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The only cause of Nirvana
JaySon
Florida Veteran
in Philosophy
"When phenomena are individually analyzed as selfless and what has been analyzed is meditated upon, that is the cause of attaining the fruit, Nirvana. One does not go to peace through any other cause." -Buddha
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Do you know what that is from? It sounds a little different than the Pali phrasing, so I'm guessing it's Mahayana? Or maybe just paraphrased?
Not sure what sutra it's from, but the Dalai Lama quotes it at the beginning of a chapter in a book called How To See Yourself As You Really Are.
@person, I had found it intriguing and tracked it down to the Samadhiraja Sutra.
hmmm...nirvana is all embracing ....the interior and exterior is the place of rest.hmm...the fruit of nirvana ...is --personal glimps--relax in the middle of lifes karma. so meditation is helpful to discover nirvana , as we abide our mind is open to peace.and maybe realize nirvana was always present and available.the four noble truth...from dukkha to nirvana.we follow the footsteps of buddha...who untangle dukkha to discover nirvana.thank you buddha.
from a different angle.nirvana is ordinary . in mahayana,there is no nirvana for buddhas.posit a theory. discoverying nirvana,buddhas realize its the integral part of existence, there is no "escape". so they abide. the support is the dharmakaya,i like to call it the dharma-key-awe.
What exactly does 'individually analysed' mean in this context?
Analysed by the individual, one by one.
Phenomena are subjective.
But all phenomena are constructs, and as such, impermanent.
It sounds inspired by the Heart Sutra's gradual realization of the emptiness of dhammas, one by one.
A bit what is known in Western philosophy as via negativa and the traditional Sanskrit neti neti.
Take a look at a tree, for example. Your mind projects onto that tree the label "tree." Your mind doesn't see the interdependent nature of the tree, doesn't see that it's made up of the sunshine, of the soil, of the oxygen, of its branches, of its blooming flowers, of stardust, of elements that came from the Big Bang. The mind confuses the actual tree with the conceptual label "tree." It's almost dreamlike because your mind doesn't see the actual nature of the tree. It is stuck in the notion of a tree. It believes the label is the tree.
Your mind projects labels onto everything like that, and onto everyone. So the Buddha is saying you have to analyze objects and beings, see beyond the conceptual label your mind projects onto them, and meditate on this.
The Tibetans meditate on this by alternating between analytical meditation and single pointed meditation. They'll think about an object analytically until they feel insight has arisen then they'll focus single pointedly on the feeling of that insight the same way you focus on the breath in breath meditation. Once the feeling of insight begins to fade, they switch back to analytical meditation and repeat the process. They alternate back and forth.
The Tibetans meditate by alternating .. yes, but ONLY once they have mastered single-pointed meditation. Once they can focus on a visualization in all its complexity with no inner distractions from that focus for a lenth of time ... then they have mastered single-pointed meditation. Pema Chodron, with over 30 years as a Tibetan nun, says her mind still wanders. So I don't feel so badly about my own monkey-mind.
My own local Lama will not teach us analytical meditation until he feels we have mastered the single-pointed meditation sufficiently.
As for Nirvana, we will know it when we reach it. And we cannot reach it through intellectual wrangling. Meditate. Find a teacher to guide you. And continue (we are told) for several lifetimes.
It is sufficient, we are taught, to Practice so as to set strong imprints for Practice in our being ... so that in our next human rebirth, our karmas (imprints) will draw us to a lifetime in which we will be exposed to the dharma and can continue our work towards enlightenment.
This is what our we are taught.
If you start at the beginning of lam-rim you practice analytical and single-pointed meditation on topics such as Karma, Death, and Impermanence. Tranquil Abiding and Superior Seeing are higher trainings. That's why Je Tsongkhapa in Lamrin Chenmo taught them after. I'm not saying your teacher is incorrect, but he's incorrect according to Je Tsongkhapa's text.
that gif(t) is awesome and a lol.