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What Else Is New at Learning from Buddha College and Seminary (LFBCS), April 20, 2024?

We finished our discussion of “consciousness” and the Five Aggregates in DCB22 with a mandate from the Buddha Master that we must immediately begin our cultivation, starting right where we are.

When Do You Begin Your Cultivation?

He told us that

The Buddha Master also told us that as long as we cultivate ourselves according to the Dharma, we can avoid painful karmic retribution.

With these instructions in our hearts we decided to take a break in just studying the text of Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra (ETATTTHS) and review the Buddha Master’s discourse at the end of that book on how to adopt the rules and methods of continual practice and focus on our cultivation. We switched to DCB26-How to Realize Prajna, Lessons 36-40. We will return to Lesson 11 and finish the rest of ETATTTHS later, but for now we will work on our practice.

Why Are Most People Unable to Reach the State of Prajna?

The Buddha Master told us in “How to Realize Prajna” that although many people know, study, and even practice the Prajna-Paramita Heart Sutra, very few are able to reach the state of prajna and be liberated from samsara.

The Buddha Master said:

What Is the Essence of the 84,000 Dharma Methods taught by Shakyamuni Buddha?

To put it explicitly, these Dharma methods

and solving the matter of cause and effect is cultivating yourself.

And What Then Is Cultivation?

This is, of course, the “retaining wall” that we were taught to construct when we studied The Dharma of Cultivation.

Why Doesn’t the Buddha Just Use His Great Supernormal Powers to Liberate Human Beings?

We will continue DCB26 with a discussion on Dharma practice and how to realize prajna at our April 27, 2024 ZOOM session starting at 9:00 am. We will consider various obstructions to practice, group initiations, benefits, karmic forces, Dharma Protectors, and more.

The recording of the April 20 DCB26 class is now available. You must be enrolled in DCB26 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.

April 20, 2024: Lesson 36.1-H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Imparts Buddha Dharma-Causality and the Rules and Methods of Continual Practice, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra-How to Realize Prajna, (1-17) and (HERE) for recording of class.

The recording of the April 20 DCB22 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.

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 SutraI, “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 SutraI, “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 SutraI, “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 SutraI, “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 SutraI, “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 SutraI, “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 SutraI, “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 SutraI, “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 SutraI, “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 SutraI, “Bodhisattva”,   (37-50) and (HERE) for recording of class.

February 17, 2024: Lesson 8BThe Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart SutraI, “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 SutraI, “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 6AThe 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 ZOOM discussions.

CLICK for course DCB21-Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra: Forwards, Introductions, & Title.

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Thus Have I Seen (and Heard) on zhaxizhuoma.org is a blog offered by Zhaxi Zhuoma for English-speaking followers and those interested in the teachings and activities of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Read more about this blog

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Most of the quotes from H.H Dorje Chang Buddha III posted on this blog are from unapproved translations and may contain errors. Likewise the contents of this blog have not been reviewed or approved by the Buddha and should be considered as reference material and not Buddha-dharma.

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