ent to the five
inexpiable
sins.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
The unchanging seal
Is executed by the unchanging truth.
'
In the mandala without extremes and
Pristine radiates emanatIon or absorptIOn.
This thoughtless natural expressIOn,
That is the Conqueror's mind, " Does not transcend the enlightened mmd.
In the same way, the area of conduct according to the causal. vehicle, is revealed to be complete [in Atiyoga], as the same text says.
By possessing the truth of this nucleus " The mind is not induced to deSIres. Likewise the six transcendental
Abide in the naturally present,
The intention without thoughts and IdeatIon: Endowed with the six transcendental Abides without thought and without apprehensIOn.
The unwavering, uninterrupted
Is the unqualified transcendental perfectIon of
discriminative awareness.
d d I Although this is extensively propoun e e sew
above illustration should suffice here.
This being the case, of the throughout
nature, which is just what IS, IS SaId to be a VIew °b s "t is devoid of the three times. It uproots the seed of sarpsara ecause 1
"
here in other texts, the
" g the abiding
Superiority ofAtiyoga 309
310
Fundamentals: VehiclesoJSecretMantra
these [attributes] is a topic which is taintless, uncovered, pure, bountiful, supreme, sacred, perfect, permanent, firm, enduring and imperishable. 30s the ta. thagatas have appeared or not, this expanse of reahty IS exclusIvely present.
Through these final words, the actual meaning, pure the ning, ofthe abiding nature ofthe Great Perfection is revealed Just as It IS.
9 The Definition of Atiyoga
[183a. 6-190a. 5] Now concerning that which is implied by the name Great Perfection: It is so called because it refers to the naturally present pristine cognition, without partiality or bias, in which the meanings of all the vehicles abide and are perfect in a single essence; or it is so called because all things are pure and are perfect in the instantaneous disposition of reality or awareness, without deliberate analysis by means of intellectual apprehension. The All-Accomplishing King says:
Perfect in one, perfect in two, perfect in mind.
Perfect in one, it is the perfection of mind's creations. Perfect in two, it is the perfection of excellent attributes. Perfect in all, it is the perfection ofthe enlightened mind. 306
And in the Sutra of the Dialogue with Sagaramati (Sagaramati- pariprcchasutra, T 152):
Those who are purifying these modes of the doctrine And those who direct the teaching
Concerning perfect enlightened mind
Are pure in the supreme enlightened mind,
And never covered by the stains of conflicting emotions. Just as the sky can be overcast
And yet subsequently become visible again,
So, the perfect enlightened mind of natural, inner
radiance
Can never be obscured by conflicting emotions.
,Therefore, the Great Perfection, the natural expression ofenlightened which is the inner radiance of reality, is revealed to be unbe- ,:ith re,spect to its primordially pure attributes. The Great
Utra of Fznal Nzrva1'}a also says in the same vein:
In addition, that which is said to be genuine is the mundane middle way, and that which is said to be perfect is known
312 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
as definitively unsurpassed and genuinely perfect, if the mid- dle way of the final path has been earnestly applied.
According to this teaching, the former is rationally established through the valid cognition of inference, and the latter, inasmuch as it is not an object of the intellect, actually abides in the intention of this, the
sublime path.
As to the verbal definition of Atiyoga: [The Sanskrit] ati [Tib. shin-tu]
means utmost, and also conveys the sense of supreme, best, perfect, climax and quintessence. [The Sanskrit] yoga [Tib. rnal-'byor] means union. Since it is the culmination of all yogas, it is the utmost or highest yoga, and since it is the nucleus of all aspects of the perfection stage, there is nothing else to be reached higher than Atiyoga. It is qualified
by the word "great" [Tib. chen-po] because through it the reality unborn like the sky, which is most profound and difficult to analyse, is directly revealed. The Transcendent Lord [Sakyamuni] also directed his inten- tion towards the verbal definition of this [vehicle] when he said:
To teach the doctrine
Which is inconceivable as the sky
Is the greatest.
Furthermore, concerning the perfection of all things of sarpsara and nirval)a in the naturally present awareness itself, Naropa has again said:
The contemplation of uncontrived awareness is
radiant,
Perfect in all meanings, without activity.
It is the ground-of-all in its naturally present state. It is the spontaneously present path of yoga,
not to be traversed,
And it is the result itself in which everything
whatsoever is perfect.
It is the perfect treasure of the seminal point, free
from activity,
The blissful pristine cognition or non-conceptualising
mind,
Perfected immediately by fortunate individuals,
And it comprises the thoughts of the six classes of
beings in sal1lsara
And the nirval)a that is the Conqueror's pristine
cognition.
The disposition of this unique awareness that is bliss
supreme,
And naturally present, uncontrived reality,
Is a spontaneously perfect disposition without conceptual elaboration.
Definition ofAtiyoga 313 The has also subsumed this in his Oral
instructzons of Sublzme Mafijusrf as follows:
Great Perfection, the matrix of pristine cognition, Is the utterly pure body, the great Vajradhara. Having obtained, through this second stage
h' h 307
of all the glorious ones
The enlightenment which conforms to the
path of three aeons,
And which is surpassed,
Why does the yogin, having accumulated so little bliss Not meditate on this [Great Perfection]? '
_this [in his Commentary on the Oral Instructions of Sublzme lvlanJusn: Sukusumanamamukhagamavftti, T 1866], Vitapada has eloquently saId:
That which is ca. lled the Great Perfection is the second stage
? f the. second stage. Its pristine cognition
IncludIng the mIrror-lIke one is fivefold, and the matrix is
the purest utter purity of these [five]. So it is called the
u. tterly pure body. This [matrix] is called the great Vajradhara
[I. e. the great holder of indestructible reality] because it is
resultant which is just what is. The expres-
SIOn all the glonous ones applies to all the buddhas because
they possess intrinsic discriminative awareness and this
Perfection] is the essence of the ultimate relative
realItIes of them all. In the text, this second stage refers only
to the stage of perfection. This, the supreme skilful means
of the long paths, which is said to be meditation, is expressed
by words such as frustration, and frustration is said to refer
to the paths which endure for three aeons by means of such
acts of liberality [as sacrificing one's own] head. Though
may have acted out of faith and obtained the enlightenment
whzch conforms to countless aeons [of activity] - from the
308
o
WhIC IS t e essence
first to the seventh [level] and the eighth to the tenth
that is said to . be surpassed because the unsurpassed Buddha, the great VaJradhara, possesses a still higher [enlighten- The ? liss. of this [path], being so little in comparison WIth the III supreme bliss, why does the yogin who It not meditate on this path through which the flono. us m. ost auspicious beings become accomplished
n a. SIngle lIfetIme? He should meditate on [the Great Per- fectIOn] alone.
Tthbe. profound abiding nature of reality, which is just what is does
no a Ide a b' · b · . '
s an 0 lect to e realIsed by the ostensIble reasoning of logic
-
314 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and sophistry. On this topic, the Sublime Satra which Decisively Reveals
the Intention says:
That which is within the range of individual, intuitive awareness
Is inexpressible and cut off from conventions.
It is ultimate reality without disputation,
And is characterised as transcending all sophistry.
And as it is said in the Siitra of the Descent to Lanka: A puerile evil sophist
Analyses it thus, in a corpse-like manner.
The discriminative awareness produced by is designated through ideas connected with points . of dIsputatIon, with characteristics and objects that are as as w. lth substances and attributes, and logical contrariety and - are entirely developed by the mind and mental events: thmkmg m terms of conventional and symbolic doctrines expressed m words and phrases. All things are therefore established to be without existence, to be without consciousness, without substance,. wlthout the ground-of-all, and so forth. They are established. as. emptmess by the intellect and the inference which is made therem IS asserted by the master Nagarjuna to be merely a childish train of thought. In the master's own words:
Regarding creation and cessation,
The condition is thought alone.
That which emerges in consciousness only
Has no substantial, independent existence.
If the sophist who resorts to ideas
Should meditate only on labels,
The terms "no independent existence" and "no
consciousness" ,
"No substance" and "no ground-of-all" Could be applied as well by a child!
They are entirely generated by evil sophists.
Therefore with reference to the ultimate truth, objects of scrutinY ' b . , Uiescence 0f
Definition ofAtiyoga 315
ideas and scrutiny becomes verbal chaff; thought and understanding become waves of conceptualisation; meditation becomes the apprehen- sion of that; and experience the appraisal of it. It becomes extremely difficult even to approach the profound meaning of the abiding nature
no matter how correctly it seems to arise in the face of the intellect. The Siitra ofthe Nucleus ofthe Buddha (Buddhagarbhasiitra, T 258) says:
The nucleus of the buddha is not seen as it is by those who are ordinary persons, pious attendants, self-centred buddhas or even bodhisattvas. For example, when one who is born blind asks another the colour of butter and is told that it
resembles snow, he touches snow and so apprehends the colour of butter to be cold. Then, when he asks what the colour of snow resembles and is told that it resembles the
wings of a goose, [hearing the sound of a goose's wings] he apprehends the colour of snow to be flapping. And then, when he asks what the colour of wings resembles and [is told that] it resembles a conch shell, he touches a conch and,
inasmuch as it is smooth, he apprehends [the wings] also to be smooth. Just as one born blind does not know colour as it is, whatever is described, in the same way it is very difficult to perceive the Buddha's natural expression.
Similarly, it is said in the Oral Instructions of Sublime Mafijufrf for Attaining the Real:
How can an ordinary person know
Such excellent, supreme pristine cognition? It is not known by the pious attendants.
It is not even known by the self-centred buddhas.
It is not known by the philosophers of Yogacara,
Or by the Madhyamaka philosophers among the bodhisattvas.
All the buddhas of the surpassed [levels], too,309 Do not even slightly know this.
statements have been extensively revealed by the Conqueror and hIS sons.
The difficulty of realising [pristine cognition] is also that the grasping
components of the mind and mental events, thinking exclusively with
hreference to effort, self-indulgence, ideas, scrutiny causes and results aVe d' 'd . , ,
. IVI ed and obscured It by hope and doubt, and apprehended it
In terms ofobjects and subjects such as the diverse symbols ofconceptual elab .
and inference are utterly contradictory ecause
I S a q . I t d o e s
conceptual elaboration, and an absence of ot felt
not abide in the path of verbalisation and and IS n hen
to pursue the imagination. For these If the o. cc. aslOns; of
meditative absorption in this pristine or e
the with
to
reality occurs are not recognised to be thIS a? SOrptlOn spiritual and philosophical goal [of Atiyoga], . which . IS respect to fundamental reality, then all that IS studIed pertammg
p
expanse through meditative equipoise, without wavering from this dis-
ora. tIOn. Here, on the other hand, in the general path of the Great erfectIOn, all conceptual elaborations become quiescent in the intrinsic
316 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
position in which the presence of fundamental reality, the abiding nature without bondage or liberation is established.
Other than that, nothing is contrived save that one abides constantly and naturally in the disposition of the supreme of intel- lect, which is free from all activities. All the suddenly ansen stains which appear through expressive power just naturally clear and naturally liberated, or antIdote being applied, in the unchanging space of mtnnsiC awareness, the primal emptiness, in the manner of water and waves. Other that, "meditation" and "meditative equipoise" are the labels conventIOnally applied to simple absorption in the intrinsic nature, just as it occurs without looking elsewhere, without purposefully medItatIng, withodt being fixed on one [point], without intellectualising, without conceptualising, without apprehending faults, without external. clarifi- cations and without internal attainment. Therefore the essence IS emp- tiness in that it is without thought or expression; signlessness, in that it is without conceptualisation; and aspirationlessness, in that it is with- out acceptance, rejection, hope or doubt. The three abide therein in an utterly pure character because there IS no objective reference to the three times. This is extensively indicated, as in the following example from the Pitaka of the Bodhisattva (Bodhisattva- pitaka, T 56):
In this connection, one might ask, what is the utter purity of the three spheres? It is the mind not entering into that which is past, the consciousness not pursuing the future and the intellect not entering into activity connected with present events. Since one does not abide in mind, intellect or con- sciousness, the past is not conceived of, hankering after the future is not active in the mind, and present events are not conceptually elaborated. Since this, the sameness throughout the three times, is the utter purity of the three spheres, the sentient beings who do not comprehend it should do. so. Thereby the great compassion of the Tathagata enters mto sentient beings.
And in the Siitra of the Greater Vehicle which is a Dialogue with :
All things are utterly pure of the past dimension. All things are utterly pure of the future dimension. All things are pure of the present dimension. This is th. e utter punty of the three times. This is an utter punty whIch never comes impure, and by virtue of this, its natural punty is the purest of all. For this reason all things are saId to be naturally radiant.
What, one might ask, is it that is the nature of all things? The nature ofall things is emptiness; they are without object- ive referent. The nature of all things is signlessness; they are free from idea and concept. The nature of all things is aspirationlessness; there is no acceptance, no rejection, no
thought, no force and a total absence of substantial existence.
It is naturally radiant. Whatever is the nature of samsara is
the nature of nirvaIfa. Whatever is the nature of is
the nature of all things. So it is that the mind is radiant.
And in the All-Accomplishing King:
Since it abides in that disposition,
It is unwavering spontaneous presence.
Since it naturally abides, it is not contrived by anyone.
This abiding in uncontrived reality
Is revealed as the supreme among actionless deeds.
By regarding one as two, meditation is in error. The single essence is not obtained by twO. 31O
And the master Naropa has also said:
Whatever abides in subjectivity
Turns to the result of samsara itself.
Without concluding desired purpose,
The secret, blissful level of pristine cognition
Is neither accomplished nor obtained through desire.
It emerges from its own desireless natural expression. The intrinsic manner of that perception is freshness. It is the intention of the All-Positive King.
In the Madhyamaka of the master Nagarjuna, also, it is clearly re-
vealed that the supreme transcendence of intellect is the truth which requires no meditation:
How could things which do not exist Number two or three and the like?
Free from the dogmatic conceptual elaboration Of appearances and mind, Reality, transcending intellect,
Is not an object of meditation.
the [in his Means for Meditation on Atiyoga,
'Yogabhavananama, T 2417] Illustrates the teaching that the funda-
:ental nature is accomplished just as it naturally occurs through its \\Tn presence:
Definition ofAtzyoga 317
318 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Atiyoga is without intellectual appreciation;
It is just as it is presented. . .
In the non-dual mind there is no eternahst VIew,
Nor is there a nihilist view.
Through such presence, the sublime pristine co. gnition the intellect, the reality which is neither to be determIned, is perfectly established in the direct perception of awareness, and, at this moment of realisation, all the doctnnal eloquently revealed by the tathagatas are gat? ered and_abIde
In this context, the Sutra of Candrapradfpa [l. e. the Sutra of the Kmg of Contemplation) SamadhirajasUtra, T 127] says:
In thousands of world systems
The siltras which I have explained . Differ in words and syllables but have the same meamng.
It is impossible to express them all,
But if one meditates deeply on a single word, One comes to meditate on them all.
All the buddhas, as many as there are,
Have abundantly explained phenomena. But if those skilled in meaning
Were to study only the phrase:
All things are emptiness,
The doctrine of the Buddha would not be scarce.
10 The Divisions of Atiyoga
[190a. 5-190b. 3] Secondly, the esoteric instructions which possess these extraordinary properties are revealed in the divisions of the Atiyoga vehicle. There are three modes of appraising the spiritual and philosophical goal according to the degree ofacumen [in those requiring training]. This is stated in the Great Array:
Now, after I have passed into nirval). a,
This will become manifest:
For those who hold to the mind there will be the
Mental Class;
For those who hold to space there will be the Spatial
Class;
For those who do not strive after stages
There will be the Esoteric Instructional Class.
In this way Atiyoga has three divisions. There is the Mental Class (sems-kyi-sde), which teaches that all things are liberated from the ex- treme of renunciation, because they are not separated from mind-as- such. There is the Spatial Class (klong-gi-sde), which teaches that all apparitions of reality are free from activity and liberated from the ex- treme of the antidote, because they are perfectly gathered in Saman- the space ofreality. And there is the profound Esoteric Instruc- tIonal Class (man-ngag-gi-sde), which teaches that the particular charac- teristics of truth itself are liberated from both extremes of renunciation and antidote because they are established according to the modes of reality (yin-lugs).
1'BE MENT AL CLASS
First, concerning the Mental Class: The spiritual and PhIlosophical goal of the Mental Class is that the compounded truth of the path, which is endowed with corruption and guided by firm percep-
320 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Divisions ofAtiyoga 321
tions which cling to the sequence of the vehicle, the two six transcendental perfections, the two stages and so forth, IS determmed (la-bzla-ba) in the great expanse liberated from aspects of a. nd result, virtue and evil, and acceptance and ! ej. ection to be the pnstme
cognition of great purity and ! hlS IS the natural expanse of reality which is the enlightened mmd m ItS natural state, or the. funda- mental reality of ultimate truth free from elabo. rauon. . In brief, all things which dualistically appear wnhm the subject-object
dichotomy are transcended. The following passages from the All- Accomplishing King also touch upon this:
In mind-as-such, which is the essence Of the enlightened mind,
There is neither meditation on the view, Nor the performance of conduct;
There is neither attainment of the result,
Nor progress through levels;
There is neither the creation of a maJ). c;iala,
Nor recitation, nor the perfection stage;
There is neither the conferral of empowerment,
mately equivalent; ultimately they are even equivalent to opinionatedness. "
While such teachings are insistently denied by the assertion which is made by some ofnarrow intellectual vision regarding the profound abiding nature, that the Great Perfection depreciates deeds, causes and results by allowing the area of skilful means to vanish, it can none the less be realised even from the above-cited passages that, though the childish intellect truly becomes afraid of the profound abiding nature, this doctrine which speaks of the dominion of pristine cognition, tran- scending the objects of conscious thought, and of the uncompounded expanse of reality that is the ultimate truth, is not developed through causes and conditions. It is held essentially not to abide in the three world realms or their elements, which are compounded by positive and negative deeds, and to be completely liberated from these.
If, however, one were to hanker for this [view ofnarrow intelligence], then as the master Nagarjuna's Root Stanzas on the Madhyamaka entitled Discriminative Awareness eCh. 18, v. S) says:
The conceptual elaboration of deeds and conflicting emotions,
Which are elaborated through discursive thought, Comes to cease through emptiness.
Thus [Nagarjuna], having said that all the causes and results of positive and negative deeds have emerged merely from the symbols of concep- tualising thought, then says that all these are pacified by the emptiness which is without conceptual elaborations. Concerning that pacification, too, he says (Ch. 18, v. 9):
Peace which is not extraneously known And absence of conceptual elaboration: These are the attributes of this [emptiness].
And also (Ch. 17, v. 33):
Conflicting emotions, deeds and bodies,
Actors and results are as
Castles in the sky, a mirage,
An optical illusion and the moon's [reflection] in
water.
And then, in his Transcendence of Existence According to Madhyamaka
CMadhyamakabhavasaizkranti, T 3840) he says:
Empty and without any conceptualisation,
Without activity in the mind, neither birth nor death, Apparitional in appearance, devoid of virtue and evil, Empty of'sarpsara and nirval). a,
And:
Nor the keeping of commitments.
The pure reality spontaneously present from the
beginning
Transcends the doctrines of cause and result Which adventitiously strive after sequences.
If one maintains that there is cause and effect For Atiyoga, the yoga of the Great Perfection, One has not realised the meaning of Great
Perfection.
If one maintains the relative and ultimate to be two, One's statements both exaggerate and depreciate;
One has not realised that there are not two.
The realisation of the buddhas of the three times
Is gained in the sole determination that two are not
seen.
And in the Sublime Sutra which Reveals the Relative and Ultimate Truth
eAryaparamarthasarrzvrtisatyanirdesasutra, T 179):
Mafiju8rl declared: "0 son of the gods, that which is just what it is, the expanse of reality, and the utterly are ultimately equivalent; ultimately they. are.
ent to the five inexpiable sins. That whIch IS Just what is, the expanse of reality, and the utterly unborn are ulu-
322 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
And of emptiness and compassion, . The radiant reality that is inexpressIble Apparitional radiance and. emptiness
Has slain all the buddhas. How is he untainted by sin? Yet if he were so tainted, What result would there be? 312
And eCh. 18, vv. 197-8):
All substances are like an apparition. One who acts to create and destroy them Therefore incurs no sin.
Merits also are the same.
Whoever is without either sin or merit
Is said to have enlightenment.
According to the extensive teachings given in passages such as these, the area of skilful means is indeed allowed to vanish. None the less, reality appears as a dream-like ripening of cause and result to those who have not realised this abiding nature and perceive dream-like phenomena to be the truth. Therefore it is said in the Madhyamaka [ef. Introduction to the Conduct of a Bodhisattva, Ch. 9, v. lIcd]:
With reference to the nature of mere illusory subjectivity:
One who is endowed with an illusory mind Incurs both merit and sin.
These therefore are false as a dream.
Now the Mental Class, if classified, consists of seven categories. The first is the area of mind which holds the result to be the mind's point of origin (,bras-bu sems-kyi byung-sar 'dod-pa'i sems-phyogs). The result is unchanging in the original expanse [of reality], and so the mind does not wander from this disposition, although it does ·arise in the manner of sarp. sara from the apparitional, spontaneously present aspect of the ground that is released from the same unchanging disposition. Therefore the mind is empty of impure particulars, and its emergence from the expanse, its abiding in the expanse and its dissolving in the expanse in the manner of a miraculous event in the sky, which are derived from that apparitional aspect, are determined to be primordial liberation, and effortless, natural presence (ye-grol rang-gzhag 'bad-rtsol nzed-par la-bzla-ba'o).
The second is the area of mind which has determined deviation and Obscuration (gol-sgrib la-bzla-ba'i sems-phyogs). The eight sequences [of the vehic1'e] from Anuyoga downwards are deviations from the ground because they are designated by the intellect. In this [area of the Mental Class], on the other hand, cause and conditions have been determined by the naturally present pristine cognition free from the intellect, so that the great, emptiness, which is reality, is unobscured
Is without substance and Ideas.
. h h passages which indicate the realisation of the
suc,
In accord WIt
. l' [th Mental Class] has occasion to revea
1d' 1h uect y t at vour of go d
ultimate rea lty, e
the realisation which occurs in the supreme common sa
. . 0 d '1 unfettered and unliberated by all posItIve and
an deeds is as previously stated, the in whIch the neg . . d' . d to be aspirationless m character. Such IS
of all thmgs IS etermlne - h· - said in the Authentic Conduct of a Bodhisattva (Aryabod lsattvacarya-
nirdesasutra, T 184): Ratnadatta said:
, Such must be declared:
Do not abandon desire.
Subdue not hatred.
. 311
Don't clarify de1USlon.
Do not move so as to surpass your own body.
Practice vice.
Do not eliminate opinion.
Don't teach about the entanglements.
Grasp the components as whole. . .
Combine the psychophysical bases mto one entity. Indulge in the sensory activity fields.
Do not progress beyond an infantile level.
Think unvirtuously.
Renounce virtue.
Do not pay attention to the Do not reflect upon the doctnne. Worship not the sarrzgha. . .
Do not properly undertake the traInIngs. Try not to pacify wordly existen. ce.
Do not cross the river [of suffenng].
an. should be instructed and advised. Why so? Because {t IS this abiding condition of the reality of things that a one
abides. . Ch 18 And it is similarly said in the glorious GuhyasamiiJa Tantra ( . ,
vv. 194-S):
. . b' sand buddhas: There is a sameness In sentIent. emg . )
Which is to be attained? Who IS at. tamer. The lord of attainment, supreme IdentIty,
Such are the instructions wIt w lC
.
. . h h' h ovice bodhisattva
Divisions ofAtiyoga 323
324 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
in its fundamental nature, beyond recollection, thought, bias, emergent sensation and so forth. .
The third is the area of mind which shatters source (gtan-tshigs khungs-rdib-pa'i sems-phyogs). By reahsmg the truth. whIch is uncontrived with respect to the ground, or the. su. preme such, free from conceptual elaboration, essence Is. hberated ':Ithout being created, and its unimpeded expreSSIve power evenly dIffused in a vast openness. There is no support so there is no ripening of either positive or negatlve attnbutes. ThIS Is_held to be liberation in sameness, throughout the extent ? f sarpsara and
. - b means of axioms [arising within]313 whIch concern the mrvana, Y . l'b'
emptiness of reality, its natural punty and great 1 eratlOn from extremes. .
The fourth is the area of mind which holds that IS no into partiality or bias (rgya-chad phyogs-lhung-med-par I phyogs). Although mind-as-such, the COg? l- tion, encompasses all of sarpsara and It IS WIth respect to substantial appearances, respect to msubstan- tial emptiness, and, being without eIther, not even descen. d into bias with respect to their coalescence. S. Ince 1. tS empty IS liberated from the extreme of eternalism a? ? ItS power is liberated from the extreme of It IS the reahty WIthout activity, transcending happiness and .
The fifth is the area of mind concermng the level of philosophical systems (phyogs-'dzin grub-mtha'i sa'i out abiding and without existing anywhere, the essence of mmd ans. es unimpededly in any appearance whatsoever. It is said in the Supenor Magical Net:
Appearing nowhere and everywhere,
The uncreated, magical diversity appears. The diverse maJ). 9alas of the Conqueror, too, Are the great miraculous display of mind.
. b . . . d d unapprehend- Accordingly, [the mind] does anse, ut It IS ummpe e ,
Divisions ofAtryoga 325
are the display of mind, the diversity of appearances is essenceless because mind-as-such is also essenceless; and although both the sub- jective forms of the mind which arise and objective appearances which emerge seem to differ, they are actually indivisible in reality, the
naturally present pristine cognition, where there is no such thing. The duality of sarpsara and nirvaJ). a arises from the spontaneously present vibration of [mind's] natural expressive power, and yet that which arises is without essence. The distinctive doctrine ofthis [Mental Class]
is therefore that [the mind] proceeds to natural liberation at the very moment when it arises. It says in the All-Accomplishing King:
Phenomenal existence, the world and its contents, All buddhas and sentient beings,
Are created by the mind,
And are one in the disposition of mind.
The Texts and Teaching Cycles ofthe Mental Class (NGB Vols. 1-3)
[l95a. 1-195b. 3] The tantras which express this Mental Class are said to number two million two hundred thousand verses. If these are sub- sumed, they comprise the Three Spaces (klong gsum-po) which are
contained in six thousand three hundred sections (bam-po), namely, the Space in which Reality is Inexpressible (chos-nyid brjod-du med-pa'i klong), the Space in which the View is Not Absent (lta-ba min-pa med-pa'i
klong) and the Space in which Conduct is Not Present (spyod-pa yin- pa med-pa'i klong). If further subsumed, these are gathered into the Three Vaults [or Appendices] ('phyong-gsum), namely, the Vault which Directly Reaches the Abiding Ground (gnas-pa gzhi-thog-phebs-pa'i 'Phyong), the Vault into the Liberation of Appearances Right Where
They Are (snang-ba rang-sar grol-ba'i 'phyong) and the Vault into the Equalisation without Differentiation (ngo-mnyam tha-dad med-pa'i
'Phyong).
The texts of the Mental Class also comprise one thousand and three great tantra sections which are entitled the Fifty Nails Undeviating with to Reality (chos-nyid-la 'chugs-pa med-pa'i gzer-bu lnga-bcu), the FIve Hundred and Eleven Situations in which Objects are Viewed as Mind (Yul sems-la lta-ba'i gnas lnga-bgya-bcu-gcig), the Twenty Thousand Simul-
taneous Distinctions between Appearances and Mind (snang-sems cig-car-du
khri-phrag-gnyis), the Fifty Thousand Determinations Made
In the All-Surpassing View (lta-ba thod-rgal-du la-bzla-ba lnga-khri) and
the Thousand Situations which Cut Through the Idea ofBeing in Meditation (sgOm-yod rtog-pa gcod-pa'i gnas cig-stong) .
. l. f this spiritual and philosophical goal of the Mental Class is essen- All the apparitions of reality which appear are perfect in reality, t e expanse of the enlightened mind, without having to seal all phenom- enal appearances with the seal of reality. The awareness of appearances
ing and non-conceptual.
The Sixth is the area of mind which transcends dogmatlsm co
h 'd ' l 'das-pa ing that which is free from the intellect (blo-bral p y,0? s- zzn-. as ee fr0111
sems-phyogs). The naturally present pristine cogmtIOn that ears. the intellect does not exist as any truth or falsehood, however , . pp nd It is a display of great liberation from the extremes of bemg a
non-being. r in ref-
'lMs-
The seventh is the area of mind which propounds actua . h . tu 314 smra-ba z
self'
erence to mind-as-such (sems-kyz p yogs yzn-.
phyogs). Although all these appearances appear dIversely becaus
e they
. ncern-
'I'
326 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
as the expressive power [of mind], or as a display [of . them without deliberate recogmtlon. The glonous
accompames
Narotapa [Naropa] also says:
This nature of diverse appearances
Is reality, and thus indivisible.
Therefore, for the radiant mind-as-such or mtentlOn,
In which [appearances and reality] Nothing even slightly appears that not reahty. This essence through which
Is seen as the nucleus of pristine cogmtlon ItSelf. Essentially it is inexpressible.
THE SPATIAL CLASS
[195bA-197bA] Secondly, concerning the Spatial Class: the s ace of SamantabhadrI, the reality of naturally present pnstme COglll- tfon, all apparitions of reality which are merely that array which manifests in and of Itself. . Other t deYh . 0
not exist as bondage and liberation, or as whIch anse an t actual arising. It is therefore not claimed, as m Mental Class. , t at [the apparitions of reality] appear as the and. dIsplay [of the mind]. The spiritual and philosophIcal
is the establishment of a great infinity of u scrutinised in terms of relational proof, explicit of implicitly affirmative negation of existence, or punty and lmpunty. The master Naropa's Means for Attaining the Real also says:
The effortless unconceived awareness, .
An blissful space manifest in and ? f. ltself, Arises as the spontaneously present space of pnstme
unchanging, naturally beyond causes and conditions, and without spa- tial parts. There are three subclassifications, namely, the Black Space of Deeds (mdzad-pa klong-nag) , the Black Space of Spirituality (thugs-rje klong-nag) and the Black Space of Emanation (spntl-pa klong-nag-gi sde).
As for the essence of the second, the teaching of the Variegated Space propounded as Diversity (klong khra-bo sna-tshogs-su smra-ba): It is positively held that the appearances in the display of this naturally present pristine cognition are an adornment and display of reality, which appears as a naturally arisen diversity; and it is negatively held that the [same] display, which arises all-pervasively and without direc- tion, is beyond refutation and proof. There are three subclassifications, namely, the Variegated Space which propounds Being in Conformity with the Mental Class (yod-smra sems-sde dang mthun-pa'i klong khra-bo), the Variegated Space which propounds Non-Being in Accordance with the Natural Position [of the Spatial Class, med-smra rang-gnas dang mthun-pa'i klong khra-bo], and the Variegated Space which propounds Both Being and Non-Being in Conformity with the Esoteric Instructional Class (yod-med man-ngag dang mthun-pa'i klong khra-bo).
According to the essence of the third, the teaching of the White Space propounded as the Mind (klong dkar-po sems-su smra-ba): It is held that everything which arises as outer appearance and inner aware- ness from the disposition of naturally present awareness is a display of mind, that appearances and conditions are pure from their basis with nothing to be done because they are liberated right where they are, and that there is nothing to be attained in the abiding nature. There are two subclassifications, namely, the White Space ofthe Inexpressible, Great Natural Arising (brjod-med rang-shar chen-po'i klong dkar-po), and the White Space of the Non-Duality of View and Meditation (lta-sgom gnyis-su-med-pa'i klong dkar-po).
Concerning the essence of the fourth, the teaching of the Infinite
Space in which Cause and Result are Determined Cklong rab-'byams
rgyu-'bras la-bzla-ba); It is held that all things which arise from the
disposition of the naturally present pristine cognition are known through
mind inasmuch as they are apparent, and are known through the abiding
inasmuch as they are not apparent. There are four subclassifica-
tIons, namely, the Outer Infinity which concerns Freedom from Activity
(bya-ba dang bral-ba phyi'i rab-'byams), the Inner Infinity which prop-
ounds the Spiritual and Philosophical Goal in accordance with the Texts
of the Spatial Class itself (grub-mtha' rang-gzhung-du smra-ba nang-gi
rab-'byams), the Secret Infinity which concerns the Dispelling of Obs-
(gegs-bsal-ba gsang-ba'i rab-'byams), and the Infinity of the Real
;Vhlch Unties the Essential (gnad-bkrol-ba de-kho-na-nyid-kyi rab- bYarns).
If these [four kinds of Spatial Class] are then subsumed, they comprise the teaching of the Four Spaces (klong-bzhi) concerning display (rol-pa) ,
cognition.
Naturally present and pervasive as . the . sky. .
This enlightened mind of
Is a blissful space of illusory pnstme It actually radiates as the holders of the pnstme
cognition t Of intuitive awareness, who are a naturally presen
illusion.
. . Ifclassified thisSpatialClassconsIstsoffour
[of teaching]· pounded
The essence the first, the teaching of the Blacdk pace is that
g po rgyu-me -du smra as the Absence of Causes (kiong na - . ' I
. . 'tion m Its natura state,
this naturally present pnstme cogm . ' r ' t If because it 15
refer to either the apparitions of realIty or rea Ity 1 se
. '
,
does not .
Divisions ofAtiyoga 327
328 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
adornment (rgyan), reality (chos-nyid), and freedom from activity (bya- bral). As to the first, [the Space of Display]: It is present because the display of mind-as-such does not change or alter from the disposition in which it unimpededly arises; and it is absent because this display which is without substantiality is not apprehended as an extreme. Its intention is openly directed in the manner of the sky.
As to the second, [the Space of Adornment]: Appearance, mind, natural presence and freedom from both artificiality and corruption, which successively arise as primordial adornments, arise unimpededly from that unborn disposition [of reality]. Appearances and mind are therefore neither refuted nor proven. Its intention is one of great natural rhythm and natural radiance.
As to the third, [the Space of Reality]: All things, whatever their source, neither come about, nor abide, nor cease. Though all the expres- sive powers of their display appear from the disposition of reality, they remain equipoised in the disposition of reality, just as the four elements do not wander from space.
Then, as to the fourth, [the Space of Freedom from activity]: Accept- ance and rejection through strenuous efforts are not required with reference to anything whatsoever. Everything abides in an uncom- pounded realm, in the manner of the sky, because it abides not to be done but primordially completed, not to be liberated but primordially liberated, not to be purified but primordially purified, and not to be attained but primordially accomplished.
If these categories of the Spatial Class are similarly subsumed, they are gathered into Nine [Spaces], namely, the Space in which the View is Unchanging (lta-ba 'pho-'gyur med-pa'i klong), the Space in which Meditation is neither Present nor Absent (bsgom-pa yin-min med-pa'i klong), the Space in which there is neither Hope nor Doubt for the Result (,bras-bu re-dogs med-pa'i klong), the Space in which the Essence is neither Accomplished nor Clarified (ngo-bo grub-bsal med-pa'i klong), the Space in which Natural Expression is Unimpeded (rang-bzhin ma- 'gags-pa'i klong), the Space in which Appearance and Mind are Liberated with respect to Characteristics (mtshan-nyid-la snang-sems grol-ba'i klong) , the Space in which the Expanse is Unchanging (dbyings 'pho-'gyur med-pa'i klong), the Space in which Display Unimpededly and Naturally Arises (rol-pa 'gag-med rang-shar-gyi klong) and the Space which is the Total Presence of Spontaneous Sameness and Primordial Liberation (lhun- mnyam ye-grol cog-bzhag-gi klong).
If these, in turn, are subsumed, they are gathered into Three Spaces, namely, the Space of Supremely Vast Spontaneous Presence (lhun- grub yangs-pa chen-po'i klong) , the Space of Effortless Radiance (rang-gsal bya-rtsol med-pa'i klong) and the Space which IS Primordially Accomplished though Nothing is Done (ma-byas ye-nas grub-pa'i klong).
Divisions ofAtiyoga 329 The Texts of the Spatial Class (NGB Vols. 3-4)
[197b. 4-198a. 4] There are eleven thousand chapters and six million four hundred thousand verses subsumed under the titles of the three thousand tantras, which extensively reveal these modes [of the Spatial Class]. . too, are gathered into the Eighty Thousand Aspects of Determznatzon (la-bzla-ba khri-phrag-brgyad); these are then gathered into Twenty. Thousand Aspects ofDistinction (shan-'byed khri-phrag gnyis); and these, m turn, are then gathered into Nine Hundred Conclusions ('gags with Two Thousand Essentials (gnad nyis-stong)
and the Nazis (gzer-bu lnga-bcu), all of these, if subsumed, are gathere? categories, namely, Liberation from Activity (byas- grol), LIberatIOn m the Establishment [of the Abiding Nature] (bzhag- grol) and Direct Liberation (cer-grol).
It is said in the Doha Composed by Lord Maitripa (Mahamudra- kanakamala, T 2454):
Non-conceptual, without ideas,
Transcending objects of ideas and scrutiny, Unthinking, without mind, utterly unthinkable, Without support or lack of support,
Or going, coming and abiding,
Awakening to the happiness and sorrows
Of saqlsara and nirval). a
In the space of supreme bliss,
Uncontrived, unwavering and naturally relaxed, Is the inner radiance, free from coming or going, In which mental events have been interrupted. Its appearance is ineffable and it is without any
master.
It is recognised to be reality,
The intrinsically radiant awareness, and the body of reality.
Passages such as this, too, have arrived at the spiritual and philosophical goal of the [Spatial Class].
THE ESOTERIC INSTRUCTIONAL CLASS
. .
