With sustained meditation, the practitioner eliminates the obstructions and attains the path of meditation. During the last moment of the concentration known as the vajra-like path of meditation, the subtlest obscurities are eliminated from their very root. Thus, the individual generates the omniscient transcendent wisdom and transforms into a Buddha.
In this way, a person who has entered the first level, later, in the path of meditation, familiarizes himself with the two wisdoms of the transcendental state and the subsequent wisdom and skillful means. In this way he gradually purifies the subtlest accumulation of obscurations that are the object of purification of the path of meditation. And in order to achieve higher qualities he thoroughly purifies the lower spiritual levels. All purposes and objectives are completely fulfilled by entering the transcendental wisdom of the Tathagatas and by entering the ocean of omniscience. In this way, by gradual practice, the mindstream is thoroughly purified. The Descent into Lanka explains this. The Unraveling of the Thought Sutra too reads, “In order to achieve those higher levels, the mind should be purified just as you refine gold, until you realize the unsurpassable and perfectly consummated Buddhahood.”
Entering the ocean of omniscience, you possess impeccable jewel-like qualities to sustain sentient beings, and these fulfill your previous positive prayers. The individual then becomes the embodiment of compassion, possessing various skillful means that function spontaneously and work in various emanations in the interest of all wandering beings. In addition, all marvelous attributes are perfected. With total elimination of all defilements and their latent potential, all Buddhas abide to help every sentient being. Through such realization, generate faith in the Buddhas, the source of all wonderful knowledge and qualities. Everyone should endeavor to actualize these qualities.
The Buddha thus said, “The omniscient transcendental wisdom is produced with compassion as its root, the awakening mind of bodhichitta as its cause, and is perfected by skillful means.”
To summarize the teachings of this precious text, we realize that first the two truths must be established, because they are the basis. In the course of practice, the two types of accumulations and the method and wisdom aspects of the path should be implemented in perfect harmony. Two types of Buddha-bodies are achieved as the result. When an individual attains the omniscient state of Buddhahood, all disturbing emotions and obscurations are eliminated once and for all. The person thus awakens to full knowledge. From there onward, such an awakened being has unlimited potential in helping sentient beings to achieve freedom and liberation.
The wise distance themselves from jealousy and other stains;
Their thirst for knowledge is unquenchable
Like an ocean.
They retain only what is proper through discrimination,
Just like swans extracting milk from water.
Thus, scholars should distance themselves
From divisive attitudes and bigotry.
Even from a child
Good words are received.
Whatever merit I derive
From the exposition of this Middle Path,
I dedicate for all beings
To actualize the Middle Path.
The Second Part of the Stages of Meditation by Acharya Kamalashila is here completed. Translated and edited in Tibetan by the Indian abbot Prajna Verma and the monk Yeshe De.
We have now finished the teaching of this beautiful text by the great Kamalashila. The author and his master Shantarakshita had a special karmic relationship with the people of the Land of Snow, and their kindness was beyond estimation. I am happy that I have been able to give this explanatory transmission of the Second Part of Kamalashila’s Stages of Meditation. I urge all of you listening to or reading this to study the text. To further enhance and extend your understanding of the Middle Way, you should also study the excellent texts on Madhyamika by Buddhapalita and Chandrakirti, who propounded the ultimate viewpoint of the Madhyamika School of thought.
GLOSSARY
awakening mind of bodhichitta An altruistic wish to achieve Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings.
calm abiding A term which theoretically includes all types of meditative stabilization and refers to a single-pointed state of concentration.
cause of equal state A cause that produces and develops results similar to itself, e.g., producing barley from barley, or a virtuous action from a virtuous action (one of the six causes).
causes and conditions Cause produces the nature/entity and the condition produces the characteristics.
commitment being A meditational deity imagined or visualized in front of yourself.
concomitant cause A type of cause that contributes toward the production of the fruit through its concomitant presence, e.g., the mind and mental factors arise together by mutually assisting each other (one of the six causes).
direct cause A cause that produces its result directly without having the need to go through another medium; e.g., fire producing smoke.
distraction Any kind of mental distraction due to attachment or something else.
eighteen elements Six external elements or elements of focus (form, sound, smell, taste, contact, and Dharma/object), six internal elements or elements of the basis (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind), and six elements of the consciousness or dependent elements (eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, and mental consciousness).
emptiness This refers to the lack of independent or absolute existence and is not equal to nothingness or non-existence.
excitement When the mind is distracted due to attachment.
five mental and physical aggregates Form, feeling, discrimination, action, and consciousness.
four schools of philosophical tenets Vaibhashika, Sautrantika, Chittamatra, and Madhyamika.
four truths True suffering, true cause, true cessation, and true path.
immediate condition This refers to the immediate production of subsequent mind and mental factors by the concomitant mind and mental factors as soon as the preceding ones cease (one of the four factors/conditions).
indirect cause A cause that produces its results through the medium of other factors or objects.
mental dullness This is a mind that lacks clarity, whether focused on a virtuous, non-virtuous, or neutral object.
method and wisdom Method refers to practices like the development of the awakening mind of bodhichitta; wisdom refers to practices leading to the wisdom realizing emptiness.
non-abiding nirvana Nirvana at the level of Buddhahood. This is called non-abiding as the Buddha does not abide in either of the two extremes of the cycle of existence or the one-sided peace of nirvana for his own benefit.
objective condition A condition that produces a consciousness in the aspect of the object, like the arising of a consciousness observing external objects like form, sound, etc. (one of the four factors/conditions).
pliancy One of the eleven virtuous mental factors that render the body and mind serviceable for virtuous activities and eliminate obstructive and negative states of mind.
renunciation Common rendering of a term that refers to the determination to be free from the prison-like three realms of existence and to transcend suffering. Thus, it is a wish to become liberated from all states of being within the cycle of existence.
seven branch practices Practices of prostration, offering, confession, rejoicing, requesting the Buddhas to turn the wheel of Dharma, requesting the Buddhas not to pass away, and dedication.
six states of existence Hells, hungry ghosts, animals, human beings, demigods, and gods.
special insight A special wisdom that sees the ultimate nature of phenomena.
substantial cause A cause that primarily produces its result as its substantial continuity; e.g., production of a sprout from a seed.
Tathagata One Gone Thus—an epithet of the Buddha that refers to one who, by pursuing the path of thusness of emptiness, which is free from the extremes of the cycle of existence and the peace of nirvana, has reached the state of great enlightenment.
ten powers The power of knowing what is proper and improper; the power of knowing the result of an action; the power of knowing various dispositions; the power of knowing various interests; the power of knowing superior and inferior mental faculties; the power of knowing the path that leads to all; the power of knowing concentrations, liberations, meditative stabilizations, and absorptions, etc.; the power of recollecting past and future lives; the power of knowing death and birth; and the power of knowing the cessation of contamination.
torpor One of the twenty secondary afflictive emotions; a mind that is distracted toward the object out of attachment or hatred and does not abide within.
twelve sources The twelve sources are like causes, or doors, for the arising and development of the six consciousnesses (the eye consciousness, etc.). Thus there are six internal sources: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, and six external sources: form, sound, smell, taste, contact, and object or phenomenon.
two truths Conventional truth and ultimate truth.
wisdom being When a meditational deity is visualized in front of oneself, the wisdom being refers to the actual deity that is imagined to enter into it.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SUTRAS
Bodhisattva Section Sutra
Byang-chub-sems-dpa’i-sde-snod-kyi-mdo
Chapter on Controlling Evil Forces Sutra
Māradamanaparichchhedasūtra
Dud-btul-ba’i-le’u
Cloud of Jewels Sutra
Ratnameghasūtra
dKon-mchog-sprin-gyi-mdo
Compendium of Perfect Dharma Sutra
Dharmasaṃgītisūtra
Chos-yang-dag-par-sdud-pa’i-mdo
Descent into Lanka Sutra
Laṅkāvatārasūtra
Lang-kar-gshegs-pa’i-mdo
Extensive Collection of All Qualities Sutra
Sarvadharmasaṃgrahavaipulyasūtra
Chos-thams-chad-shin-tu-rgyas-pa-bsdus-pa’i-mdo
First Among the Supreme and Glorious
Shrīparamādya
dPal-mchog-dang-po
Heap of Jewels Sutra
Mahāratnakūṭadharmaparyāyashatasāhasrikagranthasūtra
dKon-mchog-brtsegs-pa-chen-po’i-chos-kyi-rnam-grangs-le’u-stong-phrag-brgya-pa’i-mdo
Hill of the Gaya Head Sutra
Gayāshīrṣhasūtra
Ga-ya-mgo’i-ri’i-mdo
Jewel in the Crown Sutra
Ratnachūḍasūtra
gTsug-na-rin-po-che’i-mdo
King of Meditative Stabilization Sutra
Samādhirājasūtra
Ting-nge-’dzin-rgyal-po’i-mdo
Meditation on Faith in the Mahayana Sutra
Mahāyānaprasādaprabhāvanāsūtra
Theg-pa-chen-po-la-dad-pa-sgom-pa’i-mdo
Moon Lamp Sutra
Chandrapradīpasūtra
Zla-ba-sgron-me’i-mdo
Perfection of Wisdom Sutra
Prajñāpāramitāsūtra
Shes-rab-kyi-pha-rol-tu-phyin-pa’i-mdo
Prayer of Noble Conduct
Bhadracharī
bZang-po-spyod-pa’i-smon-lam
Pure Field of Engagement Sutra
Gocharaparishuddhasūtra
sPyod-yul-yongs-su-dag-pa’i-l’eu
Questions of Narayana
Nārāyāṇaparipṛchchhasūtra
Sred-med-kyi-bus-zhus-pa
Space Treasure Sutra
Gaganagañjasūtra
Nam-mkha’-mdzod
Sutra on the Elimination of Ajatashatru’s Regret
Ajātashatrukaukṛtyavinodanasūtra
Ma-skyes-dgra’i-’gyod-pa-bsal-ba’i-mdo
Sutra of the Great and Complete Transcendence of Suffering
Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra
Yongs-su-mya-ngan-las-’das-pa-chen-po’i-mdo
Teaching of Vimalakirti Sutra
Vimalakīrtinirdeshasūtra
Dri-ma-med-par-grags-pas-bstan-pa
Teaching of Akshayamati Sutra
Akṣhayamatinirdeshasūtra
Blo-gros-mi-zad-pas-bstan-pa’i-mdo
Ten Qualities Sutra
Dashadharmakasūtra
Chos-bcu-pa’i-mdo
Ten Spiritual Levels Sutra
Dashabhūmikasūtra
mDo sde sa bcu pa
Unraveling of the Thought Sutra
Saṃdhinirmochanasūtra
dGongs-pa-nges-par-’grel-pa’i-mdo
TREATISES
Commentary on (Dignaga’s) “Compendium of Valid Cognition”
Pramāṇavarttikakārikā
Tshad-ma-rnam-’grel-gyi-tshig-le’ur-byas-pa
by Dharmakīrti
Compendium of Knowledge
Abhidharmasamuchchaya
mNgon-pa-kun-btus
by Asaṅga
Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
Bodhisattvacharyāvatāra
Byang-chub-sems-dpa’i-spyod-pa-la-’jug-pa
by Shāntideva
Essence of Madhyamaka
Madhyamakahṛdayakārikā
dBu-ma-snying-po’i-tshig-le’ur-byas-pa
by Bhāvaviveka
Illumination of the Middle Way
Madhyamakāloka
dBu-ma-snang-ba
by Kamalashīla
Nagarjuna’s Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way, called “Wisdom”
Prajñānāmamūlamadhyamakakārikā
dBu-ma-rtsa-ba’i-tshig-le’ur-byas-pa-shes-rab-ces-bya-ba
by Nāgārjuna
BOOKS BY THE DALAI LAMA
CORE TEACHINGS OF THE DALAI LAMA SERIES
The Complete Foundation: The Systematic Approach to Training the Mind
An Introduction to Buddhism
Our Human Potential: The Unassailable Path of Love, Compassion, and Meditation
Perfecting Patience: Buddhist Techniques to Overcome Anger
Stages of Meditation: The Buddhist Classic on Training the Mind
Where Buddhism Meets Neuroscience: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Spiritual and Scientific Views of Our Minds
(more forthcoming)
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM SHAMBHALA PUBLICATIONS
Answers: Discussions with Western Buddhists
The Bodhisattva Guide: A Commentary on The Way of the Bodhisattva
The Buddhism of Tibet
Dzogchen: Heart Essence of the Great Perfection
The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra
The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra, Volume 1: Tantra in Tibet
The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra, Volume 2: Deity Yoga
The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra, Volume 3: Yoga Tantra
The Heart of Meditation: Discovering Innermost Awareness
Kindness, Clarity, and Insight
The Pocket Dalai Lama
The Union of Bliss and Emptiness: Teachings on the Practice of Guru Yoga
INDEX
Note: Index entries from the print edition of this book have been included for use as search terms. They can be located by using the search feature of your e-book reader.
accumulation of merit and insight
actual experience, contrived and
uncontrived
aggregates, five
in calm abiding
self of persons and
selflessness of phenomena and
altar, arrangement of
alertness
altruistic thought
analogies and metaphors
burning iron house
butter lamp in wind
crops, cultivating
fire from rubbing sticks
milking a cow’s horn
moon’s reflection
person at crossroads
swans extracting milk from water
water poured into water
analysis and investigation
freedom from
of ignorance
intelligence and wisdom in
purpose of
analytical meditation. See special insight
anger. See also aversion
animals
annihilation. See also nihilism
Annotations of the Great Commentary Called Stainless Light
antidotes
in calm abiding and special insight, differences in
eight types
to ignorance
appearances
arrogance
Aryadeva, Four Hundred Verses
Aryas
Asanga
Bodhisattvabhumi
Compendium of Knowledge
aspiration
attachment
basis for