freed of the bonds of existence by accepting the material and spiritual essence of life as one.

Thus "getting enlightened" means letting go of attachment to the Saha world, this world of birth-life-death called samsara.

Namu Amida Butsu.