Understanding Buddhist Realizations
Don Handrick
The main subject of this course in the FPMT Basic Program is the fourth chapter of Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations, ‘Application in the Complete Aspects’, which describes the bodhisattva’s meditation on the different aspects, 173 in total, that are related to the various levels of exalted wisdom, all for the purpose of attaining mastery over these in the culmination of the state of buddhahood. Extensive in content and rich in detail, this text provides fundamental knowledge of the varieties of Buddhist realizations, among them the 37 harmonies with enlightenment that include the four close placements of mindfulness and the eightfold noble path. In this course, we will complement our study of Maitreya’s text with Seventy Topics, a short commentary ideal for examining the content of the Ornament in general, and then utilize the textbook used for monastic studies in Sera Je college, Ocean of Sport, in order to investigate the fourth chapter in particular. Due to audio problems Lecture 19 on Wednesday February 24, 2016 is unavailable.