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Mountain Doctrine

Part Seven

Döl-bo-ba makes the distinction that while a person  is still a sentient being, the basis is obstructed by defilements, and when a person has become a Buddha, the basis has separated from defilement, Thus, a process of purification must take place before Buddha-hood can be attained.

Although sentient beings already possess ultimate buddha-qualities, Dal-bo-ba avoids having to hold that ordinary sentient beings are alreadybuddhas by making distinctions between ultimate and conventional qualities 

and between ultimate buddha and conventionalbuddha.Noumenal ultimate buddha and buddha-qualities are already integrally present in the noumenon, qualities must be attained. Through an elaborate, reasoned argument he directly addresses the issue of whether endowment with ultimate buddha-qualities would absurdly make ordinary sentient beings Buddhas, concluding that it does not . He does this by pointing out that buddha-qualities have negative and positive aspects, called qualities of whereas conventional buddha and conventional buddha-donment of defilements and qualities of realisation. To show that all beings are primordially endowed with a buddha’s body of attributes and yet need to attain their conventional manifestation he uses the vocabulary of: primordial abandonment and primordial realisation that are contained within the noumenon abandonment and realisation that are attained through practicing spiritual paths that serve as antidotes to defilements. Döl-bo-ba cites an example found in many sütras and treatises that aptly makes the point that the basis and fruit are the same and yet spiritual development  is required . An unknown treasure (basis) exists under the home of a poor person that must be uncovered (path) through removing obstructive dirt (defilements), yielding the treasure (fruit) that always was there. Just as the treasure already exists and thus requires no further fashioning, so the matrix-of-one-gone-thus, endowed with ultimate buddha qualities, already dwells within each sentient being and needs only to be freed from defilements. He thereby emphasizes that: The body of attributes of a buddha pre-exists within sentient beings.

There are scriptures, reasonings, and also special quintessential instructions revealing the presence of this internal treasure, the matrix-of-one-gone-thus or matrix-of-one-gone-to-bliss. The practice of wisdom, along with its accompanying factors of merit. is required to remove the defilements preventing realization of this

resource.

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