Professor Thurman speaks one on one to a student about meditation practices, quiescence (pali: samatha, sanskrit: śhamatha), insight (pali: vipassanā, sanskrit: vipaśhyanā) and meditative realization (bhāvanā). Includes a discussion of the common misunderstandings of the three, and how to use them on the path to enlightenment.

“All phenomena of samsara and nirvana come about through cause and effect. This is never fallacious, never false. When we understand this and, in addition, have the underlying, sustaining support of our aiming at inherent existence fall apart, then we have entered the path pleasing to the Buddhas.

When we understand voidness, we will no longer have cognition aimed at inherent existence. In this way, the basis for these mistaken cognitions to arise – their sustaining support, which is our grasping for inherent existence – will have fallen apart or disappeared.

When we have gained understanding of renunciation, bodhichitta and voidness, through the power of listening to correct teachings on them and then thinking about and analyzing them until we gain conviction their meaning, we then need to devote ourselves single-pointedly to meditating on and realizing them.

We need to do with great joyous perseverance as the famous masters of the past have done, for instance the well-known Milarepa (Mi-la Ras-pa), the great Gyalwa Ensapa (rGyal-ba dBen-sa-pa) and his spiritual sons, Kedrub Sanggye Yeshe (mKhas-grub Sangs-rgyas ye-shes), Tsongkhapa’s close disciple, Ngawang Dragpa, and so on. Then we can reach the immemorial goal of enlightenment.”

HH Dalai Lama

This “Meditation & Realization” podcast is apart of the ‘Buddhism 101’ Series using classic teachings from Robert Thurman to elucidate basic concepts of the tradition.