Online Buddhist Philosophy Class will start from March 16Courses:
Thirty-Seven Factors Concordant with Enlightenment
(March 16 – April 15)
Text: Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realization (Abhisamayalamkara, mNgon rtogs rgyan)
These thirty-seven factors or practices which map out the path to enlightenment are common to both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions, and are also found in sutra and tantra. Ven. Geshe Sonam Rinchen will present them in accordance with Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realization, one of the pre-eminent classical Buddhist texts of India. All insights from those belonging to the path of accumulation to those of the enlightened state can be included within these thirty-seven practices. They are divided into seven groups: the four kinds of close mindfulness; the four kinds of thorough elimination; the four supports for miraculous manifestation; the five powers; the five forces; the seven branches of enlightenment; the eight-fold path of the Exalted. Although these seven groups may be practiced at any time, according to the Mahayana presentation their practice marks different stages of our evolution towards enlightenment and it is very interesting to note how each set of practices leads naturally to the next.
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