Toh 1348The Ultimate Approach Practice

SCRIPTURE ON THE PRACTICE OF THE SUPREME TRAINING METHOD

Context

Śrīparamārthasevā (Scripture on the Practice of the Supreme Training Method) is a treatise on spiritual practice in the Northern Canon Mahayana tradition. This work is collected in the Tengyur, the collection of treatises by Indian and Tibetan masters, representing profound commentaries on the Buddha Dharma.

The content of the scripture takes the “supreme training” (paramārtha, ultimate meaning) as its focus, a central concept in Mahayana. Whereas “conventional meaning” (samvṛtisatya) refers to things that exist on the phenomenal level, “ultimate meaning” (paramārthasatya) is the quality of all dharmas as lacking intrinsic nature, unborn and unceasing. This scripture guides practitioners in how to practice so as to attain that ultimate understanding, passing beyond the attachments of discriminating thought.

In the context of the Northern Transmission, this work is regarded as practical guidance for those who wish to go beyond superficial understanding and enter the transcendent realm of the Buddha Dharma.

Main Content

The scripture teaches that “practicing the supreme training method” is not the accumulation of theoretical knowledge, but the transformation of consciousness through direct immersion in the nature of all phenomena. The practitioner must direct the mind so that it no longer distinguishes between the observer and the observed, and no longer clings to concepts of self, possessions, or separate realms.

The scripture emphasizes three main steps: first, precise theory (abhidharmapraṇīta), studying profound reasoning concerning the selfless nature of phenomena; second, deeply assimilated reflection (cintanamayeprajñapti), contemplating and reflecting so that these theories become profound experience; third, direct meditation (bhāvanāmayeprajñapti), practicing meditation in order to realize those truths directly.

The scripture lists the obstacles in practice: fixation upon concepts, tendencies toward delusion, and the influences of unwholesome seeds planted deeply in consciousness. To overcome them, the practitioner needs steadfast perseverance and the support of the Three Jewels.