..续本文上一页once a king in ancient India who had a beautiful daughter he wished to see married, so he wrote a text in which he said that things happen for no reason at all and haphazardly. He argued that peas are round and thorns are sharp without a cause, implying that even though his daughter grew up in a hothouse atmosphere, there would be no reason to worry about marrying her.
(5) Heartless shastras are texts that have no compassionate message. Once I came across a group of Hindu ascetics at the Marataka Caves who were sitting around a burning log and inhaling the smoke. I asked them why they were doing this, and they answered that they were practising asceticism as they had read. Now, a teaching of this kind only causes suffering for such practitioners and does not help anyone at all.
(6) A shastra that instructs how to eliminate suffering is a treatise that shows how to become free from the temporary suffering of conditioned existence and how to achieve lasting freedom from discomfort and discontent.
(7) A shastra devoted to learning is a treatise that helps gain an understanding of a subject matter.
(8) A shastra dealing with debate is a treatise that teaches how to discuss various opinions through refutations and proof.
(9) A shastra devoted to spiritual practice is a treatise that brings lasting benefit. Shastras seven and eight offer temporary well-being, while number nine teaches how to practise so that one gains reliable, beneficial results.
There are six types of shastras that one does not need: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8. One needs the treatises that have a meaning, that show how to eradicate suffering, and that are devoted to helping us practice: numbers 3, 6, and 9.
The tradition of writing shastras originated in India, where scholars would compile and comment specific subjects presented in the sutras. In Tibet, another tradition arose and developed. Masters would commence a commentary by first composing an outline of the entire text they were presenting. Their treatises begin with a short summary, and then they wrote a detailed explanation. This approach makes it easier for the teacher and for students. It is difficult understanding an outline which summarizes an entire text, often referred to as “root texts,” and that is also why shastras were written.
3. Homages in Traditional Texts
In the Buddhist tradition it is the custom when writing a treatise to begin with the name of the treatise, then to pay homage, and often to pledge to write the treatise. This is done so that the author doesn”t encounter any obstacles while writing a book and so that the text presenting the Buddha”s words benefits others in the future without any hindrances. The supplication is written with the wish that when it is finished and others study, contemplate, and meditate, they will encounter no obstacles but will be able to master the training and practices that the author hoped to convey.
First there is homage to the Three Jewels – the Buddha as the teacher, the Dharma as the body of teachings, and the Sangha as all noble friends assisting and accompanying one along the way. In Buddhism, it is recognized that a Buddha is someone who has achieved the state of realization through having gradually proceeded on the successive stages of the path. While on the stages of the path he or she is a Bodhisattva. Therefore, there is the homage to the Buddhas who have completed and to the Bodhisattvas who are on the path. The homage in the Sutra Tradition that Noble Rangjung wrote to commence The Tathagatagarbhashastra reads,
I pay homage to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
The homage that Shantideva wrote in The Bodhicharyavatara is,
“To those who go in bliss, the Dharma they have mastered and to all their heirs,
To all who merit veneration, I bow …
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