Session 7 - The Samadhi of Suchness

REVIEW OF PARTS 1 - 3

Part One - Eight Reasons for Writing

Part Two - Establishing the Meaning of Mahā-yāna

PART FOUR: Cultivating the Faithful Mind

Section 1 - Four kinds of commitment to faith:

• Faith in Suchness (i.e. the fundamental)
• Faith in the immeasurable merit of the Buddha
• Faith in the great benefit of the Dharma
• Faith in the correct practice of the Sangha

Section 2 - Five gateways of practice:

• Giving - according to capacity
• Moral Discipline - Observing the Precepts
• Patience - to endure vexation and not harbor feelings of revenge
• Vigor - a mind not slacken, overcoming the mundane affairs of Mara
• ‘Stopping & Observing ’ (i.e. śamatha and vipaśyanā) -
• “These two will be experienced together only by cultivating them gradually, without separating one from the other.”

THE SAMADHI OF SUCHNESS

• ‘Stopping’ / śamatha

“When cultivating calming, one stays in a quiet place, sits upright, and sets one’s thinking straight without dwelling on the breath, or on shapes or forms, on space, on earth, water, fire, or wind, until one even reaches a point where one does not dwell on sensory cognitive awareness. All thoughts, as soon as they are conjured up, are to be discarded, and even the thought of discarding them is to be put away, for all things are essentially in a state of transcending thoughts, and are not to be created from moment to moment nor to be extinguished from moment to moment.”

“As a result of this Samadhi of Suchness, a person realizes the oneness of the Dharma Realm, i.e. the sameness everywhere and nonduality of the Dharma Body of all the buddhas and the bodies of sentient beings.”

Ten Benefits of doing this Samadhi

• ‘Observing’ / vipaśyanā ”One who practices “clear observation” should observe that all conditioned phenomena in the world are unstationary and are subject to instantaneous transformation and destruction; that all activities of the mind arise and are extinguished from moment to moment; and that, therefore, all of these induce suffering. One should observe that all that had been conceived in the past was as hazy as a dream, that all that is being conceived in the present is like a flash of lightning, and that all that will be conceived in the future will be like clouds that rise up suddenly. One should also observe that the physical existences of all living beings in the world are impure and that among these various filthy things there is not a single one that can be sought after with joy.”

“After reflecting in this way, they should pluck up their courage and make a great vow.”“

‘Yoga’

“Whether walking, standing, sitting, lying, or rising, one should practice both śamatha and vipaśyanā side by side.”

“For these reasons, both śamatha and vipaśyanā are complementary and inseparable. If the two are not practiced together, then one cannot enter the path to enlightenment

The upaya (expedient means) of being mindful of and visualizing Amitabha Buddha