Skillful Grace: Tara Practice for Our Times by Urgyen Tulku Rinpoche & Adeu Trulshik Rinpoche

Author:Urgyen, Tulku Rinpoche & Adeu, Trulshik Rinpoche [Urgyen, Tulku Rinpoche]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Random House Inc Clients
Published: 2011-03-22T03:00:00+00:00

In order to ensure that all sentient beings, my mothers,

Attain the state of enlightenment,

I will refrain from misdeeds, gather all virtuous qualities,

And always generate the bodhichitta that benefits others.

Repeat this verse however many times is suitable. At the end of the session, totally dispense with any mental constructs of objective enlightenment, an actual person forming the bodhisattva vow and the act of doing so. Settle then into the state of equanimity. This is called “sealing relative bodhichitta with ultimate bodhichitta.” In other words, simply remain in the ultimate state of bodhichitta. Finish the session by dedicating the merit.

Within this training in the bodhichitta of application, once we have formed the resolve to actually apply the path to enlightenment, there are certain trainings that we must go through. These can be condensed into ‘three superior trainings’ described in Atisha’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment: “If you want to summarize the nature of the applied resolve, it is to dedicate yourself thoroughly to the training of discipline, samadhi and insight, with great devotion in these three trainings.”

The training in discipline includes the paramitas of generosity, discipline and patience. The training in Samadhi is comprised of the fifth paramita, concentration, while the training in insight is the sixth paramita, the transcendent knowledge. The fourth paramita of perseverance supports all three trainings. The Ornament of the Sutras says, “The conquerors have clearly taught that the three trainings are the six paramitas. The first three comprise the first training, the last two have one each, and the fourth belongs to all three of them.”

The six paramitas encompass every single activity necessary for attaining enlightenment. As the Buddha taught in The Sutra Requested by Subahu, “Subahu, a bodhisattva mahasattva who wishes to quickly attain true and complete enlightenment should, constantly and always, thoroughly embrace the six paramitas.” The six paramitas are the direct cause of attaining the higher realms, liberation and enlightenment.

For the sake of gaining an exalted rebirth, be generous. For the purpose of rebirth in the higher realms, maintain the discipline of pure ethics. In order to have a retinue of followers, be patient. In order to attain the definite goodness of liberation and enlightenment, be diligent in promoting virtuous qualities. Train in concentration, which is the cause of shamatha, and train in insight (prajña), which is the cause of vipashyana.

To progress gradually, train in the easier paramitas first, followed by the subtler. Form the pledge: “For the sake of accomplishing buddhahood by the path of the higher realms to the definite goodness of liberation, I take it upon myself to endeavor in the six paramitas, going progressively through the easiest to the more difficult.” This is the oath that we take.

The six paramitas can also be included within the two accumulations in the following way: generosity and discipline belong to the accumulation of merit, while insight is the accumulation of wisdom. The other three—patience, concentration and perseverance—encompass both accumulations. Each of the five first paramitas weakens its opposite, the adverse circumstances. They promote thoughtfree wakefulness and fulfill all aims you may have.

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