Understanding the Lamrim - A discussion

[Q]

Dear all,

I have always wanted to study the Lamrim but I live in a place where there's no Buddhist schools that can offer such indepth knowledge. I have read dorjeshugden.com for many months now and I must say, one of my favorite Lamas is Pabongkha Rinpoche.

I am not too bright of a person, just an average when it comes to learning capacity. But I do not believe that I will not be able to learn the Dharma, just because I'm not intelligent. Buddha gave us 84,000 teachings, I'm sure there is one teaching in there that I can practice.

From what I read, I think that Pabongkha Rinpoche has skilfully gave the commentary on Lamrim, it was so good that it brought him up in fame when it comes to understanding the Dharma. I also heard that when Pabongkha Rinpoche was in the monasteries studying, he was not an extremely 'bright' scholar, but when it came to understanding and practice, he was number one... and it is shown in his discourse of the Lamrim which was written by Trijang Rinpoche.

What I'm asking here is:
How do I start reading the Lamrim?
How will the Lamrim help me in my practice of spirituality?
Will I make any progress at all since I do not have a Guru near me?

Thank you for reading and I would be glad if anyone that is well versed in the Lamrim due to them having the fortune to learn from your Guru, please do share it here with me (and everyone else) to learn.

[Big Uncle]

Hi Q,

I am not an expert in the Lamrim but I have read most of the chapters once and have a sketchy understanding of it. The Lamrim as the name goes, means graduated path or kinda like a ladder up towards enlightenment. What you need to do is to start reading from the very first chapters and move sequentially on.

There's no rush to master the whole book but it would be great if you master the very first chapter, which is on death and impermanence. That chapter alone is a very powerful teaching that can potentially transform your life. It is not an extremely difficult subject either but one must meditate and contemplate on it and after many deliberate contemplations and meditations, one would realize death and impermanence.

Before he started teaching, his teacher, Dagpo Rinpoche gave him a single teaching at a time and made sure Pabongka Rinpoche meditated on each teaching for months. When he gain a certain insight into that one teaching, he would return to his teacher. And his teacher would gauge his realization and if his teacher was dissatisfied with the outcome, he would tell Pabongka Rinpoche to continue meditating until he gain a more satisfactory realization. That's how Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche became enlightened and why he is able to enthrall his audience and students. He was not teaching from dry scholarly knowledge but teaching directly from his realizations. Isn't that amazing and inspirational?

[Q]

Hi Big Uncle,

Wow! That's amazing! I didn't know that about Pabongkha Rinpoche. Thank you for sharing. I suppose no wonder although he was not an excellent scholastic student, but when it comes to indepth transformation through actual realizations... he is at the top of the list!

Thank you for your advice. I have read until the part on Atisha's life, and I found it extremely interesting. Is there any pointers that you can tell me of which I should know about specifically about Atisha's life?

[Tenzin K]

I’m sure common to many people who practice within the Gelug tradition or are familiar with it, there’s a familiarity with the term “lamrim”, the gradual stages to enlightenment teachings. For most practicing within gelug, studying, contemplating, and meditating on this is a lifetime practice.

Something interesting within the Dalai Lama’s book “The Path to Enlightenment” (1981, Pg 108), which is a commentary on Essence of Refined Gold, a classic lamrim text. He states that for many people, trying to understand karma is difficult because they have to rely heavily on scriptures to understand it. Having thorough understanding is very difficult unless someone has clairvoyance  or omniscience. Essentially, someone has to rely on an element of faith to understand karma at this stage.

Some recommendation for preparing for Lamrim study is to study Nagarjuna’s “The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way“, and Chandrakirt’s “Madhyamakavatar” or “Introduction to the Middle Way“. The Dalai Lama states that “this roundabout way of establishing the validity of karmic law is not perfectly sound, but it is sufficiently convincing to open our mind to the Four Truths to the degree that we are able to pursue further practice and attain deeper and more conclusive experiences.”

As part of the practice, one may read lamrim several times a year. Usually 3 in particular (Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, The Path to Enlightenment, and Practicing the Path), and rotate them, reading them over and over. I thought it might be good to put this on hold for the time being, and go back to Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti before diving back into the Lamrim. Maybe others would also be interested in looking into this? Here are some resources that might be helpful…
   

[Midakpa]

I've something to add to the story about Pabongka Rinpoche's guru, Dagpo Lama Rinpoche. His reincarnation, also called Dagpo Rinpoche was born in 1932. At the age of 26, he escaped from Tibet when the Chinese invaded the country and with the help of sponsors, he arrived in France. He has been in France for more than 50 years now.  In 1998, he published his autobiography entitled "Le Lama Venu du Tibet" (The Lama from Tibet). In the book, he talked about his meetings with Pabongka Rinpoche when he was still in Tibet. He met Pabongka Rinpoche for the first time in 1939, in Lhasa. On seeing his guru's incarnation, Pabongka Rinpoche stood up and cried. On his private altar, there was a huge gold statue of Dagpo Lama Rinpoche and in front of it, a silver cup full of tea. Everyday, he would offer tea to his guru. 

Pabongka Rinpoche was short and huge, his body was round and he was always cheerful during his teachings. He never said a harsh word and never reprimanded his students who did not always pay full attention. He would make everyone relax by telling little anecdotes which Dagpo Rinpoche could remember easily. Every time Pabongka Rinpoche referred to his guru, he would join his hands above his head and cover almost his whole face with his robe to hide the tears that welled up in his eyes and he would instinctively stand up as a gesture of respect.  During prayers invoking the lineage gurus, when he recited the stanza on Dagpo Lama Rinpoche, Pabongka Rinpoche would again join his hands over his head.

He was very respectful of books and would never turn the pages with a finger wet with saliva. He would place next to him a cup of saffron-coloured water to wet his finger. His teachings had an extraordinary power that subdued his students. He loved to joke and tease his students. One day he took a zhi mala and brandished it in front of Dagpo Rinpoche, laughing at his own joke.

When Dagpo Rinpoche was 10 years old, the abbot of the Dagpo Datsang monastery asked Pabongka Rinpoche to give lessons on the lamrim to the boy. Pabongka Rinpoche was scheduled to give teachings to 3000 people and Dagpo Rinpoche was supposed to join the group.

Dagpo Rinpoche arrived in Dagpo Datsang several days late for the teachings, but Pabongka Rinpoche    immediately told Dagpo Rinpoche his decision, saying that "the incarnation of Dagpo Lama Rinpoche must receive for the first time the entire lamrim teachings." And there and then, he gave Dagpo Rinpoche several fundamental transmissions including the short lamrim entitled "Ode to Realisations" composed by Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelugpa school. After this, Dagpo Rinpoche joined the rest of the group and received lamrim teachings which lasted about a month. It was the first time Dagpo Rinpoche received teachings on the graded path to enlightenment.

Before Dagpo Rinpoche left for Bamtcho at the age of 13, Pabongka Rinpoche gave him advice, initiations and transmissions.  Many lamas and former abbots and former disciples of Dagpo Lama Rinpoche came to Dagpo Datsang to visit the young incarnation. After having taught Dagpo Rinpoche, Pabongka Rinpoche announced, "My first teaching of the lamrim, I received in this monastery from Dagpo Lama Rinpoche and now I have given it back to him." Pabongka was in fact saying goodbye to the monastic community. He passed away shortly after. He had come to Dagpo Datsang to confer the lamrim teachings to the incarnation of his guru who had taught him the lamrim. He wanted to pass on the torch to the community.

[Midakpa]

Dear Q,

Here are some useful tips:

Question: How to start?

To understand the Lamrim, you can start by reading some commentaries on it in order to know the content and  the topics of meditation. There are several lamrims that come with commentaries.

Some useful titles:

1. Tsongkhapa's Lamrim Chenmo by Geshe Lhundrup Sopa entitled "Steps on the Path to Enlightenment", Vol. 1 & 2.
2. "Path to Enlightenment" by H.H. the Dalai Lama
3. "Path to Bliss". A Practical Guide to Stages of Meditation by H.H. the Dalai Lama
4. "Joyful Path of Good Fortune" by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
5."Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment". Commentary by Geshe Sonam Rinchen

Question: How will the Lamrim help in your spiritual practice?

The Lamrim presents a range of paths and practices incorporating all Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings originating from the Buddha. Thus it is like a wish-fufilling jewel by which one can gain all levels of realizations. The Dalai Lama mentions four benefits of the Lamrim:

1. the various doctrines of Buddha will be seen as non-contradictory
2. the various teachings will be taken as personal advice
3. the thought of Buddha will easily be found
4. one will be held back from the great mistake of abandoning any aspect of the holy dharma

I suggest you study each lamrim topic well, meditate on it until you fully understand it and apply the practice in your daily life.

Question: Will I make any progress since I don't have a guru?

To ensure you have understood the topic you can discuss it here on the forum. I'm sure there will be fellow forum members, experienced in the lamrim teachings, who will be pleased to help you.

Good luck!

[buddhalovely]

One of the most wonderful things about a Lamrim practice is that it can take a wide range of forms which can suit anyone’s lifestyle, and flexible enough to fit even the most chaotic day!Lam-rim is what you should focus on your whole life, even while you are doing your job. You should keep your mind in this. It is the most meaningful, most profound practice, doing each action with the mind in bodhicitta. This should be your practice; this is what you should try to accomplish in life.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but here are my interpretations and results from I gained from my research.

To answer your questions:
How do I start reading the Lamrim?
Sit down quietly and start reading the Lamrim text out loud.
I think that you should aim to have a practice which you can maintain joyfully – if it starts to become a burden, just scale it back a bit until your capacity increases again.  That way you can always maintain a daily practice. Keep the mind in the lam-rim—guru devotion, renunciation of samsara, and bodhicitta. These things help you to not commit negative karma again. Every day, meditate on the lam-rim and keep it in your mind, even during break times from sitting meditation.

How will the Lamrim help me in my practice of spirituality?
The Lamrim makes your life most beneficial with the thought of bodhicitta.
There are so many practices, but the whole thing comes down to living your daily life with a bodhicitta motivation, putting all your effort in that, whatever you do. This way, your life isn’t wasted and becomes very full of joy and happiness, with no regrets later, especially when you die. Then, you can die with a smile outside and a smile in your heart.

Will I make any progress at all since I do not have a Guru near me?
I believe you can. The essence is to collect the most extensive merit in your daily life with the attitude of always keeping your motivation in bodhicitta, the thought to benefit all sentient beings. The more sentient beings you think about, the more merit you create. Try to think, whatever you do, 24 hours a day, of sentient beings: when you chant mantras, when you eat, go to sleep, when you go to work, and when you are talking; if you can, keep your mind in that thought. Then, with every action, you collect numberless merits. Not only is this how to have a happy, satisfying, fulfilling life every day, every moment, but especially it is best for the future, and not only for liberation from samsara, but for enlightenment.

[psylotripitaka]

Dear Q,

I have found The Meditation Handbook by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche is a short and very practical manual to have while studying extensive commentaries on Lamrim.

Above all though, the most important thing as the foundation of your study and meditation is to long to meet a qualified Guru, to pray that the Guru will manifest for you, and to make offerings and dedications for this to happen. When you do this, everything will come - the teachers, the practitioners, the teachings, the benefactors and means to travel to receive instructions, the realizations.

In reality, the Guru is always with you blessing you and delighting in your virtuous intentions. Though you may feel alone with a book, you are not alone. If you feel alone, simply regard that as mistaken awareness and believe that in reality the enlightened beings are present with you helping you. Because we can leave our body as well as gain full conscious control of the dream state, it follows that someone who masters these things will have great power to help others. In dream yoga, such a practitioner can multiply the number of their forms and perceive through each pair of dream senses simultaneously. This is a fact. If such low level yogas can be achieved occasionally, it follows that consistent training will enable one to master such a state. Understanding this helps us gain conviction that in reality there are holy beings around us without break. This is a fact, and when we develop conviction in this, it becomes a doorway through which we can connect with the blessings of enlightened society.

There are very special blessings that come from receiving teachings in person, whether this is during waking on the gross human plane, in dreams, or in visions during meditation. Develop the view that the books are actually the wisdom mind of enlightened beings appearing as form, for that is the reality. It looks like paper and letters, but these things are not separate from enlightened mind, they are pervaded by it.

Because the Guru is the doorway, begin by seeking the Guru.

[dondrup]

How do I start reading the Lamrim?

There are many Lamrim books available in the market. The classic book is Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. However, I would recommend Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's Joyful Path of Good Fortune. This is a very good Lamrim book to begin with as it is concise and clearly written in English. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is an accomplished Buddhist Master and his books are bestsellers, carefully written and presented for modern practitioners. It is advisable to read the text meticulously to extract the essence of Buddha’s teachings. The classic text - Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand - is a must have if you are serious about learning Lamrim.

Lamrim is a profound Dharma text and hence we have to study many times to understand the contents of Lamrim. For your first read, do go through it at least one round. Don't worry if you find certain topics difficult to understand. Each time you study and revisit Lamrim, you will gain different insights and understanding.  You may refer to other commentaries of Lamrim to understand more about certain topics of Lamrim.

To truly understand and realise Lamrim, you must study, contemplate and meditate on the subjects within Lamrim systematically and stage by stage.  Follow the example of Pabongka Rinpoche!

How will the Lamrim help me in my practice of spirituality?

Lamrim is the summary of all the teachings of Lord Buddha; compiled by Atisha and endorsed by all the scholars of Nalanda University where Atisha came from.  It provides the framework or roadmap of the path and guides us along the path to liberation and enlightenment.  Without Lamrim it will be difficult to start on the path as practitioners can be confused by the various Buddhist traditions, vehicles and teachings available.
 

Will I make any progress at all since I do not have a Guru near me?

It is possible to study Lamrim on our own because we can understand the definitive meaning of the Lamrim teachings. However, to understand and realize the interpretative meaning of the teachings, we need a qualified guru who holds the lineage of the teachings of Lamrim to explain to us the real meaning as spoken by Buddha.  Hence, it cannot be stressed enough that you need a guru because the path begins with strong reliance on the guru.

[hope rainbow]

How do I start reading the Lamrim?

1.
Set up your motivation right.
Why are you studying the lamrim?
Your motivation will definitely affect the result of your study.
There will be no result of studying the lamrim other than academic if your motivation is not spiritual, at least not in the short term.

2.
Build up your belief in rebirth and karma.
A true Buddhist has taken refuge in rebirth and karma; if not, then again the practice has very little effect and you are like the poisoned pot as described in the lamrim.

3.
From memory, this is a quote by Chögyam Trungpa:
"The buddhist path is a powerful and liberating path, but if you don't intend to walk it fully, why start?"