Sunday, January 9th, 1983

WISDOM'S GOLDENROD, ALAN BERKOWITZ CLASS NOTES

(TYPED)

JANUARY 9, 1983

BUDDHISM: UNION OF OLD AND NEW TRANSLATION SCHOOLS

TOPIC: Buddhism

SUBJECT: Union of Old and New Translation Schools

SUBSUBJECTS: Two Truths, Madhyamika, Nyingma, Tantra, Break-Through, Leap-Over, Generic Mentality, Clear Light

BOOKS READ FROM OR REFERENCED:

• 14th Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, Kindness, Clarity, and Insight: The Fundamentals of Buddhist Thought and Practice

DIAGRAM embedded in these notes:

• FIGURE 1983 0109-1-AB. Divided Line, Break-Through, and Leap-Over.

TYPED AND REFORMATTED by IT 2022

NOTES:

• RETYPED HANDWRITTEN NOTES (hence V08). From Classnotes AB 1982 1206 to 1983 0124.PDF.

• All spelling, capitalization, and punctuation corrected, abbreviations spelled out.

1983 01/09 at Wisdom's Goldenrod

Buddhism: Union of Old and New Translation Schools

[Classnotes AB 1983 0109 Begin]

1/9/83 Buddhism New and Old Schools

"Union of Old and New Translation Schools" -- Dalai Lama [Note: See 14th Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, Kindness, Clarity, and Insight: The Fundamentals of Buddhist Thought and Practice, Ch. 20.]

Summary by Paul Damiani

Old School = Nyingma, Tantra

New Schools = Gelugpa, Sakya, Kagyu

Two truths are based on:

1) Madhyamika -- 1) ultimate truth is uncharacterizable (for ego) = emptiness; 2) subject and object distinction within experience is employed whenever there is an ego.

2) Nyingma, Tantric -- 1) ultimate mind and its appearances or manifestations; 2) ultimate truth = ultimate mind, conventional truth = all appearances, i.e., between sensible and intelligible world.

New schools employ Madhyamika to begin their analysis.

Nyingma -- 'leap-over' exercise after 'break-through' exercise.

Leap-over -- experience of the fundamental mind used to identify, contact or ascertain it.

Break-through -- acquire correct attitude to the fabricated mind. Fabricated mind is localized in a body = functioning of vasanas or tropes within a body (generic mentality).

The reasoning used to understand experience is derived from prior to the fabricated mind.

Because the reasons are prior to the fabricated mind they can be used to break down that fabricated mind.

Break-through exercise = Hua T'ou exercise.

[FIGURE 1983 0109-1-AB. Divided Line, Break-Through, and Leap-Over. Facsimile scan from AB class notes.]

Madhyamika develops a reasoning consciousness capable of realizing a non-affirming negative.

Object of meditation = the absence of inherent existence of one's mode of apprehending.

The attention is shifted to the seeing rather than focusing on the seer or the seen.

The fabricated mind = 'no-mind' of Zen.

This exercise (or ability to do it) is necessary to 'enter the stream', i.e., unless you get a glimpse or insight you're not on the quest.

New school goal is to actualize the mind of clear light.

[Classnotes AB 1983 0109 End]