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Global Lamrim II

Lecture No. 0253

Lamrim Volume 1:  Pg 36L5

Tape No | 4B 02:56 ~ 05:09

Date: 2022-07-31

Topic: Scriptural knowledge – teaches you why you need to practice, what to practice, how to practice

We will continue to listen to the Master’s commentary.

Thus, an encompassing teaching entails that the author must be endowed with perfect good qualities. So, the perfect good qualities start with his excellent rebirth.  His good lineage indicates his perfect blissful merits. Secondly, the author was endowed with impeccable wisdom, perfect in mundane wisdom. Then, perfect in both mundane and supramundane wisdom. Supramundane wisdom includes renouncing the mundane world and becoming a monastic. Theoretically, after ordination, scriptural knowledge and experiential knowledge are two major aspects of Buddhism that practitioners are to attain. Scriptural knowledge is mainly the guidance, telling practitioners why they need to practice, what to practice, and how to practice. Having attained the scriptural knowledge, they put what they have learned into practice accordingly so as to attain cognition of both scriptural knowledge and experiential knowledge. This is in relation to benefiting self. Once they have this understanding, the next part is to benefit others. Hence, an authentic, encompassing teaching must include these three aspects of good qualities, [namely, excellent rebirth, perfect wisdom, and the aspiration to benefit self and others]. This is what we should know. I only briefly explained these aspects. As for the text it is relatively easy to understand, so I will not go over it in detail; that is, I will not further explain the text, so please read the text closely on your own. [01:05]

In addition, if you are really inspired by Master Atisha, let me introduce a book to you, The Life of Master Atisha, which is available in this Buddhism bookstore [in Taipei]. In fact, for serious readers, there is another book, The Life of Lama Tsong-kha-pa. One more book worth mentioning is The Collection of Lama Tsong-kha-pa’s Life Stories, also available in the same bookstore. It is Lama Tsong-kha-pa’s biography written in modern colloquial Chinese [as opposed to classical Chinese]. Since the author who actually composed this Lamrim was Lama Tsong-kha-pa, if you can read both The Life of Master Atisha and The Life of Lama Tsong-kha-pa, then you will know: Ah, these authors were exceptionally marvellous! These two eminent Masters, one from India, the other from Tibet, were recognized as “Shakyamuni the second” by their contemporaries at that time, as well as for hundreds of years after. “Ah! They are believed to have been the manifestations of Buddha, the true manifestations of Buddha!” I will not go into detail, but one thing I need to mention here, the intention is to inspire your respect towards these two great Masters. [02:19]

In the section above, Master said, “An encompassing teaching entails that the author must be endowed with good qualities;” - perfect blissful merits and perfect wisdom merits. The perfect wisdom merits include the mundane wisdom and supramundane wisdom. Scriptural knowledge and experiential knowledge is then mentioned here. Take heed! I am going to ask questions: “scriptural knowledge,” what concept was explained? You have previewed the commentary, right? Please share your answers. What is the first one? It is telling practitioners “Why they need to practice”; what comes after that? “What to practice, and how to practice.” After having understood these, what do they need to do next? “They put what they have learned into practice accordingly.” So, how many are there? A series of practices; first, “why they need to practice?” Where does it tell us? The scriptures. “What to practice”? Who told us so? The scriptures. “How to practice,” From the scriptures, “They put what they have learned into practice accordingly”; It is still from the scriptures! Let’s reiterate once again, scriptural knowledge and experiential knowledge belong to the self-benefit part; after having understood this, still have to learn from the perspective of how to benefit others. [03:42]

From here, what guidance do you think Master intended to give to us so as to broaden our understanding of the teaching? Why do we have to study the teachings? For example, why do we want to do this thing. The teaching tells us the first question: why do we need to practice? What exactly are the contents of this practice? These contents. Then, how do we put them into practice? These are the “trilogy.” Thereafter, [having attained the scriptural knowledge], we need to put what we have learned into practice. Therefore, it is from a practitioner who starts off with little knowledge but with a keen interest in Buddha’s teaching, to successfully becoming a brilliant Mahayana practitioner with a very, very strong ability, he or she needs to receive rigorous training on the scriptural and experiential knowledge; repeatedly until achieving a certain level of benefitting self only then would they have the capabilities to benefit others. [04:34]

Thus, it is a genuine and authentic practice for cultivating good qualities. Such good qualities do not appear out of thin air. Rather, practitioners need to expend a very, very long period of time, to attain the experiential knowledge with what they have learned from the scriptures; such attainment requires one to train one's mind iteratively, coupled with the accumulation of merits over a prolonged period of time. Therefore, from the depth of our hearts, we truly need to venerate all of our teachers who went through such long eons of training

讲次 | 0253 (2020-08-31 ~ 2020-09-02)

标题 | 教理──教你为何修行、修什么、如何修

《广论》段落 | P2-LL1 ~ P2-LL1 其殊胜分三……得已于教所作事业。　今初

音档 | 4B 02:56 ~ 05:09

手抄页/行 | 第1册 P114-LL3 ~ P115-LL3　( 2016 南普陀版：P114-LL4 ~ P115-LL3 )

手抄段落 | 所以圆满的教法……这两位尊者的景仰。

(更新日期: 2022年7月31日)

00:00

我们现在接着往下听。

所以圆满的教法他一定有这样的一个圆满，所以这个圆满的话，从他自己的家属出身开始，他的出身这样，所以呢福德圆满，表示他的。第二个呢，要他智慧圆满，世俗的智慧圆满，然后呢，世俗的智慧、出世的智慧圆满，出世的智慧包括出家了。出了家以后呢，理论上面说教、证，佛法主要的两样东西。教就讲那个道理，告诉你为什么要修行，修行些什么，如何修行；你懂得了照着去修行，现证，所以教、证二量。那么这个是属于自利方面，了解了还要利人方面。所以真正圆满的教法必定从这三个方面，这是我们了解的。所以这一方面我解释一下，至于这个文本身，那比较容易懂，我就不详细解释了，不详细解释了，所以这个文你们自己得好好地看一遍。01:05

还有，如果说大家对阿底峡尊者真正地欢喜的话，我介绍你们一本书──《阿底峡尊者传》，这个佛教书局有。其实真正要看起来的话，还有一本书《宗喀巴大师传》，现在佛教书局已经出了一本《宗喀巴大师应化因缘集》，那是用白话写的宗喀巴大师的传。因为真正造本论的这个造者是宗喀巴大师，你能够把《阿底峡尊者传》跟《宗喀巴大师传》，两个都看一看，那时你才晓得：啊，这个造者的殊胜真是不得了啊！所以他们两位，一个印度，一个在西藏，都被当时，而且后来几百年当中，都称他为“第二能仁”，说：“啊，那是佛再来，实实在在的佛再来！”详细的内容我不讲了，不过有一点我可以在这地方说明一下，启发我们对这两位尊者的景仰。02:19

接下来这一段说：“圆满的教法他一定有这样的一个圆满”——福德的圆满、智慧的圆满；智慧的圆满包括世俗的智慧、出世的智慧圆满。然后在这个地方提到教、证法。注意！我提问题了：“教”讲了哪个道理呢？你们有看书吧！可以回答一下。第一个是什么呀？“告诉你为什么要修行。”那么接着是什么？“修行些什么，如何修行。”懂得了之后要做什么呢？“照着去修行。”所以是几个呀？一连串的修行，第一个：“为什么要修行？”哪里告诉我们的？教理。“修行什么？”谁告诉我们的？教理。“如何修行？”教理告诉我们。“懂得了照着去修行”，还是要教理告诉我们！现在又说了一遍：教、证二量就属于自利方面；了解了之后，还要从利他的角度再学习。03:42

所以在这个地方，大家会认为师父扩展我们的视野的部分又是哪些教诲呢？那为什么要学教理？比如说你为什么要做这件事？教理就告诉第一个问题：为什么要修行？那修行到底有些什么内容呀？这些内容。那怎么样修行呢？这三部曲。接下来，懂了之后就要去修行。所以他是一个人从最初懵懂地对佛法的一个喜好到成为功夫非常非常扎实的、精湛的这样一个大乘行者，他要经过教正法和证正法的淬炼，反复地让自身的利益达到了一定的程度，才会有本事去饶益他人。04:34

所以它是货真价实的一个功德的修炼。这个功德不是凭空而至的，而是要花很长很长的时间，从教理的学习到证得这个教理的证德的部分，反复、反复地去磨练自己的心，经过很长时间的累积资粮才能够达到的。所以真的要从内心深处礼敬这些经过了长劫修行来利益我们的师长们。05:13