This book, "Modern Buddhism, Volume I - Sutra," is presented as a guide to scientific methods for improving our human nature and qualities by developing the capacity of our mind. The author, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, intends for this book to encourage readers to develop and maintain compassion and wisdom, guaranteeing that if everyone sincerely practices the path of compassion and wisdom, their problems will be solved and never arise again. **What is Buddhism, According to This Book?** At its heart, Buddhism is described as the practice of Buddha's teachings, also known as 'Dharma', which means 'protection'. The idea is that by putting these teachings into practice, living beings can be permanently protected from suffering. The founder is identified as Buddha Shakyamuni, who is said to have attained enlightenment in India in 589 BC. Following requests, Buddha began to teach, giving eighty-four thousand teachings, from which Buddhism developed. The book notes that today there are various forms of Buddhism like Zen and Theravada, but all are seen as equally precious practices of Buddha's teachings, just different presentations. This particular book explains Buddhism according to the Kadampa tradition, which the author has studied and practiced. The explanation is not just for intellectual understanding, but for gaining profound realizations to solve daily problems caused by delusions and accomplish the real meaning of human life. A core principle highlighted is that the mind has the power to create everything, both pleasant and unpleasant. The world we experience is seen as a result of the karma (actions) of the beings inhabiting it. Pure actions result in a pure world, and impure actions result in an impure world. Since actions are created by mind, ultimately everything is created by mind, and there is no creator other than the mind. Living beings are said to have been under the control of their minds since beginningless time, like servants without choice, but through practicing the instructions in this book, one can gain control over the mind and achieve real freedom. Putting Buddha's teachings into practice is emphasized as the _only_ real method to solve human problems. Unlike modern technology, which can sometimes increase suffering and dangers, Dharma is the actual method to control attachment and other delusions, which are seen as the source of problems. For instance, practicing teachings on renunciation helps solve problems from attachment, universal compassion addresses anger, and the profound view of emptiness addresses ignorance. The root of attachment and all suffering is identified as self-grasping ignorance – a lack of understanding about how things actually exist. Without relying on Buddha's teachings, one cannot recognize this ignorance, and without practicing teachings on emptiness, it cannot be abandoned. Thus, liberation from suffering depends on practicing Dharma. For Buddhists, faith in Buddha Shakyamuni is considered their spiritual life and the root of all Dharma realizations. Deep faith is said to lead to a strong wish to practice, which in turn leads to effort, and effort leads to permanent liberation. Developing and maintaining this faith comes from understanding the need for permanent liberation, seeing the endless cycle of suffering (sickness, ageing, death, uncontrolled rebirth) in samsara (impure life), and recognizing that only Buddha's teachings offer the method to abandon self-grasping ignorance, the source of this suffering. Buddha is seen as having immense compassion in revealing the wisdom path to liberation, a compassion even greater than one's mother's. Buddha's function is also to bestow mental peace through blessings, which is seen as the source of happiness, as happiness depends on a peaceful mind, not external conditions. **The Kadampa Tradition** The book explains that the Kadampa tradition, which it follows, is the union of Buddha's teachings ('Ka') and Atisha's instructions on Lamrim ('dam'). Sincere practitioners are called 'Kadampas'. There are ancient and new Kadampa traditions; the ancient emphasized Sutra, while the new, founded by Je Tsongkhapa, equally emphasizes both Sutra and Tantra. Kadampas sincerely rely upon Buddha Shakyamuni as the source of Kadam Lamrim. They also rely upon Avalokiteshvara (Buddha of Compassion) and the Wisdom Dharma Protector, indicating compassion and wisdom as their main practices. Arya Tara is also relied upon because she promised Atisha to take special care of Kadampa practitioners. These four are called the ‘Four Kadampa Guru Deities’. The founder of the Kadampa tradition is the great Master Atisha, born in India in 982 AD. He was a prince named Chandragarbha, later called Atisha (meaning Peace) because of his calm nature. From a young age, he reportedly received visions and advice from Arya Tara, who encouraged him to study and practice Dharma instead of becoming attached to worldly life. Atisha's spiritual journey involved seeking out various qualified Spiritual Guides, receiving instructions on refuge, bodhichitta, the profound path, the vast path, and Tantra. He mastered both Hinayana and Mahayana teachings and was respected by teachers of both traditions, regarded as a second Buddha. He gained special knowledge of the three sets of Buddha's teachings (moral discipline, discourses, wisdom) and the four classes of Tantra, mastering various arts and sciences as well. Crucially, he attained realizations of the three higher trainings: higher moral discipline, higher concentration, and higher wisdom, which encompass all stages of the path in both Sutra and Tantra. He was known for keeping his vows purely, showing strong mindfulness and conscientiousness. The book describes how Atisha was invited to Tibet by King Yeshe Ö and his nephew Jangchub Ö to help restore pure Dharma, which had become mixed with perversions. The king sacrificed his life to provide the gold needed to invite Atisha, sending messengers to India with the request. Arya Tara had predicted that going to Tibet would benefit countless beings. Atisha accepted the invitation, traveling secretly to Tibet. He was welcomed with great respect, and his arrival was seen as the arrival of a second Buddha. Upon arrival in Tibet, Atisha was asked to give instructions that everyone could follow, unifying the paths of Sutra and Tantra. To fulfill this request, he composed "Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment," the first text on the stages of the path, known as Lamrim. These teachings were given in Ngari and central Tibet, leading many disciples to develop great wisdom. **The Preciousness of Kadam Lamrim** Kadam Lamrim is based on Ornament of Clear Realization by Buddha Maitreya, a commentary on the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. Je Tsongkhapa later wrote commentaries on Atisha's Lamrim instructions, helping them flourish. Kadam Lamrim presents the stages of the path in three scopes: initial, middling, and great. All of Buddha's teachings, Sutra and Tantra, are included within these three scopes. Kadam Lamrim is seen as the supreme medicine for curing sickness and delusions, adapted to people's different capacities. It's considered the main body and condensation of all Buddha's teachings, very practical and suitable for everyone. Listening to and practicing the entire Lamrim is considered listening to and practicing all of Buddha's teachings. Through practicing Lamrim, one understands that none of Buddha's teachings are contradictory, practices all teachings, easily realizes Buddha's ultimate view, and becomes free from mistaken views. It is considered a wishfulfilling jewel because it helps fulfill the wish for permanent liberation and happiness for oneself and others. Kadam Dharma is described as a special Buddhadharma suitable for everyone, even non-Buddhists, because it accords with everyday experiences and cannot be separated from daily life. It helps make life happy and meaningful, solve temporary problems, and ultimately leads to liberation. Even amidst increasing suffering and dangers (due to "five impurities" not detailed in these excerpts), Lamrim practice allows one to transform difficulties into spiritual opportunities, encouraging renunciation, compassion, and wisdom realizing that impurities result from non-virtuous actions. Experiencing suffering leads Lamrim practitioners to think of others' greater suffering, developing compassion, which leads quickly to enlightenment. Kadam Lamrim is called the supreme medicine for sickness, ageing, death, and rebirth, a scientific method to improve human nature, a mirror to see reality, and a way to see the kindness of all living beings. **The Structure of the Path (Lamrim)** The book is structured around the stages of the path, explained in the context of three types of individuals based on their capacity for spiritual understanding: initial, middling, and great scope. **1. The Path of a Person of Initial Scope** A person of initial scope has an initial capacity for spiritual understanding. The purpose of this stage is to encourage taking the real meaning of human life by not wasting it on meaningless activities. The real meaning is attaining permanent liberation and enlightenment through Dharma practice. Material development is seen as not the real meaning, as it doesn't reduce suffering and often increases it. Attaining enlightenment fulfills one's own wishes, allows fulfilling others' wishes, and provides permanent liberation, enabling one to directly benefit every being daily. Enlightenment is described as the inner light of wisdom, free from mistaken appearance, whose function is to bestow mental peace. The opportunity to attain this through human rebirth is precious and extremely rare, likened to a blind turtle surfacing in a vast ocean and putting its head through a floating yoke only once every hundred thousand years. Meeting Buddhadharma (entering Buddhism by taking refuge and having the opportunity to progress on the path) is even rarer. Wasting this precious opportunity is considered the greatest loss and foolishness. To encourage Dharma practice now, while the opportunity exists, meditating on death is crucial. Contemplating the certainty of death, its uncertain time, and the many causes of untimely death helps overcome attachment to worldly things and the laziness that prevents Dharma practice. The contemplation leads to the determination to devote one's life to pure Dharma practice. During meditation breaks, recognizing worldly pleasures as deceptive encourages abandoning attachment. Understanding the dangers of lower rebirth (as animals, hungry ghosts, or hell beings) is also important to encourage preparing protection now. Non-virtuous actions are the main cause of lower rebirths, while virtuous actions and seeking refuge are the causes of precious human rebirth. Meditating on the potential sufferings of lower realms creates a wise fear that motivates seeking refuge. 'Going for refuge' means seeking refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha to protect oneself permanently from lower rebirth. This practice is the gateway into Buddhism; by making a promise to seek refuge throughout life, one enters Buddhism. Maintaining this promise and applying effort to receive Buddha's blessings, practice Dharma, and receive help from the Sangha are the commitments of the refuge vow. While police or doctors offer temporary protection from certain dangers, only seeking refuge provides permanent liberation from all sufferings. Buddhas are pure, awakened beings who bestow mental peace through blessings, making them the source of happiness. Dharma is the actual protection from suffering, and Sangha are spiritual friends who guide one on the path. These 'Three Jewels' help fulfill one's own and others' wishes. Reciting prayers to Buddhas and joining group prayers (pujas) are methods to receive blessings. The meditation on going for refuge involves contemplating the need for permanent liberation, determining to seek refuge in the Three Jewels, and maintaining this promise. Understanding karma (action and its effects) is essential to prevent future suffering and build the foundation for the path. Non-virtuous actions lead to suffering, and virtuous actions lead to happiness. Abandoning non-virtuous actions and purifying past ones constitutes moral discipline, preventing future suffering and lower rebirth. Meditation is considered a virtuous mental action that causes future mental peace and happiness. Mental actions (intentions) are seen as more important than bodily or verbal ones, as they determine the latter. **2. The Path of a Person of Middling Scope** A person of middling scope has a middling capacity for spiritual understanding. This stage focuses on the Four Noble Truths as taught by Buddha. - **What We Should Know:** Buddha advises knowing sufferings, specifically the unbearable sufferings of countless future lives in samsara. While everyone knows their present suffering, Buddha urges knowing the sufferings of future lives to develop renunciation – the determination to liberate oneself permanently. This wisdom motivates using the precious human life for the freedom and happiness of future lives, which is vastly more important than focusing only on this short life, a mindset likened to animals. Vivid descriptions of the sufferings in the animal, hungry ghost, and hell realms are given to emphasize the urgency of seeking liberation. The suffering of death, the ultimate deprivation, is also noted. Meditating on these points leads to the realization of renunciation, entering the path to liberation (nirvana). - **What We Should Abandon:** Buddha advises abandoning origins, which are identified as delusions, principally self-grasping ignorance. Self-grasping is the source of all suffering and problems, an 'inner demon' destroying mental peace. This ignorance believes that self, body, and other things exist mistakenly, leading to attachment, anger, non-virtuous actions, and subsequent suffering. Self-grasping is seen as an inner poison, a poisonous tree from which all other delusions (branches) and suffering (fruit) arise. Permanently abandoning self-grasping stops all future suffering. The determination to recognize, reduce, and abandon self-grasping should be meditated upon. - **What We Should Practise:** Buddha advises practicing the path, referring to an inner path of spiritual realization leading to liberation and enlightenment. This path is condensed into the three higher trainings: higher moral discipline, higher concentration, and higher wisdom, motivated by renunciation. Moral discipline is a virtuous determination to abandon inappropriate actions, making one's actions pure and serving as a foundation for spiritual progress. Concentration is a single-pointed virtuous mind that brings mental peace and prevents distractions, crucial for progress in any Dharma practice. Wisdom is a virtuous intelligent mind that understands meaningful objects like karma and emptiness. It's distinguished from worldly intelligence and is seen as an inner Spiritual Guide and divine eye. Training in higher wisdom involves contemplating and meditating on emptiness with a motivation of renunciation. The three higher trainings are likened to a body (moral discipline), hands (concentration), and a saw (wisdom) working together to cut down the poisonous tree of self-grasping ignorance, leading to permanent cessation of suffering (nirvana/liberation). The determination to practice these trainings must be meditated upon. - **What We Should Attain:** Buddha advises attaining cessations, meaning the permanent cessation of suffering and its root, self-grasping ignorance. This urges not settling for temporary liberation but aiming for nirvana and enlightenment, the ultimate goal of human life. The endless cycle of suffering (sickness, ageing, death, rebirth) experienced by all beings necessitates developing strong renunciation. While addressing temporary problems like poverty or disease is fine, one shouldn't be satisfied with only this, as suffering continues in future lives and is even increasing due to modern technology. The goal is permanent cessation of self-grasping ignorance by practicing the three higher trainings. **3. The Path of a Person of Great Scope** A person of great scope has a great capacity for spiritual understanding. This path is more extensive, covering Sutra and Tantra. The central practice here is developing bodhichitta, the supreme good heart. While renunciation is the door to liberation, a great scope practitioner is not content with their own liberation but considers the welfare of countless other beings who are suffering. The happiness and freedom of others are deemed much more important, leading one to enter the Bodhisattva's path to full enlightenment. Bodhichitta is the mind that spontaneously wishes to attain enlightenment to benefit every single living being directly. Developing this mind makes one a Bodhisattva, a Son or Daughter of the Conqueror Buddhas. Developing bodhichitta requires training through five stages: affectionate love, cherishing love, wishing love, universal compassion, and actual bodhichitta. - **Affectionate Love:** This training involves developing a warm heart and feeling close to all beings without exception, balancing the mind from attachment or anger towards others. Seeing others, even perceived enemies, as kind mothers from former lives helps develop this. - **Cherishing Love:** This is not explicitly detailed as a separate step with its own explanation section but is mentioned within the context of wishing love and equalizing self and others. - **Wishing Love:** This is wishing for all living beings to experience happiness. It's also called immeasurable love and yields immeasurable benefits. Meditating on it is seen as accumulating greater merit than merely providing temporary relief like food, as it leads beings to the pure, everlasting happiness of enlightenment. - **Universal Compassion:** This is the spontaneous wish to attain enlightenment to benefit every living being directly. It's a feeling that one cannot bear the suffering of countless beings drowning in samsara. Meditating on this determination is universal compassion and applying effort fulfills its aim. Seeing all previous Buddhas born from the mother, universal compassion, highlights its importance. - **Actual Bodhichitta:** This is the spontaneous wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. The moment this is developed, one becomes a Bodhisattva on the path of accumulation. Following the path with the vehicle of bodhichitta leads through various stages to the Path of No More Learning (enlightenment). Attaining Buddha's enlightenment allows direct benefit to all beings through blessings and emanations. Recognizing that ordinary "happiness" in samsara is just changing suffering, not real happiness, reinforces the need to seek the pure, everlasting happiness of enlightenment. Bodhichitta is seen as an inner Spiritual Guide leading to enlightenment, a wishfulfilling jewel for oneself and others. Meditating on the determination to liberate all beings and attain enlightenment for their sake is the practice of bodhichitta. **Training in the Path of Bodhichitta** The path of bodhichitta involves three stages: training in the six perfections, training in taking, and training in giving, the latter two done in conjunction with the six perfections. - **The Six Perfections:** These are the actual path to enlightenment and the Bodhisattva's training. They are the practices of giving, moral discipline, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom, _motivated by bodhichitta_. Taking the Bodhisattva's vow, promising to engage in these practices, is necessary after generating bodhichitta. The six perfections should be our daily practice. - **Giving:** Includes giving material help, practical help, protection (saving lives), love (cherishing all beings), and Dharma (meaningful advice). - **Moral Discipline:** Abandoning inappropriate actions, especially breaking Bodhisattva vows, to purify body, speech, and mind. - **Patience:** Never becoming angry or discouraged, accepting difficulties or harm, wearing supreme inner armour against suffering. Anger destroys merit, while patience helps accomplish any spiritual aim. - **Effort:** Relying on irreversible effort to accumulate merit and wisdom, essential causes for attaining Buddha's bodies. Emphasis is placed on contemplating and meditating on emptiness. - **Concentration:** At this stage, emphasizing tranquil abiding observing emptiness. Clear and strong concentration is key for progress. Achieving concentration of tranquil abiding with superior seeing (wisdom realizing emptiness clearly) marks progress to the path of preparation. - **Wisdom:** Increasing the power of superior seeing by meditating on emptiness with bodhichitta. When this transforms into direct realization of emptiness (path of seeing), one becomes a Superior Bodhisattva, free from samsara's sufferings. Continuing meditation on emptiness with bodhichitta is the path of meditation. Completing this leads to omniscient wisdom (Path of No More Learning/enlightenment). - **Training in Taking (Tonglen):** Taking others' sufferings upon oneself through meditation with a motivation of compassion. This practice has benefits like purifying karmic potentials causing disease, accumulating merit, ripening the potential to benefit others, and purifying the mind. The story of Kharak Gomchen being cured of leprosy through this practice is given as an example. The meditation involves imagining others' sufferings as black smoke dissolving into one's own self-grasping and self-cherishing, believing that others are freed from suffering and one's ignorance is destroyed. This practice, especially focusing on all beings, makes the mind and actions pure. Dying with strong compassion from this practice is said to lead to rebirth in a Buddha's Pure Land, experiencing permanent liberation. Geshe Chekhawa's experience is cited, where his wish to be reborn in hell to help hell beings was overcome by his compassion leading him to a Pure Land instead. Believing that beings are freed through this meditation, even if not yet realized conventionally, is seen as correct because it arises from compassion and wisdom, ripening one's potential quickly. This meditation is considered a quick path to enlightenment, similar to Tantric practice, relying on correct belief and imagination. It is practiced in conjunction with the six perfections. - **Training in Giving (Tonglen):** Giving one's own happiness to others through meditation. This recognizes that ordinary "happiness" in samsara is not real and is temporary. One regards their very subtle body (Buddha nature) as a wishfulfilling jewel. The meditation involves giving one's own future happiness of enlightenment to all beings by emanating light from one's heart, strongly believing that each being experiences this happiness. This makes one like a Bodhisattva practicing shepherd-like bodhichitta, prioritizing others' happiness. Benefits include increasing wishing love, ripening the potential to benefit others, accumulating merit, and causing ordinary appearances and conceptions to cease. It is a special meditation on wishing love and is considered a quick path to enlightenment similar to Tantra. It is practiced in conjunction with the six perfections. **Training in Ultimate Bodhichitta (Emptiness)** Ultimate bodhichitta is a wisdom that directly realizes emptiness, motivated by bodhichitta. It's the nature of wisdom, complementing conventional bodhichitta (compassion), like two wings for flight to enlightenment. Knowing emptiness is essential for training in ultimate bodhichitta. Knowledge of emptiness is considered superior, the teacher teaching it unmistakenly superior, and its realization the essence of Buddhadharma. - **What is Emptiness?:** Emptiness is the way things _really_ are, contrasted with how they _appear_. Things appear to exist inherently, from their own side, independent of mind, but this is deceptive. In reality, all phenomena (like a book, body, friends, universe) lack true, inherent existence; they are mere appearances to mind, like things in a dream. Just as a dream elephant disappears when the dream ends because it was only an appearance to mind, so too do all phenomena. Buddha said phenomena are like illusions, where appearance doesn't match reality. Due to imprints of self-grasping, things appear truly existent, but are empty of this. Grasping at these deceptive appearances leads to delusions and suffering. - **Understanding Emptiness:** To understand emptiness, one can analyze their own body. When searching for a body (or a car, house, etc.) with wisdom, separate from its parts, one cannot find it; it is unfindable. This unfindability is the emptiness or true nature of the body. The body we normally grasp at doesn't exist at all in the way it appears. Ignoring this true nature and focusing on the deceptive appearance leads to suffering. Acquainting the mind with emptiness reduces grasping, suffering, anxiety, and physical discomfort, bringing peace and happiness. For someone with a direct realization of emptiness, physical harm doesn't cause pain, and external conditions don't disturb the mind because they are seen as illusory. - **Conventional and Ultimate Truths:** It they are seen as merely imputed by mind. - **Emptiness of Mind and Self:** One should analyze their own mind and self for inherent existence. The mind's nature is described as empty like space. By searching for the mind within its parts, one realizes its unfindability, which is its ultimate nature, emptiness. Realizing that phenomena are the nature of the mind and the mind is the nature of emptiness leads to feeling everything dissolving into emptiness. Similarly, analyzing the self ('I') reveals that the inherently existent 'I' that normally appears and is grasped at does not exist upon investigation. The self exists only as a mere conceptual imputation. Grasping at an 'I' existing independently of this imputation is the problem. The unfindability of the self is its emptiness. - **Meditation on Emptiness:** Conceptual minds grasping at inherent existence are wrong awarenesses, but not all conceptual thoughts are wrong. Correct conceptual minds, like remembering the past or planning the future, are useful. Spiritual conceptual minds, like conventional bodhichitta or the inferential cognizer of emptiness (a generic image of the absence of inherent existence), need cultivation. Trying to empty the mind of all conceptual thoughts without a conceptual understanding of emptiness is seen as mistaken; it may lead to a space-like vacuity, but not the actual realization of emptiness that destroys delusions. - **Relationship with Karma and Impermanence:** Understanding emptiness can be aided by contemplating karma and impermanence. Experiences and the world arise from karma (mental intentions), showing how worlds arise from the mind, similar to dream appearances being ripenings of karmic potentials. Understanding subtle impermanence (moment-to-moment change) of self, body, mind, etc., makes it easier to understand their emptiness of inherent existence. - **The Eight Extremes:** Understanding emptiness involves realizing that phenomena are empty of the 'eight extremes' of production, disintegration, impermanence, permanence, going, coming, singularity, and plurality, as they appear to normally exist. The minds grasping at these extremes are aspects of self-grasping ignorance. Permanently ceasing this ignorance through meditating on emptiness ends suffering. This subject is profound, explained in Perfection of Wisdom Sutras and Nagarjuna's works. Understanding conventional and ultimate natures is necessary for full understanding. - **Relative Truths:** While the universe is ultimately an appearance to mind, within ordinary experience, relative truths and falsities exist. Conventional truths can be gross (like a car, its causes, parts) or subtle (the car existing as a mere imputation by thought). Understanding subtle conventional truth (mere imputation) requires understanding emptiness and means realizing both conventional and ultimate truth. - **Direct Realization:** Ultimate truth is defined as a phenomenon true for the uncontaminated mind of a Superior being, a mind that directly realizes emptiness. Ordinary minds are mistaken and cannot directly perceive ultimate truth. Superior Bodhisattvas meditating on emptiness experience their mind mixing completely with emptiness, free from inherent appearance. When arising from meditation, conventional phenomena reappear as inherently existent due to imprints, and the uncontaminated wisdom becomes non-manifest. Only a Buddha can simultaneously realize conventional and ultimate truth directly. Tantric ultimate bodhichitta is considered more profound than Sutra alone. - **Meditating on Emptiness in Stages:** Realizing the emptiness of one extreme helps realize others; realizing the emptiness of the eight extremes means realizing the emptiness of all phenomena. Meditation involves contemplating reasons for emptiness, feeling phenomena dissolving, and maintaining single-pointed concentration on the mere absence of what normally appears. For example, contemplating the unfindability of the self proves the self we normally see doesn't exist. Perceiving this mere absence (emptiness) and merging the mind with it is 'space-like meditative equipoise'. Avoiding constant analysis during meditation and allowing the mind to relax into emptiness is important. Improving understanding requires extensive study and familiarity with reasoning. - **Union of the Two Truths:** Conventional truths (like the body) and ultimate truths (like the emptiness of the body) are the same nature. Dualistic appearance (seeing both the body and its inherent existence) is subtle mistaken appearance, overcome only by Buddhas. Understanding the union helps prevent dualistic appearances during meditation and allows the mind to dissolve into emptiness. Realizing that emptiness is the very nature of the body and there is no body apart from this emptiness greatly weakens self-grasping. - **Sameness of All Emptinesses:** Understanding that all emptinesses are the same nature helps the mind mix with emptiness more easily during meditation and see all appearances as equal manifestations of emptiness during meditation break. This understanding helps close the perceived gap between mind and emptiness. Seeing phenomena as equal in emptiness, despite different appearances, helps balance the mind and solve problems arising from attachment, aversion, and ignorance. This leads to a peaceful, balanced, and joyful experience, the 'yoga of equalizing samsara and nirvana'. The ultimate nature of the meditating mind and its object (emptiness) are ultimately of one taste. Milarepa's analogy of the sky (emptiness) and clouds (conventional truths) illustrates this; understanding the sky helps understand the clouds. - **Analogy of Unproduced Space:** Unproduced space (the mere absence of obstructive contact) is a permanent phenomenon and the best analogy for understanding emptiness. The only difference is the object of negation (obstructive contact for space, inherent existence for emptiness). Unproduced space is a non-affirming negative phenomenon. - **Daily Practice of Emptiness:** In daily life, one should believe that all appearances are illusory. Remembering that inherently existent appearances are deceptive and that things do not actually exist in that way helps increase wisdom and diminish delusions. Just as a magician knows an illusory horse isn't real, familiar meditators know inherently existent appearances are not real. This prevents grasping at attractive or unattractive objects. Thinking of all phenomena as like dreams, mere appearances to mind, is helpful. Understanding and meditating on emptiness is the greatest method for peace of mind, curing problems, and attaining liberation/enlightenment. - **A Simple Training Method:** This involves contemplating the unfindability of the body, self, and all phenomena through analysis of parts, realizing the mere absence of what normally appears, and meditating on this emptiness. Concentration is developed through stages: placing the mind (1 minute), continual placement (5 minutes), replacement (immediately remembering the object), and close placement (maintaining concentration throughout the session). With close placement, one aims for tranquil abiding on emptiness, leading to superior seeing (clear wisdom realizing emptiness). Continually meditating on this leads to direct realization of emptiness, actual ultimate bodhichitta, making one a Superior Bodhisattva. **Relying on the Spiritual Guide** The Spiritual Teacher is considered indispensable until enlightenment, as attaining enlightenment depends on receiving Buddha's blessings through the Spiritual Guide. The Spiritual Teacher is seen as an emanation of Buddha, correctly guiding one on the paths of renunciation, bodhichitta, and emptiness. Listening to the Spiritual Guide's instructions is indispensable until ultimate truth is realized, preventing one from falling into extreme views. **Preliminary Practices and Examination** All contemplations and meditations should be practiced with preliminary practices (purifying mind, accumulating merit, receiving blessings) to ensure success. One should examine their practice of renunciation, bodhichitta, and emptiness by checking if attachment, self-cherishing, and self-grasping still remain. Reducing and controlling these delusions indicates qualified practice and being a 'great Yogi or Yogini'. This briefing covers the main topics and structure of "Modern Buddhism, Volume I - Sutra" as presented in the provided excerpts, offering an easy-to-follow, yet detailed, explanation of the path it describes. Remember, this is just Volume I of three, focusing on Sutra teachings, which build a strong foundation for further practice. **Further Ideas to Explore Based on This Briefing:** - How does the Kadampa tradition specifically unify Sutra and Tantra? (Volume II of the book might cover Tantra in more detail). - What are the specific 'five impurities' mentioned as increasing suffering and dangers everywhere? - Can the analogy of the blind turtle and the yoke be explored more deeply to appreciate the rarity of human life and encountering Dharma? - How does meditation on death differ from just fearing death, and why is it considered wise fear? - What are the specific practices and vows associated with higher moral discipline, particularly the Pratimoksha and Bodhisattva vows? - How does meditation develop from simple placing of the mind to tranquil abiding and superior seeing? - How exactly does meditating on the 'mere absence' of an object lead to realizing its emptiness? - What are the "Prayers for Meditation" and how do they function as preliminary practices? - What are the other two volumes of "Modern Buddhism" about (presumably Tantra and Prayers)?