Stages of Practice on the Path to the Great Perfection

On January 6, 2024, Dr. Wallace emerged from retreat silence for a few hours to offer this talk, entitled “Stages of Practice on the Path to the Great Perfection.” As you listen to this talk, please also review the accompanying resources linked below.

In this talk, Dr. Wallace highlights the importance of cultivating both conative and ethical intelligence. Conative intelligence refers to our ability to discern which desires and intentions truly lead to our own and others’ well-being. Ethical intelligence our ability to effectively act on those desires and intentions, and by so doing, bringing about greater social and environmental well-being. Dr. Wallace demonstrates that both conative and ethical intelligence are integral to the Bodhisattva path of Mahayana Buddhism.

At the request of one of his students, Dr. Wallace began this talk by giving the Bodhisattva Vows, which are the foundation for all Mahayana practice, including Vajrayana and Dzogchen. For those who wish to take these vows for the first time, and for those wishing to renew their vows, Dr. Wallace encourages you to review the eighteen root downfalls and forty-six misdeeds, both of which are linked below. Those who do not wish to take the Bodhisattva vows at this time are still welcome to listen to the talk.

Accompanying Resources:

English

• Stages of Practice on the Path to the Great Perfection: Notes
• The Bodhisattva Vows
• Commentary on Transference of Consciousness
• The King of Aspiration Prayers

Espanol:

• Etapas de la Práctica en el Camino a la Gran Perfección: Notas
• Los votos del bodhisattva

To automatically download teachings in this series to your favorite podcast app,* follow this link to SBI’s website. Then, click “Podcast” under the heading “Subscribe to this Course” on the left side of the page, and follow the instructions.

*Please note that Spotify does not allow users to manually add an RSS feed URL to their podcast player.