Path of Realizations II
Since higher
realizations are built on more basic ones, how can we
expect to experience the finer details of deity
transformation if we haven’t succeeded in stabilizing the
most basic realizations in our minds? Flashes of a
realization come and go; they don’t stay with us for very
long. How can we establish these powerful states of mind so
deeply that they inform every single thing we do, waking
and sleeping? The Path of Realizations looks at these
questions through the material of the lam rim. We will
visit the technical meaning of each of the steps of the
path as defined by classical commentaries. Then we will
explore how these might feel if we were to experience them
in our everyday lives. Throughout the course, we will lead
a series of meditations on how to cultivate each stage of
the lam rim, starting from a truthful assessment of where
each of us is right now. We will work primarily from Chone
Drakpa Shedrup’s commentary on Lama Tsongkapa’s Brief Lam
Rim, which has never been translated into English before.
We will also rely heavily on other lam rims, such as Lama
Tsongkapa’s "Lam Rim Chenmo" and Pabongka Rinpoche’s
"Liberation in Our Hands."
In this course, we will spend the first two classes on
designing a structure for daily meditation practice on lam
rim. The next three classes begin the topic of guru
devotion. We’ll explore guru devotion through the lam rim,
but will also draw upon the wisdom of Western teachers who
have served Lamas and have some insight into the particular
places Westerners can go wrong.
Please click here for the downloads page for materials and
audio of completed classes.
