The Heart of Buddha-dharma

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

(Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave this precious teaching at Choe Khor Sum Ling at Bangalore during his visit in February 2007. Rinpoche very compassionately elucidated the heart-essence of Buddha’s teachings on both view and practice, while elaborating the meaning of refuge prayer.)

Refuge
“I go for refuge until I am enlightened
To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Sangha,
By the accumulation of merits through the practice of giving and other perfections,
May I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings.”

In these verses, the first two lines are of taking refuge and last two of generating Bodhicitta. It is a very profound subject. There are two types of refuge, causal refuge and resultant refuge.[1]. “I go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha until enlightenment is achieved” this shows causal refuge. “May I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings” this shows resultant refuge. This is accomplished by actualizing the Dharma, the path within oneself. It is true cessation of suffering, achieved by removing defilements and karma and through traversing the true path.

Nature of Samsara
Wisdom directly perceiving emptiness - the ultimate nature - is the only one that directly sees the cause of suffering. Human beings experience endless sufferings in Samsara like death, rebirth, old age, sicknesses etc. However, the fundamental problem that we experience is dissatisfaction. However much we are able to succeed, however much we gain material possessions, friends or comfort, or other Samsaric pleasures, one is never satisfied. This is the fundamental problem of the world, globally as well as individually. Firstly, we suffer from the fear of not getting the desired object. Once that is through, another problem starts like not getting friends or other objects. After we get them, yet another problem starts and so on. That is the nature of the Samsaric pleasure. Whatever in the beginning appears as pleasure changes into suffering later because we get bored with it after some time. That is the “suffering of change”.

The nature of total liberation from the entirety of suffering and its causes, delusion and karma, is that it is impossible to experience suffering again, since there is no cause for suffering and delusion. Therefore, dharma practice is one-time work, while there is no end to going after samsaric pleasures. You cannot get lasting satisfaction from samsaric pleasures. We have experienced samsaric pleasures numberless times from beginningless rebirths. So how is it possible that, the satisfaction that we have not found from beginningless rebirths, we find now? When we analyze on the nature of samsaric pleasures like a scientist, what we discover is only suffering, we do not find true happiness. However, when we are not meditating, it appears like true happiness to our hallucinating mind and we let our mind to hold on to this. We grasp and cling to that seeming happiness, giving rise to attachment, creating hindrances in the path to liberation.

Source of Suffering
Ignorance is the unknowing mind apprehending “I”, the Self as existing from its own side, existing by its own nature. Ordinary people do not use these philosophical words. Instead they use words like "real I" in the language of daily life. When they say “I”, they mean “real I”, which is not merely imputed by the mind. They are not thinking of "merely labeled I" which exists in mere names, does activities in mere names, and experiences happiness in mere names.  Instead, they mean a “real I” existing from its own side, and not just merely imputed by the mind. The truth is that, it is merely imputed by the mind. When we think of “I”, there is a big pall of hallucination. When we talk of “I”, we are referring to the non-existent “I”, appearing as if existing completely from its own side without depending on the valid mind labeling it. This appearance of the “I” is like a king existing without depending on the people.

Everything is impermanent, changing day by day, minute by minute, second by second, even within second. Impermanence can be categorized into gross, subtle and extremely subtle. The reality is that the "I" changes under the control of causes and conditions momentarily. However, it appears to the unenlightened mind as permanent, existing by itself without depending on parts with its own freedom. In daily life, we keep on saying, “I am not happy, I want this and that”, for twenty-four hours. If we analyze all these worldly concerns and fears about “I” like success, health, sickness, death etc., we can see that “I” is appearing as permanent, as existing by itself with its own freedom. All this is false view. You cannot find this “I” anywhere you look, including the body, mind etc. All this is totally empty. There is no such “I” which dies, which is born, which loses or gains, as it is believed in daily life.

Root of Samsara
The root of Samsara is only one, the unknowing mind (ignorance, Skt: Avidya, Tibetan: ma rig pa), there are no other roots to Samsara. All phenomena exist in mere name, merely imputed by mind, empty of existing from its

own side. However, we let our mind to hold on to the opposite, that it is truly existing from its own side, the very opposite of the way it really is. If you meditate as mentioned in the Sutras, looking at phenomena like hallucination, like dream, like mirage, whichever way you meditate, the conclusion that comes to the mind is emptiness. To meditate on emptiness is like an atom bomb to our enemy, the delusions. In reality, there is only one, the emptiness, which can cut the root of Samsara. The root of Samsara is not permanent and eternal. We created our Samsara ourselves by letting our mind to think in the wrong way all the time. The root of Samsara is the unknowing mind.

The way unknowing mind apprehends the "I" is totally wrong, totally opposite from the way wisdom apprehends“I”. Those who have not realized emptiness do not see that “I” is empty. During all those times when the mind is having strong ego, being selfish or being fearful, during those times when we are so excited, meet a friend, or win a lottery we are longing for, in those times if we observe the "I", it appears strong and something very real. When we have a lot of fear, for example in the moment of running into a car accident or falling down, the “I” is very strong. So here, the unknowing mind apprehending “I” as not merely labeled by the mind is the self-grasping of person, the root of Samsara. Samsara is not something made by a creator. We created our Samsara ourselves.

Right View
The right view, the heart of the eighty four thousand teachings of Lord Buddha is the Lam Rim, and the heart of Lam Rim[2] is the “three principal aspects of the path to enlightenment”[3] . Without the realization of that, there is no way to liberate oneself from the ocean of suffering, no way to cease Samsara, the karma, delusion and the cause of delusion, the negative imprints. Even if you have Bodhicitta or high Tantric realization, without wisdom realizing emptiness, there is no way to cut the root of Samsara, no way you can liberate other sentient beings, no way you can show the ultimate truth. How Buddha liberated other sentient beings from the ocean of sufferings of Samsara is not by washing away their sins with water or by transplanting his realization into their hearts. The only way Buddha liberated sentient beings is by revealing the ultimate truth. That is why Buddha taught the Prajna Paramita, the heart of the eighty four thousand teachings.

Every single day of life, you should meditate on the right view, the three principle aspects of the path to enlightenment. You can meditate looking at “I” as empty, or as subtle dependent arising merely labeled by mind, or as hallucination. What is appearing as “real I”, that root of Samsara, the root of all suffering, delusion and karma, you look at it as empty. You look at that hallucination "as it is". When your mind is in such a state, make the conclusion in your heart that it is empty. You do not allow the mind to hold on to the hallucination of the “real I”. It harms you all the time, it is your enemy, but you trust it all the time. Your conceptual notions teach you all the time to treat it like a friend. So, this wrong notion has cheated you since beginningless time; even omniscient mind cannot see the beginning of this delusion. So, being harmed from beginningless rebirths through delusions and karma, the ocean of sufferings in different realms is experienced.

If we do not eliminate this self-grasping of person in this life by realizing emptiness, we have to suffer in Samsara without end. There is no end to death, rebirth and all the other sufferings. It is much more harmful than an atomic bomb. We must do something in this life itself to eliminate this. If there is no negative karma, there is no delusion and we are not reborn in the samsaric realms like hell realm, hungry ghost realm etc. Atomic bombs separate mind from body, that is it, but negative karma causes you to be reborn in hells, hungry ghost realms etc. That is more harmful. For example, the night before Buddha attained enlightenment millions of Maras attacked Buddha. However, Buddha did not receive a single harm and they were all subdued by Buddha's loving kindness. Likewise, the Aryas, Bodhisatvas, and the Arhats who have removed the delusions do not receive harm, because there is no cause in their mental continuum to receive harm. The ego, self-cherishing thought, self-grasping which is the root of Samsara, is so harmful that an atomic bomb is nothing compared  

Causal and Resultant Refuge
When we take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, it is cessation of attachment. Why so? From the explanation of the “twelve links of dependent origination”, we can see that attachment is the immediate cause for Samsara. So, “I go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha”, that is the causal refuge. When you achieve cessation of suffering, you reach the true path, and then you become the Noble Sangha. You traverse the Bodhisatva path by bodhicitta and wisdom. Then even the subtle defilements cease and we reach absolute enlightenment. Then you become Buddha, and you are able to benefit countless sentient beings, by seeing their every single thought and their wishes. You are able to use every single method that exactly fits them until every single sentient being is brought to enlightenment.

Our main objective is to become a fully enlightened Buddha to benefit sentient beings by not only bringing them happiness in this life, but also bringing them to the ultimate happiness - liberation. That is resultant refuge. To make other students perfect doctors you need to yourself become a perfect doctor. We need to become qualified. Therefore, you rely on other fully qualified doctors. This is so for every other skill. Here, to liberate others from the cause of Samsara, one needs to become Buddha. That is resultant refuge. For achieving this, we rely on Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, that is causal refuge. Attaining resultant refuge depends on causal refuge.

Meditation on Refuge
Due to ignorance, we experienced general suffering of Samsara, from beginningless rebirths. Even the omniscient mind cannot see a beginning. This body-mind is of the nature of suffering, since it is the product of delusion and karma. There is no end to this suffering without removing delusion and karma. So, generate renunciation to your own Samsara. Think how this is in the nature of suffering. The state of other sentient beings is the same. If you do not practice Dharma in this life, this cycle of suffering will go on for others also. Develop compassion for others thinking of their suffering. Then as a solution go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. If you meditate in this way, your mind is qualified for refuge. Generate the useful fear of Samsara. First, think how Samsara is in the nature of suffering, and generate fear for your own Samsara. Develop renunciation towards that. Second, generate compassion to other sentient beings in Samsara. Third, contemplate that Buddha, Dharma and Sangha has the qualities to liberate myself and others from the Samsara. So like that meditate on the three principal aspects of the path, renunciation, Bodhicitta and right view.

“And may I achieve full enlightenment”. So here at the end, after generating bodhicitta, meditate on emptiness. I who seek enlightenment is merely labeled and so empty, the action looking for enlightenment is also merely labeled by mind and so empty, enlightenment is also empty, for whom we seek enlightenment, sentient beings, they are also empty. So meditate looking at this emptiness. Here we have meditated on the heart of Lam Rim, three principal aspects of the path - renunciation, Bodhicitta, and right view. We have meditated on that which is the heart of Buddha-dharma.

[1]     With respect to refuge in Buddha, we talk about the causal Buddha refuge—all the Buddhas of the past, present and future, of whom the most relevant to us is Buddha Sakyamuni—and the resultant Buddha refuge—refuge in our own potentiality for enlightenment, the Buddha that each of us will become

[2] “Lam Rim“ is a genre of teachings explaining the stages of the path to enlightenment.

[3] The three principal aspects are 1) renunciation, or the wish for liberation from Samsara, 2) bodhicitta, which is the wish for becoming enlightened in order to liberate all sentient beings from suffering, and 3) the correct view of emptiness, the ultimate nature of all phenomena.