Awakening the Buddha Within _ Eight Steps to Enlightenment - Lama Surya Das [29]
THE DHARMA AS AN AGENT OF CHANGE
Buddhist philosophy tells us that there is a way to take charge, change direction, and peel away ignorance so that we can see with total clarity. The Dharma’s ancient, timeless message for you, the seeker, is that there is a tried-and-true method for refining your mind, heightening your awareness, and transcending your dependence on outer circumstances.
In Tibet it is taught that the Dharma has two elements, the Dharma of Transmission or classical teachings and the Dharma of Realization or direct experience.
The Dharma of Transmission
The primary doctrine of Buddhism is found in the actual words and teachings of the Buddha collected in the scriptures, known as sutras. Sutra, a Sanskrit word, was originally defined as “thread” or “string.” When inspiring phrases or words were put together, as the Buddha did, they were likened to a garland of flowers or rosary woven together by a common thread.
Soon after the Buddha’s death, five hundred of the Buddha’s enlightened disciples assembled the First Buddhist Council in order to recall the Buddha’s words and corroborate them with each other. One of Buddha’s principal disciples, Ananda, a cousin as well as his constant attendant, had been present for all of the Buddha’s teachings. At the council, Ananda and other monks well known for their amazing memory recited by heart all of the Buddha’s sermons. People who read the sermons of the Buddha for the first time often wonder why they begin with the phrase “Thus have I heard.” Tradition tells us that this is how Ananda began each of his recitations. The other enlightened disciples, many of whom had also been present for the Buddha’s teachings, also remembered what the Buddha had said; they made their slight corrections and gave their approval to the recitations. Once these recitations had received the approval of the council of five hundred senior disciples, they were regarded as sutras, the genuine words of the Buddha. Thus this fresh and living oral transmission has been passed down to us today, through an unbroken lineage from master to disciple, like an inheritance.
Many people ask whether there is a Buddhist “bible” or canon of Buddhist scriptures. For reference, here is a summary of the core teachings: Along with the sutras, the Buddha left behind numerous monastic vows and disciplines (known as the Vinaya) and treatises (known as the Abhidharma) that explain Buddhist psychology. These three collections of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings—Sutra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma—comprise the original Buddhist canon, known as the Tripitaka, which is translated as Three Baskets or collections. These are the original teachings of the historical Buddha, found in the Pali language in their earliest form.
Also included in the Dharma of Transmission are various essential works, texts, and commentaries by subsequent generations of Buddhist masters. Considered part of this are the later sutras and tantras, as well as the Mahayana sutras in Sanskrit. Also included are the esoteric, more mystical tantras, or non-dual treatises, taught by Buddha appearing in the guise of various meditational deities, in order to express the higher, non-dual Vajrayana teachings to beings of higher capacity. Thus came about all the eighty-four thousand teachings of the Buddha, subsumed in the Three Vehicles (or Yanas)—Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. These three cycles of teachings are often known as the Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel. These are the Three Great Buddhist Traditions, which have come to us today in the West principally through the emergent modern meditation practices of Vipassana, Zen, and Dzogchen-Mahamudra.
The First Turning or Cycle