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Global Lamrim II

Lecture No. 0278

Lamrim Vol. 1:  P36-LL1 ~ P37-L11

Date: 14 Jul 2022

Topic: Skilful mastery of subjects shared with Buddhists and non-Buddhists by twenty-one years of age

In terms of the knowledge of art, skills, and crafts in ancient India, there are thirty of them, for example: writing, craftsmanship – not sure if this is the similar to the craftsmanship in China, comprising all kinds of workmanship. Numbers, calculation and grooming etiquette, this is also a great form of art. There are also footwork, such as martial arts stances. What follows seems to be the weaponry section: using hooks – that is how to use the hook swords, brandish a sword, as well as lassoing. [01:20]

Next will be archery, forward piercing, backward extending, attacking and cutting, cleaving, piercing and poking, long range shooting, shooting the target with a sound, hitting the vital parts of the target, shooting to kill. While martial art experts fight, they have a sense of proprieties. If one has mastered martial arts, it is effortless to kill another person, and also quite easy to injure others critically. However, to inflict a light blow is not easy, one has to control the force applied. For instance, you want to teach the bully or the person with flawed behaviours a lesson, yet you have to do it without killing them or inflicting serious injury. The delicate control of force is extremely difficult to master. Thus when you look into this stanza, there are various kinds of shooting skills: hitting the vital part of the target, shooting to kill, and shooting to cause serious injury; all of which require the archer to exercise control. [02:10]

Next is jumping hurdles and boxing; boxing - not sure if this is like our modern-day boxing or did it take another form in ancient India? And next is racing, something commonly seen nowadays, every international sports events would have this sport, and next, swimming. Master Atisha was a prince; look, he learned all of these before he turned 21! [02:30]

Crossing in rivers [the Chinese character “du” has the side that resembles 3 water droplets], not sure if it is crossing the water by boat or wading through it? Next is elephant ride - now we are not born in a place where there are many elephants. Elephants are very tall, climbing up to sit on it as it walks slowly, it does take some training to maintain balance and not fall off. People during ancient times likely also needed to practice shooting arrows and doing many other kinds of movements while riding on the elephant. Besides riding on the elephant, there are horsemanship, building carriages, making bows and arrows, wrestling and so on, total 30 of them. [03:01]

There are 18 types of skills in performing arts and instrument plays: singing, dancing with musical instruments, and drumming; in terms of drumming, there were many types: beating a drum, beating a waist drum, beating a small drum, beating a big drum, also, tapping at a gong, playing one-stringed fiddle, beating a single-sided waist drum, playing the iron cymbals, playing the copper cymbals, and playing the three-stringed lute – not sure if this is the same as the three-stringed lutes in China? Also beating a wooden drum, playing accompaniment with multiple cymbals, playing small cymbals, and ensemble playing – probably many people had to accompany the prince to practice. There is also the playing of a pipa and woodwind instruments; a total of 18 types of skills. [03:41]

We can all imagine, all these were arranged as part of the plan for a prince’s learning. Since he was born to the royal family, it is quite likely that the best teachers at his time all gathered at the palace to teach him; that should be the case, right? Because that was so much blissful merits he was endowed with! Merely acquiring the skill of archery alone, would take quite a long while! [03:59]

Source of 7 vocal tones: https://zangdiyg.com/Home/Article/detail/id/860.html

Next are the 7 types of vocal tones: (1) Liu He (sound of a peacock symbolizing astonishment), (2) Xian Qu (sound of a cattle symbolizing miracle/wonders), (3) Rao Di (sound of a goat symbolizing loving kindness), (4) Zhong Ling (sound of a swan goose symbolizing power), (5) Wu He (like a cuckoo symbolizing entertainment/amusement, (6) Fen Zhi (sound of a fine horse symbolizing a battle formation and (7) Jing Wen (sound of a huge elephant symbolizing affinity and togetherness). There are nine dancing techniques. Within this topic there was an earlier mention of the nine types of dances which can be further divided. Three physical skills: coquetry, heroic bearing and buffoonery; three oratory skills: hurling, joking and intimidation; and three mental skills: compassion, anger, and kindness. They are explained from physical, vocal, and mental aspects. These four categories of skills add up to sixty-four arts. All of us can have a thought about this: For one to acquire so many skills before turning 21, it will be extremely hectic! Would it be? What do you think? He learnt all these 64 arts! [04:43]

“All forms of crafts” means various kinds of craftsmanship. “Sanskrit language” means being proficient in Sanskrit; “all philosophy” is a subject shared by Buddhists and non-Buddhists; that is, the non-Buddhists studied all philosophy as well. By twenty-one years old Master Atisha already – take heed – mastered all of these. This was depicted by the translator in the Praise. Later, Master Tsong Kha Pa explained: “As it states here, by the time he was twenty-one, he had become a full-fledged scholar after training in the topics of knowledge common to Buddhists and non-Buddhists, the four knowledges – of grammar, logic, the crafts, and medicine. [v.1 p.37]” [05:16]

“More specifically the great Dro-lung-ba said that at age fifteen, after hearing Dharmakirti’s Drop of Reasoning one time”; that is, after Master Atisha listened to the teaching on the Drop of Reasoning once, he engaged in a debate with a non-Buddhist practitioner and defeated that practitioner there and then. [05:31]

What kind of book is this Drop of Reasoning? I have introduced it in the earlier parts; do you all recall? Out of Dharmakirti’s Seven Treatises on Valid Cognition, there are three commentaries that form the main body, right? The Compendium of Valid Cognition, the Ascertainment of Valid Cognition, and what else? The Drop of Reasoning. Who wrote it? It was Master Dharmakirti, right? Master Dharmakirti was one of the six ornaments and two supreme ones*. He was born around the 7th century in southern India. Based on many records in the scriptures of esoteric teachings, it was prophesised that he was the manifestation of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. Thus, the commentaries he authored were able to precisely and truthfully expound Buddha’s true intended meaning. [06:07]

 [*The six ornaments and two supreme ones: they were Masters who had great contribution in the Four Buddhism philosophies: 1. Middle-Way – Nagarjuna & Aryadeva 2. Yogacara – Asanga & Vasubandhu 3. Logic, dialectics – Dignaga & Dharmakirti 4. Precepts/Vinaya – Gunaprabha & Sakyaprabha Other than above eminent Masters, there were excellent two: Asvaghosa & Santideva]

讲次 | 0278 (2020-11-26 ~ 2020-11-29)

标题 | 二十一岁内，善巧通达共通明处

《广论》段落 | P3-L5 ~ P3-L8 获得功德事理分二……美誉遍扬。

入门段落 | 第1册 P104-L3 ~ P104-LL4 “今初”，就是说明......美誉遍扬”。

备注 | 四家合注《白话校注集》第1册 P111-LL7注释③~ P112-L8注释⑥ 六十四技术 古代印度的艺术技能……阐述佛语密意。

(更新日期: 2022年7月14日)

00:00

古代印度的这个艺术技能、工巧明的这个技术三十种，列举一下：文字、手艺——不知道是不是跟中国的那个手艺是一样的，各种各样的手艺。数目、计算，还有梳妆，这也是一大艺术。还有步武，步伐的步、武术的武。接着好像是到了兵器的部分——使钩，就是怎么样使用钩子，舞剑，还有抛绳。01:20

接下来就是射箭、前刺——往前刺，后引、砍杀、撕裂、穿戳、远射中的、中的出声、射中要害、射成不治——武林高手打人的时候，他都有分寸，如果你练成了功夫，把人打死是非常容易的，把人打到重伤也很容易，但是要打轻的是很不容易的，那个就是要控制你的发力。比如说想教训一下那个欺负人的人，或者品行不良的人，但是出手不能致命或者不能造成重伤，而那个力度的拿捏通常都是非常难练的武功。所以你看这里边有射中要害、射成不治、射成重伤，这都有分寸。02:10

接着就是跳跃、拳击，拳击——不知道是不是现在那种拳击，还是古印度那时候什么拳击？接着赛跑，现在全世界运动大会都在进行赛跑；接着游泳。阿底峡尊者就是王子，你看，他在二十一岁以内这些全学！02:30

渡越，这个渡是三点水的渡，不知道是不是划船还有涉水什么的？乘象，我们现在没有生在有很多大象地方，大象那么高，爬上去坐在上面，它慢慢地走，要不掉下来可能也要练一下，可能是古代的人还要练习在那个大象上射箭，还有做各种动作。乘象、骑马，还有造车，接着还有造弓箭、角力，共三十种。03:01

在演唱、乐器的技术有十八种：演唱、乐器舞蹈；击鼓，鼓就有这么多——击鼓、打腰鼓、击小鼓、击大鼓；还有敲锣、弹单弦、打单面腰鼓、击铁钹、击铜钹、弹三弦——不知道是不是跟中国的三弦一样的？还有击木古达鼓、铙钹伴奏、击小钹、合奏——可能是很多人要陪着王子一起练；还有弹琵琶，然后吹管乐，共十八种。03:41

大家可以想想，这些要安排在一个王子的学习之中。因为他出生在皇族，可能当代最出色的老师都会云集在王宫教他，应该这样吧？因为是那么有福报！光是一个射箭学完，就要很久！03:59

接下来到了声乐技术七种，这里边有六合、仙曲、绕地、中令、五合、奋志、近闻，共七种。舞蹈技术共九种，这里边前面也讲过舞蹈，要再分：媚态、英姿、丑态三种为身技；猛厉、嬉笑、威胁三种为口技；还有悲悯、愤怒、和善三种为心技。它分身、口、心。四种技术总合起来就是“六十四技术”。我们大家可以想一想：二十一岁以内把这么多东西学完，非常地忙碌啊！会不会？大家觉得呢？六十四种技术都学完了！04:43

“工处”就是种种众多的工巧，“善构言”就是指梵语，“量学”也是共通的，外道徒也会学量学。在二十一岁中就已经把这些——注意——全部学完了，这是译师在赞文中说的。后面宗喀巴大师也就解释说：“谓于二十一岁以内，学习内外四共明处：声明、因明、工巧业明，及医方明，善巧究竟。”05:16

“特如大卓垄巴云”，在十五岁的时候就听一次《正理滴论》，“仅闻一次《正理滴论》”——就是阿底峡尊者听了一次《正理滴论》，就跟一个外道辩论，把外道辩败了。05:31

那么《正理滴论》到底是一本什么书前面我有讲过了，大家有没有记得？七部量论中有如主体一般的有三部论，对吧？《释量论》、《定量论》，还有什么？《正理滴论》。谁写的啊？法称论师，对吧？法称论师就是二胜六庄严之一，他生在七世纪的印度南方。许多密续中都有授记，说他是普贤菩萨的化身，所以他所著的释论都能够无颠倒地阐述佛语的密意。06:07