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Why Practice?
The 5 Stages:
1 - Accumulation Stage
2 - Preparation Stage
3 - Insight Stage
4 - Meditation Stage
5 - Perfection Stage
Tantra
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THE INSIGHT STAGE
Subtopics:
Our Connection with the World around us
The Awakened Heart (Bodhicitta) & Compassion
Generosity
With the process of the Insight Stage in Mahayana Buddhism, we begin the path of the Bodhisattva. In Mahayana Buddhism, what we've learned until now is called the Hinayana Path. It is often translated as "Lesser Vehicle" while Mahayana is translated as "Greater Vehicle". I personally think that this is a mistake. The Hinayana aspects of the path are concerned with personal spiritual development and are necessary for everyone at every level of practice. Even if we want to be a Bodhisattva and follow the "Greater" Vehicle, we still need to do the work of the Hinayana practices. I personally prefer "Basic Vehicle" as a translation for Hinayana. We cannot do without hinayana practices on any level.
The Hinayana path contains the Accumulation and Preparation Stages of Buddhist Spiritual Development. Through our work in the Accumulation Stage, we began to recognize that all aspects of the world are impermanent. Through reflecting on this impermanence and developing awareness of impermanence, our non-attachment grows stronger.
We also learned that any permanent satisfaction is impossible to obtain from such a transitory world. We began to examine the nature of our suffering and distinguish between the suffering of our conditioned existence, the suffering of change, and the suffering that we add onto that through our own efforts to avoid these two sufferings. This last suffering is called the suffering of misery or sometimes "the suffering of suffering".
Through understanding the nature of suffering, we learn to have more realistic expectations in regard to the kind of happiness that we can obtain through worldy things. We learn to stop looking for any permanent satisfaction and accept that any satisfaction that we get from worldly things will be temporary. The result is that we become more content as we stop struggling to find lasting satisfaction within worldly pleasures.
We also began, in the Accumulation Stage, to learn about the interdendence of various elements of our world. We began to get a clear picture about how our world is the result of our past actions, or Karma, coming to completion and that the choices that we make, either impulsively or deliberately, create new Karma that throws us into our future circumstances. Through accumulation stage practices, we increase our mindfulness of what's happening in terms of our Body, Feelings, Mind, and Phenomena and we begin the work of improving our future through the more deliberate creation of more positive causes and conditions in the present.
Then, in the Preparation stage, we gradually analyze all of the things that make up our selves. We recognize how we collect a group of Forms around us to reinforce or define who we are. We have posessions, clothing, and even status, friends and family that we come to identify with. We then adopt a set of feelings, a set of likes and dislikes that we view as our selves. This automatically includes a set of things that we are indifferent towards or ignore.
I always include perceptions and motivations together, because our perceptions of the world are so completely dependent upon our attitudes, goals, and values. So we accumulate a set of attitudes and viewpoints and then develop goals, values and perceptions that match them.
Finally, and very subtley, we attribute to ourselves a set of levels of awareness. In some situations, we are very aware, and in others we are as dumb as doornails. Again, our motivations have a large influence on which levels of awareness we adopt. If I decide that I'm a good actor and that acting is what I want to do, then, even though I may see signs that my acting talents are not great, I ignore them because my desire to be an actor and my feeling that I'm good at it is so strong. That is an example of how motivations can affect our awareness.
Through the processes of the Preparation stage, we begin to recognize that all aspects of our personality are interdependent and fluid and they are not independent and fixed as we tend to believe. We begin to see how all of our body/mind components are the result of past patterns of thought, speech, and action. We begin to realize that all aspects of our personality are karmic. We are beginning to learn that the forms, feelings, perceptions, motivations, and awarenesses that we express or identify with, either impulsively or deliberately, create imprints that reinforce our tendency to continue from moment to moment in the same way. this is what we call Karma in Buddhism. We begin to get a notion of just how much of this process is our own creation.
The term Mahayana could also be translated as "Great Vehicle". It can be thought of in the same way as the Four Immeasurables, which are Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Altruistic Joy, and Equanimity. They are called "immeasurable" because they are meant to include immeasurable sentient beings and the benefits are immmeasurable. The same can be said of the Mahayana Path. The object of the Mahayana is all sentient beings and so the object of practice is "Great". The Benefits are also "Great", ultimately leading to full Buddhahood, and so it is called the "Great Vehicle". A Bodhisattva is someone who has begun to integrate the Mahayana Path into their mind-stream. A Bodhisattva works for the spiritual benefit of others and not just for themselves. A Bodhisattva is someone who works, not only for his own Buddhahood, but to help others achieve their own Buddhahood, and their own freedom from suffering. The result is a "Great" Accomplishment.
For Lay Practitioners in a modern western society, I feel that the Bodhisattva path is a key element to applying the Buddha's teachings within our day-to-day life. At the time of the Buddha, the focus was heavily on becoming monks and nuns. The Bodhisattva path has a heavy focus on our inter-relationship with others and this is a continual aspect of modern life where lay-person practice is more prevalent. Having a set of criteria and principles to help us deal with our inter-relationships is very important in our modern world and very important if we really want to put an end to suffering for ourselves and others. In my view, the easiest path to Buddhahood in today's world is through the practice of helping others.
While looking at the components that make up our self during the Preparations stage, we are also looking for an ultimate, unchanging, and permanent self. At the point of insight, we recognize that such an ultimate, unchanging and permanent self does not exist.
What this means for the self that we have come to know and love is that we recognize that none of the things that we have collected together, not even our awareness, is ultimate, unchanging, or permanent. When we actually see this for the first time, it can be really shocking. This marks the beginning of the insight stage of practice.
This picture becomes clearer as we practice in the insight stage and we work to continually have that direct perception of the selflessness of ourselves and the "external" world. Before this stage, our perception of this selflesss, relative, and interdependent personality of ours was mixed up with an impression of a permanent, unchanging and independent self underlying everything. The LamRim teachings say that this difference between the preparation stage and the insight stage is like the difference between picturing the face of a friend and actually seeing them in person.
The reason for being so pre-occupied with the nature of our self is because the Buddha discovered that our true nature and the true nature of our reality do not contain suffering. Suffering is caused by not realizing, by fighting against, or by ignoring these true natures. We then develop Longing and Attachment and the other tainted emotions that arise because of them in relationship to ourselves and our world. So it's by not recognizing, or ignoring, or working against our own true nature or the true nature of reality that we create all of the suffering that we experience.
Before we began looking for our true nature, we had a sense that our self was big, central, and permanent and by now we are becoming more aware of how small, interconnected, and temporary our self and its various components are. We go from the point of view where we fill almost our whole universe with the notion of our selves and our own self-interest, to the point where we are just a small part of a much larger universe. The universe isn't actually larger, its just that now we have a bigger view. Our own personal universe has changed, but the universe itself hasn't been altered.
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At first this perception of our interconnection is present in some circumstances and absent in others. In order to fix this, we need to develop Equanimity and this is the first thing that we work on in the Insight stage. It includes developing equanimity towards objects, situations, AS WELL AS sentient beings. We need to focus on the sameness and equality of everything. It starts by recognizing that, in the same way as we have no ultimate self or permanent underlying essence, all objects, situations, and sentient beings also have no ultimate self. We also begin to recognize that, just as we view ourselves as the centre of the universe, other beings view themselves as the centre of the universe. Of course, in reality, there is no centre to the universe at all.
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We also learn that, in order to work with relative reality, we have to MOMENTARILY put something at the centre of the Universe. Sometimes it could be us and, sometimes, it could be an object, and sometimes it can also be other beings. We don't leave them at the centre, though, and can shift what takes the central postition. In this way, We begin to work on incorporating all aspects of our sentient world and we become more flexible and more in control of what we put and what we keep at the centre of our focus.
Once we have developed this balance, then we can more thoroughly and completely examine our interconnection with ALL aspects of the world around us. This leads to our recognition of the combination of uniqueness and yet total interconnection that exists with ourselves and all other beings.
We begin to get a sense of everything that others provide for us. Because of this, we develop the desire to show our gratitude towards them and to repay others for the benefits that we get from them, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The result is loving-kindness or the desire for others to be happy and content.
Within our own struggles to get this far and while becoming aware of all of the suffering and miserable mind-states that impede ourselves and other beings from expanding their own Contentment, Patience, and Understanding, we develop Compassion; desiring everyone to be far removed from suffering mind-states and suffering-filled existences.
These sentiments, plus our tendency to be more open and flexible due to our insight into selflessness, cause us to practice Generosity as our openness to others increases and our resolve to remove the suffering of others strengthens. We work towards providing all beings that we meet with the experience of Contentment, Tolerance, and Understanding and the resulting Peace, and Joy, so that our entire world can be filled with the qualities of the Buddha.
Because of this, we begin to work on developing the 6 Perfections of Generosity, Morality, Patience, Perseverance, Concentration and Wisdom. Ordinary appearances begin to disappear and we start to completely experience reality in its selfless and interdependent nature. Everything becomes an expression of various degrees of Buddhahood.
This mind state is called Bodhicitta or the "Mind" (citta) of "Awakening" (Bodhi). Even though it is mostly translated this way, I prefer to translate "citta" as "Heart" making reference to the location of the primary mind in Buddhism. This changes the term "Bodhicitta" into the english term "Heart of Awakening" or "Awakened Heart". This makes the translation less sterile and academic, and brings out the emotional connection to Joyfulness that is inherent in the Awakened Heart. Through this process we begin cultivating an Awakened Heart which includes the desire to become a Buddha not just to free ourselves, but out of a strong desire to help all beings become free from suffering. The Buddha has said that it is impossible to achieve the ultimate fruit of Buddhahood without developing Bodhicitta and Compassion.
With the Insight Stage, we begin the portion of the path where developing one side of practice strengthens the other side of practice. As we gain a better perception of our own true nature and the true nature of our world, then our Equanimity, Loving-Kindness, Compassion, and Generosity increase. As we work towards developing Equanimity, Loving-Kindness, Compassion, and Generosity, our perception of our own true nature and the true nature of our world becomes clearer.
As we progress through the Insight stage, we become more freed of throwing karma, which is caused by self-grasping. The way that we view ourselves and our world is fresh in each moment and our thought, speech, and action are more deliberate and skillful. We become deliberate players in the Karmic game, both for ourselves and others, instead of being propelled by our habits and tendencies.
The tendency towards holding on to harmful parts of our relative self is greatly diminished at this point. Our ability to adopt the qualities that are conducive to Buddhahood and to helping others becomes strong as well.
Because of this, more and more, we become forces of virtue as opposed to non-virtue. We become forces for protecting life more than for taking life. We become forces for giving rather than taking, or worse, stealing. We become examples of morality and naturally shun immorality. We become promoters of truth instead of agents of deceit. We become reconcilers of others instead of creating disputes. We become encouragers rather than abusers and insulters. Our words become purposeful and valued and are no longer meaningless or useless.
Finally, by seeing how they reduce suffering and increase our sense of peace and joy, we work to spread Contentment and quell discontent and greed. We promote non-attachment and work to eliminate attachment. We develop Patience and work to eliminate frustration and anger. We promote Compassion and discourage cruelty and malice. We spread Confidence and work to eliminate doubt and fear. We promote Understanding and wisdom and work to resolve misunderstandings and eliminate ignorance and confusion.
After completion of the Insight stage, there is no chance of rebirth in the lower realms and we have control over our future rebirth. But getting to that point starts with developing and perfecting the qualities of Equanimity, Loving-Kindness, Compassion, and Generosity.
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