Bless me that my non-Dharmic
thoughts
shall cease.
Wang-ch-ug-Dor-je-Mahamudra-Eliminating-the-Darkness-of-Ignorance
Your discomfort is proportionate to the amount of unripened suffering and negative karma you arc being cleansed of.
When you ache, feel that you are not only eliminating, by experiencing now, the suffering you might have had in a more severe form in an unfortunate rebirth, but also that you are
taking away this suffering from others. lf you are hot or cold, pray that this eliminates that which the hell creatures. feel. Take hunger and thirst from hungry ghosts ar. d, if your mind becomes dull and blank with fatigue, imagine that animals arc freed from their stupidity. With strong faith and constantly reconfirmed motivation, you will ha? ! e no doubts about what you arc doing. Should thoughts arise to leave it and do something else, regard them as n jeering. crowd and pay them no heed.
You should also recite, "{I go for refuge untill am enlightened) to the Buddhas, the Dharma anci the Highest Assembly . . . '' and so forth while thinking, "Realising that all beings have been my mother and father, I shall go for refuge and develop an Enlight- ened Motive of Bodhicitta. " In addition you sh? outd meditate on the four immeasurables, "May all sentient beings he endowed with happiness and the causes for joy. . . " and so forth.
The stanza, "I go for refuge until I am enlighh:ned to the Buddhas, the Dharma and the Highest Assembly. From the virtuous merit that I collect by practising giving and
other perfections, may I attain the state of a Buddha to be able to benefit all sentient beings", is the most commonly rl"cited one for enhancing your development of Bodhicitta.
? The four immcasurables arc (I) love, wishing all beings to be endowed with happiness and the causes for joy, (2) compas- sion, wishing them to be parted from suffering and the causes for grief, (3) joy, wishing them never to be parted from the happiness they have and (4) equanimity, wishing that they be freed from all attachment and repulsion and from all notions of some being close and others distant.
At the conclusion you should meditate that the objects of refuge melt into Jight and dissolve into you and that your mind-stream has thus been purified.
When you have finished your prostration session, dissolve all the figures into the central one of your Guru as the Buddha Vajradhiira and finally him into yourself. Remain in a non-objectifying state of inseparable Voidness and clarity, not directed at any extreme mode of existence. Ja other words, do not make an}thing into a concrete, truly existent object. Rather, remain in the here and now, and feel you arc completely purified.
That is the first (preliminary practice), the medita- tions for going for refuge and developing an Enlight-
ened Motive.
PRELIMINARIES 9
? Yt1jrasattva JJieditation
Vajrasattva, or in Tibetan Dor-je sem-pa, is a form of the Buddhas dedicated to purifying and eliminating from others suffering, sickness and the unripened, unfortunate consequences of their previously committed non-virtue. He appears in many forms, peaceful or as Heruka Vajrasattva, either alone or with consort. His practice can be either more or less elaborate. What follows is a purification method with the solitary Vajrasattva.
On the crown of your head (visualise) your Guru as Vajrasattva, white in colour, with right hand holding a vajra sceptre at his heart and left holding a bell at his hip, and arrayed with the major and minor marks of a Buddha.
On the top of your head in your ordinary form visualisct a syllable PAM. This transforms into a white lotus and on it, from a syllable Al;l, appears a flat, full-moon disc. On top of it, a syllable HOM transforms into a five-pointed vajr" or diamond sceptre marked in the centre with a HOM. Light rays are emitted and re-absorbed twice, the first time making offerings to the various Duddhas and Bodhisattvas. and the second eliminating the suffering of all beings. The vajra then transforms into the solitary Vajrasattva, as describ- ed above. His left leg is on top of his right thigh and his. right leg is extended downwards. In his heart is a moon- disc with a. n upright, white syllable HOM in its centre.
Varjasattva has both a hundred- and a six-syllable mantra aud they may be arranged in several ways, either clockwise N counter-clockwise, revolving or stationary. In
? this particular meditation, his hundred-syllable mantra, which. you will be repeating 100,000 times, is arranged counter- clockwise along the outside rim of the moon-disc in his heart. The letters arew bite, upright, facing inwards and do not revolve.
After meditating like this, you should recite, "0 Guru-Vajrasattva, please cleanse me of all obstacles and unripened, unfortunate consequences of my previously committed non-virtuous actions" In addition, you should apply the (four) various (opponent powers) of declaring your previous non- virtue.
For this mtditation to be most effective it must be complete with the four opponent powers used in confession or declaring your previously committed non-virtuous actions. First you must . recall all your mistakes and feel sincere regret. The second is promising to try your hardest not to repeat them. Next you must rely on the basis or object against which your non-virtue bas been committed, namely your commitment to the refuges and Bodhicitta. Thus by again taking refuge and enhancing your Enlightened Motive,. you reinforce the foundation for your morality. Lastly you apply such purifying practices as those of Vajrasattva to remove all stains. If these four are incomplete, whatever purification you do will be only a temporary whitewashing. But with these four opponents and sincere conviction in their ability to cleanse you, there is no doubt they will work.
Then visualise white nectar falling from the large toe of Vajrasattva's (right) foot, entering through the crown of your head and filling your entire body All your obstacles and unripened consequences leave you and in their place you are entirely filled with nectar.
As you recite the hundred-syllable mantra, white lights. and purifying nectars are emitted from the moon-disc, seed- ayllable HUM and mantra at his heart, completely filling his.
PRELIMINARIES 1t
? 12 MifHAMUDRA
body, overflowing and entering you as above. lmagino that from the pores and orifices of your body obstacles and unripened, unfortunate consequences leave in the form or soot and black tar, sickness and disease as pus, blood, mucous and snot, and the harmful influence of malevolent spirits as snakes, scorpions, spiders and insects. All these dissolve into the ground and in their place you ar~ filled with white nectar and lights. Visualise this same process occurring for all sentient beings around you, with either each having his own Vajrasattva on the crown of his head or everyone sharing one large figure.
Pleased, your Guru (VajrasattvaI melts into light (and dissolves into you). You should meditate that your body, speech and mind and those of Vajrasattva have inseparably mixed and that you have been cleansed of all obstacles and unripened, unfortunate
? Consequences That is the second (preliminary practice): Vajrasattva meditation and mantra recita- tion.
? Mundal11 Ollering ? ?
Offerings in general are not made in order to please or bribe the object to whom they are presented. They are a aymbol of your total dedication to Enlightenment as re- presented by the Gurus and Three Jewels of Refuge, and are- offered in order to gain the merit that will bring you to their state. When you plant crops in a field, it is not the ground that benefits, but you yourself. Likewise, making offerings to- the assembled Gurus as the field of merit brings you to?
Enlightenment so that you can benefit all.
! fhere are many types of maQc;lalas. One classification is the celestial mansions in which the meditational deities. dwell. These are three-dimensional structures, the ground- plans of which are depicted in maoc;tala paintings. Another type is the one used in offerings, consisting of a plate-like base, rings, a crown and rice, grain or jewels and is symbolic of the universe.
You should meditate that (before you) is a ma:r;u;lala mansion with five clusters of figures within. In the centre is your Guru (as Vajradhar<l), before ? him the meditational deities, to his right the Buddhas, behind him the Dharma scriptures and to his left the Sangha. This is the ma:r:u;lala realised before
you.
In general, maQc;lala mansions are square with a ground ftoor and steeple-like structure. In the centre of each wall is a door, entrance-corridor, porch and archway, the latter of which is flanked on top by two deer and a Dharma wheel.
? 14 MAHAMUDRA
The exact architectural structure and proportions differ slightly for each meditational deity and can be very complex.
In the centre of such a transparent building, made of light and visualised before you, is your Guru in the form of Vajradhara. He is on a throne supported by lions with a lotus and moon-cushion seat. Above him are all the lineage Gurus, from Vajradhara himself through Ti(opa, Naropa and so forth down to his own root Guru. Around him are four groups of figures as above, similar to the refuge and prostration visualisation. This is your field of merit to whom you make offe1ings.
Then construct another mar:u;lala with its mounds and offer it with the stanza ''. . . a mar:u;lala built on a base resplendent with flowers, saffron water and incense. . . " and so forth, along with the rest of the mar:u;lala procedures. Thus you should present both
. actual material offerings and mentally created ones.
With a standard maotJala offering set, first hold the base4 plate and wipe it clean while reciting once Vajrasattva's hundred-syllable mantra to purify defilements. Next put a drop of water on it to signify your Bodhicitta motivation and the moisture of yoar compassion. Then placing the first ring on the base, add mounds of rice, grain and so forth in the appropriate directions for each of the places, treasures and goddesses mentioned until all the rings are filled and it is
crowned with the jewelled top. This is the actual material offering done while reciting the appropriate stanzas.
The mentally created one is your visualisation as describ- ed by these stanzas. What you are offering is the entire universe and all its wealth as portrayed by Buddha in the Abhidharma teachings. Budc. lha described the universe differ-
ently on separate occasions to varying people, since depending on your state ofpurityyou see things differently. According to this particular description, there is the golden earth or base with an iron ring or fence around its perimeter and a salt- water ocean on the outside. On the inside of the fence, one in each cardinal direction, are the four continents each with
? two sub-continents between it and the fence, all separated
by oceans. On the other side of the continents, progressively . closer to the centre are alternating rings of seven golden mountains and seven fresh-water lakes. In the centre it- self is Mount Meru, square, stupa-sbaped, with four steps
or levels going up from the bottom. Its eastern face is of white crystal, southern of blue lapis lazuli, western of red ruby and northern of green emerald. The ocean and sky in each direction are of the corresponding colour. The eastern continent and sub-continents are half-moon shaped with the flat edge towards Mount Meru; the southern are curved trapezoids, with concave sides, concave longer top
away from Mount Meru and convex shorter bottom near it ; the western are circular and the northern square.
Human life, as we know it, is found on the southern continent, where the oceans and sky are blue. The other continents should not be thought of as places in outer space which can be reached by rocket ship. You can only go there if you have accumulated the karma for such a
rebirth.
The verse you repeat 100,000 times for this preliminary
is, "By directing to the Fields of Buddhas this offering of a maJ)<jala built on a base resplendent with flowers, saffron water and incense, adorned with Mount Meru and the four continents, as well as with the sun and the moon, may all sentient beings be led to these Fields. "
By the force of such offerings, you complete your two collections (of merit and insight) and receive the blessings to develop sublime experiences and insights. Having made requests for such (blessings), you should think that the host of deities in the maQc;lala realised before you melt into light and dissolve into you. In this way you complete the two collections.
By presenting to the pure objects in the ma. ;u;lala reali- sed before you both the material offering of the mao<jala set and the visualised universe, you accumulate merit. By doing so while meditating on the non-objectifying state of Void-
pRELIMINARIES IS
? 16 MAH. IMUDRA
ness with respect to the offerings, you accumulate insight. By the force of these two collections you overcome the two sets of obstacles, those preventing Liberations and Omniscience. The collection of merit results in your attainment of the Form Bodies of a Buddha, and that of insight in the Wisdom Bodies. The Form Bodies are the Emanation (Nirmar. takiya) and Utility Bodies (Sambhoga- kaya). The former appear to ordinary beings with the karma to see them, while the latter only to Arya Bodhisattvas, that is those with an Enlightened Motive who have bare perception of Voidness. The Wisdom Bodies are the Nature (Svabhavakiya) and Wisdom-Truth Bodies (Dharmakllya). According to this text, the former is the Omniscient mind of a Buddha and the Voidness of that mind, while the latter is the inseparability of the former three. The definitions, however, of these last two bodies arc more often reversed and sometimes Dharmakaya ia used alone as a general term for both. Moreover, there arc many other levels on which the various Buddha bodies can be understood and defined.
That is the third (preliminary practice) : applying effort in the instructions for the maQc;iala offering
? 6ur,. . goga
The last of the extraordinary preliminaries, also for accumulating merit and blessings, is Guru-yoga. For this, you should visualise yourself in the form of a mcditational deity? . Any will do, but usually Vajrayogini is chosen. She is red, has one face, two arms, two legs and stands on ono leg, with her left foot on top of a lotus, corpse and sun-disc, and her right foot bent upwards towards her left thigh. She holds in her right hand a butcher's cleaver above her bead and in her left a skull-cup at her heart. A khatvanga-staft' rests on her left shoulder. With younelf in this form, pro- ceed with the practices.
You should meditate that on tho crown on your head is your root Guru, either in his own bodily form or in the aspect of a meditational deity, which- ever you prefer. You should meditate either that all the (lineage) Gurus going back to Vajradh-a:ra arc stacked one atop the other above his head or that they are all clustered around him. You should make requests to them very strongly and for a long time with immeasurable fervent regard, loving respect and extraordinary sincerity. When your attitude has changed (for the better), make it stable. Then all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, l;>llkas,I;>akinu, o : n r m 1pa:las and protectors together with their entourage dissolve into your root Guru and you should meditate on your root Guru as incorporating and embodying them all.
? 18 MAHAMUDRA
As indicated above, there are many varieties or Guru? yoga-visualising your root Guru either in his own form, or as Vajradhira, Mar-pa, Mi-la rll-pa, Gam-po-pa, Kar-ma-pa and so forth. Your Guru may tell you to choose Vajradhara, in which case he would be on a lion-supported throne, lotus and sun-disc, surrounded by four clusters of figures and the
lineage Gurus as in the refuge and mar,t~ala visualisations. However, a solitary figure of your enthroned. Guru surround? ed by lineage Gurus will do, since your root Guru embodies all three refuges.
Make the outer, inner and secret offerings and offer the seven Jimbs of prayer.
Outer offerings are of the desirable objects of the senses, either materially arranged or mentally created. Inner ones arc of the purified meats and liquids symbolic of the trans- formation of your delusions, aggregates and so forth. Secret
offerin~s are of the circumstances for generating the blissful consciousness for the most powerful realisation of Voidness.
The seven limbs of prayer or seven-limbed pQja include (I) prostrating, (2) making offerings, (3) confessing or declar? ing your previous non-virtue, (4) rejoicing in the merit of others, (5) requesting the Gurus to teach, (6) beseeching
. them not to pass away and (7) dedicating your merit. An eighth limb of taking refuge is sometimes added between the second and third.
Strongly take refuge, enhance your Enlightened Motive and make requests with such verses as : "All motherly sentient beings equal in number to (the vastness of) space make requests to the Guru as the precious Buddha. . . . as the all-pervasive Dharmak1ya, . . . as the Sambhogakaya of Great Bliss, . . . as the
compassionate Nirmar;takltya. . . " and so forth.
Implied by the request to the Guru as the precious Buddhas is that he incorporates all Three Jewels of Refuge. His body stands for the Sangha, his speech the Dharma and his mind the Buddhas. Thus this verse is to the Guru as
? the body, speech and mind of the Buddhas, that is the Three Precious Gems, as well as to him as the three Buddha bodies. This may be repeated 100,000 times or, more usually, the following six-line verse of the First Kar-ma-pa is said that many times in addition to a million repetitions of the Kar-ma-pa mantra.
"I make requests to the precious Guru. Bless me to clear my mind of grasping for true identities. Bless me to develop on my mind-stream the insight to sec all worldly thoughts as unnecessary.
Bless me that my non-Dharmic thoughts shall cease. Bless me to realise my mind has no birth. Bless me that my deceptive notions shall dissolve in their place. Bless me to realise aU appearances of existence as Dharmakaya. "
Then your Guru dissolves into you and you should think that your Guru's body, speech and mind have become inseparably mixed with your own mind. Having done this, remain fixed in a state free from mental fabrications (of extreme modes of existence).
At the conclusion of your recitation session, you should visualise your Guru granting you the four tantric empower- ments as follows. First white light is emitted from his fore- head to yours, eliminating the obstacles due to the non~ virtuous actions of your body. It grants you the vase em~ powerment, permitting you to engage in the development stage practices, and plants the seed for your attaining the Nirmlloakiiya or Emanation Body of a Buddha.
Red light is emitted from his throat to yours, e~iminating the obstacles due to your non-virtuous speech. It grants the secret empowerment, permitting you to meditate on the com? pleting stage practice involving the body's subtle energy system and plants the seed for the Sambhogakaya.
Blue light from his heart to yours eliminates the obstacles due to mental non-virtue, grants the wisdom empowerment permitting you to engage in the practices of union, and plants the seed for the Dharmakaya.
Finally white, red and blue lights are emitted from all three places simultaneously to yours, eliminating physical,
PRELIMINARIES 19
? 20 MAH. . lMUDRA
verbal and mental obstacles all together, granting the word empowerment permitting you to practise Mahamudri or the completing stage without signs and planting the seed for the
Svabhavakiya.
After all this, visualise that the lineage Gurus dissolve one into each other into your root Guru and that he dissolves into you. Remain in a non-objectifying state of Voidness and then dedicate the merit for the Enlightenment of all.
If you exert effort by relying on this method for gaining insights into Mahamudm, the Great Seal of Voidness, you will receive (the Gurus') blessings and inspiration. That is the fourth {preliminary practice):
meditation on Guru-yoga.
? Beatl? and lmpermaneuce
If you do not meditate on impermanence, you will not turn your mind away from concern for this life. If you do not turn your mind, you will not become liberated from sarhs1tra, or cyclic existence. Concerning this (Nltgiirjuna has said in his ? ? suhrllekha"), ''There are many things that can harm our life, for it is impermanent like a bubble on water that can be burst by the wind. It is a great
miracle that after exhaling we take our next breath and after falling asleep we wake up again. ''
In general, all conditioned phenomena are imper? manent and, specific~lly, the life force of sentient beings is impermanent like a bubble. You can never know when you will die. There is no certainty that you will not die right now. Moreover, at the time of death nothing except the Dharma is of any help. I f you work for meaningless worldly things o r activities for this lifetime, you will be unable to pass beyond the causes for suffering. Therefore vow that whenever your mind wanders for even a moment
towards thoughts of food, clothing and so forth for this lifetime, you will think about 9eath.
All conditioned phenomena, that is those that depend on causes and circumstances, are impermanent. This includes both animate and inanimate objects, sentient beinas and
? 22 MAHAMUDRA
their environment. A solid structure today can crumble into dust tomorrow. In pa. rticular, your own life is extremely fragile and can be lost very easily. No one can guarantee he will be alive tomorrow and when your time is
up, no friends, doctors, medicine, money or fame can prevent your death. The only thing that can help is the practice of Dharma. If ~ou have accumulated many virtuous deeds during your life, you can die in peace assured that as a result of your white karma you will gain a fortunate rebirth.
Therefore do not be fooled into thinking that sensory pleasures can bring you lasting happiness. I f you are attracted to beautiful sights, think how the moth is lured to his death by his enchantment with a flame. For sounds, consider how a duck is seduced by a hunter's duck-call. Bees are attracted to the smell of a Venus fly-trap and flies to that of feces, only to drown in a toilet. Fish are lured on to a hook by their desire for the taste of a worm. Elephants, obsessed with the physical sensation of scratching themselves, are led by
their tame brethren between two thorny trees and thus are captured by trainers and taken into bondage. By thinking of these examples, turn your mind from concern for worldly pleasures, seeing that they are only causes for more suffering. Realising you may die at any moment, do not waste your time on trivial matters. Regard food and clothing as a condemned man would his final meal and costume.
You should count how many of your friends and relatives have passed away in their own time and think about the manner in which they died and how their corpse was taken to the cemetery . and nothing remains of their body. (By thinking how) you too do not transcend such a nature, you should work yourself into a state of trembling fear like someone who has been placed into the hands of a hangman. Do not let your mind escape into mental wandering.
When you have completely lost any interest in this
? life, meditate on this state becoming completely involved in it. This is the fifth (preliminary practice): meditation on death and impermanence.
These meditations are not designed to make you de- pressed. If their result were just the pessimistic anguish that . . I am going to die and there is nothing I can do", then meditation would be only a cause for anxiety and suffering. The whole point of death meditation is to urge you into the practice of Dharma, into the consideration of karma and the law of cause and effect and how you can do some- thing to affect your future rebirths. Thus meditation
should spur you on like a fighter being pushed into au arena. As Je-tzUn Mi-la rl-pa said, "I went to the mountains because I feared death. But now that I see the true DharmakAya nature of my mind, even ifdeath comes I have no fears. "
PRELIMINARIES 23
? Karma and the
Law of Cause and Elfect
After this it is necessary not to be confused about what is to be adopted and abandoned with reference to karma and the law of cause and effect. The fruits of whatever actions are done by any living being ripen on that individual being himself. Moreover, if you commit the ten non-virtuous actions you aro reborn in one of the unfortunate states of rebirth.
Depending on which of the three poisons they are committed with, their frequency, who their object is and whether they are serious, middling or minor in nature, you are reborn either as a hell creature, hungry ghost or animal. Once you are born as such, you have to experience infathomable suffering. Depending on whether you commit great, middling or slightly virtuous actions, you are reborn either in the Formless or Form Realms or as a god in tho Desire Realm. Therefore at all times examine (the actions you do through) the three gateways of your
(body, speech and mind).
The basic facts of the law of cause and effect are that happiness results from virtuous actions or "white" karma and suffering from non-virtuous or "black" karma. Further- more, whatever you do ripens on you alone ; if you kill
someone, the effect will not ripen on your parents or
? children, only on you. Therefore you must abandon cruel actions and adopt kind ones if you wish to benefit yoursclr and then others.
The ten non-virtuous actions are divided into three or the body, four of speech and three of mind. Those of tho body arc killing, taking what is not given or steal! ng, and indulging in improper sexual conduct such as adultery or
rape. The four of speech arc lying, using divisive language, speaking abusive and harsh words, and idly gossiping. Tho three of mind are having covetous thoughts to possess what belongs to others, harbouring ill-will, and holding distorted
views 5uch as disbelief in cause and effect.
The ten merely virtuous actions are to refrain from the teo non-virtuous ones. The ten especially virtuous ones, however, arc saving others' lives, practising generosity, keeping strict morality and encouraging others to do like-. wise, speaking the truth without causing confusion, interme?
diating quarrels and reconciling enemies, talking sweetl,y and calmly, speaking meaningfully such as by teaching and praying, having few desires and knowing satisfaction, having good-will towards others and holding correct views with faith and conviction in the teachings.
If you save others' lives and refuse to kill, your own life will be longer, whereas if you persist in killing your life will be short and filled with disease. I f you are generous and never steal, you will come into wealth. But if you rob you will be poor and always subject to theft. From strict
morality and abandoning sexual misconduct you will have a pleasing appearance and good marital relations and friendships. But if you cause harm by? your sexual behaviour, you will be ugly, have poor marriages and an
unfaithful spouse.
By speaking the truth and never lying, others will believe what you say. But no one will heed or believe your words if you always lie. If you refrain from divisive language and
try to bring people together, your relations with friends will always be close. However, if you cause divisions, you will accumulate enemies, be the focus of jealousies
PRELIMINARIES lS
? 26 MAHAMUDRA
and have poor relations with others. From speakinJ pleasantly and never harshly, others will speak nicely to you. But you will only receive abuse and have to hear unplea- santness if you persist in cursing others. If you speak mean- ingfully and never gossip, you yourself will hear meaningful things; whereas if you continue to chatter idly, meaningless drival is all you will hear.
lf you are content and never covetous. you \\ill never be in want of anything. But if you always covet your neighbour's possessions you will become a beggar always in want. By having good-will and no malice for others, people will treat you nicely and regard you well, whereas ill-will only brings you suspicion and harm from others. Lastly, if you hold correct, undistorted views, your intelli- gence and wisdom will increase and your mind will be ever sharp. However, from clinging to distorted ones you will bo narrow-minded, dull-witted and filled with doubts.
The results of karma can be divided in many ways, such as that found in the text. Another way is in terms of the delusions motivating your actions. If you act under the strong inftuence of pride and arrogance, you will be reborn as a god; from jealousy an anti-god; desire a human; closed mindedness an animal ; miserliness a hungry ghost ; and from anger as a hell creature. Therefore try to eliminate the delusions and practise virtuous act. ions in order to become liberated from all six realms of cyclic existence or sarilsara &. nd ultimately to attain Enlightenment.
Whatever virtuous actions you do, try to increase . and expand them. Whatever non-virtuous or un- 'Specified actions you commit, try to eliminate and ? bring them to a halt. In other words, without being confused about what should be abandoned or
adopted, engaged in or turned away from, break the streams of continuity of your non-virtuous actions and have the wheel of the virtuous actions of your three gateways be without any gaps. This is the meaning of Buddha's teachings and the aim of the
? practices, and you should act accordingly. Therefore- once you have learned in great detail about what should be adopted and abandoned with respect to? karma and the law of cause and effect, train your- self in this. That is the sixth (preliminary practice): the teachings of karma and the law of cause and effect. .
PRELIMINARIES 27
? Tire
Disadvantages of Samsiir11
After this, if you do not meditate on the disad? vantages of sams-a:ra or cyclic existence, you will not turn away from compulsive attraction to it, nor will
you develop thoughts of renunciation. From such a situation, experiences and insight will not dawn in your mind-stream. Because you will be depriving yourself of your share of such dawnings, you must meditate on the suffering of sams-a:ra in order to
abandm. it.
In connection with this, if sentient beings are reborn as hell creatures, they have such sufferings as those of the eight hot hells, the eight cold hells, the neighbouring hells and occasional hells. Hungry ghosts have hunger and thirst. Animals have being killed and slaughtered. Humans have birth, old age, sickness and death. Gods have falling from their state and their consciousness being transferred. Anti- gods have quarrelling and fighting. Such are the sufferings peculiar to the six states of rebirth.
Moreover, the obvious suffering you experience is the suffering of misery. That which appears to be pleasure is the suffering of change. That which has a neutral feeling-tone is the all-pervasive suffering.
? Because you are uninterruptedly harmed by this last one, it does not matter which state of samc;ara you are in. Even if you have attained the position of a universal cakra-emperor, Brahma or Indra and so- forth, you have not? transcended suffering. Therefore, with the conviction that sams-a:ra is like a prison, a deep pit or a mass of flames, you should from now on continually, as much as possible, seek a method for becoming liberated from it.
Samslira means "to circle. ,, in other words to revolve- continually through the cycle of birth, sickness, old age, death, then rebirth, sickness and so forth. It is propelled and perpetuated by ignorance and its mechanism described' by the twelve links of interdependent origination. There- arc four methods Qf being born, namely from a womb, an egg, beat and moisture and by miraculous transformation. These bring you into one of the six rebirth states as a hell? creature, hungry ghost, human, anti-god or god. The first five are in the Desire Realm and the gods span all Three Realms : the Desire, Form and Formless. But no matter where and how you arc reborn, there is only suffering.
Each of the rebirth states bas its own peculiar disadvan- tage as mentioned in the text. The three general sufferings. of misery, change and that which is all-pervasive are found throughout. The first is the obvious pain of sickness, old age and so forth. The suffering of change comes from seemingly pleasant things such as delicious foud or a walk in the country which can tum into an upset stomach or blisters. All-pervasive suffering appears neutral or unobvious to ordinary beings, like the sensation of a piece of hair on your palm, but is as sharp as a hair in your eye to Aryas with bare perception of Voidness. It is the suffering inherent in the fact of being born with contaminated aggregates. which by their very nature arc like a magnet attracting sickness, old age and death.
Meditating on all these disadvantages of samslira, you should develop renunciation or the "state of mind that.
PRELIMINARIES 29'
? 30 MAHAMUDRA
wishestobe completely free of all suff~ring. Thisisthe Hinayina motivation and with it an understanding of Voidness brings you Liberation. But to overcome not only the obstacles preventing Liberation, but those blocking Omniscience as well, you must go further. In addition to renunciation, you must develop an Enlightened Motive of Bodhicitta. Seeing that all beings experience the sufferings of sarilsara and wish as you do for release from its bondage and to attain ultimate happiness, you should strive to attain Buddhahood in order to liberate both yourself and
others. This motive gives the realisation of Voidness the added force that will bring you Enlightenment.
Even if you achieve the Liberation of a Hmayana practitioner, which is a state beyond this (sarils'll:ra), you have still not attained the state of ultimate happiness. Therefore you should try to achieve this
peerless Enlightenment by all means. For this purpose then, with the certainty that all sentient beings with- out exception have been nothing but your mothers and fathers, beginninglessly kind, you should develop an unhypocritical Enlightened Motive of Bodhicitta, thinking, "I shall definitely work to place them all in the peerless bliss of complete and perfect Enlighten- ment. " That is the seventh (preliminary practice) :
making efforts in this (direction).
? Tl1e Precio1ts HuJnanBebirtl?
The working basis for practising like this hstie precious human body. Because it is very difficult to obtain, you should not Jet yourself come under the sway of indifference or laziness, but should totally involve yourself in the practices. If when your fully endowed human body is snatched away by the de- mons of death and impermanen~e, you have to go empty-handed, then what will you do ? Because this precious human form is difficult to obtain and easily lost, you should try to make your attainment of a fu]]y endowed one purposeful at all times and in all situations. To make efforts in this is the eighth (preliminary practice).
A human form fully endowed with all the liberties and opportunities to study and practise the Dharma is extremely rare and precious. It is the vehicle through which you will attain Enlightenment or, if you arc not careful, a lower rebirth. Its causes arc your collections of merit and insight, particularly morality, as well as prayers for such a rebirth state. Santideva has said that its attainment is as rare as the odds for a blind turtle living on the bottom of an ocean and rising to the surface only once every hundred years to surface at just the spot where it would put its neck through a golden yoke that is floating about blown by the winds. In this analogy, the turtle is sentient beings, being blind is their ignorance, being on the bottom of the ocean is the lower rebirth states, coming to the surface is being reborn, the
? 32 MAHAMUDRA
golden yoke is a precious human rebirth and its being blown
by the winds is the vicissitudes of karma.
From the point of view of numbers as well, a human
birth is rare. It is said that the number of hell creatures equals the grains of sand in the desert, hungry ghosts the dust particles in the air, animals the stars at night and humans the number of stars seen during the day. Ir you consider how it is possible to take a census of the number or people in a state, but impossible to count the animals, in- sects and microbes there, you will gain an appreciation of
this. Furthermore, out of the world population, those with a kind heart are even rarer and, of those, the ones who have the liberty, opportunity and inclination to follow the Dharma are practically unheard of.
Therefore, having attained a precious human rebirth, do not waste it, for death will c. lme all too soon. Do not be like a sea expedition going out for treasure and returning empty-banded. Without regard for temporary pleasures, practise the Dharma and gain ultimate and lastina happiness.
? Tl1e Carlslrl Condition for Srtceess
Of the four conditions for successful practice, the causal one is making an effort to train your mind-stream with (thoughts of) impermanence and to develop renunciation. Furthermore. it is to turn away from compulsive attraction by seeing the (unsatisfactory) quality of all things of samsara with
respect to yourself and to things in general.
taking away this suffering from others. lf you are hot or cold, pray that this eliminates that which the hell creatures. feel. Take hunger and thirst from hungry ghosts ar. d, if your mind becomes dull and blank with fatigue, imagine that animals arc freed from their stupidity. With strong faith and constantly reconfirmed motivation, you will ha? ! e no doubts about what you arc doing. Should thoughts arise to leave it and do something else, regard them as n jeering. crowd and pay them no heed.
You should also recite, "{I go for refuge untill am enlightened) to the Buddhas, the Dharma anci the Highest Assembly . . . '' and so forth while thinking, "Realising that all beings have been my mother and father, I shall go for refuge and develop an Enlight- ened Motive of Bodhicitta. " In addition you sh? outd meditate on the four immeasurables, "May all sentient beings he endowed with happiness and the causes for joy. . . " and so forth.
The stanza, "I go for refuge until I am enlighh:ned to the Buddhas, the Dharma and the Highest Assembly. From the virtuous merit that I collect by practising giving and
other perfections, may I attain the state of a Buddha to be able to benefit all sentient beings", is the most commonly rl"cited one for enhancing your development of Bodhicitta.
? The four immcasurables arc (I) love, wishing all beings to be endowed with happiness and the causes for joy, (2) compas- sion, wishing them to be parted from suffering and the causes for grief, (3) joy, wishing them never to be parted from the happiness they have and (4) equanimity, wishing that they be freed from all attachment and repulsion and from all notions of some being close and others distant.
At the conclusion you should meditate that the objects of refuge melt into Jight and dissolve into you and that your mind-stream has thus been purified.
When you have finished your prostration session, dissolve all the figures into the central one of your Guru as the Buddha Vajradhiira and finally him into yourself. Remain in a non-objectifying state of inseparable Voidness and clarity, not directed at any extreme mode of existence. Ja other words, do not make an}thing into a concrete, truly existent object. Rather, remain in the here and now, and feel you arc completely purified.
That is the first (preliminary practice), the medita- tions for going for refuge and developing an Enlight-
ened Motive.
PRELIMINARIES 9
? Yt1jrasattva JJieditation
Vajrasattva, or in Tibetan Dor-je sem-pa, is a form of the Buddhas dedicated to purifying and eliminating from others suffering, sickness and the unripened, unfortunate consequences of their previously committed non-virtue. He appears in many forms, peaceful or as Heruka Vajrasattva, either alone or with consort. His practice can be either more or less elaborate. What follows is a purification method with the solitary Vajrasattva.
On the crown of your head (visualise) your Guru as Vajrasattva, white in colour, with right hand holding a vajra sceptre at his heart and left holding a bell at his hip, and arrayed with the major and minor marks of a Buddha.
On the top of your head in your ordinary form visualisct a syllable PAM. This transforms into a white lotus and on it, from a syllable Al;l, appears a flat, full-moon disc. On top of it, a syllable HOM transforms into a five-pointed vajr" or diamond sceptre marked in the centre with a HOM. Light rays are emitted and re-absorbed twice, the first time making offerings to the various Duddhas and Bodhisattvas. and the second eliminating the suffering of all beings. The vajra then transforms into the solitary Vajrasattva, as describ- ed above. His left leg is on top of his right thigh and his. right leg is extended downwards. In his heart is a moon- disc with a. n upright, white syllable HOM in its centre.
Varjasattva has both a hundred- and a six-syllable mantra aud they may be arranged in several ways, either clockwise N counter-clockwise, revolving or stationary. In
? this particular meditation, his hundred-syllable mantra, which. you will be repeating 100,000 times, is arranged counter- clockwise along the outside rim of the moon-disc in his heart. The letters arew bite, upright, facing inwards and do not revolve.
After meditating like this, you should recite, "0 Guru-Vajrasattva, please cleanse me of all obstacles and unripened, unfortunate consequences of my previously committed non-virtuous actions" In addition, you should apply the (four) various (opponent powers) of declaring your previous non- virtue.
For this mtditation to be most effective it must be complete with the four opponent powers used in confession or declaring your previously committed non-virtuous actions. First you must . recall all your mistakes and feel sincere regret. The second is promising to try your hardest not to repeat them. Next you must rely on the basis or object against which your non-virtue bas been committed, namely your commitment to the refuges and Bodhicitta. Thus by again taking refuge and enhancing your Enlightened Motive,. you reinforce the foundation for your morality. Lastly you apply such purifying practices as those of Vajrasattva to remove all stains. If these four are incomplete, whatever purification you do will be only a temporary whitewashing. But with these four opponents and sincere conviction in their ability to cleanse you, there is no doubt they will work.
Then visualise white nectar falling from the large toe of Vajrasattva's (right) foot, entering through the crown of your head and filling your entire body All your obstacles and unripened consequences leave you and in their place you are entirely filled with nectar.
As you recite the hundred-syllable mantra, white lights. and purifying nectars are emitted from the moon-disc, seed- ayllable HUM and mantra at his heart, completely filling his.
PRELIMINARIES 1t
? 12 MifHAMUDRA
body, overflowing and entering you as above. lmagino that from the pores and orifices of your body obstacles and unripened, unfortunate consequences leave in the form or soot and black tar, sickness and disease as pus, blood, mucous and snot, and the harmful influence of malevolent spirits as snakes, scorpions, spiders and insects. All these dissolve into the ground and in their place you ar~ filled with white nectar and lights. Visualise this same process occurring for all sentient beings around you, with either each having his own Vajrasattva on the crown of his head or everyone sharing one large figure.
Pleased, your Guru (VajrasattvaI melts into light (and dissolves into you). You should meditate that your body, speech and mind and those of Vajrasattva have inseparably mixed and that you have been cleansed of all obstacles and unripened, unfortunate
? Consequences That is the second (preliminary practice): Vajrasattva meditation and mantra recita- tion.
? Mundal11 Ollering ? ?
Offerings in general are not made in order to please or bribe the object to whom they are presented. They are a aymbol of your total dedication to Enlightenment as re- presented by the Gurus and Three Jewels of Refuge, and are- offered in order to gain the merit that will bring you to their state. When you plant crops in a field, it is not the ground that benefits, but you yourself. Likewise, making offerings to- the assembled Gurus as the field of merit brings you to?
Enlightenment so that you can benefit all.
! fhere are many types of maQc;lalas. One classification is the celestial mansions in which the meditational deities. dwell. These are three-dimensional structures, the ground- plans of which are depicted in maoc;tala paintings. Another type is the one used in offerings, consisting of a plate-like base, rings, a crown and rice, grain or jewels and is symbolic of the universe.
You should meditate that (before you) is a ma:r;u;lala mansion with five clusters of figures within. In the centre is your Guru (as Vajradhar<l), before ? him the meditational deities, to his right the Buddhas, behind him the Dharma scriptures and to his left the Sangha. This is the ma:r:u;lala realised before
you.
In general, maQc;lala mansions are square with a ground ftoor and steeple-like structure. In the centre of each wall is a door, entrance-corridor, porch and archway, the latter of which is flanked on top by two deer and a Dharma wheel.
? 14 MAHAMUDRA
The exact architectural structure and proportions differ slightly for each meditational deity and can be very complex.
In the centre of such a transparent building, made of light and visualised before you, is your Guru in the form of Vajradhara. He is on a throne supported by lions with a lotus and moon-cushion seat. Above him are all the lineage Gurus, from Vajradhara himself through Ti(opa, Naropa and so forth down to his own root Guru. Around him are four groups of figures as above, similar to the refuge and prostration visualisation. This is your field of merit to whom you make offe1ings.
Then construct another mar:u;lala with its mounds and offer it with the stanza ''. . . a mar:u;lala built on a base resplendent with flowers, saffron water and incense. . . " and so forth, along with the rest of the mar:u;lala procedures. Thus you should present both
. actual material offerings and mentally created ones.
With a standard maotJala offering set, first hold the base4 plate and wipe it clean while reciting once Vajrasattva's hundred-syllable mantra to purify defilements. Next put a drop of water on it to signify your Bodhicitta motivation and the moisture of yoar compassion. Then placing the first ring on the base, add mounds of rice, grain and so forth in the appropriate directions for each of the places, treasures and goddesses mentioned until all the rings are filled and it is
crowned with the jewelled top. This is the actual material offering done while reciting the appropriate stanzas.
The mentally created one is your visualisation as describ- ed by these stanzas. What you are offering is the entire universe and all its wealth as portrayed by Buddha in the Abhidharma teachings. Budc. lha described the universe differ-
ently on separate occasions to varying people, since depending on your state ofpurityyou see things differently. According to this particular description, there is the golden earth or base with an iron ring or fence around its perimeter and a salt- water ocean on the outside. On the inside of the fence, one in each cardinal direction, are the four continents each with
? two sub-continents between it and the fence, all separated
by oceans. On the other side of the continents, progressively . closer to the centre are alternating rings of seven golden mountains and seven fresh-water lakes. In the centre it- self is Mount Meru, square, stupa-sbaped, with four steps
or levels going up from the bottom. Its eastern face is of white crystal, southern of blue lapis lazuli, western of red ruby and northern of green emerald. The ocean and sky in each direction are of the corresponding colour. The eastern continent and sub-continents are half-moon shaped with the flat edge towards Mount Meru; the southern are curved trapezoids, with concave sides, concave longer top
away from Mount Meru and convex shorter bottom near it ; the western are circular and the northern square.
Human life, as we know it, is found on the southern continent, where the oceans and sky are blue. The other continents should not be thought of as places in outer space which can be reached by rocket ship. You can only go there if you have accumulated the karma for such a
rebirth.
The verse you repeat 100,000 times for this preliminary
is, "By directing to the Fields of Buddhas this offering of a maJ)<jala built on a base resplendent with flowers, saffron water and incense, adorned with Mount Meru and the four continents, as well as with the sun and the moon, may all sentient beings be led to these Fields. "
By the force of such offerings, you complete your two collections (of merit and insight) and receive the blessings to develop sublime experiences and insights. Having made requests for such (blessings), you should think that the host of deities in the maQc;lala realised before you melt into light and dissolve into you. In this way you complete the two collections.
By presenting to the pure objects in the ma. ;u;lala reali- sed before you both the material offering of the mao<jala set and the visualised universe, you accumulate merit. By doing so while meditating on the non-objectifying state of Void-
pRELIMINARIES IS
? 16 MAH. IMUDRA
ness with respect to the offerings, you accumulate insight. By the force of these two collections you overcome the two sets of obstacles, those preventing Liberations and Omniscience. The collection of merit results in your attainment of the Form Bodies of a Buddha, and that of insight in the Wisdom Bodies. The Form Bodies are the Emanation (Nirmar. takiya) and Utility Bodies (Sambhoga- kaya). The former appear to ordinary beings with the karma to see them, while the latter only to Arya Bodhisattvas, that is those with an Enlightened Motive who have bare perception of Voidness. The Wisdom Bodies are the Nature (Svabhavakiya) and Wisdom-Truth Bodies (Dharmakllya). According to this text, the former is the Omniscient mind of a Buddha and the Voidness of that mind, while the latter is the inseparability of the former three. The definitions, however, of these last two bodies arc more often reversed and sometimes Dharmakaya ia used alone as a general term for both. Moreover, there arc many other levels on which the various Buddha bodies can be understood and defined.
That is the third (preliminary practice) : applying effort in the instructions for the maQc;iala offering
? 6ur,. . goga
The last of the extraordinary preliminaries, also for accumulating merit and blessings, is Guru-yoga. For this, you should visualise yourself in the form of a mcditational deity? . Any will do, but usually Vajrayogini is chosen. She is red, has one face, two arms, two legs and stands on ono leg, with her left foot on top of a lotus, corpse and sun-disc, and her right foot bent upwards towards her left thigh. She holds in her right hand a butcher's cleaver above her bead and in her left a skull-cup at her heart. A khatvanga-staft' rests on her left shoulder. With younelf in this form, pro- ceed with the practices.
You should meditate that on tho crown on your head is your root Guru, either in his own bodily form or in the aspect of a meditational deity, which- ever you prefer. You should meditate either that all the (lineage) Gurus going back to Vajradh-a:ra arc stacked one atop the other above his head or that they are all clustered around him. You should make requests to them very strongly and for a long time with immeasurable fervent regard, loving respect and extraordinary sincerity. When your attitude has changed (for the better), make it stable. Then all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, l;>llkas,I;>akinu, o : n r m 1pa:las and protectors together with their entourage dissolve into your root Guru and you should meditate on your root Guru as incorporating and embodying them all.
? 18 MAHAMUDRA
As indicated above, there are many varieties or Guru? yoga-visualising your root Guru either in his own form, or as Vajradhira, Mar-pa, Mi-la rll-pa, Gam-po-pa, Kar-ma-pa and so forth. Your Guru may tell you to choose Vajradhara, in which case he would be on a lion-supported throne, lotus and sun-disc, surrounded by four clusters of figures and the
lineage Gurus as in the refuge and mar,t~ala visualisations. However, a solitary figure of your enthroned. Guru surround? ed by lineage Gurus will do, since your root Guru embodies all three refuges.
Make the outer, inner and secret offerings and offer the seven Jimbs of prayer.
Outer offerings are of the desirable objects of the senses, either materially arranged or mentally created. Inner ones arc of the purified meats and liquids symbolic of the trans- formation of your delusions, aggregates and so forth. Secret
offerin~s are of the circumstances for generating the blissful consciousness for the most powerful realisation of Voidness.
The seven limbs of prayer or seven-limbed pQja include (I) prostrating, (2) making offerings, (3) confessing or declar? ing your previous non-virtue, (4) rejoicing in the merit of others, (5) requesting the Gurus to teach, (6) beseeching
. them not to pass away and (7) dedicating your merit. An eighth limb of taking refuge is sometimes added between the second and third.
Strongly take refuge, enhance your Enlightened Motive and make requests with such verses as : "All motherly sentient beings equal in number to (the vastness of) space make requests to the Guru as the precious Buddha. . . . as the all-pervasive Dharmak1ya, . . . as the Sambhogakaya of Great Bliss, . . . as the
compassionate Nirmar;takltya. . . " and so forth.
Implied by the request to the Guru as the precious Buddhas is that he incorporates all Three Jewels of Refuge. His body stands for the Sangha, his speech the Dharma and his mind the Buddhas. Thus this verse is to the Guru as
? the body, speech and mind of the Buddhas, that is the Three Precious Gems, as well as to him as the three Buddha bodies. This may be repeated 100,000 times or, more usually, the following six-line verse of the First Kar-ma-pa is said that many times in addition to a million repetitions of the Kar-ma-pa mantra.
"I make requests to the precious Guru. Bless me to clear my mind of grasping for true identities. Bless me to develop on my mind-stream the insight to sec all worldly thoughts as unnecessary.
Bless me that my non-Dharmic thoughts shall cease. Bless me to realise my mind has no birth. Bless me that my deceptive notions shall dissolve in their place. Bless me to realise aU appearances of existence as Dharmakaya. "
Then your Guru dissolves into you and you should think that your Guru's body, speech and mind have become inseparably mixed with your own mind. Having done this, remain fixed in a state free from mental fabrications (of extreme modes of existence).
At the conclusion of your recitation session, you should visualise your Guru granting you the four tantric empower- ments as follows. First white light is emitted from his fore- head to yours, eliminating the obstacles due to the non~ virtuous actions of your body. It grants you the vase em~ powerment, permitting you to engage in the development stage practices, and plants the seed for your attaining the Nirmlloakiiya or Emanation Body of a Buddha.
Red light is emitted from his throat to yours, e~iminating the obstacles due to your non-virtuous speech. It grants the secret empowerment, permitting you to meditate on the com? pleting stage practice involving the body's subtle energy system and plants the seed for the Sambhogakaya.
Blue light from his heart to yours eliminates the obstacles due to mental non-virtue, grants the wisdom empowerment permitting you to engage in the practices of union, and plants the seed for the Dharmakaya.
Finally white, red and blue lights are emitted from all three places simultaneously to yours, eliminating physical,
PRELIMINARIES 19
? 20 MAH. . lMUDRA
verbal and mental obstacles all together, granting the word empowerment permitting you to practise Mahamudri or the completing stage without signs and planting the seed for the
Svabhavakiya.
After all this, visualise that the lineage Gurus dissolve one into each other into your root Guru and that he dissolves into you. Remain in a non-objectifying state of Voidness and then dedicate the merit for the Enlightenment of all.
If you exert effort by relying on this method for gaining insights into Mahamudm, the Great Seal of Voidness, you will receive (the Gurus') blessings and inspiration. That is the fourth {preliminary practice):
meditation on Guru-yoga.
? Beatl? and lmpermaneuce
If you do not meditate on impermanence, you will not turn your mind away from concern for this life. If you do not turn your mind, you will not become liberated from sarhs1tra, or cyclic existence. Concerning this (Nltgiirjuna has said in his ? ? suhrllekha"), ''There are many things that can harm our life, for it is impermanent like a bubble on water that can be burst by the wind. It is a great
miracle that after exhaling we take our next breath and after falling asleep we wake up again. ''
In general, all conditioned phenomena are imper? manent and, specific~lly, the life force of sentient beings is impermanent like a bubble. You can never know when you will die. There is no certainty that you will not die right now. Moreover, at the time of death nothing except the Dharma is of any help. I f you work for meaningless worldly things o r activities for this lifetime, you will be unable to pass beyond the causes for suffering. Therefore vow that whenever your mind wanders for even a moment
towards thoughts of food, clothing and so forth for this lifetime, you will think about 9eath.
All conditioned phenomena, that is those that depend on causes and circumstances, are impermanent. This includes both animate and inanimate objects, sentient beinas and
? 22 MAHAMUDRA
their environment. A solid structure today can crumble into dust tomorrow. In pa. rticular, your own life is extremely fragile and can be lost very easily. No one can guarantee he will be alive tomorrow and when your time is
up, no friends, doctors, medicine, money or fame can prevent your death. The only thing that can help is the practice of Dharma. If ~ou have accumulated many virtuous deeds during your life, you can die in peace assured that as a result of your white karma you will gain a fortunate rebirth.
Therefore do not be fooled into thinking that sensory pleasures can bring you lasting happiness. I f you are attracted to beautiful sights, think how the moth is lured to his death by his enchantment with a flame. For sounds, consider how a duck is seduced by a hunter's duck-call. Bees are attracted to the smell of a Venus fly-trap and flies to that of feces, only to drown in a toilet. Fish are lured on to a hook by their desire for the taste of a worm. Elephants, obsessed with the physical sensation of scratching themselves, are led by
their tame brethren between two thorny trees and thus are captured by trainers and taken into bondage. By thinking of these examples, turn your mind from concern for worldly pleasures, seeing that they are only causes for more suffering. Realising you may die at any moment, do not waste your time on trivial matters. Regard food and clothing as a condemned man would his final meal and costume.
You should count how many of your friends and relatives have passed away in their own time and think about the manner in which they died and how their corpse was taken to the cemetery . and nothing remains of their body. (By thinking how) you too do not transcend such a nature, you should work yourself into a state of trembling fear like someone who has been placed into the hands of a hangman. Do not let your mind escape into mental wandering.
When you have completely lost any interest in this
? life, meditate on this state becoming completely involved in it. This is the fifth (preliminary practice): meditation on death and impermanence.
These meditations are not designed to make you de- pressed. If their result were just the pessimistic anguish that . . I am going to die and there is nothing I can do", then meditation would be only a cause for anxiety and suffering. The whole point of death meditation is to urge you into the practice of Dharma, into the consideration of karma and the law of cause and effect and how you can do some- thing to affect your future rebirths. Thus meditation
should spur you on like a fighter being pushed into au arena. As Je-tzUn Mi-la rl-pa said, "I went to the mountains because I feared death. But now that I see the true DharmakAya nature of my mind, even ifdeath comes I have no fears. "
PRELIMINARIES 23
? Karma and the
Law of Cause and Elfect
After this it is necessary not to be confused about what is to be adopted and abandoned with reference to karma and the law of cause and effect. The fruits of whatever actions are done by any living being ripen on that individual being himself. Moreover, if you commit the ten non-virtuous actions you aro reborn in one of the unfortunate states of rebirth.
Depending on which of the three poisons they are committed with, their frequency, who their object is and whether they are serious, middling or minor in nature, you are reborn either as a hell creature, hungry ghost or animal. Once you are born as such, you have to experience infathomable suffering. Depending on whether you commit great, middling or slightly virtuous actions, you are reborn either in the Formless or Form Realms or as a god in tho Desire Realm. Therefore at all times examine (the actions you do through) the three gateways of your
(body, speech and mind).
The basic facts of the law of cause and effect are that happiness results from virtuous actions or "white" karma and suffering from non-virtuous or "black" karma. Further- more, whatever you do ripens on you alone ; if you kill
someone, the effect will not ripen on your parents or
? children, only on you. Therefore you must abandon cruel actions and adopt kind ones if you wish to benefit yoursclr and then others.
The ten non-virtuous actions are divided into three or the body, four of speech and three of mind. Those of tho body arc killing, taking what is not given or steal! ng, and indulging in improper sexual conduct such as adultery or
rape. The four of speech arc lying, using divisive language, speaking abusive and harsh words, and idly gossiping. Tho three of mind are having covetous thoughts to possess what belongs to others, harbouring ill-will, and holding distorted
views 5uch as disbelief in cause and effect.
The ten merely virtuous actions are to refrain from the teo non-virtuous ones. The ten especially virtuous ones, however, arc saving others' lives, practising generosity, keeping strict morality and encouraging others to do like-. wise, speaking the truth without causing confusion, interme?
diating quarrels and reconciling enemies, talking sweetl,y and calmly, speaking meaningfully such as by teaching and praying, having few desires and knowing satisfaction, having good-will towards others and holding correct views with faith and conviction in the teachings.
If you save others' lives and refuse to kill, your own life will be longer, whereas if you persist in killing your life will be short and filled with disease. I f you are generous and never steal, you will come into wealth. But if you rob you will be poor and always subject to theft. From strict
morality and abandoning sexual misconduct you will have a pleasing appearance and good marital relations and friendships. But if you cause harm by? your sexual behaviour, you will be ugly, have poor marriages and an
unfaithful spouse.
By speaking the truth and never lying, others will believe what you say. But no one will heed or believe your words if you always lie. If you refrain from divisive language and
try to bring people together, your relations with friends will always be close. However, if you cause divisions, you will accumulate enemies, be the focus of jealousies
PRELIMINARIES lS
? 26 MAHAMUDRA
and have poor relations with others. From speakinJ pleasantly and never harshly, others will speak nicely to you. But you will only receive abuse and have to hear unplea- santness if you persist in cursing others. If you speak mean- ingfully and never gossip, you yourself will hear meaningful things; whereas if you continue to chatter idly, meaningless drival is all you will hear.
lf you are content and never covetous. you \\ill never be in want of anything. But if you always covet your neighbour's possessions you will become a beggar always in want. By having good-will and no malice for others, people will treat you nicely and regard you well, whereas ill-will only brings you suspicion and harm from others. Lastly, if you hold correct, undistorted views, your intelli- gence and wisdom will increase and your mind will be ever sharp. However, from clinging to distorted ones you will bo narrow-minded, dull-witted and filled with doubts.
The results of karma can be divided in many ways, such as that found in the text. Another way is in terms of the delusions motivating your actions. If you act under the strong inftuence of pride and arrogance, you will be reborn as a god; from jealousy an anti-god; desire a human; closed mindedness an animal ; miserliness a hungry ghost ; and from anger as a hell creature. Therefore try to eliminate the delusions and practise virtuous act. ions in order to become liberated from all six realms of cyclic existence or sarilsara &. nd ultimately to attain Enlightenment.
Whatever virtuous actions you do, try to increase . and expand them. Whatever non-virtuous or un- 'Specified actions you commit, try to eliminate and ? bring them to a halt. In other words, without being confused about what should be abandoned or
adopted, engaged in or turned away from, break the streams of continuity of your non-virtuous actions and have the wheel of the virtuous actions of your three gateways be without any gaps. This is the meaning of Buddha's teachings and the aim of the
? practices, and you should act accordingly. Therefore- once you have learned in great detail about what should be adopted and abandoned with respect to? karma and the law of cause and effect, train your- self in this. That is the sixth (preliminary practice): the teachings of karma and the law of cause and effect. .
PRELIMINARIES 27
? Tire
Disadvantages of Samsiir11
After this, if you do not meditate on the disad? vantages of sams-a:ra or cyclic existence, you will not turn away from compulsive attraction to it, nor will
you develop thoughts of renunciation. From such a situation, experiences and insight will not dawn in your mind-stream. Because you will be depriving yourself of your share of such dawnings, you must meditate on the suffering of sams-a:ra in order to
abandm. it.
In connection with this, if sentient beings are reborn as hell creatures, they have such sufferings as those of the eight hot hells, the eight cold hells, the neighbouring hells and occasional hells. Hungry ghosts have hunger and thirst. Animals have being killed and slaughtered. Humans have birth, old age, sickness and death. Gods have falling from their state and their consciousness being transferred. Anti- gods have quarrelling and fighting. Such are the sufferings peculiar to the six states of rebirth.
Moreover, the obvious suffering you experience is the suffering of misery. That which appears to be pleasure is the suffering of change. That which has a neutral feeling-tone is the all-pervasive suffering.
? Because you are uninterruptedly harmed by this last one, it does not matter which state of samc;ara you are in. Even if you have attained the position of a universal cakra-emperor, Brahma or Indra and so- forth, you have not? transcended suffering. Therefore, with the conviction that sams-a:ra is like a prison, a deep pit or a mass of flames, you should from now on continually, as much as possible, seek a method for becoming liberated from it.
Samslira means "to circle. ,, in other words to revolve- continually through the cycle of birth, sickness, old age, death, then rebirth, sickness and so forth. It is propelled and perpetuated by ignorance and its mechanism described' by the twelve links of interdependent origination. There- arc four methods Qf being born, namely from a womb, an egg, beat and moisture and by miraculous transformation. These bring you into one of the six rebirth states as a hell? creature, hungry ghost, human, anti-god or god. The first five are in the Desire Realm and the gods span all Three Realms : the Desire, Form and Formless. But no matter where and how you arc reborn, there is only suffering.
Each of the rebirth states bas its own peculiar disadvan- tage as mentioned in the text. The three general sufferings. of misery, change and that which is all-pervasive are found throughout. The first is the obvious pain of sickness, old age and so forth. The suffering of change comes from seemingly pleasant things such as delicious foud or a walk in the country which can tum into an upset stomach or blisters. All-pervasive suffering appears neutral or unobvious to ordinary beings, like the sensation of a piece of hair on your palm, but is as sharp as a hair in your eye to Aryas with bare perception of Voidness. It is the suffering inherent in the fact of being born with contaminated aggregates. which by their very nature arc like a magnet attracting sickness, old age and death.
Meditating on all these disadvantages of samslira, you should develop renunciation or the "state of mind that.
PRELIMINARIES 29'
? 30 MAHAMUDRA
wishestobe completely free of all suff~ring. Thisisthe Hinayina motivation and with it an understanding of Voidness brings you Liberation. But to overcome not only the obstacles preventing Liberation, but those blocking Omniscience as well, you must go further. In addition to renunciation, you must develop an Enlightened Motive of Bodhicitta. Seeing that all beings experience the sufferings of sarilsara and wish as you do for release from its bondage and to attain ultimate happiness, you should strive to attain Buddhahood in order to liberate both yourself and
others. This motive gives the realisation of Voidness the added force that will bring you Enlightenment.
Even if you achieve the Liberation of a Hmayana practitioner, which is a state beyond this (sarils'll:ra), you have still not attained the state of ultimate happiness. Therefore you should try to achieve this
peerless Enlightenment by all means. For this purpose then, with the certainty that all sentient beings with- out exception have been nothing but your mothers and fathers, beginninglessly kind, you should develop an unhypocritical Enlightened Motive of Bodhicitta, thinking, "I shall definitely work to place them all in the peerless bliss of complete and perfect Enlighten- ment. " That is the seventh (preliminary practice) :
making efforts in this (direction).
? Tl1e Precio1ts HuJnanBebirtl?
The working basis for practising like this hstie precious human body. Because it is very difficult to obtain, you should not Jet yourself come under the sway of indifference or laziness, but should totally involve yourself in the practices. If when your fully endowed human body is snatched away by the de- mons of death and impermanen~e, you have to go empty-handed, then what will you do ? Because this precious human form is difficult to obtain and easily lost, you should try to make your attainment of a fu]]y endowed one purposeful at all times and in all situations. To make efforts in this is the eighth (preliminary practice).
A human form fully endowed with all the liberties and opportunities to study and practise the Dharma is extremely rare and precious. It is the vehicle through which you will attain Enlightenment or, if you arc not careful, a lower rebirth. Its causes arc your collections of merit and insight, particularly morality, as well as prayers for such a rebirth state. Santideva has said that its attainment is as rare as the odds for a blind turtle living on the bottom of an ocean and rising to the surface only once every hundred years to surface at just the spot where it would put its neck through a golden yoke that is floating about blown by the winds. In this analogy, the turtle is sentient beings, being blind is their ignorance, being on the bottom of the ocean is the lower rebirth states, coming to the surface is being reborn, the
? 32 MAHAMUDRA
golden yoke is a precious human rebirth and its being blown
by the winds is the vicissitudes of karma.
From the point of view of numbers as well, a human
birth is rare. It is said that the number of hell creatures equals the grains of sand in the desert, hungry ghosts the dust particles in the air, animals the stars at night and humans the number of stars seen during the day. Ir you consider how it is possible to take a census of the number or people in a state, but impossible to count the animals, in- sects and microbes there, you will gain an appreciation of
this. Furthermore, out of the world population, those with a kind heart are even rarer and, of those, the ones who have the liberty, opportunity and inclination to follow the Dharma are practically unheard of.
Therefore, having attained a precious human rebirth, do not waste it, for death will c. lme all too soon. Do not be like a sea expedition going out for treasure and returning empty-banded. Without regard for temporary pleasures, practise the Dharma and gain ultimate and lastina happiness.
? Tl1e Carlslrl Condition for Srtceess
Of the four conditions for successful practice, the causal one is making an effort to train your mind-stream with (thoughts of) impermanence and to develop renunciation. Furthermore. it is to turn away from compulsive attraction by seeing the (unsatisfactory) quality of all things of samsara with
respect to yourself and to things in general.
