Solid Like a Mountain

By Jason McDonald and Lama Gyurme

Embark on a Transformative Journey with "The Bodhisattva's Garland of Jewels": A Profound Commentary on Atisha's Bodhisattva Jewel Garland Welcome to a timeless exploration of wisdom, compassion, and the path to enlightenment. In the rich tapestry of Tibetan Buddhism, "The Bodhisattva's Garland of Jewels" stands as a radiant gem, offering profound insights into the art of virtuous living. In this transformative commentary, Lama Gyurmey, a seasoned practitioner and scholar, guides you through the intricacies of Atisha's masterpiece, revealing its profound relevance for contemporary seekers. ## Unveiling the Jewel: Atisha's Bodhisattva Jewel Garland At the heart of this journey lies Atisha's Bodhisattva Jewel Garland, a revered text known for its concise yet potent verses. Rooted in the ancient traditions of India and transmitted through the eloquence of Tibetan language, these teachings echo through the corridors of time, resonating with seekers across cultures. Lama Gyurmey pays homage to the essence of compassion, devotion, and the pursuit of awakening. The book opens with a soul-stirring homage to Great Compassion, inviting readers to shed doubt, embrace practice, and cultivate enthusiasm in the pursuit of spiritual growth. At every turn, the commentary illuminates the practical application of these teachings, offering a roadmap for navigating the complexities of modern life. Navigating the Bodhisattva Path: A Compassionate Guide Dive deep into the transformative guidance of Atisha's verses as Lama Gyurmey provides a comprehensive commentary on each aspect of the Bodhisattva path. From shaking off lethargy to cultivating love and compassion, the commentary serves as a compassionate guide, translating ancient wisdom into actionable steps for contemporary practitioners. "Strive always with enthusiasm and joy." Discover how to infuse joy into your spiritual journey, turning each step into a dance of awakening. "Give up the urge for profit and fame." Explore the profound teachings on detachment and the cultivation of a selfless mindset, free from the shackles of worldly desires. "Regard them as Buddha." Uncover the transformative power of perceiving both enlightened beings and beginners on the path as manifestations of the divine. Seven Riches: A Treasury of Virtues At the core of Atisha's teachings lies the concept of the seven riches—sacred forms of wealth that transcend material possessions. Lama Gyurmey unravels the depth of these riches, exploring the wealth of faith, discipline, decency, self-control, learning, generosity, and wisdom. Discover how these treasures, once cultivated, become an everlasting source of abundance on the spiritual journey. Embracing Solitude: The Power of Isolation In the hustle and bustle of modern life, Lama Gyurmey emphasizes the importance of solitude and isolation for true spiritual progress. Drawing from Atisha's guidance, the commentary offers practical advice on detaching from busyness, refraining from meaningless chatter, and residing in the serenity of nature. Transformative Practices: From Aspiration to Liberation The commentary doesn't merely expound on theoretical concepts; it serves as a manual for transformative practices. From meditating on emptiness to viewing attachment and aversion as illusions, each chapter provides practical tools for integrating ancient wisdom into the fabric of daily life. Always meditate on Emptiness Explore the transformative power of emptiness meditation, a key practice for unraveling the illusions of the ego. Stay free from craving and desire Learn how to break free from the chains of attachment, embracing a life of contentment and inner peace. Dedication and Aspiration: Seeding the Future As you journey through the commentary, Lama Gyurmey continually emphasizes the importance of dedication and aspiration. Learn how to dedicate the virtues you accumulate toward enlightenment!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jason McDonald
• Release date: Nov 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223951155

Book preview

Solid Like a Mountain

A Commentary on Atiśa's Bodhisattva Jewel Garland

Lama Gyurmey

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Contents

Title Page

Introduction

editors note

The Book Title

The History and Lineage of These Teachings

The Name of The Root Text

The Root Text

Text Commentary

Commentary On The Text

Introduction

Lama Gyuermey, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation master, is known for residing in the serene Himalayan region of Manang, Nepal. His spiritual devotion is evident as he dedicates 8 months each year to intensive meditation and practicing Buddhism in a quaint mountain retreat hut.

This book serves as a profound commentary by Lama Gyuermey on the esteemed text, The Bodhisattva Jewel Garland. Originally written by the Indian Master Atiśa (982-1054), this text holds great significance in the Buddhist community. Atiśa himself is revered as a Saint in Tibet, as his journey from India to Tibet was at the request of the Tibetan King.

One of Atiśa's primary goals while in Tibet was to help revive and restore the nation's deteriorating tradition of Buddhism. It was during this time that he founded the Kadampa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, leaving an indelible mark on the spiritual landscape.

Atiśa's teachings were not only influential in the preservation of Tibetan Buddhism but also sparked the creation of a unique practice called Tibetan Mind training, or Lojong. This genre of practice, inspired by Atiśa, became a powerful tool for cultivating compassion and ultimately awakening the Bodhisattva within.

In this book, Lama Gyuermey, drawing upon his extensive knowledge and personal experiences, offers deep insight and guidance, allowing readers to delve into the profound teachings of The Bodhisattva Jewel Garland. Through his commentary, he aims to illuminate the path of enlightenment, highlighting the transformative potential of Atiśa's teachings. With Lama Gyuermey's expertise and spiritual embodiment, readers are offered a remarkable opportunity to deepen their understanding and practice of Tibetan Buddhism.

Lama's career began at age twelve when he ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk in the Karma Kagyu tradition. He has continued in this tradition for over thirty years, now at the age of 45. In addition to the Karma Kagyu tradition, Lama has also studied all four Tibetan traditions or schools, which include Sakya, Nyingma, Gelug, and both the Drikung Kagyu and Karma Kagyu lineages.

After completing his monastic education at Karma Lekshey Ling in Nepal, Lama made the decision to travel to America. There, he spent five years learning about and studying the Bible, expanding his knowledge of different religious traditions.

Upon returning to Nepal, Lama pursued further education and attained his Khenpo degree. This educational accomplishment requires comprehensive learning and meditation. After earning his degree, Lama taught at Lekshey Ling for a few years, sharing his knowledge and experience with others. Shortly thereafter, Lama decided to commit to a three year solitary retreat to focus on meditation mastery.

Following his three year retreat, Lama spent three years in India, focusing his studies on Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism. This period allowed him to delve deeper into the practices and principles of this particular Buddhist approach.

Throughout his career, Lama has continuously shown a dedication to learning and immersing himself in various aspects of Buddhist tradition and other religious teachings. His diverse background and extensive studies contribute to his well-rounded understanding of spirituality and his ability to share wisdom with others.

editors note

At the time of this book’s publishing, November of 2023, the world is riddled with instability. From the covid pandemic to geopolitical tensions, bloody wars in Ukraine and Israel, global climate change, and if that wasn’t overwhelming enough there’s geopolitical tensions between nuclear world superpowers like USA and Russia. Things aren’t much better at home in the United States as political dysfunction pervades the entire U.S. political scene. Democrats hate republicans, republicans hate democrats, and there’s even in-fighting within the Republican Party. With a world in such disarray, instability is about the only thing we can count on.

So, it’s not terribly surprising anxiety levels are at an all-time high. As the USA approaches another presidential election in 2024, it feels as if there are two countries because the polarization is so palpable. Although it’s easy to get discouraged given all of these challenges, there is a bright spot. Since some of these problems are the man-made result of habitual thought patterns, they can be changed. If we want peace and contentment, we must create the causes for peace and contentment. In a nutshell, that’s what this book teaches us. It gives us step-by-step instructions about how to create the causes for happiness and avoid the causes for suffering.

Now more than ever, given the significant challenges facing the world at large, if we want happiness, we need to take definitive steps to create it. We need to learn how to cultivate positive thoughts and emotions. Learning how to develop loving kindness, compassion, and generosity are more important now than ever!

As you’ll see in the pages ahead, this book provides direct and explicit instructions about how to change our thoughts, speech, and actions to bring more happiness for ourselves and others. You might think of this book as a blueprint about how to construct the causes of happiness in our lives. Unlike most modern medication, this book is free from side effects, and will serve only to improve our quality of life. Reading these pages will bring more love, peace, and joy into our lives.

This book offers guidance on how to eliminate negative emotions that contribute to our suffering. It teaches us to diminish selfishness, greed, egotism, ignorance, and anger. Let's use an analogy. Think of our current state as similar to that of a swimmer who has been underwater for too long, desperately craving oxygen. However, instead of oxygen, we yearn for love and lack the knowledge to cultivate positive emotions such as love, compassion, generosity, and the ability to release accumulated tensions from work and mental strain.

The rarity of finding an authentic and compassionate teacher in modern times should not be overlooked. Encountering such an individual is a fortunate event, as they genuinely desire our happiness and well-being. Unfortunately, many of us although unaware of this fact, are unmindfully caught up in overactivity, constantly glued to our phones and devices, or binge-watching TV. We mindlessly spend our time busily jumping from one task to the next, but do we ever take a moment to contemplate whether all of these busy activities bring us happiness?  The truth is that these activities do not provide lasting happiness.

If approached with genuine openness, this book has the potential to help alleviate the prevalent anxiety and dissatisfaction in today's world. Lama repeatedly emphasizes that much of our problems arise from our attachment and obsession with external objects. By understanding that true happiness comes from within and through training our minds, we have a valuable opportunity to embark on a path that promises an increase in joy, peace, and purpose in this lifetime, as well as immeasurable benefits in the future.

One last thing – this book was produced with zero budget, by a single person transcribing seven recorded teachings.  Consequently, though we did our best to edit the pages, and make the book as readable as possible, you will most likely come across some grammar and spelling errors.  Please forgive us for this.  Ultimately, the importance of the Lama Gyurmey’s message far outweighs the slight disadvantages arising from the mistakes made by the knuckle head (me) that edited the book!  So, please enjoy this dharma offering along with all of it’s mistakes.

A person in red jacket and hat with backpack standing in front of a snowy mountain Description automatically generated

Lama Gyurmey enjoying the himalayas

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The Book Title

The title of this book is Solid Like a Mountain.  The editor chose this title because Lama’s teachings inspire inner peace that is unshakable like a mountain.  No matter how powerfully the wind blows, or how violently thunder and lightning explode from the sky, the mountain remains stable.  The mountain is impenetrable, and stable no matter how much it rains, hails, or snows.  Similarly, if we follow Master Atiśa’s and Lama Guyermey’s instructions, our minds will be unshakable like a Mountain.  Their guidance protects us from life’s ups and downs. 

Following their guidance, no matter what difficult external events occur, we will maintain inner peace because we will come to learn that inner peace is true wealth.  Lama tells us that compared to external wealth, unshakable inner peace makes us a million times richer because it’s real wealth.  Many millionaires and billionaires are totally unhappy in their lives because money doesn’t cause happiness.  Conversely, many poor people are totally serene and content because, you guessed it, money doesn’t cause happiness.  Furthermore, practicing the dharma in these pages produces an inner peace that reaches far beyond this lifetime.  After we die, if we’ve practiced dharma purely, with devotion and focus, the merits we’ve created will follow us life to life.  So, practicing dharma produces unshakable inner peace and happiness in the present, but these will also follow us life to life; whereas, after we die, external wealth is worthless because we cannot take even a single penny with us into our next life.  So, you can see that unshakable inner peace is more effective at making us happy now, and it’s also more effective at making us happy in future lifetimes.  Therefore, it’s clearly much better than external monetary wealth. 

Lama explains that we suffer because we are attached to desire for pleasant things or pleasant outcomes like name, fame, and wealth.  Similarly, we are opposed to unpleasant things or outcomes like a bad reputation, obscurity, and poverty.  But it’s not these external things that help or harm us, it’s our habit of grasping onto thoughts about them, likes and dislikes about them.  It’s our attachment to desire and aversion, and our habit of categorizing externals as highly important that causes our suffering.  It comes down to what we believe is most important in life.  Therefore, happiness and suffering originate from the mind, not from the external world.  When we experience sense objects like pleasant material objects, beautiful or handsome people, or wealth, our mind grasps them as something good, then we feel temporary happiness; however, believing such happiness is authentic is completely foolish because by placing importance on attaining things we like, we guarantee our future suffering will arise when we can’t have those things, or when we lose them after having attained them. 

In conclusion, the name of this, Solid Like a Mountain, book reminds us that practicing the teachings on the following pages produces unshakable inner peace that transcends any short-lived happiness born from attachment to pleasant things.  It is our sincere wish that this book makes your inner peace Solid Like a Mountain!

The History and Lineage of These Teachings

As mentioned in the introduction, this book is a commentary on the renowned text Bodhisattva Jewel Garland also known as the Garland of Jewels.  This text draws wisdom from the esteemed Indian Buddhist Master Atiśa Dīpaṃkara. Originating from the region now known as Bangladesh, Atiśa was once a prince in the vast expanse of ancient India, which included present-day Bangladesh within its borders. During that era, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were unified as one nation. Atiśa, was a prince, but he renounced samsaric, worldly life to embrace monkhood. Through dedicated practice and encounters with revered masters, he attained profound realizations, eventually becoming a revered master of Mahayana Buddhism.

Atiśa's spiritual odyssey led him to Tibet, where he shared a wealth of enlightening teachings with the Tibetan people, remaining there until his death. According to the book Mind Training by Thubten Yeshe, Atiśa lived from 982 – 1054.  You can explore further through resources like Google, to learn additional details about his birth, life, and passing.

Buddhism's teachings originate from Lord Buddha himself. There are two lineages in Buddhism: the wide lineage, also called the wider lineage, and the deep lineage, also called the deeper lineage. Lord Buddha imparted a total of 84,000 teachings, preserved through the efforts of two revered masters, Manjushri and Lord Maitreya. When Lord Buddha instructed Manjushri, these teachings were passed down to Nagarjuna, a profound scholar of emptiness, forming the deeper lineage. This lineage encompasses profound teachings on ultimate truth, commonly referred to as emptiness. On the other hand, the teachings given to Maitreya were passed to Asanga, giving rise to the wide lineage.

Nagarjuna's lineage is termed the deep lineage due to the profound nature of his teachings, which are challenging for ordinary individuals like us to grasp easily. While we can comprehend the teachings on emptiness conceptually, attaining experiential realization demands extensive study, contemplation, and practice. Achieving genuine realizations of emptiness is incredibly challenging, emphasizing the depth of Nagarjuna's teachings in this lineage.

The wider lineage teaches about the Bhumis, a Sanskrit word used to connote the ten steps or ten stages a bodhisattva travels on their way to becoming an enlightened Buddha.  A single step, or Bhumi for example, could take a few lifetimes, or even a thousand lifetimes.  Furthermore, the wide lineage explains the abilities, qualities, and characteristics possessed by bodhisattvas when they reach each of the ten Bhumis, or stages required for them to attain full Buddhahood.  These wide lineage teachings also explain the specific types of practices bodhisattvas engage in during each Bhumi, the types of realizations they have, and what happens when they achieve these realizations.  So, this is a brief description of what you find in the wider teachings passed down from Buddha to Maitreya, and then from him to Asanga. 

Now, we come to the text I’m teaching today, which is called the Bodhisattva Jewel Garland by Master Atiśa, a profound and accomplished master of the Deep Lineage.  Atiśa was a profound master skilled and realized in the practice of emptiness, the ultimate truth.  However, in addition to deep lineage practices, Master Atiśa also received Mind Training teachings from his Master, Serlingpa.  In fact, Atiśa braved a difficult twelve-month sea voyage to the Indonesian island of Sumatra to receive teachings from Serlingpa Dharmakīrti, also affectionately known as the Sumatran, and it’s said that although Atiśa had many teachers, tears would flow from his eyes when anyone would bring up Serlingpa.   

So, Master Serlingpa is a lineage holder of the wide lineage, so Master Atiśa posessed both the deep lineage teachings of profound emptiness and the wide lineage teachings.  Master Atiśa is like two great rivers merging into one because many wide lineage teachings, and many deep lineage teachings flowed into Atiśa.  The wide lineages are mostly held in China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea where Lord Asanga is well known, and very important. In Tibetan Buddhism, Nagarjuna is the most popular though we also respect and follow Master Asanga. 

Master Atiśa has many teachings including Seven Point Mind Training, Bodhisattva’s Jewel Garland, and Lamp On The Path To Enlightenment.  Each of these books contains a mixture of teachings from both the deep and wide lineages.  All Mahayana teachings including both Sutra Mahayana and Vajrayana Mahayana must come from either Nagarjuna’s deep lineage or Asanga’s wide lineage; otherwise, they are not considered Mahayana teachings meaning they’re not authentic Mahayana teachings. 

Again, in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, all of these all countries have a great lineage of Asanga; whereas Tibet is the only country containing Nagarjuna’s lineage.  Tibet is also the only country that nowadays that contains Vajrayana Buddhism. One well known disciple of Asanga was Vasubandu, a Theravadin Buddhist with followers in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Vasubandu was also considered to be a great master, and he held the teachings of Lord Buddha mostly consisting of renunciation.  Typically, we talk about both renunciation and bodhichitta as core components of the Mahayana path, and Vasubandu was a master of renunciation.  Bodhichitta, love, compassion, and wisdom are included in Mahayana Buddhism.  So, these things are very important to know.

So, this book is a commentary on The Bodhisattva Jewell Garland, which contains both deep and wide lineage teachings.  A Bodhisattva is a Mahayana master and practitioner who has great compassion or wisdom.  Bodhisattvas are individuals who possess a wish to benefit themselves and others as well. To clarify, a Bodhisattva’s wishes are not like ordinary wishes for food or shelter.  Rather, their minds are consumed day and night about how to bring people into the Dharma, and how to change them. 

The Name of The Root Text

The meaning of Garland of Jewels is as follows:  First, a Garland is a rosary or a Mala.  The Tibetan word for jewel is Norbu, and Norbu is something very precious that can fulfill your wishes. So, in Hinduism and Buddhism, we have great masters who, after lots of practice, can grant ordinary samsaric wishes such as good food or good houses.  These things appear. Let's say if you have this Norbu, or jewel, and you want to say oh, I want to eat good food, then the good food appears in front of you. Or, you say: I want to have a good house. Then, the good house appears in front of you. 

In general, a Jewel, or Norbu in Tibetan, is something that is very precious which fulfills your wishes. So, what is the meaning of the Bodhisattva Jewel Garland?  Bodhisattvas wish to achieve enlightenment for all sentient beings, or to bring all sentient beings into Dharma, and bring them into Buddhahood.  So, we have this wish, but how can we fulfill this wish?  Just having a wish wish doesn't mean your wish can be fulfilled.  Therefore,

now we need to act because a wish without action is meaningless.  We must follow these teachings if we wish to bring sentient beings to remove the suffering of sentient beings and bring them Buddhahood. When a person follows teachings, then his wishes can be fulfilled. So, this this book is like a Garland of Jewels because it will fulfill the wishes of great bodhisattvas.

Each text has a name, and there are reasons for the way a master selects a text title, so it's important to understand the meaning of the title of each text.  Bodhisattvas wish for happiness during this life, and happiness during the next life, then from happiness we strive to reach enlightenment. So, with Dharma or practice, the objective is not only for the next life, but we also wish to be happy during this life, and how to be peaceful.  We wish to make our current life meaningful, so if you follow Dharma, then your current life should be full of happiness, peace, and satisfaction.  How do we achieve these aims?  We follow the path laid out in this text.  When a person follows the words of this text, then the person will achieve peace in their current life.  Many people have this concept that Dharma practice is only for the next life, and it has nothing to do with this life, or nothing to do with our life now. This is a wrong conception.  When you follow the practice of Dharma, then it helps you in this life.  The more you practice, the more calmness you experience, and this brings more peace and satisfaction into your life.  Dharma teaches us how to improve communications with people and build strong relationships with family that rests on a foundation of peace.  Relationships between family members, husbands and wives all improve when a person follows the path of the Dharma.  For these reasons, the text is entitled Bodhisattva Jewel Garland. 

Is Master Atiśa just speaking the words in this text after reading a few sutras, studying, and reflecting?  No, he’s not just sharing mere words with us.  Rather, Master Atiśa is a profound master who risked his life on a twelve-month sea voyage to receive these precious teachings from Master Serlingpa.  Atiśa is not an ordinary person like us.  This is a serious master who risked his life for the dharma.  Atiśa was a prince, but he decided to give up the royal life and become a monk.  This is something worth thinking about and reflecting upon.

There’s a story about Master Marpa who spent between 15-20 years with his master Naropa.  Whenever visitors came to see Naropa, he never stood up or showed excessive respect. Naropa, unlike many monks, was not bound by the constraints of traditional monkhood because he was a yogi. Marpa, his disciple, observed Naropa's interactions keenly. No matter which master came from afar, Naropa remained seated, approachable, and humble. People would come to him, and he would engage in conversation without any ostentation.

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