The 22 levels from earth to sky refer to the development of the Wish for Budhahood (Bodhichitta), from the initial intention in a baby Bodhisattva to the full Bodhichitta in the mind of a Buddha. This list of 22 comes from the Ornament of Realizations (Abhisamayalankara) by Arya Asanga, which is one of the Five Great Books of Maitreya—The Future Buddha. They were taught by Maitreya to Arya Asanga in Maitreya’s heaven, and then he brought them back to this world.
Geshe Michael uses two commentaries for this teaching, one by the First Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chukyi Gyeltsen, and the other by Je Tsongkapa, called the Golden Garland.
This was a teaching requested by one of Geshe Michael’s students and taught in a small private class in his hotel room in the wee hours of April 22, 2016, in Beijing. It’s taught in English with Chinese interpretation.
Please Note: To make this an even more powerful study tool, we linked each image to the exact time in the video where Geshe Michael explains the important idea. You can just click on each Idim, and it will open the video at the precise location.
1. Earth
2. Gold
3. Moon
4. Fire
5. Treasure
6. Source of Jewels
7. Ocean
8. Diamond
9. King of Mountains
10. Medicine
11. Spiritual Friend
12. Wish-Giving Jewel
13. The Sun
14. Song of a Gandharva
15. King
16. Treasure Chest
17. Highway
18. Good Vehicle
19. Water from a Spring
20. Beautiful Music
21. Big River
22. Cloud
In 1981 he helped found Andin International Diamond Corporation and bring it to annual sales of over $100 million, donating his profits to international aid projects. His book about achieving business and personal success through generosity, The Diamond Cutter, has become a global bestseller in 20 languages. He is the founder of the Asian Classics Institute, Diamond Mountain University, the Asian Classics Input Project, Worldview, the Yoga Studies Institute, Star in the East, Global Family Refugee Aid, Three Jewels Community Outreach Centers, and the Diamond Cutter Institute.
