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We provide access to over 300 transcripts by Sangharakshita!

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Contents of Precepts of the Gurus - 3rd Seminar

by Sangharakshita

... to ones own reactions
205 Next Precept
206 The length of a solitary retreat
207 Are the Brahma Viharas conditioned?
208 What can happen on a solitary retreat
209/212 Next precept. Drowsiness on solitary retreats and in other situations
213 Ways of invigorating oneself - light and colour
214/215 Light in pujas - not with a dim religious light
215/218 Standing, kneeling or bowing to pray/show respect
219 Next precept
220 Comparing the mind to a pyramid in terms of integration
221 Next precept (7)
222/223 The five hindrances
223/224 Access/Neighbourhood concentration
224/225 Can you listen to music whilst in dhyana?
225/226 What is sensuous experience?
225/226 Holst, Debussy, Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart
226/227 Mozart's 25th Symphony
227 Next precept (8)
228/229 Forbearance and patience
230/231 Accepting low standards - pseudo-patience
231/232 Responsibility in Tibetan monasteries
232 "The buck stops here"!
233/234 Impersonal bureaucracies
235/237 Responsibility, power and commitment
237/241 Why are the Southern English so slow to complain
241 Next precept (9)
242/243 Mental weakness Prompt action
244/245 Comparing the Buddha with Caesar and Admiral Nelson
246/250 Promptitude, timekeeping and inconveniencing others
250/251 Avoiding procrastination
252 Next precept (10) Perfection (capital 'P')
253 Approaches to teaching meditation
Whether or not to use a Buddha image at classes
254 Not scaring the weak or discouraging the strong
255 Next Section (IX) "The Ten Incentives"
256/257 Opportunities not to be wasted
257 Next precept (2)
258 Is it necessary to reflect upon death?
259 Looking at dead bodies
260/262 Bhante and the missionaries
263 More about dead bodies
264 Indian cremations
265/266 Buddhist funerals
267 Do funerals etc. help the deceased person?
267/268 Bhante's experience of 'meeting' dead people
269/270 Next precept (3) Actions having consequences
271/272 Thoughts having consequences
272 Words having consequences
273 Resorting to legal action when necessary
274/275 Keeping one's word
276/282 Acting irresponsibly and taking responsibility
283/284 Undesirable situations Choosing between two evils
285 Realizing that actions have consequences
286 The will of God
287 Definitions of 'responsibility'
288/290 Responsibility to and for one's own vision
Taking responsibility for others - a stage in the development of an individual
291 Next Day, next precept (4)
292/293 Emancipation by reflecting on life's evils?
293 Reflecting on birth, disease, old age and death
294 False information Untruthfulness in Buddhist organizations
295 The need for the positive side to be explicit
296 Next precept (5) The Bodhisattva Ideal
297/299 Next precept (6) Is it helpful to see life as illusory?
300 Next precept (7) Micchaditthis
301 Is it "all one"?
Common micchaditthis about: Groups; Men and women; progress
302/303 Creating a new language/terminology
302/305 Pseudo-liberalism as a source of many micchadithis
305/306 The lack of fair, honest debate in Parliament
306/307 Indian politics
307 Creating a New Society as an alternative
308 Not just to read literature which reinforces one's own attitudes
309 William Blake's opposition of Micchaditthis
309/310 Critique as opposed to criticism
311/314 Debating/arguing with Christians etc.
315/317 People thinking they are spiritually superior
317/318 "Buddhists" trying to impress people
318/319 Bhante's first seeing Buddhism in terms of individual development
320/321 What a bhikkhu really is
322/324 Next two precepts (8 & 9) An Age of Darkness
324 The micchaditthi of the Age of Aquarius/New Age
325/326 The unpredictability of the Individual - hallmarks of genius
327/329 The irreversibility of Stream Entry Prediction
330/331 Mass conversion and individuality
332/333 Inevitability?
334 Not accepting anything on authority
335 Searching for a group based on insecurity
336/337 Using Buddhist terminology in non-Buddhist contexts
The development of Buddhist terminology
337 Last precept (10)
338/339 Habitual routines throughout life
340/344 Positive alternatives for those in family situations
Aimlessly frittering life away
The meaninglessness of life
345 "The beautiful, useless things are useful too!"
346 Final points, emphasis on individual responsibility
Please note that the text from which this seminar is taken can be found in "Tibetan Yoga and
Secret Doctrines" edited by W.Y. Evans-Wentz in the section entitled "Precepts of the Gurus"
(published by Oxford University Press.)
and
also in "A Buddhist Bible" by Dwight Goddard in the section entitled "The Supreme Path,
The Rosary of Precious Gems" (published by Beacon Press, Boston, USA.)

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