Part Three of Liberation in Our Hands (see
also
Part One: the Preliminaries and
Part
Two: the Fundamentals) contains the remaining portion of Kyabje
Pabongka Rinpoche's twenty-four-day teaching on the Lamrim, delivered at
Chusang Hermitage near Lhasa, Tibet in 1921.
The Buddha's teaching sets forth two ultimate goals: complete
liberation from samsara and the unsurpassed enlightenment of Buddhahood.
The first of these goals is explained during Days Fourteen and Fifteen,
using two of the Buddha's most important teachings: the Four
Noble Truths and the Twelve Limbs of Dependent Origination. The main
purpose of this instruction is to engender a deep aversion for samsaric
existence, along with the aspiration to attain permanent freedom from it.
The second ultimate goal, that of a Buddha's perfect
enlightenment, is covered in Days Sixteen through Twenty-four. This
material, which is unique to the Mahayana tradition, contains instruction
on generating Bodhichitta and on practicing the six Paramitas, with
special emphasis on the final two of one-pointed concentration
and wisdom. The section on Bodhichitta also includes Lord
Atisha's unique oral teaching, known as The Seven-Point Instruction on
Mind Training.
The text closes with a description of the formal ritual
for generating Bodhichitta, traditionally held at the end of an extensive
Lamrim teaching.
