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Mind and Awareness
by Venerable Thubten Chodron
Sravasti Abbey, Washington, USA
August 2012 and ongoing
9 August 2012
Ven. Chodron begins the series of talks with an explanation of the divisions of the selfless. In this talk she goes over non-existent and existent phenomena. Ven. Chodron also explains permanent, impermanent, eternal and non-eternal phenomena. Understanding the divisions of the selfless will help to understand the commentary on Presentation of Mind and Awareness.
[72 minutes] Download mp3 file
16 August 2012
Ven. Chodron continues the explanation of the divisions of the selfless. She further explains permanent and non-permanent phenomena. Ven. Chodron goes on to talk about forms including the forms of the five senses and "forms for a mental consciousness."
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23 August 2012
Ven. Chodron continues the explanation of the divisions of the selfless. She concludes the section on forms and starts the section on consciousness. Here she explains primary minds and the types of mental factors. Ven. Chodron goes over omnipresent mental factors, object ascertaining mental factors, virtuous mental factors, root afflictions and the secondary afflictions.
[67 minutes] Download mp3 file
30 August 2012
Ven. Chodron talks about turning to your practice when things come up. She talks about the benefits of turning to Dharma practice and taking refuge in the three jewels and resisting our habitual counterproductive ways to deal with emotions and taking refuge in worldly ways. Ven. Chodron explains that when you are upset that is when you really need to turn to your practice and gives specific ways to do this. She uses recent student experiences to show how we can be open and receptive to new information and question our automatic ways of reacting to emotions.
[66 minutes] Download mp3 file
6 September 2012
Ven. Chodron concludes the explanation of the divisions of the selfless. In this talk she finishes talking about the mental factors explaining the four changeable mental factors. Ven. Chodron explains how they can be either virtuous or non-virtuous. She also discusses how we can make changeable mental factors virtuous and avoid making them non-virtuous. She then explains the third category of existent things, abstract composites.
[62 minutes] Download mp3 file
13 September 2012
Ven. Chodron continues the teachings on mind and awareness. In this talk she explains the differences between conceptual and non-conceptual consciousnesses and how they cognize the different types of objects. She goes over the appearing object, the apprehended object, the engaged object, the focal object, the conceived object, and the beheld object.
[68 minutes] Download mp3 file
20 September 2012
Venerable Chodron talks about the eight worldly concerns. She explains that when our mind is involved with the eight worldly concerns we are concerned with only the happiness of this life and how this leads negative actions and misery. Ven. Chodron advises us to look at the motivation for our everyday activities and create the causes for happiness beyond this life - for a good rebirth, liberation and enlightenment. Ven. Chodron goes on to lead a discussion on identifying the types of objects of cognition according to the Sautantrika view. She presents examples to practice identifying objects. Learning the Sautantrika classification will aid in learning the Prasangika view of objects.
[77 minutes] Download mp3 file
4 October 2012
Ven. Chodron explains the difference between objects appearing to a particular conception versus appearing to a conception in general. She explains how from Sautantrika School point of view emptiness and selflessness of a person perceived by a direct perceiver. Ven. Chodron then goes on to discuss the three kinds of object possessors and seven types of cognizers.
[70 minutes] Download mp3 file
11 October 2012
Ven. Chodron answers questions regarding objects in relationship to conceptual and direct perceptions. Then she moves on to the text Presentation of Mind and Awareness and talks about the definitions and the divisions of direct perceivers..
[67 minutes] Download mp3 file
27 December 2012
Ven. Chodron resumes the explanation of direct perceivers from the Sautantrika viewpoint. Here she goes over sense direct perceivers and mental direct perceivers. Ven. Chodron explains how to watch your mind to see when you are directly perceiving something versus conceptual thought about it and how this analysis is beneficial.
[66 minutes] Download mp3 file
3 January 2013
Ven. Chodron leads a discussion about when are we having a direct sense perception of a phenomenon and when are we having a conceptual thought about the phenomenon. She uses the experience of feeling tired. What is a direct sense experience of feeling tired and what is a conceptual thought of feeling tired? Ven. Chodron goes on to look at other examples such as the experience of hunger. She encourages us to look at various experiences and analyze what is actual raw sensory data and what is conceptual thought.
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10 January 2013
Ven. Chodron continues the explanation of mental direct perceivers and then explains apperceptive direct perceivers according to the Sautantrika system.
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17 January 2013
Ven. Chodron continues the explanation of direct perceivers. Here she finishes the explanation of apperceptive direct perceivers and then goes into yogic direct perceiver. Ven. Chodron also explains how the explanation of yogic direct perceiver differs between the Sautantrika and other tenet systems.
[72 minutes] Download mp3 file
24 January 2013
Venerable Chodron completes the section on direct perceivers by explaining facsimile direct perceivers. She then begins explanation of the second division of mind, inferential cognizers. Ven. Chodron explains how inference is used to know obscured phenomena.
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31 January 2013
Ven. Chodron completes the explanation of inferential cognizers. In this talk she explains how to use logical syllogisms in knowing slightly obscured phenomena. She uses examples that show how we can use such syllogisms to check our every day assumptions. Ven. Chodron goes on to explain how we can evaluate extremely obscured phenomena based on inference by authority. Using these criteria we can check out authoritative teachings or texts that present information on very obscure phenomena.
[76 minutes] Download mp3 file
7 February 2013
Ven. Chodron explains the next category of knower, subsequent cognizers. She discusses the types of direct and conceptual subsequent cognizers.
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21 February 2013
Ven. Chodron answers questions on the mind and awareness teachings. She clarifies how a sense perception can lead to conceptualization and attachment. She also explains how a conceptual consciousness gives rise to exaggerated feelings. Ven. Chodron then leads a discussion on how to view needs, how they are related to feelings and how we can work with these.
[75 minutes] Download mp3 file
28 February 2013
Ven. Chodron continues the commentary on the seven types of cognizers with the explanation of correct assumer. She leads a discussion on evaluating our assumptions to see if they are correct. Ven. Chodron also explains the progression from wrong consciousness to doubt to correct assumer to inference and then direct perception.
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7 March 2013
Ven. Chodron explains the next division of mind, inattentive perceivers, minds to which an object appears but is not ascertained. She goes on to lead a discussion on examples of inattentive perceivers from daily life. Ven. Chodron also includes additional information on subsequent cognizers.
[69 minutes] Download mp3 file
14 March 2013
Ven. Chodron explains the next type of cognizer, doubt. She talks about the three types of doubt, that inclined toward the correct conclusion, inclined toward the the wrong conclusion and doubt which is equally inclined toward both directions. Ven. Chodron also leads a discussion on the question, what is intuition?
[65 minutes] Download mp3 file
21 March 2013
Ven. Chodron explains the last division of cognizers, wrong consciousnesses. She explains conceptual and non-conceptual wrong consciousnesses. Ven. Chodron also describes the progression from wrong consciousness to the direct perception of emptiness.
[75 minutes] Download mp3 file
28 March 2013
Ven. Tarpa leads a discussion of quiz questions. In this talk she covers the first 10 questions:
General
- Do you know what the 7 different types of cognizers are?
- What are the 3 parts of a syllogism?
- Every time your mind is filled with attachment, craving, anger, jealousy, arrogance, resentment, envy, nostalgia, daydreaming. These are conceptual minds. Look at them and see if they are accurate.
- What is the difference between a conceptual mind that has attachment as one of the mental factors, and the conceptual mind that has loving-kindness as one of the mental factors. Can you differentiate them in your own mind?
- What are the 5 omnipresent mental Factors?
- What are the 4 possible ways that things can relate to each other?
- What is the path from wrong consciousness to direct perceiver of emptiness?
- What are the three divisions of mind and awareness?
Direct perceivers
- Think of some examples of your needs. Are they conceptual consciousness? Are they direct perceivers? How does the need relate to feelings? When you have a certain feeling can there be many needs involved and can you pick the need?
- What 3 things are needed to make a direct perceiver?
[74 minutes] Download mp3 file
4 April 2013
Ven. Tsultrim leads a discussion on the next part of the quiz. She also asks some additional questions on the details of these types of cognizers:
Direct Perceivers (continued):
- What are the 7 types of facsimiles of direct perceivers?
Sense Direct Perceivers:
- What is a prime sense direct perceiver of a familiar object and what is an initial direct perceiver?
Mental Direct Perceivers:
- Can you tell the difference between a direct perceiver and a conceptual mind? Really look at the conceptual mind. Which ones are correct cognizers and which ones aren’t?
- What are the 3 theories of the way that mental direct perceivers indicated on this occasion are produced? Which one is considered by Tsongkapa to be correct and why?
- What does indicated on this occasion refer too?
- What does not indicated on this occasion refer too?
Apperceptive Direct Perceivers:
- What is an apperceptive mind?
- What is its function in the Sautantrika system?
- How is it similar to a yogic direct perceiver?
- Other schools disagree with an apperceptive mind. Why do they disagree?
Yogic Direct Perceivers:
- What is the definition of a yogic direct perceiver?
- Yogic direct perceivers are divided into 3, what are they?
[59 minutes] Download mp3 file
11 April 2013
Ven. Jigme leads the discussion on part 3 of the quiz:
Inattentive perceivers:
- According to Sautantrika, what is a specifically characterized object?
Inferences:
- What are the 3 types of inferential cognizers?
- Think of some inferences especially related to your life. Can you think of some that you adhere to?
- Inferences are relevant to our Dharma practice and our daily life. Often we don’t use them correctly. We come up with wrong reasons. Be aware of when you are using inferences and really check what your reasons are for believing or thinking something.
- What are the 3 types of phenomena? (in reference to inferences)
- What is the 3-fold analysis?
Subsequent cognizers:
- A mind on the path of seeing goes to the path of meditation in the same session in the same continuity. In the next session of meditative equipoise, the first moment of realizing emptiness, is it a prime cognizer or a subsequent cognizer. What is the second moment?
- What are the 2 types of conceptual subsequent cognizers?
- We see something, then we think about it. What type of cognizer is it?
[55 minutes] Download mp3 file
18 April 2013
Ven. Chonyi completes the discussion of the quiz questions. She then presents an example to show how we turn our current assumptions into incontrovertible realizations by applying the syllogistic process.
Correct Assumer
- What is the definition of a correct assumer?
- What are the three types of correct assumers?
- T or F - Wisdom arisen from hearing is a correct assumer?
- Is a consciousness arisen from hearing a correct assumer?
Doubt
- What are the three ways that doubt is divided?
- Think of some examples of the doubts you have and then do some investigation and see what are your doubts based on. Do they have some kind of valid reasoning behind them?
Wrong consciences
- 1. When wrong consciences are divided there are two. What are they?
- 2. Give an example of a non-conceptual wrong consciousness.
[60 minutes] Download mp3 file
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