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Lam Dre: Final Teaching, Serial 00067

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This talk explores the Lam Dre teachings, focusing on the three levels of spiritual perception and the qualities of Buddhahood to encourage the practitioner towards enlightenment. The discussion covers the transition from preliminary practices to Vajrayana practices, emphasizing the transformation and perception of reality as seen through Buddha's qualities of body, voice, and mind. The session concludes with a dedication of merits and encourages enthusiasm in following the path for the benefit of all beings.

  • Ratnakuta Sutra: Describes Bodhisattva Shukchang's attempt to perceive the extent of the Buddha's ushnisha, illustrating the inconceivability of Buddha's physical form.
  • The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra's Aspiration: This prayer is mentioned as part of the dedication at the end of the session, aimed at wishing all beings to achieve enlightenment.
  • Lam Dre Teachings: The focus is on the stages of perception, impure vision, the path's experiential vision, and the pure vision, forming the foundation of meditation and realization practices within the Sakya tradition.

AI Suggested Title: Pathway to Enlightenment Through Perception

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Teaching by: Dezhung Rinpoche III

Transcript: 

And I did do that, and I did sit up and do it. . . . Ya si ji par ji la suwan de, suan yin jen jen ne pei tingai jen, yi ma no ta kong ji pei long suan ne, du tsai kong jen sa la kai yin ze pa. Ya ji la ma no la suwan de, la ye kui tong le tong de yin pei, chukung tong tong, ma ye kui tong suan, duwa chun ji ka long che tong tong. I don't know what to do.

[01:54]

I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. Yes. When I was a child, I used to go to school with my mother and my father.

[02:56]

I used to go to school with my mother and my father. [...] So, here is a tea pot. It's only for you to eat. Let's try it. Got to try it. Oh, that's a good one. Oh, that's a good one. Did you see? I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.

[03:56]

I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. That's right. That's right. Further to enhance the effectiveness of your practice and in particular your effort this evening

[04:57]

to learn the Dharma for the sake of all living beings, it is helpful if you think of the, if while you are receiving the teachings of Dharma, you conceive of a teacher not as a human teacher, but as Lord Buddha himself, Shakyamuni Buddha himself, in person, who is seated before you upon a lion throne and is in person, expounding to you the principles of Buddha Dharma.

[06:16]

As he speaks, as he utters the words of Dharma, visualize that rays of light shine forth from his entire form and from his heart that touch your own body and your own consciousness, dispelling all darkness of ignorance, confusion, distraction, and obscurations, and awakens within your own consciousness an unerring understanding and certainty about the truth of these teachings and their true sense. Think of yourself also not as an ordinary person, but rather as the golden-hued bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri, who is tireless in seeking out the

[07:37]

all the teachings of Dharma on behalf of living beings. And with this visualization, while maintaining this visualization, listen with an attentive, unwavering and receptive mind to the words of the teaching which you will be receiving. Studies in the lam dray system of meditation we have discussed the first two of the three levels of spiritual perception.

[08:40]

Each set of instructions that we have discussed were presented with a specific purpose in mind. those instructions concerning the first level of perception, that is, the impure vision, as it's called, were intended to awaken within our minds a spirit of renunciation towards the a spirit of renunciation for worldly aims. The second set of instructions relating to the vision of

[09:57]

of the path or the experiential level of perception was intended to develop within our minds a sense of a sense of magnanimity in our efforts, that is, to help us overcome the temptation to cling to the dharmas of the path, the experiences of the path, the attainments of the path,

[11:03]

once we have entered it, having overcome attachment to worldly matters. Thus we developed through those instructions a sense of of unselfishness, unselfish striving for the enlightenment of others. Would someone please bring one of the larger chairs over here for him to sit? No, no, please. There must be a question somewhere. We have one here. She has got one question. Then having, finally, all right, that was the effect of our

[12:10]

training and the instructions in those practices for the second level of perception. Now, this evening we will be discussing the third level of perception, that is the pure vision. This as you may have guessed, constitutes the third and final section in our text, the three visions. Alright, what is the purpose then of the instructions or the discussion which we will undertake this evening concerning this third vision? Its purpose is simply to awaken within our minds a better understanding of our spiritual goal, of the spiritual goal of the Mahayana, that we as Mahayana practitioners should have.

[13:53]

And through a clearer appreciation of that goal, we are to derive heightened enthusiasm for its attainment. This, having said in our last session, that after one has trained in these various levels of meditation, concentration, insight, etc., that one then should enter into tantric practices in order to

[14:58]

in order to achieve one's... achieve the state of Buddhahood more quickly. So it's only understandable if you might be wondering, well, if we are to... if we are are supposed to make efforts on the tantric path, if after all this training and these various stages of practice, preliminary practice, we are then to undertake tantric practices, what was the purpose of having to undergo all those preceding practices, starting with, you remember them, don't you? The answer to that question is, the purpose of undertaking all those preceding levels of training was that

[16:27]

is that was in order to attain the level of enlightened pure vision, that is, the stage of Sugata-hood, who is endowed with inexhaustible qualities of body, voice, and mind. Those preceding practices are the worthy cause. as causes, they have a direct relationship with their result, that is, the result of perfect enlightenment or Buddhahood.

[17:46]

All right. Let us then say something about that result of Buddhahood. Now, we have used the term Sugata, or well-gone. This is a synonym for Lord Buddha, or the Tathagata, or any enlightened being who has attained the stage of perfect total enlightenment. The epithet sugata, the well-gone, carries with it the sense of one who has

[18:58]

who has traversed with ease or who has well traversed the path of the two accumulations of merit and wisdom and has gone to the stage of the poor are bodies of enlightenment. We will continue. Now, speaking of the Buddha,

[20:07]

we will next describe certain of his qualities which you should be aware of. These are in the to list them in brief are the inexhaustible qualities of his form, the inexhaustible qualities of his voice, the inexhaustible qualities of his mind. Firstly, the inexhaustible qualities of his body or his form. refers to two aspects of that enlightened body of his.

[22:04]

Firstly, the the the inconceivable uh The inconceivable scope of his

[23:17]

body of enlightenment. Yes, the scope of his form. And secondly, the totality of his form. Totality means the whole. the whole, the... Anyhow, what we're talking about is that... All right, now to return to the inconceivable scope of his thought.

[24:47]

This means that... that... however... however they may view it, unenlightened beings cannot possibly fathom, cannot possibly apprehend or perceive the whole of the Buddha's body. It is so vast, it is so much greater in its scope, that no matter who they may be or how they may perceive him, they can never fully fathom the true size of the Buddha's body.

[25:53]

For example, in the Ratnakuta, We have the account of the Bodhisattva Shukchang who once had a desire to appraise the Buddha's The usnesha is the Buddha's... What do you call that? The bump on top of the Buddha's head. Usnesha. Usnesha, yes. You know the Buddha's always represented having a protuberant from the top of his head.

[26:57]

And that is called the usnesha. It is one of the major marks of an enlightened being. So this particular Bodhisattva once had the idea that he would like to assess the size of the Buddha's Vishnesa. But no matter how he tried to see, the extent of the Buddha's ushnisa. It was always beyond him. Even when through his miraculous powers, his bodhisattva ascended even to the top of Mount Sumeru and gazed at the Buddha's ushnisa, it still rose out of sight beyond him.

[28:00]

So he then, from there, he ascended to the top of the heavens of the 33,000 worlds, God worlds. And there too, he couldn't get a glimpse of the tip of the Buddha's, the top of the Buddha's From there he went in desperation to the Brahma loka, to the realm of Brahma. And from there he proceeded up to the and from there he went Further and further up through the... Up through... What is 100 times 10 million?

[29:16]

Thousand. Thousand million. Thousand million. Thousand million. Yes. Yes. You're quick. A billion world systems above the Brahma, the realm of Brahma. And from each vantage point, he tried to see just where the Buddha's ushnija would end. He tried to see the uppermost part of this ushnija. until finally he reached at the very peak of those billion world systems. He came to this world system called Padmavati, or the lotus-y, the one that has lotus around it. The lotus, the one that has the lotus.

[30:20]

Lotus-y, isn't it? Loads. [...] Then, and he still couldn't say, reached the end of the Buddha's origination. From there, he went on to the place called the... the place where the king of the... Oh, yes. To the place, to the Buddha realm of the Tathagata, the Buddha named Padmasri Garbha.

[31:22]

Panma Shri Karpa Raja. And there he also looked to see the top of the Buddha's Vishnesa. And even there he could see no uppermost limit to the Buddha's So he gave up. The point that we make is, by all of this, is that the true body of the Buddha is really inconceivable that the tsuktor, that is, the vishnesha, which symbolizes the perfect, the Buddha's attainment of perfect enlightenment, symbolizes and is also a symbol of his omniscience, means that there is no way for lesser beings to fathom the true extent of a Buddhist form, that as with all the equalities of Buddhahood, are really unfathomable and inconceivable for lesser beings.

[32:44]

Okay. Now, There's another aspect to the Buddha's form, and that is the totality of this form. That's not quite right, but maybe the meaning will become clear and we can change that word totality. That's what it says literally, but it doesn't ring correctly. Comprehensive meaning. Comprehensive. That's good. I like that. All right, comprehensive legend. Okay. Got to go back to the class. All right. This means that the Buddha has, in his Nirmanakaya aspect, his Buddha in his illusory form, has the has the power to manifest himself in whatever form he wishes in order to demonstrate

[34:02]

the way to enlightenment and to accomplish his aims for the benefit of living beings. This means that, as we know from Buddhist scriptures, that the Buddha has appeared in a multitude of forms, from that of Shakyamuni, the historic Shakyamuni Buddha who appeared among humans, and to his appearance among beings as variously as a hare, a tiger, a lion, or as a boat, or a ship, or a bridge, etc., etc., etc. ever he appeared in any form that was necessary in order to help those beings who could best be helped in that particular form.

[35:28]

For those who need a boat, he would appear as a boat, etc. For those who needed a human teacher, etc., he would appear as a human teacher, whatever. So, in accordance with their needs and capacities, he would appear among beings in a countless array of forms. And in those various forms, This is this. Okay. It's fine. She's missed part of it, so you may want to help her with it. No, she's missed part on her tape in this spot, so you may want to get the lines from this. All right. Okay, and in those various poems, he has expanded the dharma, and accomplished his aims for beings.

[36:32]

And therefore we say that his form is similarly Comprehensive. That is, there's no fixed limit to the manner of his appearance. He can appear in any form. That's all. [...] Secondly, there are two... No. Relay. Next we have two aspects of His voice, of the Enlightened One's voice.

[38:13]

First, there are the inconceivable Did I say the inconceivable part of his body? Scope, yes. The inconceivable scope of his voice and the comprehensiveness of his voice. Under the first heading, the Buddha's, the enlightened one's voice is perfect. so that whether one listens to it from near or far, its sound is always perfectly clear and comprehensible, never muffled or misunderstood.

[39:17]

And also so perfect that even if one listens to the Buddha's speech from very near, his voice is never over loud. It is never loud. And even if one listens from a great distance, from hundreds of yards, even miles away, his voice is never too faint. And it is said that when Lord Buddha teaches the Dharma in the human world and on this planet, that his voice His voice and his teaching is heard as far away as the Buddha realm of Sukhavati in the western direction.

[40:30]

And even a billion world systems beyond that in the In the world system known as the... In the world system known as... What do you say, the one that has light rays? The one that has light rays? The light raid? Anything can be. Look at this. Something that has rays. Rays of light. Some things can shine and not necessarily emit rays. I want to show that it's got rays. Radiant? Light rays.

[41:33]

All right, radiant. The radiant or the luminous or what? The world system. That world system known as the radiant one. Even there. His perfectly modulated voice in teaching is clearly understood. And even if you go to the Buddha realm, of the Tathagata named the Tathagata His name in Tibetan is , which means literally the one who is arisen from rays of light or from the realm of rays of light.

[43:05]

And even there, the Buddha speech will not will not grow faint. All right, now for the second subheading of the comprehensiveness of his voice. This means that the Buddha's voice is not limited to one manner of expression, one mode of utterance, but that in expounding the principles and the path of liberation, the range of his voice is truly limitless. Among the gods, he speaks in the language of gods. Among humans, he speaks in the language of humans. Among the yakshas, the demons, he speaks in the language of demons.

[44:10]

Among the nagas, he speaks in the language of nagas. And among animals, he speaks so that they understand. In whatever language that beings speak, in whatever sounds and languages that beings may understand. So he expounds the Dharma in their own language. So the point of these two topics, like as with this form, the qualities of this form, is to show that the Buddha's qualities of voice are not limited in their scope or in their application, knowing this application. Characteristics of the Buddha's mind, the Buddha's qualities of mind, they are

[45:20]

the inconceivable scope, the inconceivable scope of his mind and the comprehensiveness of his mind. If it's from Minnesota or Miami, they can call back at 11 o'clock. That's what you want to do. The enlightened mind of the Buddha is also unlimited. And to illustrate that in every respect it is free from limitation, we have only to refer to several incidents recorded in the Buddhist scriptures.

[46:44]

We know from the Buddha's own words, from the testimony of the sutras, that the Buddha, the enlightened one, even the historical Buddha, was able to, through his omniscience, to know to perceive and to know that which others were unable to perceive or know. He could see things exactly as they were in their true nature and he could perceive them also in the particulars of their on the particulars of their motive being.

[48:04]

And this feat, other holy men were unable to do. For example, the great Buddhist sage Madhgalakutra, the arhat... No, I'm sorry, not Madhgalakutra, Madhgalayana, who was noted for his miraculous powers and his expertise in all the stages and powers derived through profound meditation. In short, he was the miracle worker. among the early Buddhist saints. Though even with the great range of his power, he had limits to his vision, his pure vision and his perception.

[49:05]

For example, he was limited by distance, though he could see what was happening in other realms of existence to a certain extent. that when it got really far out there, he really couldn't see what was going on. For example, when his own mother died, and he searched, he was curious to know where his mother had been reborn, because he wanted to make sure she had had a good rebirth. But he searched for her in the heavens and didn't see her, and in the human realm, in the Naga realms, and so forth, and he couldn't find where his mother had been reborn. And finally he went to Lord Buddha and asked him if he could tell him where his mother had been reborn. And Lord Buddha was able to see that she had been born in a Buddha realm named the Radiant, that Radiant Buddha realm.

[50:15]

And also he was able to fathom the past and future, of course, of karma, of other beings. This is something that others could not do. Others might be able to remember something or to have some to recall or to perceive. the past for a certain number of lifetimes or to look ahead into the future for a limited period. But Lord Buddha had an unchecked vision of the past course of other beings' karma. For example, there was this the Arahats in Lord Buddha's day were arguing in their assembly, were trying to decide in their assembly whether this certain householder name, Splendor Boy, was

[51:48]

had even the slightest root of liberation, whether he had even the slightest amount of merit that might possibly ripen into eventual liberation for Mr. Splendiborn. they couldn't, though they examined him very carefully, they couldn't find even an iota of merit in him, and nothing that might possibly be cultivated and help him attain enlightenment. So they went to Lord Buddha. But he, Lord Buddha, was able to discern, even in Mr. Splendorborn, the possibility of... of future enlightenment, because he could see that ... that ... that Splendour Born had seven lifetimes ago been

[53:13]

reborn as a dog. And while he was a dog, a pig had attacked and chased him around the stupa a number of times. And just by that, even that slight amount, Splendor Board had accumulated some karmic connection with Dharma that could, with cultivation, enable him to attain enlightenment. I think that's what it says. Anyhow. So, there's hope. Okay? Now for the second topic of his comprehensiveness of his mind.

[54:14]

The omniscient Buddha is endowed with transcendent gnosis, and in his omniscience he is fully able to perceive all things, however many they are, exactly as they are. He sees the true nature of all things, however many they may be. In other words, his omniscience is unlimited. All right? That is, we said that he perceives all things exactly as they are, as they are in their true natures. This means that for all phenomena, whatever they may be, for all dharmas, he perceives unerringly their true nature and their true mode of being as it is in

[55:24]

on all levels of reality. He sees things exactly as they are in all their aspects, on all levels. He has unerring knowledge of all things. And no matter how many they are, his knowledge comprehends the nature of all things. and he sees them in their particulars, he can perceive even the minutest phenomenon exactly as it is in its own mode of being, in the particulars of its being, and all that there is to know about it in its particulars also, even on the level of conventional reality. He does perceive each thing without without blurring them, without generalizing, without confusing one thing with another or generalizing about them.

[56:31]

In their particulars, he knows them. Even down to the least thing, for example, he can perceive the causes, he can perceive the interdependent originations of cause and effect in its totality with regard to all phenomena, even down to things like the sharpness of a thorn, or the roundness of a pea, or the squareness of a stone, and so forth. How those, even those How do you say? Yes, yes, these characteristics even of very just, you know, mundane things, trivial things, prosaic things.

[57:46]

Prosaic things are, he can perceive, even with them, the interdependent origination of their cause and their effect as it causes them to assume that mode of existence. And this he does without in the slightest degree generalizing or being less than particular in his in his knowledge and this for each thing, each item he can perceive without any restriction as to his comprehensiveness, however many they are, exactly as they are, the particulars of their existence, their mode of existence on whatever level, all simultaneously he in his omniscience can perceive directly and accurately.

[58:54]

Another characteristic of the Buddha is that is that he is adorned with he is adorned with majesty or beauty, grandeur.

[60:02]

I like something like splendor. He has... Make it very clear. I make it clear? Okay. In other words, he's beautiful. Because... Because through his being endowed, or his possessing, this trinity of form, you remember the three bodies of Buddhahood, the nirmanakaya, sambhogakaya, and the dharmakaya.

[61:05]

And through his possessing this triune form, he is able spontaneously, effortlessly, to accomplish his own and others' aims. That is, for himself, that he has attained the dharmakaya, or the body of reality. In order to help others also to attain that stage, he manifests spontaneously these various emanations, the nirmanakaya and the sambhogakaya, his radiant, majestic form in which he appears to saints, is in various illusory poems in which he appears to beings on their level, such as Shakyamuni among the humans and so forth.

[62:09]

And in this way enables them also to accomplish their own liberation and the attainment of this body of reality, Dhammakaya. So because he is... He is able to do this. His form is one of majesty. The turning of the wheel of his spiritual work or the wheel of his spiritual feet. Since the Buddha

[63:24]

first attained enlightenment and turned the wheel of Dharma out of compassion for the unenlightened. There have been, as a result of his demonstrations of Dharma, a million billion beings whom he has caused to attain enlightenment. and each one of those also have thereupon enabled a similar number to attain enlightenment and so forth so that in brief until from the time that the Buddha first attained enlightenment, until the time when the worlds of existence are completely unpopulated, totally unpopulated, his spiritual work of revealing the Dharma will never cease.

[65:22]

Another attribute of it, from the time he first attained enlightenment until that time when the realms of world existence become completely unpopulated, become empty of beings. Okay? That's right. Yes, they're all. In other words, from now until every being without exception attains Buddhahood, his works will not cease. Now, another attribute of the enlightened one is his pure vision. His mood of perception is flawlessly pure.

[66:49]

His perception of all the phenomena, of all phenomena which might be found in either samsara or nirvana, whether in bondage or liberation within the world or in liberation, He perceives them as they really are through His transcendent gnosis, through His pure transcendent gnosis. and therefore he does not see, he does not look upon samsara, the things of samsara, as being negative, and therefore to be abandoned or relinquished or renounced, yes, and therefore to be renounced.

[67:57]

Nor does he look upon nirvana as being positive, and therefore to be attained. But he perceives samsara and nirvana to have a single flavor, to have a single nature. He looks upon them in his purity of vision as being identical. In other words, this is the, remember the quintessence or the view of the Sakyamuni is that of the non-differentiation between nirvana and samsara. And this is his pure vision. Yes.

[69:20]

Through the force, through the strength of his having trained himself, or having Having trained himself on the path while he was still an ordinary being, and thereby having attained Buddhahood, he perceives that Buddhas and beings are of one continuity. In other words, that there is no disjunction between beings and buddhas and while formerly while he was while he was only while he was experiencing

[70:25]

the path of yoga, meaning while he was in the state of being a meditator, he experienced the path He experienced that the path became absorbed into the result, or became one with the result. Therefore, he perceives that the path and the result have a single flavor. Flavor is the literal translation, if you can do better. That's what they mean, but it's just the idea is that They're identical. It's just like you pour a glass of water into another glass of water and you can't distinguish them.

[71:38]

They become indistinguishable. Okay. And through the strength of his having formerly yes and through having whereas formerly

[72:45]

he practiced, he trained himself in regarding conceptualization, thought constructions, as being, as something to be relinquished. But through having experienced the experience how all thought constructions, including how all conceptualizations are merged into ultimate reality, into the dharmata, into suchness or reality, he perceives

[73:47]

he now perceives that that which is to be gotten rid of and its antidote also have a single flavor. Let me put this in other words. Whereas formerly he practiced, he trained himself in the stages of meditation and getting rid of thought construction through the stages of concentration and insight, and saw them as being indices to meditation and so forth. Yet in attaining the enlightenment he saw that how in their nature that they were also that they were nothing more than thought construction, conceptualizations also, were not different to suchness or ultimate reality.

[74:50]

Therefore, he sees that there is no distinction, no difference between thought constructions and their antidote, that no difference between that which formerly one thought of in terms of, in order to get rid of this problem, I have to apply this antidote. Now he sees both problem and antidote as having an identical nature in ultimate reality. All right. He sees that there is no difference between what should be between the virtues which should be acquired, between the virtues and dharmic phenomena which should be acquired, and the non-virtuous or worldly phenomena which should be relinquished.

[75:58]

He sees that there is no difference between that which one should accept or get rid of. He sees no difference between relinquishing and attainment, between relinquishment and attainment. He sees that samsara and nirvana, the world and liberation from the world, have an identical nature. They have an identical... Their state is identical. Their status, whatever it is, state or status is identical. They are of... They are of...

[77:04]

a single continuity, and so forth and so on. These are all qualities of his inconceivable, pure vision, that is, tada kyi dhan sun, tada kyi dhan samsukhi. Nitya raga tanya samsukhi tatha. the last few words of conclusion of the text, I will, before completing the last few words of the text itself as taught by Rinpoche, I will first translate his concluding remarks before I forget them.

[78:06]

So pay attention to what he said and understand that we're going to go back while you're drinking tea to the concluding words of the text and there too you should pay attention. Rinpoche said, after concluding the text, is that now that we have accomplished what we set out to do and have finished our studies in these three visions, it is a cause of should be a cause of great happiness for you all as well as it is for himself that we were able in spite of everything to see it through and to accomplish what he considers a not inconsiderable great not inconsiderable dharmic work that it was there is in the teaching he sees great benefit in the

[79:25]

in your listening and seeking to learn, he sees great benefit. And it has been, in fact, a good teaching in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end, and that he sees this as a work well done, well entered into, well accomplished, and as a good harbinger for our future studies in the second text, the three lines, which we will be able to undertake when you have visions. It augurs well for our future studies together in the second text, the three lines, which we may take up when you have all received the lam-dre teachings and empowerments.

[80:36]

And you know where you can find those. No. Further, Rinpoche would like to say that this is really too scattered. It's a pity because it's Rinpoche would like to say that he finds, he considers it to be quite fitting that we conclude our our teaching simultaneously with the... almost simultaneously with our empowerment of... having received the empowerment of Vajra Garuda yesterday, which as you know is one of the fourteen profound dharmas of the Sakyat tradition, that he felt that

[81:52]

this because the nature of that particular environment that it was rather a good symbol as the Garuda represents symbolically represents the sky born or the or one that is freed from the earth. It is like, in other words, the flying man. At this particular point, it represents more or less a departure for ourselves and our own practice. from the ground of foundation studies into the sky of real practice. And speaking of Gurudev Empowerments, Rinpoche says that he would like to express his appreciation for your efforts in arranging that

[82:57]

Parliament with the intent to raise funds for his monk monastic project. He thanks you for that. And in particular, he would like to express his thanks to our president, Helen Mendoza, for her very painstaking efforts to arrange yesterday's program downtown. He understands that this was accomplished single-handedly with little or no help from others apart from her husband, Louis Mendoza, and James Arzotti. He appreciates the hard work that was done and especially the unselfish thought they had to arrange

[83:59]

program for the benefit of his monks. And to them, especially, he dedicates his wishes for their attaining especially the results of this Garuda meditation. his wishes that they attain, like Garuda, the great wings of merit and wisdom which sustain the Bodhisattva in his flight, that with this initiation as a fitting conclusion to our own preliminary or nesting stage of study.

[85:09]

He feels that it is, we are all together entering into a stage when we will become able to experience the path through our own individual meditative practice. Now, to return to our teaching, upon completing these last few lines of the teaching, Rinpoche says that you will recall the third kind of excellence consists of the dedication of the dedication of merit to the enlightenment of all living beings.

[86:13]

To express or to accomplish this dedication upon the completion of our course of study in this text, the Three Visions, we will light a few extra lights on the altar and together we will recite, those who know Tibetan will recite, the Prayer of Good Wishes or the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, that is, the Bodhisattva of Good Actions. Those of you who cannot recite in Tibetan or haven't a copy of the text should during the recitation, offer up long and sincere heartfelt prayers that through the merit of your own efforts to learn this teaching that all beings might share with you in the attainment of perfect enlightenment.

[87:26]

This will conclude This will follow immediately upon my giving a brief resume of the final words of the text, which I promised you. All right. Now, the concluding topic of our text was the method or the way in which one should reflect about these various qualities and attributes of Buddhahood which we have just discussed in the last two hours. One should reflect upon these various qualities and attributes of an enlightened one and think that as a result of these preliminary practices conjoined with the future Vajrayana practices, I myself will attain

[89:11]

just such qualities and attributes of Buddhahood, the inconceivable qualities of body, voice and mind, and also and similarly unceasingly and spontaneously accomplish the benefit of these beings. And so in this way one should develop, through thinking in this way, one should arouse within oneself a feeling of great enthusiasm, a zeal to practice in order quickly to attain those qualities and attributes for the sake of others.

[90:11]

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