{"id":5628,"date":"2016-07-02T22:59:42","date_gmt":"2016-07-02T20:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/?p=5628"},"modified":"2022-06-11T16:23:30","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T14:23:30","slug":"15-hh-dalai-lama-%e2%80%9808-teachings-on-lamrim-chenmo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/?p=5628","title":{"rendered":"15 H.H. Dalai Lama \u201808: Teachings on Lamrim Chenmo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5629\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/dl8.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5629\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5629 \" title=\"dl8\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/dl8.jpg\" alt=\"His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Buddha states that, \u201cThat which has arisen from conditions is devoid of arising\u201d.\" width=\"300\" height=\"437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/dl8.jpg 752w, https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/dl8-205x300.jpg 205w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5629\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Buddha states that, \u201cThat which has arisen from conditions is devoid of arising\u201d.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">1<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span>5<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span> His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Teachings on Lam-rim Chen-mo<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span>Day <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span><span>Five, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span><span>Afternoon <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span>Session, July 1<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span>4<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span>, 2008 at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span>USA<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span>. Part <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span>two<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Baskerville;\"><span><span> Identifying the Object of Negation: Grasping at Self. Dream Analogy; Critical Analysis; 5-fold and 7-fold Reasonings. Ways of Avoiding Nihilism. Dependent Origination as the Meaning of Emptiness. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><strong><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Identifying the Object of Negation: Grasping at Self<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>His Holiness:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> [in Tibetan] <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Thupten Jinpa:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> So then the second, which is the actual presentation of the ultimate reality, this Tsongkhapa explains in terms of three main subheadings: identifying the object of negation of the reason; and what method should one adopt, whether by means of consequential reasoning or syllogism; and the manner in which the view arises in one on the basis of that method.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And then the first one is explained further in terms of three outlines: \u201cwhy the object of negation must be carefully identified\u201d; \u201crefuting other systems that refute without identifying the object to be negated\u201d; and \u201chow our system identifies the object of negation.\u201d<!--more--><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>His Holiness:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> [in Tibetan] <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Thupten Jinpa:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> So with respect to this, Aryadeva states in the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">400 Stanzas on the Middle Way<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> where he says that, \u201cThe seed of cyclic existence lies in consciousness and the objects are the sphere of experience, field of experience, of this consciousness.\u201d Therefore when one sees absence of selfhood in these objects then the seed of cyclic existence will come to an end.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So here, what Aryadeva is pointing out is that the seed of cyclic existence really is the grasping at self. So in order to bring about an end to the cyclic existence, we need to find a way of eradicating that seed which is the root, and this can only be done by finding a way to bring about within ourselves a genuine understanding that the \u2018self\u2019\u2014the content of this grasping, which is the \u2018self\u2019\u2014does not really exist.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So our self-grasping grasps at \u2018self\u2019 and what we call \u2018self\u2019. And whether or not that exists will have implications. So we need to apply critical reasoning to try to flesh out, \u201cIf \u2018self\u2019 (as we tend to grasp it to be existent) were to exist, how would it look like? What would be the implications?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So in this manner when you\u2026 so the key point here is to really understand the manner in which we tend to grasp at this notion of \u2018self\u2019. And by analyzing this, we need to demonstrate that the \u2018self\u2019\u2014as we grasp it\u2014does not really exist.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And this understanding of the total non-existence of this \u2018self\u2019 that is the object of our grasping needs to be internalized and that conviction\u2014that ascertainment\u2014can then help us eliminate that grasping. So that\u2019s the only way possible.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>His Holiness:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> [in Tibetan] <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Thupten Jinpa:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> So\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>His Holiness:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> [in Tibetan] <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Thupten Jinpa<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">: So if we were to try to relate this object of negation to our own personal experience, we need to examine how the notion of self tends to arise in us naturally. So when we have the thought of \u201cI am,\u201d the thought that \u201cI am,\u201d which is a very natural sense of selfhood that we all possess, but if we examine this carefully we will see that within our sense of self there is a kind of a supposition (and especially when the sense of self manifests in a strong form, underlying that) there is a kind of an assumption of a self that somehow exists in between our body and mind\u2014something separate and over and above this.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And somehow this object of our sense of self that we call \u201cI\u201d\u2014we assume that it has some kind of concrete reality that is somehow self-defining and self-sufficient. It has some kind of concrete reality.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And not only is it the case in which we relate to our sense of self, but also in fact this is exactly the way in which we tend to relate to everything else. So when we perceive something externally, whether it is something out there, we tend to relate to that object as if that object is existing in its own right out there where we see it. Something that we can point our finger at. Something that is occupying a locus in space, and so\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">However, when we talk about the grasping at self as being deluded, we need to understand that the basis upon which the grasping arises\u2014which is the person\u2014we are not saying that does not exist. The person exists\u2014the person that we speak about, the previous existence of the person, the future rebirth of the person. And also on that basis we can also make distinctions between me and others, self and others. So the person as an individual does exist.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So what is being negated is the manner, the way, in which we tend to assume that person to exist. So it\u2019s a particular manner in which we assume that person to exist that is being negated. And here our assumption is that the person exists as some kind of self-sufficient, discreet reality.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And so therefore, when we perceive everything, even at the visual sensory level, the kind of perception of discreetness, the perception of solid, concrete reality, is already there, although some Madhyamaka masters contend that that perception of true existence occurs only at the level of thought, not at the level of the senses, sensory experiences.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">But here Chandrakirti\u2019s line of thinking, where what is being negated is very subtle, even at the sensory, perceptual level, the perception of inherent existence is already there. So based upon that perception, then we tend to follow after this with thought\u2014grasping at it. So we affirm our perception. And on the basis of that, we view whatever we perceive to possess exactly the reality that we perceive in them.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So in the case of a person, our own self, just as the self appears to us as possessing this inherent existence, we also affirm that perception, and we grasp at it. And it is this grasping at inherent existence that needs to be negated. And also the content of that grasping at inherent existing self, that is what needs to be negated.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a name=\"footnote8\"><\/a> <strong><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><strong>Dream Analogy; Critical Analysis; 5-fold and 7-fold Reasonings<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>His Holiness:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> [in Tibetan] <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Thupten Jinpa:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> So with respect to this, there are some very powerful lines in the Seventh Dalai Lama\u2019s writing. In one of which he says that,<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span>Just as in a mind that is intoxicated with sleep, various events and objects arise in that dream. And just as they appear, they appear so real in that dream. However, the reality of all the things that appear in the dream is that they cannot be demonstrated to be real. They are unreal.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">In the same manner, he says that in our every-day perceptions, when things appear to our mind, they appear to possess\u2026 as if they possess inherent existence just as if our mind, our perceptions, are intoxicated by this grasping at inherent existence. However, the perception that we have of things possessing objective existence is unfounded. And even though this is the case\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>His Holiness:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> [discusses with Thupten Jinpa in Tibetan, then continues in Tibetan] <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Thupten Jinpa:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> So he says that even though they do not possess any reality at all, but to the mind (the six-fold consciousnesses of ordinary sentient beings which are intoxicated by the deep sleep of delusion) each of these things appears as if each of them possess a self-defining reality of their own\u2014as if existing in their own right, objectively, from outside.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And so he says that for the ordinary mind, when we perceive something outside, we perceive that phenomena as if existing right there from the side of the object itself. And so therefore he says that this distorted perception\u2026 so the content of that distorted perception (which assumes that things possess some kind of objective existence in their own right)\u2014this is the subtle object of negation, and this must be negated without any residue, without leaving anything behind.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And then similiarly Gung-tang Rinpoche says in one of his writings\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>His Holiness:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> [in Tibetan] <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Thupten Jinpa:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> In Gung-tang Rinpoche\u2019s writing he says that through the cultivation of the view of emptiness, one seeks to understand the nature of things. However, in that process one does not find inherent existence, and that not-finding of inherent existence through this process constitutes the negation of inherent existence.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So generally, not finding something is not equivalent to negating something or finding its non-existence. But in the context where, if it is something that when we search for it, it should be findable, yet when we search for it, it cannot be found, then in such a context, then non-observance, or non-finding and finding its non-existence coincide.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So in the case of inherent existence\u2014if it is real\u2014when we search for it, it should be findable. So when you\u2026 through emptiness reasoning when you do not find it, you are negating the inherent existence. And then he says that, \u201cHowever, that does not reject\u2026that does not imply the non-existence of the basis upon which you understand emptiness.\u201d So the designated bases are left untouched.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And so the only reality that one can affirm in the aftermath is the nominal existence. So only mere label and mere designation. And it is on that level of nominal existence one should be able to accord all the functions of cause and effect and so on. And the fact that the functions operate and they exist\u2014the relationships and functions still exist\u2014is something that will be affirmed through one\u2019s own personal experience of the world. And if one follows this line of processes then Gung-tang says that, \u201cOne has arrived at the right point.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And so when talking about subjecting inherent existence to critical analysis and not finding it, this process may involve the application of, or employment of, five-fold reasoning: of identity; absence of identity (difference); basis and the support; and the supported; and inherence of relations that we find in Nagarjuna\u2019s text. And if we add two more, the shape (or configuration) and the collection, then it becomes a seven-fold analysis.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So when you subject \u2018person\u2019 or \u2018self\u2019 to this kind of five-fold or seven-fold analysis and when you do not find that\u2026 Because if, say for example, a person does exist objectively in its own right, then when you search for it, it should exist either as identical with the aggregates, or as separate, or as the support, or as the supported. However, when you search through such analysis we do not find it. And that is an indication that the person does not exist objectively in its own right.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So\u2026and once objective existence becomes untenable then the other option left is the subjective existence. So then subjective existence also becomes a problem because then you will have to identify the existence of something in terms of one\u2019s own state of mind. So therefore, neither the subjective existence nor the objective existence becomes tenable so the only alternative that is left is the nominal existence. So you accord existence to phenomena only in nominal terms.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a name=\"footnote9\"><\/a> <strong><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><strong>Ways of Avoiding Nihilism<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>His Holiness:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> [in Tibetan] <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Thupten Jinpa:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> So then Tsongkhapa identifies incorrect ways of identifying the object of negation, which includes two ways. One is over-negation, and the other one is under-negation. And in the context of over-negation there is quite a good summary, presentation, of this in one of Gung-tang\u2019s writings where basically Gung-tang points out that there are those who, while upholding the Middle Way view of philosophy and emptiness, share with the Buddhist essentialists basically the premise that if things do not possess inherent existence then they will not possess any existence at all. And so for example, the whole premise of the essentialist critique of Madhayamika presented in the 24th chapter where Buddhist essentialists leveled against Nagarjuna that the emptiness teaching implies a rejection or a negation of the existence of the four noble truths and so on.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So what Gung-tang is pointing out is that those who uphold this position\u2014that absence of inherent existence implies absence of any existence\u2014share the same kind of views with the Buddhist essentialists. Yet at the same time they maintain that they are upholding the teaching of emptiness.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So here\u2026 so this would include particularly those who understand Nagarjuna\u2019s tradition of the Madhyamaka school to be rejecting any notion of valid cognition of things. So when they understand Nagarjuna\u2019s teaching that everything is kind of mere label, mere designation, and no degree of inherent existence can be accorded to things, they also assume this to mean that no existence can be accorded.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So Gung-tang explains that for those who maintain this, for them there will be no differentiation between good and bad, right and wrong. None of these distinctions can be maintained. And in a sense one can understand this because when we define a perception to be valid, one of the key criteria, a defining characteristic, of a valid understanding is it\u2019s non-deceptiveness, that it is non-deceptive in relation to its perception. And non-deceptiveness ties into the notion of a truth, something being true.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">So therefore these Madhyamika interpreters reject the notion of this kind of truth in the Madhyamaka system, and therefore they reject any notion of valid cognition. And Gung-tang is saying that if you reject that notion of valid cognition, you will be basically sharing the same position with the essentialists who maintain that if there is no inherent existence then nothing will exist. And in that case one will not be able\u2026 one will fall into the extreme of nihilism. And if that is the case, then one will not be upholding the true middle way, which Nagarjuna identifies with his emptiness.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>And in fact emptiness is the natural kind of basic middle way of the ground \u2018<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>shi\u2019 \u2018uma\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> and the fact that emptiness is characterized as the middle way means it needs to be free from both extremes of absolutism and extremes of non-existence or nihilism.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a name=\"footnote10\"><\/a> <strong><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><strong>Dependent Origination as the Meaning of Emptiness<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And here it is important to relate this to Nagarjuna\u2019s own explanation of the meaning of emptiness. For example, the one that I\u2019ve cited when he says that the essentialists do not understand the purpose of the teaching on emptiness, they do not understand what is emptiness, and they do not understand the meaning of emptiness. And in that context, Nagarjuna explains that:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span>When I say something is empty, I do not mean emptiness to be equivalent to total non-existence. Nor is emptiness equated with the unfindability of things when you search for it. However, the meaning of emptiness is dependent origination.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>And in fact in <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>, Nagarjuna says, \u201cThat which is dependently originated, that I describe as emptiness.\u201d So there, he is equating emptiness with dependent origination and saying that the meaning of emptiness is dependent origination.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And this is based upon the Buddha\u2019s own statement in a sutra where Buddha states that, \u201cThat which has arisen from conditions is devoid of arising,\u201d and \u201cSuch a thing is devoid of any intrinsic arising,\u201d and \u201cTherefore that which is dependent upon, that which has arisen from, conditions is presented to be empty.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>And so therefore Tsongkhapa equates the meaning of emptiness with dependent origination. And furthermore he then goes on in the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> that, \u201c This in turn is dependently designated and this is the true middle way.\u201d So\u2026 and the expression he uses is \u201cdependently designated,\u201d and this is a very powerful expression because it is formed of two elements: dependent and designated.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Dependence already conveys the idea that phenomena do not possess a status that is independent. Therefore the phenomena are dependent. They are contingent upon others. They are dependent upon others. So therefore the expression \u2018the dependent\u2019 already negates any notion of independent existence, any notion of inherent existence.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">And then the second element of the expression, \u2018designated\u2019, conveys the notion that it is not nothing, it is not non-existent, but there is an identity of something which is kind of, you know, emergent from this dependent relation. So together this expression, \u2018dependent designation,\u2019 points towards the Middle Way. Therefore Nagarjuna says that this is the true middle way.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>His Holiness:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> [in Tibetan] <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Thupten Jinpa:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> So continuing with the explanation that the meaning of emptiness is really to be understood in terms of the meaning of dependent origination, and within the dependent origination, as explained before, there are two levels. One is the dependent origination in terms of causes and conditions, and one is dependent origination in terms of dependent designation. So Tsongkhapa explains (he writes on page 129, the final paragraph, in the middle of the final paragraph) he writes the following: <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000; font-size: 13px;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">This attainment, as explained earlier, is based on their having amassed along the path immeasurable collections of merit and sublime wisdom, collections within which merit and wisdom are inseparable. That, in turn, definitely relies upon attaining certain knowledge of the diversity of phenomena. This profound knowledge understands that the relationship of cause and effect\u2014conventional cause and effect\u2014is such that specific beneficial and harmful effects arise from specific causes.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">So here Tsongkhapa is referring to the dependent origination in terms of cause and effects and using that as the basis, one then arrives at the understanding of the second level, which is the dependent designation. And so he writes that: <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000; font-size: 13px;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">At the same time, amassing the collections of merit and wisdom also definitely relies on attaining certain knowledge of the real nature of phenomena. This means reaching a profound certainty that all phenomena lack even a particle of essential or intrinsic nature. Certain knowledge of both diversity and the real nature is needed because without them it is impossible to practice the whole path, both method and wisdom, from the depths of your heart.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span>This is the key to the path that leads to the attainment of the two embodiments when the result is reached; whether you get it right depends upon how you establish your philosophical view of the basic situation.\u201d How you establish your view of the ground of reality. \u201cThe way to establish that view is to reach certain knowledge of the two truths as I have just explained them. Except for the Madhyamikas, other people do not understand how to explain these two truths as non-contradictory; they see them as a mass of contradictions.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">So he is talking about the cause and effect, dependent origination and the dependent designation: <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000; font-size: 13px;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">However\u2026\u201d those who are learned and who are \u201c\u2026possessed of subtlety and wisdom and vast intelligence\u2014experts known as the Middle Way followers, Madhyamikas\u2014have used their mastery of techniques for knowing the two truths to establish them without even the slightest trace of contradiction. In this way they reach the final meaning of what the Buddha has taught. This gives them a wonderful sense of respect for our Teacher and his teaching. Out of that respect they speak with utter sincerity, raising their voices again and again: \u201cYou who are wise, the meaning of emptiness\u2014emptiness of inherent existence\u2014is dependent origination; it does not mean that things do not exist, it does not mean that they are empty of the capacity to function.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>His Holiness:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> Full stop. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #7d7d7d;\"><span style=\"font-family: Quattrocento, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">In July 2008, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama gave a historic six-day teaching on <\/span><\/span><\/span><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shambhala.com\/the-great-treatise-on-the-stages-of-the-path-to-enlightenment.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span>The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lam-rim Chen-mo)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/em><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span>, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Tsongkhapa&#8217;s classic text on the stages of spiritual evolution. Translator for His Holiness was Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>This event at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, marked the culmination of a 12-year effort by the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.labsum.org\/welcome.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> (TBLC), New Jersey, to translate the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>Great Treatise<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span> into English. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>These\u00a0transcripts were kindly provided to LYWA by the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center, which holds the copyright.\u00a0The audio files\u00a0are available from the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center&#8217;s <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.labsum.org\/resources.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>Resources and Links<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span><span><span>page.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span>The transcripts have been published in a wonderful book, <\/span><\/span><\/span><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shambhala.com\/from-here-to-enlightenment-3325.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span><span>From Here to Enlightenment<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span>, edited by Guy Newland and published by Shambhala Publications. We encourage you to buy the book from your local Dharma center, bookstore, or directly from <\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shambhala.com\/from-here-to-enlightenment-3325.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span>Shambhala<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><span>. It is available in both hardcover and as an ebook from Amazon, Apple, B&amp;N, Google, and Kobo. <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Quattrocento Sans&quot;, serif;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lamayeshe.com\/article\/chapter\/day-five-afternoon-session-july-14-2008\">http:\/\/www.lamayeshe.com\/article\/chapter\/day-five-afternoon-session-july-14-2008<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>15 His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Teachings on Lam-rim Chen-mo Day Five, Afternoon Session, July 14, 2008 at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, USA. Part two. Identifying the Object of Negation: Grasping at Self. Dream Analogy; Critical Analysis; 5-fold and 7-fold Reasonings. Ways of Avoiding Nihilism. Dependent Origination as the Meaning of Emptiness. Identifying the Object of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/?p=5628\">Continue reading &#8594;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[125,102],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5628"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5628"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5631,"href":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5628\/revisions\/5631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sangye.it\/wordpress2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}