Stages of the Path

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THE GREAT TREATISE ON THE STAGES OF THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT:
The Lamrim Chenmo: Vol. I
by Tsong-kha-pa, translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world's treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa (1357-1419), completed this masterpiece in 1402 and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism.

Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his incisive insights on the classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.

Tsong-kha-pa's text has continued to be essential for any student of Buddhist thought who wants to put the teachings into practice. Because it condenses all the exoteric sutra scriptures into a meditation manual that is easy to understand, scholars and practitioners have for centuries relied on its authoritative presentation as a gateway leading to full understanding of the Buddha's teachings.

The Great Treatise is now being translated in its entirety to be released in three volumes. This first volume establishes that the central focus of the text is the development of the spirit of enlightenment (bodhicitta), the heart of the Mahayana tradition. All the practices that are prerequisite for developing the spirit of enlightenment are covered here, making this indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to understand and practice Tibetan Buddhism.

The Great Treatise will be released in three volumes, with volumes 2 & 3 appearing next year.

"Of the many works of the Tibetan master Tsong-kha-pa, none compare in terms of popularity and breadth of influence with his Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lamrim Chenmo), which has been treasured by practitioners and scholars alike for centuries. What distinguishes it as one of the principal texts of Mahayana Buddhism is its scope and clarity. It expounds the entire path from the way one should rely on a spiritual teacher, which is the very root, right up to the attainment of Buddhahood, which is the final fruit. The various stages of the path are presented so clearly and systematically that they can be easily understood and are inspiring to put into practice."—HH THE DALAI LAMA

"The Great Treatise is one of the world's great monuments of philosophy and spirituality as well as one of the most renowned works of Buddhist thought and practice to have been composed in Tibet."—PROFESSOR D.S. RUEGG

Tsong-kha-pa (1357-1419), founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, was one of Tibet's greatest philosophers and a prolific writer. This is the first complete translation into a Western language of The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path, his most famous work and a classic of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Great Treatise is being translated by The Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee under the auspices of the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center, founded in 1958 by the late Geshe Ngawang Wangyal in Washington, New Jersey. The Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee is composed of: Jose Cabezón, Daniel Cozort, Joshua W.C. Cutler, Natalie Hauptman, Roger R. Jackson, Karen Lang, Donald Lopez, Jr., John Makransky, Elizabeth S. Napper, Guy Newland, John Newman, Gareth Sparham, B. Alan Wallace, and Joe B. Wilson. The Editor-in-Chief is Joshua W.C. Cutler and the Editor is Guy Newland.

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The following is an excerpt from The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment.

The defining characteristics of the teacher to be relied upon
Generally, in the scriptures and commentaries many defining characteristics of the teacher are taught from the viewpoint of the individual vehicles. However, the following is a description of a teacher who instructs you in the stages on the paths of the three persons of different capacities and guides you to the Mahayana, which is the path to buddhahood. With respect to this, Maitreya says in his Ornament for the Mahayana Sutras (Mahayana-sutralamkara):

Rely on a Mahayana teacher who is disciplined, serene, thoroughly pacified;
Has good qualities surpassing those of the students; is energetic; has a wealth of scriptural knowledge;
Possesses loving concern; has thorough knowledge of reality and skill in instructing disciples;
And has abandoned dispiritedness.

Thus Maitreya says that a student must rely on a teacher who has these ten qualities.

It is said that those who have not disciplined themselves have no basis for disciplining others. Therefore, gurus who intend to discipline others' minds must first have disciplined their own. How should they have been disciplined? It is not helpful for them to have done just any practice, and then have the result designated as a good quality of knowledge. They need a way to discipline the mind that accords with the general teachings of the Conqueror. The three precious trainings are definitely such a way. Therefore, Maitreya indicated them with these three terms: "disciplined," "serene," and "thoroughly pacified".

With respect to what Maitreya said, "disciplined" refers to the training in ethical discipline. The Sutra on the Vows of Individual Liberation (Pratimoksa-sutra) states:

These vows of individual liberation
Are the bridle set with sharp nails.
With constant effort they are fit
For the difficult-to-rein horse of the straying mind.
Also the Exegesis of the Discipline (Vinaya-vibhanga) states:99
This is the bridle for undisciplined disciples.

As is implied above, the senses pursue improper objects and, like wild horses, lead you to engage in unsuitable actions. Just as a trainer tames a wild horse with a good bridle, so too teachers learn ethical discipline to control their senses and to turn toward suitable actions with great effort. Hence, teachers have "disciplined" their minds, which are like wild horses.

"Serene" refers to having accomplished the training of meditative concentration. Meditative concentration is a mental state in which the mind remains peacefully withdrawn. This is achieved by means of a reliance on mindfulness and vigilance in your ethical discipline, turning away from wrongdoing and engaging in good activities.

"Thoroughly pacified" refers to having accomplished the training of wisdom. This is done by specifically analyzing the meaning of reality in dependence on meditative serenity, wherein the mind becomes serviceable.

However, to have only the good qualities of knowledge that come from disciplining the mind with the three trainings is not sufficient. Teachers must also have the good qualities of scriptural learning. Therefore, "wealth of scriptural knowledge" refers to being erudite concerning the three scriptural collections and the like. Geshe Drom-dön-ba (dGe-bshes ['Brom]-ston-pa) said that when the "gurus of the Mahayana" give an explanation, they must cause their students to have a deep understanding. When they are putting the teachings into practice, they must demonstrate what is helpful at a time when the teaching is on the wane, and what is useful in the situation at hand.

"Knowledge of reality" refers to a special training in wisdom-the knowledge of he selflessness of phenomena. In another way, it is said to be best if the teachers have a perception of reality; but, if they do not have it, it is acceptable for them to know reality through scripture and reasoning.

Although teachers are endowed with these good qualities of scriptural learning and knowledge, it is not enough for them to have good qualities that are equal to or lower than those of their students; instead, they need qualities that surpass those of their students. The Verses about Friends (Mitra-varga) says:

People degenerate by relying on those inferior to themselves;
By relying on equals, they stay the same;
By relying on those superior, they attain excellence;
Thus rely on those who are superior to yourself.
If you rely on whomever is superior-thoroughly pacified
And endowed with ethical discipline
And exceeding wisdom-
You will become superior even to those who are superior.

Pu-chung-wa (Phu-chung-ba) said, "When I hear the stories of excellent persons, I emulate them." Ta-shi (mTha'-bzhi) said, "I imitate the elders of the Ra-dreng (Ra-sgreng) monastic community." Thus you must emulate those whose good qualities surpass your own.

These six qualities-being disciplined, serene, and thoroughly pacified, having good qualities that surpass those of the students, the wealth of knowledge from studying many scriptures, and thorough knowledge of reality-are the good qualities obtained for oneself. The remaining qualities-being energetic, having skill in instruction, possessing loving concern, and abandoning dispiritedness-are the good qualities for looking after others.

Further, it says:

Sages do not wash away sins with water,
They do not clear away beings' suffering with their hands,
They do not transfer their own knowledge to others;
They liberate by teaching the truth of reality.
Thus, buddhas perform no action-such as "washing away others' sins with water"- other than looking after others by accurately showing them the path.

Among the four qualities of looking after others, "skill in instructing disciples" refers to being both skilled in the process of leading disciples and adept at causing them to understand. "Possessing loving concern" refers to having a pure motivation for giving the teachings. That is, the teacher teaches with a motivation of love and compassion and does not look for gain, respect, and so on. Bo-do-wa said to Jen-nga-wa (sPyan-snga-ba), "Son of Li-mo, however many teachings I have explained, I have never taken pleasure in even a single thanks. All beings are helpless." A teacher should be like this.

"Energetic" refers to constant delight in others' welfare. "Has abandoned dispiritedness" refers to never being tired of giving an explanation again and again-to bearing the hardships of explaining.

Bo-do-wa said: These five qualities-loving concern, knowledge of reality, and the three trainings-are foremost. My master Shang-tsün (Zhang-btsun) is not very learned with regard to all the scriptures and cannot withstand dispiriting circumstances. Therefore, he does not even thank those who help him. However, since he has these five qualities, he is helpful to whomever is in his presence. Nyen-dön (gNyan-ston) does not have any skill in speech at all. Even when giving a single dedication of an offering, he can only think, "None of these people here understands what I am saying." But, as he has the five qualities, he is helpful to whomever enters his presence.

This being the case, those who achieve their own livelihood by praising or explaining the good qualities of the trainings, while not striving diligently to practice them, are not suitable to be teachers. That sort of meaningless praise is only words. It is similar to when someone who diligently seeks sandalwood asks one who makes a living by explaining the good qualities of sandalwood, "Do you have any sandalwood?" and that person replies, "No."

As the King of Concentrations Sutra states:102
In later times there will be
Many monks without vows.
Wanting to say, "I am learned,"
They will praise ethical discipline,
But will not strive diligently at their own ethical discipline.

Having also said this concerning concentration, wisdom, and liberation, the King of Concentrations Sutra states:
Some people express
The good qualities of sandalwood
Saying, "Sandalwood is like this:
It is the pleasant aspect of incense."
Then some other people
Might ask them, "Do you possess
A bit of that sandalwood
Which you so praise?"
They then reply, "I do not have
The incense that I praise
To gain my livelihood."
Just so, in later times there will arise
Monks who do not strive at yoga
And make a living by praising ethical discipline.
They will have no ethical discipline.

The sutra states the same for the remaining three qualities-concentration, wisdom, and liberation.

The guru who helps you to achieve liberation is the foundation of your deepest aspiration. Therefore, you who wish to rely on a guru should understand these defining characteristics and strive to seek one who has them. Also, those who wish to have students should understand these characteristics and strive to possess them.

Question: Because this is a degenerate time, it is difficult to find a teacher who has these good qualities in their entirety. Therefore, what should we do if we do not find such a teacher?

Reply: The Tantra Requested by Subahu (Subahu-pariprccha-tantra) states:103
Just as a chariot with one wheel
Will not go down the path even though it has a horse,
So too, without assistants for meditation,
People will not gain attainments.
These assistants should have intelligence, a good appearance, great purity,
Be of reputable lineage, and inclined toward the teachings.
They should have great confidence, perseverance, and have disciplined the senses.
They should speak pleasantly, be generous and compassionate,
Forbear hunger, thirst, and the afflictions,
And not worship other deities and brahmins.
They should be focused, adept, grateful,
And have faith in the three jewels.
Since those who have all such good qualities
Are very rare in this age of strife,
Mantra practitioners should rely on an assistant who has
One half, one quarter, or an eighth of these qualities.

Thus it says that assistants should have these defining characteristics in their entirety, or at least one eighth of these. It is explained in Döl-wa's arrangement of Bo-do-wa's Method of Explaining that the great Elder [Atisha] said, "It is also the same with respect to the guru." Therefore, accept as the defining characteristics of a guru a minimum of one eighth of all the defining characteristics set forth here, combining those that are easy to acquire with those that are difficult to acquire.

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The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment,
Volume 3 by Tsong-kha-pa, translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee.

This much anticipated third volume (the full set is three vol.) contains a presentation of the two most important topics to be found in the Great Treatise: meditative serenity (shamatha) and supramundane insight into the nature of reality (vipasyana).

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world's treasury of sacred literature. Tsong-kha-pa's text has continued to be essential for any student of Buddhist thought who wants to put the teachings into practice.

The following is an excerpt from the recently released third volume of The Great Treatise.

Focusing Your Mind
How to focus your mind on the object of meditation
This has three parts: (1) presenting the flawless method, (2) eliminating flawed methods, and (3) indicating the length of sessions.

(a) The flawless method
The concentration that you will accomplish here has two special features: vivid intensity- an intense mental clarity- and nondiscursive stability, staying one-pointedly on the object of meditation. Some add bliss to these, making three features; others add limpidity as well, making four. However, limpidity is included in the first feature, so it does not have to be listed as a separate item. Delight and bliss which impart a sense of well-being do occur as results of the concentration that you will accomplish here, but they are not concomitant with all of the concentrations which are included in the access to the first meditative stabilization. Also, the concentration of the fourth meditative stabilization- which is said to be the best basis for achieving the good qualities of all three vehicles- is not associated with any physical or mental bliss. Thus, delight and bliss are not counted as features here. While some of the concentrations on the formless levels lack highly vivid intensity, there is nothing wrong with presenting vividness as one of these features. For, Maitreya's Ornament for the Mahayana Sutras refers to "meditative stabilization other than the formless realm." This means that bodhisattvas- except for some power bodhisattvas- achieve good qualities by relying on concentrations within the levels of meditative stabilization.

Since the development of this sort of vivid intensity is blocked as long as there is laxity, while one-pointed nondiscursiveness is blocked as long as there is excitement, laxity and excitement are the chief obstacles to achieving genuine concentration. So if you do not understand how to identify accurately the subtle and coarse forms of laxity and excitement, or if you do not know how to correctly sustain a concentration which stops these once you have identified them, then it will be impossible for you to develop serenity, not to mention insight. Hence, those who diligently seek concentration should master these techniques.

Laxity and excitement are conditions unfavorable for achieving serenity. Later, I will discuss how to identify these unfavorable conditions and how to actually stop them. Now I shall explain how to develop concentration in a manner conducive to achieving serenity.

Here, concentration refers to your attention remaining one-pointedly on an object of meditation; in addition it must stay with the object continuously. Two things are needed for this: (1) a technique in which your attention is not distracted from whatever it had as its original object of meditation, and (2) an accurate awareness of whether you are distracted and whether you are becoming distracted. The former is mindfulness; the latter is vigilance. Vasubandhu's Commentary on the Ornament for the Mahayana Sutra (Mahahayanasutralamkarabhasya) states:

Mindfulness and vigilance bring about close mental focus because the former prevents your attention from wandering from the object of meditation and the latter clearly recognizes that your attention is wandering.
If a lapse in mindfulness leads to forgetting the object of meditation you will be distracted and will immediately lose the object upon which you are meditating. Therefore, the foundation of cultivating concentration is mindfulness which does not forget the object.

How does such mindfulness focus your mind right on the object of meditation? Once you have at least visualized the object of meditation in the minimal manner as explained above, generate a powerful apprehension of the object that tightly holds it with your attention. After you have set your attention at a high level, stabilize it on the object without newly analyzing anything.

With regard to mindfulness, Asanga's Compendium of Knowledge says:

What is mindfulness? In regard to a familiar object, your mind is not forgetful and operates without distraction.
This indicates that mindfulness has three features. (1) Its observed object is "a familiar object," since mindfulness does not occur with regard to a previously unfamiliar object. In this case, the image of a previously ascertained object of meditation appears. (2) Its subjective aspect or manner of apprehension is your mind's not forgetting the object, as indicated by the phrase "your mind is not forgetful." In this case, it is your mind's nonforgetfulness of the object of meditation.

What does nonforgetfulness mean? It is not mentioned in reference to merely being able to remember what your guru taught you about the object of meditation, thinking or saying, "The object of meditation is like this" when you cast your mind to it or when someone asks you about it. Rather, it refers to how your attention is fixed on the object of meditation and brings it to mind clearly without even the slightest distraction. If you are distracted, you lose your mindfulness to the extent that you are distracted. Therefore, after you have set your attention on the object of meditation in the manner explained above, you think, "In this way, I have fixed my attention on the object of meditation." Then, without new examination, you sustain the force of that awareness in unbroken continuity. This is the most critical point in the technique of maintaining mindfulness. (3) Its function is to keep your attention from wandering from the object of meditation.

Fixing your attention on an object of meditation in this way and controlling it is said to be like taming an elephant. An elephant trainer ties a wild elephant to a tree or sturdy post with many thick ropes. If it does as the trainer teaches it, then fine; if not, it is subdued and controlled, struck repeatedly with a sharp iron hook. Your mind is like the untamed elephant; you bind it with the rope of mindfulness to the sturdy pillar of an object of meditation such as I explained above. If you cannot keep it there, you must gradually bring it under control by goading it with the iron hook of vigilance. Bhavaviveka's Heart of the Middle Way states:

The erring elephant of your mind
Is securely bound by the rope of mindfulness
To the sturdy pillar of the object of meditation
And is gradually controlled with the iron hook of intelligence.
Also, Kamalasila's second Stages of Meditation states:

With the ropes of mindfulness and vigilance, tie the elephant of your mind to the tree trunk, the object of meditation.
It is not contradictory that the former text likens vigilance to an iron hook while the latter text compares it to a rope. Mindfulness directly and continually fastens your attention to the object of meditation. However, indirectly vigilance also focuses your attention on the object of meditation, for you depend on noticing actual or incipient laxity and excitement with vigilance, and then stabilize your attention on the primary object without falling under their influence. Also, as cited above, the master Vasubandhu says that both mindfulness and vigilance focus your mind on the object of meditation.

It is said that you achieve concentration on the basis of mindfulness and that mindfulness is like a rope that actually fastens your attention to the object of meditation continuously, so mindfulness is the main technique to sustain in achieving concentration.

Also, mindfulness has a way of apprehending its object that carries a sense of certitude. If, while maintaining concentration, you stabilize your mind casually without a solid sense of certainty about the object, then your mind may take on a limpid clarity, but it will not have the vivid intensity of certain knowledge, so you will not develop powerful mindfulness. Therefore, as subtle laxity will be unchecked, only flawed concentration will ensue.

Those who cultivate just nondiscursive attention without stabilizing their attention on other objects of meditation, such as divine body, bring to mind the personal instruction, "Stabilize your mind without thinking of any object at all." Then they must keep their attention from being distracted and wandering. This nondistraction is synonymous with mindfulness that does not forget the object of meditation. Thus, since this meditation is simply the technique of maintaining mindfulness, those who meditate in this way must also rely on a mindfulness that carries the force of certain knowledge.