2:30–4:00pm ONLINE: The Absolute in Bite-Size

Dzigar Kongrul writes (in The Intelligent Heart):

“The practice of bodhicitta, [i.e.,] the mind-set of awakening, includes two inseparable aspects: relative and absolute bodhicitta.

• • Relative bodhicitta, which arises out of love and compassion, is the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.
  • Absolute bodhicitta is the direct insight into the empty [or momentary] nature of all phenomena. […]

Most teachings on bodhicitta begin with the relative aspect, since it is more accessible and easier to train in. In his Seven Points of Mind Training [Lojong], however, Chekawa Yeshe Dorje begins with absolute bodhicitta. His reason is that if we can start off with some basic feel for emptiness [or momentariness], we can begin loosening our grasping to ourselves and phenomena as real. … So even though we may not fully realize emptiness [or momentariness] by studying these initial slogans, they help to set the tone for the entire path and to give us a sense of how deep our insights can go if we continue to practice. […] The absolute bodhicitta slogans give a step-by-step method for understanding emptiness [or momentariness] at increasingly subtle levels.”