Category: Buddhist Path | Recent Meditation Posts
Lam-rim is Tibetan for “stages of the path.” Tibetan Buddhism has a rich tradition of lam-rim texts, based on the teachings of the 11th-century Buddhist master, Lama Atisha. These texts present a graduated path to enlightenment that serves as a map for our practice.
The Essential Teachings Of Buddha (and Atisha’s Step-by-step Path)
Buddhism became the official religion of Tibet in the 8th century. By the 11th century, concerns were arising over how Buddhism was being taught and practiced, and what was perhaps being lost in translation. Misunderstandings regarding seemingly contradictory teachings had been passed down within the predominantly oral tradition. So, 1500 years after the death of the historical Buddha, a Tibetan king named Yeshe O sought an Indian Buddhist master to help clarify the Buddha’s intent.
Ultimately, the great Lama Atisha was brought to Tibet to satisfy this request. In Tibet, Atisha spent three years giving the teachings that would later be compiled into the extraordinary written work, the Bodhipathapradipa, A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment. The text, Atisha’s crowning achievement, organizes the Buddha’s essential teachings into a step-by-step path that walks one through the stages of awakening, based on their motivation and capacity for understanding.
Notably, the Tibetan king did not ask Atisha to illuminate the Buddha’s most complicated, esoteric teachings. His priority was to clarify misunderstandings regarding how one is to practice in order to tame the mind and avoid the reactivity that leads to negative karma. Atisha was so overcome by the practicality of the request that he was inspired to oblige.
Atisha’s work is the foundation for lojong practice or mind training, and for all later lam-rim commentaries, written by the masters of every major school of Tibetan Buddhism. In the 12th century, Je Gampopa of the Kagyu school wrote the illuminating practice guide called Jewel Ornament of Liberation. Gampopa explained that reading this lam-rim was no different than meeting the precious teacher Gampopa in person. The most extensive of these commentaries is the Lam-Rim Chen Mo, The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path, written by the 15th-century Gelug master Je Tsongkhapa. A popular 20th-century version is Pabongka Rinpoche’s Liberation in the Palm of your Hand.
The Lam-Rim Stages Of The Path
The lam-rim stages of the path differ slightly across the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism. All of them, however, lay out a graduated path to liberation. Buddhist masters emphasize that step-by-step does not equate to slow. In fact, following the lam-rim is considered the fast path to awakening, as we take no wrong turns along the way, skip no essential teaching, and steadily move towards our goal.
The authentic Buddhist teachings outlined in the lam-rim include the following..
- How to select and rely on a spiritual teacher
- Making the most of spiritual opportunities and resources
- Contemplating impermanence in the form of death
- Contemplating the suffering of the lower realms
- Taking shelter in the three jewels of Buddha, dharma and sangha
- Understanding the laws of karma
- Contemplating samsara and nirvana
- Developing the wish for enlightenment
- Developing bodhicitta and equanimous compassion
- Training in the six perfections, the actions of a bodhisattva
- Training in shamatha and vipashyana meditation
- Analyzing the four extremes
- Cultivating wisdom
The lam-rim arranges Buddhist teachings in a logical manner and explains the practical intent of each teaching. It clearly defines who is qualified to give the teachings, and who is qualified to receive them, based on their understanding of previous stages of the path and their motivation. This makes the lam-rim a comprehensive, beneficial resource for all practitioners, regardless of where they currently find themselves along the Buddhist levels of enlightenment.
Buddhist Paths To Liberation
Buddhist paths to liberation include contemplating the four noble truths, avoiding the ten misdeeds, adopting the six perfections, and committing to the stages of the eightfold path. But how do these and others fit together? The lam-rim integrates these teachings into a single journey of a progressively more profound embodiment of compassion and wisdom.
We can authenticate Atisha’s map and later commentaries by holding them accountable to the three supreme qualities of all Buddhist teachings. The lam-rim contains teachings that came directly from the Buddha. It is complete and comprehensive, and those who have brought us these teachings are masters of both theory and practice.
By following a lam-rim outline, we too, can master both Buddhist theory and practice. By taking ourselves to a trusted teacher and committing to the 3 trainings of hearing, meditating and contemplating the teachings, we will certainly strengthen the compassion and wisdom that blossoms into the realization of our true nature.
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