Chapter 18 - The Three Dharma Seals Flashcards
enumerate:
Three Dharma Seals
- Impermanence
- Non-self
- Nirvana
Impermanence
1st Dharma Seal
11
- always changing
- more than an idea, but a practice to touch reality
- things change because causes and conditions change
- makes transformation a possibility
- impermanence : time just as non-self : space
- makes life possible, doesn’t necessarily cause suffering
- in good health with awareness of it we can take good care of ourselves
- we respect and value every moment and the precious things around us
- mindfulness of impermanence makes us fresher and more loving
- helps us appreciate fully what is there without attachment or forgetfulness
- enables us to love even more while they/it still alive/there
Non-self
2nd Dharma Seal
7
- we are made of non-us elements
- existence of every single thing is possible because of the existence of everything else
- nothing has a separate existence or a separate self, everything has to inter-be with everything else
- takes training to live with non-discriminative wisdom i.e. flower/mountain/garbage/parent is us
- seeing everything belongs to same stream of life, our suffering vanishes
- not a doctrine or philosophy but an insight we need to live deeply, suffer less and enjoy life more
- mothers are happy because we are and vice versa
Nirvana
3rd Dharma Seal
12
- ground of being, substance of all that is
- not absence of life
- ground of all that is - whereas impermanence and non-self belong to phenomena
- complete silencing of concepts, extinction of notions
- extinction, above all of ideas like birth/death, existence/non-existence, coming/going, self/other, one/many - Nirvana reached once all 8 concepts destroyed
- we need relative realities and notions of birth, death, being, non-being etc in our daily lives but if we touch life more deeply, reality reveals itself differently
- “a fan that helps us extinguish the fire of all our ideas, including ideas of permanence and self”- that fan is our practice of looking deeply every day
- pacifying, silencing, extinguishing
- not something to look for in the future
- present in every teaching
- “we are already what we want to become”
- nirvana and aimlessness are one
enumerate:
Two Relevances
- Relevance to the Essence
- Relevance to the Circumstance
Relevance to the Essence
2
- essence = 3 Dharma Seals
- a teacher of the Dharma must speak according to the Buddha’s teachings on impermanence, non-self and nirvana
Relevance to the Circumstance
3
- a teacher sharing Dharma must say what fits the situation and mentality of those addressed
- if not fitting, it’s not true Dharma, even if it sounds like it
- don’t act like a tape player
enumerate:
Four Standards of Truth
- the Worldly
- the Person
- Healing
- the Absolute
the Worldly
1st Standard of Truth
2
- teachings offered in language of the world so as to be understood
- considers contemporary terminologies ex: Wednesday, ex: the Buddha says “I was born in Lumbini”
the Person
2nd Standard of Truth
- discourses’ words vary in accordance to needs and aspirations of listeners
Healing
3rd Standard of Truth
3
- the Buddha spoke to cure the particular illness of those he was addressing
- everyone has some illness
- when we speak to express healing, what we say will always be helpful
the Absolute
4th Standard of Truth
2
- expressed directly and unequivocally by the Buddha
- “speak what you know” is true even when some disagree or don’t believe it
ex: 15th century explorers saying world is round
enumerate:
Four Reliances
- on teaching not on person
- on discourses only in which the Buddha taught in terns of absolute truth
- on meaning and not on words
- on insight of looking deeply rather than on differentiation and discrimination
comment:
on teaching and not on person
1st Reliance
- we can learn even from a teacher who doesn’t practise everything he teaches so we don’t miss the chance to benefit from the Dharma
this is not a teaching of TNH
comment:
on discourses where the Buddha taught in terms of absolute truth (and not on those whose means are relative truth)
2nd Reliance
2
- could confuse Plum Village practitioners
ex: wrong view that 5MT are not worthwhile so we should read sutras instead - better to go from down-to-earth sutras to lesser so ones, more esoteric - it’s a process
this is not a teaching of TNH
comment:
on meaning and not on words
3rd Reliance
2
- understanding the Buddha’s teaching style and context and circumstances of particular teachings
- we won’t extrapolate inappropriately or use the Buddha’s words out of context
comment:
on insight of looking deeply rather than on differentiation and discrimination
4th Reliance
- but we must rely on discriminative as well as on non-discriminative wisdom knowing which of 4 Standards of Truth the Buddha is teaching
enumerate:
10 Ideas Nirvana Extinguishes
- birth
- death
- existence
- non-existence
- coming
- going
- self
- other
- one
- many
enumerate:
8 Concepts and 8 No’s
- birth (no birth)
- death (no death)
- permanence (no permanence)
- dissolution (no dissolution)
- coming (no coming)
- going (no going)
- one (no one)
- many (no many)
How does experience always go beyond ideas?
- teachings are only rich if we put them into practice in daily life
discriminative perception
- imagining barriers between self and others
Ground of Being
Nirvana
How is a sheet of paper’s story like my own?
4
- we think it/we belong(s) to realm of being
- nothing comes from nothing
- former lives: branch, sunshine, cloud
- we were already in our ancestors
Until what point should we practise?
2
- until we can see that each person is us, that we are not separate from others
- until we can see we are what we perceive
moment of dying = ?
moment of continuation
What is Lavoisier’s famous quote which explains the Buddhist view of birth and death and also exemplifies the Heart Sutra?
- “Rien ne se crée, rien ne se perd”
Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed
What is the insight of the Raft?
2
- the raft is not to be held onto as an object of worship
- it is an instrument for crossing over to the shore of non-being
Buddha: “The Dharma I offer you is only a raft to help you to cross over to the other shore”
What are two ways to understand the term Volitional Action?
- to live in order to experience pleasure for oneself alone or to oppress others
- to be present in order to help - boddhisattvas act here
Why can we not truly run away from home? Even if we tell no one where we are going?
2
- Because our store consciousness carries each seed of home in us
- Because we carry our families in us, nothing we can leave behind
enumerate:
Three Marks of Authentic Buddhist Teaching
- Three Dharma Seals
- Four Holy Truths (4NT)
- Noble Eightfold Path
What is the significance of the koan: What was your face before your parents were born?
2
- invitation to look deeply to identify ourselves in time and space
- insight: we were already here in many forms before birth
“Happy Continuation”
What distinguishes Nirvana from Impermanence and Non-self?
2
- Nirvana belongs to the ground of all that is
- Impermanence and Non-self belong to the world of phenomena
Did the Buddha teach that suffering is always present?
2
- No
- When it is, we have to identify it and take necessary steps to transform it
What should we do when we get into an argument with someone we love?
2
- we should close our eyes and visualise ourselves 100 years from now
- opening our eyes we’ll only want to hug them and acknowledge how precious each one of us is
What does Non-self tell us about happiness?
- happiness is not an individual matter
ex: the daughter should practise in a way that she can understand her mother better and her mother can understand her better
Why is much of our thinking unnecessary?
- many thoughts are limited and carry little understanding in them
What happens to the Dharma if we get caught in it?
- it becomes no longer the Dharma
Which of the Three Concentrations does the water and the wave analogy point to?
4
- all three, however it is useful to understand Nirvana
- a wave does not have to die in order to become water (water is wave; wave is water)
- we are also like that
- if you know how to touch the waves, you touch the water at the same time
Which of the Three Concentrations does the cookies-baking-in-the-oven analogy demonstrate?
3
- Non-self
- while baking in the oven, they spread out in heat wanting space for themselves yet made of same ingredients from same source
- when humans behave like this it causes a lot of suffering
How do we touch the jewels of the Buddha’s teachings fully?
2
- base practice on own experiences and life
- dig deep!
Can we say suffering is a basic element of existence?
3
- no, a common wrong view
- suffering is a feeling
- when we insist on something being permanent and having a self, we suffer
What does the story of the dog hit by a clod of stone, barking at it instead of looking around to see who threw it, illustrate?
4
- wrong view that many take of how impermanence makes us suffer
- idea that we want things to be permanent when they simply are not makes us suffer
- could also point to how an ordinary person caught in dualistic conceptions thinks the Five Aggregates are the cause of his suffering
- in fact the root of their suffering is his lack of understanding about impermanent , non-self and interdependent nature of the Five Aggregates
Which of the Three Concentrations does Tolstoy’s story of enemies A and B point to?
- Non-self
What do we touch when we touch Impermanence deeply?
2
- world beyond permanence and impermanence
- ground of being, seeing that which we call being and non-being are just notions
Nothing is ever lost; nothing is ever gained
How did the insight of no birth and no death
help the Buddha?
2
- he could become serene, peaceful and fearless
- so can we be liberated from fears and sorrow!
What is there in addition to no birth and no death?
- no non-being
According to Thiên Hôi, where can we touch the world of no birth and no death?
2
- right here in the world of birth and death
- especially if we touch them deeply
What can we understand from Thay’s exclamation: “Vive l’impermanence!”?
- thanks to impermanence we can change suffering into joy
When are birth or death OK?
- when we know they are only concepts in the mind
“My practice is non-action, non-practice and non-realisation” - how can we interpret this statement of the Buddha?
- what we seek does not lie outside of ourselves
