Three Jewels

Motivation Many people are here today from various different places, even Tibet, and you have all come for the Dharma purpose of listening to teachings. Therefore, concerning the development of a bodhichitta resolve and so forth, I shall teach here in Bodh Gaya 37 Bodhisattva...

Introduction The text that I will be explaining is called The Furthest Everlasting Continuum, Uttaratantra in Sanskrit, Gyu Lama in Tibetan. It has five chapters and if I were to explain this slowly in a relaxed manner, it would take one or two weeks. But today we need to...

The First Chapter of the Text Let us begin our discussion of the text. The first chapter is the chapter on Buddha-nature, and the text starts by giving its subject matter in an outline form (remember that Maitreya’s texts start with the outline) and the text is going to cover...

Explanation of the Title With these points in mind, let us now turn to the text. The title of this classic is, in Sanskrit, Mahayana-uttaratantra Shastra and in Tibetan Theg-pa chen-po rgyud bla-ma'i bstan-bcos (An Indicative Composition on a Vast Vehicle of Mind, the...

Continuation of Refraining from Using Divisive Language Yesterday, we were speaking about the fifth destructive action, which is using divisive language. We have already covered the three destructive actions of body and the first of speech. We were discussing the second...

Question about Method and Wisdom Could Your Holiness explain a little bit more about method and wisdom? When we speak of method and wisdom in Buddhism, method is referring primarily to the various actions and practices that will act as a cause for being able to generate a Form...

Verses 5 through 9 Brief Review We have seen that Togme Zangpo starts his poem with a presentation of the main points that we find in the lam-rim, the graded stages of the path. After paying homage to Avalokiteshvara, and the promise to compose the text, he talks of the...

The Sangha Gem We were speaking about the seven diamond-strong points, which are first outlined in chapter one. We’ve covered the Buddha Gem and the Dharma Gem, and now we are up to the Sangha Gem. The Sangha Gem here is referring to the arya bodhisattvas specifically,...

Review We’re continuing our discussion of this particular verse by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which explains how we go from understanding the two truths to understanding the Four Noble Truths, to having confidence in the Three Precious Gems. We’ve seen that the two truths...

Review Regarding the seven vajra points, our text states: (2) The sequential connection of these that is due to their defining characteristics, in the order in which they are to be understood, is as in The Sutra (Requested) by King Dharani. From its introduction, one is to be...