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The I Concept (The Mahamudra Concerning The Union of a Buddha and His Consort)

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Item Code: NAO960
Author: Bodo Balsys
Publisher: Vajra Books, Nepal
Language: English
Edition: 2009
ISBN: 9789937506076
Pages: 1178
Cover: Paperback
Other Details 8.5 inch X 5.5 inch
Weight 950 gm
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Shipped to 153 countries
Shipped to 153 countries
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Book Description
About the Book

At last, the theory of relativity for Buddhism. This scintillating work, the second of a series, titled "Unveiling the Esoteric in Buddhism", seriously challenges the thinking concerning many conventionally accepted ideas about the nature of the content of Buddhist scriptures. The opinions of what Buddhists believe concerning the great majority of their sutras and Tantras will change in the light of the many revelations presented in this series of works, the central pillar of which are the syllogisms presented in The I Concept.

Scholars will find that there are strata of thought in the literature they have not even conceived of as existing. This will allow them to better understand the nature of that which has always been considered "ear whispered", orally transmitted from the enlightened guru to the worthy student, because as well as the secret doctrines relating to their particular ideological stream, the context of the material differs from that which is normally (conventionally) accepted as correct.

This ground-breaking seminal work is set to become a milestone in the history of the evolution of the Buddha dharma. It is intended as a panacea for those who perceive Buddhism to be in a period of malaise, despite the vast number of new publications, because of the lack of genuinely enlightened preceptors of the dharma that exist today. The information in The I Concept will reveal why Buddhism lacks the enlightened, that the present fallacies taught and accepted as dharma today actually prevents enlightenment from occurring. The dharma therefore needs rectifying, for to present the truth of what actually is. Veridical ascertaining of truth is really what the Buddha dharma ought to be about, and such dharma hp positively ascertained by the readers of The I Concept and his series of work.

About the Author

An Australian citizen, Bodo Balsys was born in Germany 1979. He was first awakened to the dharma by the appearance of an enlightened teacher in his third eye when he was cighteen. This was the consequence of an aeonic long friendship upon the path of enlightenment. Each life being sequenced as part of a progressive educational outpouring for the liberation of the all. Since the early 1970s Bodo has researched, written upon, and taught in most fields of the dharma, specifically in the way it unfolds through the clear light of meditative perpicuity. His early writings were concerned with explaining various esoteric subjects, such as the nature of the path to liberation by following the curricula of the council of Bodhisattvas. In 1996 he gained a degree in science from the University of Western Sydney.

Preface

The tendency of Buddhists to continuously recant the labyrinth of details, as described in their sutras and commentaries, is well short of their calling. The fount of enlightenment is construed in deeper roots than that. Enlightenment necessitates a mastery of all of life's offerings, for which mere recitation or knowledge of the contents of sutras and sastras suffices not. Heart-based practice is essential. Such practice must be founded upon unassailable truth. Of necessity truth must meet certain logical criteria if it is to be unassailable, but unfortunately such is oft not found in the present exegesis of doctrines. The concept that what people do without won't hurt them is an attitude produced by acquiescence to materialism and shallow thinking. It fosters a lack of proper analysis producing little true insight of the meaning of the scriptures by many followers of the dharma. There are thus understandings and revelations necessary for the undertaking of enlightenment that are not acquired through present Buddhist methodologies.

Reformation of the doctrines taught is obviously needed, as the previous book, Karma and the Rebirth of Consciousness has demonstrated, whilst The I Concept will seriously analyse many Buddhist syllogisms in an endeavour to rectify inadequacies with much sounder reasoning. This will produce an exploration and extension of the dharma into arenas little investigated by past exponents.

Obstinateness along particular lines of reasoning that are not correctly grounded in truth is a major cause of the sicknesses that exist in Buddhism. Obstinate ones there will always be, though amongst the many practitioners of the dharma we should also find a few who are genuinely sincere; who have clarified their minds sufficiently to verify truth in whatever form it is presented, and will follow it at all costs to assured enlightenment. We heartily seek such worthy ones for to veridically show them the way to liberation. The signposts or guides upon that way have changed through the centuries, and practitioners of the dharma have yet to learn to clearly read the new directions. The guide books are now being written and many must come forth to read and practice correctly.

Many Buddhist also need to seriously reappraise the motives for their actions and to properly reform their thinking, for instance with everything to do with the use of appropriated funds, for the engendering of much karma lies herein. They must begin to properly understand how karma actually works. Also, to become examples of the living dharma and thus not be hypocritical they cannot be seen eating the flesh of slaughtered animals. Such callousness towards the sufferings of their fellow sentient beings serves only to discredit them as teachers of worth, presenting a contorted view as to the nature of the Buddha dharma to all discerning people. The consequences of laziness of thought is the main arena that needs to be addressed within the Buddhist world, and is a task that this series hopes to engage in.

The Four Points of Refuge of the Buddha should be well understood and applied by all students of the dharma: These Four Points can be summarised or rephrased as: "the doctrine (dharma), true or esoteric meaning, right definition, and direct awareness are one's point of refuge, not adherence to sectarian bias, semantics, the dialectics of non-fully enlightened commentaries, or to illogical assertions". Indeed, much that is inherently illogical, or assertions presented by the non-enlightened, has crept into the mainstream of what is generally accepted as the Buddhist dharma today and ought to be rectified, made logical and unassailable as truth. What may be long held to be truthful, but is not, upon proper analytical dissection, needs rectifying. Just because it is a long cherished belief does not mean that it is necessarily right. Also, in other cases, a doctrine or teaching may indeed be correct, but the current interpretation leaves much to be desired, and hence should be reinterpreted from the position of a more embracive or esoteric view.

What partly makes up Buddhism today is the way it addresses itself through the thought forms it has produced and stored in the house of reason and interpreted in ways conditioned by strong habit patterns of desire-mind and ritual. Thought forms are created in the past and projected into the future, to be actualized in thought, word, or deed. All philosophical systems work in this way to ensure successful fruition of their purpose. This does not necessary mean that the ideas are properly absorbed and carried to fruition by the successors of the creators in the way that was hoped for by the enlightened originators. Technically, abstruse thoughts and ideas formulated by the enlightened rarely hit their mark in the average peruser of them, otherwise there would be many enlightened ones upon the planet. The actual dearth of enlightened beings informs us that but little that is read is properly understood.

Surely resourceful people would pour all of their energy into practising the most important facets of what has been presented in Buddhist sutras, if the knots preventing understanding have been untied for them. But why is it that so often we see that their karma or path actually denotes a failure to properly comprehend? Surely their yearning for becoming Bodhisattvas, enlightened spiritual beings, would grow from the size of a seed and flower thenceforth if such effort was based upon proper and full comprehension? Here is a rhyme and reason for Buddhism. But at what cost is it to humanity to lack credence of the nature of this Bodhisattva path, because they are not given an enlightened answer, when truly, the mass educational computer age gives ample means to help out the needy lovers of Buddhism? The numbers of Buddhists are growing in the world, but the enlightened philosophic output is in a period of malaise in the East. Buddhism needs a true restorative flowering to rival that of the Renaissance of debate and innovative thinkers of the early post-Nagarjunian era. Thus it must utilise the present wealth of scientific and technological information as a base, and the best that the Western World's philosophical output has presented.

The Buddha dharma is presently construed like an information bank that encourages you to hero worship the Buddha, Rinpoches, or Herukas for that matter, because of the unenlightened utterances from Buddhist teachers, based on a belief system that encourages people to listen to them.

When enlightened monks actually do appear and find consolidated reasons for firing spiritual bullets, or ammunitory services, for the cause of the enlightenment of humanity, then there will come a timewhen all truth can and will be known. However, at present, the lack of inwardly perceived knowledge from the fount of the dharmakaya on the part of present monks does block the production of an arsenal of weapons for solving the problems of suffering in the world. Few see little beyond the scope of vision in what they have been indoctrinated to believe. So we have the situation we are in today, with only basic guidance or directions for true enlightenment to appear.

How can the unenlightened properly understand Buddhist scriptures? For there is little (revelation) coming from the Head centres of such beings, and to the awakening of the Head lotus we must go to find the most established reasoning powers. Without the 1,000 petals of the sahasrara padma ablaze then there is little substance for proper understanding, little ability to hold the mind steady in the dynamic field of revelation that the dharmakaya represents. In the lack for proper training for the awakening of this lotus lies the base or foundation of the malaise in Buddhist thinking, substantiating its present lack of enlightened ones. Little really serves the West here, for Westerners must hold their own ability to properly rationalise in check in order to accept the doctrines presented, though it is principally to Tibetan Lamas that they flock to in droves looking for higher spiritual teachings.

Westerners can find some very disjointed theories amongst sound reasoning formerly posited by the semi-enlightened and the enlightened teachers of the past. Much truth has been presented related to sunyata, the training of the mind, the various aspects of human learning, and of the building of restoratives, rescuers, as far as people's emotionalities go. One can claim that the great Bodhisattvas of the past were knowing, enlightened, as pertaining to their time, i.e., that everything they knew or actively observed was for that time-set, holding the opinion of the masses in sway. They were there to rightly organise the people's thinking. If there is no Buddha/enlightened being then no mass opinions are properly swayed, no new movement or directions by any revolutionary thought process can come about. Where is such a one, the Buddha Maitreya for today, for surely new directives are sorely needed in this the most material phase of the age of iron or darkness, the Kali Yuga? He obviously has not appeared amongst the Buddhist world to which Westerners go to seek revelations, but is ardently desired, and on compassionate grounds must appear.

The Buddha preserved a law of taking each individual argument and combining them effectively to synthesis, elaborated with respect to schools of thought that were seemingly in opposition to each other. The Buddha could not incarnate in a traditional role because he was karmically bound to reforming the religion that he was born into, his compassionate wisdom demanded it so. The religion at the time was Hinduism, from which he could draw opposing arguments to its philosophical systems, and preserve those aspects that were fine and useful. Like the Buddha one can also take information from many schools of thought and show that there are aspects in each that are right or wrong, or neither wholly right or wrong. (Each school has various modes of argument to fix up the other's weaknesses and qualities to resolve and to be cognised by the opposing stream of thought.) Then one can find a basis or means of expression whereby one can find better answers, or can create a new lineage or religion, a synthesis of various schools of thought.

If the system itself needs reformation, as did ancient Hinduism, then it becomes part of a Bodhisattva's meditation. The way a reforming Buddha incarnates is dependant on how he must fit into such a system. Thus he is essentially an outsider incarnating into it to demonstrate the new type of ideas he chooses to elaborate. If there is a lot of concrete-minded obstinacy to change within the religion to the presented doctrine of truth, then a new religion is founded, if not then we see reformation. Such is the need in Buddhism today.

This present teaching (the second volume of a seven volume series) hopes to fulfil that need, to look at major aspects of the Buddha dharma as it exists and is taught and to try to examine where the errors are, or where the present modes of interpretation fall short of the true intended meaning. The aim is also to elaborate aspects of the dharma that could only be hinted at or cursorily explained by the wise ones of the past, because the basis for proper elaboration had not yet been established. The main thesis here concerns the I-concept, explained in terms of what does or does not constitute a "self', and whether such a concept actually does have a meaning, and if so, how, and in what manner. To do this a more broadminded Western approach shall be utilised rather than merely following the traditional conduits of reasoning.

My wish is not to delve into unnecessary polemics, or to get too side-tracked from the main issues by answering all of the different assertions of this or that sect, or branch of any sect. Buddhist scholars are well aware of these differences, and if they wish can adjust, or fine-tune their understandings of my presentations of logic to the problems presented in the systems I choose to analyse. I will focus principally upon the Prasangika-Madhyamaka system of logic with respect to this subject, and later will look to the Yogacara-Vijnanavada system. I hope that my presentation finds welcoming minds that will carefully analyse it in line with their own understandings of the issues, and as a consequence build up a better understanding of the nature of what constitutes the path to enlightenment. It is my earnest hope that their way of walking along the Bodhisattva path is enriched as a consequence.

Contents

  Preface xi
1 The Rules of Interpretation of Sacred Scriptures 1
2 The Two Truths 44
3 The West and the East, the Mahamudra of the Two Truths 97
4 The Seven-fold Reasoning — Part A: The Introduction 116
5 Essay on the Many and the One, (from Jrianagarbha's Commentary on the Two Truths) 137
6 The Refutation of Partless Particles 177
7 The Seven-fold Reasoning — Part B: The Probandium 193
8 The Diamond-Slivers 228
9 The Non-production from Other 278
10 The Non-production from Other 302
11 The Four Extremes 316
12 The Four Alternatives and Refuting a Self of Persons 320
13 The Seven Cornered Reason 360
14 The Pudgala Doctrine 374
15 Enquiry into the Nature of "Self' 403
16 The Soul Concept and the Tathagatagarbha Doctrine 452
17 Negating the "Self' 607
18 The River Simile 484
19 On the Evolution of Consciousness 500
20 Signposts of Consciousness 532
21 Commentary on Alayavijnana as Seed 552
22 The Nature of Light 585
23 The Examination of Time in the Mulamadhyamakakarika 619
24 Sunyata, Consciousness, and Parinirvana 640
25 Voidness and Abundance 659
26 The Great Gates of Diamond Liberation  
  Part 1: Mara, Secret Mantra, and Dependent Origination 671
27 The Great Gates of Diamond Liberation  
  Part 2: Considerations of the Heart Centre 701
28 The Great Gates of Diamond Liberation  
  Part 3: The Centres below the Diaphragm and Voidness 806
29 A Concluding Note on Emptiness 852
30 The Buddha and the Soul Concept 873
31 The Vijnanavadins on the Existence of "Self' 921
32 The Sambhogakaya Flower 998
33 The Uttaratantra of Maitreya and the Sambhogakaya Flower 1022
34 The Vijnanavadins on the Evolution of Consciousness 1106
  Bibliography 1128
  Index 1134

 

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