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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 599
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According to Tatiya-samādhi Sutta (AN 4.94), samatha Written by Geshe Dadul Namgyal and edited by Martha
is the practice for stilling the mind while vipassanā, Leslie Baker.
for distinctly seeing the true nature of all conditioned
NOTES
phenomena.
1. Mālunkyaputta Sutta, SN 35.78, Bāhiya Sutta, Ud
Min Wei: I would say that mindfulness meditation will
1.10
be closely related to our personal experience and will
2. The exhortation of sense restraint occurs
guide us to approach the truth. The Buddha taught that
repeatedly in many suttas
suffering comes from ignorance which refers to the
3. Atthinukhopariyāya Sutta, SN 35.153
misperceptions and delusions that our mind has about
4. Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta, MN 63
its own nature. Thus, the way to free the mind from
5. Simsapa Sutta, SN 56.31
ignorance is through gaining insight into what truly is.
One of the tools the Buddha taught for gaining insight is
mindfulness, the ability to be fully aware in the present
moment. Mindfulness enables one to go beneath the
surface level of moment-to-moment life experience,
which clearly sees the truth of what is happening.
Mindfulness is thus the energy that helps us recognize
the conditions of things that are already present in our
Venerable Āyasmā Aggacitta is the founder of the
lives. We don’t need to wait years to experience them as
Sāsanārakkha Buddhist Sanctuary (SBS) in Taiping,
it is present in every moment of our daily life.
Perak, a Pāli scholar and a meditation teacher.
Namgyal: From what I understand, the path of the arya
beings are the meditative experience being spoken of
here. The arya paths consist of the path of seeing, which
marks the first direct (mental) perception of the truth
of selflessness and/or emptiness (depending on the
level of tenet system one is dealing with), the path of
meditation, and the path of no-more learning. These
Geshe Dadul Namgyal is a Geshe Lharampa and senior
are the later three of the five paths. The first two are the
resident teacher at Drepung Loseling Monastery in
path of accumulation and the path of preparation, both
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
belonging to the ordinary beings on the path. All three
of the above paths belong to the arya beings, who have
Ven. Ming Wei is a teacher of e-learning at the
actualized a corresponding level of true path and true
International Buddhist College (IBC) and an
cessation, thus leading to an unerring experience of the
independent translator of Buddhism. EH
truth of the teachings in that one attains an actual state
of an enduring realization together with an actual state
of enduring freedom from the respective obscuration
and defilements. This, in turn, leads to an affirmation of
the authenticity of the Tathāgata in accordance with the
Dharma. That is “how the Tathāgata is well investigated
in accordance with the Dharma.”