March 15 Homework

Questions:

“sentient beings’ karma and the buddhas’ actions have equal power” — as quoted by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in a commentary on a Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga text. Please explain this quote.

“Giving to your Guru is the same as making continual offerings to all the Buddhas. From such giving much merit is gathered. From such collection comes the supreme powerful attainments of Buddhahood.” 50 verses of guru devotion ~ Asvaghosa Please explain this verse. Hint: remember the Six Perfections?

“Having become the disciple of such a protecting Guru should you then despise him from your heart, you will reap continual suffering as if you had disparaged all the buddhas.” 50 verses of guru devotion ~ Asvaghosa Please explain this verse. Are the faults that you are seeing coming from your side? Or the teacher’s side? Is the teacher testing you?

In a teaching on faith, Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche used the analogy of someone throwing down a strong rope to a person who had fallen down into a deep pit. What do you think he meant? Hint: the rope is the faith.

Meditation:

please read and reflect on this prayer:

The Hundred Deities of the Land of Snow http://www.gadenforthewest.org/prayers/LamaTsongKhapaSadhana_1_5.pdf

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Presenting the Path: Homework Jan 19

Questions

1. List several counter-arguments to the attitude that people who are suffering misfortunes are “getting what they deserve” because of the non-virtuous actions that they committed in the past.
2. Explain this statement by Geshe Sopa “…if you do not have any trust in karma and its results, then the whole structure of Buddhism has no base, no ground.”
3. Choose an example from your own life of a non-virtuous or virtuous action and please describe the basis, thought, action, and culmination of the action.

Daily Prayer

The Foundation of All Good Qualities

Daily Meditation

Karma, as outlined in The Lam Rim Beginners Outline available here: http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/A%20-%20Tibetan%20Buddhism/Subjects/The%20Stages%20of%20the%20Path/Lam%20Rim%20Outlines/lam_rim_outline.pdf

A beautiful printed version is also available from FPMT’s shop (www.fpmt.org)

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If you  prefer to respond privately, please email me at spc@guhyasamaja.org.  Lorne and I welcome your feedback about the class.

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Homework: Jan 5

1. What does it mean to attain Enlightenment?
2. How will practicing Buddhism help me improve my relationships both with myself and others in the near term?
3. “We usually look outside for our enemies. But Buddhist yogis realize there is no enemy outside, the real enemy is inside.” Method, Wisdom and the Three Paths” by Geshe Sopa p. 12 of the Required Readings. Explain briefly how self cherishing is the source of all our troubles.
4. Why is being born in the human realm considered so precious, and how can we best use our short lifespan?
5. Why is it so necessary to have a spiritual teacher?

Daily Prayer

Foundation of All Good Qualities by Lama Tsong Khapa
http://www.lamayeshe.com/otherteachers/khapa/ltk_fdtn.shtml

Daily Meditation

When you first wake up in the morning, spend a few minutes rejoicing that you are alive because of all the positive karma that you created in the past, remember that death or illness may strike at any time thus cutting short your opportunity to practice Dharma — to accumulate merit by helping others, and to remove negative karma. Then get out of bed, do 5 – 10 minutes of a simple breathing/mindfulness meditation. When your mind feels focused, spend at least another 5 – 10 minutes on the weekly analytical meditation topic (e.g., precious human rebirth). Close with a short dedication of merit.

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How to participate in the Discovering Buddhism blog

Hi! You found the blog for “Presenting the Path”. This blog is primarily for students enrolled in the Guhyasamaja Center’s on-going class (Jan 5 – Feb 23, 2008). If you are currently not enrolled in this class but are visiting the blog, you are welcome to read the postings, however, please do not post answers.

Each week’s homework will be posted here as a new entry. Simply post your response as a comment. I will review your response and give you some feed back. If you would rather respond privately, you can email me at: spc@guhyasamaja.org. Even if you don’t have time to prepare a written response, please read the questions and think about them.

(If you are new to blogging, please take a quick look at the Blog Rules and Guidance. One curious thing about this blog is that there’s no built in “Print” feature. So if you want to print out the questions, you can highlight the text with your mouse, click Ctrl + C and then paste the text into a word processing program.)

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me by phone at 703-774-9692, or spc@guhyasamaja.org, or contact the Blog Editor at: gcsanghablog@gmail.com.

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