Download Here: Samaya, Great Perfection – Ponlop Rinpoche Commentary

Download Here: Nine Yanas ~ A Detailed Breakdown

 

Ascertaining the Three Vows

This class focuses on Buddhist ethics, specifically what integrity means in the Vajrayana tradition. Khandro-la stresses that it is important to take into account context whenever we consider ethics. In Tibetan culture, everything is about freedom of the mind. Ethics are the way we develop freedom of mind, because our actions condition our mind and create our future. Vows are there to support us in behaving in ways that reduce mind poisons and are more likely to cultivate freedom of mind. Vows vary depending on the buddhist vehicle they belong to: all of these approaches can be considered valuable and valid. One set of vows is associated with renunciation, another set is associated with cultivating boddhicitta and becoming a bodhisattva, and the Vajrayana vows focus on acting in integrity with the beings immediately around us (including our teacher, consort, and Vajra siblings).

We can tolerate these contradictions among vows by remembering that all sets of vows helps us abandon delusion and render the mind poisons neutral(Vajrayana practitioners are like peacocks, eating the poison berries which produces great beauty.