It is an undeclared fact that we the ordinary people are always masked and lured by the superficial aspect of phenomena, leaving the inner intrinsic truth in the state of oblivion.
Considering this fact, I could not hold my heart from jotting some lines about the Dharma and its practitioners since, as a sign of this degenerate time, many people falsely represent themselves as practitioners and others take them as the basis for evaluating the Dharma and its practitioners, throwing themselves into the abyss.
What is Dharma and who are the practitioners?
Dharma or “Choe” in Tibetan means to correct the mind. One should begin with the notion – As I desire to be happy, so does everyone else and as I do not desire to suffer, no one else desires to suffer. In this way, genuine love and compassion will take root in one’s mind. That is the wish that – may all beings possess both happiness and its cause and – may all the beings be free from suffering and its causes. And then the Bodhicitta or the enlightened mind (aspiring to attain the Buddha-hood for the sake of other sentient beings) will be generated. Love and compassion are basis or the root of Buddha’s teachings, while Bodhicitta is the heart or the essence of Mahayana Buddhism. In short, trying to help others, at your best with an altruistic motivation, and avoiding harming others directly or indirectly is called Dharma.
Thus, we can conclude here that anyone who possesses these qualities, irrespective of caste, gender, status, wealth and so forth, is an authentic Dharma practitioner. He or she can be a monk, a nun, a lay practitioner and so forth. If one lacks these qualities, then no matter how famous, wealthy, learned, etc. one may be; he or she is not qualified to be a genuine practitioner. Note that simply wearing red robes and shaving one’s head or sitting on a high throne is not enough to be a practitioner. Even a mad man can wear robes and shave his hair or sit on the throne, provided he has the opportunity, but he can never possess those noble qualities. Although it is very difficult to judge someone’s inner qualities precisely, we can make a partial judgment through their physical signs, such as the way they represent themselves with outer conduct. As the Buddha proclaims in the Sutra of the Ten Bhumis:
“As you can know the presence of fire by ascending smoke,
And the presence of water by the flying water fowl.
The Buddha nature of those wise Bodhisattvas
Can be understood by their physical signs of body and speech.”
There is no single teaching of Buddha which causes harm to sentient beings neither directly nor indirectly. If one finds a teaching of Buddha related to causing suffering, then there must be a flaw in either one’s own understanding or one’s teacher’s interpretations. Because all the teachings of Buddha are valid scriptures validated with the three-fold scrutiny and examination. Moreover, he taught solely with immense love and compassion for every being without any hope and fear, as he was free from the tiniest traces of obscurations which cause such ignoble thoughts. But to really understand the Buddha’s vast and profound teachings, one must sacrifice a good deal of time and energy. For Buddha applies different modes of expounding Dharma in accordance with the needs of myriad dispositions and mental capacities of sentient beings. Basically, his teaching can be divided into definitive and interpretive meanings. Teachings of definitive meanings are those teachings which expound the ultimate truth directly without any intended hidden meaning and do not require any conditional interpretations. For example, all the phenomena are empty and selfless. Whereas, the teachings of interpretive meanings are, those teachings with intended hidden meanings that require conditional interpretations. For example; praising the qualities of morality as superior to generosity or giving. In this context, the teaching is meant for a specific individual who has too much grasping and pride over his practice of generosity and is contented with it. It is primarily expounded as the antidote for contentment with a trifling amount of merit, which bars the further accumulation of merits.
In a similar way there are numerous profound and intrinsic meanings in Mahayana, and especially in the secret teachings of Tantra-yana which would appear to contradict the teachings of the common lower yanas or vehicles, if one does not have the insight and wisdom to put the teachings of common and specific yanas in order. Therefore, one should not be too early in gauging the authenticity of any teachings to save oneself from the unfortunate action of forsaking Dharma.
For example, last year a cousin of one of my friends who is working as a manager in a trading office in Calcutta was complaining to me about the teachings of Buddha, saying that the meaning of two Buddhist texts which he had read recently contradict each other. He remarked sarcastically – “too much knowledge is dangerous and it is better to have just a little knowledge”. With this remark he meant to say that reading or studying too much is not good as it generates doubts and disbelief. But when I investigated the matter, I found out that the texts he read were a text of Sutrayana and one of Tantrayana which were taught for completely different levels of mental capacity and understanding and which demand very different modes of expounding. I explained to him about the different approaches, and told him about the importance of taking a systematic approach in understanding the profound meaning of Buddha’s teachings. In a similar manner, we can find many beginners, especially among foreigners, who become stuck on the way, due to the same problem of not approaching in an organized manner. Therefore, it is imperative to have a proper order in approaching the teachings, as is the case in any other endeavour, rather than jumping into an ocean of confusion. If a proper procedure is required even for preparing a cup of tea, then it is needless to mention the importance of a systematic order in approaching the profound teachings, the only means to attain perfect happiness, for which everybody is desperately yearning.
Another important point which is closely related with Buddhist ethics, concerns consuming meat, alcohol and tobacco. In this case, we can use our own intellects to connect with the essence of the Buddha’s teachings of unbiased love and compassion for every motherly sentient being. Since it is obvious that taking meat is directly connected with harming other beings; I don’t think that we have to wait for any additional reasons for its denial in Buddha’s teachings.
As Buddha said in Lankavatara Sutra:
“Lodroe Chenpo! As I am endowed with the kind of love a mother has for her only son, to all sentient beings,
How can I ever permit my followers to consume the flesh of my children?”
When it comes to alcohol, it is a substance which is prohibited emphatically at all levels of teachings with grave consequences in present and future lives. Buddha said thus:
“Whoever consumes alcohol, he or she is not my follower;
And neither am I their teacher as well.”
This is an obvious fact, not only from the point of Dharma, but alcohol is equally hazardous in society and for one’s health.
Prohibition of Smoking or the consumption of tobacco in Buddha’s teaching is considered as questionable, as it is not specifically mentioned by name and words, but we can say that it is included among intoxicants in general along with alcohol, as Lord Buddha prohibited all types of intoxicants. However tobacco is strictly prohibited in the infallible treasure teachings of Guru Rinpoche, the second Buddha, with all its history and grave consequences. The treasure predictions discovered by Dundul Dorje say:
“Monks and nuns will enjoy inhaling the smoke of these plants, and sniffing their powder, and the country will be filled with samaya breakers. With compulsive desire arising ceaselessly, they will thus be deceived by Mara, and as a sign of the exhaustion of merit, tears will flow without control.”
In addition, Drodul Lingpa discovered the following predictions:
“Merely smelling the odour of these herbs, grasses and leaves, which sprang from the drops of blood of an ogress, will cause one to go to the hell of ceaseless torment.”
To understand in detail, refer to the treasure prophecies of Chogyal Ratna Lingpa and other great treasure revealers. Note that all these prohibitions are particularly meant for beginners who have not yet mastered their conceptual minds, since all these conduct will prove to be obstacles in advancing on the path of dharma practice. As for those great beings who have gained complete mastery over their minds, they can do anything as a part of skilful means to lead beings of different inclinations in the right way without the slightest touch of self interest. For them everything will prove to be conducive for advancing their profound realization.
Finally, to conclude, let’s do ourselves a favour by relying on the authentic Dharma texts instead of putting trust in the interpretation of a single individual, as Buddha himself proclaimed:
“Rely on the doctrine rather than upon individuals,
Rely on meaning rather than words,
Rely on the definitive rather than on the provisional meanings,
And rely upon pristine cognition rather than on consciousness.”
By Tenzin Wangdi
8th Year, NNI
