Foreword by the Seventeenth Karmapa • xi
Foreword by the Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche • xiii
Foreword by the Seventh Shechen Rabjam • xv
Foreword by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche • xix
Foreword by Diana Judith Mukpo • xxi
Publisher’s Foreword • xxiii
Preface by the Sakyong, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche • xxv
Acknowledgments • xxvii
Editor’s Introduction • xxxi
Pronunciation of Sanskrit and Tibetan • li
part one Entering the Path
Encountering the Dharma
1. Beginning at the Beginning 3
2. The Frozen Space of Ego 6
3. The Path of Individual Salvation 11
4. Opening to the True Dharma 21
5. Joining Study and Practice 40
6. Achieving Sanity Here on Earth 46
7. The Path, the Vehicle, and the Traveler 56
8. Relating with a Teacher 61
9. The Painful Reality of Samsara 65
Taking Refuge
10. Buddhadharma Fever 81
11. Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels 89
Reflecting on the Three Jewels
12. The Sutra of the Recollection of the Noble Three Jewels 97
13. The Buddha 100
14. The Dharma 113
15. The Sangha 116
part two Discipline/Shila
Taming Neurosis
16. The Loneliness and Joy of Discipline 127
17. Taming the Neurotic Mind 133
18. Cutting the Root of Samsara 138
19. Continually Gnawing Rock 144
Cultivating Virtue
20. Becoming a Dharmic Person 155
21. Refraining from Harm 165
part three Meditation/Samadhi
Shamatha: The Practice of Mindfulness
22. Simplicity 173
23. Following the Example of the Buddha 179
24. The Basic Minimum 187
25. Taking Your Seat 193
26. Breathing Out 201
27. Labeling Thoughts 207
28. Touch and Go 212
29. Encountering Problems 215
30. Leading a Spotless Life 223
Refining Your Shamatha Practice
31. Resting in Shamatha 231
32. Identifying Obstacles to Shamatha 243
33. Antidotes to the Obstacles to Shamatha 248
34. Cutting Thoughts and Short-Circuiting the Kleshas 257
35. An Element of Magic 264
Working with the Mind
36. Transcending Dualistic Mind 267
37. Rediscovering Your Own Mind 273
38. Mixing Mind with Space 281
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
39. Mindfulness of Body 285
40. Mindfulness of Life 294
41. Mindfulness of Effort 304
42. Mindfulness of Mind 316
Vipashyana: The Practice of Awareness
43. The Freshness of Unconditional Mind 329
44. Beyond Picking and Choosing 337
45. The Art of Everyday Living 343
46. Glimpses of Emptiness 348
47. Investigating the Subtleties of Experience 353
48. Sharpening One’s Perception 359
49. Self-Perpetuating Awareness 367
part four The Four Noble Truths
Suffering
50. The Snowballing of Deception 373
51. Recognizing the Reality of Suffering 377
52. Dissecting the Experience of Suffering 382
The Origin of Suffering
53. The Power of Flickering Thoughts 397
54. The Development of Set Patterns 401
55. Perpetually Re-Creating Suffering 406
The Cessation of Suffering
56. Awakening and Blossoming 421
57. Meditation as the Path to Buddhahood 426
58. Transcending Samsara and Nirvana 431
The Truth of the Path
59. The Doubtless Path 443
60. The Five Paths 449
part five The Hinayana Journey
The Journey in Terms of Yanas
61. Shravakayana: The Yana of Hearing and Proclaiming 467
62. Pratyekabuddhayana: The Yana of Individual Salvation 478
The Journey in Terms of Paths
63. The Lesser Path of Accumulation 489
64. The Middle Path of Accumulation 499
65. The Greater Path of Accumulation 505
66. The Path of Unification 511
part six Knowledge/Prajna
Unraveling the Myth of Ego
67. Ego: The Thought That We Exist 519
68. Cutting Through the Numbness of Ego 526
69. Taking the Teachings to Heart 535
Appendix 1: A Hinayana Morning Liturgy • 547
Appendix 2: Working with Threefold Logic • 549
Appendix 3: Outline of Teachings • 551
Glossary • 573
Sources • 597
Resources • 607
About the Author • 609
Credits • 615
Index • 617
This comprehensive guide to the body of Buddhist teachings known as the hinayana brings together theory and practice in a way that reveals contemplative experience to be inseparable from the traditional concepts used to describe it. Based on teachings from the Vajradhatu Seminaries—the three-month-long meditation-and-study retreats that Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche led annually from 1973 to 1986—it covers in detail topics such as the four noble truths, karma, the four foundations of mindfulness, meditation, the refuge vows, the three jewels, the five skandhas, and more. The Path of Individual Liberation, along with its two companion volumes, presents a complete map of the Tibetan Buddhist path from beginning to middle to end, from a teacher who had an extraordinary ability to convey the buddhadharma to the hearts and minds of his students. (Shambhala Publications - Source Accessed March 21, 2019)
"To begin with, we have to find out who we are. When we do so, we realize that we are buddha already, that we possess buddha nature. We might like that, or we might find that difficult to accept." (page 17)
"The path is joyful. Being a human being, being yourself, being a member of the sangha, is joyful. You should really enjoy yourself. Enjoyment comes from the sense of things being truly what they are. That brings great joy, and it brings the greater joy of uncovering buddha nature, your inherent capacity for awakening..." (page 20)
"In the Buddhist-English terminology that has developed,
suchness or isness refers to something that is fully and truly there. It is connected with rediscovering buddha nature." (page 446)
To begin with, we have to find out who we are. When we do so, we realize that we are buddha already, that we possess buddha nature. We might like that, or we might find that difficult to accept.
~ Trungpa, Chögyam in The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One, page(s) 17
...the Buddha is referred to as sugata, “he who has gone joyfully on the path.” The Buddha is not referred to as “he who sat painfully,” or “he who felt bad about himself,” or “he who managed to get through his pain and has now attained buddhahood.” He is referred to as joyful.
The path is joyful. Being a human being, being yourself, being a member of the sangha, is joyful. You should really enjoy yourself. Enjoyment comes from the sense of things being truly what they are. That brings great joy, and it brings the greater joy of uncovering buddha nature, your inherent capacity for awakening...
~ Trungpa, Chögyam in The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One, page(s) 20
In the Buddhist-English terminology that has developed, suchness or isness refers to something that is fully and truly there. It is connected with rediscovering buddha nature.
~ Trungpa, Chögyam in The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One, page(s) 446