April 23, 2024 #32
Text: Jikten Sumgön, The Great Drikung Teachings to the Assembly

Practice (not recorded)
Abundantly Bestowing All that Could Be Desired
Achi Sang Offering - Jikten Sumgon’s Dedication, pg.13, “… may I come under the care of virtuous spiritual friends…”, does not preclude our becoming a guide for others.

Teaching
From the Eighth Teaching

[Notes pending]
April 23, 2024 #32

Text: Jikten Sumgön, The Great Drikung Teachings to the Assembly

Practice (Not recorded)
Abundantly Bestowing All that Could Be Desired Achi Sang Offering - Jikten Sumgon’s Dedication.

Teaching
From the Eighth teaching – When Is One Ready to Transmit the Dharma?
One is ready to transmit the Dharma when one is able to meditate as explained in the previous section of the Eight Teaching. When the guru has introduced one to the nature of one’s own mind and recognition arises, this is still not enough. One must be able to stabilize that realization through regularity until one is no longer dragged around by sensory experiences, thoughts, or emotions.

16:23 Jikten Sumgon’s emphasis is that a teacher who is able to point out the nature of the mind must be one who has actually realized it. There are many teachers nowadays who claim directly or indirectly to be able to show the nature of the mind to students. Also, some who honestly say that they may not have realized the nature of the mind but will be able to be a tool to point out the nature of the mind through the student’s devotion and faith. Although it may sound hopeless to be able to truly find a teacher who is able to point out the nature of mind and to have the karmic connections to the teacher, Jikten Sumgon’s advice is actually an encouragement to those playing the role of a teacher to really work on experiencing the teachings themselves.

23:09 It’s good to be optimistic and inspired but one should not be too gullible to believe hearsays and claims of realizations and accomplishments. Don’t follow a salesman who will sell you anything in order to make a sale for the day and meet their quota.

24:18 Introduction to the Ninth Teaching – The Two Ways Formation, the Cause of Samsara, Can Be Abandoned

26:04 No matter how many millions of teachings that the Buddhas give or how you divide them into separate categories, their meaning only consists of two points: the arising of the three realms of samsara and the methods to abandon them. There are two methods to abandon them: through realization or through force.

28:04 The 5 skandhas (form, sensations / feelings, perceptions / recognition, mental formation, consciousness). Form is hardware and consciousness is software. When the eye (eye consciousness) sees color or form (object of sight), feeling arises and is divided into three types: painful , pleasurable, neutral. Perception then occurs leading to formations.

[Notes by Leonard Luar]