deity into whose
practice
he has just been initiated.
Wang-ch-ug-Dor-je-Mahamudra-Eliminating-the-Darkness-of-Ignorance
ce.
'llielatter refers _to the instincts of thi$'fgnorance; 'Dllb 'm-ean- to possess.
Blid'dlia'S) ~SC!
iS' a1l good.
qualitie!
lr.
llll"'inf oompleted 'their aetU'nttihttlon~?
of1?
botl1?
meritnantl1ih~iglit?
M:!
sotfltlg ialllitf~FtWD\1 and' wi~dottt BBdi~s respectiVelY=.
- .
,Bfi?
?
-blt:tns:t~}1ai~b8)'bnifP.
. BmfaliaS'1iave'phs~~WeyO'dd ~liifisarl{l,uthtrcJ! ole:bflUftCO"nltbti&a? rcbnl~ w i t h l~ffertn~ d U t J ' t l j l k ' i l r n i ! i l a r i d , U d l u f i o b l .
''I'<Jte! hrttden nteal'ltng? of! Jil. llilsattYii~? ! ndtcji. Jtteitf. ! (iltl(tD~ sems-dpa') in Tibetan, C"dlf'A~6~? llisbbv~r@clft6~it-s. ayDYology? . "'Dor-je" means indestructible <\iP. -JUond-lightning. Here it refers to. th" di~Jro. qn<l-hard. wis. dom of the non~<tualitv of Voidness and Btiss:--that. Js. the-,nob-duality? . or---orltte. ~und? :tHat"'has bare perception~r. Voioness,expenencC. d \Vitha_fe~htfgof-~re"atBliss ana? (Zft'bt1. Voi'dtlt5Slt_ttat'l'Stlic--''6bj~t? ciftlds-mi'nd: ~''sem-pa'"
meiu1Silth6 one with' &lierdlc ntW. tJ. : ltJsignificJ:] som~e who J-4t}ttl11'n:t&ulf) a~anl! loru=dnaJI 4lj:lltJ~ions? . ? lsn<>r&~nce ? . a. u. d. their instincts and has the heroic min~ . tha~:i4 I;Cffqy,_1Q,J! Cj\p,. gJhcrs in a. ll. p~j_\>)~:fNR-YII,.
1JJ. ui. Bh. agllviin ? ~tjrasattY. a. rcf~r$. . t~. tll~s. \JJ~. oJ;Vairidbir"- tb~fqr. Wt:B-"441l. fl;~~cr1U1J;! ~qt~t~8. s! A~1tho way, to. attaiil thl? ~PJigll~nea,? ,tat~,~~,,tbr:oQ&b Oururdevot;oQ? . '. 4\Sv. agho,a. be. sliis b. l$1)VP. f~JlWAJll>tJ:Iis~:JU~~g! =; .
? 164 MAH. . lMUDRA
(1)
Bowing in the proper way to the lotus feet of
my Guru who is the cause for me to attain the state o f a glorious V ajrasattva, I shall con- dense and explain in brief what has been said in many stainless tantric texts about Guru-
devotion. (Therefore) listen with respect.
(2)
All the Buddhas of the past, present and future, residing in every land in the ten directions, have paid homage to the Tantric Masters from whom they have received the highest enpowerments. (Is there need to men? tion that you should too? )
In general there are three types of enpowerments or initia- tions. causal, pathway and resultant. The first is to ripen your mind-stream, the second is an actual path of practice through which to gain E~lightenment and the thir~ is into the actual
liberated state of Buddhahood. Everyo. te who ever has or will attain Enlightenment does so through receiving these highest cnpowerments from their Tantric Masters.
{3)
Three times each day with supr:: me faith you must show the respect you have for your Guru who teaches you (the tantric path), by pressing your palms together, offering a ? maQ<;lala as well as flowers and prostrating (touching) your head to his feet.
As a disciple you must regard your Guru as an Enlightened Being. Even if from his own point of view he is not Enlightened and you, his disciple, have gained Buddhahood before him, you must still show him respect tlnd pay homage. For instance, Maitreya, the fifth and next Buddha of the thousand of this world age, who now presides over Tu$ita Buddha-field, became Enlightened before Jiis Guru, Sikyampni Buddha. To demon?
? strate respect for his Guru, Maitreya has a stQpa or reliqJJary monument on his forehead. Likewise Avalokitdvara. '4he incarnation of the compassion of all tho Buddhas, is crowned in his eleven-headed aspect with the head of his Guru, Amitibha Buddha, the one who presides over Sukhlvati Buddha-field.
Thus learning from a Guru should not be like killing a d~ to extract its musk and then discarding its corpse. Even after attaining Enlightenment you must still continue to honour your C'tru who made all your achievements possible.
(4)
Those who hold ordination vows, if (your
Gu. ru) is a layman or your junior, prostrate (iri public) while facing s u c h ? things as his scriptur~l texts in order to avoid worldly scorn. But in your mind (prostrate to your Guru).
(5)
As for serving (your Guru) and showing him
respect, such as obeying what he says, stand? ing up (when he comes) and showing him to his seat-these should be done even by those with ordination vows (whose Gurus are lay- men or their juniors). But (in public) avoid prostrating and unorthodox actions (such a$ washing his feet).
One of the ? ordination rules is that monks and nuns should not prostrate to laymen. This is taken to mtan that in public you should not show this type of respect for yo. ur lay Guru as it might cause misunderstanding and scorn among those who casually observe. It is better to prostrate facing scriptural te-~ts or Buddha images near him, while directin& your rever?
en. . e in your mind to your Guru.
For example, the great Masters Caildragoml and Candra~
klrti often debated with one another. The former was a layman, the latter a monk. One day Candrakirti invited Candragoml to his monastery. He wanted all the monks to form a procession, but the lay Master objected that the local townspeople would
? 166 MAHAMUDRA?
find it strange. Candrakirti told him. not to worry. . He place( a? -statue of,Maiijusd on a. ? higll throne and in the procession hac a monk: carry it. dir! =CJI>: be(qr~ ,Ca~dragoml. ,? All the ~opl thought that this cer~lJlO. t:JY . w~s i" bonour. of Maiijusri, . tl manifestation? of. the ,Buddhas: wisc;lom, and thus the moo! . avoi<! ed any bad feelings.
Although restraint a_nd indirect means of showing respc are often called for out of consideration for others, in private, disciple must follow all the proper procedures of Guru-devoti?
no matter what the status o( 1his Guru may be. Howevc general respect, such as rising. when he comes, must be shown 1 alftimes. ?
Onbisownpart~however,aqurushould alwaysbe? humble ''_,. ,III. . . . . . I? 'I
never arrog~nt <ir pompous thinlcing himself great arid worthy o. honour. P'a-rii. Rhipoehe,' one ? Of" the most realised? disdples ol the Senior: and Junior Tutors;of? ~His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, always kept a scriptural text by his seat. Explaining why, h~ said tl}. a~. w~en . pc;0,PI~ would come to visit him and prostrated, at least they. would gaio some mefil from showing respect to the scriptures since he himself had noqualifications. .
(6)
In order for the words of honour of neither the Guru nor th~ disciple to degenerate, there must be a mutual examination beforehand (to determine if each cart) brave a Guru-disciple relationship. .
At tantric enpowermenh many sets of vows are taken never? to abar. don the practices and procedures essential for spiritual progress. The disciple ? pledges his word of honour never. to? transgress tht. >e vows, such as always to visualise his Guru as inseparable from the meditations!
deity into whose practice he has just been initiated. Such deities, 3s well as the Gurus, share the same Enlightened nature; as, all the Buddhas, differ- ing onlyiin the physical. aspect they; manifest. ?
The Guru, tbo, has previously? pledged his word of. honout' never to disclose the timtric secrets:. to those who are unable to undersiand and. keep them. . ' iust as the milk of:a lion" sbj,uJd
? -~ot, b e ~ept . i~ a : c'~y p o t ? . s o , l M p. i-qfo~nd a p d p o w e r f u l m e t h o d s of the? . tantra should . not. b~ entrusted . . to those who are not
s~ch'vows;. 'eith~r,the 'ouru. ()r disciple
ready. . ! If; havirig taken
.
. . . :
. . .
'. .
should , allow his weird of honour 'to degenerate, it will be im-
possible for either to 'attain;. ariyofhis goafs and very serious unfortunate consequences will ? follow for both. Therefore it is extremely. important for thcro? to'. be a . muJu'at examination between. the Guru and? disciplo 'before :they entet! ! il. formal re. lationship?
. In ancient ,times . in . or~c;r; tQ, rcce. ivq:,all? t~D~. werment a potential disciple would have to ask over a periq<Jpfitbree years.
_An initiation_ wa<J n,9t. ~t aU . ~~~rt~ing,fllS~~t. B~,~alci~the disciple wait so bog, ? a Gurtfimpresse<J on'him the seriousness
of entering the'tahtri~ patit; te'~ied his' comrti. itm:nt ilD. d ensure<t 'that he~as properlY'prepared. . :'brti:W~. q~;~? ~;>~td. . ? ~~~ea disciple' wait ? even l. onger b! foi"e ? 'agre'cing to' teach: 'him. any- thing. 1-le would repeat~d-ly '; tes't. bis . character~ a~d. 'orily wh~n he had' u'nde'rstood him well' would be' adccpt him as. his disciple.
The disciple also m~st test his potential'Q11ru and de~er? mine if he is fully qualified. . a~? must. '~eco:l'\ftdei). t :~h'at~e~ill be able to devote himse~ff~! ly'~Q. thi_s_'M. ,a~,ie~:;)~f~f~~~i~~fJ~g. ~ formal Guru-disc~ple. relatipns~ip, y~~; ~~~. C:9:"1P! ~,t~. frefrdom of choice. But once. such ~. bond. . ~a~ J? ecn ,es~ablishe~,? . t~~$e
. teachings on. Guru? devoti~n. , must ,be :followed. with. t~t~l commitment? .
<n
A disciple with sense ? should riot? accept as . ? his Guru someone who lacks co. npis'sloh' or ? who
. ,? ? . ? '? ? :? ! i . ;! /. :;~ it:? l? i! ! :r'. . J ,,-, . ~! :? . : 1J? ! j ~Jlt~ . ,. _~! . lt?
. ~~ ~~~~~so~e,_y~c. t? ~. ~. . ~f,1~~~og~~. t? J;,. P~;~~e. ~. s. tye,
UQdlSClplin~d Of bo~ts,of hi~ knowle. dge~ . (~)
(A? :Goni')should-;b~}'s~abte~? (inJ? h? is actioh's),
tultivated? (iti; hi'S~? :sp~eS}_I),,,wls~;1? pitienrarid
honest: '-''He? ? s:fl8utd1nei het? cJnceal 'Jlis' ? ? hort- . ;:l! ! . l. l:'DI:~-. ='ifl';llfl':lfl)l1aJ:J f. . -! '. . Ji. D~! l. )~? . ~? ,,;:;? . ~::,? . ?
~. ~~~. ~~. ~-,. -A<? f";P~~JtH. 4 M~~,P9. ~~~~,~Jg~,a~ttu~~q~ J~ck~~ z:>>~ ~~oq1~Jfl~q ;,lQl~.
. BmfaliaS'1iave'phs~~WeyO'dd ~liifisarl{l,uthtrcJ! ole:bflUftCO"nltbti&a? rcbnl~ w i t h l~ffertn~ d U t J ' t l j l k ' i l r n i ! i l a r i d , U d l u f i o b l .
''I'<Jte! hrttden nteal'ltng? of! Jil. llilsattYii~? ! ndtcji. Jtteitf. ! (iltl(tD~ sems-dpa') in Tibetan, C"dlf'A~6~? llisbbv~r@clft6~it-s. ayDYology? . "'Dor-je" means indestructible <\iP. -JUond-lightning. Here it refers to. th" di~Jro. qn<l-hard. wis. dom of the non~<tualitv of Voidness and Btiss:--that. Js. the-,nob-duality? . or---orltte. ~und? :tHat"'has bare perception~r. Voioness,expenencC. d \Vitha_fe~htfgof-~re"atBliss ana? (Zft'bt1. Voi'dtlt5Slt_ttat'l'Stlic--''6bj~t? ciftlds-mi'nd: ~''sem-pa'"
meiu1Silth6 one with' &lierdlc ntW. tJ. : ltJsignificJ:] som~e who J-4t}ttl11'n:t&ulf) a~anl! loru=dnaJI 4lj:lltJ~ions? . ? lsn<>r&~nce ? . a. u. d. their instincts and has the heroic min~ . tha~:i4 I;Cffqy,_1Q,J! Cj\p,. gJhcrs in a. ll. p~j_\>)~:fNR-YII,.
1JJ. ui. Bh. agllviin ? ~tjrasattY. a. rcf~r$. . t~. tll~s. \JJ~. oJ;Vairidbir"- tb~fqr. Wt:B-"441l. fl;~~cr1U1J;! ~qt~t~8. s! A~1tho way, to. attaiil thl? ~PJigll~nea,? ,tat~,~~,,tbr:oQ&b Oururdevot;oQ? . '. 4\Sv. agho,a. be. sliis b. l$1)VP. f~JlWAJll>tJ:Iis~:JU~~g! =; .
? 164 MAH. . lMUDRA
(1)
Bowing in the proper way to the lotus feet of
my Guru who is the cause for me to attain the state o f a glorious V ajrasattva, I shall con- dense and explain in brief what has been said in many stainless tantric texts about Guru-
devotion. (Therefore) listen with respect.
(2)
All the Buddhas of the past, present and future, residing in every land in the ten directions, have paid homage to the Tantric Masters from whom they have received the highest enpowerments. (Is there need to men? tion that you should too? )
In general there are three types of enpowerments or initia- tions. causal, pathway and resultant. The first is to ripen your mind-stream, the second is an actual path of practice through which to gain E~lightenment and the thir~ is into the actual
liberated state of Buddhahood. Everyo. te who ever has or will attain Enlightenment does so through receiving these highest cnpowerments from their Tantric Masters.
{3)
Three times each day with supr:: me faith you must show the respect you have for your Guru who teaches you (the tantric path), by pressing your palms together, offering a ? maQ<;lala as well as flowers and prostrating (touching) your head to his feet.
As a disciple you must regard your Guru as an Enlightened Being. Even if from his own point of view he is not Enlightened and you, his disciple, have gained Buddhahood before him, you must still show him respect tlnd pay homage. For instance, Maitreya, the fifth and next Buddha of the thousand of this world age, who now presides over Tu$ita Buddha-field, became Enlightened before Jiis Guru, Sikyampni Buddha. To demon?
? strate respect for his Guru, Maitreya has a stQpa or reliqJJary monument on his forehead. Likewise Avalokitdvara. '4he incarnation of the compassion of all tho Buddhas, is crowned in his eleven-headed aspect with the head of his Guru, Amitibha Buddha, the one who presides over Sukhlvati Buddha-field.
Thus learning from a Guru should not be like killing a d~ to extract its musk and then discarding its corpse. Even after attaining Enlightenment you must still continue to honour your C'tru who made all your achievements possible.
(4)
Those who hold ordination vows, if (your
Gu. ru) is a layman or your junior, prostrate (iri public) while facing s u c h ? things as his scriptur~l texts in order to avoid worldly scorn. But in your mind (prostrate to your Guru).
(5)
As for serving (your Guru) and showing him
respect, such as obeying what he says, stand? ing up (when he comes) and showing him to his seat-these should be done even by those with ordination vows (whose Gurus are lay- men or their juniors). But (in public) avoid prostrating and unorthodox actions (such a$ washing his feet).
One of the ? ordination rules is that monks and nuns should not prostrate to laymen. This is taken to mtan that in public you should not show this type of respect for yo. ur lay Guru as it might cause misunderstanding and scorn among those who casually observe. It is better to prostrate facing scriptural te-~ts or Buddha images near him, while directin& your rever?
en. . e in your mind to your Guru.
For example, the great Masters Caildragoml and Candra~
klrti often debated with one another. The former was a layman, the latter a monk. One day Candrakirti invited Candragoml to his monastery. He wanted all the monks to form a procession, but the lay Master objected that the local townspeople would
? 166 MAHAMUDRA?
find it strange. Candrakirti told him. not to worry. . He place( a? -statue of,Maiijusd on a. ? higll throne and in the procession hac a monk: carry it. dir! =CJI>: be(qr~ ,Ca~dragoml. ,? All the ~opl thought that this cer~lJlO. t:JY . w~s i" bonour. of Maiijusri, . tl manifestation? of. the ,Buddhas: wisc;lom, and thus the moo! . avoi<! ed any bad feelings.
Although restraint a_nd indirect means of showing respc are often called for out of consideration for others, in private, disciple must follow all the proper procedures of Guru-devoti?
no matter what the status o( 1his Guru may be. Howevc general respect, such as rising. when he comes, must be shown 1 alftimes. ?
Onbisownpart~however,aqurushould alwaysbe? humble ''_,. ,III. . . . . . I? 'I
never arrog~nt <ir pompous thinlcing himself great arid worthy o. honour. P'a-rii. Rhipoehe,' one ? Of" the most realised? disdples ol the Senior: and Junior Tutors;of? ~His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, always kept a scriptural text by his seat. Explaining why, h~ said tl}. a~. w~en . pc;0,PI~ would come to visit him and prostrated, at least they. would gaio some mefil from showing respect to the scriptures since he himself had noqualifications. .
(6)
In order for the words of honour of neither the Guru nor th~ disciple to degenerate, there must be a mutual examination beforehand (to determine if each cart) brave a Guru-disciple relationship. .
At tantric enpowermenh many sets of vows are taken never? to abar. don the practices and procedures essential for spiritual progress. The disciple ? pledges his word of honour never. to? transgress tht. >e vows, such as always to visualise his Guru as inseparable from the meditations!
deity into whose practice he has just been initiated. Such deities, 3s well as the Gurus, share the same Enlightened nature; as, all the Buddhas, differ- ing onlyiin the physical. aspect they; manifest. ?
The Guru, tbo, has previously? pledged his word of. honout' never to disclose the timtric secrets:. to those who are unable to undersiand and. keep them. . ' iust as the milk of:a lion" sbj,uJd
? -~ot, b e ~ept . i~ a : c'~y p o t ? . s o , l M p. i-qfo~nd a p d p o w e r f u l m e t h o d s of the? . tantra should . not. b~ entrusted . . to those who are not
s~ch'vows;. 'eith~r,the 'ouru. ()r disciple
ready. . ! If; havirig taken
.
. . . :
. . .
'. .
should , allow his weird of honour 'to degenerate, it will be im-
possible for either to 'attain;. ariyofhis goafs and very serious unfortunate consequences will ? follow for both. Therefore it is extremely. important for thcro? to'. be a . muJu'at examination between. the Guru and? disciplo 'before :they entet! ! il. formal re. lationship?
. In ancient ,times . in . or~c;r; tQ, rcce. ivq:,all? t~D~. werment a potential disciple would have to ask over a periq<Jpfitbree years.
_An initiation_ wa<J n,9t. ~t aU . ~~~rt~ing,fllS~~t. B~,~alci~the disciple wait so bog, ? a Gurtfimpresse<J on'him the seriousness
of entering the'tahtri~ patit; te'~ied his' comrti. itm:nt ilD. d ensure<t 'that he~as properlY'prepared. . :'brti:W~. q~;~? ~;>~td. . ? ~~~ea disciple' wait ? even l. onger b! foi"e ? 'agre'cing to' teach: 'him. any- thing. 1-le would repeat~d-ly '; tes't. bis . character~ a~d. 'orily wh~n he had' u'nde'rstood him well' would be' adccpt him as. his disciple.
The disciple also m~st test his potential'Q11ru and de~er? mine if he is fully qualified. . a~? must. '~eco:l'\ftdei). t :~h'at~e~ill be able to devote himse~ff~! ly'~Q. thi_s_'M. ,a~,ie~:;)~f~f~~~i~~fJ~g. ~ formal Guru-disc~ple. relatipns~ip, y~~; ~~~. C:9:"1P! ~,t~. frefrdom of choice. But once. such ~. bond. . ~a~ J? ecn ,es~ablishe~,? . t~~$e
. teachings on. Guru? devoti~n. , must ,be :followed. with. t~t~l commitment? .
<n
A disciple with sense ? should riot? accept as . ? his Guru someone who lacks co. npis'sloh' or ? who
. ,? ? . ? '? ? :? ! i . ;! /. :;~ it:? l? i! ! :r'. . J ,,-, . ~! :? . : 1J? ! j ~Jlt~ . ,. _~! . lt?
. ~~ ~~~~~so~e,_y~c. t? ~. ~. . ~f,1~~~og~~. t? J;,. P~;~~e. ~. s. tye,
UQdlSClplin~d Of bo~ts,of hi~ knowle. dge~ . (~)
(A? :Goni')should-;b~}'s~abte~? (inJ? h? is actioh's),
tultivated? (iti; hi'S~? :sp~eS}_I),,,wls~;1? pitienrarid
honest: '-''He? ? s:fl8utd1nei het? cJnceal 'Jlis' ? ? hort- . ;:l! ! . l. l:'DI:~-. ='ifl';llfl':lfl)l1aJ:J f. . -! '. . Ji. D~! l. )~? . ~? ,,;:;? . ~::,? . ?
~. ~~~. ~~. ~-,. -A<? f";P~~JtH. 4 M~~,P9. ~~~~,~Jg~,a~ttu~~q~ J~ck~~ z:>>~ ~~oq1~Jfl~q ;,lQl~.
