Wisdom of the Kadam Masters

Thupten Jinpa, Thupten Jinpa

• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781614290650
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhismus

Wisdom of the Kadam Masters is the second volume in the Tibetan Classics series, which aims to make available accessible paperback editions of key Tibetan Buddhist works drawn from Wisdom Publications' Library of Tibetan Classics. The phrase "Kadam masters" evokes for many Tibetans a sense of a spiritual golden age--the image of a community of wise yet simple monks devoted to a life of mental cultivation. These eleventh- and twelfth-century masters were particularly famed for their pithy spiritual sayings that captured essential teachings in digestible bites. In these sayings one unmistakably detects a clear understanding of what comprises a truly happy life, one that is grounded in a deep concern for the welfare of others.Like the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Lao Tzu, or Rumi, the teachings contained in Wisdom of the Kadam Masters can be approached as a part of the wisdom heritage of mankind, representative of the long history of the long human quest to understand our existence and its meaning. This volume offers some of the most beloved teachings of the Tibetan tradition.

PART I

Sayings of the Kadam Masters

WISE WORDS

Sayings of the Kadam Masters is a unique collection of pithy statements uttered by Tibetan teachers containing spiritual advice and reflections on life, mental cultivation, and the Buddhist quest for true enlightenment. These sayings, which are attributed to some of the greatest spiritual masters of Tibet, cover a wide range of themes of deep interest to spiritual aspirants, such as:

• The balance between individual cultivation and compassionate action in the world

• The balance and dynamic relationship among study, critical reflection, and meditation

• The relationship between wisdom and compassion

• The cultivation of greater self-awareness, especially in relation to our thoughts and emotions

• The principles of nonattachment and nongrasping

• The contemplation of death and impermanence

• The practice of self-discipline

• The way to bring the teaching of no-self into actual lived experience

• The way to integrate our outlook with contemplative practice and action in the world—a triad referred to as “view, meditation, and action”

• Contemplative practices aimed at developing the four immeasurable thoughts of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity

Like the “Sayings of the Desert Fathers” of the early Christian church, these sayings of the Kadam masters have stood the test of time and have continued to provide a deep source of inspiration to seekers of truth. The essence of these teachings, beyond their specific cultural and temporal provenance, continues to resonate poignantly even in today’s fast-paced technological age. If anything, these teachings are even more relevant today, because they provide contemporary people facing complex challenges and endless distractions a glimpse into the space of tranquility, contentment, and deep connectedness that the human mind is capable of. Indeed such inner cultivation may be vital for the survival of the human race.

Ever since their emergence in the Land of Snows during the first century of the second millennium, the teachings of the Kadam masters have not only nurtured the spiritual aspirations of so many seekers of truth, they have shaped and defined the spiritual aspirations and sensibilities of an entire civilization. From the eleventh century onward, every Tibetan work of spiritual instruction, especially those relating to the cultivation of universal compassion and the bodhisattva’s altruistic ideal, or of philosophical enquiry into the nature of ultimate wisdom has been thoroughly informed by the teachings of the Kadam masters. Whether they are the writings of Gampopa (a founding father of the Kagyü lineage), Sakya luminaries such as Sakya Paṇḍita, Ngülchu Thokmé Sangpo (author of the famed Thirty-Seven Verses on the Bodhisattva Practice), the great Nyingma teacher Longchenpa, or Tsongkhapa (founder of the Geluk school), all subsequent great Tibetan teachers owe a deep debt to the wisdom and teachings of the Kadam masters.

Chegom Sherap Dorjé, also known as the adept Chegom, originally put together our present text in the twelfth century. In his editor’s colophon to the collection, Master Chegom writes, “Here, the monk Chegom has briefly collected and compiled the sayings of the Kadam masters, which represent the heart advice of the sublime teachers of Master Atiśa’s lineage that had previously been scattered.” When I was a student monk at Ganden Monastery in South India, my personal teacher Kyabjé Dzemé Rinpoché gave me a traditional xylograph copy of the Scattered Sayings. It was a woodblock edition printed at the famous Shöl Printing Press in Lhasa. Since then this short text has been one of my most cherished works, a text that I always keep coming back to. I will often select a random passage from the text and read it in the morning as a thought for the day.

Chegom was an important Kadam master in his own right. He was a principal disciple of Jangchup Nangwa, who was in turn a student of Master Potowa. In the history of Tibetan spiritual literature, however, Chegom is honored more for his authorship of a trio of texts collectively referred to as “the three heaps”: (1) the Jewel Heap of Teachings through Similes, a lucid commentary on a root text composed by Master Potowa, (2) the Jewel Heap of Pith Instructions, a unique text weaving the Kadam instructions with the Mahāmudrā teachings, and (3) the Jewel Heap of Practices, a work no longer extant. Among his writings there is also a beautiful and moving work in verse entitled Lamp for the Fortunate Ones, a collection of advice for hermits living a way of life dedicated to single-pointed meditative practice.

The Scattered Sayings text is structured around three clusters, the first two dedicated to the sayings of the founding fathers of the Kadam tradition—Atiśa and Drom—followed by selected sayings from other Tibetan masters of the Kadam lineage—the immediate disciples of the founding fathers, such as Master Gönpawa and the three Kadam brothers (Potowa, Chengawa, and Phuchungwa), and second-generation Kadam teachers like Neusurpa and others.

It appears that other additions were made to the collection soon after its original compilation. The first was a cluster of sayings particular to Master Kharakpa organized in numerical sets as compiled by his disciple Geshé Lhopa. Later a selection of sayings by Master Chegom, the editor of our original collection, appears to have been added to the text. It is difficult to determine based on the material available when this final piece was added.

SAYINGS OF THE KADAM MASTERS

Compiled by Chegom Sherap Dorjé

Herein lie the scattered sayings of the sublime masters
of Kadam. Respectfully I pay homage
to the sublime teachers.

1. The Sayings of Master Atiśa

ONCE WHEN the great master Atiśa, the sole lord, visited central Tibet, his three disciples Khutön, Ngok, and Dromtönpa¹⁰ asked the following question: “Atiśa, in order for a practitioner to attain liberation and the state of omniscience, which is the more important of the two—the sutras and their commentarial treatises or the teachers’ essential instructions?”

Atiśa replied, “Essential instructions are more important than the treatises.”

When asked, “Why?” he replied, “Even if one can recite the three baskets of scripture by heart and is versed in the definitions of all phenomena, at the time of actual meditative practice, if one lacks the application of the [essential instruction of the] teaching, the teaching and the person will remain separate from each other.”

They then reported, “If one were to thoroughly condense the way to apply the essential instructions of the teachers, it appears to be abiding in the three vows and striving in the virtues through one’s three doors. Is this not so?”

Atiśa responded: “Even if you abide in accord with the three vows and remain pure, as long as your mind is not disenchanted with the three realms of cyclic existence, you will create the conditions for turning the wheel again. Also, even if you strive through your three doors in the virtues both day and night, if you lack the knowledge of how to dedicate them toward full awakening, they will be eroded through some distorted conceptualization. Even if you are a learned scholar, a disciplined practitioner, a teacher, or a meditator, if you fail to turn your thoughts away from the eight mundane concerns, whatever you do will be directed toward the goals of this life, and you will fail to find the path toward the future.”

Again, Khutön, Ngok, and Dromtönpa asked Atiśa, “Of all the teachings of the path, which is the best?” The master replied:

The best learning is realizing the truth of no-self.

The best discipline is taming your mindstream.

The best excellence is to have great altruism.

The best instruction is the constant observation of your mind.

The best antidote is the recognition that everything is devoid of intrinsic existence.

The best conduct is that which is at odds with the mundane world.

The best higher attainment is the lessening of your mental afflictions.

The best sign of higher attainment is a decrease in your attachment.

The best giving is the absence of possessiveness.

The best morality is a tranquil mind.

The best forbearance is to uphold humility.

The best joyful perseverance is to be able to let go of the endeavor.

The best concentration is the uncontrived mind.

The best wisdom is to make no identification of “I am” with anything.

The best spiritual tea...