Sutra
Wednesday August 16, 2023
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Sutra, Ten Perfections, Bön, teachings, Fruit, Meditation, View, Tantra, Dzogchen, practice, natural state, Buddhism, Buddhahood, Tibet, Masters, Triten Norbutse monastery.
Tashi Delek,
First of all, I would like to say a big thank you to the people who have looked at my recent two previous posts about Dzogchen and Tantra.
Today I will talk about Sutra. This is our third week.
For the last two weeks I have clarified Dzogchen and Tantra. Now, as I’ve said many times before, these summaries are not meant to be overly detailed. However, they are brief, summarized explanations. They can be helpful to people that have some experience in the practice of Dzogchen or Tantra. It is also suitable for beginners who are just starting out.
I want to help you understand exactly what Dzogchen and Tantra are. What their principal ideas are. And because many people have read my two previous short teachings here, I will carry on.
Today’s discussion is about Sutra. Especially Sutra in the context of the Bön lineages. As you already know, I have studied in Bön and received ordination as a teacher of the Bön teachings. I have also studied the Sutra from the Buddhist system. But mainly Sutra from the Bön tradition. So, I’ve studied both of these traditions. And today our focus will be on Sutra teachings from the Bön perspective.
As I have told you, in the Bön tradition, in Bön in particular, there are three categories: Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen.
In the ancient past, someone stated that these three categories have different views, different ideas, different knowledge, different practices, and different meditations, but the result is the same. This is someone who said this, you know, in ancient times. Some Masters have also made this assertion. This perspective is still very widespread in our time as well. I have come across that ideology in Buddhism, you know. And a lot of Buddhist practitioners have this belief. The Buddhist Masters will say something such as this: Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen have the same fruit. But, in Bön tradition, that is exactly the opposite.
The teachings we study, what we learn, and what we acquire from our Bön Masters, I have received as well. What I am telling you about the Bön teachings, isn’t only because it was passed down to me. I investigated it myself and also went through in-dept examination of these within myself, you know. As a result, I have been forming my own opinions. The matter isn’t just from my perspective, not based merely on personal beliefs. But this knowledge, this understanding about these Bön teachings come from my Masters and are founded on the instructions I follow. This is totally different, you see.
Which makes Bön totally different. As I have told you, in the Bön tradition, in Bön in particular, there are three categories: Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen. This actually means that Sutra is much lower than Tantra. And Dzogchen is much higher than Tantra. Therefore, Dzogchen is much higher than Sutra, and not only does it have higher view, higher activity, higher meditation but, it also has higher fruit. Which is a huge difference. Let’s put it this way, it’s totally different.
Now, suppose someone’s talking about the View. Within the three paths in Bön, the View in Sutra, the View in Tantra, and the View in Dzogchen are totally different. And so, it goes.
Of course, emptiness is sometimes mentioned in both, the Tantric practices and in Dzogchen. Both have references to the natural state of the mind. Which is the same thing, but… There’s a big difference when you go into details. These are very important things that I have to tell you, you know. Because that’s what everybody who’s starting out needs to understand these. These are the main ideas.
Now, if you think, “Oh! These are the same, just slightly different ideas.” But then, why should the fruit be the same? And what about seeking Buddhahood? Seeking to become a Buddha? I think this is a real problem, you know. And it would be totally the wrong way to practice the teachings if you are a follower of the Bön tradition.
So, along those lines, some people say that Sutra also aspire to Buddhahood, at becoming Buddha. And Tantra would also focus to develop into Buddha. And Dzogchen would then be to attain the Buddha. Actually, what they’re saying about Buddha, through their rhetoric, through their words, all that seem to have a steady meaning. But the principle of it, their idea of what Buddha means, it’s completely different. The reason lays because their causes are different. To put it in a nutshell: when you have different causes, you have different fruits. It is not even possible to have different causes and get the same fruit.
So, the cause here is the Ten Perfections. Those are the main causes of Sutra. And the twofold stages are the main causes of becoming Buddha through the Tantric practices. And natural state is achieved from practicing consistently. Practice to become familiar with the natural state, is the only cause of becoming Buddha in the Dzogchen system way. And that is one thing.
Now let’s talk a little bit more about thoughts, concepts that are the causes of Buddhahood in Sutra and in Tantra.
But first, keep in mind that it is totally different in Dzogchen. When you have the cause of thoughts. Good thoughts or bad thoughts. Whatever your thoughts are. Thoughts, when they arise, bear no fruit in the Dzogchen system. Dzogchen is always beyond thought. Beyond concept. If you have concept, there is no fruit, thus there is no real meditation of Dzogchen. That is one thing.
Now, on the Sutra topic.
The Sutra is a very extensive topic, you know. For over fifteen years I have been studying Sutra. I studied for a few years in Tibet. And then I studied Sutra for another ten years while I was in Triten Norbutse, in Nepal.
Sutra is a big topic.
Sutra is unlike Dzogchen. In Dzogchen, the most important thing is to practice. If you look at numerous Dzogchen teachings, you’ll notice that the core idea in the teachings is always about natural state, you know. It all comes down to how you practice. How to become familiar with it. There are many, many different methods, and examples of practicing Dzogchen.
But as far as Sutra is concerned, it is not like that. Sutra is organized with one topic following another. Sutra teachings cover a wide range of topics concerning human existence, as well as how and what a human being is.
So, what I am saying here is Sutra is sort of a big topic. But when we look at the core idea. What exactly is Sutra, you know.
Last time, I gave you the fundamentals of what is Dzogchen, what is Tantra, and what is Sutra using a metaphor and examples. Today we are focusing on the Sutra path.
The Ten Perfections are the central principles of Sutra. The Ten Perfections is like the main practice. The main path of Sutra practice. It is not possible to practice Sutra without the Ten Perfections.
You also need to fully understand one more fundamental idea. There is an in-depth concept, there is a need for a concept in Sutra. You cannot practice Sutra without concepts, without thoughts. This is really, really essential. Sutra has many different practices. But there is always relative thought, with concepts. This is very important.
Another very important point. When you are practicing Sutra, it is done step by step, you know, step by step. There are five paths, and you have to do these paths in sequence. One step at a time, you delve into the more in-depth teachings. You can think of these steps like a staircase, you know, taking you up, stepwise, stepwise. You go higher with each step of the stairs.
Also, as I already stated, in Sutra, you have to refrain from some emotions, you try to stop them. The Sutra path teaches us to stop, to renounce some emotions. So, if we’re angry, we must stop that emotion and generate a different wisdom in our mind, like kindness. This is the central idea in Sutra.
So that will be all for today, I just wanted to give you some insights about the Sutra path.
In the last few weeks, we had an introduction to Dzogchen. Then we moved on to discuss Tantra. This week, our third week, we talked a little bit about Sutra.
But, beginning next week, I will provide more specific instructions starting next week. My upcoming lectures will no longer be summaries. Then I will continue with the explanations. We’ll eventually finish an entire book. And that will help many people.
Sometimes, I hear people suggest that one needs to achieve happiness. That you must grow in order to be happy. To remain content. But that is simply talking, just talking, talking.
So how do go about making it happen in your lifetime? So, you see, that is what is really important. How you process reality. How to go about it. Where do you even begin? How? Starting and end.
How it works. It is not just bliss… and peace… It doesn’t work like that. That’s what I’m saying.
We, therefore, need to know where to begin. And how to proceed. And once you have the understanding, you know, it is also on how to obtain the fruit. So, these are very important.
So, next week I’ll begin with instructions. Gradually. And it will be of help. I hope it will benefit a large number of people.
Thank you, Flavio from Brazil and Anne from Canada who are both assisting me with editing and website maintenance so that I can keep uploading my teachings here for the people.
These teachings are offered to you all, from the very bottom of my heart.
And I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude. I would like to say: Thank you very, very much. To everyone who has come to read my teachings here.
Thank you.
– Geshe Tenpa