The Inner Science of Buddhist Practice: Vasubandhu's Summary of the Five Heaps with Commentary by Sthiramati (The Tsadra Foundation Series)

The Inner Science of Buddhist Practice is a lucid explanation of the Buddhist concepts of mind and mental factors. The introduction explains how a better understanding of Buddhist terminology and concepts can enhance spiritual practice, especially that of the teaching system known as the Stages of the Path. This book expertly delineates the system of classical Buddhist psychology. "The Inner Science of Buddhist Practice contains translations of texts by two historically important Indian Buddhist scholars: Vasubhandhu's Summary of the Five Heaps and Sthiramati's commentary on Vasubandhu's root text. These works present the traditional Buddhist analysis of ordinary experience and provide rich resources for studying Buddhist and Western interpretations of the psychology of spiritual development." "According to Buddhist doctrine, the mind of an ordinary person, even at birth, holds deeply ingrained predispositions that lead us to perceive the elements of everyday experience mistakenly and to believe, for instance, that entities persist through time, that the pleasures we pursue are genuinely satisfying, that our own personal being is governed by a real self, and that all physical and mental phenomena have a distinct, independent, and real essence. Our everyday language only serves to reinforce and deepen these erring notions." "Buddhist teaching reveals how to reject these flawed beliefs and replace them with a model that both more accurately represents our experience and is indispensable to the realizations that will free us from cyclic existence. The ability to accomplish this rests largely with learning the unique vocabulary and explanations found in Buddhist literature, since that is how we will discover what is mistaken about our untutored beliefs and where we will gain the intellectual skills that are needed to construct a new and more refined conceptual infrastructure." "Engle's introduction explores how the material contained in the two translations can specifically improve practice of the Tibetan teaching system known as Lamrim, or "Stages of the Path." Each of the levels of motivation described by the Lamrim teachings is examined in light of the doctrine of the five heaps - form, feeling, conception, formations, and consciousness - to show how greater understanding of the classical Buddhist doctrines can enhance practice of that portion of the instruction."--Jacket

The Inner Science of Buddhist Practice contains translations of texts by two historically important Indian Buddhist scholars: Vasubhandhu's Summary of the Five Heaps and Sthiramati's commentary on Vasubandhu's root text. These works present the traditional Buddhist analysis of ordinary experience and provide rich resources for studying Buddhist and Western interpretations of the psychology of spiritual development. According to Buddhist doctrine, the mind of an ordinary person even at birth holds deeply ingrained predispositions that lead us to perceive the elements of everyday experience mistakenly and to believe, for instance, that entities persist through time that the pleasures we pursue are genuinely satisfying, that our own personal being is governed by a real self, and that all physical and mental phenomena have a distinct, independent, and real essence. Our everyday language only serves to reinforce and deepen these erring notions. Buddhist teaching reveals how to reject these flawed beliefs and replace them with a model that both more accurately represents our experience and is indispensable to the realizations that will free us from cyclic existence. The ability to accomplish this rests largely with learning the unique vocabulary and explanations found in Buddhist literature, since that is how we will discover what is mistaken about our untutored beliefs and where we will gain the intellectual skills that are needed to construct a new and more refined conceptual infrastructure. Engle's introduction explores how the material contained in the two translations can specifically improve practice of the Tibetan teaching system known as Lamrim, or Stages of the Path. Each of the levels of motivation described by the Lamrim teachings is examined in light of the doctrine of the five heaps-form, feeling, conception, formations, and consciousness-to show how greater understanding of the classical Buddhist doctrines can enhance practice of that portion of the instruction.

Contents ......Page 6 Preface ......Page 12 Introduction ......Page 16 Part 1 ......Page 24 Prologue ......Page 26 The Lamrim Teaching and Its Three Essential Forms of Knowledge ......Page 34 The Fundamentals ......Page 52 Renunciation, the Four Noble Truths, and Closely Placed Recollection......Page 114 Mahāyāna Practice......Page 208 Part 2 ......Page 240 Translator's Note......Page 242 A Summary of the Five Heaps......Page 244 A Detailed Commentary on the Summary of the Five Heaps......Page 260 Appendix 1 ......Page 386 Appendix 2 ......Page 400 Notes......Page 410 Bibliography......Page 532 Index......Page 548 Contents 6 Preface 12 Introduction 16 Part 1 24 Prologue 26 The Lamrim Teaching and Its Three Essential Forms of Knowledge 34 The Fundamentals 52 Renunciation, the Four Noble Truths, and Closely Placed Recollection 114 Mahāyāna Practice 208 Part 2 240 Translator's Note 242 A Summary of the Five Heaps 244 A Detailed Commentary on the Summary of the Five Heaps 260 Appendix 1 386 Appendix 2 400 Notes 410 Bibliography 532 Index 548 155939322X,9781559393225