MAHAYANA SUTRA

The second lecture
"The Attainment and the Perfection of Raja Yoga".


The long and winding path of spiritual practice

Those who had listened to yesterday's lecture may think as follows; "That's why one can't attain enlightenment in one life. That's why it is written in sutra that a Boddhisattva will become Mahayana Buddha after more than 1,000 times of reincarnation.

Let's look into the attainment of Raja Yoga. There are millions of spiritual practitioners in India, the mother land of Yoga. Only 1 or 2 practitioners can reach its attainment in 10 years. And this is only the Raja Yoga which is the beginning part of the path of Mahayana. From this you can imagine that the path of Mahayana is really the long and winding road.

Kundalini Yoga is waiting after Raja Yoga, and then Jnana Yoga, Mahayana Yoga, Astral Yoga, Causal Yoga, and Mahayana in the end. It is unbearably long path.

So we have to think of the method to go on with this process of spiritual practice as fast as possible. What can we doto make it faster? I shall now tell you the system of practice which can be the key for the attainment of each Yogas.

Love all living beings

I shall begin from Raja Yoga which is the first perfection which you should attain after the process of four steps and four results. The first thing which is necessary for the attainment of Raja Yoga is non-violence. Non-violece means taht you should love all living beings.

Buddha Sakyamuni also preaches about non-violence. The late Buddhism changed this non-violence into non-killing because they considered that this restriction is too severe. You can easily understand that non-vioilence is included in non-killing. So I shall use the word non-killing because this is much familiar for you.

Why does it necessary not to kill? It is because there is the mind of anger behind killing. And behind anger, there exists the working of mind to distinguish between self and others. For example, to think that I want to be happy even if I were to crush down others.

You can find the advertisements on insecticide on television. I only know one type of advertisement, but I am sure that there should be many types of advertisement which recommends people all over the country to kill insects. This idea comes from the mind of superiority to think "It is up to human beings how to take care of little insects." and anger to think "Nuisance should be taken away".

This is not correct. Human realm also exists in very low part if we look into the whole structure of the universe. It is the fourth from the bottom. Do you think it is all right if the beings in the higher world such as the heaven of desires say "Nuicanse should be taken away."? If human beings have such idea of superiority and anger which far from the truth, it means that we are not in the holy stream but in the devil's stream.

All livnig beings have the right to live, because they wash off their karma by living. This is same with not only human beings but also insects, cats, or dogs. They all have true selves. They have true selves to enter the world of absolute freedom, happiness, and joy in the end, no matter how long it may take.

So we can say that all living beings are equal. If you understand this fact, you will be able to love all living beings, or be kind to all living beings.

You should offer

Let's go on to the second key for Raja Yoga which is to observe the precept "not to steal". On the contrary, the precept of "you should offer" is also necessary.

Let me explain this to you. If you greed, or if you steal things from others, naturally there will be a slash in one's heart. And not only that, there will be the result that you will be tied up in this world of rough dimention where material is dominant. It is obvious becuase everything you steal is the material in the rough dimention.

In spiritual practice, one will go into Astral world and Causal world by detaching from the rough dimention, but it is completely the opposite direction if you are caught to the rough dimention by stealing things. You will be unable to know or experience other worlds. That's why you need the precepts, "not to greed, not to steal".

This "not to greed, not to steal" is the passive method in a sense. On the contrary, active method is "to offer".

Not to commit adultery

The precept of not to commit adultery is also important. Since the law of the origination of conditions which was taught by Buddha Sakyamuni is the process of Kundalini Yoga, it has the meaning that you shouldn't lose your sexual energy. This is the same case with Raja Yoga, because the power of will which supports Raja Yoga will be weakened if one loses sexual energy.

The sexual energy is equal to life energy. So the attainer of Raja Yoga can easily be ruined just by losing life energy by giving Shakti-pat, because life energy is less compared to that of Kundalini Yoga.

In other words, the attainer of Raja Yoga can not give Shakti-pat as the attainer of Kundalini Yoga. When they lose life energy (sexual energy), the power of will will be weakened and the protection around oneself breaks down. In professional terminology, Pratiyahara, the state of control of sense, breaks down. He will be an ordinary person then. That is why one should never leak energy in Raja Yoga.