Teachings on the Nature of Mind [Paperback]

Lama Ole Nydahl (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0931892589 | ISBN-13: 978-0931892585 | Publication Date: September 1, 1994

This short booklet is a basic introduction to Buddhism for "the intelligent and idealistic West." Here Ole introduces the essential teachings of the Buddha, his life and times, and his great discovery of Four Noble Truths. From this groundwork comes the Great Way, the unity and integration of compassion anad wisdom in daily life, and the Diamond Way, which recognizes the timeless and radiant nature of mind.

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About the Author

Lama Ole Nydahl became the first Western student of H.H. the Karmapa, the haed of the Kagyu tradition of Yogis in Tibetan Buddhism. Since that time, he has become a lama and set up centers throughout the world. He is constantly traveling from Russia to Australia, Eastern & Western Europe, the USA, and South America, etc. teaching at his various centers and continuously spreading the teachings to new groups. He currently has 6 books in print in English.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

How Buddhism transcends cultural concepts

It is difficult to imagine a better teaching situation than the one the Buddha enjoyed 2,550 years ago, with highly intelligent students and forty-five years of sharing his enlightenment. Therefore, the teachings are exceedingly vast. The Kanjur, the Buddha's direct words, consists of 108 volumes containing 84,000 helpful teachings, and the later commentaries - Tenjur - comprise another 254 inch-thick books. His last words highlight this fact: "I can die happily, I have not kept a single teaching in a closed hand. Whatever can benefit you, I have already given."

As Buddhism contains such a richness of material, defining it only by what it is can be confusing. Also knowing what it is not will bring out its masterly contours, and this is a good way to start. We should be aware that it is extremely practical. When people asked the Buddha why and what he taught, his reply was always the same, very simple and direct: "I teach because you and all beings want to be happy and avoid suffering. I teach the way things are."

Every time somebody has tried to make these teachings conform to a system, it has not been large enough. For instance, many people say that Buddhism is a philosophy. This is true in the sense that Buddhism is logical. Mental clarity is the expression of insight and appears naturally through our development. As Buddhism makes emotional, inspirational, associative, intuitive and logical aspects of mind all grow together, then why can we not call it a philosophy?

Because it changes us. Philosophy is something we work with outside and on the level of ideas. Then we put the book back on the shelf. Here Buddhism is different. It touches our totality, and in a lasting way. Because the teachings give they key to what happens inside and around us every day, they alter us. We are not the same when we have used them.

Others have singled out this transformative effect and therefore claim it is a psychology. What shall we say to that? The goal of psychology is clear. All schools aim to keep us productive and not too difficult for others or ourselves during the sixty to eighty years most are here.

Buddhism continues on from here. It was given to bring bliss, inspiration and insight without end - to make all richness arise continually in the mind. Producing a state where subject, object and action are no longer experienced as separate, that jovial, non-dual condition permits all the perfect qualities of the mind to naturally express themselves. Though both psychology and Buddhism change us, psychology leads to the point where Buddhism starts. The goal of Buddhism is always absolute. It aims beyond duality to a state of oneness.

Finally some claim that Buddhism is actually a religion. Here one should first ask what they understand by that word. It actually consists of Latin re meaning "again," and ligare, meaning "to unite." Religion means re-union. But there is nothing to re-unite in Buddhism. There is no paradise we fell out of. A Buddhist could not trust that. If we had been in some kind of a perfect state and then lost it, the state would not be perfect, and we might fall out again.

Also, Buddhism is not "New Age," where a new truth is suddenly brought forth. We can trust that even less. If something appears at a certain time and place, it must be conditioned. Arising from several factors, it will change and surely disappear.

What, then, does the Buddha teach? He tells us that there is an underlying essence, a truth that has never been created or made. It is timeless and all-pervading, but can be understood and recognized from a certain position and time. He calls this timeless essence the nature of truth, or Dharmakaya. It is everywhere and always: the question is only when we recognize it.

It is also a relief that he disclaims any creating, judging or punishing god. He shows the world to be our collective dream. We ourselves create it. It appears from our collective subconsciousness. Through our accumulated actions (Karma), situations appear, and we are born into different bodies and places. The Buddha himself is a teacher, example and friend. He shows us how things function. Thus, we can have the happiness we want and avoid the suffering which nobody likes.

So what is Buddhism? The best word to describe his teaching is a word the Buddha himself chose. He called it Dharma. The Tibetan term is Choe. It means "the way things are." When we know how thing work, we can do, think and say what is intelligent and joy-bringing, avoiding at the same time what brings harm. Helping us live, die and be reborn better: this is his goal.

Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Blue Dolphin Pub (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931892589
• ISBN-13: 978-0931892585
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,318,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Can't Believe These Prices, April 1, 2010

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rain cloud (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teachings on the Nature of Mind (Paperback)

Having once worked in the used book business, and knowing what things were actually worth before the advent of amazon and other internet sellers, I can't believe the orgy of over charging that is going on with these used book dealers. It's really unbelievable.

That said, this is Lama Ole's first book--a collection of the teachings he and his wife received from Kalu Rinpoche back in the 1960's. The thing you should take away from this review is that Lama Ole himself has described this book as being "too church-like" and also know there's likely nothing in here you can't get from one of his later books for a lot less money. One of them I'd suggest is "The Way Things Are" the knew one with the white cover. If that one isn't enough for you try "Gently Whispered" by Kalu Rinpoche.

There's no reason to pay your hard-earned money for this. But, if you want to collect old books just out of curiosity and have the money to do so, even if they are obsolete, please feel free.

Best of luck.