Using teachings on Prajnaparamita to enhance one’s daily practice
I’ve spent most of the morning learning the Prajnaparamita Sutra from HH The Dalai Lama. The interesting idea that came out of this is the application of the concept of dependent arising to metta practice. To be clear, this is unsurprising. Dependent arising is the nature of reality. So, its being applicable to metta is not news. However, in terms of what to expect, and in terms of encouraging perseverance during metta practice, it can be useful, based on the mental disposition of the student. So, let’s do a deep dive here.
In Sanskrit, the mantra is:
Prajñāpāramitāyām ukto mantraḥ tad-yathā:
gate, gate, pāragate, pārasaṁgate, Bodhi, svāhā!
The translation in English is:
In the Perfection of Wisdom the mantra has been uttered in this way:
Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond, Awakening, blessings!
OR
Such is it - Going, going, going beyond, gone beyond - so shall it be (or so be it).
The idea that everything is the product of causes and conditions isn’t a hard concept to take on board. This is also true of metta practice. As I keep bringing my mind back to metta, the mind keeps going in the direction of metta. Then the mind goes beyond its habitual form and embraces metta and changes. Then the mind, through continuous association, reaches a form that has metta as a significant part of it. In a sense, metta becomes a dominant factor in it. This is amazing, even as an object of intellectual contemplation.
Now, one of the things that the masters of the Thai forest tradition reiterate as being ‘right effort’ is - start with the easy stuff first. So, it isn’t wrong to want to gird my loins and put in extraordinary effort so that I can jump a level or several levels. However, if I want to integrate practice of any kind into my life, then learning to analyze where I can amass the best efforts in order to master the new learning, and also analyzing the nature and measure (quality and quantity) of that effort - this is necessary. This is why the teaching of the Thai Ajahns on ease of practice have a lot in common with the teaching of HH The Dalai Lama to use analysis to analyze and interpret reality.
So, if I want to undertake very practical work - step 1 seems to be mastering the easy, gentle slide into metta. Now, really quickly, let me say, HH The Dalai Lama giggling away is a mood. In fact - it is hilarious to see him giggling away, while the translator translates his most recent words from Tibetan to English. As I continue to learn from him, it seems to me that this is his way of putting people at ease, and of course, that may put him at ease as well. This sporadic giggling is a simple demonstration of metta. Since his jocular and friendly demeanor leads to the spirits of many being uplifted, I can now see the teaching that’s hidden in that giggle.
The application of the concept of dependent arising to metta practice, and the fact that repeated practice will lead to metta becoming a fixture in the mind, this much is clear now. What is also clear is that dependent-arising implies that those states of mind are heavy and neurotic will pass away as the causes and conditions that sustain them are eroded. (This too shall pass!) It is also clear that dependent arising in the context of positive mental states can be used as an encouragement to keep practising.
Previously, I reflected on the idea that part of the practice is vigilance. The ‘cop’ in the mind is very important. Moreover, to master moving from vigilance to a soft, gentle, easy, relaxed, metta-like mental quality - this is a very practically useful skill. But this is not all. I really want to combine all these skills into a practice and into a teaching practice. Didn’t The Buddha assert that one must be a light unto oneself?
The clear light nature of the mind, or the space-like nature of the mind, makes it capable of transforming into an endless variety and number of forms. So, the simple fact that I can transform one Saturday afternoon into efficiency itself - that isn’t farfetched. Not even remotely. I suspect that what I should carefully observe is the tendency to give habit all the power, and the specific mental shifts into states of powerlessness. Again, this is where the vigilant part of the mind comes into play.
I also want to include the ferocious protector, or guardian deity aspect of the mind in tackling time waste. This is a fierce embodiment of the vigilance quality of the mind. I’d like to combine this fierce, tough love with metta. That’s a great combo (I suspect) to achieve impulse control.
