For applications like Learning and Leadership, we are especially interested in this part of Dependent Origination. We can call this The Process of Becoming. For the purpose of investigating Learning as a process of Becoming, we will divide the stages a little differently. We invest so much effort in proper use and understanding of language and terminology because the feedback loop between Consciousness and Name-and-Form is the most sensitive point in the Process of Becoming.

1. Becoming Genius 2: Understanding
— The Esoteric Teaching —
dharmasar@gmail.com

2. WHAT IS BECOMING?
Becoming:
Dependent
Origination
The End of
Becoming:
The Noble
Eightfold
Path
Ignoranc
Suffering
Fabricatio
Consciousne
Name &
Contact
Feelings
Craving
Clinging
Six
Becoming
Birth
Aging &
Nibbana
Convictio
Cessation
Release
Dispassio
Dhamma
Samadhi
Pleasure
Serenity
Disenchantm
Rapture
Contentme
Unbinding

3. Fabrication
Consciousnes
Name &
Contact
Feelings
Craving
Clinging
Six Senses
Becoming
Birth
For applications like Learning and
Leadership, we are especially
interested in this part of Dependent
Origination.We can call thisThe
Process of Becoming.
For the purpose of investigating
Learning as a process of Becoming,
we will divide the stages a little
differently.
WHAT IS BECOMING?

4. Ignorance
Fabrication
Consciousness
Name & Form
Six Senses
NAME-AND-FORM IN BECOMING
We invest so much effort in proper use
and understanding of language and
terminology because the feedback loop
between Consciousness and Name-and-
Form is the most sensitive point in the
Process of Becoming.
First, communication depends
on language, and we can be
conscious of something only
if we have a description of its
Name-and-Form on our
ontology.

5. Genius: noun—Exceptional intellectual or creative power or
other natural ability.A person who is exceptionally intelligent
or creative, either generally or in some particular respect:‘a
musical genius’.
WHAT IS GENIUS?
Now we can define Becoming Genius as follows:
Becoming Genius utilizes concepts derived from the
teaching of the Buddha and other spiritual disciplines, as well
as advanced concepts in science, education, ontology,
semantics, software and systems theory, to master any
subject so thoroughly that it results in a permanent change
in being, so that whatever you master becomes your
spontaneous, natural self-expression.

6. •Duplication: Making an exact copy of the source
•Understanding: Systems thinking through logic
•Analysis: Contemplation of abstract relationships
•Metacognition: Realization of new state of
being
FOUR STAGES OF BECOMING GENIUS
For any given subject:

7. WHAT IS UNDERSTANDING?
The dictionary defines understanding as follows:
Understanding: noun—the ability to understand something;
comprehension; the power of abstract thought; intellect; an
individual's perception or judgment of a situation.
For the purposes of Skillful Living, understanding means to
apply your intelligence to a subject to comprehend how it
works.This means building a dynamic model of a subject that
incorporates cause and effect.

8. In the previous video of this series we presented the technique of
duplication. Duplication is prerequisite to understanding, because
working with an imperfect or incomplete copy of the source material
only leads to errors in understanding.
In fact, the process of understanding is one of the best ways to check
the accuracy of duplication. If your standard of duplication is good,
you will have little trouble building an understanding of the subject.
Difficulty in understanding is a sign of inaccurate or incomplete
duplication.
The standard of duplication is that you can recite the definition of
each word and symbol appropriate to its context. If you can’t do that,
your process of duplication is incomplete.
UNDERSTANDING AND DUPLICATION

9. METHODS FOR UNDERSTANDING
Here are some workable methods for building understanding:
• Outlining
• Handwriting
• Diagramming
• Clay Modeling
• Mind-mapping
• Building an Ontology

10. OUTLINING FOR UNDERSTANDING
The first workable method for building understanding is outlining—
making an ordered, prioritized list of points.
The dictionary defines outlining as “making a general description or
plan giving the essential features of something but not the detail.”
Any word-processing software can be used to create an outline, but we
suggest that you write it by hand. Handwriting engages additional
senses (including the kinesthetic sense) in the process of understanding.
It also helps you to identify points that need more work.

11. HANDWRITING FOR UNDERSTANDING
Another workable method for building understanding is handwriting a description
of the subject.We already mentioned handwriting an outline; but this phase of the
process of understanding is more detailed.
Starting from your outline, write a narrative description of the subject in your
own words, from your knowledge and without reference to the original materials.
It can include charts, tables, sketches etc. provided you do them by hand.
The flow you are trying to get is the temporal sequence of cause and effect in the
subject. In other words, a story.

12. DIAGRAMMING FOR UNDERSTANDING
Another workable method for building understanding is making diagrams,
tables, charts, graphs, sketches, flowcharts and other visual representations of
the subject.
You can make these separately or add them to the handwritten narrative you
created in the previous step.
Again, for maximum result this should be done from memory and by hand. Use
your outline and handwritten story to show the temporal flow of material,
information and most important, cause and effect through the system.

13. CLAY MODELING FOR UNDERSTANDING
A very useful and workable method for building understanding is clay modeling.
You might think this is silly—‘only kids do that’—but it is very powerful. It works
on the principle of exchanging significance for mass—getting the concept out of
your head and allowing you to physically manipulate and play with it.
You don’t have to use clay; wooden blocks, nuts and bolts, or any odds and end
will do, as long as you label them properly. Now here’s a short demo of clay
modeling.

14. MIND-MAPPING FOR UNDERSTANDING
Mind-mapping is another workable method for building understanding. Here is
where software becomes very useful.You are building a network of concepts
and terms, and showing the hierarchical connections and relationships between
and among them. Mind-mapping is similar to outlining but more free-form.
What you’re really doing here is building a taxonomy, a network of terms
expressing the elements of your subject, and beginning to map the relationships
between and among them. Mind-mapping the important terms and concepts in
your subject is a preliminary step toward ontological analysis, which we will
cover in depth in the next video.

15. Here are some good software tools for mind-mapping:
• X-Mind
• MindNode
• TheBrain
• FreeMind
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concept-
_and_mind-mapping_software
MIND-MAPPING FOR UNDERSTANDING

16. TESTINGYOUR UNDERSTANDING
After employing the workable methods for building understanding that we
have presented earlier, then test your understanding.
You should be able to think through the subject as a chain of cause and
effect, from beginning to end.Try modeling different scenarios in your
mind, and see if the conclusions you get agree with the source materials
and your experience.
Since your aim in all this is to teach yourself a specific skill, the ultimate
test of understanding is that you are able to perform the skill at a
professional level of competence.This will take practice!

17. TESTINGYOUR UNDERSTANDING
“In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they’re different.”
—Yogi Berra
Modeling has to assume that the subject exists in isolation, as in a
laboratory setting.That is the only way to reduce the number of variables
to a manageable level. Be aware of your model’s limits!
Your model can never be completely perfect, because in the real world,
your subject does not exist in isolation. It will be impacted by various
situations and environments, with results impossible to predict with
complete certainty. But you can come very close!

18. Becoming skillful is a cycle with three stages:
• Practicing: causing something to arise or to happen.
• Increasing: developing it by repetition.
• Investigating: observing and reflecting upon the practice.
Investigating is by far the most important stage of developing
skillfulness. It means observing one’s experience, taking it to
heart and reflecting on it wisely until you understand and
perceive clearly all the phenomena involved in each step of
the practice.
BECOMING SKILLFUL