In relation to discovering Buddha nature and achieving full potential we set some goals, which get affected by obscurations.
| Goal | Obscuration |
|---|---|
| To attain fearlessness (Nirvana; partial awakening) | Afflictive obscurations |
| To expand happiness to infinity* (Buddhahood; full awakening) | Cognitive obscurations |
* Attaining the second one implies automatically having achieved the first — not the other way around.
DANGER
Don’t impose the meaning you know on this course.
In Mahayana attaining total fearlessness does not bring you ultimate happiness and the following example has been used to illustrate this:
Imagine a conference with the greatest physics PhD students, they are waiting for the speaker to conduct a masterclass. Two different profiles can execute that role:
- Average teacher. Will probably feel some degree of nervousness.
- Albert Einstein. Despite being an expert and not being nervous might feel bored, unstimulated.
Not being controlled by disturbing emotions does not mean you will feel ease.
3 Afflictive Obscurations
| Afflictive obscuration | Description |
|---|---|
| Contaminated karmas | Karma* driven by afflictions |
| Afflition | Mental factor the presence of which disturbs the mind |
| Active seeds** of the first 2 | Causes that produce the potential to develop them |
* any action we involve in with body, speech or mind
**2 kinds of seeds: one that’s spoiled (inactive seed); one that’s healthy (active seed).
The worst of the afflictions is ignorance — self-grasping ignorance, it stops you from having the vision of reality. Just like darkness don’t allow to know the place where we are, by light we dispel it. By light! Not by prayer!
Only by giving teaching ignorance can be removed and light of wisdom can activate.
Cognitive Obscurations
They operate on a subtler level than the afflictive obscurations.
The afflictive obscuration would be the solid garlic that someone is chewing which produces the bad mouth smell, and the cognitive obscuration would be the after effect that would remain after that person removed it and brushed his/her mouth: a subtle smell that still remains…