We finished the entire LFBCS course DCB22 with Lesson 14 and our study of the meaning of the terms suffering and adversity and the nature of the ten kinds of suffering. You should read or listen to these teachings to fully understand them. The following questions and quotes from the text represents part of this teaching as contained in the preliminary translation we have:
What does it mean to “be outside the three spheres”?
“Being outside of the three spheres [desire, form, and formless] refers to going beyond the three spheres. These beings include those who have realized the fruit of Arhatship and those who are Bodhisattvas. They are holy ones who are not in the realm of the Four Dhyana Heavens, the realm of ordinary beings, or the palaces of the asuras. They are outside of the three spheres.”
Is there still suffering outside the three spheres?
“There are affliction-free sufferings outside of the three spheres. Although those outside of the three spheres have cut off and are free from the afflictions, suffering nonetheless exists there. Why does suffering exist there? It is because they still experience the sufferings of having a body in cyclic existence, and the sufferings and adversities associated with the samsara of inconceivable transformation. To attain Buddhahood, a Bodhisattva must still arouse great bodhicitta, must come to this earthly world, and must go to all worlds that have living beings to save living beings. . . However, going to all worlds that have living beings to save living beings involves the problem of reincarnating, the problem of taking on a life. There is pain and suffering associated with taking on a life by reincarnation. Such pain and suffering prove the existence of karmic forces created in the past since beginningless time. These karmic forces also must be removed. If there is no pain or suffering, if everything is perfect, then one is already a Buddha. In such case, there would no longer be the need to apply once again the power of one’s vow to reincarnate for the purpose of accumulating virtue and carrying out meritorious deeds. All Bodhisattvas must reincarnate.“
In Lesson 14A we learned that the “samsara of inconceivable transformation” is the cyclic existence of Bodhisattvas from the time they are freed from the body of reincarnation in the three spheres to the time they attain Buddhahood.
What does the term “suffering and adversity” mean in this context?
“Any reincarnation entails being born and growing up. It entails being in the midst of impermanence and being unable to break away from the constraints of the state of impermanence. It entails arising, existing, decaying, and vanishing. It also entails death because the body that one reincarnated into is a combination of the four great elements and a gathering of living beings. Thus, there are the adversities associated with the samsara of inconceivable transformation. . . The term “suffering and adversity” here in the sutra means suffering and hardship, or suffering and difficulty. The word “adversity” here denotes encountering bad luck, the worst kind of luck. The term “suffering and adversity” here means suffering and hardship. . . As the Buddha said, all conditioned dharmas in the world and the self-imposed distress one experiences from what the body and mind feel are suffering.“
What are the ten kinds of suffering listed in the Sutra of the Bodhisattva Canon.
“Those ten kinds of suffering are (1) the suffering of birth, (2) the suffering of aging, (3) the suffering of sickness, (4) the suffering of death, (5) the suffering of worry, (6) the suffering of resentment, (7) the suffering of feelings, (8) the suffering of sorrow, (9) the suffering of distress due to illness, and (10) the suffering of transmigrating through births and deaths.“
We also discussed the nature of the Bardo, miscarriage, and other aspects of suffering.
Next:
There will be no Saturday class for the next two weeks. We will be starting a new class-DCB23 at our August 24, 2024 ZOOM session starting at 9:00 am discussing Lesson 15 “Sariputra, Form Does Not Differ from Emptiness; Emptiness Does Not Differ from Form. Form is Emptiness; Emptiness Is Form.” If you have enrolled in C41 or DCB22 you may continue to use the same ZOOM link to attend the Saturday morning discussions. You will need to enroll in DCB23 to be able to watch the video recordings of the classes or study the related questions.
TO DATE: DCB22-Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra: PART TWO–I and C41-Three Principal Stages & Paths of Buddhist Practice
The recording of the August 3 DCB22-Lesson 14B class is now available. You must be enrolled in DCB22 in one of the membership programs at the LFBCS to access the course materials, questions covered (in parenthesis), and/or the class recordings. Please note that these links will only work if you are logged into LFBCS with your membership identification number AND are enrolled in this class. Please note that Lessons 6A and 6B are part of Course C41. The following lessons include all of the sessions included for this class.
“Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when practicing deeply the prajna-paramita, illuminated the five aggregates, saw that they are all empty, and crossed beyond all suffering and adversity.”
August 3, 2024: Lesson 14B-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “. . . and crossed beyond all suffering and emptiness.”, (285-300) and (HERE) for recording of class.
July 27, 2024: Lesson 14A-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “. . . and crossed beyond all . . .”, (271-284) and (HERE) for recording of class.
July 27, 2024: Lesson 13C-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “The Ten Illusory Things & The Eighteen Kinds of Emptiness”, (261-270) and (HERE) for recording of class.
July 20, 2024: Lesson 13B-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Time & The Ten Illusory Things”, (242-260) and (HERE) for recording of class.
July 13, 2024: Lesson 13A-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Time”, (240-241) and (HERE) for recording of class.
July 13, 2024: Lesson 12-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “. . . saw that they are all empty. . .”, (220-239) and (HERE) for recording of class.
July 6, 2024: Lesson 11D-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Four Great Elements, Death, & Dreaming”, (202-219) and (HERE) for recording of class.
July 6, 2024: Lesson 11C–The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Becoming a Good Person”, (193-201) and (HERE) for recording of class.
June 29, 2024: Lesson 11B-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Dual-Use/Two-body Dharma”, (181-192) and (HERE) for recording of class.
April 20, 2024: Lesson 11A.2-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Consciousness”, (171-180) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 30, 2024: Lesson 11A.1-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Consciousness”, (155-170) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 23, 2024: Lesson 10B-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Five Aggregates”, (144-154) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 16, 2024: Lesson 10A-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Five Aggregates”, (114-143) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 16, 2024: Lesson 9B.2-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Two Levels”, (108-113) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 9, 2024: Lesson 9B.1-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Two Levels”, (87-107) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 9, 2024: Lesson 9A.3-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Practicing Deeply”, (78-86) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 24, 2024: Lesson 9A.2-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Practicing Deeply”, (59-77) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 17, 2024: Lesson 9A.1-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Practicing Deeply”, (51-58) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 17, 2024: Lesson 8C-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Bodhisattva”, (37-50) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 17, 2024: Lesson 8B–The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Avalokiteshvara”, (31-36) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 10, 2024: Lesson 8A-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Avalokiteshvara”, (1-30) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 3, 2024: Lesson 6B-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra-Prajna(Wisdom) & Dhyana(Ta), (355-369) and HERE for recording of class.
January 20, 2024: Lesson 6A–The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra-Prajna & Dhyana(Ta), (317-354) and HERE for recording of class.
CLICK for article on the entire text of Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra.
CLICK for article with instructions on how to enroll in LFBCS classes and how to register for the 8 ZOOM discussions.
CLICK for article on the last class held on DCB21 and links to videos of all 18 ZOOM class discussions on DCB21 held from November 2022 to April 2023. Note: not all of the forwards, notes, and introductions are complete.
CLICK for article on last class held on DCB26 and links to videos of all 8 ZOOM class discussions held on DCB26 held from April 2024 to June 2024.
CLICK for Background information on Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra and why it is such an important text.
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