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Audio | view transcript

The Four Great Reliances: Criteria for the Spiritual Life

by Sangharakshita

Concluding his exposition of the Sutra, Sangharakshita explains that traditionally one should rely on: i. the Dharma, and not on any person; ii. the meaning, not the expression; iii. the discourses of explicit, not implicit meaning; iv. Transcendental Awareness, not discriminative consciousness.

Talk given in 1979.

This talk is part of the series The Inconceivable Emancipation - Themes from the Vimalakirti Nirdesha.

Tracks (click play to listen)

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	1.	Stupa worship (10:26)
	2.	General context: reincarnations (7:07)
	3.	Seeing the Tathagatha (5:11)
	4.	The story of Bhaisajyaraja (4:31)
	5.	Dharma worship (6:01)
	6.	Criteria for the spiritual life (6:52)
	7.	The Four Great Reliances (2:14)
	8.	i. On the Dharma, not on any person (10:30)
	9.	ii. On the meaning, not the expression (5:59)
	10.	iii. On discourses of explicit rather than implicit meaning (7:15)
	11.	iv. On Transcendental awareness, not discriminative consciousness (3:46)
	12.	Conclusion (3:20)