Luminous Mind: The Way of the Buddha

356 Pages·1993·17.01 MB·English

by  Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche

Luminous Mind
The Way of the Buddha
Kalu Rinpoche
Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Luminous Mind

Luminous Mind
The Wcry of the Buddha
Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche
An Anthology of Teachings Compiled
Under the Direction of Lama Denis Tondrup
Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Translated from the French by Maria Montenegro
!
•
Wisdom Publications • Boston
WISDOM PUBUCATIONS
199 Elm Street
Somerville, MassachusettS 02144
Original French version:
La Voie du Boudhha: selon Ia tradition tibltaine
© &litions du Seuil 1993
© Wisdom Publications 1997
All rights reserved.
No pan of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photography, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system or technolo
gies now known or later developed, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library ofC ongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Karma-ran-byun-khyab-phrin-las, Khenpo Kalu.
[Voie du Bouddha. French]
Luminous mind : the way of the Buddha I Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche ; compiled by Denis
Tondrup; translated from the French by Maria Montenegro; foreword by His Holiness
the Dalai Lama.
p. em.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-86171-118-1 (alk. paper)
1. Spiritual life-Buddhism. 2. Buddhism-China-Tibet-Doctrines.
I. T ondrup, Denis II. Title.
BQ 7805.K378141996 96-24689
294.3'4-<ic20
ISBN 0-86171-118-1
11 10 09 08 07
9 8 7 6 5
Cover Art: Eleven-Faced, Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara; 15th c.; Western Tibet;
gouache on cotton; Robett Hatfield Ellsworth Private Collection.
Cover Photo: Couttesy of John Bigelow Taylor
All photographs of Kalu Rinpoche counesy of Sanje Elliott
Designed by: LJ-SAWLir"
Wisdom Publications' books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines
for the permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for
Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
Printed in the United States of America
ft- This book was produced with environmental mindfulness. We have elected to print this title
\I
o~ so% PCW recycled paper. As a result, we have saved the following resources: 23 trees, 16
million BTUs of energy, 2.060 lbs. of greenhouse gases, 8,549 gallons of water, and 1,098lbs. of solid
waste. For more information, please visit our web site, www.wisdompubs.org.
Contents
Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama xiii
Biographical Note
XV
The Quick Ripening oft he Desired Fruit
XIX
Preface xxi
Editor's Note xxiii
Acknowledgments
XXV
GENERAL INTRODUCTION:
THE UNITY OF THE DIFFERENT TRADITIONS
1 The Spirit of All Traditions 3
Understanding Our Actual Nature 3
2 The Basic Unity of All Traditions 5
Realization of Mind as the Origin of All Traditions 5
The Complementarity of Different Traditions 6
3 Buddhadharma 7
The Inner Science 7
The Transmission of Speech and Mind 8
PART ONE: MIND AND ITS TRANSFORMATIONS
Calling the Lama .from Afar 12
SECfiONONE:
MIND, REALITY, AND IllUSION
1 What Is Mind? 15
The Fundamental Paradox 15
In Search of Mind 16
2 One Mind, Two States 19
Enlightenment and Illusion 19
3 The Nature of Mind 21
Openness 21
Clarity 22
v
LUMINOUS MIND
Sensitivity 23
A Brief Meditation 24
4 Mind's Veils 27
The Veil of Ignorance 27
The Veil of the Basic Propensity 28
The Veil of the Passions 28
The Veil of Karma 29
Dharma: A Practice of Unveiling 29
5 The Game of Illusion 31
Karma 31
Samsara 31
Karma and Freedom 32
6 The Six Realms 37
The Hell Realm 37
The Hungry Ghost Realm 37
The Animal Realm 38
The Human Realm 38
The Jealous God Realm 38
The Divine Realm 39
7 TwoTruths 41
The Two Truths 41
Karma, Interdependence, and Emptiness 43
SECTION TWO:
THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF MIND: LIVES, DEATHS, REBIRTHS
1 Mind after Death 47
One Life or Many Lives? 47
Death and the Continuity of Mind 48
2 Birth and Death: Continuity of Illusion 49
Who Dies? Who Is Born? 49
The Five Aggregates of Individuality 50
3 From Life to Life: Transitions and the Bardo 53
Bardo 53
The Four Great Bardos 54
4 The Bardo of the Moment of Death 55
Outer Dissolution 55
Inner Dissolution 57
5 The Bardo of Emptiness 59
Lights and Deities 59
VI
CONTENTS
6 The Bardo of Becoming 61
The Body and the Mental World 61
The Moment of Rebirth 64
7 The Bardo of Birth to Death 6S
Gestation 6S
During Life 66
8 The Eight Consciousnesses and the Five Principal Elements 67
Alteration of the Elements in the Mind and Bardos 67
9 The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination 71
10 Practices at the Moment of Death 7S
Liberating Practices in the Different Bardos 7S
Wishes to Be Reborn in a Pure Land 77
11 Human Life and Its Problems 81
The Three Kinds of Suffering 81
The Main Kinds of Human Suffering 82
12 Human Life: Using It Well 8S
13 On the Urgency of Practice 87
PART TWO: THE PATH OF LIBERATION
Beseeching the Lama to Shower Blessings 90
SECfiONONE:
A GENERAL OVERVIEW: THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES OF DHARMA
1 The ThreeTu rnings of the Teaching 93
The Turnings and the Yanas 94
The Characteristics of Each Vehicle 9S
2 The Three Vehicles: Complementarity and Unity 97
Three Methods 97
Complementarity and Progression 98
SEcnoNTwo:
THE HINAYANA: PATH OF DISCIPLINE
1 The Path of Discipline 103
The Discipline ofVows and Meditation 103
2 Refuge and the Three Jewels lOS
Faith lOS
Buddha 106
VII
LUMINOUS MIND
Dharma 106
Sangha 106
Taking Refuge 106
3 Karma and Outer Discipline 109
Negative Karma of Body, Speech, and Mind 109
Positive Karma of Body, Speech, and Mind 115
4 The Components and Results of Actions 117
Qualitative and Quantitative Differences 117
The Components and Results 119
5 The Karma of Meditation 121
SEcriON THREE:
THE MAHAYANA: PATH OF OPENING AND COMPASSION
Introduction: From Hinayana to Mahayana 125
1 Bodhicitta and the Bodhisattva Vow 127
The Different Aspects of Bodhicitta 127
The Bodhisattva Vow 128
2 Compassion 131
Three Levels of Compassion 131
Tonglen 132
Universal Love 133
The Eight Aspirations of a Great Being 135
3 Emptiness, Heart of Compassion 137
From Compassion to Emptiness 137
Emptiness: Twofold Selflessness 137
From Emptiness to Compassion 138
4 The Two Accumulations 141
The Accumulation of Merit 141
The Accumulation of Wisdom 141
5 The Six Perfections 143
Generosity 143
Discipline 145
Patience 145
Effort 145
Meditation 146
Transcendent Wisdom 146
6 Samatha-Vipa§yana 151
Meditation 151
Analytical and Contemplative Meditation 151
~ VIII