Page 1 of 1

A Sravaka Anchor for the Mahayana Moderns

Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:31 am
by Leo Rivers
One of the delights of studying the Yogacara is discovering the inclusive nature of the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra.

As a Mahayanist who took refuge with a Tibetan Lama in 1986 I can say without a doubt the sambhāra-mārga practices of the First (sravaka) Path namely the meditation on the impurities, (including the famous meditation on the corpse, and functional equivalent of the Four Thoughts that Turn the mind), the meditation on the breath combined with the four topics (which include the 37 actors of awakening), is just the grounding I have seen overlooked for 25 years.

No matter what rational you are given for the effectiveness of waiting for a bolt of insight out of the blue sky to shatter the Blasted Tower of your conceptual mind - working to transform the ground of your character is not a waste of time.

That is why I wanted to recommend this book:

Gethin, R. M.L. The Buddhist Path to Awakening: A Study of the Bodhi-Pakkhiya Dhamma. Oneworld, 2001.

It is profoundly methodical, and whether you view the 37 factors of Enlightenment as a sequential map of the path, a locator for your mind-qualities at any point in the path, or as the factors needed to be present at the moment of awakening - you will be getting it right. The discipline you get from pursuing this book will actually result in a kind of relaxation - you will have rehearsed a vocabulary of mental-qualities in enough different contexts that they become a music rather than a scaffolding. WARNING: I am not a scholar so I am unable to check his assertions against a solid back ground of knowing the field. I just got a lot from "moving in" to this book on and off for a month in daily sessions.


Image
http://www.amazon.com/The-Buddhist-Path ... 1851682856

I also found this:



Abstract of the Thesis Entitled The Sarvāstivāda Doctrine of the Path of Spiritual Progress
A study of the Sarvāstivāda conception of the Buddhist path.


http://www.scribd.com/doc/93319569/The- ... s#download :buddha2:

Re: A Sravaka Anchor for the Mahayana Moderns

Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 10:38 pm
by Dechen Norbu
Thank you for the suggestion, Leo. Sharing your opinions is greatly appreciated.

Re: A Sravaka Anchor for the Mahayana Moderns

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:45 am
by lobster
working to transform the ground of your character is not a waste of time.
Exactly so. Without a template of expression, we are likely to expound in a manner befitting our inner nature. So we change the outer as a vehicle for the inner to shine from.

Seems like a plan :anjali: