MEDITATION ON OUR DETERMINATION TO ENGAGE IN THE ACTUAL PATH TO LIBERATION, THE THREE HIGHER TRAININGS
THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEDITATION
Encourage ourself to engage in the actual path to liberation, the three higher trainings.
In Sutra of the Four Noble Truths Buddha says, ‘You should practise the path.’ - an inner path, a spiritual realization that leads us to the pure happiness of liberation and enlightenment.
These trainings are called ‘higher’ because they are motivated by renunciation. They are therefore the actual path to liberation that we need to practise.
The nature of moral discipline is a virtuous determination to abandon inappropriate actions. When we practise moral discipline we abandon inappropriate actions, maintain pure behaviour and perform every action correctly with a virtuous motivation. Moral discipline is most important for everybody in order to prevent future problems for ourself and for others. It makes us pure because it makes our actions pure.
Moral discipline is like a great earth that supports and nurtures the crops of spiritual realizations. Without practising moral discipline, it is very difficult to make progress in spiritual training. Training in higher moral discipline is learning to be deeply familiar with the practice of moral discipline, motivated by renunciation.
The nature of concentration is a single-pointed virtuous mind. For as long as we remain with this mind we will experience mental peace, and thus we will be happy. When we practise concentration we prevent distractions and concentrate on virtuous objects. It is very important to train in concentration, as with distractions we cannot accomplish anything. Training in higher concentration is learning to be deeply familiar with the ability to stop distractions and concentrate on virtuous objects, with a motivation of renunciation.
The practice of moral discipline prevents gross distractions, and concentration prevents subtle distractions; together they give rise to quick results in our Dharma practice.
The nature of wisdom is a virtuous intelligent mind that functions to understand meaningful objects such as the existence of past and future lives, karma and emptiness.
Worldly intelligence is deceptive, whereas wisdom will never deceive us. It is our inner Spiritual Guide who leads us to correct paths, and it is the divine eye through which we can see past and future lives, and the special connection between our actions in past lives and our experiences in this life, known as ‘karma’.
The subject of karma is very extensive and subtle, and we can understand it only through wisdom. Training in higher wisdom is learning to develop and increase our wisdom realizing emptiness through contemplating and meditating on emptiness with a motivation of renunciation.
At this point we should know that persons, phenomena, samsara, nirvana, suffering and happiness exist because they have a function. However, the persons, phenomena, samsara, nirvana, suffering and happiness we normally see or perceive do not exist because they are mistaken appearances and false objects that are not real objects of knowledge. From this we can understand that there is no contradiction between meditating on renunciation or compassion and meditating on selflessness, or emptiness.
The three higher trainings are the actual method to attain permanent liberation from the suffering of this life and countless future lives. This can be understood by the following analogy. When we cut down a tree using a saw, the saw alone cannot cut the tree without the use of our hands, which in turn depend on our body. Training in higher moral discipline is like our body, training in higher concentration is like our hands, and training in higher wisdom is like the saw. By using these three together, we can cut down the poisonous tree of our self-grasping ignorance, and automatically all other delusions – its branches – and all our suffering and problems – its fruits – will cease completely. Then we will have attained the permanent cessation of the suffering of this life and future lives – the supreme permanent peace of mind known as ‘nirvana’, or liberation. We will have solved all our human problems and accomplished the real meaning of our life.
THE OBJECT OF THIS MEDITATION
Our determination to practise the three higher trainings. We should learn to develop this determination through contemplating the above explanation of the purpose of this meditation. When, through this contemplation, a firm determination to practise the three higher trainings develops in our heart, we have found the object of this meditation.
THE ACTUAL MEDITATION
From our heart we should think:
Since the three higher trainings are the actual method to attain permanent liberation from the suffering of this life and countless future lives, I must put great effort into practising them.
We hold this determination firmly and we remain on it single-pointedly for as long as possible. Through continually training in this meditation we will develop a spontaneous wish to practise the three higher trainings. This wish is the realization of this meditation. During the meditation break we should put our determination into practice.