It says in the Secret Nucleus (Ch 12
I have revealed the distinctive features of the vehicle according to the differences in the intelligence of sentient beings and the distinctions of their class.
I have revealed the distinctive features of the vehicle according to the differences in the intelligence of sentient beings and the distinctions of their class.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
The buddhas neither speak nor make expression.
The buddhas will not resort to speech and they will not resort to expression.
The buddhas do not become manifestly, perfectly enlightened.
The buddhas have not caused anything to become mani- festly, perfectly enlightened.
The buddhas have not re- nounced conflicting emotions.
The buddhas have not actu- ally disclosed purity.
Nothing at all is seen by the buddhas, nor heard, nor tasted, nor smelt, nor known, nor cognised.
If you ask why this is the case, MafijusrI, it is because all things are utterly pure from the beginning.
The lord Maitreya [in the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle, Ch. l, v. S I] has also said:
Subsequently, just as it was before, Is the unchanging reality.
And also [Ch. l, v. S]:
Uncompounded and spontaneously present,
It is not realised through other conditions.
According to such quotations, the natural expression or abiding nature, the fundamental nature or the reality of all things is uncompounded and uncreated through causes and conditions. It is not dependent on others, is not realised through extraneous conditions, and does not abide in a goal that is attained by the intellect.
It is said in the Sutra of the Dialogue with Kasyapa from the Sublime Pagoda of Precious Jewels:
That which is uncompounded is the enlightened family of the sublime ones. That which is the enlightened family of the sublime ones neither adheres to the training, nor tran- scends the training. That which neither adheres to the train- ing, nor transcends the training neither moves, nor rests, nor rushes. That which neither moves, nor rests, nor rushes, has neither mind, nor the properties which emerge from mind. That which has neither mind, nor the properties which emerge from mind possesses neither deeds, nor the ripening of deeds. That which possesses neither deeds, nor the ripen- ing of deeds knows neither pleasure nor pain. That which knows neither pleasure nor pain is the enlightened family of the sublime ones. That which is the enlightened family of the sublime ones possesses neither deeds, nor deed-form- ing volition.
Superiority ofAtiyoga 299 Thep, in the Sutra of the Greater Vehicle which Decisively Reveals the
Intention it is said:
The inexpressible and manifestly perfect buddhahood which is by the Sublime Ones through their sublime per- ceptIOn and sublime vision, is called uncompounded because itisthisinexpressiblerealitywhichistobeperfectlyrealised.
And in the Root Stanzas on the Madhyamaka eCh. IS, vv. I-2):
It is incorrect that independent existents
Emerge from causes and conditions.
That which has emerged from causes and conditions Would be a created independent existent.
In what way would it be admissable
To speak of a created independent existent?
For an independent existent must be uncontrived And not dependent on any other.
Extensive quotations, such as these, visibly set the tone in accordance with which the abiding nature of fundamental reality, the uncom- pounded pristine cognition transcending causes and conditions which is the spiritual and philosophical goal of the Great Perfection, is mani- festly realised.
Concerning the way in which this reality is established to be free from extremes also, it is said [in the same text, Ch. IS, v. 6] :
Whoever views independent existents, dependent existents,
Substantiality and non-substantiality, Has not seen the reality
Of the teaching of the Buddha.
Andc . h
ous t e sequence ? f. the path of Great Perfection, glori-
h Naropa s Means for Attaznzng the Real (de-kho-na-nyid sgrub-pa'i tabs zhes-bya-ba rdzogs-pa-chen-po'i lam-gyi rim-pa) says:
and sentient beings have a single nature.
ThIS mystery of the mind's pristine cognition
Is more amazing than the truth of the nucleus.
? ody in which the naturally present greatness IS Identified
Is the supreme, perfect bliss of intrinsic awareness. The emanational body in which spirituality appears Is . the secret mind, not essentially existing.
It IS the indivisibility of the apparent and the invisible . .
300 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Then concerning the fact that this [Atiyoga] does not objectively refer to 'a path as do the lower [vehicles], that same text says:
In the nucleus of perfect pristine cognition The goal is reached without a sequential path.
Now, if one were to ask just what of the. teaching of these lower sequences [ofthe vehicle], a IS e. lther wah reference to the intellectual degrees of those who reqUIre trammg, as the means by which one on a lower [path], having trained the mmd, gradually
. thO path [of Atiyoga] or else as a support for the path. The entersmto IS , . ' '.
nucleus of all the Sugata's teachings, the IS . . 't'on alone the transcendental perfection 0 IscnmmatlVe
abides without contradiction in the nature of the Great Perfection. This intention comprises the unaltered intention of the Collection of Madhyamaka Reasoning, which consists of the commentaries on the intermediate promulgation by the sublime and supreme Nagarjuna; and his [Collection of Eulogies] including the Eulogy to the Expanse of Reality, and the commentaries by the regent Maitreya, the sublime and supreme Asailga, and his brother [Vasubandhu] and so forth, which together form the intention of the final [promulgation]. If one were to ask why this is the case, it is because these masters did not claim anything other than the profound abiding nature of natural reality, and because the Great Perfection itself is none other than that.
Although the path through which this reality is actualised is superior only in the mantras, on further examination the lower ways of mantra consist of merely the symbolic and non-symbolic stages [of meditation]. The Six-limbed Yoga of the Kalacakra T 1367) which is renowned as supreme among the Unsurpassed tantras, the Five Stages (Paficakrama, T 1802) and others,297 too, merely explain the ten signs of inner radiance and the form of emptiness which is a reflection of the three spheres of existence within a black outline. 298 These are perceived by controlling the activity of the energy channels, currents and seminal points. As the experience of this perception increases and decreases, even one who has meditated appropriately cannot attain the body of indestruc- tible reality in which the elements have dissolved into light. Thus, those of lowly fortune contact herein not the definitive meaning but merely the
provisional meaning. So it is said by Naropa:
The single definitive means is the truth of the nucleus. The four successive seals and the six-limbed yoga,
The diverse vehicles of thought,
Have resorted to the provisional and not the definitive. The essential nature is neither high nor low.
It ends the thoughts conceived by those who devoutly enter.
Furthermore, the meditation of the creation stage according to the lower [paths] merely effects the ripening of the perfection stage, and, through that meditation, nothing but [the result] of a sky-farer is ac- complished by an awareness-holder of the desire realm or an awareness- holder of the form realm, whichever is appropriate in accord with the distinctions between the action seal and the seal of pristine cognition (kannamudra and jnanamudra). 299 Again, though one may desire to develop pristine cognition through the flexibility of the energy channels, currents and seminal points in accordance with the perfection stage, the conditions of tiresome efforts are not transcended. Even one who desires to develop the pristine cognition of bliss and emptiness in accord- ance with the thi. rd empowerment,300 subsequent on the delight experi-
pnstme cogm
1,
. dh
the natural state which is just what IS; an t e perlect awareness, . f. . .
establishment of it through the direct perceptIOn 0 mtnnslC awareness is none other than the path of Great The three vows, six transcendental perfections, the creation stage and perfection stage; all of these, indeed, are taught as the means of realIsmg the Gre. at Perfection and as mere rest-stations for those who progress towards It.
The Secret Nucleus (Ch. 22, v. 3) says: Distinctions are indeed arrayed in the levels,
But these are paths which progress to the secret nucleus.
And in Indrabhuti's Esoteric Instructions. Empowerment Circle (Ratnacakrabhi$ekopadesakrama, T 2472) a IS Said:
This is only spoken as the means to attain
That which is inner radiance by nature, .
And the culmination of the Great Perfection, . The supreme among the supreme of all esotenc
instructions.
And Santideva [in the Introduction to the Conduct ofa Bodhisattva, Ch. 9, v. l] has also explained:
All these aspects were taught by the Sage For the sake of discrimative awareness.
. f h G at Perfection: The Now concerning this natural expressIOn 0 t e re . d pre-
Sugata during the intermediate promulgation of the
cepts did not reveal the structure of the fundamenta rea 'h ut re- , h . . ble abiding nature WIt 0
he did extensively teach t e mconcelva, . h fi I prorn-
ferring to symbols of elaborate conception. reality, ulgation, though he did reveal the structure 0 t e u. n . ' ctualised . he did not teach the characteristic path through whIch It IS tually Therefore, the conclusive intention of the Two Promulgators ac
Superiority ofAtiyoga 301
302 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofAtiyoga 303
enced when the two sexual organs are in union, is not liberated from the three realms [of saqlsara]. Therefore, the supre. me,. unchanging pristine cognition which is the supreme, unfading ? hss, IS taught to be realised by these methods, and the above practices the meditative absorptions in bliss. As it is said in the glonous Naropa's
Means for Attaining the Real:
The naturally present mind,
That is definitively free from elaboration,
Is not known through the path of desire.
This nucleus of naturally present, inner radiance, Through its non-symbolic natural expression,
Is free from desire for discriminative awareness and skilful means.
It is without the arduous emanation and absorption . h . I . 301
of desire connected with t e semma pomts. Evenly absorbed in discriminative awareness and
skilful means,
It is the supreme blissful concentration.
Without attachment to the savour of apparition,
It is the perfect path of unattached pristine cognition.
Without realising the natural and utterly pure discrimi? ative aware- ness, which is the abiding nature of the Great Perfection, by such attainments, the aspects of the truth of the path do not the compounded fundamental virtues attained by the and scrutmy of discrete recollections and thoughts. These aspects mclude the vows the six transcendental perfections and the creation and perfection
which all refer to objects of the intellect, and the. ir various means by which the mass of conflicting emotions are [respectively] renounced by pious attendants and self-centred buddhas, obstructed by bodhisattvas, and transmuted into the path by the secret mantra and so forth. Accordingly, it is said in the Ornament of the Madhymaka eMadhyamakalan:zkarakarika, T 3884):
The essence which is uncompounded Is not anything anywhere.
If having had the opportunity to realise the reality of the abiding natdre one continues to cling to extremes of conduct such as
or non-virtuous doctrines. One who actually clings to non- virtuous doctrines will continue to cling actually to non-vir- tuous doctrines. The phenomena of suffering and unease which emerge through actual attachment to non-virtuous doctrines are called the sublime truth of suffering. Thus the tathagatas revealed them within the enumeration of non-vir- tuous doctrines. The absence of actual clinging to virtue and non-virtue, and the cessation of craving are to be realised as the renunciation of the origin [of suffering] and as the twofold sublime truth. Thus the tathagatas revealed them within the enumeration of virtuous doctrines.
And in the same text:
There, virtue is empty and non-virtue, too, is empty. Virtue is void and non-virtue, too, is void. Virtue is unadulterated by non-virtue and non-virtue, too, is unadulterated by vir- tue. There is neither basis nor cause for hankering after virtue and non-virtue.
And in the Sutra Requested by Jnanottara according to the Pitaka of the Greater Vehicle (Jnanottarabodhisattvaparipfcchasutra, T 82):
The bodhisattva Jflanaketu asked, "What is the provision of merit? " [The Transcendent Lord] replied, "It refers to the positive doctrines such as liberality, along with their symbols. "
"Then what is the provision of pristine cognition? "
"It refers to non-symbolic [doctrines], such as discrimina- tive awareness. "
"Then how should these two be accumulated? " he asked, and [the Transcendent Lord] replied, "As for the provision of merit, it is called the provision of the merit of saqlsara, and is exemplified by the water contained in the hoofprint of an ox. If you ask why this is the case, it is quickly lost, exhausted and diminished, and, after the bliss of gods and humans has been experienced, it causes rebirth in evil exist- ences. As for the provision of pristine cognition, it is called the provision of nirva1). a and is exemplified by the water in a great ocean. It is not lost, not exhausted and is unfailing, and it causes attainment of nirva1). a. Jflanaketu, you should accumulate only the provision of pristine cognition. "
FUrthermore, the ten categories (dasatattva) of the outer and inner Il1antras have also resorted to symbolism which obscures the truth of fundamental reality. It is said in the All-Accomplishing King:
There is neither meditation on the view nor guarding of the cOJ;nmitments.
,
ciation and acceptance as they are apphed to pOSitIVe a? n. t
attributes and to virtue and evil, it is explained to be a firm in the way of the provision of pristine cognition and a pomt of grea deviation. It says in the Pagoda of Precious Jewels:
One should enter into this enumeration of the tathagatas' intention. One should not actually cling to either virtuoUS
. '
. degatlve
304
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofAti. >,oga 305
There is neither purification on the levels nor
progress on the path.
There is neither perseverance in activity nor
conferral of empowerment.
There is neither perseverance in respect of the
three media nor the creation of the maJ). 9ala . Cause and result are without duality, in the manner
of space.
The sublime ManjusrI also says:
The mandalas and burnt offerings,
The offerings and recitations counted on
rosaries,
The sedentary vajra-like and dramatic postures and
Now there are those of little intelligence who might ask whether the Kriyatantra and Caryatantra and so forth are not within the vehicle of indestructible reality or whether it is a contradiction that accomplish- ment is revealed through them by means of ritual and activity. Further- more, they might ask whether, among the siitras of the greater vehicle, those which emphatically teach the provision of merit including liber- ality to be the basis of omniscience, are in contradiction [to this supreme view]. However, all these teachings were intentionally given by the Sugatas. They were given in order to embrace those of base, childish intellect, those who delight in conceptual elaboration and those who fear topics of utter profundity. Such is said in the Introduction to the Real (Tattvavatdra, T 3709):
One is liberated by the view of emptiness. That is the point of the remainder of
meditation.
All conduct of body, speech and mind Is taught within the lesser vehicles.
The master Nagarjuna also says:
Look for reality, and at the outset, One could say that everything exists. But when the objects are realised And there is no attachment,
There is subsequently the truth devoid of them.
And in addition, the Crest ofIndestructible Reality says:
If one evenly abides in the real,
There is neither commitment nor the practice of
mantra.
It is not necessary to hold the vajra and bell. 302 One will become accomplished without the ten
categories.
These and other literary transmissions have been extensively
the master Manjusrlklrti [in his Commentary on the Magical
et of Maii]usri, Maiijusrinamasa1? 1gfti(fka, T 2534], which clearly re-
veals that there is no mode of liberation by means of the creation and
p;rfection stages or any other such doctrines of mental scrutiny unless
t ere is realisation of the naturally liberated vast openness in which
sarnsar d ' - . '
. a an mrval). a are lIberated as fundamental reality and of a com-
savour; and there realisation of the inexpressible reality I Yond the guardmg of commItments and verbal and written objects.
n the same vein. , the Magical Net ofMaiijusrf says:
so forth
Are fallible with respect to this freedom from
conceptual elaboration.
For there is nothing to be done, And nothing either to obstruct.
And:
Concerning activities, the yogin
Apprehends them on the supreme paths,
Just as a deer pursues a mirage:
Though they always appear, they are not grasped.
And in the Hevajra Tantra (Pt. l, Ch. 5, v. 1l): There is no meditation, nor meditator.
There is no deity, nor mantra.
Again the Secret Treasury of the I)akinf (mkha'-'gro-ma'i gsang-mdzod) also says:
The objects which accordingly appear
Abide as apparitional male and female deities. . . There is nothing to be bound and there is no bmdmg, Nor are there energy channels, currents and
seminal points.
Accomplishment comes about through emptiness.
And:
Such quotations extensively reveal [that the symbolism of the ten categories of mantra is not required in Atiyoga].
Ablutions and cleanliness are not required here. Austerities and asceticism are not required here.
306
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofAtiyoga 307
In. a without manifest at,chment, NIrvana IS also samsara \
By view which· is to The truth also becomes false. ' To those endowed with manifest pride, Falsehood also becomes the truth.
So it is known.
And in the Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness
Twenty-five Thousand Lines: zn
this up to . the unsurpassed, genuinely perfect en- IS no earnest application. There is no ear- nest In the purification of [lands into] buddha- The:e IS no earnest application in the maturation of sentIent beIngs. is no earnest application in regarding
t? e buddhas. There IS no earnest application in the genera- ofthe fundam:ntal virtues. Ifit is asked why so, Subhuti, It IS all thIngs are empty of their own attributes. A and great spiritual warrior does not regard any ? f thIngs as genuine, whether one refers to the object
whIch earnest is developed, that by which it IS developed or that In which it is to be developed.
. According to extensive quotations, in this abiding nature that IS free from all actIVIty, al! things belonging to the truth of the path ;:e naturally effort, in the manner of a hundred Ivers convergIng under a bndge.
It says in the Secret Nucleus (Ch 12
I have revealed the distinctive features of the vehicle according to the differences in the intelligence of sentient beings and the distinctions of their class. Although it is revealed to some as the way of the Outsiders,303 to some as the vehicle of the pious attendants, to some as the vehicle of the self-centred buddhas, and to others still as the vehicle of the transcendental perfections and the immeasurable tan- tras of the awareness-holders, it should be known that bud- dhahood is indivisibly attained through the great seminal point304 which is unwritten and free from symbols.
These authoritative passages [belonging to the vehicle] of indestructible reality set the incontrovertible tone [of Atiyoga].
Nor is it the case that, through such teaching in the Great Perfection, the areas of skilful means according to the lower paths are renounced. With reference to the naturally present pristine cognition or the real nature of the Great Perfection, this reality does not require to be sought out and attained elsewhere because the great enlightened attributes of purity are spontaneously present, and the three buddha-bodies are effortlessly present. It is a fact that from the very moment of the reali- sation, through the guru's esoteric instructions, of this reality, the natural expression of the deities and mantras is also complete in a of great purity and sameness, which is present without concep- tual elaboration. This is established totally without effort and without wandering from the disposition of this uncontrived, primordial reality. Indeed, even the area of conduct relating to the six transcendental perfections, which include liberality, becomes complete therein, as it is said in the Sutra of the Greater Vehicle which is a Dialogue with T 160):
Without actual volition, moral discipline passes into
Instantaneously, patience passes into Without acceptance or rejection, perseverance passes
into
Non-conceptually, concentration passes into Unimpededly, discriminative awareness passes into Since the expanse of reality is desireless,
Desire is the limit of desirelessness.
Since the expanse of reality is without ferocity,
Hatred is the limit of genuine reality.
Since real things are undeluded,
Delusion is the limit of the undeluded.
Without the transference of consciousness at death
and without birth, Sarpsara is also
v. 14):
The perfect Buddha is not found
In any of the ten directions and four times.
Other than the perfect Buddha which is mind-as-such Do not seek the Buddha elsewhere.
And (Ch. 2, v. 4):
Even though he would search The Conqueror would not find it.
And in the All-Accomplishing King:
Mind . is the substance which is just what is.
All are accomplished in the nature of just what IS.
go not that which is just what is. o not attam anything but the essence.
A who has sought it, will not find it Wnhm expanse [of reality].
. ,
'
308
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Because it has already been done, There is no need to do so now. Because it has already been attained,
One does not attain it now. . .
Be equipoised without ideas and mtentIons.
And in the Hevajra Tantra (Pt. I, Ch. 5, v. ll):
In nature without conceptual elaboration The deity and the mantra abide.
conceptualisations which are disharmonious with respect to the unquali- fied essence. It is devoid of disharmonious, symbolic appearances with respect to the object, and it is free from disharmonious delusion with respect to the subject. It transcends the dominion of the eight aggregates of consciousness along with their thoughts, expressions, causes and results, and abides in the reality of awareness, the pristine cognition of the natural Great Perfection. In the words of the master Aryadeva [in the Four Hundred Verses, Ch. 8, v. 8]:
That which is abandoned by mundane beings Is explained to be the ultimate reality.
And in the Commentary [on the Four Hundred Verses, Bodhisattva- T 3865, by Candraklrti]:
This incontrovertible reality has not been thought of by the ordinary, mundane being who has not realised it. It has not been conceived by the mind. It has not become an object of the sense organs. It has been abandoned unseen because it is darkened by a film of ignorance. The object seen by the pristine cognition of the sublime ones endowed with highest acumen is the ultimate reality.
The Great Perfection thus refers to the sublime truth which is to be experienced through the pristine cognition ofindividual intrinsic aware- ness, free from the subject-object dichotomy, and which is described under various names, such as: the ultimate truth, the genuine goal, the emptiness of emptiness and the great emptiness. Concerning that Great Perfection, which possesses the matrix (spyi-gzugs) of pristine cognition, corresponding to the buddhas' body of reality, it is said in the Sublime Sutra o f Clouds o f Precious Jewels:
This doctrine genuinely transcends all written and spoken words. It genuinely transcends the entire range of expres- sions. It genuinely transcends all verbalisation. It is free from all conceptual elaboration and free from all that is accepted or rejected. It is free from all opening and closing, and free from all sophistry. It is not to be analysed and is not within the range of sophistry. It genuinely transcends the range of sophistry. It is non-symbolic, free from sym- bolism and genuinely transcends the range of symbolism. It genuinely transcends the range of the childish. It genuinely transcends the range of all demons, and genuinely transcends the range of all conflicting emotions. It genuinely transcends the range of consciousness. It does, however, lie within the range of the indeterminate, dynamic, quiescent and sublime pristine cognition. The individual, intuitive awareness of
b)'ect of the perfection of all things such as
Furthermore, on the su . d b ' [f " t and the emanatIon an a sorptIon 0
mantras, seals, commltmen s, k" of recollection it
light] in the reality of awareness, the mg . says in the glorious Naropa's Means for Attaznzng the Real.
Unwritten, the speech of the Abides in the true enlightened mmd.
The king does not contrive commitments, But keeps them unguardingly.
The unchanging seal
Is executed by the unchanging truth.
'
In the mandala without extremes and
Pristine radiates emanatIon or absorptIOn.
This thoughtless natural expressIOn,
That is the Conqueror's mind, " Does not transcend the enlightened mmd.
In the same way, the area of conduct according to the causal. vehicle, is revealed to be complete [in Atiyoga], as the same text says.
By possessing the truth of this nucleus " The mind is not induced to deSIres. Likewise the six transcendental
Abide in the naturally present,
The intention without thoughts and IdeatIon: Endowed with the six transcendental Abides without thought and without apprehensIOn.
The unwavering, uninterrupted
Is the unqualified transcendental perfectIon of
discriminative awareness.
d d I Although this is extensively propoun e e sew
above illustration should suffice here.
This being the case, of the throughout
nature, which is just what IS, IS SaId to be a VIew °b s "t is devoid of the three times. It uproots the seed of sarpsara ecause 1
"
here in other texts, the
" g the abiding
Superiority ofAtiyoga 309
310
Fundamentals: VehiclesoJSecretMantra
these [attributes] is a topic which is taintless, uncovered, pure, bountiful, supreme, sacred, perfect, permanent, firm, enduring and imperishable. 30s the ta. thagatas have appeared or not, this expanse of reahty IS exclusIvely present.
Through these final words, the actual meaning, pure the ning, ofthe abiding nature ofthe Great Perfection is revealed Just as It IS.
9 The Definition of Atiyoga
[183a. 6-190a. 5] Now concerning that which is implied by the name Great Perfection: It is so called because it refers to the naturally present pristine cognition, without partiality or bias, in which the meanings of all the vehicles abide and are perfect in a single essence; or it is so called because all things are pure and are perfect in the instantaneous disposition of reality or awareness, without deliberate analysis by means of intellectual apprehension. The All-Accomplishing King says:
Perfect in one, perfect in two, perfect in mind.
Perfect in one, it is the perfection of mind's creations. Perfect in two, it is the perfection of excellent attributes. Perfect in all, it is the perfection ofthe enlightened mind. 306
And in the Sutra of the Dialogue with Sagaramati (Sagaramati- pariprcchasutra, T 152):
Those who are purifying these modes of the doctrine And those who direct the teaching
Concerning perfect enlightened mind
Are pure in the supreme enlightened mind,
And never covered by the stains of conflicting emotions. Just as the sky can be overcast
And yet subsequently become visible again,
So, the perfect enlightened mind of natural, inner
radiance
Can never be obscured by conflicting emotions.
,Therefore, the Great Perfection, the natural expression ofenlightened which is the inner radiance of reality, is revealed to be unbe- ,:ith re,spect to its primordially pure attributes. The Great
Utra of Fznal Nzrva1'}a also says in the same vein:
In addition, that which is said to be genuine is the mundane middle way, and that which is said to be perfect is known
312 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
as definitively unsurpassed and genuinely perfect, if the mid- dle way of the final path has been earnestly applied.
According to this teaching, the former is rationally established through the valid cognition of inference, and the latter, inasmuch as it is not an object of the intellect, actually abides in the intention of this, the
sublime path.
As to the verbal definition of Atiyoga: [The Sanskrit] ati [Tib. shin-tu]
means utmost, and also conveys the sense of supreme, best, perfect, climax and quintessence. [The Sanskrit] yoga [Tib. rnal-'byor] means union. Since it is the culmination of all yogas, it is the utmost or highest yoga, and since it is the nucleus of all aspects of the perfection stage, there is nothing else to be reached higher than Atiyoga. It is qualified
by the word "great" [Tib. chen-po] because through it the reality unborn like the sky, which is most profound and difficult to analyse, is directly revealed. The Transcendent Lord [Sakyamuni] also directed his inten- tion towards the verbal definition of this [vehicle] when he said:
To teach the doctrine
Which is inconceivable as the sky
Is the greatest.
Furthermore, concerning the perfection of all things of sarpsara and nirval)a in the naturally present awareness itself, Naropa has again said:
The contemplation of uncontrived awareness is
radiant,
Perfect in all meanings, without activity.
It is the ground-of-all in its naturally present state. It is the spontaneously present path of yoga,
not to be traversed,
And it is the result itself in which everything
whatsoever is perfect.
It is the perfect treasure of the seminal point, free
from activity,
The blissful pristine cognition or non-conceptualising
mind,
Perfected immediately by fortunate individuals,
And it comprises the thoughts of the six classes of
beings in sal1lsara
And the nirval)a that is the Conqueror's pristine
cognition.
The disposition of this unique awareness that is bliss
supreme,
And naturally present, uncontrived reality,
Is a spontaneously perfect disposition without conceptual elaboration.
Definition ofAtiyoga 313 The has also subsumed this in his Oral
instructzons of Sublzme Mafijusrf as follows:
Great Perfection, the matrix of pristine cognition, Is the utterly pure body, the great Vajradhara. Having obtained, through this second stage
h' h 307
of all the glorious ones
The enlightenment which conforms to the
path of three aeons,
And which is surpassed,
Why does the yogin, having accumulated so little bliss Not meditate on this [Great Perfection]? '
_this [in his Commentary on the Oral Instructions of Sublzme lvlanJusn: Sukusumanamamukhagamavftti, T 1866], Vitapada has eloquently saId:
That which is ca. lled the Great Perfection is the second stage
? f the. second stage. Its pristine cognition
IncludIng the mIrror-lIke one is fivefold, and the matrix is
the purest utter purity of these [five]. So it is called the
u. tterly pure body. This [matrix] is called the great Vajradhara
[I. e. the great holder of indestructible reality] because it is
resultant which is just what is. The expres-
SIOn all the glonous ones applies to all the buddhas because
they possess intrinsic discriminative awareness and this
Perfection] is the essence of the ultimate relative
realItIes of them all. In the text, this second stage refers only
to the stage of perfection. This, the supreme skilful means
of the long paths, which is said to be meditation, is expressed
by words such as frustration, and frustration is said to refer
to the paths which endure for three aeons by means of such
acts of liberality [as sacrificing one's own] head. Though
may have acted out of faith and obtained the enlightenment
whzch conforms to countless aeons [of activity] - from the
308
o
WhIC IS t e essence
first to the seventh [level] and the eighth to the tenth
that is said to . be surpassed because the unsurpassed Buddha, the great VaJradhara, possesses a still higher [enlighten- The ? liss. of this [path], being so little in comparison WIth the III supreme bliss, why does the yogin who It not meditate on this path through which the flono. us m. ost auspicious beings become accomplished
n a. SIngle lIfetIme? He should meditate on [the Great Per- fectIOn] alone.
Tthbe. profound abiding nature of reality, which is just what is does
no a Ide a b' · b · . '
s an 0 lect to e realIsed by the ostensIble reasoning of logic
-
314 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and sophistry. On this topic, the Sublime Satra which Decisively Reveals
the Intention says:
That which is within the range of individual, intuitive awareness
Is inexpressible and cut off from conventions.
It is ultimate reality without disputation,
And is characterised as transcending all sophistry.
And as it is said in the Siitra of the Descent to Lanka: A puerile evil sophist
Analyses it thus, in a corpse-like manner.
The discriminative awareness produced by is designated through ideas connected with points . of dIsputatIon, with characteristics and objects that are as as w. lth substances and attributes, and logical contrariety and - are entirely developed by the mind and mental events: thmkmg m terms of conventional and symbolic doctrines expressed m words and phrases. All things are therefore established to be without existence, to be without consciousness, without substance,. wlthout the ground-of-all, and so forth. They are established. as. emptmess by the intellect and the inference which is made therem IS asserted by the master Nagarjuna to be merely a childish train of thought. In the master's own words:
Regarding creation and cessation,
The condition is thought alone.
That which emerges in consciousness only
Has no substantial, independent existence.
If the sophist who resorts to ideas
Should meditate only on labels,
The terms "no independent existence" and "no
consciousness" ,
"No substance" and "no ground-of-all" Could be applied as well by a child!
They are entirely generated by evil sophists.
Therefore with reference to the ultimate truth, objects of scrutinY ' b . , Uiescence 0f
Definition ofAtiyoga 315
ideas and scrutiny becomes verbal chaff; thought and understanding become waves of conceptualisation; meditation becomes the apprehen- sion of that; and experience the appraisal of it. It becomes extremely difficult even to approach the profound meaning of the abiding nature
no matter how correctly it seems to arise in the face of the intellect. The Siitra ofthe Nucleus ofthe Buddha (Buddhagarbhasiitra, T 258) says:
The nucleus of the buddha is not seen as it is by those who are ordinary persons, pious attendants, self-centred buddhas or even bodhisattvas. For example, when one who is born blind asks another the colour of butter and is told that it
resembles snow, he touches snow and so apprehends the colour of butter to be cold. Then, when he asks what the colour of snow resembles and is told that it resembles the
wings of a goose, [hearing the sound of a goose's wings] he apprehends the colour of snow to be flapping. And then, when he asks what the colour of wings resembles and [is told that] it resembles a conch shell, he touches a conch and,
inasmuch as it is smooth, he apprehends [the wings] also to be smooth. Just as one born blind does not know colour as it is, whatever is described, in the same way it is very difficult to perceive the Buddha's natural expression.
Similarly, it is said in the Oral Instructions of Sublime Mafijufrf for Attaining the Real:
How can an ordinary person know
Such excellent, supreme pristine cognition? It is not known by the pious attendants.
It is not even known by the self-centred buddhas.
It is not known by the philosophers of Yogacara,
Or by the Madhyamaka philosophers among the bodhisattvas.
All the buddhas of the surpassed [levels], too,309 Do not even slightly know this.
statements have been extensively revealed by the Conqueror and hIS sons.
The difficulty of realising [pristine cognition] is also that the grasping
components of the mind and mental events, thinking exclusively with
hreference to effort, self-indulgence, ideas, scrutiny causes and results aVe d' 'd . , ,
. IVI ed and obscured It by hope and doubt, and apprehended it
In terms ofobjects and subjects such as the diverse symbols ofconceptual elab .
and inference are utterly contradictory ecause
I S a q . I t d o e s
conceptual elaboration, and an absence of ot felt
not abide in the path of verbalisation and and IS n hen
to pursue the imagination. For these If the o. cc. aslOns; of
meditative absorption in this pristine or e
the with
to
reality occurs are not recognised to be thIS a? SOrptlOn spiritual and philosophical goal [of Atiyoga], . which . IS respect to fundamental reality, then all that IS studIed pertammg
p
expanse through meditative equipoise, without wavering from this dis-
ora. tIOn. Here, on the other hand, in the general path of the Great erfectIOn, all conceptual elaborations become quiescent in the intrinsic
316 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
position in which the presence of fundamental reality, the abiding nature without bondage or liberation is established.
Other than that, nothing is contrived save that one abides constantly and naturally in the disposition of the supreme of intel- lect, which is free from all activities. All the suddenly ansen stains which appear through expressive power just naturally clear and naturally liberated, or antIdote being applied, in the unchanging space of mtnnsiC awareness, the primal emptiness, in the manner of water and waves. Other that, "meditation" and "meditative equipoise" are the labels conventIOnally applied to simple absorption in the intrinsic nature, just as it occurs without looking elsewhere, without purposefully medItatIng, withodt being fixed on one [point], without intellectualising, without conceptualising, without apprehending faults, without external. clarifi- cations and without internal attainment. Therefore the essence IS emp- tiness in that it is without thought or expression; signlessness, in that it is without conceptualisation; and aspirationlessness, in that it is with- out acceptance, rejection, hope or doubt. The three abide therein in an utterly pure character because there IS no objective reference to the three times. This is extensively indicated, as in the following example from the Pitaka of the Bodhisattva (Bodhisattva- pitaka, T 56):
In this connection, one might ask, what is the utter purity of the three spheres? It is the mind not entering into that which is past, the consciousness not pursuing the future and the intellect not entering into activity connected with present events. Since one does not abide in mind, intellect or con- sciousness, the past is not conceived of, hankering after the future is not active in the mind, and present events are not conceptually elaborated. Since this, the sameness throughout the three times, is the utter purity of the three spheres, the sentient beings who do not comprehend it should do. so. Thereby the great compassion of the Tathagata enters mto sentient beings.
And in the Siitra of the Greater Vehicle which is a Dialogue with :
All things are utterly pure of the past dimension. All things are utterly pure of the future dimension. All things are pure of the present dimension. This is th. e utter punty of the three times. This is an utter punty whIch never comes impure, and by virtue of this, its natural punty is the purest of all. For this reason all things are saId to be naturally radiant.
What, one might ask, is it that is the nature of all things? The nature ofall things is emptiness; they are without object- ive referent. The nature of all things is signlessness; they are free from idea and concept. The nature of all things is aspirationlessness; there is no acceptance, no rejection, no
thought, no force and a total absence of substantial existence.
It is naturally radiant. Whatever is the nature of samsara is
the nature of nirvaIfa. Whatever is the nature of is
the nature of all things. So it is that the mind is radiant.
And in the All-Accomplishing King:
Since it abides in that disposition,
It is unwavering spontaneous presence.
Since it naturally abides, it is not contrived by anyone.
This abiding in uncontrived reality
Is revealed as the supreme among actionless deeds.
By regarding one as two, meditation is in error. The single essence is not obtained by twO. 31O
And the master Naropa has also said:
Whatever abides in subjectivity
Turns to the result of samsara itself.
The lord Maitreya [in the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle, Ch. l, v. S I] has also said:
Subsequently, just as it was before, Is the unchanging reality.
And also [Ch. l, v. S]:
Uncompounded and spontaneously present,
It is not realised through other conditions.
According to such quotations, the natural expression or abiding nature, the fundamental nature or the reality of all things is uncompounded and uncreated through causes and conditions. It is not dependent on others, is not realised through extraneous conditions, and does not abide in a goal that is attained by the intellect.
It is said in the Sutra of the Dialogue with Kasyapa from the Sublime Pagoda of Precious Jewels:
That which is uncompounded is the enlightened family of the sublime ones. That which is the enlightened family of the sublime ones neither adheres to the training, nor tran- scends the training. That which neither adheres to the train- ing, nor transcends the training neither moves, nor rests, nor rushes. That which neither moves, nor rests, nor rushes, has neither mind, nor the properties which emerge from mind. That which has neither mind, nor the properties which emerge from mind possesses neither deeds, nor the ripening of deeds. That which possesses neither deeds, nor the ripen- ing of deeds knows neither pleasure nor pain. That which knows neither pleasure nor pain is the enlightened family of the sublime ones. That which is the enlightened family of the sublime ones possesses neither deeds, nor deed-form- ing volition.
Superiority ofAtiyoga 299 Thep, in the Sutra of the Greater Vehicle which Decisively Reveals the
Intention it is said:
The inexpressible and manifestly perfect buddhahood which is by the Sublime Ones through their sublime per- ceptIOn and sublime vision, is called uncompounded because itisthisinexpressiblerealitywhichistobeperfectlyrealised.
And in the Root Stanzas on the Madhyamaka eCh. IS, vv. I-2):
It is incorrect that independent existents
Emerge from causes and conditions.
That which has emerged from causes and conditions Would be a created independent existent.
In what way would it be admissable
To speak of a created independent existent?
For an independent existent must be uncontrived And not dependent on any other.
Extensive quotations, such as these, visibly set the tone in accordance with which the abiding nature of fundamental reality, the uncom- pounded pristine cognition transcending causes and conditions which is the spiritual and philosophical goal of the Great Perfection, is mani- festly realised.
Concerning the way in which this reality is established to be free from extremes also, it is said [in the same text, Ch. IS, v. 6] :
Whoever views independent existents, dependent existents,
Substantiality and non-substantiality, Has not seen the reality
Of the teaching of the Buddha.
Andc . h
ous t e sequence ? f. the path of Great Perfection, glori-
h Naropa s Means for Attaznzng the Real (de-kho-na-nyid sgrub-pa'i tabs zhes-bya-ba rdzogs-pa-chen-po'i lam-gyi rim-pa) says:
and sentient beings have a single nature.
ThIS mystery of the mind's pristine cognition
Is more amazing than the truth of the nucleus.
? ody in which the naturally present greatness IS Identified
Is the supreme, perfect bliss of intrinsic awareness. The emanational body in which spirituality appears Is . the secret mind, not essentially existing.
It IS the indivisibility of the apparent and the invisible . .
300 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Then concerning the fact that this [Atiyoga] does not objectively refer to 'a path as do the lower [vehicles], that same text says:
In the nucleus of perfect pristine cognition The goal is reached without a sequential path.
Now, if one were to ask just what of the. teaching of these lower sequences [ofthe vehicle], a IS e. lther wah reference to the intellectual degrees of those who reqUIre trammg, as the means by which one on a lower [path], having trained the mmd, gradually
. thO path [of Atiyoga] or else as a support for the path. The entersmto IS , . ' '.
nucleus of all the Sugata's teachings, the IS . . 't'on alone the transcendental perfection 0 IscnmmatlVe
abides without contradiction in the nature of the Great Perfection. This intention comprises the unaltered intention of the Collection of Madhyamaka Reasoning, which consists of the commentaries on the intermediate promulgation by the sublime and supreme Nagarjuna; and his [Collection of Eulogies] including the Eulogy to the Expanse of Reality, and the commentaries by the regent Maitreya, the sublime and supreme Asailga, and his brother [Vasubandhu] and so forth, which together form the intention of the final [promulgation]. If one were to ask why this is the case, it is because these masters did not claim anything other than the profound abiding nature of natural reality, and because the Great Perfection itself is none other than that.
Although the path through which this reality is actualised is superior only in the mantras, on further examination the lower ways of mantra consist of merely the symbolic and non-symbolic stages [of meditation]. The Six-limbed Yoga of the Kalacakra T 1367) which is renowned as supreme among the Unsurpassed tantras, the Five Stages (Paficakrama, T 1802) and others,297 too, merely explain the ten signs of inner radiance and the form of emptiness which is a reflection of the three spheres of existence within a black outline. 298 These are perceived by controlling the activity of the energy channels, currents and seminal points. As the experience of this perception increases and decreases, even one who has meditated appropriately cannot attain the body of indestruc- tible reality in which the elements have dissolved into light. Thus, those of lowly fortune contact herein not the definitive meaning but merely the
provisional meaning. So it is said by Naropa:
The single definitive means is the truth of the nucleus. The four successive seals and the six-limbed yoga,
The diverse vehicles of thought,
Have resorted to the provisional and not the definitive. The essential nature is neither high nor low.
It ends the thoughts conceived by those who devoutly enter.
Furthermore, the meditation of the creation stage according to the lower [paths] merely effects the ripening of the perfection stage, and, through that meditation, nothing but [the result] of a sky-farer is ac- complished by an awareness-holder of the desire realm or an awareness- holder of the form realm, whichever is appropriate in accord with the distinctions between the action seal and the seal of pristine cognition (kannamudra and jnanamudra). 299 Again, though one may desire to develop pristine cognition through the flexibility of the energy channels, currents and seminal points in accordance with the perfection stage, the conditions of tiresome efforts are not transcended. Even one who desires to develop the pristine cognition of bliss and emptiness in accord- ance with the thi. rd empowerment,300 subsequent on the delight experi-
pnstme cogm
1,
. dh
the natural state which is just what IS; an t e perlect awareness, . f. . .
establishment of it through the direct perceptIOn 0 mtnnslC awareness is none other than the path of Great The three vows, six transcendental perfections, the creation stage and perfection stage; all of these, indeed, are taught as the means of realIsmg the Gre. at Perfection and as mere rest-stations for those who progress towards It.
The Secret Nucleus (Ch. 22, v. 3) says: Distinctions are indeed arrayed in the levels,
But these are paths which progress to the secret nucleus.
And in Indrabhuti's Esoteric Instructions. Empowerment Circle (Ratnacakrabhi$ekopadesakrama, T 2472) a IS Said:
This is only spoken as the means to attain
That which is inner radiance by nature, .
And the culmination of the Great Perfection, . The supreme among the supreme of all esotenc
instructions.
And Santideva [in the Introduction to the Conduct ofa Bodhisattva, Ch. 9, v. l] has also explained:
All these aspects were taught by the Sage For the sake of discrimative awareness.
. f h G at Perfection: The Now concerning this natural expressIOn 0 t e re . d pre-
Sugata during the intermediate promulgation of the
cepts did not reveal the structure of the fundamenta rea 'h ut re- , h . . ble abiding nature WIt 0
he did extensively teach t e mconcelva, . h fi I prorn-
ferring to symbols of elaborate conception. reality, ulgation, though he did reveal the structure 0 t e u. n . ' ctualised . he did not teach the characteristic path through whIch It IS tually Therefore, the conclusive intention of the Two Promulgators ac
Superiority ofAtiyoga 301
302 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofAtiyoga 303
enced when the two sexual organs are in union, is not liberated from the three realms [of saqlsara]. Therefore, the supre. me,. unchanging pristine cognition which is the supreme, unfading ? hss, IS taught to be realised by these methods, and the above practices the meditative absorptions in bliss. As it is said in the glonous Naropa's
Means for Attaining the Real:
The naturally present mind,
That is definitively free from elaboration,
Is not known through the path of desire.
This nucleus of naturally present, inner radiance, Through its non-symbolic natural expression,
Is free from desire for discriminative awareness and skilful means.
It is without the arduous emanation and absorption . h . I . 301
of desire connected with t e semma pomts. Evenly absorbed in discriminative awareness and
skilful means,
It is the supreme blissful concentration.
Without attachment to the savour of apparition,
It is the perfect path of unattached pristine cognition.
Without realising the natural and utterly pure discrimi? ative aware- ness, which is the abiding nature of the Great Perfection, by such attainments, the aspects of the truth of the path do not the compounded fundamental virtues attained by the and scrutmy of discrete recollections and thoughts. These aspects mclude the vows the six transcendental perfections and the creation and perfection
which all refer to objects of the intellect, and the. ir various means by which the mass of conflicting emotions are [respectively] renounced by pious attendants and self-centred buddhas, obstructed by bodhisattvas, and transmuted into the path by the secret mantra and so forth. Accordingly, it is said in the Ornament of the Madhymaka eMadhyamakalan:zkarakarika, T 3884):
The essence which is uncompounded Is not anything anywhere.
If having had the opportunity to realise the reality of the abiding natdre one continues to cling to extremes of conduct such as
or non-virtuous doctrines. One who actually clings to non- virtuous doctrines will continue to cling actually to non-vir- tuous doctrines. The phenomena of suffering and unease which emerge through actual attachment to non-virtuous doctrines are called the sublime truth of suffering. Thus the tathagatas revealed them within the enumeration of non-vir- tuous doctrines. The absence of actual clinging to virtue and non-virtue, and the cessation of craving are to be realised as the renunciation of the origin [of suffering] and as the twofold sublime truth. Thus the tathagatas revealed them within the enumeration of virtuous doctrines.
And in the same text:
There, virtue is empty and non-virtue, too, is empty. Virtue is void and non-virtue, too, is void. Virtue is unadulterated by non-virtue and non-virtue, too, is unadulterated by vir- tue. There is neither basis nor cause for hankering after virtue and non-virtue.
And in the Sutra Requested by Jnanottara according to the Pitaka of the Greater Vehicle (Jnanottarabodhisattvaparipfcchasutra, T 82):
The bodhisattva Jflanaketu asked, "What is the provision of merit? " [The Transcendent Lord] replied, "It refers to the positive doctrines such as liberality, along with their symbols. "
"Then what is the provision of pristine cognition? "
"It refers to non-symbolic [doctrines], such as discrimina- tive awareness. "
"Then how should these two be accumulated? " he asked, and [the Transcendent Lord] replied, "As for the provision of merit, it is called the provision of the merit of saqlsara, and is exemplified by the water contained in the hoofprint of an ox. If you ask why this is the case, it is quickly lost, exhausted and diminished, and, after the bliss of gods and humans has been experienced, it causes rebirth in evil exist- ences. As for the provision of pristine cognition, it is called the provision of nirva1). a and is exemplified by the water in a great ocean. It is not lost, not exhausted and is unfailing, and it causes attainment of nirva1). a. Jflanaketu, you should accumulate only the provision of pristine cognition. "
FUrthermore, the ten categories (dasatattva) of the outer and inner Il1antras have also resorted to symbolism which obscures the truth of fundamental reality. It is said in the All-Accomplishing King:
There is neither meditation on the view nor guarding of the cOJ;nmitments.
,
ciation and acceptance as they are apphed to pOSitIVe a? n. t
attributes and to virtue and evil, it is explained to be a firm in the way of the provision of pristine cognition and a pomt of grea deviation. It says in the Pagoda of Precious Jewels:
One should enter into this enumeration of the tathagatas' intention. One should not actually cling to either virtuoUS
. '
. degatlve
304
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofAti. >,oga 305
There is neither purification on the levels nor
progress on the path.
There is neither perseverance in activity nor
conferral of empowerment.
There is neither perseverance in respect of the
three media nor the creation of the maJ). 9ala . Cause and result are without duality, in the manner
of space.
The sublime ManjusrI also says:
The mandalas and burnt offerings,
The offerings and recitations counted on
rosaries,
The sedentary vajra-like and dramatic postures and
Now there are those of little intelligence who might ask whether the Kriyatantra and Caryatantra and so forth are not within the vehicle of indestructible reality or whether it is a contradiction that accomplish- ment is revealed through them by means of ritual and activity. Further- more, they might ask whether, among the siitras of the greater vehicle, those which emphatically teach the provision of merit including liber- ality to be the basis of omniscience, are in contradiction [to this supreme view]. However, all these teachings were intentionally given by the Sugatas. They were given in order to embrace those of base, childish intellect, those who delight in conceptual elaboration and those who fear topics of utter profundity. Such is said in the Introduction to the Real (Tattvavatdra, T 3709):
One is liberated by the view of emptiness. That is the point of the remainder of
meditation.
All conduct of body, speech and mind Is taught within the lesser vehicles.
The master Nagarjuna also says:
Look for reality, and at the outset, One could say that everything exists. But when the objects are realised And there is no attachment,
There is subsequently the truth devoid of them.
And in addition, the Crest ofIndestructible Reality says:
If one evenly abides in the real,
There is neither commitment nor the practice of
mantra.
It is not necessary to hold the vajra and bell. 302 One will become accomplished without the ten
categories.
These and other literary transmissions have been extensively
the master Manjusrlklrti [in his Commentary on the Magical
et of Maii]usri, Maiijusrinamasa1? 1gfti(fka, T 2534], which clearly re-
veals that there is no mode of liberation by means of the creation and
p;rfection stages or any other such doctrines of mental scrutiny unless
t ere is realisation of the naturally liberated vast openness in which
sarnsar d ' - . '
. a an mrval). a are lIberated as fundamental reality and of a com-
savour; and there realisation of the inexpressible reality I Yond the guardmg of commItments and verbal and written objects.
n the same vein. , the Magical Net ofMaiijusrf says:
so forth
Are fallible with respect to this freedom from
conceptual elaboration.
For there is nothing to be done, And nothing either to obstruct.
And:
Concerning activities, the yogin
Apprehends them on the supreme paths,
Just as a deer pursues a mirage:
Though they always appear, they are not grasped.
And in the Hevajra Tantra (Pt. l, Ch. 5, v. 1l): There is no meditation, nor meditator.
There is no deity, nor mantra.
Again the Secret Treasury of the I)akinf (mkha'-'gro-ma'i gsang-mdzod) also says:
The objects which accordingly appear
Abide as apparitional male and female deities. . . There is nothing to be bound and there is no bmdmg, Nor are there energy channels, currents and
seminal points.
Accomplishment comes about through emptiness.
And:
Such quotations extensively reveal [that the symbolism of the ten categories of mantra is not required in Atiyoga].
Ablutions and cleanliness are not required here. Austerities and asceticism are not required here.
306
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofAtiyoga 307
In. a without manifest at,chment, NIrvana IS also samsara \
By view which· is to The truth also becomes false. ' To those endowed with manifest pride, Falsehood also becomes the truth.
So it is known.
And in the Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness
Twenty-five Thousand Lines: zn
this up to . the unsurpassed, genuinely perfect en- IS no earnest application. There is no ear- nest In the purification of [lands into] buddha- The:e IS no earnest application in the maturation of sentIent beIngs. is no earnest application in regarding
t? e buddhas. There IS no earnest application in the genera- ofthe fundam:ntal virtues. Ifit is asked why so, Subhuti, It IS all thIngs are empty of their own attributes. A and great spiritual warrior does not regard any ? f thIngs as genuine, whether one refers to the object
whIch earnest is developed, that by which it IS developed or that In which it is to be developed.
. According to extensive quotations, in this abiding nature that IS free from all actIVIty, al! things belonging to the truth of the path ;:e naturally effort, in the manner of a hundred Ivers convergIng under a bndge.
It says in the Secret Nucleus (Ch 12
I have revealed the distinctive features of the vehicle according to the differences in the intelligence of sentient beings and the distinctions of their class. Although it is revealed to some as the way of the Outsiders,303 to some as the vehicle of the pious attendants, to some as the vehicle of the self-centred buddhas, and to others still as the vehicle of the transcendental perfections and the immeasurable tan- tras of the awareness-holders, it should be known that bud- dhahood is indivisibly attained through the great seminal point304 which is unwritten and free from symbols.
These authoritative passages [belonging to the vehicle] of indestructible reality set the incontrovertible tone [of Atiyoga].
Nor is it the case that, through such teaching in the Great Perfection, the areas of skilful means according to the lower paths are renounced. With reference to the naturally present pristine cognition or the real nature of the Great Perfection, this reality does not require to be sought out and attained elsewhere because the great enlightened attributes of purity are spontaneously present, and the three buddha-bodies are effortlessly present. It is a fact that from the very moment of the reali- sation, through the guru's esoteric instructions, of this reality, the natural expression of the deities and mantras is also complete in a of great purity and sameness, which is present without concep- tual elaboration. This is established totally without effort and without wandering from the disposition of this uncontrived, primordial reality. Indeed, even the area of conduct relating to the six transcendental perfections, which include liberality, becomes complete therein, as it is said in the Sutra of the Greater Vehicle which is a Dialogue with T 160):
Without actual volition, moral discipline passes into
Instantaneously, patience passes into Without acceptance or rejection, perseverance passes
into
Non-conceptually, concentration passes into Unimpededly, discriminative awareness passes into Since the expanse of reality is desireless,
Desire is the limit of desirelessness.
Since the expanse of reality is without ferocity,
Hatred is the limit of genuine reality.
Since real things are undeluded,
Delusion is the limit of the undeluded.
Without the transference of consciousness at death
and without birth, Sarpsara is also
v. 14):
The perfect Buddha is not found
In any of the ten directions and four times.
Other than the perfect Buddha which is mind-as-such Do not seek the Buddha elsewhere.
And (Ch. 2, v. 4):
Even though he would search The Conqueror would not find it.
And in the All-Accomplishing King:
Mind . is the substance which is just what is.
All are accomplished in the nature of just what IS.
go not that which is just what is. o not attam anything but the essence.
A who has sought it, will not find it Wnhm expanse [of reality].
. ,
'
308
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Because it has already been done, There is no need to do so now. Because it has already been attained,
One does not attain it now. . .
Be equipoised without ideas and mtentIons.
And in the Hevajra Tantra (Pt. I, Ch. 5, v. ll):
In nature without conceptual elaboration The deity and the mantra abide.
conceptualisations which are disharmonious with respect to the unquali- fied essence. It is devoid of disharmonious, symbolic appearances with respect to the object, and it is free from disharmonious delusion with respect to the subject. It transcends the dominion of the eight aggregates of consciousness along with their thoughts, expressions, causes and results, and abides in the reality of awareness, the pristine cognition of the natural Great Perfection. In the words of the master Aryadeva [in the Four Hundred Verses, Ch. 8, v. 8]:
That which is abandoned by mundane beings Is explained to be the ultimate reality.
And in the Commentary [on the Four Hundred Verses, Bodhisattva- T 3865, by Candraklrti]:
This incontrovertible reality has not been thought of by the ordinary, mundane being who has not realised it. It has not been conceived by the mind. It has not become an object of the sense organs. It has been abandoned unseen because it is darkened by a film of ignorance. The object seen by the pristine cognition of the sublime ones endowed with highest acumen is the ultimate reality.
The Great Perfection thus refers to the sublime truth which is to be experienced through the pristine cognition ofindividual intrinsic aware- ness, free from the subject-object dichotomy, and which is described under various names, such as: the ultimate truth, the genuine goal, the emptiness of emptiness and the great emptiness. Concerning that Great Perfection, which possesses the matrix (spyi-gzugs) of pristine cognition, corresponding to the buddhas' body of reality, it is said in the Sublime Sutra o f Clouds o f Precious Jewels:
This doctrine genuinely transcends all written and spoken words. It genuinely transcends the entire range of expres- sions. It genuinely transcends all verbalisation. It is free from all conceptual elaboration and free from all that is accepted or rejected. It is free from all opening and closing, and free from all sophistry. It is not to be analysed and is not within the range of sophistry. It genuinely transcends the range of sophistry. It is non-symbolic, free from sym- bolism and genuinely transcends the range of symbolism. It genuinely transcends the range of the childish. It genuinely transcends the range of all demons, and genuinely transcends the range of all conflicting emotions. It genuinely transcends the range of consciousness. It does, however, lie within the range of the indeterminate, dynamic, quiescent and sublime pristine cognition. The individual, intuitive awareness of
b)'ect of the perfection of all things such as
Furthermore, on the su . d b ' [f " t and the emanatIon an a sorptIon 0
mantras, seals, commltmen s, k" of recollection it
light] in the reality of awareness, the mg . says in the glorious Naropa's Means for Attaznzng the Real.
Unwritten, the speech of the Abides in the true enlightened mmd.
The king does not contrive commitments, But keeps them unguardingly.
The unchanging seal
Is executed by the unchanging truth.
'
In the mandala without extremes and
Pristine radiates emanatIon or absorptIOn.
This thoughtless natural expressIOn,
That is the Conqueror's mind, " Does not transcend the enlightened mmd.
In the same way, the area of conduct according to the causal. vehicle, is revealed to be complete [in Atiyoga], as the same text says.
By possessing the truth of this nucleus " The mind is not induced to deSIres. Likewise the six transcendental
Abide in the naturally present,
The intention without thoughts and IdeatIon: Endowed with the six transcendental Abides without thought and without apprehensIOn.
The unwavering, uninterrupted
Is the unqualified transcendental perfectIon of
discriminative awareness.
d d I Although this is extensively propoun e e sew
above illustration should suffice here.
This being the case, of the throughout
nature, which is just what IS, IS SaId to be a VIew °b s "t is devoid of the three times. It uproots the seed of sarpsara ecause 1
"
here in other texts, the
" g the abiding
Superiority ofAtiyoga 309
310
Fundamentals: VehiclesoJSecretMantra
these [attributes] is a topic which is taintless, uncovered, pure, bountiful, supreme, sacred, perfect, permanent, firm, enduring and imperishable. 30s the ta. thagatas have appeared or not, this expanse of reahty IS exclusIvely present.
Through these final words, the actual meaning, pure the ning, ofthe abiding nature ofthe Great Perfection is revealed Just as It IS.
9 The Definition of Atiyoga
[183a. 6-190a. 5] Now concerning that which is implied by the name Great Perfection: It is so called because it refers to the naturally present pristine cognition, without partiality or bias, in which the meanings of all the vehicles abide and are perfect in a single essence; or it is so called because all things are pure and are perfect in the instantaneous disposition of reality or awareness, without deliberate analysis by means of intellectual apprehension. The All-Accomplishing King says:
Perfect in one, perfect in two, perfect in mind.
Perfect in one, it is the perfection of mind's creations. Perfect in two, it is the perfection of excellent attributes. Perfect in all, it is the perfection ofthe enlightened mind. 306
And in the Sutra of the Dialogue with Sagaramati (Sagaramati- pariprcchasutra, T 152):
Those who are purifying these modes of the doctrine And those who direct the teaching
Concerning perfect enlightened mind
Are pure in the supreme enlightened mind,
And never covered by the stains of conflicting emotions. Just as the sky can be overcast
And yet subsequently become visible again,
So, the perfect enlightened mind of natural, inner
radiance
Can never be obscured by conflicting emotions.
,Therefore, the Great Perfection, the natural expression ofenlightened which is the inner radiance of reality, is revealed to be unbe- ,:ith re,spect to its primordially pure attributes. The Great
Utra of Fznal Nzrva1'}a also says in the same vein:
In addition, that which is said to be genuine is the mundane middle way, and that which is said to be perfect is known
312 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
as definitively unsurpassed and genuinely perfect, if the mid- dle way of the final path has been earnestly applied.
According to this teaching, the former is rationally established through the valid cognition of inference, and the latter, inasmuch as it is not an object of the intellect, actually abides in the intention of this, the
sublime path.
As to the verbal definition of Atiyoga: [The Sanskrit] ati [Tib. shin-tu]
means utmost, and also conveys the sense of supreme, best, perfect, climax and quintessence. [The Sanskrit] yoga [Tib. rnal-'byor] means union. Since it is the culmination of all yogas, it is the utmost or highest yoga, and since it is the nucleus of all aspects of the perfection stage, there is nothing else to be reached higher than Atiyoga. It is qualified
by the word "great" [Tib. chen-po] because through it the reality unborn like the sky, which is most profound and difficult to analyse, is directly revealed. The Transcendent Lord [Sakyamuni] also directed his inten- tion towards the verbal definition of this [vehicle] when he said:
To teach the doctrine
Which is inconceivable as the sky
Is the greatest.
Furthermore, concerning the perfection of all things of sarpsara and nirval)a in the naturally present awareness itself, Naropa has again said:
The contemplation of uncontrived awareness is
radiant,
Perfect in all meanings, without activity.
It is the ground-of-all in its naturally present state. It is the spontaneously present path of yoga,
not to be traversed,
And it is the result itself in which everything
whatsoever is perfect.
It is the perfect treasure of the seminal point, free
from activity,
The blissful pristine cognition or non-conceptualising
mind,
Perfected immediately by fortunate individuals,
And it comprises the thoughts of the six classes of
beings in sal1lsara
And the nirval)a that is the Conqueror's pristine
cognition.
The disposition of this unique awareness that is bliss
supreme,
And naturally present, uncontrived reality,
Is a spontaneously perfect disposition without conceptual elaboration.
Definition ofAtiyoga 313 The has also subsumed this in his Oral
instructzons of Sublzme Mafijusrf as follows:
Great Perfection, the matrix of pristine cognition, Is the utterly pure body, the great Vajradhara. Having obtained, through this second stage
h' h 307
of all the glorious ones
The enlightenment which conforms to the
path of three aeons,
And which is surpassed,
Why does the yogin, having accumulated so little bliss Not meditate on this [Great Perfection]? '
_this [in his Commentary on the Oral Instructions of Sublzme lvlanJusn: Sukusumanamamukhagamavftti, T 1866], Vitapada has eloquently saId:
That which is ca. lled the Great Perfection is the second stage
? f the. second stage. Its pristine cognition
IncludIng the mIrror-lIke one is fivefold, and the matrix is
the purest utter purity of these [five]. So it is called the
u. tterly pure body. This [matrix] is called the great Vajradhara
[I. e. the great holder of indestructible reality] because it is
resultant which is just what is. The expres-
SIOn all the glonous ones applies to all the buddhas because
they possess intrinsic discriminative awareness and this
Perfection] is the essence of the ultimate relative
realItIes of them all. In the text, this second stage refers only
to the stage of perfection. This, the supreme skilful means
of the long paths, which is said to be meditation, is expressed
by words such as frustration, and frustration is said to refer
to the paths which endure for three aeons by means of such
acts of liberality [as sacrificing one's own] head. Though
may have acted out of faith and obtained the enlightenment
whzch conforms to countless aeons [of activity] - from the
308
o
WhIC IS t e essence
first to the seventh [level] and the eighth to the tenth
that is said to . be surpassed because the unsurpassed Buddha, the great VaJradhara, possesses a still higher [enlighten- The ? liss. of this [path], being so little in comparison WIth the III supreme bliss, why does the yogin who It not meditate on this path through which the flono. us m. ost auspicious beings become accomplished
n a. SIngle lIfetIme? He should meditate on [the Great Per- fectIOn] alone.
Tthbe. profound abiding nature of reality, which is just what is does
no a Ide a b' · b · . '
s an 0 lect to e realIsed by the ostensIble reasoning of logic
-
314 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and sophistry. On this topic, the Sublime Satra which Decisively Reveals
the Intention says:
That which is within the range of individual, intuitive awareness
Is inexpressible and cut off from conventions.
It is ultimate reality without disputation,
And is characterised as transcending all sophistry.
And as it is said in the Siitra of the Descent to Lanka: A puerile evil sophist
Analyses it thus, in a corpse-like manner.
The discriminative awareness produced by is designated through ideas connected with points . of dIsputatIon, with characteristics and objects that are as as w. lth substances and attributes, and logical contrariety and - are entirely developed by the mind and mental events: thmkmg m terms of conventional and symbolic doctrines expressed m words and phrases. All things are therefore established to be without existence, to be without consciousness, without substance,. wlthout the ground-of-all, and so forth. They are established. as. emptmess by the intellect and the inference which is made therem IS asserted by the master Nagarjuna to be merely a childish train of thought. In the master's own words:
Regarding creation and cessation,
The condition is thought alone.
That which emerges in consciousness only
Has no substantial, independent existence.
If the sophist who resorts to ideas
Should meditate only on labels,
The terms "no independent existence" and "no
consciousness" ,
"No substance" and "no ground-of-all" Could be applied as well by a child!
They are entirely generated by evil sophists.
Therefore with reference to the ultimate truth, objects of scrutinY ' b . , Uiescence 0f
Definition ofAtiyoga 315
ideas and scrutiny becomes verbal chaff; thought and understanding become waves of conceptualisation; meditation becomes the apprehen- sion of that; and experience the appraisal of it. It becomes extremely difficult even to approach the profound meaning of the abiding nature
no matter how correctly it seems to arise in the face of the intellect. The Siitra ofthe Nucleus ofthe Buddha (Buddhagarbhasiitra, T 258) says:
The nucleus of the buddha is not seen as it is by those who are ordinary persons, pious attendants, self-centred buddhas or even bodhisattvas. For example, when one who is born blind asks another the colour of butter and is told that it
resembles snow, he touches snow and so apprehends the colour of butter to be cold. Then, when he asks what the colour of snow resembles and is told that it resembles the
wings of a goose, [hearing the sound of a goose's wings] he apprehends the colour of snow to be flapping. And then, when he asks what the colour of wings resembles and [is told that] it resembles a conch shell, he touches a conch and,
inasmuch as it is smooth, he apprehends [the wings] also to be smooth. Just as one born blind does not know colour as it is, whatever is described, in the same way it is very difficult to perceive the Buddha's natural expression.
Similarly, it is said in the Oral Instructions of Sublime Mafijufrf for Attaining the Real:
How can an ordinary person know
Such excellent, supreme pristine cognition? It is not known by the pious attendants.
It is not even known by the self-centred buddhas.
It is not known by the philosophers of Yogacara,
Or by the Madhyamaka philosophers among the bodhisattvas.
All the buddhas of the surpassed [levels], too,309 Do not even slightly know this.
statements have been extensively revealed by the Conqueror and hIS sons.
The difficulty of realising [pristine cognition] is also that the grasping
components of the mind and mental events, thinking exclusively with
hreference to effort, self-indulgence, ideas, scrutiny causes and results aVe d' 'd . , ,
. IVI ed and obscured It by hope and doubt, and apprehended it
In terms ofobjects and subjects such as the diverse symbols ofconceptual elab .
and inference are utterly contradictory ecause
I S a q . I t d o e s
conceptual elaboration, and an absence of ot felt
not abide in the path of verbalisation and and IS n hen
to pursue the imagination. For these If the o. cc. aslOns; of
meditative absorption in this pristine or e
the with
to
reality occurs are not recognised to be thIS a? SOrptlOn spiritual and philosophical goal [of Atiyoga], . which . IS respect to fundamental reality, then all that IS studIed pertammg
p
expanse through meditative equipoise, without wavering from this dis-
ora. tIOn. Here, on the other hand, in the general path of the Great erfectIOn, all conceptual elaborations become quiescent in the intrinsic
316 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
position in which the presence of fundamental reality, the abiding nature without bondage or liberation is established.
Other than that, nothing is contrived save that one abides constantly and naturally in the disposition of the supreme of intel- lect, which is free from all activities. All the suddenly ansen stains which appear through expressive power just naturally clear and naturally liberated, or antIdote being applied, in the unchanging space of mtnnsiC awareness, the primal emptiness, in the manner of water and waves. Other that, "meditation" and "meditative equipoise" are the labels conventIOnally applied to simple absorption in the intrinsic nature, just as it occurs without looking elsewhere, without purposefully medItatIng, withodt being fixed on one [point], without intellectualising, without conceptualising, without apprehending faults, without external. clarifi- cations and without internal attainment. Therefore the essence IS emp- tiness in that it is without thought or expression; signlessness, in that it is without conceptualisation; and aspirationlessness, in that it is with- out acceptance, rejection, hope or doubt. The three abide therein in an utterly pure character because there IS no objective reference to the three times. This is extensively indicated, as in the following example from the Pitaka of the Bodhisattva (Bodhisattva- pitaka, T 56):
In this connection, one might ask, what is the utter purity of the three spheres? It is the mind not entering into that which is past, the consciousness not pursuing the future and the intellect not entering into activity connected with present events. Since one does not abide in mind, intellect or con- sciousness, the past is not conceived of, hankering after the future is not active in the mind, and present events are not conceptually elaborated. Since this, the sameness throughout the three times, is the utter purity of the three spheres, the sentient beings who do not comprehend it should do. so. Thereby the great compassion of the Tathagata enters mto sentient beings.
And in the Siitra of the Greater Vehicle which is a Dialogue with :
All things are utterly pure of the past dimension. All things are utterly pure of the future dimension. All things are pure of the present dimension. This is th. e utter punty of the three times. This is an utter punty whIch never comes impure, and by virtue of this, its natural punty is the purest of all. For this reason all things are saId to be naturally radiant.
What, one might ask, is it that is the nature of all things? The nature ofall things is emptiness; they are without object- ive referent. The nature of all things is signlessness; they are free from idea and concept. The nature of all things is aspirationlessness; there is no acceptance, no rejection, no
thought, no force and a total absence of substantial existence.
It is naturally radiant. Whatever is the nature of samsara is
the nature of nirvaIfa. Whatever is the nature of is
the nature of all things. So it is that the mind is radiant.
And in the All-Accomplishing King:
Since it abides in that disposition,
It is unwavering spontaneous presence.
Since it naturally abides, it is not contrived by anyone.
This abiding in uncontrived reality
Is revealed as the supreme among actionless deeds.
By regarding one as two, meditation is in error. The single essence is not obtained by twO. 31O
And the master Naropa has also said:
Whatever abides in subjectivity
Turns to the result of samsara itself.
