Tibetan Buddhism Hh The Dalai Lama Illuminating The Path To Enlightenment

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can enhance it and are known as the Tathagatagarbha (Essence, or Nucleus, of rather as being present on a subtler level of reality. The significance of sin-
Buddhahood) Sutras. Among Nagarjuna s writings there is a collection of gling out Maitreya and Manjushri is that Maitreya is regarded as the cus-
hymns along with a collection of what could be called an analytic corpus, todian and medium of the Buddha s teachings on skillful means and
such as his Fundamentals of the Middle Way. The analytic corpus deals direct- Manjushri is regarded as the custodian and medium of the Buddha s
ly with the teachings on emptiness as taught in the Perfection of Wisdom teachings on the profound view of emptiness.
Sutras, whereas the hymns relate more to the Tathagatagarbha Sutras.
The last line in this verse, Your enlightened mind sees all know- Lines of Experience: Verse 3
ables as they are, presents the quality of the Buddha s enlightened mind.
The reference to all knowables refers to the entire expanse of reality, I prostrate before your feet, Nagarjuna and Asanga,
which encompasses both conventional and ultimate levels. The ability to ornaments of our Southern Continent. Highly famed
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directly realize both levels of reality within a single instant of thought is throughout the three realms, you have commented on
said to be the mark of an enlightened mind. This ability is a conse- the most difficult to fathom Mother of the Buddhas
quence of the individual having overcome and cleansed not only the (Perfection of Wisdom Sutras) according to exactly what
afflictions of thought and emotion but also the subtle traces and propen- was intended.
sities of these afflictions.
In this verse, the author makes salutations to Nagarjuna and Asanga,
Lines of Experience: Verse 2 who became the custodians and progenitors of the two aspects of the
Buddha s teaching: Asanga was the progenitor of the path of skillful
I prostrate before you Ma i t reya and Ma n j u s h r i , means and Nagarjuna was the progenitor of the path of the profound
32 ILLUMINATING THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT FEATURES OF THE LAM-RIM TEACHINGS 33
view of emptiness. Lama Tsong Khapa pays homage to these Indian referred to before. Therefore, we also speak about the natural buddha-
masters as great revitalizers of the Buddha s teachings. Historically, body (svabhavikakaya). In the Mahayana teachings, we understand
Nagarjuna came to earth around four hundred years after the death of Buddhahood in terms of the embodiment of these four kayas, or enlight-
the Buddha, and Asanga about two hundred years after the death of ened bodies of the Buddha.
Nagarjuna. In light of this distance of time between them, the question Maitreya makes the point that while immutably abiding in the expanse
immediately arises as to the continuum, or lineage, between the Buddha of dharmakaya, the Buddha assumes diverse manifestations. Therefore, all
and Nagarjuna and Asanga. the subsequent deeds of the Buddha, such as becoming conceived in his
We can understand the continuity of the teachings through succes- mother s womb, taking birth and so forth are each said to be deeds of an
sive living masters in human form, such as the lineage of the transmis- enlightened being. It is in this way that we can understand the connection
sion of the vinaya teachings of ethical discipline, but the transmission of between the lineage masters of the Mahayana sutras.
the lineage can also be understood on a more subtle level. For example, Due to the complexity of this evolution, questions have been raised
the celestial form of the bodhisattva Manjushri had a special connection as to the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras. In fact, similar questions
with Nagarjuna, and Maitreya had a special connection with Asanga. arose even in Nagarjuna s time. In his Precious Garland, there is a section
Thus, the great bodhisattvas may sometimes directly inspire the lineage. where he presents various arguments for the validity of the Mahayana
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When we look at the transmission of the Buddha s teachings in this scriptures as authentic sutras of the Buddha. Similarly, in Maitreya s
way, it obviously raises questions about the status of the historical Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras (Mahayanasutralamkara), there is a
Buddha. In the Buddhist tradition, there are generally two perspectives section that validates the Mahayana scriptures as authentic sutras.
on this. One views Shakyamuni Buddha in conventional terms. At the Subsequent Mahayana masters have also written validations of the
initial stage, he is seen as an ordinary being who, through meditation Mahayana scriptures.
and practice, attained enlightenment in that very lifetime under the One of the grounds upon which the authenticity of the Mahayana
bodhi tree. From this point of view, the instant before his enlighten- sutras has been disputed is the historical fact that when the Buddha s
ment, the Buddha was an unenlightened being. scriptural discourses were originally collected and compiled, they did
The other perspective, which is presented in Ma i t re y a s not include any Mahayana sutras. This suggests that Mahayana scrip-
Uttaratantra, considers the twelve major deeds of the Buddha as actions tures such as the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras were not taught by the
of a fully enlightened being and the historical Buddha is seen as an ema- Buddha in a conventional public context but were taught to a select
nation body. This nirmanakaya, or buddha-body of perfect emanation, group of practitioners at a higher and purer level of reality. Furthermore,
must have its source in the subtler level of embodiment that is called the although there are a few cases where the Buddha taught tantra while
sambhogakaya, the buddha-body of perfect resource. These form bodies retaining his appearance as a fully ordained monk, he taught many of
(rupakaya) are embodiments of the Buddha that arise from an ultimate the tantras by assuming the identity of the principal deity of the man-
level of reality, or dharmakaya. For this wisdom body to arise, however, dala, such as Guhyasamaja when teaching the Guhyasamaja Tantra. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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