Rites
The Two Equipments can be swiftly and perfectly achieved in an extraordinary [way] by the system of Mantra.
The Two Equipments can be swiftly and perfectly achieved in an extraordinary [way] by the system of Mantra.
Richard-Sherburne-A-Lamp-for-the-Path-and-Commentary-of-Atisha
5224, Vol.
95:1.
1 ]:
(A) /'gag pa med pa skye ba med pal [B) Ichad med pa rtag med pal
[C] /'ong med pa 'gro med pal
(D] /tha dad don min dol'! gcig min/.
The Tibetan translation reverses the sequence of the last two lines of the Sanskrit:
[A] anirodham-anutpadam- [B) anucchedam-llSiiSvatam/ (C) anekartham-ananartham- [D] anagamam-anirgamam/.
Actually all four proofs will employ Nagarjuna's famed tetralemma (mu- bzhi/catus-kotika: four-homed, of four extremes) dialectic in reducing to absurdity that entities exist, or do not exist, or both exist and not exist, or neither exist nor not exist. Hence, aside from the Diamond Particle (rdo-rje gzegs-ma/vajra-ka~Ja) Proof, Atisa's popular names for the proofs coincide with the above stanza:
[A) Non-cessation and Non-arising;
[B] Non-destruction and Non-permanence (called Diamond Particle
because this proof is the most basic enunciation of the tetralemma in
terms of existence, and represents the very heart of the gem);
[C) Non-identity and Non-multiplicity;
[DJ Non-goingandNon-coming(anotherwayofexpressingtheBuddhist
Dependent Origination causality).
nam-mkha'i me-tog/kha-pWjpam: sky-flower; a common example in Indian logic for a contradiction in terms; as also a hare's hom, son of a barren woman, etc.
BCA: IX:146-50.
The list covers the ultimate principles of all India's major philosophical traditions: ?
a) Atman (bdag): the Supreme Self of the Vedanta schools;
b) Fate (phya): both the scepticism of the Carvaka school and fatalism of
the Aji:vakas;
c) isvara (dbang-phyug): the Lord, or God, of later Nyaya-Vaise~ika;
d) Puru~a (skyes-bu): the free and independent self, Person, co-principle
18
19 20
with Prakrti in the Saf! lkhya system;
INSIGHT AND MEANS 157
? 158 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
21
22 23
24
e) Karma (/as): retributive action; held by all schools, including Buddhist; but as an ultimate principle stressed by the Mimarpsa and Jaina traditions;
f) Prakrti (rang-bzhin): ultimate unconscious Nature, co-principle with Puru~a in Sarpkhya;
g) Gu~as (yon-tan): the three Attributes of Prakrti in the Sarpkhya system (clarity, activity, darkness), whose disturbance starts the process of evolution of the world.
h) Brahman (tshangs-pa): the Supreme Spirit of the Vedanta schools; first of the triad with
i) Vi~I}U (khyab-'jug), and Siva (whom Atisa does not mention).
The reference is to the Hinayana schools which held the real production of phenomena (dharma) as ultimate constituents, while denying composite substances and a Self as real. Vasubandhu treats the six kinds of causes and
the four kinds of conditions in A K(LVP): II: pp. 245ff.
Ot. 5224, Vol. 95:3. 1.
{i-ka/{ikii: sub-commentary. 'grel-pa/vrtti: primary commentary, often by the author himself.
The quotation is from the great patron of Buddhism in Tibet, co-founder of Bsam-yas, and upadhyaya of the first ordained Tibetan monks. The passage here is not identified any further than the author's name, but is probably from his Ornament o fthe Middle Way and its auto-commentary JOt. 5284. 5]. It is curious that this quotation and the following one from Sri-gupta are given here for explanation of the Lack of Identity and Plurality Proof, yet
neither the names of the authors nor names of their works are mentioned in
the final bibliography in this chapter. 25 Unidentified.
26 Nagarjuna's investigation of the Twelvefold Chain of Dependent Origination is Chapter 26 of his Basic Stanzas [Ot. 5224]:
27
28
29 30 31 32 33
34 35
36
In the ~veda the goose is said to be able to separate Soma from water when the two are mixed. In later literature, as here, the ability is to strain milk from water. The final stanza here is also used in Atisa's Introduction to the Two Truths [Ot. 5380, Vol. 103:187. 3. ].
don dam-pa/paramiirtha: ultimate truth. See note 13 of this chapter. Training in the meditational practices on Emptiness requires the guidance of a Guru.
de-kho-na-myid/tattva: thatness=Emptiness (stong-pa-nyid/sunyatii).
Ot. 846, Vol. 34:110. 5.
Ot. 5470, Vol. 103:273. 3.
O t . 5251, V ol. 95:144. 3.
ibid. With these three stanzas excerpted from Nagarjuna, the Three Turnings of the Wheel are exemplified: 1) the Four Truths [Hinayana]; 2) Mind-Only [Yogacarii/Cittamatra]; and 3) Total Emptiness [Miidhyamika]. ibid.
Atisa's long "Hymn to the Middle Way" begins here, and is his own composition, thirty-two stanzas in length, and of equal quality with the root stanzas of the Lamp itself. As he states in the introduction to it, he is imitating Bodhibhadra - specifically his Composition [Ot. 5252] on Aryadeva's Heart of Wisdom Compendium [Ot. 5251]. Bodhibhadra's treatise is of much greater length; so there is no slavish imitation here, but a quite clear and original work which surprisingly is not found in the Tanjur elsewhere as a separate treatise.
bag-chags/viisanii: disposition, propensity. The four dispositions alluded to
? 37
38 39
here are not identified, but are related to the afflictions [see Glossary] and are of an obscuring nature.
~je-sudpag_/anumiina: infere_nce, one of the two main sources of knowledge m the Indi~n systems of epistemology; direct perception (mngon-sum-du/ pratyak! ja) IS the second. The Nyaya-Vaisesika schools of Brahmanism, as well as Buddhist schools, developed logic to? a high degree. Atisa decries the science both in this and the following stanzas; although he himself assisted in
the Tibetan translation of an immense treatise on logic of Acarya Jaya (or Jina) [Ot. 5720].
yod min med min yod med min/
gyni ga min pa'ang ma yin pal.
a-yi sgo-can: "the door of A". The letter and sound "A" is the seed syllable for mantric meditation c:in the Perfection of Insight, the "Great Mother of all bodhisattvas". It is also the smallest of all the variations on the great Perfection ofWisdom siitras, from the 100,000 line version down to the short Single-Syllable Perfection o f Insight Sutra:
"At that time, the Blessed One spoke these words to the Venerable Ananda, '0 Ananda, take hold of this Perfection of Insight called the One-Syllable, because it is of benefit and happiness for all beings. It is like this: A. ' Thus the Blessed One spoke, arid Venerable Ananda and all those monks and great Bodhisattvas realised that Perfection and rejoiced, and praised what had been been said by the Blessed One. " [Ot. 741, Vol. 21:741. 4].
mnyam-par bzhag-pa/samiihita: equipoise, or the composure of concentra- tion (ting-nge-' dzin/samiidhi), the culmination of Calmness when distraction has been eliminated.
'byung-ba dang 'jug-pa: starts and advances. The reference is to a yogin who has transcended distraction and discursive thinking, and in his direct intuitional experience does not wish to be going in and out of his state of concentration.
This is the same siitra quoted in the root stanza 57. The pertinent section referred to here is:
"Ifthat bodhisattva abandons those [earlier analyses ofphenomena], then the analysis for gaining the other Levels - as when the signs of discursive thinking are clearly perceived- happens and becomes direct experience. It is like. this: From the signs of discursive thinking in the analysis for gaining the First Level up to the signs of discursive thinking in the analysis for gaining the Tenth Level, and for gaining Patience in the Non-arising Phenomena . . . even these signs of discursive thinking in his analysis for gaining [the Levels], he completely abandons by not directing his mind to them. " [Ot. 810, Vol. 32:231. 3).
The prophecy occurs in the Manjrdri Basic Tantra [Ot. 162]. See Bu-ston's mention of it in his short life of Nagarjuna in his Chos-'byung (Obermiller): 11:111 and 122.
The quotation in Stanza 56 is unidentified. The quote in Stanza 57 from the Non-Con:eptual Progress Fonnula is Ot. 810, Vol. 32:232. 5.
Ot. 760(8), Vol. 22:192. 2. Ot. 760{12), Vol. 23:78. 2. Ot. 768, Vol. 28.
Ot. 795, Vol. 31. Unidentified.
Ot. 775, Vol. 29:73. 4.
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
INSIGHT AND MEANS 159
? 160 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
51 52 53
Ot. 736, Vol. 21:195. 5.
Ot. 5029, Vol. 87.
Titis passage listing the names of the great Madhyamika scholars appears to be by a different hand, or at least a later addition made by Atisl! without cons~lting his previous spelling of the names. Here the names of Aryadeva and Santideva are transliterated from Sanskrit, rather than translated into Tibetan as elsewhere in the Commentary. Further, the passage itself seems
to be out of place, as these wr;iters have all been mentioned earlier in p. 140ofthischapter,alongwiththeprincipalwritingsofeach-althoughthe author states here that he does not set down their texts lest it expand his treatise too much. Also to be noted is the fact that Buddhapalita's name is absent from the present list, but Bhavya/Bhavaviveka is included; that is, the founder of the Madhyamika-Svatantrika school is included, but Bhavya, the
founder of the Madhyamika-Prasangika, is not.
byin-gyis brlabs/adhi~! hana: blessing, consecration. The word connotes the special' empowerment through personal contact and initiation by one's Guru. The same word is used for the "consecration" of the bowl and robes in the Ordination ceremony of monks. In the Bka'-gdams-pa tradition, the "Blessed Lineage" is a separate category from the teaching lineages of the Madhyamika theory, and the Compassion practice.
Ot. 5444, Vol. 103:255. 4.
Essay on the Enlightenment Thought (Ot. 5470, Vol. 103:273. 4]. BCA: IX: 34-5.
Unidentified.
Ot. SUM. The eight chapters are titled: (Vol. 88:1. 1]
1) Knowledge of All Modes (rnam-pa thams-cad mkhyen-pa);
2) Knowledge of All Paths (lam thams-cad mkhyen-pa);
3) All-Knowledge/Omniscience (kun mkhyen-pa);
4) Comprehension of All Modes (rnam-pa thams-cad rtog-pa);
5) Practice at the Summit (rtse-mor phyin-pa'i sbyor-ba);
6) The Gradual Process (mthar-gyis bya-ba);
7) The Instantaneous Realisation of the Sage (thub-pa'i skad-gcig gcig-pa-
yis rtogs-pa);
8) The Nature of the Sage (thub-pa'i ngo-bo-nyid).
There are two men by this name in the Bka'-gdams-pa lineage of the Broad Practice, distinguished only by their titles: Arya Vimuktisena is the teacher of Bhadanta Vimuktisena, and the author of a treatise which places the topics of the Ornamentfor the Realisations in correspondence with the topics of the 25,000 Line Perfection ofInsight Satra, called Atoka [Ot. 5185].
54
55
56 57 58 59
60
61 AuthoroftheLightontheOrnamentofRealisations'Expositionofthe8,000 Line Perfection ofInsight (Ot. 5189], whose work became the most popular in the Tibetan monasteries for study of the Perfection of Insight literature. The text was revised by Atisa together with Rin-chen bzang-po.
62 See Glossary.
63 The four Concentrations mentioned here are usually referred to as four
"clear realisations" (mngon-nogs/abhisamaya); i. e. one for each of the Four
Noble Truths as they are seen in the Vision Path.
64 skad-gcig-ma/~ana: moment. Each of the "clear realisations" of the Four
Truths in the Vision Path (see above note) is divided into four "Moments" or degrees of growth in the awareness of the Truth involved (Suffering, Origination, Cessation, Path), from a stage of eliminating one's ignorance about the Truth on up to full liberating knowledge of it. ?
? 65 66
67 68 69 70
71
Explanation of "Treasure of Phenomenology" [Ot. 5591, Vol. 115:189. lff. ].
The quotation is the same as that used in root Stanza 29; however, a different Tibetan translation of the siitra is used here.
O t . 120, V ol. 5:133. 4.
Ot. 5428, Vol. 103:244. 3.
See Chapter 2, note 1, for the same quotation.
This stanza immediately precedes those used for stanzas 26-31 in the root poem: Ornament of Maiijuirf's Buddhafield, [Ot. 760(15), Vol. 23:129. 2]. Ot. 4530, Vol. 81:113. 4.
INSIGHT AND MEANS 161
? Vehicle of Mysticism CHAPTER 7
T antra
? I
II
Tantra
VEHICLE OF MANTRA
A Rites B Powers
TANTRA SCRIPTURE
A Seven Classes of Tantra
B Bibliography ofTantras
Stanza Page
166
III INITIATIONS
IV
v
A Permission
B Winning a Guru
MISUNDERST ANDING OF
A Exaggeration B Defamation
PROHIBITED INITIA TIONS
TANTRA
VI
A Laymen and Religious B Religious Celibate
1 Permitted Initiations
2 Wisdom of Thatness
CONCLUDING VERSES
VII COLOPHONS
181
CHAPTER 7
60
167
61 167
167 168
62 169
169 63 172
64 172
173 174
65 176
176 66 177 67 177 177
179
166
? 7
Tantra
Vehicle of Mantra
Now I must speak about the Vehicle of Mantra. It too is a great vehicle and belongs to the highest Mahiiy~na. [33lb] When I say that the Mantra Vehicle is eminently superior to theVehicleofthePerfectionoflnsight,thetextualauthority I use is again from the great Acarya, venerable Tripitakamiila:
"The teachings on Mantra are eminently superior When mastered by one of keen abilities,
Because of the many Means [they offer] without
austerity-
Provided the one and only Goal is kept, unobscured. " 1
Hence, the bodhisattva who engages in the practice of Mantra must first produce that unmistakable reality, the Thought of Enlightenment in its ultimate sense. 2 However,
I am not going to talk here about the texts that explain the meaning of this. Here and in my root text I [simply] set down some of the means for accumulating the Two Equip- ments [of merit and knowledge], for a bodhisattva who is in the Generation Stage,3 and confine myself to that.
Rites
The Two Equipments can be swiftly and perfectly achieved in an extraordinary [way] by the system of Mantra. And with this in mind I wrote the stanza:
THROUGH THE RITES OF "APPEASEMENT" AND "PROSPERITY" AND THE REST, EFFECTED BY THE FORCE OF MANTRA,
AND ALSO BY THE STRENGTH OF THE EIGHT GREAT POWERS, STARTING WITH THAT OF "GOOD FLASK", AND OTHERS, [60]
? When I say "EFFECTED BY THE FORCE OF MANTRA", I mean all dhiira1Ji4 rituals in general, but also include the Powers effected on the strength of muttering5 Mantras taken from any of the Tantras - such as the dhiiralJfs of the Action Tantra. What are these rites? The rituals for "Domination" and "Destruction", for" APPEASEMENT AND PROSPERITY" and the rest of the eight kinds of ritual. 6
Powers
"THE EIGHT GREAT POWERS; STARTING WITH THAT OF 'GOOD FLASK', AND OTHERS" refers to [1] the Good Flask Power, [2] Fleetness of Foot, [3] the (Invincible] Sword, [4] the Commander, (5] the Underworld [Power], (6] Invisibility, [7] the Wishing-Tree, and [8] Supremacy. 7 By "AND OTHERS" I mean all the many Powers that are associated with the rites that put an end to anything, and follow upon the [principal] Eight Powers; for example, eye-medicine,
pills, flying in the sky, showers of grain, producing various shapes out of a conjured mustard-seed, superknowledge by augury, and the [Four] Miraculous Powers. 8 When, through Muttering and Concentration, one has accom-
plished these Eight Great Mundane Powers and the [rites of] Appeasement-Prosperity-Dominion-Destruction, one thereby perfects the Two Equipments of Merit and Knowledge, swiftly and effortlessly. [332a)
Tantra Scripture
Seven Classes ofTantra
What is this "Vehicle of Mantra" from which such Powers come so swiftly and effortlessly? I say:
IT IS MAINTAINED THAT THE EQUIPMENT FOR ENLIGHTENMENT IS PERFECTED WITH EASE;
AND IF. ONE WANTS TO PRACTISE MANTRA AS PRESCRIBED
IN THE TANTRAS: ACTION, PRACTICE, AND ON ? ? ? [Stanza61]
And these are: [1] Action Tantra, [2] Practice Tantra, [3] Skill Tantra, (4) Combined Tantra, [5] Union Tantra, [6] Great Union Tantra, and [7] Supreme Union Tantra. 9 The extent of each of these Tantras is immeasurable, as the
TANTRA 167
? 168 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY Blessed One says about their number in the Glorious
Compendium o f Diamond Knowledge: A Great Tantra:
"There are four thousand Action Tantras. There are eight thousand Practice Tantras. Their are four thousand Skill Tantras. There are six thousand Combined Tantras. There are twelve thousand Great Union Tantras. But if these are taken in their complete entirety, they are
[1]
Bibliography ofTantras
The four thousand Action Tantras include such texts as:
the All Dhiira~Jfs [Ot. 141],
the Highest Wisdom [Ot. 402],
the Excellent Dancer [Ot. 424],
the True Power Maker [Ot. 431],
the [Questions of] Subiihu [Ot. 428],
the Great: Basic Tantra ofManjuiri [Ot. 162], the Secret Tantras ofMaiijuirf[Toh. 544-52], the Diamond Crowners [Toh. 590-603],
the Tantra ofAmoghapiiSa [Ot. 365],
and the Great Victory Tantras [Toh. 604-13]. [332b] The Practice Tantra with its eight thousand texts has: the Perfect Enlightenment of Vairocana Tantra [Ot.
126],
and the Initiation ofVajrapii~Ji Tantra [Ot. 130].
The four thousand texts in the Skill Tantra collection contain the Tantra of Tiirii's Arising [Ot. 390], the Royal Tantra Setting Forth the Triple Pledge [Ot. 134], and the Compen,dium ofSkills.
Among the Combined Tantra in its six thousand text
collection are the Illusion-like [Ot. 102] and the Lord ofLotus Dancers.
The Union Tantra contains innumerable texts such as: the Compendium ofThatness [Ot. 112],
the Glorious Original [Aeon] [Ot. 119], the Conquest ofthe Triple World [Ot. 115], the Higher Union Conquest,
and the Diamond Summit [Ot. 113].
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
numberless. " 10
? [6] The Great Union Tantra in its twelve thousand collection contains such texts as the Glorious Union o f the Secret [Ot. 81] and its Explanatory Tantras [Toh. 443-53], and
[7]
the Beauty Mark o f the Secret Moon [Ot. 111], the Black DestroyerofYama [Ot. 103],
the Gloriolis Original [Aeon] [Ot. 119],
the Assembly ofAll Gods,
the Secret ofAll [Ot. 114],
the Unfailing Discipline,
the Compendium o f Diamond Knowledge [Ot. 84], the Marvels ofVairocana [Ot. 126],
the short Space-like [Buddha] [Ot. 31],
the Tantra o f Unique [Buddha's] Conquest [Ot. 87],
and the Diamond-Crowners Tantras.
In their entirety these texts are numberless.
The Supreme Union Tantra has fourteen thousand
texts in its collection and includes the Glorious Cakrasainvara: the Hundred Thousand Verses ofthe Space-like Buddha [Ot. 30; 59], and the Diamond Imp [Ot. 18],
the Four Diamond Seats [Ot. 68],
the Great Illusion [Ot. 64],
the Buddha-like Practice [Ot. 8],
the Buddha Death's Head [Ot. 63],
and the Five Hundred Thousand Verses on Hevajra
[Ot. 10].
Taken in their entirety the texts would be endless. It is the vastness of each of these Tantra collections that makes the Vehicle of Mantra so extremely broad and unlimited. [333a] The Gurus say that all dharalJis without exception, such as the DharalJis Blazing From the Mouths o f Ghosts and the Great Peacock-like DharalJis, are Tantras of the
Action class.
Initiations
Permission
In the line "IF ONE WANTS TO PRACTISE MANTRA AS
TANTRA 169
? 170 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
PRESCRIBED", [Stanza 61], you may ask what is meant by the words "AS PRESCRIBED", and SO I say:
THEN, TO GAIN THE PRECEPTOR-INITIA TION,
ONE MUST FIRST WIN A HOLY GURU
BY GIVING HIM ATTENDANCE AND PRECIOUS THINGS AND BY OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD. (Stanza 62]
That is, if you desire to practise the Mantra Vehicle in the Action Tantras and the rest, I indicate by my mention of "PRECEPTOR-INITIA TION" that you ! I1USt look not merely to your resolution and actually making progress [toward Enlightenment], but you must also receive the Flask Initiation [that is essential to the Preceptor-Initiation ritual],11 becauseotherwiseyouwouldbetakingMantraby yourself. That is why the Tantras say:
"Without [first] winning a Preceptor and Without [first] acquiring the Initiations, Even to begin the study [ofTantra] Would be ineffectiveness itself. "
And again:
"Without even the Permission'2 for Initiation Is to take Mantra by oneself. "
Taking Mantra by oneself means to perform the dhiiralJf rituals while still relying on methods of the Perfection Path in the Mahayana siitra sense- without even [so much as] the Permission of a Guru for entering the Mal)qala13 and for Initiation. It is taking Mantra by oneself when one listens to and cultivates visualisations14 such as venerable Tara's, or
practises Muttering [of mantras] or Fire-offering or Food- offering's or the Mal)qala and the like- [without a Guru's Permission]. [333b] The Permission to enter the Mal)qala and to receive Initiation is granted [explicitly] by the Preceptor's saying, "Your god is this one. This is the muttering you must do. " 16 Hence the Tantras say:
? "This taking Mantra by oneself
Leads only to destiny in Hell;
Even the Mantra is not effective,
And the body is only wasted in afflictions. "
These are the things I meant by my words" AS PRESCRIBED", and all the Tantras, all the Acaryas of old, and every single Guru today say that the prescription is explicit. If someone says that certain persons, because of the dreams and omens of mundane and supramundane deities they have, are persons who practised Mantra in previous lives [and
therefore need no Permission], then let a method [for determining] their achievement be applied - [presuming) they had pleased a Guru and were given his blessing and re- ceived his Permission to "practise in this certain manner". The method to be used can be that of the Setting Forth the
TriplePledgeand PalaceoftheGreatJewe! andGloryofthe Blessed One, Vaiqurya, Teacher ofHealing: if by these methods they have cleansed themselves of sin and built up their equipment [of merit and knowledge], and then auspicious signs occur, these persons [indeed] had permission to enter Mantrayana; but they are not thereby [necessarily] persons who [actually] practised it in previous lives. Moreover, their Permission to teach Mantra, or to hear, study and practise it, was not given merely because they had taken the Three Refuges and had the resolution for Enlightenment and made progress toward it. The Paths
on which one progresses are each different, and the [methods of] liberation of the particular Vehicles should not be mixed up. [334a] The Blessed One preached the various paths of the Vehicles because He knew the capability of persons, their potential and disposition. And that is why I wrote the way I did in the root text:
IF ONE WANTS TO PRACTISE MANTRA . . . THEN TO GAIN THE PRECEPTOR-INITIATION . .
That is, if you wish to enter and practise in the Vehicle of the Perfections, then you must school yourself in the Three Kinds of Trai,ning I explained earlier. 17 But if you wish to
TANTRA 171
? 172 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
practise Mantra and perform visualisations like venerable Tara's, then you must request the Flask Initiation [that is essential to) the "PRECEPTOR-INITIATION". That is the meaning of my stanza.
Winning a Guru
Now then, if you ask whether this can be done when you have no worldly goods or lofty presents for the initiating Guru, the words "BY GIVING ATTENDANCE AND PRECIOUS THINGS" indicate it cannot. But then, what should those who are poor and bereft of worldly goods do? They should give "OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD". For even men of means must [still] offer their own bodies over and above the Seven Precious Things of Royalty. For example, King Devapala, after offering his entire kingdom to Acarya Buddhajnanapada, offered his queen and himself also. 18 And later he enticed him, as it were, with gold equal [in weight] to b<;>th himself and the queen. The poor must make do with repeated offerings of obedience and bodily
attendance, of mandalas and flowers, and in this manner they "MUST FIRST wiNA HOLY GURU".
When the Guru has been pleased and won, and Initiation has been acquired, and you are freed from all sin of body [speech, and mind], you will be worthy of achieving all mundane and supramundane Powers, by reason of being cleansed of sin (Stanza 63].
Misunderstanding of Tantra
Having taught that in keeping the Vehicle of Mantra one is effortlessly and swiftly, directly and perfectly Enlightened, and having shown that it is a means that perfects the good of others, I now give [a stanza] to refute two misconceptions about the Mantra Vehicle: [334b]
THE SECRET AND INSIGHT INITIATIONS
SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN BY RELIGIOUS CELIBATES, BECAUSE IT IS EMPHATICALLY FORBIDDEN INTHEGREATTANTRAOFPRIMALBUDDHA. 19 (Stanza64]
? The misunderstandings of Mantra here are of two [extremes]: either making exaggerations about it, or defaming it. The former we should put an end to; in the latter case, we should defend it.
Exaggeration
Now in this matter there are some who still do not under- stand the intent of the endless great Tantras of Mantra, and because they trust in even holy Gurus who have not grasped it [either] or in sinful Spiritual Friends, they rely on their interpretations without really having learned the true nature of Mantra. "W e are Mantrists! " they claim. "W e are
doing all the practices with great exactness, and we will all swiftly achieve even the Powers of the Great Seal! "20 But those who continue in this bragging are heading for evil destinies. They heap contempt on the word of the Tathagata, and, by their defiling religious celibacy, they
cause the Teaching of the Buddha to decline. They exercise their Harsh Destruction [Powers to harm others], and, by their keeping women, Expulsion offences are committed. 21 Here is what glorious Jiianakirti said about them:
"They proclaim ever more loudly, 'We have permission for this yoga from the Blessed One! ', and further, they even perform all the practices with exactness, but [alas], they are heading for evil destinies. " 22
And my Guru, the monk Pai:q. cJ. apatika Avadhutipa:
"If th. ose two Initiations [the "Secret", and "Insight"] are taken, the Preceptor together with the disciple are bothgoingtoevildestinies. "23 [335a]
The Blessed One says in the Great Tantra Elucidating Meaning:
"Those who are in Yoga without guidance,
Are practising [elephant-taming] without the goad; They say, 'I am a Yogin! ' [but]
They are treating the Teaching with deceit.
TANTRA 173
? 174 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
They perform [rituals] even for livelihood With their practice of mantras and the Seal; And [to avenge] even only tiny offences, They use the Harsh Destruction [Powers].
From their knowledge of one certain visualisation They will explainthe whole great Tantra;
And whenever some profit may be got,
They will teach the Holy Doctrine. "24
And He speaks on at length in that vein. The glorious Padmavajra likewise has much to say about the penalties for that k1nd of behaviour:
"Their practices, and they themselves Are all full of sinful activity;
They keep to a Path that is unholy, And are hurrying to their hells. " 25
There are indeed many more sources, but my text would 1Jecome too long. [In short], we must put an end to such
[exaggerations] in a compassionate way.
Defamation
Then, in this matter [of defaming Mantra], there are some who say, "Why bother with the Mantra Vehicle when no one knows how the great method of Mantra works? Why not simply make progress in the clear Vehicles of the Perfections, and of the Hearers and Solitary Buddhas? If Expulsion offences against religious celibacy and against the taking of life come from [the Mantrist's] use of women
and the Harsh Destruction [Powers], then that [Vehicle] should not be entered. "
But in so saying these persons are defaming [Mantra] without knowing its [true] intent. It is wide and deep, a sphere of action for those of keen powers, and the [very] heart of the Buddha's teaching. And he who condemns it as a field of activity for those who have the capacity, dis- position, and development for it is going to hell- have no
doubt about it - because he is belittling the word of the Tathagata and rejecting His profound Doctrine. Here is what the holy Finely Woven Sutra says about the [karmic] maturation of an act of rejecting the Doctrine: [335b]
? "If anyone says, 'Some of the Doctrine is good; some of it is bad', he is rejecting the Doctrine. "26
And that is because he does not see the Doctrine [rightly]. As the Guru-Monk Pai~qapatikasays:
"Therefore, do not scorn the Mantra Vehicle
By saying it is the talk of the Evil One.
As well reject all Vehicles [then] too!
Indeed, in keeping this one, the Great Seal is got! "27
And so, against such [defamers], we must uphold [Mantra] in a compassionate way.
Defaming is twofold: defaming the Doctrine and defaming persons. The Doctrine should not. be defamed, as these words from the Questions o f Kiisyapa say:
"When one enters into the doctrine taught by the Tathagatas, and his mind does not understand all the profundities of it concerning the limitlessness of Buddha- enlightenment and the variety of preferences among creatures, and he says, 'Although I do not understand
this, the Tathagata himself does; He perceives it directly', [then he does not reject or defame the Doctrine]. " 28
Study that Siitra itself, for it is a point I have seen made in all the Siitras and Tantras. And as to not defaming persons either, [the Blessed One says] in both the Exhortation to Higher Intention and the Instruction on Non-production of All Phenomena: [336a]
"For one person- except myself or someone [enlight- ened] like me- to judge the measure of [another] person is harmful. "29
And the evil of [such judgement] is frequently seen in the Siitras.
TANTRA 175
? 176 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
Prohibited Initiations
(THE SECRET AND INSIGHT INITIATIONS
SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN BY RELIGIOUS CELIBATES, BECAUSE IT IS EMPHATICALLY FORBIDDEN]
IN THE GREATTANTRA OF PRIMAL BUDDHA. (Stanza 64]
(IF THOSE INITIATIONS WERE TAKEN BY ONE WHO STAYS
IN THE AUSTERITY OF A RELIGIOUS CELIBATE,
IT WOULD VIOLATE HIS VOW OF AUSTERITY
SINCE HE WOULD BE PRACTISING WHAT IS FORBIDDEN. (65]
TRANSGRESSIONS WOULD OCCUR WHICH DEFEAT THE MAN OF RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE;
AND BY HIS CERTAIN FALL TO BAD DESTINIES,
HE COULD NOT EVEN SUCCEED (IN MANTRA PRACTICE]] (66]
The meaning in these twelve lines I have based on the instruction of Suvarr:tadvipa and the monk who was my [Mantra] Guru, Pair:tqapatika.
Laymen and Religious In his Initiation Set Forth, this Guru says:
"In this matter, there are two kinds of Initiations: those based on the lay state, and those based on the celibate religious state. Which are based on the lay state? All the Initiations spoken of in all the many Tantras. And which are based on the celibate religious state? All of the same
Initiations, except for the Secret and Insight-Knowledge ones. And why are these two excluded? In this way: all the many virtues that have come about in consequence of the Buddha's Doctrine have happened because His teaching has continued. But the continuation of His
teaching depends solely on the celibate religious life; and these two Initiations [are excluded] because they envision states which are not in harmony with religious celibacy. Consequently, these two Initiations cause religious celibacy to perish, and when religious celibacy perishes the teaching of the Buddha will decline. Because of its decline, there would be an end to the gaining of merit. And hence, because of the immeasurable loss of
virtue that would come from such a state of affairs, these two [Initiations] are excluded for the religious celibate. " 3 0
? Religious Celibate
Permitted Initiations
If that is the case, you may say, it is not right for religious celibates to engage in Mantra. But to that I say:
HAVING ACQUIRED THE PRECEPTOR-INITIATION,
HE MAY LISTEN TO ALL TANTRAS AND EXPLAIN THEM; (336b) PERFORM FIRE-OFFERING, GIFT-WORSHIP AND THE LIKE: 31 (THERE IS NO WRONG IN WISDOM ABOUT REALITY. ) (Stanza 67)
If a celibate Mantrist wants to listen to the Tantras, to study and explain them to others, to perform Fire-offering and Gift-offering and [mantra-] muttering, then every Tantra and every ritual for the Mal). qalas clearly says that it is all right, [provided he has] the Flask initiation of the
"Preceptor-Initiation". The Guru-Monk Pail). qapatika A vadhutipa says this also:
"If that is so, you may say, then religious celibates
[who practise Mantra], although Mahayanists, are being
untrue to Mahayana. [But I say,] that would assuredly be
treating this matter mistakenly. Whoever has obtained
an Acarya and his Permission and the Flask - because of
his [very] Initiation to practise those Tantras, to hear,
study, and explain them- is [entirely] true to Mahayana.
But then, you may say, if that is so, there is no need of the
Secret and Insight Initiations even for laymen. [And I
say, yes,] it is unnecessary and they are dissuaded from it. "32
And then he continues at length on that subject.
Wisdom of Thatness
THERE IS NO WRONG IN WISDOM ABOUT REALITY. 33 (Stanza67)
My Gurus have given much specific instruction to me in this matter, and this is what some of these holy men say:
[a] "If a bodhisattva in his compassion knows the good of creatures and is governed by compassion in all that he does, then wrong does not exist in his Tantra, and in
TANTRA 177
? 178 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
[b]
consequence of it, his merit will even greatly increase. "
This. interpretation means he has reached the weak [degree] ofPatience. 34
According to other holy men, there could never be wrong [coming] from a yogin who knows all phenomena to be illusion and is wise in the reality [of Emptiness]:
"Any yogin who knows [that all phenomena] [337a] Are like unto the water-reflected moon,
Will never be clothed in such things
As sin and merit.
All his inner and outer states
Are [of the] mind and illusion-like to him: He conceptualises no longer [the Proofs of] Non-permanence and Non-destruction
And of them both taken together; Untouched by the poison of entity-grasping, Who has seen his like? Wrong does not exist In his wisdom [of all] as illusion. "
[This interpretation] means that wrong does not exist for one who has reached the weak [degree of] Highest Mundane Phenomena. 35
As to there being no wrong [according to] the Guru- Monk, Paii). qapatika, you must study that same [previously quoted] text which was made from his lectures. In his interpretation, wrong does not exist even for one who is at the very start of the Beginner's Level. 36
Still other holy men say:
"There will be no wrong [in practising Mantra] according to methods in such texts as the Questions o f KiiSyapa Sutra, the Injunctions on Dealing with Women Sutra, the Glorious Original [Aeon] Tantra, the Unfailing Discipline and other Tantras in that section, and in [the works of ]Arya Nagarjuna and Acarya Aryadeva. This means there is no wrong for one who knows the Thatness [of Emptiness], if he has reached the weak [degree of] Summits. " 3 7
[c]
[d]
? [e]
Others again:
"Wrong does not exist for him who has the Enlightenment Thought in the ultimate sense [of] the non-arising of all phenomena, and it is growing in his [conscious] stream; for there can be no wrong when one knows the Thatness of phenomena. "
This [interpretation] means there will be no wrong for those [who are on the Path of] Vision of the Truths. 38 Consequently, the yogin who is following the Paths must learn both what is and what is not wrong (for him]. 39
Concluding V erses
That wish-granting jewel, the Apparition Body.
[1)
Has passed away, and no longer are there
Great scholars like Arya Nagarjuna and the rest;
And in these times of the approaching decline
Of the Sage's holy Doctrine, many persons come forth [337b] With the erroneous conceptions of madmen.
[2) They see the libraries of sutra and sastra,
But are lost to the guidance of Guru-tradition;
Like blind men, they embark
On scripture's vast ocean of meaning.
They do not know Mahayana's superior Path, and
Their misunderstanding of it ought not be followed.
[3) Without a Guru for their eyes,
They have not seen and will not see
The true arrangement of the Mahayana Path.
[4) Like the ocean, Mahayana is deep,
And, like the sky, it is very vast;
Y et they preach as they please, without Guru, Satisfied they've seen the books of
Siitra and sastra, but no reliance on Guru for them.
(A) /'gag pa med pa skye ba med pal [B) Ichad med pa rtag med pal
[C] /'ong med pa 'gro med pal
(D] /tha dad don min dol'! gcig min/.
The Tibetan translation reverses the sequence of the last two lines of the Sanskrit:
[A] anirodham-anutpadam- [B) anucchedam-llSiiSvatam/ (C) anekartham-ananartham- [D] anagamam-anirgamam/.
Actually all four proofs will employ Nagarjuna's famed tetralemma (mu- bzhi/catus-kotika: four-homed, of four extremes) dialectic in reducing to absurdity that entities exist, or do not exist, or both exist and not exist, or neither exist nor not exist. Hence, aside from the Diamond Particle (rdo-rje gzegs-ma/vajra-ka~Ja) Proof, Atisa's popular names for the proofs coincide with the above stanza:
[A) Non-cessation and Non-arising;
[B] Non-destruction and Non-permanence (called Diamond Particle
because this proof is the most basic enunciation of the tetralemma in
terms of existence, and represents the very heart of the gem);
[C) Non-identity and Non-multiplicity;
[DJ Non-goingandNon-coming(anotherwayofexpressingtheBuddhist
Dependent Origination causality).
nam-mkha'i me-tog/kha-pWjpam: sky-flower; a common example in Indian logic for a contradiction in terms; as also a hare's hom, son of a barren woman, etc.
BCA: IX:146-50.
The list covers the ultimate principles of all India's major philosophical traditions: ?
a) Atman (bdag): the Supreme Self of the Vedanta schools;
b) Fate (phya): both the scepticism of the Carvaka school and fatalism of
the Aji:vakas;
c) isvara (dbang-phyug): the Lord, or God, of later Nyaya-Vaise~ika;
d) Puru~a (skyes-bu): the free and independent self, Person, co-principle
18
19 20
with Prakrti in the Saf! lkhya system;
INSIGHT AND MEANS 157
? 158 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
21
22 23
24
e) Karma (/as): retributive action; held by all schools, including Buddhist; but as an ultimate principle stressed by the Mimarpsa and Jaina traditions;
f) Prakrti (rang-bzhin): ultimate unconscious Nature, co-principle with Puru~a in Sarpkhya;
g) Gu~as (yon-tan): the three Attributes of Prakrti in the Sarpkhya system (clarity, activity, darkness), whose disturbance starts the process of evolution of the world.
h) Brahman (tshangs-pa): the Supreme Spirit of the Vedanta schools; first of the triad with
i) Vi~I}U (khyab-'jug), and Siva (whom Atisa does not mention).
The reference is to the Hinayana schools which held the real production of phenomena (dharma) as ultimate constituents, while denying composite substances and a Self as real. Vasubandhu treats the six kinds of causes and
the four kinds of conditions in A K(LVP): II: pp. 245ff.
Ot. 5224, Vol. 95:3. 1.
{i-ka/{ikii: sub-commentary. 'grel-pa/vrtti: primary commentary, often by the author himself.
The quotation is from the great patron of Buddhism in Tibet, co-founder of Bsam-yas, and upadhyaya of the first ordained Tibetan monks. The passage here is not identified any further than the author's name, but is probably from his Ornament o fthe Middle Way and its auto-commentary JOt. 5284. 5]. It is curious that this quotation and the following one from Sri-gupta are given here for explanation of the Lack of Identity and Plurality Proof, yet
neither the names of the authors nor names of their works are mentioned in
the final bibliography in this chapter. 25 Unidentified.
26 Nagarjuna's investigation of the Twelvefold Chain of Dependent Origination is Chapter 26 of his Basic Stanzas [Ot. 5224]:
27
28
29 30 31 32 33
34 35
36
In the ~veda the goose is said to be able to separate Soma from water when the two are mixed. In later literature, as here, the ability is to strain milk from water. The final stanza here is also used in Atisa's Introduction to the Two Truths [Ot. 5380, Vol. 103:187. 3. ].
don dam-pa/paramiirtha: ultimate truth. See note 13 of this chapter. Training in the meditational practices on Emptiness requires the guidance of a Guru.
de-kho-na-myid/tattva: thatness=Emptiness (stong-pa-nyid/sunyatii).
Ot. 846, Vol. 34:110. 5.
Ot. 5470, Vol. 103:273. 3.
O t . 5251, V ol. 95:144. 3.
ibid. With these three stanzas excerpted from Nagarjuna, the Three Turnings of the Wheel are exemplified: 1) the Four Truths [Hinayana]; 2) Mind-Only [Yogacarii/Cittamatra]; and 3) Total Emptiness [Miidhyamika]. ibid.
Atisa's long "Hymn to the Middle Way" begins here, and is his own composition, thirty-two stanzas in length, and of equal quality with the root stanzas of the Lamp itself. As he states in the introduction to it, he is imitating Bodhibhadra - specifically his Composition [Ot. 5252] on Aryadeva's Heart of Wisdom Compendium [Ot. 5251]. Bodhibhadra's treatise is of much greater length; so there is no slavish imitation here, but a quite clear and original work which surprisingly is not found in the Tanjur elsewhere as a separate treatise.
bag-chags/viisanii: disposition, propensity. The four dispositions alluded to
? 37
38 39
here are not identified, but are related to the afflictions [see Glossary] and are of an obscuring nature.
~je-sudpag_/anumiina: infere_nce, one of the two main sources of knowledge m the Indi~n systems of epistemology; direct perception (mngon-sum-du/ pratyak! ja) IS the second. The Nyaya-Vaisesika schools of Brahmanism, as well as Buddhist schools, developed logic to? a high degree. Atisa decries the science both in this and the following stanzas; although he himself assisted in
the Tibetan translation of an immense treatise on logic of Acarya Jaya (or Jina) [Ot. 5720].
yod min med min yod med min/
gyni ga min pa'ang ma yin pal.
a-yi sgo-can: "the door of A". The letter and sound "A" is the seed syllable for mantric meditation c:in the Perfection of Insight, the "Great Mother of all bodhisattvas". It is also the smallest of all the variations on the great Perfection ofWisdom siitras, from the 100,000 line version down to the short Single-Syllable Perfection o f Insight Sutra:
"At that time, the Blessed One spoke these words to the Venerable Ananda, '0 Ananda, take hold of this Perfection of Insight called the One-Syllable, because it is of benefit and happiness for all beings. It is like this: A. ' Thus the Blessed One spoke, arid Venerable Ananda and all those monks and great Bodhisattvas realised that Perfection and rejoiced, and praised what had been been said by the Blessed One. " [Ot. 741, Vol. 21:741. 4].
mnyam-par bzhag-pa/samiihita: equipoise, or the composure of concentra- tion (ting-nge-' dzin/samiidhi), the culmination of Calmness when distraction has been eliminated.
'byung-ba dang 'jug-pa: starts and advances. The reference is to a yogin who has transcended distraction and discursive thinking, and in his direct intuitional experience does not wish to be going in and out of his state of concentration.
This is the same siitra quoted in the root stanza 57. The pertinent section referred to here is:
"Ifthat bodhisattva abandons those [earlier analyses ofphenomena], then the analysis for gaining the other Levels - as when the signs of discursive thinking are clearly perceived- happens and becomes direct experience. It is like. this: From the signs of discursive thinking in the analysis for gaining the First Level up to the signs of discursive thinking in the analysis for gaining the Tenth Level, and for gaining Patience in the Non-arising Phenomena . . . even these signs of discursive thinking in his analysis for gaining [the Levels], he completely abandons by not directing his mind to them. " [Ot. 810, Vol. 32:231. 3).
The prophecy occurs in the Manjrdri Basic Tantra [Ot. 162]. See Bu-ston's mention of it in his short life of Nagarjuna in his Chos-'byung (Obermiller): 11:111 and 122.
The quotation in Stanza 56 is unidentified. The quote in Stanza 57 from the Non-Con:eptual Progress Fonnula is Ot. 810, Vol. 32:232. 5.
Ot. 760(8), Vol. 22:192. 2. Ot. 760{12), Vol. 23:78. 2. Ot. 768, Vol. 28.
Ot. 795, Vol. 31. Unidentified.
Ot. 775, Vol. 29:73. 4.
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
INSIGHT AND MEANS 159
? 160 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
51 52 53
Ot. 736, Vol. 21:195. 5.
Ot. 5029, Vol. 87.
Titis passage listing the names of the great Madhyamika scholars appears to be by a different hand, or at least a later addition made by Atisl! without cons~lting his previous spelling of the names. Here the names of Aryadeva and Santideva are transliterated from Sanskrit, rather than translated into Tibetan as elsewhere in the Commentary. Further, the passage itself seems
to be out of place, as these wr;iters have all been mentioned earlier in p. 140ofthischapter,alongwiththeprincipalwritingsofeach-althoughthe author states here that he does not set down their texts lest it expand his treatise too much. Also to be noted is the fact that Buddhapalita's name is absent from the present list, but Bhavya/Bhavaviveka is included; that is, the founder of the Madhyamika-Svatantrika school is included, but Bhavya, the
founder of the Madhyamika-Prasangika, is not.
byin-gyis brlabs/adhi~! hana: blessing, consecration. The word connotes the special' empowerment through personal contact and initiation by one's Guru. The same word is used for the "consecration" of the bowl and robes in the Ordination ceremony of monks. In the Bka'-gdams-pa tradition, the "Blessed Lineage" is a separate category from the teaching lineages of the Madhyamika theory, and the Compassion practice.
Ot. 5444, Vol. 103:255. 4.
Essay on the Enlightenment Thought (Ot. 5470, Vol. 103:273. 4]. BCA: IX: 34-5.
Unidentified.
Ot. SUM. The eight chapters are titled: (Vol. 88:1. 1]
1) Knowledge of All Modes (rnam-pa thams-cad mkhyen-pa);
2) Knowledge of All Paths (lam thams-cad mkhyen-pa);
3) All-Knowledge/Omniscience (kun mkhyen-pa);
4) Comprehension of All Modes (rnam-pa thams-cad rtog-pa);
5) Practice at the Summit (rtse-mor phyin-pa'i sbyor-ba);
6) The Gradual Process (mthar-gyis bya-ba);
7) The Instantaneous Realisation of the Sage (thub-pa'i skad-gcig gcig-pa-
yis rtogs-pa);
8) The Nature of the Sage (thub-pa'i ngo-bo-nyid).
There are two men by this name in the Bka'-gdams-pa lineage of the Broad Practice, distinguished only by their titles: Arya Vimuktisena is the teacher of Bhadanta Vimuktisena, and the author of a treatise which places the topics of the Ornamentfor the Realisations in correspondence with the topics of the 25,000 Line Perfection ofInsight Satra, called Atoka [Ot. 5185].
54
55
56 57 58 59
60
61 AuthoroftheLightontheOrnamentofRealisations'Expositionofthe8,000 Line Perfection ofInsight (Ot. 5189], whose work became the most popular in the Tibetan monasteries for study of the Perfection of Insight literature. The text was revised by Atisa together with Rin-chen bzang-po.
62 See Glossary.
63 The four Concentrations mentioned here are usually referred to as four
"clear realisations" (mngon-nogs/abhisamaya); i. e. one for each of the Four
Noble Truths as they are seen in the Vision Path.
64 skad-gcig-ma/~ana: moment. Each of the "clear realisations" of the Four
Truths in the Vision Path (see above note) is divided into four "Moments" or degrees of growth in the awareness of the Truth involved (Suffering, Origination, Cessation, Path), from a stage of eliminating one's ignorance about the Truth on up to full liberating knowledge of it. ?
? 65 66
67 68 69 70
71
Explanation of "Treasure of Phenomenology" [Ot. 5591, Vol. 115:189. lff. ].
The quotation is the same as that used in root Stanza 29; however, a different Tibetan translation of the siitra is used here.
O t . 120, V ol. 5:133. 4.
Ot. 5428, Vol. 103:244. 3.
See Chapter 2, note 1, for the same quotation.
This stanza immediately precedes those used for stanzas 26-31 in the root poem: Ornament of Maiijuirf's Buddhafield, [Ot. 760(15), Vol. 23:129. 2]. Ot. 4530, Vol. 81:113. 4.
INSIGHT AND MEANS 161
? Vehicle of Mysticism CHAPTER 7
T antra
? I
II
Tantra
VEHICLE OF MANTRA
A Rites B Powers
TANTRA SCRIPTURE
A Seven Classes of Tantra
B Bibliography ofTantras
Stanza Page
166
III INITIATIONS
IV
v
A Permission
B Winning a Guru
MISUNDERST ANDING OF
A Exaggeration B Defamation
PROHIBITED INITIA TIONS
TANTRA
VI
A Laymen and Religious B Religious Celibate
1 Permitted Initiations
2 Wisdom of Thatness
CONCLUDING VERSES
VII COLOPHONS
181
CHAPTER 7
60
167
61 167
167 168
62 169
169 63 172
64 172
173 174
65 176
176 66 177 67 177 177
179
166
? 7
Tantra
Vehicle of Mantra
Now I must speak about the Vehicle of Mantra. It too is a great vehicle and belongs to the highest Mahiiy~na. [33lb] When I say that the Mantra Vehicle is eminently superior to theVehicleofthePerfectionoflnsight,thetextualauthority I use is again from the great Acarya, venerable Tripitakamiila:
"The teachings on Mantra are eminently superior When mastered by one of keen abilities,
Because of the many Means [they offer] without
austerity-
Provided the one and only Goal is kept, unobscured. " 1
Hence, the bodhisattva who engages in the practice of Mantra must first produce that unmistakable reality, the Thought of Enlightenment in its ultimate sense. 2 However,
I am not going to talk here about the texts that explain the meaning of this. Here and in my root text I [simply] set down some of the means for accumulating the Two Equip- ments [of merit and knowledge], for a bodhisattva who is in the Generation Stage,3 and confine myself to that.
Rites
The Two Equipments can be swiftly and perfectly achieved in an extraordinary [way] by the system of Mantra. And with this in mind I wrote the stanza:
THROUGH THE RITES OF "APPEASEMENT" AND "PROSPERITY" AND THE REST, EFFECTED BY THE FORCE OF MANTRA,
AND ALSO BY THE STRENGTH OF THE EIGHT GREAT POWERS, STARTING WITH THAT OF "GOOD FLASK", AND OTHERS, [60]
? When I say "EFFECTED BY THE FORCE OF MANTRA", I mean all dhiira1Ji4 rituals in general, but also include the Powers effected on the strength of muttering5 Mantras taken from any of the Tantras - such as the dhiiralJfs of the Action Tantra. What are these rites? The rituals for "Domination" and "Destruction", for" APPEASEMENT AND PROSPERITY" and the rest of the eight kinds of ritual. 6
Powers
"THE EIGHT GREAT POWERS; STARTING WITH THAT OF 'GOOD FLASK', AND OTHERS" refers to [1] the Good Flask Power, [2] Fleetness of Foot, [3] the (Invincible] Sword, [4] the Commander, (5] the Underworld [Power], (6] Invisibility, [7] the Wishing-Tree, and [8] Supremacy. 7 By "AND OTHERS" I mean all the many Powers that are associated with the rites that put an end to anything, and follow upon the [principal] Eight Powers; for example, eye-medicine,
pills, flying in the sky, showers of grain, producing various shapes out of a conjured mustard-seed, superknowledge by augury, and the [Four] Miraculous Powers. 8 When, through Muttering and Concentration, one has accom-
plished these Eight Great Mundane Powers and the [rites of] Appeasement-Prosperity-Dominion-Destruction, one thereby perfects the Two Equipments of Merit and Knowledge, swiftly and effortlessly. [332a)
Tantra Scripture
Seven Classes ofTantra
What is this "Vehicle of Mantra" from which such Powers come so swiftly and effortlessly? I say:
IT IS MAINTAINED THAT THE EQUIPMENT FOR ENLIGHTENMENT IS PERFECTED WITH EASE;
AND IF. ONE WANTS TO PRACTISE MANTRA AS PRESCRIBED
IN THE TANTRAS: ACTION, PRACTICE, AND ON ? ? ? [Stanza61]
And these are: [1] Action Tantra, [2] Practice Tantra, [3] Skill Tantra, (4) Combined Tantra, [5] Union Tantra, [6] Great Union Tantra, and [7] Supreme Union Tantra. 9 The extent of each of these Tantras is immeasurable, as the
TANTRA 167
? 168 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY Blessed One says about their number in the Glorious
Compendium o f Diamond Knowledge: A Great Tantra:
"There are four thousand Action Tantras. There are eight thousand Practice Tantras. Their are four thousand Skill Tantras. There are six thousand Combined Tantras. There are twelve thousand Great Union Tantras. But if these are taken in their complete entirety, they are
[1]
Bibliography ofTantras
The four thousand Action Tantras include such texts as:
the All Dhiira~Jfs [Ot. 141],
the Highest Wisdom [Ot. 402],
the Excellent Dancer [Ot. 424],
the True Power Maker [Ot. 431],
the [Questions of] Subiihu [Ot. 428],
the Great: Basic Tantra ofManjuiri [Ot. 162], the Secret Tantras ofMaiijuirf[Toh. 544-52], the Diamond Crowners [Toh. 590-603],
the Tantra ofAmoghapiiSa [Ot. 365],
and the Great Victory Tantras [Toh. 604-13]. [332b] The Practice Tantra with its eight thousand texts has: the Perfect Enlightenment of Vairocana Tantra [Ot.
126],
and the Initiation ofVajrapii~Ji Tantra [Ot. 130].
The four thousand texts in the Skill Tantra collection contain the Tantra of Tiirii's Arising [Ot. 390], the Royal Tantra Setting Forth the Triple Pledge [Ot. 134], and the Compen,dium ofSkills.
Among the Combined Tantra in its six thousand text
collection are the Illusion-like [Ot. 102] and the Lord ofLotus Dancers.
The Union Tantra contains innumerable texts such as: the Compendium ofThatness [Ot. 112],
the Glorious Original [Aeon] [Ot. 119], the Conquest ofthe Triple World [Ot. 115], the Higher Union Conquest,
and the Diamond Summit [Ot. 113].
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
numberless. " 10
? [6] The Great Union Tantra in its twelve thousand collection contains such texts as the Glorious Union o f the Secret [Ot. 81] and its Explanatory Tantras [Toh. 443-53], and
[7]
the Beauty Mark o f the Secret Moon [Ot. 111], the Black DestroyerofYama [Ot. 103],
the Gloriolis Original [Aeon] [Ot. 119],
the Assembly ofAll Gods,
the Secret ofAll [Ot. 114],
the Unfailing Discipline,
the Compendium o f Diamond Knowledge [Ot. 84], the Marvels ofVairocana [Ot. 126],
the short Space-like [Buddha] [Ot. 31],
the Tantra o f Unique [Buddha's] Conquest [Ot. 87],
and the Diamond-Crowners Tantras.
In their entirety these texts are numberless.
The Supreme Union Tantra has fourteen thousand
texts in its collection and includes the Glorious Cakrasainvara: the Hundred Thousand Verses ofthe Space-like Buddha [Ot. 30; 59], and the Diamond Imp [Ot. 18],
the Four Diamond Seats [Ot. 68],
the Great Illusion [Ot. 64],
the Buddha-like Practice [Ot. 8],
the Buddha Death's Head [Ot. 63],
and the Five Hundred Thousand Verses on Hevajra
[Ot. 10].
Taken in their entirety the texts would be endless. It is the vastness of each of these Tantra collections that makes the Vehicle of Mantra so extremely broad and unlimited. [333a] The Gurus say that all dharalJis without exception, such as the DharalJis Blazing From the Mouths o f Ghosts and the Great Peacock-like DharalJis, are Tantras of the
Action class.
Initiations
Permission
In the line "IF ONE WANTS TO PRACTISE MANTRA AS
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? 170 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
PRESCRIBED", [Stanza 61], you may ask what is meant by the words "AS PRESCRIBED", and SO I say:
THEN, TO GAIN THE PRECEPTOR-INITIA TION,
ONE MUST FIRST WIN A HOLY GURU
BY GIVING HIM ATTENDANCE AND PRECIOUS THINGS AND BY OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD. (Stanza 62]
That is, if you desire to practise the Mantra Vehicle in the Action Tantras and the rest, I indicate by my mention of "PRECEPTOR-INITIA TION" that you ! I1USt look not merely to your resolution and actually making progress [toward Enlightenment], but you must also receive the Flask Initiation [that is essential to the Preceptor-Initiation ritual],11 becauseotherwiseyouwouldbetakingMantraby yourself. That is why the Tantras say:
"Without [first] winning a Preceptor and Without [first] acquiring the Initiations, Even to begin the study [ofTantra] Would be ineffectiveness itself. "
And again:
"Without even the Permission'2 for Initiation Is to take Mantra by oneself. "
Taking Mantra by oneself means to perform the dhiiralJf rituals while still relying on methods of the Perfection Path in the Mahayana siitra sense- without even [so much as] the Permission of a Guru for entering the Mal)qala13 and for Initiation. It is taking Mantra by oneself when one listens to and cultivates visualisations14 such as venerable Tara's, or
practises Muttering [of mantras] or Fire-offering or Food- offering's or the Mal)qala and the like- [without a Guru's Permission]. [333b] The Permission to enter the Mal)qala and to receive Initiation is granted [explicitly] by the Preceptor's saying, "Your god is this one. This is the muttering you must do. " 16 Hence the Tantras say:
? "This taking Mantra by oneself
Leads only to destiny in Hell;
Even the Mantra is not effective,
And the body is only wasted in afflictions. "
These are the things I meant by my words" AS PRESCRIBED", and all the Tantras, all the Acaryas of old, and every single Guru today say that the prescription is explicit. If someone says that certain persons, because of the dreams and omens of mundane and supramundane deities they have, are persons who practised Mantra in previous lives [and
therefore need no Permission], then let a method [for determining] their achievement be applied - [presuming) they had pleased a Guru and were given his blessing and re- ceived his Permission to "practise in this certain manner". The method to be used can be that of the Setting Forth the
TriplePledgeand PalaceoftheGreatJewe! andGloryofthe Blessed One, Vaiqurya, Teacher ofHealing: if by these methods they have cleansed themselves of sin and built up their equipment [of merit and knowledge], and then auspicious signs occur, these persons [indeed] had permission to enter Mantrayana; but they are not thereby [necessarily] persons who [actually] practised it in previous lives. Moreover, their Permission to teach Mantra, or to hear, study and practise it, was not given merely because they had taken the Three Refuges and had the resolution for Enlightenment and made progress toward it. The Paths
on which one progresses are each different, and the [methods of] liberation of the particular Vehicles should not be mixed up. [334a] The Blessed One preached the various paths of the Vehicles because He knew the capability of persons, their potential and disposition. And that is why I wrote the way I did in the root text:
IF ONE WANTS TO PRACTISE MANTRA . . . THEN TO GAIN THE PRECEPTOR-INITIATION . .
That is, if you wish to enter and practise in the Vehicle of the Perfections, then you must school yourself in the Three Kinds of Trai,ning I explained earlier. 17 But if you wish to
TANTRA 171
? 172 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
practise Mantra and perform visualisations like venerable Tara's, then you must request the Flask Initiation [that is essential to) the "PRECEPTOR-INITIATION". That is the meaning of my stanza.
Winning a Guru
Now then, if you ask whether this can be done when you have no worldly goods or lofty presents for the initiating Guru, the words "BY GIVING ATTENDANCE AND PRECIOUS THINGS" indicate it cannot. But then, what should those who are poor and bereft of worldly goods do? They should give "OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD". For even men of means must [still] offer their own bodies over and above the Seven Precious Things of Royalty. For example, King Devapala, after offering his entire kingdom to Acarya Buddhajnanapada, offered his queen and himself also. 18 And later he enticed him, as it were, with gold equal [in weight] to b<;>th himself and the queen. The poor must make do with repeated offerings of obedience and bodily
attendance, of mandalas and flowers, and in this manner they "MUST FIRST wiNA HOLY GURU".
When the Guru has been pleased and won, and Initiation has been acquired, and you are freed from all sin of body [speech, and mind], you will be worthy of achieving all mundane and supramundane Powers, by reason of being cleansed of sin (Stanza 63].
Misunderstanding of Tantra
Having taught that in keeping the Vehicle of Mantra one is effortlessly and swiftly, directly and perfectly Enlightened, and having shown that it is a means that perfects the good of others, I now give [a stanza] to refute two misconceptions about the Mantra Vehicle: [334b]
THE SECRET AND INSIGHT INITIATIONS
SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN BY RELIGIOUS CELIBATES, BECAUSE IT IS EMPHATICALLY FORBIDDEN INTHEGREATTANTRAOFPRIMALBUDDHA. 19 (Stanza64]
? The misunderstandings of Mantra here are of two [extremes]: either making exaggerations about it, or defaming it. The former we should put an end to; in the latter case, we should defend it.
Exaggeration
Now in this matter there are some who still do not under- stand the intent of the endless great Tantras of Mantra, and because they trust in even holy Gurus who have not grasped it [either] or in sinful Spiritual Friends, they rely on their interpretations without really having learned the true nature of Mantra. "W e are Mantrists! " they claim. "W e are
doing all the practices with great exactness, and we will all swiftly achieve even the Powers of the Great Seal! "20 But those who continue in this bragging are heading for evil destinies. They heap contempt on the word of the Tathagata, and, by their defiling religious celibacy, they
cause the Teaching of the Buddha to decline. They exercise their Harsh Destruction [Powers to harm others], and, by their keeping women, Expulsion offences are committed. 21 Here is what glorious Jiianakirti said about them:
"They proclaim ever more loudly, 'We have permission for this yoga from the Blessed One! ', and further, they even perform all the practices with exactness, but [alas], they are heading for evil destinies. " 22
And my Guru, the monk Pai:q. cJ. apatika Avadhutipa:
"If th. ose two Initiations [the "Secret", and "Insight"] are taken, the Preceptor together with the disciple are bothgoingtoevildestinies. "23 [335a]
The Blessed One says in the Great Tantra Elucidating Meaning:
"Those who are in Yoga without guidance,
Are practising [elephant-taming] without the goad; They say, 'I am a Yogin! ' [but]
They are treating the Teaching with deceit.
TANTRA 173
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They perform [rituals] even for livelihood With their practice of mantras and the Seal; And [to avenge] even only tiny offences, They use the Harsh Destruction [Powers].
From their knowledge of one certain visualisation They will explainthe whole great Tantra;
And whenever some profit may be got,
They will teach the Holy Doctrine. "24
And He speaks on at length in that vein. The glorious Padmavajra likewise has much to say about the penalties for that k1nd of behaviour:
"Their practices, and they themselves Are all full of sinful activity;
They keep to a Path that is unholy, And are hurrying to their hells. " 25
There are indeed many more sources, but my text would 1Jecome too long. [In short], we must put an end to such
[exaggerations] in a compassionate way.
Defamation
Then, in this matter [of defaming Mantra], there are some who say, "Why bother with the Mantra Vehicle when no one knows how the great method of Mantra works? Why not simply make progress in the clear Vehicles of the Perfections, and of the Hearers and Solitary Buddhas? If Expulsion offences against religious celibacy and against the taking of life come from [the Mantrist's] use of women
and the Harsh Destruction [Powers], then that [Vehicle] should not be entered. "
But in so saying these persons are defaming [Mantra] without knowing its [true] intent. It is wide and deep, a sphere of action for those of keen powers, and the [very] heart of the Buddha's teaching. And he who condemns it as a field of activity for those who have the capacity, dis- position, and development for it is going to hell- have no
doubt about it - because he is belittling the word of the Tathagata and rejecting His profound Doctrine. Here is what the holy Finely Woven Sutra says about the [karmic] maturation of an act of rejecting the Doctrine: [335b]
? "If anyone says, 'Some of the Doctrine is good; some of it is bad', he is rejecting the Doctrine. "26
And that is because he does not see the Doctrine [rightly]. As the Guru-Monk Pai~qapatikasays:
"Therefore, do not scorn the Mantra Vehicle
By saying it is the talk of the Evil One.
As well reject all Vehicles [then] too!
Indeed, in keeping this one, the Great Seal is got! "27
And so, against such [defamers], we must uphold [Mantra] in a compassionate way.
Defaming is twofold: defaming the Doctrine and defaming persons. The Doctrine should not. be defamed, as these words from the Questions o f Kiisyapa say:
"When one enters into the doctrine taught by the Tathagatas, and his mind does not understand all the profundities of it concerning the limitlessness of Buddha- enlightenment and the variety of preferences among creatures, and he says, 'Although I do not understand
this, the Tathagata himself does; He perceives it directly', [then he does not reject or defame the Doctrine]. " 28
Study that Siitra itself, for it is a point I have seen made in all the Siitras and Tantras. And as to not defaming persons either, [the Blessed One says] in both the Exhortation to Higher Intention and the Instruction on Non-production of All Phenomena: [336a]
"For one person- except myself or someone [enlight- ened] like me- to judge the measure of [another] person is harmful. "29
And the evil of [such judgement] is frequently seen in the Siitras.
TANTRA 175
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Prohibited Initiations
(THE SECRET AND INSIGHT INITIATIONS
SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN BY RELIGIOUS CELIBATES, BECAUSE IT IS EMPHATICALLY FORBIDDEN]
IN THE GREATTANTRA OF PRIMAL BUDDHA. (Stanza 64]
(IF THOSE INITIATIONS WERE TAKEN BY ONE WHO STAYS
IN THE AUSTERITY OF A RELIGIOUS CELIBATE,
IT WOULD VIOLATE HIS VOW OF AUSTERITY
SINCE HE WOULD BE PRACTISING WHAT IS FORBIDDEN. (65]
TRANSGRESSIONS WOULD OCCUR WHICH DEFEAT THE MAN OF RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE;
AND BY HIS CERTAIN FALL TO BAD DESTINIES,
HE COULD NOT EVEN SUCCEED (IN MANTRA PRACTICE]] (66]
The meaning in these twelve lines I have based on the instruction of Suvarr:tadvipa and the monk who was my [Mantra] Guru, Pair:tqapatika.
Laymen and Religious In his Initiation Set Forth, this Guru says:
"In this matter, there are two kinds of Initiations: those based on the lay state, and those based on the celibate religious state. Which are based on the lay state? All the Initiations spoken of in all the many Tantras. And which are based on the celibate religious state? All of the same
Initiations, except for the Secret and Insight-Knowledge ones. And why are these two excluded? In this way: all the many virtues that have come about in consequence of the Buddha's Doctrine have happened because His teaching has continued. But the continuation of His
teaching depends solely on the celibate religious life; and these two Initiations [are excluded] because they envision states which are not in harmony with religious celibacy. Consequently, these two Initiations cause religious celibacy to perish, and when religious celibacy perishes the teaching of the Buddha will decline. Because of its decline, there would be an end to the gaining of merit. And hence, because of the immeasurable loss of
virtue that would come from such a state of affairs, these two [Initiations] are excluded for the religious celibate. " 3 0
? Religious Celibate
Permitted Initiations
If that is the case, you may say, it is not right for religious celibates to engage in Mantra. But to that I say:
HAVING ACQUIRED THE PRECEPTOR-INITIATION,
HE MAY LISTEN TO ALL TANTRAS AND EXPLAIN THEM; (336b) PERFORM FIRE-OFFERING, GIFT-WORSHIP AND THE LIKE: 31 (THERE IS NO WRONG IN WISDOM ABOUT REALITY. ) (Stanza 67)
If a celibate Mantrist wants to listen to the Tantras, to study and explain them to others, to perform Fire-offering and Gift-offering and [mantra-] muttering, then every Tantra and every ritual for the Mal). qalas clearly says that it is all right, [provided he has] the Flask initiation of the
"Preceptor-Initiation". The Guru-Monk Pail). qapatika A vadhutipa says this also:
"If that is so, you may say, then religious celibates
[who practise Mantra], although Mahayanists, are being
untrue to Mahayana. [But I say,] that would assuredly be
treating this matter mistakenly. Whoever has obtained
an Acarya and his Permission and the Flask - because of
his [very] Initiation to practise those Tantras, to hear,
study, and explain them- is [entirely] true to Mahayana.
But then, you may say, if that is so, there is no need of the
Secret and Insight Initiations even for laymen. [And I
say, yes,] it is unnecessary and they are dissuaded from it. "32
And then he continues at length on that subject.
Wisdom of Thatness
THERE IS NO WRONG IN WISDOM ABOUT REALITY. 33 (Stanza67)
My Gurus have given much specific instruction to me in this matter, and this is what some of these holy men say:
[a] "If a bodhisattva in his compassion knows the good of creatures and is governed by compassion in all that he does, then wrong does not exist in his Tantra, and in
TANTRA 177
? 178 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
[b]
consequence of it, his merit will even greatly increase. "
This. interpretation means he has reached the weak [degree] ofPatience. 34
According to other holy men, there could never be wrong [coming] from a yogin who knows all phenomena to be illusion and is wise in the reality [of Emptiness]:
"Any yogin who knows [that all phenomena] [337a] Are like unto the water-reflected moon,
Will never be clothed in such things
As sin and merit.
All his inner and outer states
Are [of the] mind and illusion-like to him: He conceptualises no longer [the Proofs of] Non-permanence and Non-destruction
And of them both taken together; Untouched by the poison of entity-grasping, Who has seen his like? Wrong does not exist In his wisdom [of all] as illusion. "
[This interpretation] means that wrong does not exist for one who has reached the weak [degree of] Highest Mundane Phenomena. 35
As to there being no wrong [according to] the Guru- Monk, Paii). qapatika, you must study that same [previously quoted] text which was made from his lectures. In his interpretation, wrong does not exist even for one who is at the very start of the Beginner's Level. 36
Still other holy men say:
"There will be no wrong [in practising Mantra] according to methods in such texts as the Questions o f KiiSyapa Sutra, the Injunctions on Dealing with Women Sutra, the Glorious Original [Aeon] Tantra, the Unfailing Discipline and other Tantras in that section, and in [the works of ]Arya Nagarjuna and Acarya Aryadeva. This means there is no wrong for one who knows the Thatness [of Emptiness], if he has reached the weak [degree of] Summits. " 3 7
[c]
[d]
? [e]
Others again:
"Wrong does not exist for him who has the Enlightenment Thought in the ultimate sense [of] the non-arising of all phenomena, and it is growing in his [conscious] stream; for there can be no wrong when one knows the Thatness of phenomena. "
This [interpretation] means there will be no wrong for those [who are on the Path of] Vision of the Truths. 38 Consequently, the yogin who is following the Paths must learn both what is and what is not wrong (for him]. 39
Concluding V erses
That wish-granting jewel, the Apparition Body.
[1)
Has passed away, and no longer are there
Great scholars like Arya Nagarjuna and the rest;
And in these times of the approaching decline
Of the Sage's holy Doctrine, many persons come forth [337b] With the erroneous conceptions of madmen.
[2) They see the libraries of sutra and sastra,
But are lost to the guidance of Guru-tradition;
Like blind men, they embark
On scripture's vast ocean of meaning.
They do not know Mahayana's superior Path, and
Their misunderstanding of it ought not be followed.
[3) Without a Guru for their eyes,
They have not seen and will not see
The true arrangement of the Mahayana Path.
[4) Like the ocean, Mahayana is deep,
And, like the sky, it is very vast;
Y et they preach as they please, without Guru, Satisfied they've seen the books of
Siitra and sastra, but no reliance on Guru for them.
