Yproouny
revea e m t e ve .
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
9, v.
22abd) says:
Though there is no distinction Between the former and the latter, It is the nature of just what is, Untainted by all obscurations, That is held to be the buddha.
4 The Superiority of Great Madhyamaka to Mind Only
aspects of consciousness is revealed in the ultimate truth A d' 1 . ' 'd' h . . ccormgy, It IS sal m t e Sublzme Siitra of the Descent to Lanka:
One who become without mind, intellect, the conscious- of . the mtellect, conceptualising thoughts and percep- tIOn,_wIll. receptive to the uncreated doctrine. 0 0ahamatl, smce the doctrine which is apparitionless and fr. om. con. ceptualising thoughts is revealed, this ul-
tImate reahty IS WIthout order or orderly intervals.
[84a. 4-92a. 6] This system, according to which the relative is. ,empty of its own essence and the ultimate empty of other entities, is variously revealed in both the intermediate and final promulgations. However, in particular, the presence of profound, radiant and non-dual pristine cognition, the nucleus of the sugata, as the ground of emptiness is extensively taught in the piIaka of the final transmitted precepts, and in those which speak ofall things as merely apparitional aspects ofmind.
Derived from these [precepts], certain masters of the past have been obliged to admit that the mind is ultimately real and thereby originated the school of the VijfUinavada [proponents of consciousness], which is one of those known at the present day as the four philosophical systems. While not reaching the genuine intention, that mind described as the mind of which all things are merely apparitional aspects partakes of two circumstances, one under which its intention is directed to the consciousness of the ground-of-all, and the other under which its inten- tion is directed to the absolute reality (chos-nyid yongs-gnlb).
When the former is intended, it is said not to be the ultimate truth because it is impermanent, the bewildered subject and object being relative appearances. For example, the Siitra ofthe Adornment ofPristine Cognition's Appearance which Penetrates the Scope of All Buddhas says:
SaradvatIputra, that which is called mind includes the con- sciousness of mind and intellect, the mental body, the faculty of the intellect and the base of the intellect. This is what is called the mind. If you ask how emptiness relates with it, SaradvatIputra, the mind is empty of the mind. In it there is no actor. If there were some actor, then its actions would be experienced as such by others. The mind is not manifestly conditioned even by the mind.
Though it is taught that all things are merely apparitional aspects of mind, there is no occasion so to speak in connection with the ultimate truth, for the pristine cognition transcending mind, intellect and all
Maitreya
And also [Ch. 3, vv. 40-1]:
Having renounced the mind and intellect
Consciousness, perception and thoughts ' Th . ,
e pIOUS attendants who have obtained the conceptualising doctrine
Become the sons of the Conqueror. Through the distinctions of [buddha-]field
and [bodhisattvas'] receptiveness [Th . ]. ,
eygam theVIrtuouspristinecognitionoftheTathagata.
Superiority ofGreat Madhyamaka 179
180 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
Superiority ofGreat Madhyamaka 181
There are, in addition, proponents of the Mind system who hold that consciousness is not the ultimate truth. But this is simply a subjective perception of sarp. sara, unable to sublimate the world. The ultimate truth is as. t. he unc? r-
rupted expanse, and as the WhICh realises it, namely, the supramundane, indIVIdual, mtUitIVe awareness of the sublime beings.
The distinction between these two [views] has been extensively taught in passages such as the following from that [same] sutra of the greater vehicle [Descent to Lanka, p. 64]:
In this context, Mahamati, pristine cognition is of three kinds: mundane, supramundane and most 0 Of these, that which having been created is destroyed IS consciousness; and that which is neither created de- stroyed is pristine cognition. Moreover, MahamatI, that which falls into the dichotomy of being symbolic or non-sym- bolic that which falls into the dichotomy of being and non- and that which is created from caus. es diverse character, is consciousness; whereas that WhICh IS terised as utterly transcending the dichotomy of symbol. Ic and non-symbolic is pristine cognition. And agam Mahamati that which is characterised as accumulatmg them is and that which is characterised as diminish- ing them is pristine cognition. . . .
Now these three kinds [of pristine cogmtIon respectIvely] generate the realisation of individual and general characteris- tics, the realisation of that which is created and destroyed and the realisation of that which is neither created nor ceases. The mundane pristine cognition is that of the extremists who manifestly cling to theses of being or non-being of all ordinary childish persons. The supramundane pnstme cognition is that of all pious attendants and . bud- dhas who openly cling to thoughts which fall mto and general characteristics. The most supramundane pnstme cognition is the analytical insight of the buddhas bodhisattvas into apparitionless reality. It is seen to be WIth- out creation or cessation, for they comprehend the level of the Tathagata who is free from theses concernmg being and non-being. .
Furthermore, Mahamati, that which is charactensed as unattached is pristine cognition, and that is charac- teristically attached to various objects is And again, Mahamati, that which is as pro- duced from the triple combination [of subject, object and
their interaction]l? l is consciousness and that characterised as the essential nature which is not so produced is pristine cognition. Then again, Mahamati, that which is charac- terised as not to be attained is pristine cognition, since
each one's own sublime pristine cognition does not emerge
as a perceptual object of realisation, [but is present] in the
manner of the moon's reflection in water. On this it must be said [Ch. 3, vv. 38-9]:
The mind accrues deeds and so forth)
But pristine cognition breaks them down)·
By discriminative awareness) too) the apparitionless Reality and powers are well obtained.
It is the mind which objectifies.
And similarly it is said in the Sublime Sutra of Clouds of Precious Jewels
(Aryaratnameghasutra, T 231):
.
This doctrine genuinely transcends all written and spoken words. It genuinely transcends the entire range of expres- sions. It genuinely transcends all verbalisation. It is free from all conceptual elaboration and free from all that is accepted or rejected. It is free from all opening and closing, and free from all sophistry. It is not to be analysed and is
not within the range of sophistry. It genuinely transcends the range of sophistry. It is non-symbolic, free from sym-. bolism and genuinely transcends the range of symbolism. It genuinely transcends the range of the childish. It genuinely transcends the range ofall demons, and genuinely transcends
the range of all conflicting emotions. It genuinely transcends the range of consciousness. It does, however, lie within the range of the indetermin'ate, dynamic, quiescent and sublime pristine cognition. The individual, intrinsic awareness of these attributes is a topic which is taintless, uncovered, pure,
bountiful, supreme, sacred, perfect, permanent, firm, en- during and imperishable. Whether the tathagatas have ap- peared or not, this expanse of reality is exclusively present.
The inconceivability of the ultimate, sublime pristine cognition, ex- tensively revealed by such quotations, does not lie within the path [followed] by the proponents of the Mind Only system. It is admitted that this naturally radiant, intuitive awareness, the perception free from the subject-object dichotomy, is itself the true basis of buddhahood and it is held that the subject is dependently real. It is therefore
for anyone holding consciousness to exist substantially in ultimate reality to understand literally the selflessness of phenomena. In the same vein the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka (Ch. 10, vv. 359 and 358) also says:
182
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
Being mind only, it is apparitionless.
Being apparitionless, it is uncreated.
These middle paths
Have been explained by myself, and others too. Realising that there is only mind,
External substances are clarified.
By reversing the pattern of conceptualising thought, That path becomes the middle one.
So it is that this intention of the final transmitted precepts, abiding in the Great Madhyamaka of definitive meaning, is clearly revealed in
172
the commentaries of great bodhisattvas
the two promulgators who were masters of the greater [Nagar- juna and Asailga] along with their followers. Although certam masters may well have developed other systems and tenets e. lsewhere of necessity, it is difficult to estimate whether they are ordmary or sublIme beings. There may well be occasion to speak in the manner [of these masters] owing to various basic intentions once one has reached the level of the sublime ones, but childish persons like ourselves should understand the importance of not accumulating evil deeds which re- nounce the doctrine, having clung to a single extreme [view].
If this system [of Great Madhyamaka] were also to be as Mind Only because the three essential natures are taught then the three essential natures are extensively revealed, too, m the mter- mediate transmitted precepts such as the Intermediate Mother:
Maitreya, regard any imaginary form as not substantially existent. One might regard any conceptualised form as sub- stantially existent because thoughts exist substantially, but do not confer independent status upon it. Then you should regard the very form of reality as being disclosed by ultimate reality, for it is neither substantially existent nor not substan- tially existent.
And again in the Epitome ofthe Transcendental Perfection ofDiscriminative Awareness in Eight Thousand Lines (AHasahasrikapirJ,qartha, T 3809, vv. 27-9):
The transcendental perfection of discriminative awareness Genuinely depends on three teachings:
The imaginary, dependent and absolute alone.
By negative expressions and the like
All that is imaginary is refuted.
By apparition and other such similes
The dependent is correctly revealed.
'fi . 173 Through the fourfold pun lcatlOn
The absolute is well known.
Superiority ofGreat Madhyamaka 183
Other than the transcendental perfection Of discriminative awareness,
The buddhas have no teaching.
Similarly, in the master Nagamitra's Introduction to the Three Bodies
(Kayatrayavataramukha, T 3890), the three essential natures are also
summarised as the causal basis for the attainment of the three buddha-
bodies, and in the Commentary [on the Introduction to the Three Bodies . ,
Kayatrayavrttz, T 3891] composed by the proponent of the Great Madhyamaka, ]fianacandra, the same point is explained. Despite all the definitive structures of the three essential natures which have been set forth in all such texts of Great Madhyamaka, those who propound that they belong not to the Madhyamaka tradition but just to that of
Mind Only have not even seen these relevant texts. As the Siltra ofthe Descent to Lanka (Ch. 10, vv. 256-7) says:
One who relies on Mind Only,
Does not discern external objects.
Relying on the apparitionless,
Mind Only should be transcended.
Relying on the genuine object of reference,
The apparitionless should be transcended. A yogin who abides in the apparitionless Does not perceive the greater vehicle.
Accordingly, after Mind Only has been provisionally taught and then genuinely transcended, the apparitionless Madhyamaka is taught; and when that too has been transcended, the apparitional Madhyamaka is revealed. If that is not reached, it is said that the profound meaning of greater vehicle is not perceived. It is, in general, erroneous to everything expressed by the word mind as the Mind Only
doctnne; for there are occasions when the abiding nature free from all
extremes, [known] inclusively as the nature of just what is, the genuine
the natural nirval). a, the expanse of reality, the mind of inner
ra? lance, and the intellect of Samantabhadra, is indicated by the word mznd. The Long Mother says:
Subhuti, that mind is not the mind.
The nature of that mind is inner radiance.
One should not therefore mistake that which is spoken of as mind-as- SUch, the inner radiance transcending the mind of samsara and its events, for the Mind Only system which does transcend
The latter is characterised in the Satra of the Descent to anka (Ch. 3, v. 32 and Ch. 10, v. 486) as follows:
Conne. cted ,with propensities of conceptualising thought, The diVerSIty which arises from the mind
and in the compositions of
184 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
And appears externally to mankind, Is the mundane Mind Only [view].
There is indeed a distinction between the mundane and the supra- mundane Mind Only which is identical in meaning to the distinction between consciousness and pristine cognition, as previously explained. Similarly, those terms revealed in the most profound [sutras] of the greater vehicle which are synonyms of mind should be likewise
It would indeed be a grave error to equate the tenets of mundane Mmd Only with the Great Sage's buddha-body of reality and the mass of its inseparable enlightened attributes, exceeding all the sands of the River Ganges, which are inclusively known as the uncorrupted expanse, . the inconceivable expanse, ultimate virtue, unchanging and firm reahty, truth in the ultimate abiding nature of reality, the primordially liberated buddha-body, freedom from all conceptual elaborations of the four extremes, and renunciation of the two concepts of selfhood. These are spontaneously present, utterly transcending the phenomena of con- sciousness.
In general, those whose intelligence is authoritative, without into prejudice, do not differentiate between the two modes of [rang-stong and gzhan-stong] when abiding in the Madhyamaka [VIew], which is the summit of the four philosophical systems dependent on different traditions of promulgation which have been precisely enumer- ated. This is clearly understood through the respective treatises of the two great masters, Nagarjuna and Asanga, whom the Conqueror prophetically declared would comment o? the ? fthe meaning; and in conformity with them, It has been SImIlarly explamed by the all-knowing dialectician Ratnakarasanti, the venerable Bhavya, the Guru of Suvan)advlpa, 17-+ the lord Atisa and others. Even the master Haribhadra gives confirmation of it because, when explaining the inten- tion of the Ornament of Emergent Realisation [in his AJin'or Commentary, T 3791], he resolves that this non-dual pristine cognition alone is the genuinely existing essence. He then asserts this resolution to be made through the sequence of [discriminative awareness] produced by tion, or through the yoga produced by the meditation of a on the third level. 175 And he additionally confirms this by the recognition of just what is to be pristine cognition, and by eXplal? I? g, in his commentary on the essential buddha-body, that the remammg three buddha-bodies, through which it abides, are reality. .
In this way, the emptiness directly revealed through t? e intermed? ate promulgation is claimed to have the definitive meanm. g of explicit negation in order that it might cut through the egotIsm that IS emergent with intellect in corporeal beings; as well as through the VIeW of self, which is newly postulated by the philosophical systems of the eternalistic extremists; and through the subjective, conceptual elabora-
tions of those of our own [Buddhist] philosophical systems which pro- pound substantial existence. 176 Since [this intermediate promulgation] teaches that one meditates on emptiness when meditating on nothing at all, and realises just what is when nothing at all is perceived, that [reality] and its significance are indeed perceived. The view of this
[promulgation] is therefore in the range of understanding or proper realisation of selflessness.
It is difficult to destroy attachment to superficial characteristics (mtshan-'dzin). I77 However, in order for the discriminative awareness born of study and thought to refute it, the Prasangika and Svatantrika reasoning which cuts through conceptual elaboration is sharp. But when the experiences of meditation are established, it is this tradition of the
Great Madhyamaka, as taught in the third promulgation, which is profound and vast. This naturally present pristine cognition, the ultImate tru. th of the naturally pure expanse, is the original abiding o! all and it is the pristine cognition to be experienced by mdlvldual mtultIve awareness. As it is said in Rahula's Praise of the
Mother [yum-Ia bstod-pa, T 1127, attributed to Nagarjuna]: Homage to the Mother of the conquerors of the three
times,
Who is the ineffable, unthinkable, inexpressible Transcendental perfection of discriminative awareness nature uncreated and unceasing as the sky, ' Wlthm range of the individual intuitive awareness
That is pristine cognition.
And [in the Sutra ofExtensive Play, Ch. 25, v. l]:
I have found a nectar-like doctrine
Profound, calm, unelaborate, radiant and uncompounded.
By such quotations, the inconceivable pristine cognition has been illus-
and through the vision of its nature the ultimate truth is per-
ceIved. It is wrong to refer to the mere emptiness, which is nothing at all, as the ultimate truth.
of r. ea! itY. is the pristine cognition of the non-dual nature J what IS. It IS mdicated by the words buddha-body of reality or buddha-body which genuinely transcends the phenomena of ConSCIOusness. Yet, also comprised within this doctrine, which is mis-
secret mantr . 178 h d fi . .
p ' . a, t e e mltlVe order of the ground, path and result of
v and so forth which are adhered to by followers of the greater t e m both its causal and resultant aspects, and which include [the
Superiority ofGreat Madhyamaka 185
as the philosophical systen1 known as the Mind Only, are: efinltlVe order of the three continua as taught in the way of
bl··.
ISS, emptmess endowed WIth all supreme aspects, the im-
Seurnllnology] of deities, mantras, embodiments of indestructible reality
preme
,
186 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
perishable seminal point which is the fundamental support of body, speech and mind; and also the uncommon definitive order of the ground, path and result. .
One should know that the intention of the final promulgation, even though not within the path upheld by the proponents of intrinsic emp- tiness (rang-stong-pa), is without contradiction by examining, one by one, the commentaries of the great lords of the tenth level and the teachings belonging to the tantrapiraka of the way of secret mantra.
Therefore, while the intention of the final transmitted precepts is not the same as that of the mundane Mind Only system in any of its forms, the purposes of the lower phases of the vehicle are gradually gathered within the higher, so that [Mind Only and the like] are not contradictory apart from their vindication of an extreme position. In- deed, one must truly comprehend that the great distinction ofthe higher over the lower phases is a feature of the precious teaching of the sublime Sugata. Otherwise, after one had been given teaching on suffering, selflessness, impurity and impermanence according to the first pro- mulgation and everything had been established as emptiness according to the intermediate transmitted precepts, if one were then to grasp literally the meaningful intention revealed according to the final trans- mitted precepts concerning bliss, purity, permanence and true self,179 without knowing how to accept them with an attitude confident in the four kinds of reliance, one would engage in conceptualising thoughts which would confuse those who require training and wrongly scrutinise the teaching.
With an intention directed toward this, the Commentary on the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (p. 74) says accordingly:
To sum up, there are four kinds of individuals who do not possess the eye which perceives the nucleus of the tathagata. If you ask who these four are, they are as follows: ordinary persons, pious attendants, self-centred buddhas and bodhisattvas who have newly entered the vehicle. As it has been said,180 "0 Transcendent Lord, this nucleus of the tathagata is not within the range of those who fall into views concerning worldly existence, who openly delight in decep- tion and whose minds waver towards emptiness. "
This same point can also be proven thoroughly from all the transmitted precepts and treatises, but here one will suffice.
5 The Provisional and Definitive Meaning of the Transmitted Precepts
[92a. 6-95b. 6] When these teachings are allocated between the provi- sional meaning (drang-don) and the definitive meaning (nges-don), the three successive promulgations of the doctrinal wheel have the same common purpose, that is, to purify the stains covering the single nucleus of the tathagata. They differ only in the greatness of their means which respectively purify the gross, subtle and very subtle stains that suddenly
arise to obscure it. Thus, by teachings such as impermanence, the first promulgation arouses the mind from sarpsara and causes it to approach nirval). a. In the second, t. he three approaches to liberation become an antidote to attachment to superficial characteristics, which include the mundane view of self; and the third intends that the extensive way of the sugatas be comprehended through the topics of that irreversible
promulgation. This is extensively mentioned in passages such as the following from the Sutra of the Dialogue with King Dhara'fJfsvara (Dhara'fJfsvaraparipfcchasutra, T 147):
Son of the enlightened family, it is in the same way as, for example, a skilled jeweller, who knows well how gems are refined, takes an impure stone from a species of precious gemstones and, after wetting it in dirty salt water, has it cleaned with goats' hair, and similarly after then wetting it in a beverage has it cleaned with a woollen cloth, and after- wards, in the very same way, wets it in a herbal solution and has it cleaned with fine clean linen; when it is well refined, the stainless gem is said to be "a great gemstone of
the species beryl". Likewise, when a sentient being has first been induced to enter the Vinaya by the disturbing topics such as suffering and impermanence, and has then been made to realise the way of the tathagatas by means of the three approaches to liberation, he subsequently is made to enter the objective range of the tathagatas by the topics of the irreversible promulgation. To enter in this
188 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
way and realise reality is to become an unsurpassed object of
offering.
Thus, the three successive [promulgations] of transmitted precepts are classified into those 1)f provisional meaning and those of definitive meaning. It says in the Sutra which Decisively Reveals the Intention (Sandhininnocanasutra, T 106):
The first promulgation of the doctrinal wheel by the Tran- scendent Lord, through which the four sublime truths were taught to those who enter the vehicle of the pious attendants, is surpassed, circumstantial, of provisional meaning and con- tinues to be a basis for debate. Then, beginning with the Transcendent Lord's teaching that things have no essence, the second promulgation of the doctrinal wheel which teaches emptiness to those who correctly enter the greater vehicle is surpassed, circumstantial, of provisional meaning and con- tinues to be a basis for debate. And then, beginning with the Transcendent Lord's teaching that things have no es- sence, the third promulgation of the wheel of the exceedingly wondrous and amazing doctrine, which is well distinguished, was revealed to those correctly entering the entire vehicle. That promulgation of the doctrinal wheel is unsurpassed, not circumstantial, of definitive meaning and does not be- come a basis for debate.
The allocation of provisional and definitive meaning is determined in ways such as these.
The intermediate promulgation has accordingly been allocated pro- visional meaning because in this turning of the doctrinal wheel the enlightened attributes of ultimate reality, such as the powers of the sugatas, are mostly revealed to be empty of their own essence (rang- stong), though they are not actually empty of their own essence, and because it does not teach that these attributes are well distinguished and without inherent contradiction. For such reasons it is said to be surpassed and so on. Definitive meaning, on the other hand, is allocated to the third promulgation because [therein] things of relative appearance are empty of their own essence and the ultimate reality is empty of extraneous entities, so that the nature ofthese [attributes] is qualitatively well distinguished and then revealed.
If there are those who say that definitive meaning is contained in the intermediate promulgation because it teaches the transcendental perfec- tion of discriminative awareness, but that the final promulgation has an intention of provisional meaning because it teaches the contrary, then they have not made an accurate examination. The attributes, such as uncreated and unceasing original quiescence, which are terms relating
Provisional and Definitive Meaning 189
to the transcendental perfection of discriminative aw
extensively revealed in the final promulgation and afire mdolst
Id·hh· .
Yproouny revea e m t e ve . Icle of mdestructible reality.
However, there IS no distinction in the essence of the tra d I
i'. fd·. . .
penectlon 0 Iscnmmatlve awareness
which is said to b
nscenenta d · · . h
'
as surpassed or unsurpassed depending on wheth
e IstmgUls ed . .
I I
clear y or very c early revealed; for all the limitless [attributes] which
er It IS unclearly are revealed by names such as the nucleus of the h
1"
h · . sugata, t e expanse of Ity, t e n:md of mner radiance, the naturally pure enlightened
famIly, the genume goal and the emptiness which is the esse t· I d. dfb . . . nIanature 0 su are Identical in the naturally present, non-dual
pnstme cognItIOn. ThIS same [pristine cognition] I·S the t
d ranscenental
· f·. . .
per ectIOn 0 dlscnmmatlve awareness
D · - emaster Ignaga
fi . h·E.
Therefiore th
[m IS pztome ofthe Transcendental Perfection ofDiscrimin t' A
ness, v. 1] has said:
Being the transcendental perfection of
Discriminative awareness,
pristine cognition is the Tathagata. It. possesses the meaning
WhIch IS to be accomplished
This term applies to the cent;al texts and path. I81
a Ive
ware-
Th. e. final precepts are proven to be the meanmg by [scriptural] transmissions and [logical] reason- . . . e hImself made the classification of provisional and
e lnItlVe meamng, and moreover, in his own words said:
A monk who is called Asanga
in the meaning of these treatises,
WIll dIfferentiate in many categories
The siitras of provisional and definitive meaning.
The final [tra . d
defi . . ns. mItte precepts] were accordingly allocated conclusive
by this whom the Conqueror had meanings. y declared would dlfferentlate the provisonal and definitive
Thereare onthe th h d . .
the inter '. 0 . er a n , no authontatlve passages declaring
the final7tedlate to have definitive meaning and the p ransmItted precepts] provIsIOnal meaning. Indeed even if
roponents of the Vi(- -d ld ' transmitt d nanava a cou have composed these final
sequence as such, . would have mistaken the correct and by oth . . y above SImIle of the refinement of gemstones and the S}7lles refer to the medical treatment of ill-health order made 0 There ,:ould be no need even for the definitive
there w y onqueror hImself and the sublime [Asailga] and ould be lImItless other such faults. In addition, after first
.
190 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
the provisional meaning and intermediately the definitive meaning to those who require training, the provisional meaning would then be repeated, so that one would be obliged to consider just what is the BuddHa's intention vis-a-vis the teaching. It should be known that by
proceeding in this way, there would be all kinds of unbearable evils, such as allocating the conclusive definitive meaning to philosophical systems which propound substantial existence, slandering the buddhas and great bodhisattvas as holders of a relative teaching, and abandoning this doctrine of the nucleus.
Furthermore, since the three vehicles have reference to the definitive meaning gathered in the final promulgation, the definitive meaning is conclusively proven. This is extensively mentioned in passages such as the following from the Siitra of the Irreversible Wheel (Avaivartacakra- sutra, T 240):
Then, in reverence to the Transcendent Lord, the great bodhisattva arose from his lotus posture and asked, "Transcendent Lord, what is the dimension of this world system of Patient Endurance? "
He replied, "Son of the enlightened family, in the western direction of this world system there is a world system which outnumbers the sands of the River Ganges. "
Then he asked, "Transcendent Lord, in that world system which Transcendent Lord teaches the doctrine? "
"He is called the Tathagata Sakyamuni. " "What manner of doctrine does he teach? " "He begins from the three vehicles. " "What are the three vehicles? "
"He reveals the doctrine beginning with the three vehicles, which are the vehicle of the pious attendants, the vehicle of the self-centred buddhas and the greater vehicle. "
"Do these conform to the doctrine revealed by the Trans- cendent Lord Buddha? "
"Son of the enlightened family, the doctrines revealed by the [different] Transcendent Lord Buddhas do conform. "
"Just in what respect do the doctrines revealed by the Transcendent Lord Buddhas conform? "
And he replied, "The doctrines revealed by the Transcen- dent Lord Buddhas conform to the irreversible promulga- tion. "
6 The Enlightened or Buddha Family
[95 6- 06b. 4 When this buddha family of the unsurpassed greater vehIcle IS clasSIfied, the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle (Ch. 1
v. 149) says: '
One know this enlightened family to be twofold: One SImIlar to treasure and the other to a fruit tree
The [first] is that which naturally abides from the .
beginning,
And the [second] is supreme through having been genuinely nurtured.
So . there is both. an family which naturally abides and an famIly whIch IS nurtured. Concerning the former, the Sutra
of Fmal Nzrva1Ja says:
? on of the family, the reality of the mind which
IS radiance, and naturally without essence is
not dIfferent. Iated by naturally pure mind as it appears,
WIth the enlIghtened attributes of blazing major
and mInor marks, but it is differentiated by its nature of appearance and emptiness. 183
owYherefo. re, this enli? "htened family is classified, it is threefold bto Its funct. IOn of beIng the in which the culminating
Ii ht of the result anse. It consists of [firstly] the en-
. g ened famIly In which reality naturally abides which resembles an lInagemadeof' . . . '
causal b ' precIOUS gems In that It IS the spontaneously present
(sv -bh - a. sIs 0=ground separating (bral-rgyu) the essential buddha-body [s a aVlkakaya). or the uncorrupted expanse [from obscuration]' enhgh. tened family in the apparition of this realit; cau I a. Ides, whIch resembles a unIversal emperor in that it is the ob sa . asis separating the buddha-body of perfect rapture from
a gscludratl? n; and [thirdly] its apparitional reflection, which resembles
oen1m . h"
age In t at It IS the causal basis separating the emanational
192 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
body from obscuration. In actuality, however, the reality in which these three are of an inseparable essence is the great, naturally present, un- compounded buddha-body of reality, the pris. tine cog. nition of supreme sameness coalescing appearance and emptmess without conceptual Since it is the great, indivisible reality in the gro. und differentiating appearance and emptiness has cease? , It IS exemplIfied by the nature of the Tathagata. As the Supreme Contznuum ofthe Greater Vehicle (Ch. 1, v. 146) says:
Since it is supramundane, in the world
There are no examples to which it may be referred. Therefore the nature of the Tathagata
Is revealed to be similar to the seed [of buddhahood].
When this enlightened family is actualised without the conclusive truth of cessation according to the greater vehIcle IS the essential buddha-body endowed with two purities. . .
The [second] enlightened family, the one in which [reahty] IS includes those who awaken to the [aforementioned] twofold famIly, In which the expanse, or reality, and pristine cognition, or apparition, naturally abide, and those who to mteg- rate the two provisions of skilful means and awareness. Thesetwoprovisionsinturnaresubsumedbythe pathof learning (saik$amarga)184 which includes of enlIghtened mind, in order that the suddenly arisen stams covenng [the nucleus] might be removed. The Sutra of the Arrayed Bouquet says:
Sons of the Conqueror, this which is called the enlightened family is devoted to the expanse of reality. It is one in which, having seen the natural, inner radiance vast as sky, studies are pursued in furtherance of the great prOVISIOns of merit and pristine cognition.
So the former enlightened family is the ground of separation fr? m obscuration and the latter is the path which removes the stains covenng [the nucleus]. It is said that though the truth of t? e path on the ground-of-all and is subsumed in the causal basIs of froI? obscurations it does bring about the basis of unchangmg authentic liberation. This is because its function of attainment which effects result of separation [from obscurations] depends on the enhghtene family or the nucleus. . . it
For anyone to know that this enlightened famIly, . Y abides, does exist, it is inferred to exist through the sIgns [VISIble 1D those who] awaken to it, just as one, in general, infers fire from The signs that one has awakened to the natural enlightened. famIly the buddha-body of reality are indicated in the IntmductlOn to the Madhyarnaka (Ch. 6, vv. 4-Sc):
The Enlightened or Buddha Family 193 One who, having heard about emptiness even as an
ordinary person,
Experiences within, sheer delight again and again,
And who, owing to this delight, is brought to tears,
And whose body-hair stands erect,
Has the seed of intelligence which attains to perfect buddhahood.
That one is a vessel for this very instruction,
To whom the ultimate truth should be revealed.
The signs that one has awakened to the enlightened family of the buddha-body of form, which is the apparition of reality, are indicated in the Ornament of the Sutras of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 3, v. S):
Even prior to practice,
Correct conduct with respect to compassion, Volition, patience and virtue,
Is truly explained to be a sign of that family.
Then, the benefits which result when one awakens to that enlightened family are mentioned, too, in the same text (Ch. 3, v. 8):
Though a long time has been passed in evil existences, Liberation will swiftly be attained;
There, too, less suffering will be experienced,
And being disillusioned, one will mature sentient beings.
As long as one has once awakened to this enlightened family, one will not be born in evil existences, and even if one is so born, one will be liberated in merely the time it takes to bounce a ball of yarn. There, too, suffering will diminish, and through strong disillusionment [with one will indeed bring sentient beings to maturity. In this way
It is said that when the Teacher himself [Sakyamuni] became the strongest of charioteers in the hells, he was instantly liberated by awakening to that enlightened family which embodies great compassion, and was
185
born as a god in Trayatrirpsa.
He subsequently became the boy
Bhaskara, the son of a potter, in Jambudvlpa and aspired to enlighten-
in the presence of the Tathagata Sakyamuni. 186 Similar things are
saId about the series of his [ordinary] lives in which he took birth as
the daughter of a friend and so on.
lf living beings were without this enlightened family, those who ex .
penence suffering would not even feel regret. It would be reasonable for some not to think that samsara should be rejected and nirvana acquired, and even the desire for liberation would not arise in minds. However, untaught by anyone, some persons feel compassion When others experience suffering, and are disturbed by the experience
of suffering. One should know such phenomena to be the virtuous
194 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
power of the seed of beginningless reality. It says in the Supreme Con-
tinuum of the Greater Vehicle eCh. l, vv. 40-1):
Without the seed of buddhahood,
One would not feel regret for suffering;
One would have neither the desire,
Nor the prayer, nor the aspiration for nirva1)a.
This perception of suffering as a negative
And happiness as a positive attribute,
In relation to existence and nirva1)a,
Is present owing to the existence of the enlightened
family;
For it is not found in those lacking that family.
Passages which speak of beings belonging to no family or to a cut-off family are rhetorical devices which indicate through negation the base- ness in those who have not awakened to the enlightened family. Indeed, there are no living beings who do not belong to the enlightened family which naturally abides. The Sutra of the Nucleus of the Tathagata (Tathagatagarbhasutra, T 258) says:
Son of the enlightened family, this is the reality of all things. Whether the tathagatas have appeared or not, these sentient beings always possess the nucleus of the tathagata.
And in the Sutra ofQueen Srfmala eSrfmaladevfsirrzhanadasutra, T 92): The nucleus of the sugata
Completely pervades living beings.
Therefore, the mind is developed in the enlightened attitude of the greater vehicle consequent on awakening into the [first] enlightened family, which has two aspects and is the causal basis. Subsequently, the stains which obscure the buddha-body of reality are removed by experiencing, above all, the non-conceptualising pristine cognition dur- ing meditative equipoise; and the stains obscuring the two buddha- bodies of form are skilfully removed by conduct that is relevant to the two provisions with the assistance of illusion-like compassion during the aftermath [of that meditation].
Then, there is obtained the culminating result of this separation from obscuration (bral-'bras), the essential buddha-body. It is defined as al) expanse encompassed by inconceivable, uncorrupted, enlightened attri- butes, or the ground in which the buddha-body of form that appears to others is reflected like the moon in the sky. It naturally manifests as pristine cognition itself, without being extraneously sought, and is endowed with the three bodies of the buddhas manifest in and of them- selves. The Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle (Ch. 2, v. 3) says:
The Enlightened or Buddha Famity 195 which is called natural inner radiance is as the sky
It IS unobscured by the dense clouds . Of suddenly arisen conflicting emotions
And ignorance of the knowable.
This endowed with all enlightened
attnbutes of the taintless Buddha
Constant, steadfast and eternal, is
on the pristine cognition which discerns thIngs non-conceptually.
And [Ch. 2, vv. 38-9]:
beginning, middle, or end and indivisible, NeIther two, nor three, taintless and non-
conceptualising,
That which is the natural expanse of realIty,
Is perceived by the yogin during meditative equipoise.
with enlightened attributes that are Immeasurable,
That out. number the sands of the Ganges, limitless and wIthout peer,
This taintless expanse of the Tathagata
Has the entire range of faults, along with theIr propensities.
Arising from that [essential body], the two buddha-bodies of form have the same uncorrupted pristine cognition. They become naturally present a co-emergent cause, consisting of the basis of the pure
of requiring training, as well as the conditions of their aspIratIOns and their experience of the two provisions The o f t h e s e b o d i e s o f f o r m i s t h e n e s t a b i i s h e d of teaching in forms manifest to others who q re traInIng, In the manner, for example, of the moon reflected in
wat4eOf. As the above [Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle Ch 2
VV.
-1] says: W' h
) . ,
It a body which manifests the diverse rays ofthe true doctnne,
so that the liberation of living beings be achIeved,
by whIch the world is pacified
Their . deeds, like the king of wish-fulfilling gems
h'
t elr forms whIch cause [beings]
,
Are h .
A llhw out In eXIstence despite their diverse forms.
To t'
en er. Into, npen and prophetically declare the path
.
196
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
The Enlightened or Buddha Family 197
Also constantly abide therein, Just as form occupies space.
And as Nagarjuna [in the Eulogy to the Expanse ofReality, v. 101] says:
Since within the taintless body of reality
An ocean of pristine cognition abides,
The benefit of sentient beings emerges therefrom
In the manner of diverse gemstones.
In short, as [Longcenpa has said] in the Great Chariot (shing-rta chen-
mo):
On the path, one would not require the two provisions of the greater vehicle. In the result, one would not distinguish between the nirvana of the three vehicles; and as a conclusive result, one could not cro·ss beyond the abyss of nihilism. The refuge of ultimate reality would never be found.
It was with an intention directed toward this mode [of the nucleus] that the all-knowing doctrinal master [Longcenpa] said in the Precious Wish-fulfilling Treasury (yid-bzhin rin-po-che'i mdzod):
One who without knowing this mode [of the nucleus] determines emptiness verbally
As free from extremes of being and non-being
Harbours the view of the summit of existence,
Ignorant ofthe causal basis ofseparation from obscuration. Since he is outside this teaching,
He may as well cover himself with ashes,
Like those who hold the mind to emerge from space.
Such a wrong view is gathered within [the nihilism of] the Followers of Brhaspati [Barhaspatya]. The Doha also says:
I88
In this context, one should know that, among the three buddha-bodies, the body of reality, which is an expanse invisible to those requiring training outside the range of the Buddha alone, is present as subtle pristine cognition, the inner expanse that is unique and of a single savour. The two
buddha-bodies ofform endowed with pure enlightened activ- ity, which are the pristine cognition that manifests to others, outwardly radiate through its blessing and the aspiration of those requiring training. They appear in the manner of the moon in the sky [body of perfect rapture] and the moon in water [body of emanation].
I87
And in the Treasury of Philosophical Systems:
Since the three buddha-bodies are primordially present as the twofold enlightened family, the apparitional aspect of the buddha level or [the enlightened family] of inner growth is the body of perfect rapture and its empty aspect or [the enlightened family] which naturally abides is the body of reality. From the indivisible blessing of these two, the em- anational body gives teaching in form manifest to others who
require training, and is exemplified as the reflection of a universal emperor (cakravartin) shining on a golden moun-
tain.
One who, without knowing this, is attracted to the concept that a single uncompounded emptiness of explicit negation is the family which naturally abides, and that the enlightened famIly of mner growth is exclusively compounded and newly produced by the path, is found to interrupt the realisation which belongs to the of
learning as a conclusive result and so to adhere to the cessation of pious attendants' tradition, which resembles an expired butter lamp m that it establishes no order of buddha-body, pristine cognition and so forth. If one were to take this view, one would not even savour the fragrance of the truth of cessation according to the greater vehicle: In
the ground, one would fall into the extreme of conceptual elaborauon .
The Archer
"Those who hold the mind to emerge from space Never attain to liberation. "
If one were to think that on the paths of learning one develops anew, by the two causal provisions, what was previously non-existent, then the body of reality, or essential body of the buddha, and the body of perfect rapture would be compounded and impermanent. If one were to hold this view, it is said one would harbour the immeasurable defects of looking upon the continuum [of enlightened mind] as an ephemeral the suffering of change as something unrenounceable; the of the body of indestructible reality, which is pristine cogni- tlOn. as the sky, as non-existent; and the body of indestructible Itself as impermanent. Because of such limitless faults, one would deVIate from the meaning of the greater vehicle.
So: rather than merely differentiate the twofold enlightened family bemg the apparitional and emptiness aspects of a single expanse, it the fla,:les. s intention. of the all-knowing doctrinal master [Longcenpa] is It to be thIS supreme essence or natural expression which
mdivisible, uncorrupted and uncompounded. In the Great Chariot he says:
There are nine similes which reveal as spontaneously present the enlightened attributes of the Buddha's body of form, from the naturally radiant apparitional aspect of the tamtless mind-as-such, the naturally pure essence, the mind in which the genuine pristine cognition of the Buddha ori-
says:
198
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
The Enlightened or Buddha Family 199
ginally abides. And the comparison of its emptiness aspect, the enlightened attributes of the body of reality, with the sky is explained in all the sl1tras and tantras. However, these two are inseparable in the virtuous seed of beginningless reality. This [seed] firstly is called the enlightened family which naturally abides because it is unchanging, and se- condly is called the enlightened family of inner growth be- cause enlightened attributes are extensively manifest after the stains have been purified. Yet its root is inner radiance, the pristine cognition which is intuitive awareness.
Similarly, in the Extensive Sutra of the Commitments (dam-tshig mdo- rgyas), a teaching of the all-seeing Rongzompa, the naturally present pristine cognition in which the ground, path and result are inseparable, is said to be the mind or family of enlightenment:
That which is imperishable like a vajra is the mind of Saman- tabhadra, unchanging like a vajra, because it naturally con- tains no distinction between [firstly] the enlightened mind of beginningless time [i. e. the ground], [secondly] the pro- visional mind which is the causal situation [of the path ex- tending] from the development of enlightened mind to the attainment of the vajra-like contemplation, and [thirdly] the mind of the body of reality along with its actions which is the essence of the result, similar to the Wish-granting Tree and the precious Wish-fulfilling Gem.
These quotations serve to illustrate that all the paQ. Qitas and ac- complished masters of the Ancient Translation School, including the king of the doctrine Terdak Lingpa189 and his brother, have affirmed the same system exclusively. This can be known in detail from the Lecture Notes on the Nucleus of the Sugata (bde-gshegs snying-po'i stong- thun), the Lion's Roar in Affirmation ofExtrinsic Emptiness (gzhan-stong khas-len seng-ge'i nga-ro) and the Proof of Mind in its Natural State (gnyug-sems sgrub-pa) along with its branches, which are all teachings of the all-knowing Mipham jampel Gyepa.
Though there is no distinction Between the former and the latter, It is the nature of just what is, Untainted by all obscurations, That is held to be the buddha.
4 The Superiority of Great Madhyamaka to Mind Only
aspects of consciousness is revealed in the ultimate truth A d' 1 . ' 'd' h . . ccormgy, It IS sal m t e Sublzme Siitra of the Descent to Lanka:
One who become without mind, intellect, the conscious- of . the mtellect, conceptualising thoughts and percep- tIOn,_wIll. receptive to the uncreated doctrine. 0 0ahamatl, smce the doctrine which is apparitionless and fr. om. con. ceptualising thoughts is revealed, this ul-
tImate reahty IS WIthout order or orderly intervals.
[84a. 4-92a. 6] This system, according to which the relative is. ,empty of its own essence and the ultimate empty of other entities, is variously revealed in both the intermediate and final promulgations. However, in particular, the presence of profound, radiant and non-dual pristine cognition, the nucleus of the sugata, as the ground of emptiness is extensively taught in the piIaka of the final transmitted precepts, and in those which speak ofall things as merely apparitional aspects ofmind.
Derived from these [precepts], certain masters of the past have been obliged to admit that the mind is ultimately real and thereby originated the school of the VijfUinavada [proponents of consciousness], which is one of those known at the present day as the four philosophical systems. While not reaching the genuine intention, that mind described as the mind of which all things are merely apparitional aspects partakes of two circumstances, one under which its intention is directed to the consciousness of the ground-of-all, and the other under which its inten- tion is directed to the absolute reality (chos-nyid yongs-gnlb).
When the former is intended, it is said not to be the ultimate truth because it is impermanent, the bewildered subject and object being relative appearances. For example, the Siitra ofthe Adornment ofPristine Cognition's Appearance which Penetrates the Scope of All Buddhas says:
SaradvatIputra, that which is called mind includes the con- sciousness of mind and intellect, the mental body, the faculty of the intellect and the base of the intellect. This is what is called the mind. If you ask how emptiness relates with it, SaradvatIputra, the mind is empty of the mind. In it there is no actor. If there were some actor, then its actions would be experienced as such by others. The mind is not manifestly conditioned even by the mind.
Though it is taught that all things are merely apparitional aspects of mind, there is no occasion so to speak in connection with the ultimate truth, for the pristine cognition transcending mind, intellect and all
Maitreya
And also [Ch. 3, vv. 40-1]:
Having renounced the mind and intellect
Consciousness, perception and thoughts ' Th . ,
e pIOUS attendants who have obtained the conceptualising doctrine
Become the sons of the Conqueror. Through the distinctions of [buddha-]field
and [bodhisattvas'] receptiveness [Th . ]. ,
eygam theVIrtuouspristinecognitionoftheTathagata.
Superiority ofGreat Madhyamaka 179
180 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
Superiority ofGreat Madhyamaka 181
There are, in addition, proponents of the Mind system who hold that consciousness is not the ultimate truth. But this is simply a subjective perception of sarp. sara, unable to sublimate the world. The ultimate truth is as. t. he unc? r-
rupted expanse, and as the WhICh realises it, namely, the supramundane, indIVIdual, mtUitIVe awareness of the sublime beings.
The distinction between these two [views] has been extensively taught in passages such as the following from that [same] sutra of the greater vehicle [Descent to Lanka, p. 64]:
In this context, Mahamati, pristine cognition is of three kinds: mundane, supramundane and most 0 Of these, that which having been created is destroyed IS consciousness; and that which is neither created de- stroyed is pristine cognition. Moreover, MahamatI, that which falls into the dichotomy of being symbolic or non-sym- bolic that which falls into the dichotomy of being and non- and that which is created from caus. es diverse character, is consciousness; whereas that WhICh IS terised as utterly transcending the dichotomy of symbol. Ic and non-symbolic is pristine cognition. And agam Mahamati that which is characterised as accumulatmg them is and that which is characterised as diminish- ing them is pristine cognition. . . .
Now these three kinds [of pristine cogmtIon respectIvely] generate the realisation of individual and general characteris- tics, the realisation of that which is created and destroyed and the realisation of that which is neither created nor ceases. The mundane pristine cognition is that of the extremists who manifestly cling to theses of being or non-being of all ordinary childish persons. The supramundane pnstme cognition is that of all pious attendants and . bud- dhas who openly cling to thoughts which fall mto and general characteristics. The most supramundane pnstme cognition is the analytical insight of the buddhas bodhisattvas into apparitionless reality. It is seen to be WIth- out creation or cessation, for they comprehend the level of the Tathagata who is free from theses concernmg being and non-being. .
Furthermore, Mahamati, that which is charactensed as unattached is pristine cognition, and that is charac- teristically attached to various objects is And again, Mahamati, that which is as pro- duced from the triple combination [of subject, object and
their interaction]l? l is consciousness and that characterised as the essential nature which is not so produced is pristine cognition. Then again, Mahamati, that which is charac- terised as not to be attained is pristine cognition, since
each one's own sublime pristine cognition does not emerge
as a perceptual object of realisation, [but is present] in the
manner of the moon's reflection in water. On this it must be said [Ch. 3, vv. 38-9]:
The mind accrues deeds and so forth)
But pristine cognition breaks them down)·
By discriminative awareness) too) the apparitionless Reality and powers are well obtained.
It is the mind which objectifies.
And similarly it is said in the Sublime Sutra of Clouds of Precious Jewels
(Aryaratnameghasutra, T 231):
.
This doctrine genuinely transcends all written and spoken words. It genuinely transcends the entire range of expres- sions. It genuinely transcends all verbalisation. It is free from all conceptual elaboration and free from all that is accepted or rejected. It is free from all opening and closing, and free from all sophistry. It is not to be analysed and is
not within the range of sophistry. It genuinely transcends the range of sophistry. It is non-symbolic, free from sym-. bolism and genuinely transcends the range of symbolism. It genuinely transcends the range of the childish. It genuinely transcends the range ofall demons, and genuinely transcends
the range of all conflicting emotions. It genuinely transcends the range of consciousness. It does, however, lie within the range of the indetermin'ate, dynamic, quiescent and sublime pristine cognition. The individual, intrinsic awareness of these attributes is a topic which is taintless, uncovered, pure,
bountiful, supreme, sacred, perfect, permanent, firm, en- during and imperishable. Whether the tathagatas have ap- peared or not, this expanse of reality is exclusively present.
The inconceivability of the ultimate, sublime pristine cognition, ex- tensively revealed by such quotations, does not lie within the path [followed] by the proponents of the Mind Only system. It is admitted that this naturally radiant, intuitive awareness, the perception free from the subject-object dichotomy, is itself the true basis of buddhahood and it is held that the subject is dependently real. It is therefore
for anyone holding consciousness to exist substantially in ultimate reality to understand literally the selflessness of phenomena. In the same vein the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka (Ch. 10, vv. 359 and 358) also says:
182
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
Being mind only, it is apparitionless.
Being apparitionless, it is uncreated.
These middle paths
Have been explained by myself, and others too. Realising that there is only mind,
External substances are clarified.
By reversing the pattern of conceptualising thought, That path becomes the middle one.
So it is that this intention of the final transmitted precepts, abiding in the Great Madhyamaka of definitive meaning, is clearly revealed in
172
the commentaries of great bodhisattvas
the two promulgators who were masters of the greater [Nagar- juna and Asailga] along with their followers. Although certam masters may well have developed other systems and tenets e. lsewhere of necessity, it is difficult to estimate whether they are ordmary or sublIme beings. There may well be occasion to speak in the manner [of these masters] owing to various basic intentions once one has reached the level of the sublime ones, but childish persons like ourselves should understand the importance of not accumulating evil deeds which re- nounce the doctrine, having clung to a single extreme [view].
If this system [of Great Madhyamaka] were also to be as Mind Only because the three essential natures are taught then the three essential natures are extensively revealed, too, m the mter- mediate transmitted precepts such as the Intermediate Mother:
Maitreya, regard any imaginary form as not substantially existent. One might regard any conceptualised form as sub- stantially existent because thoughts exist substantially, but do not confer independent status upon it. Then you should regard the very form of reality as being disclosed by ultimate reality, for it is neither substantially existent nor not substan- tially existent.
And again in the Epitome ofthe Transcendental Perfection ofDiscriminative Awareness in Eight Thousand Lines (AHasahasrikapirJ,qartha, T 3809, vv. 27-9):
The transcendental perfection of discriminative awareness Genuinely depends on three teachings:
The imaginary, dependent and absolute alone.
By negative expressions and the like
All that is imaginary is refuted.
By apparition and other such similes
The dependent is correctly revealed.
'fi . 173 Through the fourfold pun lcatlOn
The absolute is well known.
Superiority ofGreat Madhyamaka 183
Other than the transcendental perfection Of discriminative awareness,
The buddhas have no teaching.
Similarly, in the master Nagamitra's Introduction to the Three Bodies
(Kayatrayavataramukha, T 3890), the three essential natures are also
summarised as the causal basis for the attainment of the three buddha-
bodies, and in the Commentary [on the Introduction to the Three Bodies . ,
Kayatrayavrttz, T 3891] composed by the proponent of the Great Madhyamaka, ]fianacandra, the same point is explained. Despite all the definitive structures of the three essential natures which have been set forth in all such texts of Great Madhyamaka, those who propound that they belong not to the Madhyamaka tradition but just to that of
Mind Only have not even seen these relevant texts. As the Siltra ofthe Descent to Lanka (Ch. 10, vv. 256-7) says:
One who relies on Mind Only,
Does not discern external objects.
Relying on the apparitionless,
Mind Only should be transcended.
Relying on the genuine object of reference,
The apparitionless should be transcended. A yogin who abides in the apparitionless Does not perceive the greater vehicle.
Accordingly, after Mind Only has been provisionally taught and then genuinely transcended, the apparitionless Madhyamaka is taught; and when that too has been transcended, the apparitional Madhyamaka is revealed. If that is not reached, it is said that the profound meaning of greater vehicle is not perceived. It is, in general, erroneous to everything expressed by the word mind as the Mind Only
doctnne; for there are occasions when the abiding nature free from all
extremes, [known] inclusively as the nature of just what is, the genuine
the natural nirval). a, the expanse of reality, the mind of inner
ra? lance, and the intellect of Samantabhadra, is indicated by the word mznd. The Long Mother says:
Subhuti, that mind is not the mind.
The nature of that mind is inner radiance.
One should not therefore mistake that which is spoken of as mind-as- SUch, the inner radiance transcending the mind of samsara and its events, for the Mind Only system which does transcend
The latter is characterised in the Satra of the Descent to anka (Ch. 3, v. 32 and Ch. 10, v. 486) as follows:
Conne. cted ,with propensities of conceptualising thought, The diVerSIty which arises from the mind
and in the compositions of
184 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
And appears externally to mankind, Is the mundane Mind Only [view].
There is indeed a distinction between the mundane and the supra- mundane Mind Only which is identical in meaning to the distinction between consciousness and pristine cognition, as previously explained. Similarly, those terms revealed in the most profound [sutras] of the greater vehicle which are synonyms of mind should be likewise
It would indeed be a grave error to equate the tenets of mundane Mmd Only with the Great Sage's buddha-body of reality and the mass of its inseparable enlightened attributes, exceeding all the sands of the River Ganges, which are inclusively known as the uncorrupted expanse, . the inconceivable expanse, ultimate virtue, unchanging and firm reahty, truth in the ultimate abiding nature of reality, the primordially liberated buddha-body, freedom from all conceptual elaborations of the four extremes, and renunciation of the two concepts of selfhood. These are spontaneously present, utterly transcending the phenomena of con- sciousness.
In general, those whose intelligence is authoritative, without into prejudice, do not differentiate between the two modes of [rang-stong and gzhan-stong] when abiding in the Madhyamaka [VIew], which is the summit of the four philosophical systems dependent on different traditions of promulgation which have been precisely enumer- ated. This is clearly understood through the respective treatises of the two great masters, Nagarjuna and Asanga, whom the Conqueror prophetically declared would comment o? the ? fthe meaning; and in conformity with them, It has been SImIlarly explamed by the all-knowing dialectician Ratnakarasanti, the venerable Bhavya, the Guru of Suvan)advlpa, 17-+ the lord Atisa and others. Even the master Haribhadra gives confirmation of it because, when explaining the inten- tion of the Ornament of Emergent Realisation [in his AJin'or Commentary, T 3791], he resolves that this non-dual pristine cognition alone is the genuinely existing essence. He then asserts this resolution to be made through the sequence of [discriminative awareness] produced by tion, or through the yoga produced by the meditation of a on the third level. 175 And he additionally confirms this by the recognition of just what is to be pristine cognition, and by eXplal? I? g, in his commentary on the essential buddha-body, that the remammg three buddha-bodies, through which it abides, are reality. .
In this way, the emptiness directly revealed through t? e intermed? ate promulgation is claimed to have the definitive meanm. g of explicit negation in order that it might cut through the egotIsm that IS emergent with intellect in corporeal beings; as well as through the VIeW of self, which is newly postulated by the philosophical systems of the eternalistic extremists; and through the subjective, conceptual elabora-
tions of those of our own [Buddhist] philosophical systems which pro- pound substantial existence. 176 Since [this intermediate promulgation] teaches that one meditates on emptiness when meditating on nothing at all, and realises just what is when nothing at all is perceived, that [reality] and its significance are indeed perceived. The view of this
[promulgation] is therefore in the range of understanding or proper realisation of selflessness.
It is difficult to destroy attachment to superficial characteristics (mtshan-'dzin). I77 However, in order for the discriminative awareness born of study and thought to refute it, the Prasangika and Svatantrika reasoning which cuts through conceptual elaboration is sharp. But when the experiences of meditation are established, it is this tradition of the
Great Madhyamaka, as taught in the third promulgation, which is profound and vast. This naturally present pristine cognition, the ultImate tru. th of the naturally pure expanse, is the original abiding o! all and it is the pristine cognition to be experienced by mdlvldual mtultIve awareness. As it is said in Rahula's Praise of the
Mother [yum-Ia bstod-pa, T 1127, attributed to Nagarjuna]: Homage to the Mother of the conquerors of the three
times,
Who is the ineffable, unthinkable, inexpressible Transcendental perfection of discriminative awareness nature uncreated and unceasing as the sky, ' Wlthm range of the individual intuitive awareness
That is pristine cognition.
And [in the Sutra ofExtensive Play, Ch. 25, v. l]:
I have found a nectar-like doctrine
Profound, calm, unelaborate, radiant and uncompounded.
By such quotations, the inconceivable pristine cognition has been illus-
and through the vision of its nature the ultimate truth is per-
ceIved. It is wrong to refer to the mere emptiness, which is nothing at all, as the ultimate truth.
of r. ea! itY. is the pristine cognition of the non-dual nature J what IS. It IS mdicated by the words buddha-body of reality or buddha-body which genuinely transcends the phenomena of ConSCIOusness. Yet, also comprised within this doctrine, which is mis-
secret mantr . 178 h d fi . .
p ' . a, t e e mltlVe order of the ground, path and result of
v and so forth which are adhered to by followers of the greater t e m both its causal and resultant aspects, and which include [the
Superiority ofGreat Madhyamaka 185
as the philosophical systen1 known as the Mind Only, are: efinltlVe order of the three continua as taught in the way of
bl··.
ISS, emptmess endowed WIth all supreme aspects, the im-
Seurnllnology] of deities, mantras, embodiments of indestructible reality
preme
,
186 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
perishable seminal point which is the fundamental support of body, speech and mind; and also the uncommon definitive order of the ground, path and result. .
One should know that the intention of the final promulgation, even though not within the path upheld by the proponents of intrinsic emp- tiness (rang-stong-pa), is without contradiction by examining, one by one, the commentaries of the great lords of the tenth level and the teachings belonging to the tantrapiraka of the way of secret mantra.
Therefore, while the intention of the final transmitted precepts is not the same as that of the mundane Mind Only system in any of its forms, the purposes of the lower phases of the vehicle are gradually gathered within the higher, so that [Mind Only and the like] are not contradictory apart from their vindication of an extreme position. In- deed, one must truly comprehend that the great distinction ofthe higher over the lower phases is a feature of the precious teaching of the sublime Sugata. Otherwise, after one had been given teaching on suffering, selflessness, impurity and impermanence according to the first pro- mulgation and everything had been established as emptiness according to the intermediate transmitted precepts, if one were then to grasp literally the meaningful intention revealed according to the final trans- mitted precepts concerning bliss, purity, permanence and true self,179 without knowing how to accept them with an attitude confident in the four kinds of reliance, one would engage in conceptualising thoughts which would confuse those who require training and wrongly scrutinise the teaching.
With an intention directed toward this, the Commentary on the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (p. 74) says accordingly:
To sum up, there are four kinds of individuals who do not possess the eye which perceives the nucleus of the tathagata. If you ask who these four are, they are as follows: ordinary persons, pious attendants, self-centred buddhas and bodhisattvas who have newly entered the vehicle. As it has been said,180 "0 Transcendent Lord, this nucleus of the tathagata is not within the range of those who fall into views concerning worldly existence, who openly delight in decep- tion and whose minds waver towards emptiness. "
This same point can also be proven thoroughly from all the transmitted precepts and treatises, but here one will suffice.
5 The Provisional and Definitive Meaning of the Transmitted Precepts
[92a. 6-95b. 6] When these teachings are allocated between the provi- sional meaning (drang-don) and the definitive meaning (nges-don), the three successive promulgations of the doctrinal wheel have the same common purpose, that is, to purify the stains covering the single nucleus of the tathagata. They differ only in the greatness of their means which respectively purify the gross, subtle and very subtle stains that suddenly
arise to obscure it. Thus, by teachings such as impermanence, the first promulgation arouses the mind from sarpsara and causes it to approach nirval). a. In the second, t. he three approaches to liberation become an antidote to attachment to superficial characteristics, which include the mundane view of self; and the third intends that the extensive way of the sugatas be comprehended through the topics of that irreversible
promulgation. This is extensively mentioned in passages such as the following from the Sutra of the Dialogue with King Dhara'fJfsvara (Dhara'fJfsvaraparipfcchasutra, T 147):
Son of the enlightened family, it is in the same way as, for example, a skilled jeweller, who knows well how gems are refined, takes an impure stone from a species of precious gemstones and, after wetting it in dirty salt water, has it cleaned with goats' hair, and similarly after then wetting it in a beverage has it cleaned with a woollen cloth, and after- wards, in the very same way, wets it in a herbal solution and has it cleaned with fine clean linen; when it is well refined, the stainless gem is said to be "a great gemstone of
the species beryl". Likewise, when a sentient being has first been induced to enter the Vinaya by the disturbing topics such as suffering and impermanence, and has then been made to realise the way of the tathagatas by means of the three approaches to liberation, he subsequently is made to enter the objective range of the tathagatas by the topics of the irreversible promulgation. To enter in this
188 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
way and realise reality is to become an unsurpassed object of
offering.
Thus, the three successive [promulgations] of transmitted precepts are classified into those 1)f provisional meaning and those of definitive meaning. It says in the Sutra which Decisively Reveals the Intention (Sandhininnocanasutra, T 106):
The first promulgation of the doctrinal wheel by the Tran- scendent Lord, through which the four sublime truths were taught to those who enter the vehicle of the pious attendants, is surpassed, circumstantial, of provisional meaning and con- tinues to be a basis for debate. Then, beginning with the Transcendent Lord's teaching that things have no essence, the second promulgation of the doctrinal wheel which teaches emptiness to those who correctly enter the greater vehicle is surpassed, circumstantial, of provisional meaning and con- tinues to be a basis for debate. And then, beginning with the Transcendent Lord's teaching that things have no es- sence, the third promulgation of the wheel of the exceedingly wondrous and amazing doctrine, which is well distinguished, was revealed to those correctly entering the entire vehicle. That promulgation of the doctrinal wheel is unsurpassed, not circumstantial, of definitive meaning and does not be- come a basis for debate.
The allocation of provisional and definitive meaning is determined in ways such as these.
The intermediate promulgation has accordingly been allocated pro- visional meaning because in this turning of the doctrinal wheel the enlightened attributes of ultimate reality, such as the powers of the sugatas, are mostly revealed to be empty of their own essence (rang- stong), though they are not actually empty of their own essence, and because it does not teach that these attributes are well distinguished and without inherent contradiction. For such reasons it is said to be surpassed and so on. Definitive meaning, on the other hand, is allocated to the third promulgation because [therein] things of relative appearance are empty of their own essence and the ultimate reality is empty of extraneous entities, so that the nature ofthese [attributes] is qualitatively well distinguished and then revealed.
If there are those who say that definitive meaning is contained in the intermediate promulgation because it teaches the transcendental perfec- tion of discriminative awareness, but that the final promulgation has an intention of provisional meaning because it teaches the contrary, then they have not made an accurate examination. The attributes, such as uncreated and unceasing original quiescence, which are terms relating
Provisional and Definitive Meaning 189
to the transcendental perfection of discriminative aw
extensively revealed in the final promulgation and afire mdolst
Id·hh· .
Yproouny revea e m t e ve . Icle of mdestructible reality.
However, there IS no distinction in the essence of the tra d I
i'. fd·. . .
penectlon 0 Iscnmmatlve awareness
which is said to b
nscenenta d · · . h
'
as surpassed or unsurpassed depending on wheth
e IstmgUls ed . .
I I
clear y or very c early revealed; for all the limitless [attributes] which
er It IS unclearly are revealed by names such as the nucleus of the h
1"
h · . sugata, t e expanse of Ity, t e n:md of mner radiance, the naturally pure enlightened
famIly, the genume goal and the emptiness which is the esse t· I d. dfb . . . nIanature 0 su are Identical in the naturally present, non-dual
pnstme cognItIOn. ThIS same [pristine cognition] I·S the t
d ranscenental
· f·. . .
per ectIOn 0 dlscnmmatlve awareness
D · - emaster Ignaga
fi . h·E.
Therefiore th
[m IS pztome ofthe Transcendental Perfection ofDiscrimin t' A
ness, v. 1] has said:
Being the transcendental perfection of
Discriminative awareness,
pristine cognition is the Tathagata. It. possesses the meaning
WhIch IS to be accomplished
This term applies to the cent;al texts and path. I81
a Ive
ware-
Th. e. final precepts are proven to be the meanmg by [scriptural] transmissions and [logical] reason- . . . e hImself made the classification of provisional and
e lnItlVe meamng, and moreover, in his own words said:
A monk who is called Asanga
in the meaning of these treatises,
WIll dIfferentiate in many categories
The siitras of provisional and definitive meaning.
The final [tra . d
defi . . ns. mItte precepts] were accordingly allocated conclusive
by this whom the Conqueror had meanings. y declared would dlfferentlate the provisonal and definitive
Thereare onthe th h d . .
the inter '. 0 . er a n , no authontatlve passages declaring
the final7tedlate to have definitive meaning and the p ransmItted precepts] provIsIOnal meaning. Indeed even if
roponents of the Vi(- -d ld ' transmitt d nanava a cou have composed these final
sequence as such, . would have mistaken the correct and by oth . . y above SImIle of the refinement of gemstones and the S}7lles refer to the medical treatment of ill-health order made 0 There ,:ould be no need even for the definitive
there w y onqueror hImself and the sublime [Asailga] and ould be lImItless other such faults. In addition, after first
.
190 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
the provisional meaning and intermediately the definitive meaning to those who require training, the provisional meaning would then be repeated, so that one would be obliged to consider just what is the BuddHa's intention vis-a-vis the teaching. It should be known that by
proceeding in this way, there would be all kinds of unbearable evils, such as allocating the conclusive definitive meaning to philosophical systems which propound substantial existence, slandering the buddhas and great bodhisattvas as holders of a relative teaching, and abandoning this doctrine of the nucleus.
Furthermore, since the three vehicles have reference to the definitive meaning gathered in the final promulgation, the definitive meaning is conclusively proven. This is extensively mentioned in passages such as the following from the Siitra of the Irreversible Wheel (Avaivartacakra- sutra, T 240):
Then, in reverence to the Transcendent Lord, the great bodhisattva arose from his lotus posture and asked, "Transcendent Lord, what is the dimension of this world system of Patient Endurance? "
He replied, "Son of the enlightened family, in the western direction of this world system there is a world system which outnumbers the sands of the River Ganges. "
Then he asked, "Transcendent Lord, in that world system which Transcendent Lord teaches the doctrine? "
"He is called the Tathagata Sakyamuni. " "What manner of doctrine does he teach? " "He begins from the three vehicles. " "What are the three vehicles? "
"He reveals the doctrine beginning with the three vehicles, which are the vehicle of the pious attendants, the vehicle of the self-centred buddhas and the greater vehicle. "
"Do these conform to the doctrine revealed by the Trans- cendent Lord Buddha? "
"Son of the enlightened family, the doctrines revealed by the [different] Transcendent Lord Buddhas do conform. "
"Just in what respect do the doctrines revealed by the Transcendent Lord Buddhas conform? "
And he replied, "The doctrines revealed by the Transcen- dent Lord Buddhas conform to the irreversible promulga- tion. "
6 The Enlightened or Buddha Family
[95 6- 06b. 4 When this buddha family of the unsurpassed greater vehIcle IS clasSIfied, the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle (Ch. 1
v. 149) says: '
One know this enlightened family to be twofold: One SImIlar to treasure and the other to a fruit tree
The [first] is that which naturally abides from the .
beginning,
And the [second] is supreme through having been genuinely nurtured.
So . there is both. an family which naturally abides and an famIly whIch IS nurtured. Concerning the former, the Sutra
of Fmal Nzrva1Ja says:
? on of the family, the reality of the mind which
IS radiance, and naturally without essence is
not dIfferent. Iated by naturally pure mind as it appears,
WIth the enlIghtened attributes of blazing major
and mInor marks, but it is differentiated by its nature of appearance and emptiness. 183
owYherefo. re, this enli? "htened family is classified, it is threefold bto Its funct. IOn of beIng the in which the culminating
Ii ht of the result anse. It consists of [firstly] the en-
. g ened famIly In which reality naturally abides which resembles an lInagemadeof' . . . '
causal b ' precIOUS gems In that It IS the spontaneously present
(sv -bh - a. sIs 0=ground separating (bral-rgyu) the essential buddha-body [s a aVlkakaya). or the uncorrupted expanse [from obscuration]' enhgh. tened family in the apparition of this realit; cau I a. Ides, whIch resembles a unIversal emperor in that it is the ob sa . asis separating the buddha-body of perfect rapture from
a gscludratl? n; and [thirdly] its apparitional reflection, which resembles
oen1m . h"
age In t at It IS the causal basis separating the emanational
192 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
body from obscuration. In actuality, however, the reality in which these three are of an inseparable essence is the great, naturally present, un- compounded buddha-body of reality, the pris. tine cog. nition of supreme sameness coalescing appearance and emptmess without conceptual Since it is the great, indivisible reality in the gro. und differentiating appearance and emptiness has cease? , It IS exemplIfied by the nature of the Tathagata. As the Supreme Contznuum ofthe Greater Vehicle (Ch. 1, v. 146) says:
Since it is supramundane, in the world
There are no examples to which it may be referred. Therefore the nature of the Tathagata
Is revealed to be similar to the seed [of buddhahood].
When this enlightened family is actualised without the conclusive truth of cessation according to the greater vehIcle IS the essential buddha-body endowed with two purities. . .
The [second] enlightened family, the one in which [reahty] IS includes those who awaken to the [aforementioned] twofold famIly, In which the expanse, or reality, and pristine cognition, or apparition, naturally abide, and those who to mteg- rate the two provisions of skilful means and awareness. Thesetwoprovisionsinturnaresubsumedbythe pathof learning (saik$amarga)184 which includes of enlIghtened mind, in order that the suddenly arisen stams covenng [the nucleus] might be removed. The Sutra of the Arrayed Bouquet says:
Sons of the Conqueror, this which is called the enlightened family is devoted to the expanse of reality. It is one in which, having seen the natural, inner radiance vast as sky, studies are pursued in furtherance of the great prOVISIOns of merit and pristine cognition.
So the former enlightened family is the ground of separation fr? m obscuration and the latter is the path which removes the stains covenng [the nucleus]. It is said that though the truth of t? e path on the ground-of-all and is subsumed in the causal basIs of froI? obscurations it does bring about the basis of unchangmg authentic liberation. This is because its function of attainment which effects result of separation [from obscurations] depends on the enhghtene family or the nucleus. . . it
For anyone to know that this enlightened famIly, . Y abides, does exist, it is inferred to exist through the sIgns [VISIble 1D those who] awaken to it, just as one, in general, infers fire from The signs that one has awakened to the natural enlightened. famIly the buddha-body of reality are indicated in the IntmductlOn to the Madhyarnaka (Ch. 6, vv. 4-Sc):
The Enlightened or Buddha Family 193 One who, having heard about emptiness even as an
ordinary person,
Experiences within, sheer delight again and again,
And who, owing to this delight, is brought to tears,
And whose body-hair stands erect,
Has the seed of intelligence which attains to perfect buddhahood.
That one is a vessel for this very instruction,
To whom the ultimate truth should be revealed.
The signs that one has awakened to the enlightened family of the buddha-body of form, which is the apparition of reality, are indicated in the Ornament of the Sutras of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 3, v. S):
Even prior to practice,
Correct conduct with respect to compassion, Volition, patience and virtue,
Is truly explained to be a sign of that family.
Then, the benefits which result when one awakens to that enlightened family are mentioned, too, in the same text (Ch. 3, v. 8):
Though a long time has been passed in evil existences, Liberation will swiftly be attained;
There, too, less suffering will be experienced,
And being disillusioned, one will mature sentient beings.
As long as one has once awakened to this enlightened family, one will not be born in evil existences, and even if one is so born, one will be liberated in merely the time it takes to bounce a ball of yarn. There, too, suffering will diminish, and through strong disillusionment [with one will indeed bring sentient beings to maturity. In this way
It is said that when the Teacher himself [Sakyamuni] became the strongest of charioteers in the hells, he was instantly liberated by awakening to that enlightened family which embodies great compassion, and was
185
born as a god in Trayatrirpsa.
He subsequently became the boy
Bhaskara, the son of a potter, in Jambudvlpa and aspired to enlighten-
in the presence of the Tathagata Sakyamuni. 186 Similar things are
saId about the series of his [ordinary] lives in which he took birth as
the daughter of a friend and so on.
lf living beings were without this enlightened family, those who ex .
penence suffering would not even feel regret. It would be reasonable for some not to think that samsara should be rejected and nirvana acquired, and even the desire for liberation would not arise in minds. However, untaught by anyone, some persons feel compassion When others experience suffering, and are disturbed by the experience
of suffering. One should know such phenomena to be the virtuous
194 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
power of the seed of beginningless reality. It says in the Supreme Con-
tinuum of the Greater Vehicle eCh. l, vv. 40-1):
Without the seed of buddhahood,
One would not feel regret for suffering;
One would have neither the desire,
Nor the prayer, nor the aspiration for nirva1)a.
This perception of suffering as a negative
And happiness as a positive attribute,
In relation to existence and nirva1)a,
Is present owing to the existence of the enlightened
family;
For it is not found in those lacking that family.
Passages which speak of beings belonging to no family or to a cut-off family are rhetorical devices which indicate through negation the base- ness in those who have not awakened to the enlightened family. Indeed, there are no living beings who do not belong to the enlightened family which naturally abides. The Sutra of the Nucleus of the Tathagata (Tathagatagarbhasutra, T 258) says:
Son of the enlightened family, this is the reality of all things. Whether the tathagatas have appeared or not, these sentient beings always possess the nucleus of the tathagata.
And in the Sutra ofQueen Srfmala eSrfmaladevfsirrzhanadasutra, T 92): The nucleus of the sugata
Completely pervades living beings.
Therefore, the mind is developed in the enlightened attitude of the greater vehicle consequent on awakening into the [first] enlightened family, which has two aspects and is the causal basis. Subsequently, the stains which obscure the buddha-body of reality are removed by experiencing, above all, the non-conceptualising pristine cognition dur- ing meditative equipoise; and the stains obscuring the two buddha- bodies of form are skilfully removed by conduct that is relevant to the two provisions with the assistance of illusion-like compassion during the aftermath [of that meditation].
Then, there is obtained the culminating result of this separation from obscuration (bral-'bras), the essential buddha-body. It is defined as al) expanse encompassed by inconceivable, uncorrupted, enlightened attri- butes, or the ground in which the buddha-body of form that appears to others is reflected like the moon in the sky. It naturally manifests as pristine cognition itself, without being extraneously sought, and is endowed with the three bodies of the buddhas manifest in and of them- selves. The Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle (Ch. 2, v. 3) says:
The Enlightened or Buddha Famity 195 which is called natural inner radiance is as the sky
It IS unobscured by the dense clouds . Of suddenly arisen conflicting emotions
And ignorance of the knowable.
This endowed with all enlightened
attnbutes of the taintless Buddha
Constant, steadfast and eternal, is
on the pristine cognition which discerns thIngs non-conceptually.
And [Ch. 2, vv. 38-9]:
beginning, middle, or end and indivisible, NeIther two, nor three, taintless and non-
conceptualising,
That which is the natural expanse of realIty,
Is perceived by the yogin during meditative equipoise.
with enlightened attributes that are Immeasurable,
That out. number the sands of the Ganges, limitless and wIthout peer,
This taintless expanse of the Tathagata
Has the entire range of faults, along with theIr propensities.
Arising from that [essential body], the two buddha-bodies of form have the same uncorrupted pristine cognition. They become naturally present a co-emergent cause, consisting of the basis of the pure
of requiring training, as well as the conditions of their aspIratIOns and their experience of the two provisions The o f t h e s e b o d i e s o f f o r m i s t h e n e s t a b i i s h e d of teaching in forms manifest to others who q re traInIng, In the manner, for example, of the moon reflected in
wat4eOf. As the above [Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle Ch 2
VV.
-1] says: W' h
) . ,
It a body which manifests the diverse rays ofthe true doctnne,
so that the liberation of living beings be achIeved,
by whIch the world is pacified
Their . deeds, like the king of wish-fulfilling gems
h'
t elr forms whIch cause [beings]
,
Are h .
A llhw out In eXIstence despite their diverse forms.
To t'
en er. Into, npen and prophetically declare the path
.
196
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
The Enlightened or Buddha Family 197
Also constantly abide therein, Just as form occupies space.
And as Nagarjuna [in the Eulogy to the Expanse ofReality, v. 101] says:
Since within the taintless body of reality
An ocean of pristine cognition abides,
The benefit of sentient beings emerges therefrom
In the manner of diverse gemstones.
In short, as [Longcenpa has said] in the Great Chariot (shing-rta chen-
mo):
On the path, one would not require the two provisions of the greater vehicle. In the result, one would not distinguish between the nirvana of the three vehicles; and as a conclusive result, one could not cro·ss beyond the abyss of nihilism. The refuge of ultimate reality would never be found.
It was with an intention directed toward this mode [of the nucleus] that the all-knowing doctrinal master [Longcenpa] said in the Precious Wish-fulfilling Treasury (yid-bzhin rin-po-che'i mdzod):
One who without knowing this mode [of the nucleus] determines emptiness verbally
As free from extremes of being and non-being
Harbours the view of the summit of existence,
Ignorant ofthe causal basis ofseparation from obscuration. Since he is outside this teaching,
He may as well cover himself with ashes,
Like those who hold the mind to emerge from space.
Such a wrong view is gathered within [the nihilism of] the Followers of Brhaspati [Barhaspatya]. The Doha also says:
I88
In this context, one should know that, among the three buddha-bodies, the body of reality, which is an expanse invisible to those requiring training outside the range of the Buddha alone, is present as subtle pristine cognition, the inner expanse that is unique and of a single savour. The two
buddha-bodies ofform endowed with pure enlightened activ- ity, which are the pristine cognition that manifests to others, outwardly radiate through its blessing and the aspiration of those requiring training. They appear in the manner of the moon in the sky [body of perfect rapture] and the moon in water [body of emanation].
I87
And in the Treasury of Philosophical Systems:
Since the three buddha-bodies are primordially present as the twofold enlightened family, the apparitional aspect of the buddha level or [the enlightened family] of inner growth is the body of perfect rapture and its empty aspect or [the enlightened family] which naturally abides is the body of reality. From the indivisible blessing of these two, the em- anational body gives teaching in form manifest to others who
require training, and is exemplified as the reflection of a universal emperor (cakravartin) shining on a golden moun-
tain.
One who, without knowing this, is attracted to the concept that a single uncompounded emptiness of explicit negation is the family which naturally abides, and that the enlightened famIly of mner growth is exclusively compounded and newly produced by the path, is found to interrupt the realisation which belongs to the of
learning as a conclusive result and so to adhere to the cessation of pious attendants' tradition, which resembles an expired butter lamp m that it establishes no order of buddha-body, pristine cognition and so forth. If one were to take this view, one would not even savour the fragrance of the truth of cessation according to the greater vehicle: In
the ground, one would fall into the extreme of conceptual elaborauon .
The Archer
"Those who hold the mind to emerge from space Never attain to liberation. "
If one were to think that on the paths of learning one develops anew, by the two causal provisions, what was previously non-existent, then the body of reality, or essential body of the buddha, and the body of perfect rapture would be compounded and impermanent. If one were to hold this view, it is said one would harbour the immeasurable defects of looking upon the continuum [of enlightened mind] as an ephemeral the suffering of change as something unrenounceable; the of the body of indestructible reality, which is pristine cogni- tlOn. as the sky, as non-existent; and the body of indestructible Itself as impermanent. Because of such limitless faults, one would deVIate from the meaning of the greater vehicle.
So: rather than merely differentiate the twofold enlightened family bemg the apparitional and emptiness aspects of a single expanse, it the fla,:les. s intention. of the all-knowing doctrinal master [Longcenpa] is It to be thIS supreme essence or natural expression which
mdivisible, uncorrupted and uncompounded. In the Great Chariot he says:
There are nine similes which reveal as spontaneously present the enlightened attributes of the Buddha's body of form, from the naturally radiant apparitional aspect of the tamtless mind-as-such, the naturally pure essence, the mind in which the genuine pristine cognition of the Buddha ori-
says:
198
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
The Enlightened or Buddha Family 199
ginally abides. And the comparison of its emptiness aspect, the enlightened attributes of the body of reality, with the sky is explained in all the sl1tras and tantras. However, these two are inseparable in the virtuous seed of beginningless reality. This [seed] firstly is called the enlightened family which naturally abides because it is unchanging, and se- condly is called the enlightened family of inner growth be- cause enlightened attributes are extensively manifest after the stains have been purified. Yet its root is inner radiance, the pristine cognition which is intuitive awareness.
Similarly, in the Extensive Sutra of the Commitments (dam-tshig mdo- rgyas), a teaching of the all-seeing Rongzompa, the naturally present pristine cognition in which the ground, path and result are inseparable, is said to be the mind or family of enlightenment:
That which is imperishable like a vajra is the mind of Saman- tabhadra, unchanging like a vajra, because it naturally con- tains no distinction between [firstly] the enlightened mind of beginningless time [i. e. the ground], [secondly] the pro- visional mind which is the causal situation [of the path ex- tending] from the development of enlightened mind to the attainment of the vajra-like contemplation, and [thirdly] the mind of the body of reality along with its actions which is the essence of the result, similar to the Wish-granting Tree and the precious Wish-fulfilling Gem.
These quotations serve to illustrate that all the paQ. Qitas and ac- complished masters of the Ancient Translation School, including the king of the doctrine Terdak Lingpa189 and his brother, have affirmed the same system exclusively. This can be known in detail from the Lecture Notes on the Nucleus of the Sugata (bde-gshegs snying-po'i stong- thun), the Lion's Roar in Affirmation ofExtrinsic Emptiness (gzhan-stong khas-len seng-ge'i nga-ro) and the Proof of Mind in its Natural State (gnyug-sems sgrub-pa) along with its branches, which are all teachings of the all-knowing Mipham jampel Gyepa.
