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Homage Verse, Promise to Compose, and Exhortation to Listen Well

I bow to all the high and holy lamas.

In the supplication, prostration is made to the field of merit which is one’s spiritual master or lama – from which the one prostrating and making the supplication receives the maximum amount of merit. The meaning of 'high and holy' is interpreted through the Tibetan word “je-tsun” (rje-btsun) which was used in the supplication. “Je” refers to the lama who is very knowledgeable about the Buddhist practice as a result of extensive hearing of the Dharma. “Tsun” refers to not only having extensive heard of the teaching but as well as highly accomplished or gained high realisation, that teaching through practicing in a faultless fashion. So this then refers to the level of realisation of the lama. Hence, “je-tsun” refers to the lama's knowledge and then the realisation of that knowledge.

The Tibetan word 'lama' refers to the highest, or that of which there is none higher with respect to the the two qualities of bodhichitta and having a correct understanding of voidness, which brings him or her to a superior or supreme state of enlightenment. Hence, “lamas” here refers to the various lamas of the various lineages, of the profound lineage and of the vast lineage. So through saying 'I bow down to the venerable lamas' - using the plural, the author is showing his willingness to bow down before all the lamas of the lineage and in particular then his principal teachers. Lama Tsongkhapa was supplicating the gurus who taught him lam-rim, and especially to his uncommon teacher, Manjushri.

Next is the verse of the promise to compose.

1. As far as I am able, I shall explain
the essence of all high teachings of the Victors,
the path that all their holy sons commend,
the entry point for the fortunate seeking freedom.

“As far as I am able, I shall explain” means that Lama Tsongkhapa will try to teach in as abbreviated a form as possible. “The essence of all high teachings of the Victors” – “Victors” refers to the Buddhas; “all high teachings” encompass the various sutras and the various teachings of the Secret Mantra and the fourfold division therein, “essence” refers to renunciation. Hence, in order of accomplish the teachings of the Buddhas, one must start with the attitude of renunciation.

“The path that all their holy sons commend” – “the path” refers to bodhicitta, “holy sons” means bodhisattvas. In the Tibetan text, the word 'holy' or ‘exalted’ means that a being who has arisen the wish of achieving full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings in his mental continuum. The being becomes a superior individual, thus kind of a holy individual. At that moment of generating the mind aspiring to the highest enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, a lot of negative karma is destroyed. Shantideva in his writing of “The Bodhicharyavatara” said that just through having given rise to thought, no matter what caste one is born to, one becomes renowned as the son or the daughter of the Victorious One. This mind then is one is which is extremely important and cannot be underestimated. Without this bodhicitta, no matter what practice one engages in, one will not come any closer to the state of omniscience. Hence all bodhisattvas praise the cultivation of bodhicitta.

The last line refers to the cultivation of correct view of voidness as path to liberation. "The entry point" refers to the path that one must undertake to achieve liberation i.e. removal of destructive actions and afflictive emotions. "The fortunate" refers to those who are engaging in the Buddhist practice - fortunate in the sense that we have been born human, with senses complete, come into contact with the Buddha's teaching and are able to put them into practice, and in particular, fortunate in the sense that we have come into contact with the teaching of the greater vehicle, or the Mahayana teaching. So this sentence is describing the third of the three principles of the path which is correct view, correct view of reality.

2. Listen with a pure mind,
fortunate ones who have no craving for the pleasures of life,
and who to make leisure and fortune meaningful,
strive to turn their minds to the path which pleases the Victors.

The first line of the second paragraph is the request to listen well with pure mind hearing these teachings. The meaning of "fortunate ones" here refers to those who have come into contact with this teaching. Here "no craving for the pleasures of life" means having developed the thought of renunciation and of turning away from indulging in the pleasures of samsara. The third line explains that having gained precious human existence which is adorned with leisure and opportunity, the practitioner makes it meaningful by directing his mind to the path which pleases the Buddha. Here "the path which pleases" is the unmistaken and complete path, with nothing missing, the path of the greater vehicle, Mahayana. "Strive to turn their minds" suggest that the practitioner must single-pointedly engage in the practice of aspiring to highest enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.

The Relationship among the Three Principal Aspects

The main body of the text is divided into three parts: the explanations on renunciation, bodhichitta, and the correct view of voidness. These three constitute graded stages of understanding.

His Holiness explained that development of true renunciation is required for development of genuine compassion. The stronger our renunciation, the stronger will be our compassion for other beings. Whenever we see people who are in worse off positions such as people with handicap and beggars, it is relatively easy to develop compassion for them. But without renunciation, for instance, in a big city, then instead of compassion for people in the city, we may feel envious of the things we see or if we live in the big city, we become proud of what we have. On the other hand, if we are familiar with renunciation, with the idea of how the so-called good things of samsara are ultimately meaningless, then when we go to a place like New York, for instance, and see all these people, our first thought will instinctively be to feel compassion for them.

Renunciation is twofold. The first, we look down at the suffering of samsara, without any interest to partake in the pleasures of samsara, and we develop the wish to be rid of suffering completely. The second is that we look up to liberation and develop the wish to attain it. The stronger this twofold attitude is, the stronger will be our bodhichitta aim, which similarly has two directions, both up and down. With bodhicitta, we look at down at beings suffering in samsara and develop the wish and engage in activities to liberate them and we look upto the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and develop the wish to develop the same kind of wisdom and limitless skills in liberating sentient beings. Then, based on these, if we have a correct view of voidness, we will be able to attain either liberation or enlightenment.

The correct view is in terms of the two truths, which follow from the Four Noble Truths. So, it is important to understand and realize them. With bodhichitta, an understanding of voidness brings us the omniscient state of a Buddha. If it is only with renunciation, then it brings us liberation. Here in the text, the discussion is first of renunciation.

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Renunciation

3. There is no way to end,
without the pure renunciation,
this striving for pleasant results in the ocean of life.
It is because of their hankering life as well that beings are fettered,
so seek renunciation first.

The "pure renunciation" here is in the sense of being totally disinterested in the glories or so-called good or pleasurable things of samsara. If we lack such pure renunciation and are totally obsessed with worldly concerns, there is no way to attain liberation. If we have craving and attachment to existence in samsara, then no matter how much positive karma we might have, we will not be able to cut out the root of cyclic existence rebirth. So this craving is one which has to be reversed before one can really start out on the path of liberation. It can be reversed by developing renunciation. The following stanzas explain how to develop renunciation.

Contemplation on the Preciousness of Human Existence

4. Leisure and fortune are hard to find; life is not long;
think it constantly, stop desire for this life.
Think over and over how deeds and their fruits never fail,
and the cycle's suffering; stop desire for the future.

This stanza teaches us that we need to renounce the (i) desire for this life and (ii) desire for future lives. Firstly, we need to reflect on the precious human rebirth that we have and that our life is impermanent, and how death is certain although the time of death is uncertain. In this way, we will realize how rare the opportunity is that we have now and how we cannot afford to waste any time. This is how to turn our interest from being only in this life.

The first line “Leisure and fortune are hard to find” serves to remind us the preciousness of a human rebirth. Lama Tsongkhapa taught that the human existence is more precious than a wish-fulfilling gem. Why more precious when a wish-fulfilling gem can provide us with all the riches and enjoyments in this lifetime? It is simply because we cannot take these riches and enjoyments with us into our future lifetimes. It is only through the human rebirth we can achieve higher rebirths or better still, the various kinds of liberations (smaller or greater vehicles) from the cycle of existence. Hence, human rebirth is more precious than the wish-fulfilling gem in that we can fulfill our future aims.

Also, human rebirth is precious because it is very rare. It is rare when we compare the number of beings in the three higher states of birth (human, demi-gods and gods) against the number of beings in the three lower states. In the sutras we read that the Buddha was once asked 'What is the difference between beings in the higher realms and those in the lower realms?' So to answer this the Buddha put his finger in the earth and said 'the amount of dust which I have on my fingertip symbolizes those beings in the pleasurable states, or the states of bliss, whereas all the other grains of sand and dust on the face of the earth are those who are in the unfortunate states, or the states of suffering and misery'. So through that example we can see that having an existence which is within this fingertip of dust, that is to say, in the realms of bliss, or the higher realms, is something extremely difficult to achieve, compared to uncountable amount of dust or sand in the world.

Human rebirth is rare as the cause for such rebirth is also rare. The principal cause of human rebirth is ethical behaviour. To achieve a human rebirth, one must first of all guard one’s ethical behaviour, and then supplement it with the practice of the six perfections and complemented by stainless prayers. Nagarjuna taught that wealth comes about through the practice of the perfection of giving, while the states of bliss (that is to say, the higher realms of existence humans, gods and so forth) come about through engaging in the practice of ethical conduct. Chandrakirti also reiterated this in his book Entrance to the Middle Way when he says that the practice of generosity alone is not sufficient cause for one to be born in states of bliss. If one practices generosity without guarding one’s ethical behaviour, one may be reborn as a spirit which is quite wealthy or, for example, a snake spirit, a naga spirit, which is well-renowned for having plentiful jewels. So through contemplating these things we can come to see how the precious human existence which we now have in our hands is something which is not only more useful than a wish-fulfilling gem, but is also something which is incredibly difficult to come by.

The stanza also reminds us that “life is not long”. We must always remember that we will not live forever and we can die at any moment. At the moment of death, nothing except for the Dharma, can help us. Through contemplating the difficulty in causes of obtaining a human existence, we should seek to take the essence of this precious human existence by devoting time and effort to the practice of Dharma. We should not allow the preciousness of one's human birth be stolen away by the thief of laziness.

Hence, in the second line, Lama Tsongkhapa urges us to continually contemplate the preciousness of our human existence, how it is something difficult to come by and has great meaning and that it will not last but rather will pass away at some point in time. So through these contemplations, we come to the state of reversing or stopping desire to this life. The sign of this is that we do not engage in any worldly actions, that is to say, actions which will bring about a result in this life, but rather we are striving to utilise all our time to generate positive potential and positive Dharma training that will be of use to us in future lives. It will be a waste if we do not anything now to prepare for death and future lives. The more we reflect as such, the less our obsession with this life alone.

In the third line, Lama Tsongkhapa exhorts us to constantly think about the infallibility of the law of karma (refer to article on Law of Karma). To understand the detailed workings of law of karma, is one of the hardest things. But, to put it simply, goodness comes from good causes and badness comes from bad causes: karma is certain. From constructive actions, happiness is certain to result. From destructive actions, suffering is certain to happen sooner or later. By reflecting on law of karma, we realize that we have the causes for suffering in our mental continuums. If that is the case, how can we be at ease?

His Holiness likened our situation as holding onto a time bomb which is sure to go off sooner or later. If we do not remove this cause, we can never rest at peace. When we think carefully about cause and effect in this way, we develop the strong wish to remove all the causes of our suffering. Hence, Lama Tsongkhapa encouraged us to reflect on the law of karma to remind us that not only do we need to abandon the desire for this life, we must also abandon the desire for future lives. We should remember that in whatever states of birth within samsara, we are afflicted by six sufferings of uncertainty, being unsatisfied, giving up one’s body again and again, repeatedly being conceive, and repeatedly experiencing highs and lows and being friendless. Here, we are reminded to reflect on the all-pervasive suffering nature of samsara as taught by the Buddha in the first of the Four Noble Truths.

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Fully Qualified Renunciation

5. When you have meditated thus,
and feel not even a moment's desire for the good things of cyclic life,
and when you begin to think both night and day
of achieving freedom,
you have found renunciation.

The subject of meditation in the first line is on impermanence, sufferings of bad rebirths, law of karma and suffering of good rebirths i.e. all-pervasive suffering. Here it's important to understand what is meant by "feel not even a moment’s desire for the good things of cyclic life". For most practitioners, our resolve for renunciation and wishing to be free from the cycle of existence wavers from being very strong one moment and totally weak the next. If we examine ourselves and see that our actions are motivated by wealth, fame, power and authority, we can be sure that this is a sign that we have not gained the fully qualified wish to achieve renunciation, or the fully qualified wish to achieve liberation from the cycle of existence.

The next two lines read 'and when you begin to think both night and day of achieving freedom, you have found renunciation’. Thus, only if our mind is solely preoccupied with the thought of achieving liberation from the cycle of existence at all times, we have generated the fully qualified renunciation. Thus, we need to develop renunciation. Next, we need a bodhichitta aim.

Bodhichitta

6. Renunciation, though, can never bring
the total bliss of matchless Buddhahood,
unless it is bound by the highest wish;
and so, the wise seek
the high wish for enlightenment.

"Total bliss" here refers to freedom from all fears of and dangers of samsara and those associated with personal liberation. Here "highest wish" refers to bodhicitta, attainment of enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Without bodhicitta, one can never attain Buddhahood. Even if one has generated the fully qualified renunciation, if one does not contemplate the dissatisfaction of others, one's kind mother sentient beings, then no matter how much renunciation one has, one’s practice will not result in liberation from the subtlest of the sublest afflictions, and will not have cultivated the most excellent qualities.

7. They are swept along on four fierce river currents;
chained up tight in past deeds, hard to undo;
stuffed in a steel cage of grasping "self"
smothered in the pitch-black ignorance.

His Holiness explained that the four fierce river currents can be viewed as the four sufferings of birth, death, old age, and sickness. Otherwise, the four fierce river currents also refer to ignorance, wrong views, desire and afflictive emotions. We are chained up tight in past deeds, especially negative force from our destructive karmic actions, and these negative forces are sure to ripen some day. We are prisoners to our misconception of ‘self’ and smothered in pitch-black ignorance of not seeing the true nature of reality.

8. In a limitless round, they are born,
and in their births, are tortured by three sufferings without a break;
think how your mothers feel;
think of what is happening to them;
try to develop this highest wish.

We hold onto the wrong view of inherently existing self and phenomena. This ignorance causes us to build up enormous negative force through various negative actions of body speech and mind which leads to endless rebirths in samsara. Consequently, with each rebirth, we experience the three sufferings - sufferings of suffering, change, and all-pervasive suffering. Since this is the condition affecting all sentient beings, who have been our mothers in one life or another, we need to achieve highest enlightenment to help them. This is the bodhichitta aim.

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A Correct View of Voidness

9. You may master renunciation and the wish,
but unless you have the wisdom perceiving reality,
you cannot cut the root of cyclic life.
Make efforts in ways, then, to perceive interdependence.

Here, Lama Tsongkhapa pointed despite developing a mind of renunciation that is overflowing with bodhicitta, one will not be able to achieve true liberation unless one develops true wisdom of perceiving reality. This wisdom is needed to counteract the misconception of inherent self, which is the root cause of cyclic existence. The reality here means ultimate truth of the emptiness of inherent existence of self and phenomena. Lama Tsongkhapa’s main point is that we need to understand voidness as meaning dependent arising and the understanding of dependent arising as the meaning of voidness. Thus, we need to work hard to truly understand Lama Tsongkhapa’s intention.

10. A person has entered the path that pleases the Buddhas
when, for all objects, in the cycle or beyond,
he sees that cause and effect can never fail,
and when, for him, they lose all solid appearance.

In the second line, ‘all objects’ refers to phenomena, ‘cycle’ refers to samsara and ‘beyond’ refers to nirvana. The third line explains that all phenomena of both samsara and nirvana are effects which arise and wane from their causes. The very cause for giving rise to a phenomenon is also the very cause for the decay of that particular phenomenon. This is always true. This is the understanding of dependent arising. When one understands this and holds onto this understanding with the aim of freeing oneself from the grasping of inherent existence of self and phenomena, one is said to have entered the path pleasing to the Buddhas. Eventually, we habituate mind and develop the cognition of non-inherent existence – i.e. there is no permanent or identifiable ‘self’ that we instinctively hold onto, thus, ‘they lose all solid appearance’. This is the understanding of emptiness of inherent existence. Once we understand emptiness as such, the basis for mistaken cognitions to arise – their sustaining support, which is our grasping for inherent existence – will be eradicated.

11. You have yet to realize the Thought of the Able
as long as two ideas seem disparate to you:
the appearance of things -- infallible interdependence
and emptiness -- beyond taking any position.

In this paragraph, Lama Tsongkhapa explained that the ‘Thought of the Able’, which is the true intention of all Buddhas, is for us to realize that emptiness of inherent existence and dependent arising are two sides of a coin. With the wisdom of emptiness, we realize that there is nothing at all that we can point to and confidently say ‘this object’. Although there is no ‘real thing’ on ultimate analysis yet, we do actually do see and experience ‘this thing’. E.g. when we analyze a ‘table’, we will realize that the ‘table’ which we come to grasp as really existing on its own, is actually dependent on parts i.e. four legs and a flat plank. It is also dependent on the plank being on top of the four legs and not anywhere else. Hence, a ‘table’ is empty of an inherent table nature or mode of existence. But we cannot deny that the table exists – it exists as ‘mere appearance’ and due to coming of causes and conditions to create the ‘table’. The ‘table’ does exist conventionally.  Hence, we cannot think that these two understanding are completely separate unrelated insights – these are the two truths which the Buddhas taught – conventional truth and ultimate truth. Here, we are reminded that emptiness should not to be understood as nihilism nor should appearances be understood that of inherent and independently existing. This is the Middle Way, which is referred to as ‘beyond taking any positions’.

12. At some point they no longer alternate
[but] come together; just seeing that
interdependence never fails
brings realization that destroys how you hold to objects,
and then your analysis with view is complete.

Lama Tsongkhapa taught that we need to understand that all things or appearances arise from causes and conditions. Since things must arise from causes and conditions, they cannot exist independently. Hence, they are devoid of inherent existence. The stronger our conviction that things dependently arise, and that they depend on cause and effect, the stronger our understanding and conviction will be that things are devoid of independent, inherent existence; and vice versa. Understanding these two simultaneously in this way as explain, is the correct analysis of emptiness.

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13. In addition, the appearance prevents the existence extreme,
and emptiness [prevents] that of non-existence;
and if you see how emptiness shows in cause and effect,
you will never be stolen off by extreme views.

Most of the times, to explain Middle Way, the fact of existence of things is used to eliminate the extreme of total non-existence or nihilism. Similarly, emptiness is used to counteract extreme view of inherent existence – things are not inherently existent, because things exist on its own.

In this paragraph, Lama Tsongkhap has an opposite way of assertion. Here, he asserts that appearance itself negates the extreme of view of inherent existence. This is so, as for things to appear, they must be empty of inherent existence i.e. must be phenomena that dependently arise on causes and conditions. Therefore, the fact that they appear eliminates the possibility that they could exist inherently.

Similarly, emptiness itself negates the extreme of total nonexistence. The fact that something is devoid of inherent existence means that it can appear by dependently arising: it could not possibly be totally nonexistent. Therefore, the fact of voidness eliminates the extreme of total nonexistence.

Thus, we are taught how not to fall into the two extremes of grasping at an independently existing self/ phenomena and total non-existence. Next, is the injunction to practice.

14. When you have grasped as well as I
the essential points of each of the three principal paths explained,
then go into isolation, my son,*
make mighty efforts,
and quickly win your ultimate wish.

Through the power of listening to correct teachings on renunciation, bodhicitta and emptiness, and then contemplating, reflecting and analyzing these teachings, we will gain conviction of their meaning. Thereafter we then need to live in solitude and devote our time on single-pointed meditation on these teachings with the aim of realizing them. This we need to do with great joyous perseverance as the famous masters of the past have done, for instance the well-known Milarepa (Mi-la Ras-pa), the great Gyalwa Ensapa (rGyal-ba dBen-sa-pa) and his spiritual sons, Kaydrub Sanggyay-yeshey (mKhas-grub Sangs-rgyas ye-shes), and so on. 'Quickly win your ultimate wish' refers to achieving the various states of nirvana including the final Buddhahood. ‘My son’ is used here as Lama Tsongkhapa was addressing it to his close disciple, Ngawang-dragpa, whom we mentioned before. However, this in fact is an exhortation to all practitioners whether male or female.

Reference:
- A Short Commentary on Lama Tsongkhapa’s (Tsong-kha-pa Blo-bzang grags-pa) “The Three Principal Aspects of the Path (Lam-gtso rnam-gsum)” by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama,  translated and condensed by Alexander Berzin, 1983 (revised second edition, August 2003)
- Commentary by on “The Three Pincipal Aspects of the Path” Venerable Lama Denma Locho Rinpoche