His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The implication of the mind being clear and luminous is that all the pollutants of the mind—the afflictions and the propensities for affliction—are adventitious, or removable.

Teachings given in New York City on 24 September 2005 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on The Yoga Method of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Morning Session: The Initiation

The two sessions of teachings today have been organized primarily for the benefit of the Vietnamese Buddhist community but we also welcome here Buddhist brothers and sisters from other traditions and nationalities as well. This morning I’ll give the initiation of Avalokiteshvara, the Greatly Compassionate One, and this afternoon will give a teaching on the practice of the sadhana of this deity.

I’m very happy to have this opportunity to offer Dharma teachings to the Vietnamese community, which has suffered a lot in recent history, and to the others here, who come from different countries, with different languages and different cultures. However, despite this diversity, we are all followers of the same teacher, Buddha Shakyamuni. And historically, since Buddhism arrived in China four hundred years before it came to Tibet, and from China also went to Vietnam and Korea before Tibet, Vietnamese Buddhists are senior members of the Buddhist community. Continue reading »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: However, the Madhyamaka understanding of emptiness in terms of absence of inherent existence is more profound and comprehensive because it leaves no scope left for grasping.

Teachings given in New York City on 24 September 2005 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on The Yoga Method of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Afternoon Session: The Commentary

Following this morning’s Avalokiteshvara initiation, this afternoon we’re going to discuss the sadhana practice of this deity according to the action class of tantra.

First, however, I’d like to give a brief introduction to the short lam-rim text, Lama Tsongkhapa’s Three Principal Aspects of the Path. Continue reading »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: practice must be based upon meditation on bodhicitta and emptiness.

Teachings given in New York City on 24 September 2005 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on The Yoga Method of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

1. The Ultimate Deity

Here we read, “Contemplating as follows is the ultimate deity,” which is followed by the mantra OM SVABHAVA SHUDDAH SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HAM.

We use Sanskrit here partly to receive inspiration and the blessings of the mantra but it also captures the meditation on emptiness.

The OM at the beginning of the mantra stands for the unity of the person, the practitioner, who is basically a combination of body, speech and mind. In general, when the thought “I am” arises, its basis is the aggregation of body, speech and mind. Now, as we find in the Heart Sutra, just as the self is devoid of inherent existence, so too are the five aggregates upon which the person is designated. Continue reading »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: It is important to dedicate our merit in this manner and to reinforce or complement it by remembering emptiness as well.

Teachings given in New York City on 24 September 2005 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on The Yoga Method of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The Concluding Practice

The first section, the request to reside or depart, is not necessary when we practice the sadhana daily and generate ourself as the deity, but if we do the practice on the basis of a front generation, where we visualize the deity in front of us, we need to include this section. So when we’re doing the sadhana daily with self-generation, we skip to “I transform into the Great Compassionate One, with one face and two arms, marked by a white OM on the crown, a red AH at the throat and a blue HUM at the heart” and conclude the sadhana there. Then we do the dedication.

Dedicating our merit at the end of practice is crucial because, in general, it’s very rare for us create merit, so we have to ensure that when we do, it doesn’t get wasted. We do this by dedicating the virtue we have accumulated not to the fulfilment of our mundane aspirations or the welfare of this life but to the benefit of all sentient beings as infinite as space, following Shantideva’s sentiments, Continue reading »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: I transform into the Great Compassionate One.

Teachings given in New York City on 24 September 2005 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on The Yoga Method of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The Actual Practice

1. The Ultimate Deity Continue reading »