NOTES ON “Single Sufficient Virtue”
By Kalu Rinpoche and Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche
Sukhavati and the other pure lands are manifestations of the qualities of the ground of being. They are the manifestation of wisdom mind that is non-dual, which does not divide things into subject and object . . . It is spontaneously present self-appearance of the ground. Therefore, through practicing the generation stage properly, we can gradually uproot all of our habits of fixation on self and other, and eradicate our solidification of reality, which is what causes us to generate attachment and aversion.
If you integrate these practices together, the refuge and bodhicitta at the beginning, dedication and aspiration at the end, the gathering of accumulations, the purification of obscurations, the generation stage, and the practice of mahamudra, you will achieve buddhahood as the unborn dharmakaya, which means that the display of your awareness, now being utterly pure, will arise as the boundless array of the sambogakaya, the bodies and realms of the five buddha families, and so forth. You will thereafter effortlessly benefit beings throughout countless nirmanakayas until samsara is emptied.
All this depends on the integration of all these aspects of practice . . . . They all fit together forming a comprehensive and effective method . . . If we do not integrate these practices, we will end up wasting our lives, wasting the opportunity, becoming more and more obsessed with impermanent phenomena, and will continue to wander endlessly through samsara, which means to suffer endlessly.
Compassion is an essential aspect of this practice. If you are meditating on mahamudra authentically, your degree of recognition or realization will naturally lead to an equal degree of compassion, because the more you recognize the nature, the more you see that it is simply, but tragically, through not recognizing this nature that we suffer so much. You will have spontaneous compassion for beings who wander in this horrific ocean of samsaric suffering. This ocean of samsara is so bad that we cannot even actually talk about it; just hearing about it is traumatic. The more you see what the true cause of this is, the more compassion you will feel for beings.
The Third Gyalwang Karmapa Rangjung Dorje wrote in his “Aspiration of Mahamudra”: “At the moment of compassion, emptiness becomes especially manifest.” Giving rise to compassion for suffering beings heightens your awareness of emptiness, and the clear recognition of the nature of things heightens your compassion. Therefore, part of the practice of mahamudra is intense, spontaneous compassion for all beings.
In addition to the natural arising of compassion during meditation sessions, it is important to supplement one’s meditation on mahamudra with the practice of tonglen . . . Then, in connection with this, you make the aspiration that all beings become happy and comfortable, and eventually achieve perfect buddhahood. This is very important.
In practical terms, in order to travel the path of mahamudra without obstacles or diversions, we need to combine even placement, the actual meditation taught here as the single great panacea, with post-meditation training in the Seven Points of Mind Training. This is because the practice of tonglen and the post-meditation disciplines taught in the Mahayana tradition of mind-training are the single most effective way to prevent obstacles and impediments that we have seen can arise for mahamudra practitioners. Misunderstandings, deviations, the arising of pride, and misapprehension can, and will, be overcome through the assiduous practice of mind training
. . . .The combination of mahamudra practice and Mahayana mind training is a complete means for proceeding on the path. There is actually no point on the path where we do not need the practice of tonglen. It brings tremendous benefits. It is the single most effective means of purifying obscurations and wrongdoing, and it is utterly supreme as a source of protection. Why? Because the less we fixate on ourselves, the more protected we are.
In that way, the practice of tonglen not only purifies obscurations, but is also the best way to protect yourself and others. Finally, it really gets to the essence of what we are trying to do. All Mahayana practice, including mahamudra, is defined as the cultivation of emptiness with the affect of compassion. That is to say, what we are seeking is a wisdom that recognizes emptiness, and the necessary affect of that wisdom is tremendous compassion. Emptiness with an affect of compassion is the only means through which buddhahood can be achieved. Any attempt to achieve buddhahood through emptiness devoid of compassion or compassion devoid of emptiness will not be successful. A bird must have two wings to fly, and in the same way, there must be two aspects to our development and progress. We can call them merit and wisdom, or compassion and emptiness, but it comes down to these two things . . . Therefore, the integration of mahamudra with mind training and tonglen practice is an especially profound and effective means . . .
There is one final but extremely important element to this package of instructions, and that is devotion [to the Buddha, to our teachers, and to those great beings who have passed on these teachings, making them available to us at the present time.] This devotion is utterly unconditional. It is a very personal and intense feeling. This type of devotion will remove all impediments.
Again, these instructions – the practices of mahamudra, the generation stage, tonglen, and devotion – when combined will heighten all of the others. These instructions contain the essence of all Dharma, everything you need to proceed on the path.
By Kalu Rinpoche and Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche
Sukhavati and the other pure lands are manifestations of the qualities of the ground of being. They are the manifestation of wisdom mind that is non-dual, which does not divide things into subject and object . . . It is spontaneously present self-appearance of the ground. Therefore, through practicing the generation stage properly, we can gradually uproot all of our habits of fixation on self and other, and eradicate our solidification of reality, which is what causes us to generate attachment and aversion.
If you integrate these practices together, the refuge and bodhicitta at the beginning, dedication and aspiration at the end, the gathering of accumulations, the purification of obscurations, the generation stage, and the practice of mahamudra, you will achieve buddhahood as the unborn dharmakaya, which means that the display of your awareness, now being utterly pure, will arise as the boundless array of the sambogakaya, the bodies and realms of the five buddha families, and so forth. You will thereafter effortlessly benefit beings throughout countless nirmanakayas until samsara is emptied.
All this depends on the integration of all these aspects of practice . . . . They all fit together forming a comprehensive and effective method . . . If we do not integrate these practices, we will end up wasting our lives, wasting the opportunity, becoming more and more obsessed with impermanent phenomena, and will continue to wander endlessly through samsara, which means to suffer endlessly.
Compassion is an essential aspect of this practice. If you are meditating on mahamudra authentically, your degree of recognition or realization will naturally lead to an equal degree of compassion, because the more you recognize the nature, the more you see that it is simply, but tragically, through not recognizing this nature that we suffer so much. You will have spontaneous compassion for beings who wander in this horrific ocean of samsaric suffering. This ocean of samsara is so bad that we cannot even actually talk about it; just hearing about it is traumatic. The more you see what the true cause of this is, the more compassion you will feel for beings.
The Third Gyalwang Karmapa Rangjung Dorje wrote in his “Aspiration of Mahamudra”: “At the moment of compassion, emptiness becomes especially manifest.” Giving rise to compassion for suffering beings heightens your awareness of emptiness, and the clear recognition of the nature of things heightens your compassion. Therefore, part of the practice of mahamudra is intense, spontaneous compassion for all beings.
In addition to the natural arising of compassion during meditation sessions, it is important to supplement one’s meditation on mahamudra with the practice of tonglen . . . Then, in connection with this, you make the aspiration that all beings become happy and comfortable, and eventually achieve perfect buddhahood. This is very important.
In practical terms, in order to travel the path of mahamudra without obstacles or diversions, we need to combine even placement, the actual meditation taught here as the single great panacea, with post-meditation training in the Seven Points of Mind Training. This is because the practice of tonglen and the post-meditation disciplines taught in the Mahayana tradition of mind-training are the single most effective way to prevent obstacles and impediments that we have seen can arise for mahamudra practitioners. Misunderstandings, deviations, the arising of pride, and misapprehension can, and will, be overcome through the assiduous practice of mind training
. . . .The combination of mahamudra practice and Mahayana mind training is a complete means for proceeding on the path. There is actually no point on the path where we do not need the practice of tonglen. It brings tremendous benefits. It is the single most effective means of purifying obscurations and wrongdoing, and it is utterly supreme as a source of protection. Why? Because the less we fixate on ourselves, the more protected we are.
In that way, the practice of tonglen not only purifies obscurations, but is also the best way to protect yourself and others. Finally, it really gets to the essence of what we are trying to do. All Mahayana practice, including mahamudra, is defined as the cultivation of emptiness with the affect of compassion. That is to say, what we are seeking is a wisdom that recognizes emptiness, and the necessary affect of that wisdom is tremendous compassion. Emptiness with an affect of compassion is the only means through which buddhahood can be achieved. Any attempt to achieve buddhahood through emptiness devoid of compassion or compassion devoid of emptiness will not be successful. A bird must have two wings to fly, and in the same way, there must be two aspects to our development and progress. We can call them merit and wisdom, or compassion and emptiness, but it comes down to these two things . . . Therefore, the integration of mahamudra with mind training and tonglen practice is an especially profound and effective means . . .
There is one final but extremely important element to this package of instructions, and that is devotion [to the Buddha, to our teachers, and to those great beings who have passed on these teachings, making them available to us at the present time.] This devotion is utterly unconditional. It is a very personal and intense feeling. This type of devotion will remove all impediments.
Again, these instructions – the practices of mahamudra, the generation stage, tonglen, and devotion – when combined will heighten all of the others. These instructions contain the essence of all Dharma, everything you need to proceed on the path.
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