2), and the
Glorious
Tantra ofthe
Cessation of the Four Elements (dpal 'byung-bzhi zad-pa'i rgyud) during the period when the life-span was one hundred thousand years.
Cessation of the Four Elements (dpal 'byung-bzhi zad-pa'i rgyud) during the period when the life-span was one hundred thousand years.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
2, v.
69) says:
Because it is not an object of speech, Is subsumed by ultimate reality,
Is not within reason's domain,
Is beyond exemplification,
Is unsurpassed and is subsumed neither by existence nor quiescence,
The objective range of the Conqueror is inconceivable, Even to sublime beings.
These perfect supramundane fields in which the cycle ofmyriad pure worlds and their contents arise, forming the apparitional aspect of the great inner radiance of the ground, manifest in and of itself, are equi- valent to the purest of dreams. For, in situations where the subject-ob- ject dichotomy and its propensities are purified, there are not thought
to be any material substances with independent attributes existing elsewhere apart from that apparition. As the Tantra of the Extensive
Magical Net says:
If there is no understanding of intrinsic awareness or
THE
genuine perception,
The field of SukhavatI is even seen as a state of evil existence.
If the truth which is equivalent to the supreme of vehicles is realised,
Even states of evil existence are and
EMANA TIONAL BODY
The Teacher who instructs [sentient beings] appears as the body (ninna'fJakaya) in response to the degrees of im- punty, s11ght purity and utter purity of the stains which obscure the of the sugata within the minds of those to be trained. Without
. '
his buddha-body of form sends forth a varied, unimpeded
of emanations of effortless, great spirituality. Among these, realIty reflect . .
s as many aSpIratIons as there are shapes of the moon in vessels of unsullied water, dependent on the ostensible dichotomy of
from the expanse of ultimate reality, for both samsara and
nIrvana ha
. ' ve one great common savour m the utterly pure body of
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 127
128 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies ,r
. t ted and the instruction itself. As Ajita [in the Supreme
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 129
Manifestly perfect buddhahood is to be attained in only a single realm of which is disclosed to bodhisattvas as far as the path of insight by this body explained to be the imputed body of perfect rapture that appears to them, and by aspiration, the residual force of the accumulations, or mere intention. Therefore, the buddha-body of perfect rap- ture endowed with a multitude of forms has extensively ap- peared only as the emanational body in the realms. 130
And on the same subject, the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka (Ch. IO, v. 774) says:
In the desire and formless realms
The Buddha does not become enlightened. In among the realms of form, Without desire, you will attain buddhahood.
Through such quotations, authoritative passages do explain that the supreme emanational body attains buddhahood in before becoming a buddha in the human world, and thus confirm the meaning expressed in this section.
Emanations who Train Living Beings
Secondly, concerning the emanations who train living beings: From the nature of this [Teacher], the emanational body who instructs living beings reveals inconceivable modes of display through skilful means in order to mature fully the mass of those to be trained in all world systems. The venerable Ajita [or Maitreya, in the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle, Ch. 4, v. 54] has said:
Diversified in all realms,
By measureless emanations beyond thought, He benefits all sentient beings.
Accordingly, the supreme emanational body simultaneously reveals the way of twelve deeds in myriad world systems of the ten directions, since it is skilled in remaining in the realm, in passing from that realm, in taking birth, renouncing the world, practising asceticism, reaching the point of enlightenment, vanquishing Mara's host, attaining perfect enlightenment, turning the doctrinal wheel, passing into final nirval). a, and teaching the duration and the decline of the doctrine. In each of these [world systems] it emanates as the Six Sages Embodying who act on behalf of the six classes of beings to be trained, Instructing them in accord with their differing sense perceptions and respective classes. So it is said in the Sutra which Resembles the Elephant's Expre,ssive Power T 207):
those to be ms ruc . 4 Continuum of the Greater Vehzcle, Ch.
29] h
said' .
128
And in a sutra:
Having comprehended that the reality of the
Conqueror d . hut Is without body, tranquil, not twO, an WIt 0
substantial existence, . .
The body of form adorned with dIgnified marks
continues to teach, .
Fulfilling the hopes of all living bemgs. .
Just as in the pure terrain of beryl
The reflection of Surendra's
So in the pure terrain of bemgs
. f Munlndra's body IS reflected.
The Image 0
. . 1bod When the emana. tIona h
natural expressIOn, emanatIons w 0 t emanations.
Emanations of Natural Expression
is of three types: of living beings and diversIfied
,v .
as
. h emanations of natural expression: Just as the Firstly, concerning t e b ddha body of perfect rapture who
teacher, appears to those lords of
is an appantIOn of the exp h t ure among those to be trained, he
the tenth level who are somew a flP ted l'mage in clear crystal within . themanner0fare ec 1
also appears m . 1 b dy of natural expression, name y,
the five of the Srlmat Padmakula and Karma- Akanistha m the centre, an Ira 1, . . ' .
Therein he appraIses an in the form of the
measureless peaceful and wrath f major and minor marks
Five Teachers, who are iden:ified by °ofform 129 As an antidote . ' . hT thagataValrocana,t e lng '. .
begmnIng WIt . a . . f those who require trammg, he turns to the five conflIctmg emotIOnS 0 d . 1 heel by means of his five
the inexpressible and. cognitions and so great fields, five bodIes, Ive oc ,
forth. . d f erfect rapture and its retinue, Since this Teacher, who. IS the bo phe is classified in the Tantra is compounded by the mmds of 0 ' . ma dang zla-ba kha-sbyor-ba
ofthe Great Coalescence ofSun and Moon. (nyz- ·(. 'est pmanation of natural . d NGBV19)asaseml-manll' oJ- . '
rgyu , 0 . . hiloso her Dh2. rmamitra has, m un1- expreSSIOn. The Madhyamaka P . . d explanation [in the Clear formity with this, given the followmg UCl .
. '
h £ cardmal dIreCtIOns.
. .
prasiddhi m t de the doctrines through his body of
Word, Prasphurapada, T 37961:
130
Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
MafijusrI, at this, when a great bodhisattva has become evenly absorbed in the contemplation named Great Lotus (Mahiipadma), he has taken into his following or takes into his following the hellish domains of sentient beings, and causes all these beings to experience the bliss of the gods, however slight. These sentient beings also perceive him as a denizen of hell in the hells, and through that guise he teaches the doctrine to the sentient denizens of hell in order that they might become free from the hells.
And in the Great Bounteousness ofthe Buddhas:
Son of the enlightened family, the emanations of the tathagatas are immeasurable. They act on behalf of living beings by training each in accord with his needs, and by their forms, colours and names.
Now, if one were to ask just how these sages act on behalf of beings in this realm with its six classes of sentient creatures, the Superior Magical Net (sgyu-'phrul bla-ma, NGB Vol. 14, T 837) says:
In the realms of the gods he is Lord Sakra,
Among the antigods he is Vemacitra,
Among men he is the Lord of the Sakyas who subdues
Mara,
In the domain of tormented spirits he is Jvalamukha, To animals he is called Sirpha,
And in the hells he is Yama, lord of deeds.
Such a sixfold classification of realms applies in this world system of Patient Endurance (mi-mjed 'jig-rten-gyi khams, Skt. Sahalokadhiitu), the thirteenth among the series of twenty-five world which, as has already been explained, are situated one above the other upon the heart of a lotus on the palms of [Vairocana] the Great Glaciai Lake of Pristine Cognition, at the centre of his buddha-fields which are as infinite in extent as atomic particles. In this context, the [Tibetan] word mi-mjed ["endurable"] is explained to mean patient or intrepid. The sentient beings of this field endure desire, endure hatred, endure delusion and endure fetters of conflicting emotion. Thus, it is so called because the [Sanskrit] word saha conveys the sense of endurance or capability.
The living beings [inhabiting this world] appear also to have their own respective world-forming deeds. The Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas says:
The distinctions of deeds are inconceivable. The world of the hells slopes downwards. The world of Yama is topsy-turvy.
The animals and antigods move upwards and downwards.
Or the celestia! beings face upwards, the animal beings face honzontally, and the hellIsh and tormented beings face downwards.
These six [classes of beings] are complete within a single trichilio- cosmo As the Short Commentary on the Secret Nucleus (Srfguhyagar- bhapirJ4iirthatfkii, P 4755) says:
The six kinds of creatures in a single trichiliocosm Are said to be the field of a single emanational body.
The world system of the four continents comprises everything from the energy field [below the earth]132 upwards as far as Akanistha. The chiliocosm has a circumference which encloses one thousand world systems. The is encircled by a second perimeter enclosing tImes that m extent. The trichiliocosm is encircled by a
thIrd penmeter one thousand times the dichiliocosm in extent. The frontier limits of one myriad world systems are one billion times that in extent; a series of myriad world systems one billion times that· a myriad oceanic world systems one billion times that; and one of these equals a single Buddha-field whose Foundation and Centre are with Flowers (Kusumatalagarbhiilarrzkiirak$etra) , which is explamed to be the field of a supreme emanational body.
these. realms, [the supreme emanational body] projects the lamp of mstructlOn for those requiring training in as many ways as they have psychophysical bases, sense organs and modes of conduct, and acts on of sentient beings through four kinds of instruction. These four are mst:uction the great merit of the body, instruction by the direct mmd, instruction by inconceivable miraculous abilities,
and mstructlOn by knowledge conveyed in speech.
Concerning the first of these [which instructs by the great merit of the b d ] . . . .
o y , It IS ImpossIble to enumerate exactly, or otherwise to qualify,
131
the deeds of the Teacher's emanational body for it is a topic beyond con. I- '
u n the. sutras the greater vehicle, too, all manner of
q antItles are mentlOned whIch contradict one another and do not lend
themselves to summarisation; but here when his principle activities are SUbsumed . t . h
, ms ructlOn t rough the great merit of the body refers to
the deeds of t k b· h .
b. . a mg lrt ,renouncmg the world, practising asceticism
Mara, attaining buddhahood, turning the doctrinal wheel:
bISplaymg great miracles and passing into final nirvana. It is so called
ecause those requiring training who actually see them possess im- measurable merit.
Secondlyconc. . . b· .
the . - . ' mstructlOn y the dIrect perceptIon of mind,
hpnstme cogmtlOn [of the supreme emanational body] which is un It:ldered and unimpeded in respect of the three times: does not
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 131
132 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
discriminate between the three times while entering into all that is knowable. Accordingly, there are six supernormal cognitive powers which accompany his mind. These are the supernormal cognitive power which knows time totally without obscuration, the supernormal cogni- tive power which knows the minds of others totally unobscured, the supernormal cognitive power of clairvoyance which totally perceives everything, the supernormal cognitive power of clairaudience which totally hears everything, the supernormal cognitive power which mean- ingfully enacts rites of total benefit to sentient beings, and the supernor- mal cognitive power with respect to the cessation of corruption, in which obscurations have been purified. Since these directly perceive and overpower all that is knowable, they are instruction by the direct perception of his mind.
Thirdly, concerning instruction by miraculous abilities, the supreme emanational body acts on behalf of those who require training through the totally inconceivable [mystery] of his buddha-body, the totally in- conceivable [mystery] of his buddha-speech, and the totally inconceiv- able mystery of his buddha-mind. The mystery of buddha-body refers to his emanations who train living beings in accord with their class, such as Brahma and lsvara133 among the gods, a universal emperor among men, and Vemacitra among the antigods;134 and similarly as a woodpecker (shing-rta-mo) for the sake of birds, 135 Drdhasamadana, the king of lions, for the sake of wildlife,136 and so on. It refers, too, to the revelations of the maI). Qala of his visage which appropriately mani- fests in and of itself as the peaceful and wrathful deities, pisacf and so on, and to his revelations at various times, as when taking birth, trans- ferring realms, living, passing away, and residing [in other realms], which accord with the respective fortunes [of those requiring training].
The mystery of his bUddha-speech refers to the fact that the/revelation of the doctrine, which manifests according to those requiring training and their intelligence, is also understood by means ofdifferent languages and symbols. As the Great Bounteousness ofthe Buddhas [i. e. the Aspi- ration of Good Conduct, v. 18] says:
In the language ofgods, the languages ofnagas and In the languages of trolls and of humans,
In as many languages as there are among living beings, I teach the doctrine in the languages of all.
The mystery of his buddha-mind refers to the pristine cognition, free from all corruptions, which manifests appropriately for all by qual- itatively knowing the attitudes and minds of those requiring training. This threefold mystery is instruction through inconceivable miraculous abilities.
Fourth, concerning instruction by knowledge conveyed in speech, the supreme emanational body gives abbreviated teaching by means of
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 133 the five vehicles which correspond to the perception of th . .
. . h ose reqUInng trammg,. w 0 are . of five families or types (gotra). He gives detailed
teachIng eighty-four thousand doctrinal components as an antIdote for the eIghty-four thousand conflI·ctI·ng emot· d
h Idh· . IOns,an e conc u es corresponding to the degree of acumen [in
those reqUIre All these are instruction by knowledge conveyed In speech whIch conveys understanding beyond the attributes of mere. an. d. words, to the realms of sentient beings in an
appropnately IntellIgIble form through the tathagatas' bl . A - f d fi . . essIng.
sutra 0 e InItlVe meaning says: all these teachings,
I dId not teach a single syllable.
Diversified Emanations
s a
the eI? anations include all things basic to the greater of beIngs. As such, [the Teacher] reveals physical forms ongInate both naturally and through deliberate efforts _ emanatIons III the form of mansions verdant meadows ghandh l .
d . . . ' ,0 aspIres, an on the plaInS of suffering; as well as material objects such as
WIshmg Tree the Wish-fulfilling Gem (Cintama1}i), food, clothIng and medicine. It also includes other dIverse eman. atlOns. of artistry and birth such as a great fish which
appeared a of famine, a noble creature which appeared [to an epIdemIc, the horse Ajaneyabalaha in the island ofogres-
ses, and a golden bee in a swampy marsh. 140
descriptions [of these diversified emanations] are found dahs_ In _the Sutra of the Lamp of Precious Jewels
nama
ara1}zmahayanasutra, T 145):
EverYWhere I reveal many forms:
As kings among bards composing verses,
As dancers, drummers, athletes and musicians As dancers wearing beautiful ornaments
tadornments and garlands,
nd
bAnd merchants, captains and landlords.
become kings, priests and messengers, octors learned m the rites of worldly treatises And a vast oasis in a wilderness. '
I unending treasures of medicine and
precIOUS gems,
The Gem and the Tree which Brin s Forth WIshes; g
as masters ofmagical display.
become villagers, headmen and governors,
' '
134 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 135
And I reveal the path to those who deviate from the path.
Emanations According to the Great Perfection
According to one method of emanational the uncommon Great Perfection In partIcular, tebac dedrhs °b d
dfomtheappantIonal u a- 0 y emanational body have emanate r d b h If
of erfect ra ture in twelve different realms, and have acte on e a of by simultaneously manifesting great ema- national teachings of buddha-body, speech and mmd.
physical form, equal in size to the body of a living being, naturally produced from one hundred and one precious gems, which naturally arises through the blessing of the twelve teachers. Since these three [actualities] are uncompounded, they are subject neither to creation nor destruction, and since they arise naturally through blessing, they have immeasurable miraculous abilities and enlightened attributes. Therefore, no matter who encounters them, they are the support which causes the teaching of the body, speech and mind of the emanational bodies of past and future buddhas to multiply in the world systems. They also embody the enlightened activities [of those emanations] which are seen, heard and felt, and which subsequently cause corporeal reality to vanish of its own accord.
As for the realms in which [these actualities] reside, while they are
naturally expressed in a perpetual cycle, they reside in different realms
according to the times for instruction through the teachings of buddha-
body, speech and mind. The vajra, during the time for teaching through
buddha-body, remains on an island in the country of O<;i<;iiyana and
generates light, sound and countless emanational monks endowed with
miraculous abilities. During the time for teaching through buddha-
speech, the vajra is wielded by the kings on Mount Malaya, the
abode of Vajrapa1). i; and during the time for teaching through buddha-
142
mind, it abides in space above the Vajrasana.
The book, during the time for teaching through buddha-body, is
kept by the <;iakinls in the sublime space five hundred yojana above the Vajrasana; and during the time for teaching through buddha-speech, it remains with these same [<;iakinls]. Then during the time for teaching through buddha-mind, the book remains in the Cave ofthe Most Wrath- ful Sage (rab-tu khros-pa drang-srong-gi phug-pa).
The physical form, during the time for teaching through buddha- body, abides as the actual bodies of the buddhas, along with their emanations and further emanations through the blessing [of the aforementioned twelve teachers], and manifests the ma1). <;iala of their visage. During the time for teaching through buddha-speech, the phys- ical form roams indefinitely throughout Jambudvlpa and becomes a focus of worship for all extraordinary assemblies of gods and humans. On occasions when harm comes to the teaching, the physical form emits light from its bodies, the syllable HOM from their mouths and the fire of pristine cognition from their eyes. Then during the time for teaching which instructs through buddha-mind, it performs prostra- tions to the great glorious [Samantabhadra] whose natural expression remains the same, in the highest storey of Vajrapa1). i's palace in the celestial heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (Trayatrirrzsa), and it is the embodiment of oceanic miracles.
Simultaneously, the twelve teachers of the emanational body, too, appeared within their twelve realms. During the first aeon inhabited
Vajra on Lotus
In this world [Jambudvlpaj, the actuality of reality is a hand-sIzed vaJra produced fron: £ d by the Great which is naturally arisen through the. perfect rapture Perfection. The actuality of the teachIng 0 It nd of reality produced
'. from one hundred and one precIoUS fke an Only Son (rang-
. k 1· ingthenatura sou
is a four-mch boo ,proc a I m . hich is naturally ansen
through the blessing of the Naturally Present eac zng z . 1 body l·S the
. NYZ 1 7) The emanatlOna byung-ba bstan-pa bu-gczg-pa, vo . .
136 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 137
by those who require training, in the place called Pagoda of (dga'-ldan brtsegs-pa), the teacher Acintyaprabhasa [appeared] to a re- tinue of the Thousand Buddhas,143 and revealed the Penetration of Sound which is the basis of all teachings. It was compiled by the son
of the Gaje Wangcuk assisted by the son of the Nyima Nangje during the period when sentient beings had a hfe-span of Im-
measurable years.
In the world system of Patient Endurance (Sahalokadhatu), the
teacher [appeared to] a retinue of hundred thousand dakinls and revealed the teaching of the Fzve Tantras of Buddha-body, Sp;ech, Mind, Enlightened and Activ. ities (sku- gsung-thugs yon-tan phrin-las-kyi rgyud lnga) dUrIng the perIod when sentient beings had a life-span of ten million years.
In the realm of the Moisture Gathering Light Mass (drod-gsher 'od-kyis spungs-pa), the teacher Pel Jikpa Kyopei Yi [appeared a retinue of six hundred thousand bodhisattvas, and revealed the teachmg of the tantras Churner ofSarrzsara's Depths ('khor-ba dong-sprugs) , Crossing the Peacock's Neck (rma-bya mjing-bsnol, NGB Vol.
2), and the Glorious Tantra ofthe
Cessation of the Four Elements (dpal 'byung-bzhi zad-pa'i rgyud) during the period when the life-span was one hundred thousand years.
In the realm of Appearance in the W omb of Conception (chags-'byung mngal-du snang-ba), the teacher Zhonu Rolpa Nampali Tsewa [appeared to] a retinue of one thousand and and revealed the teaching of the Five Basic Tantras and Szx Branch Tantras of the
Mental Class (sems-sde rtsa-ba'i rgyud-lnga-dang yan-lag-gi rgyud-drug)
during the period when the life-span was eighty thousand years. . In the realm of the Garden of Sustaining Youth (,tsho-byed gzhon-nu'l ldum-ra), the sixth teacher Vajradhara144 appeared to a including the Seven Generations of Buddhas, and revealed teachmgs such as the
six transcendental perfections during the period when the life-span was
seventy thousand years.
In the realm of the Blazing Fire Mountain Charnel Ground of Most
Secret Display (gsang-chen rol-pa dur-khrod me-ri the. teacher Kumaravlrabalin appeared to a retinue of seven the bodhisattva Balahaka, and revealed the doctrine of many tantrapqaka, including those of the Father Tantra (pha-rgyud) and Mother Tantra (ma- rgyud) during the period when the life-span was sixty thousand years.
In the realm of the Ogre Cave endowed with the Sound of the Rulu Mantra (srin-phug ru-Iu'i sgra-dang-ldan-pa), the teacher Drangsong Trhopei Gyelpo [appeared to] a retinue often million ogres, and doctrines such as the Ten Tantras on the Discipline of Coarse Defilements
(rags-pa 'dul-ba'i rgyud-bcu) during the period when the life-span was ten thousand years. ,.
In the realm of Rajagrha near Vulture Peak phung-po 1 rgyaZ-po'i khab), the teacher Arhat SuvafJ)aprabhasa (gser- od dam-pa)
appeared to a retinue of immeasurable sublime pious attendants en- dowed with miraculous abilities and revealed immeasurable myriads of true doctrines on the Vinaya (,dul-ba) during the period when sentient beings had a life-span of five thousand years.
In the realm of the Turquoise Eyebrow in Mongolia (sog-po gYu'i smin-ma-can) near the victorious tree of enlightenment,145 the teacher Tsewe Rolpei Lodro [appeared to] a retinue of eighth level bodhi- sattvas146 and revealed the Seven Tantras ofSubtle Meaning (phra-rgyud bdun-pa) and so forth during the period when the life-span was one thousand years.
In the realm of Vulture Peak (Grdhrakara), the teacher, the elder Kasyapa, appeared to a retinue of seven long-living and revealed true doctrines which included the slUras, the Kriyatantra, and eighty thousand doctrines of the Anuyoga transmission during the period when the life-span was five hundred years.
In the realm of Vajrasana, near the forthcoming Tree of Enlighten- ment,147 the teacher Yab Ngondzok Gyelpo appeared to a retinue of the Lords of the Three Families and revealed only doctrines of definitive meaning during the period when the life-span was three hundred years.
Then in the realm of AnathapiQc;lada's Pleasure Grove (kun-dga' ra- ba), the teacher Sakyamuni [appeared to] a retinue of the four orders, and promulgated the doctrinal wheel of the four truths twelve times during the period when the life-span was one hundred years.
Since these events in the twelve realms are each connected with the five excellences [ofplace, teacher, retinue, doctrine and time], an enum- eration of sixty doctrines emerges.
Concerning the approach [of the Great Perfection] to enlightened activities also, many special attributes have been explained. The twelve deeds of the body are as follows: In the twelve different realms, the Teacher himself appeared, emanated in twelve forms endowed with different colours and symbolic implements. He came forth in order to propagate the teaching of the body, relying on the charisma of the buddha-body which is said to perform twelve different deeds of im- measurable benefit to different gatherings of those requiring training Who belong to twelve dissimilar classes or types (gotra).
Then, while [emanating] these bodies, he delivered twelve different doctrinal wheels of speech and so came forth in order to propagate the of speech, which is said to perform deeds which liberate living bemgs from the twelve different fetters of speech. During the time of that same speech, through the twelve different intentions of his mind, he came forth in order to propagate the teaching of mind which is said to perform deeds which liberate the different classes of living beings from their twelve thought patterns. So it is that a single emanational body who establishes the teaching in this way requires an enumeration of ninety-six doctrines. One who possesses these doctrines is said to be
138 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
a master of the teaching, and if one does not possess them it is said that the partial teaching of the Buddha has appeared, in the w? rld; for these doctrines have emerged from the perfect generatIon of enhghtened
mind in the past,
It is said in the Great Array:
Through nine aspects beginning with the outer, The details of his deeds must be distinguished,
Therefore, deeds are spoken of in many ways. For example, dee,ds of body, speech and mind are each classified into three outer and mner aspects and each of these is also classified into fo;ur. I shall not enlarge upon this here. They are all evident m area of
[the Teacher's] intention, and the Sugata, m skIlful means, manifests the buddha-body of form in ways whIch correspond to number of atoms in the myriad fields of those requiring training, whIch
are of oceanic extent.
Concerning the revelation of the buddhas' deeds, should not
think that there is a contradiction even if within one there differences. Since the emanational power of the buddhas IS an mconcelV- able object, it is not even within the range of the ? f sublime [bodhisattvas], let alone ordinary persons. Smce theIr tImes
and those who require to be trained by them and so be exactly enumerated, one should not, having seen one of aspects, disparage the others. For this it is in _the Sublzme which Genuinely Comprises the Entzre Doctrme (Aryadharmasan:zgztz,
T 238):
Sentient beings who will an aeon of dissolution to become an aeon of evolution can indeed transform an aeon of dissolu- tion into an aeon of evolution; and they experience an aeon of evolution. Sentient beings who will an aeon of evolution
to become an aeon of dissolution can indeed transform an aeon of evolution into an aeon of dissolution; and they experi- ence an aeon of dissolution. But really the evolution and the dissolution do not change into one another; for it is the will which changes in this way. Similarly, sentient beings. who
will one aeon to become just one morning may expenence one aeon in one morning. And sentient beings who will morning to become one aeon may experience j. ust is called the miraculous ability born ofthe bodhIsattva swIll.
4 TheFiveBuddha-bodiesand Five Pristine Cognitions
[60a. 3-63a. 5] When these three buddha-bodies [which have just been outlined] are classified according to the five buddha-bodies, there are
148
two exegetical traditions. Scholars of the Zur tradition
there are five buddha-bodies with the addition of the body of awakening (abhisambodhikaya), which derives from the distinct apparitional functions of the three bodies; and the body of indestructible reality (vajrakaya) which derives from the function of their indivisible essence. These scholars assert therefore that the three bodies of reality, perfect rapture and emanation are the characteristic nature of the buddha- body, while the other two are the conventional buddha-body because, among them, the former is determined by the function of the form of the three bodies and the latter by the function of their indivisible essence.
The Longcenpa claims that the three bodies of reality, awakenmg and indestructible reality are the characteristic nature of the that manifests in and of itself (rang-snang), while the bodIes of perfect rapture and emanation are conventional because they are c? mpounded by the external perception (gzhan-snang) of those who reqUlre training.
Though no contradiction is discerned whichever of these explanations one follows, none the less when the buddha-body is definitively ordered according to its characteristic nature, it is the original expanse, the naturally pure point of liberation, primordially pure, in which all bUddhas are of a single expanse, the reality in which all paths are traversed, that is called the unchanging buddha-body of Indestructible reality. This is because it is perpetual, stable, and without changing or turning into all manner offorms. bt al,so called "natural purity" because it is taintless from the
, egmnlng, and "the buddha endowed with two purities" because it
IS une,rly pure with respect to the two aspects of suddenly arisen ob-
SCUratIOn. As the Net ofPristine Cognition (ye-shes drva-ba, NGB Vol. IS) says: .
claim that
140 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Five Buddha-bodies and Five Pristine Cognitions 141
The pure expanse is the body of indestructible reality. It is unchanging, undecaying and beyond thought.
The buddha-body of awakening is so called because it possesses the attributes of knowledge, love and power such as the ten powers (dasatathagatabala, Mvt. 119-29), the four fearlessnesses (catur- vaisaradya, Mvt. 130-34), the eighteen distinct attributes ofthe buddhas (aHadasaverJikabuddhadharma, Mvt. 135-53) and great compassion (mahakarurJa, Mvt. 154-86). It abides as the basis for the arising of all distinct doctrines and its attributes are free from obscuration owing to the unimpeded expression of [all-]knowing pristine cognition which is the apparitional aspect [of the above-mentioned body of indestructible reality] endowed with the two purities. As the above-cited [Net of Pristine Cognition] says:
Because it is taintless, it is pure.
Vast in attributes, it is consummate. Permeated by non-duality, it is coalescent. Such is called the body of awakening.
Then, when the buddha-body is definitively ordered according to pristine cognition, it is explained that the pristine cognition of the expanse of reality (dharmadhatujiiana) is the pristine cognition which qualitatively knows [the view, ji-lta-ba mkhyen-pa'i ye-shes], and the four subsequent pristine cognitions through their functions of support- ing and depending on [the former] comprise the pristine cognition which quantitatively knows [phenomena, ji-snyed-pa mkhyen-pa'i ye- shes]. The great scholars who taught the definitive meaning during the later period of doctrinal propagation [in Tibet]149 meant the same when they explained the pristine cognition of the expanse of reality to refer to ultimate reality and the four subsequent pristine cognitions to be intermingled with various aspects of relative appearance.
Moreover, among those pristine cognitions, the former is held to be [the perception characterizing] the buddha-body of reality. As the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 2, v. 38) says:
Without beginning, middle or end, and indivisible,
It is neither two, nor three, taintless and without thought.
The four subsequent pristine cognitions are respectively described in the following quotations from the Ornament of the Sutras of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 9, vv. 68-9):
The selfless mirror-like pristine cognition
Is completely unbroken and permanent.
Undeluded with regard to all [things] that are knowable, It is never directed upon them.
Since it is the causal basis of all pristine cognitions,
As if the supreme source of pristine cognition, It is the buddhahood of perfect rapture.
And (Ch. 9, vv. 70-1):
The pristine cognition of sameness
Is held to be purity of meditation
With respect to sentient beings.
That which abides dynamically and at peace
Is held to be the pristine cognition of sameness. At all times endowed with loving kindness
And pure, consummate spirituality,
The buddha-body is definitively revealed
For all sentient beings in accord with their devotion.
And again (Ch. 9, vv. 72-3):
The pristine cognition of discernment,
Ever unimpeded with regard to all that is knowable, Is solely like a treasure store
Of the contemplations and the dharaJ). Is.
In all the surrounding maJ). Qalas,
As the revealer of all excellent attributes,
It causes a downpour of the supreme doctrine, Cutting off all doubts.
Thus these three pristine cognitions refer to the buddha-body of perfect rapture.
Then, [the pristine cognition of accomplishment] refers to the emana- tional body. As the same text says (Ch. 9, v. 74):
The pristine cognition of accomplishment
Is diversified in all realms.
Through measureless, unthinkable emanations It acts on behalf of all sentient beings. ISO
In this context, the great all-knowing Longcenpa has explained that the two pristine cognitions of the expanse of reality and sameness are the pristine cognition which qualitatively knows [the view] because their function is to perceive the abiding nature [of reality], while the three pristine cognitions are the pristine cognition which quantita- tIvely knows [phenomena] because their functions are respectively to be the ground for the arising [of all forms], to discern objects and to act on behalf ofliving beings. As it is said in the Penetration o fSound:
By the actuality of qualitatively knowing [the view]
The abiding nature of reality is known for one's own sake.
142 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Five Buddha-bodies and Five Pristine Cognitions 143
By that of quantitatively knowing [phenomena] The mental condition of those requiring training is
known.
The body which instructs the different beings who
require training
Is none other than the reflection of such
compassion.
The siitras speak of the rank of the great [emanations] ,:ho these three buddha-bodies and five pristine cognitions as [bemg attamed when] the empowerment of great light rays is conferred by the myriad tathagatas of the ten directions on a bodhisattva. This happens as the bodhisattva attains buddhahood, having relied on the unobstructed path at the end of the continuum, culminating the paths and ten levels according to the causal phase of the greater vehIcle. Thereby the two obscurations [covering] the bodhisattva's own level are purified.
However, it is variously explained in the Unsurpassed Tantras of the way of mantras and their commentaries that there is no method of purifying the subtle propensities which transfer to the three appearances of the variable [desire realm], the [form realm] and the experiential [formless realm] through [the umon of] the white and red seminal points [sperm and ovum] and the vital energy without relying on the empowerment of supreme desire. lSI The Magical Net of Mafijusrf (v. 135cd) is of the same opinion when it says:
Attaining disillusionment through the three vehicles, One abides in the result through the single vehicle.
Thus, the necessity of attaining the culmination of the causal by relying on the mantras can be known from the very names gIVen to the causal and resultant vehicles.
One might then object that the definitive structure of the result which is taught in the causal phase of the greater vehicle would become mean- ingless; and yet there is no fault. Though that [structure] has revealed to those dull persons who aspire through the causal it is in the mantras that the culmination of the siitras' definitive meamng abides. It does not follow that the buddhahood of the mantras does not refer to the buddhahood of the path of siitras. After the result had been spoken of in the siitras under such as the absolute inner radiance of reality and the true self,ls- then the most extensIve abiding nature of reality and the complete means which realise it were revealed in the mantras. Just as, when the end of the long path ters the short path, wherever they originated, they are both IdentIcal in their purpose.
Again, if one were to object that the path of the siitras then become a meaningless teaching apart from the mantras, that IS 110t the
case. Just as none but a person of powerful physique and intelligence can set out on a path of deep ravines and precipices, even though the distance be very short, there are great risks for all those who require training through the mantras apart from those of highest acumen and most potent intelligence. Then, just as one feeble in body and intelli- gence sets out on a journey which, though long, is without the fear of deep ravines and the like, and so encounters few risks by proceeding slowly, such is the teaching of the long path of the siitras. It is therefore a most essential point that one should know [the Teacher's] methods of teaching the doctrine to be unsurpassed; for the All-knowing One is learned in skilful means. If it were otherwise, the two vehicles of cause and result would deviate from his basic intention, they would not be gathered together in the single culminating vehicle, the definitive
meaning would also be divided in two, and other great flaws such as
these would exist. One must learn therefore that the Conqueror's en- lightened activity is never to be wasted.
5 Distinctive Attributes of the Buddha- bodies and Pristine Cognitions
Third, the blessing which arises from the body of reality according to the vehicle of dialectics is nothing but the two buddha-bodies of form; but as for the body of reality according to the mantras, the five bodies and various other apparitions arise from its blessing, which is the expanse [of reality] and pristine cognition, the coalescence of appear- ance and emptiness.
The buddha-body of perfect rapture and the body of emanation similarly have their distinctive attributes, which are outlined as follows. The vehicle of dialectics holds that the two buddha-bodies of form are created by causes and conditions, while the body of form according to the mantras is not created by causes and conditions. As the above [Extensive Magical Net] says:
For it does not depend on causes and conditions. . .
When classified, [the buddha-body of form] has two aspects, namely, the distinctive attributes of the body of perfect rapture and those of the emanational body.
The distinctive attributes of the buddha-body of perfect rapture are also twofold. Concerning the distinctive attributes of the rapture that is experienced, the body of perfect rapture according to the vehicle of dialec- tics experiences rapture in positive areas, but not in negative areas. The body of perfect rapture according to the mantras experiences rapture in both areas. Then there are distinctive attributes of the means of the experi- ence. In the vehicle of dialectics there are no means of experiencing rapture in negative areas, whereas the mantras do have means of experiencing rapture in both positive and negative areas.
Then, the distinctive attributes of the emanational body are also twofold. The distinctive attribute of its object, the one who requires the training, is that, according to the vehicle of dialectics, the emana- tional body only instructs those requiring training who are positively disposed, but not those of a negative character; whereas the emanational body according to the mantras is impartial regarding the character of those requiring to be trained. The distinctive attributes oftheir methods instruction are such that the emanational body in the vehicle of dIalectics has no means of instructing those of negative disposition, whereas the emanational body of the mantras is endowed with the means of instructing those of both positive and negative dispositions who require training.
In addition, one should know that other distinctions also exist. For example, the body of reality is distinguished by utterly unchanging supreme bliss. The body of perfect rapture endowed with the five is the apparitional aspect consisting of all the fields, teachers and retmues, which is spontaneously present in the great inner radiance of the ground, manifest in and of itself (rang-snang), but it is not com- POunded by external perception (gzhan-snang). The emanational body
[63a. 5-66b. 2] As for the distinctive attributes of the and pristine cognitions which are revealed in the causal and resultant vehIcles: In order to classify intellectually the distinctive attributes of the causal and resultant vehicles, the great scholars of supreme discernment in the past have examined the distinctive attributes of the buddhas as assessed in the sutra and the mantra texts in the following way.
The buddha-body of reality has three distinctive attributes of essence, characteristic and blessing, among which the first, the essence, is that the body of reality according to the vehicle of dialectics is sky-like unelaborate emptiness. As it is said in the Introduction to the Madhya- maka (Ch. l1, v. 16):
When the dry brushwood of all that is knowable is
burnt,
The peace which results is the body of reality of the
conquerors.
At that time there is neither creation nor cessation,
For the cessation of mind has been actualised by that body.
The buddha-body of reality according to the mantras, however, the natural expression of the expanse [of reality] and pristine cognItIOn, the coalescence of appearance and emptiness. As it is said in the Tantra of the Extensive Magical Net:
In the world with its moving and motionless
creatures,
In the nature of all such appearances, There is no substantial existence.
Secondly, as for its characteristic: The body of according the vehicle of dialectics has fallen into the extreme of emptmess, whereas the body of reality according to the mantras does not fall into extremes of eternalism and nihilism since there is no dichotomy between appear- ance and emptiness.
Distinctive Attributes 145
146 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Distinctive Attributes 147
has power to act on behalf of those who require training, ,having mastered the myriad ways that are suitable for the four of enlightened activity to be applied by means of the four kInds of
instruction. ,, ' bh' Then as for the actions performed on behalf of lIvmg bemgs y t, IS
[emanational] body: Whenever a tathagata his level, the oceans of the myriad realms of the sentlent bemgs v:ho training and all the distinctive attributes of the of which are derived from his own essence, are nothmg but the dIsplay of great compassion. All [those requiring training and the of
training] are of a common savour and are spontaneously effort, disregarding causes and conditions such p,rovlslon of ment accumulated by those requiring training and dlstmctlOns of the, Con- queror's aspiration. Therefore, the natural expression the of all sentient beings, and the all-pervasive natural expressIOn of realIty, which is the pristine cognition of the buddhas and the, nucleus of, the
sugata, are inseparable from each other, without commg and gomg, transferring and changing, as the oil that pervades the sesame seed. Enlightened activity is present therein, pervadi,ng the na- ture of reality, and its uncompounded essence IS charactenstlcally per- manent, pervasive and spontaneous.
It says in the Sutra of the Introduction to the Development of the Power of Faith (Sraddhabaladhanavataramudnisutra, T 201):
MafijusrI, in all the myriad world systems of the ten direc- tions all the domains of the extremists and all the mundane and ;upramundane activities which occur originate through the spontaneously present pristine cognition of the Tathagata. If you ask why it is so, it is because he possesses
distinct attributes.
Commenting on the meaning of [the buddhas'] permanence, the Su-
preme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 4, v. 12) says:
Since he is disillusioned with dependence,
Perceives himself and sentient beings equally,
And has not completed his deeds,
He does not cease to act for the duration of sarpsara.
Then, commenting on the meaning of his pervasiveness and spontane- ous presence, it says (Ch. 1, v. 76):
Ever spontaneously present to living beings Throughout infinite space,
Endowed with unimpeded intelligence,
He genuinely proceeds to benefit sentient beings.
And in the Hundred Parables on Deeds:
The ocean domain of sea monsters
May well pass beyond time,
But for the sake of his sons requiring training, The Buddha will not pass beyond time.
Accordingly, this spontaneously present enlightened activity has re- gard for the awakening of the different minds requiring training in accord with their fortune, but is non-conceptual with respect to the effort amassed by the continuum of nirvaI). a. It is an encounter between the expressive power of the nucleus of the tathagata and the phenomena which suddenly arise in the manner of sarpsara. As a result, those who have matured the sprout of enlightenment, those who are in the process of maturing it and the means which brings about maturation are the amazing play of the sugatas' enlightened activity and compassion. These are, respectively, the spiritual benefactors who reveal the path of liber- ation, the adherents of the path and the antidotes which purify the stains arising on the path.
It is said in the Tantra of the Extensive Magical Net:
Through the blessing of his great compassion
In all the worlds of the ten directions,
As many as there are atoms,
The enlightened activities on behalf of living beings
are inconceivable.
Through body, speech, mind, attributes
And activities which are spontaneously present, Those requiring training, inexhaustible in extent, Are purified of evil existences and enlightened. The perfect provision of pristine cognition is
everywhere revealed.
It is additionally maintained that [the buddhas], without moving from the pristine cognition of meditative equipoise, act on behalf of sentient beings during the aftermath of their meditation. As has been explained [in the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle, Ch. 2, v. 7cd]:
Both the non-conceptualising state
And its aftermath are held to be pristine cognition.
Then, concerning the claim that the benefit of living creatures is basically caused by the increase in positive attributes of those requiring training, and conditioned by the former aspiration of the buddhas, the Introduction to the Madhyamaka (Ch. ll, v. 17) says:
The fields and bodies are like the Wishing Tree,
148
Fundamentals: Nature a/the Buddha-bodies
They are non-conceptualising in the manner of the Wish-fulfilling Gem;
Ever remaining to guide the world until beings have been liberated,
They appear to those who are free from elaboration.
Yet it is difficult to say that even these words reach the culmination of the definitive meaning, apart from their mere reference to a single aspect of the revelation [of buddha nature] for the sake of ordinary beings who require training.
This completes the anthology explaining the appearance of the Con- queror or Teacher endowed with the three buddha-bodies, the second part of this book, the Feast in which Eloquence Appears, which is a definitive ordering of the precious teaching of the vehicle of indestruct- ible reality according to the Ancient Translation School.
Part Three
Causal Vehicles of Dialectics
Introduction
[66b. 2-66b. 4] Having briefly described the appearance ofthe Conqueror as the teachers endowed with the three buddha-bodies in the world system of Patient Endurance, now, among the promulgations of the doctrinal wheel delivered by these teachers, I shall first explain the definitive structure of the three turnings of the doctrinal wheel according to the causal [vehicles]. This includes a statement ofthe overall meaning according to classifications and a recapitulation of the meaning sub- sumed in their particular sections.
1 The Three Promulgations of the Doctrinal Wheel
[66b. 4-68b. l] At the outset, the doctrinal wheel of the causal vehicle was promulgated in three successive stages by [Sakyamuni], the su- preme emanational buddha-body and sage. The first commenced with the four truths, the second concerned the absence of attributes, and the third the excellent analysis [of reality].
THE FIRST PROMULGA TION
The first is as follows: After discerning the utterly impure realms of sentient beings, the Teacher who promulgated the first turning of the doctrinal wheel intended to encourage these beings by the disturbing topics ofimpermanence, impurity, suffering, selflessness, ugliness, and so forth, and then cause them to forsake the attitude which actually clings to sarpsara. For in this way they would achieve appropriate insight into ultimate truth and adhere to the path of the greater vehicle.
At the Deer Park of in the district of VaraI! asI, he repeated the four [truths] of suffering, its origin, the path and cessation [of sarpsara] three times to an assembly consisting of his five noble com- panions.
The modes of the doctrine revealed in this context include the Four Transmissions of the Pitaka of the pious attendants and self-centred buddhas who belong to the lesser vehicle.
THE SECOND PROMULGA TION
Concerning the second: The Tathagata's perseverance was not inter- rupted merely by that first promulgation of the doctrinal wheel. Sub- sequently, the Teacher promulgated the intermediate turning of the doctrinal wheel, intending that the realisation of the ultimate truth, Which is referred to by synonyms in order to bring about the partial
154 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
cessation of conceptual elaboration, should become the actual founda- tion for the path of the greater vehicle. In this way egotism would be averted once beings had comprehended the buddha nature through the extensive topics of emptiness, signlessness, and aspirationlessness in relation to all things.
In places such as Vulture Peak near Rajagrha and chiefly to the communities of bodhisattvas, he revealed the Bodhisattvapiraka of the greater vehicle, which extensively teach the ineffable, unthinkable, inexpressible reality of just what is, whereby all things from form to omniscience are totally divorced from substantial existence.
The long versions [of these piraka] are the Billion Lines on the Trans- cendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness C*Satakotiprajfta- paramita) and the Transcendental Perfection ofDiscriminative Awareness in One Hundred Thousand Lines. The intermediate versions include the Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness in Twenty-five Thousand Lines, and the short versions include the Transcendental Per- fection of Discriminative Awareness in Eight Thousand Lines; however, one should know there are an inconceivable number in addition to these.
THE THIRD PROMULGA TION
Concerning the third: The Tathagata's perseverance was not interrupted merely by that second promulgation of the doctrinal wheel. Sub- sequently the Teacher promulgated the final turning of the doctrinal wheel, directing his intention towards the nucleus of the path of the greater vehicle, and actually revealed the ultimate truth for which there is no synonym. This he did after opposing all bases for the views concerning being and non-being and the like by causing sentient beings to penetrate the objective range of the Buddha through the topics of that irreversible promulgation153 and through topics concerning the utter purity of the three spheres [of subject, object and their interaction].
In places such as Mount Malaya, the Point of Enlightenment154 and VaisalI, at indeterminate times and to the host of great bodhisattvas who required the essential training, he excellently analysed all things from form to omniscience in accord with the three essential natures of the imaginary (parikalpita), the dependent (paratantra) and the absolute and having established the nature of the ground, path and result, he extensively revealed the abiding reality of the of the tathagata.
Included in this promulgation are the Billion Verses of the Great Collection of the Most Extensive Siitras according to the Greater Vehicle (*Mahavaipulyamahayanasutrantamahasalflgraha), the Great Bounteous- ness of the Buddhas, the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka, the Sutra of the Bounteous Array (Ghanavyuhasutra, T 110), the Great Satra of Final
. _
Nzrva1Ja and the Satra which Decisively R
mocanasutra, T 106).
The Three Promulgations 155 I h J .
evea s t e ntentzon CSandhinir-
The hold that the doctrinal wh I ' .
sions were given comprise eXclusivel the ee s m these transmis-
tika hold that the three paths of insi ht mSIght. The Sautran- ing are comprised in the doctrinal '1 and no-more-Iearn- vehicle claim all five paths to be ee. s, followers of the greater
This causal vehicle when cIa c? fintdame m doctrinal wheels.
Because it is not an object of speech, Is subsumed by ultimate reality,
Is not within reason's domain,
Is beyond exemplification,
Is unsurpassed and is subsumed neither by existence nor quiescence,
The objective range of the Conqueror is inconceivable, Even to sublime beings.
These perfect supramundane fields in which the cycle ofmyriad pure worlds and their contents arise, forming the apparitional aspect of the great inner radiance of the ground, manifest in and of itself, are equi- valent to the purest of dreams. For, in situations where the subject-ob- ject dichotomy and its propensities are purified, there are not thought
to be any material substances with independent attributes existing elsewhere apart from that apparition. As the Tantra of the Extensive
Magical Net says:
If there is no understanding of intrinsic awareness or
THE
genuine perception,
The field of SukhavatI is even seen as a state of evil existence.
If the truth which is equivalent to the supreme of vehicles is realised,
Even states of evil existence are and
EMANA TIONAL BODY
The Teacher who instructs [sentient beings] appears as the body (ninna'fJakaya) in response to the degrees of im- punty, s11ght purity and utter purity of the stains which obscure the of the sugata within the minds of those to be trained. Without
. '
his buddha-body of form sends forth a varied, unimpeded
of emanations of effortless, great spirituality. Among these, realIty reflect . .
s as many aSpIratIons as there are shapes of the moon in vessels of unsullied water, dependent on the ostensible dichotomy of
from the expanse of ultimate reality, for both samsara and
nIrvana ha
. ' ve one great common savour m the utterly pure body of
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 127
128 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies ,r
. t ted and the instruction itself. As Ajita [in the Supreme
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 129
Manifestly perfect buddhahood is to be attained in only a single realm of which is disclosed to bodhisattvas as far as the path of insight by this body explained to be the imputed body of perfect rapture that appears to them, and by aspiration, the residual force of the accumulations, or mere intention. Therefore, the buddha-body of perfect rap- ture endowed with a multitude of forms has extensively ap- peared only as the emanational body in the realms. 130
And on the same subject, the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka (Ch. IO, v. 774) says:
In the desire and formless realms
The Buddha does not become enlightened. In among the realms of form, Without desire, you will attain buddhahood.
Through such quotations, authoritative passages do explain that the supreme emanational body attains buddhahood in before becoming a buddha in the human world, and thus confirm the meaning expressed in this section.
Emanations who Train Living Beings
Secondly, concerning the emanations who train living beings: From the nature of this [Teacher], the emanational body who instructs living beings reveals inconceivable modes of display through skilful means in order to mature fully the mass of those to be trained in all world systems. The venerable Ajita [or Maitreya, in the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle, Ch. 4, v. 54] has said:
Diversified in all realms,
By measureless emanations beyond thought, He benefits all sentient beings.
Accordingly, the supreme emanational body simultaneously reveals the way of twelve deeds in myriad world systems of the ten directions, since it is skilled in remaining in the realm, in passing from that realm, in taking birth, renouncing the world, practising asceticism, reaching the point of enlightenment, vanquishing Mara's host, attaining perfect enlightenment, turning the doctrinal wheel, passing into final nirval). a, and teaching the duration and the decline of the doctrine. In each of these [world systems] it emanates as the Six Sages Embodying who act on behalf of the six classes of beings to be trained, Instructing them in accord with their differing sense perceptions and respective classes. So it is said in the Sutra which Resembles the Elephant's Expre,ssive Power T 207):
those to be ms ruc . 4 Continuum of the Greater Vehzcle, Ch.
29] h
said' .
128
And in a sutra:
Having comprehended that the reality of the
Conqueror d . hut Is without body, tranquil, not twO, an WIt 0
substantial existence, . .
The body of form adorned with dIgnified marks
continues to teach, .
Fulfilling the hopes of all living bemgs. .
Just as in the pure terrain of beryl
The reflection of Surendra's
So in the pure terrain of bemgs
. f Munlndra's body IS reflected.
The Image 0
. . 1bod When the emana. tIona h
natural expressIOn, emanatIons w 0 t emanations.
Emanations of Natural Expression
is of three types: of living beings and diversIfied
,v .
as
. h emanations of natural expression: Just as the Firstly, concerning t e b ddha body of perfect rapture who
teacher, appears to those lords of
is an appantIOn of the exp h t ure among those to be trained, he
the tenth level who are somew a flP ted l'mage in clear crystal within . themanner0fare ec 1
also appears m . 1 b dy of natural expression, name y,
the five of the Srlmat Padmakula and Karma- Akanistha m the centre, an Ira 1, . . ' .
Therein he appraIses an in the form of the
measureless peaceful and wrath f major and minor marks
Five Teachers, who are iden:ified by °ofform 129 As an antidote . ' . hT thagataValrocana,t e lng '. .
begmnIng WIt . a . . f those who require trammg, he turns to the five conflIctmg emotIOnS 0 d . 1 heel by means of his five
the inexpressible and. cognitions and so great fields, five bodIes, Ive oc ,
forth. . d f erfect rapture and its retinue, Since this Teacher, who. IS the bo phe is classified in the Tantra is compounded by the mmds of 0 ' . ma dang zla-ba kha-sbyor-ba
ofthe Great Coalescence ofSun and Moon. (nyz- ·(. 'est pmanation of natural . d NGBV19)asaseml-manll' oJ- . '
rgyu , 0 . . hiloso her Dh2. rmamitra has, m un1- expreSSIOn. The Madhyamaka P . . d explanation [in the Clear formity with this, given the followmg UCl .
. '
h £ cardmal dIreCtIOns.
. .
prasiddhi m t de the doctrines through his body of
Word, Prasphurapada, T 37961:
130
Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
MafijusrI, at this, when a great bodhisattva has become evenly absorbed in the contemplation named Great Lotus (Mahiipadma), he has taken into his following or takes into his following the hellish domains of sentient beings, and causes all these beings to experience the bliss of the gods, however slight. These sentient beings also perceive him as a denizen of hell in the hells, and through that guise he teaches the doctrine to the sentient denizens of hell in order that they might become free from the hells.
And in the Great Bounteousness ofthe Buddhas:
Son of the enlightened family, the emanations of the tathagatas are immeasurable. They act on behalf of living beings by training each in accord with his needs, and by their forms, colours and names.
Now, if one were to ask just how these sages act on behalf of beings in this realm with its six classes of sentient creatures, the Superior Magical Net (sgyu-'phrul bla-ma, NGB Vol. 14, T 837) says:
In the realms of the gods he is Lord Sakra,
Among the antigods he is Vemacitra,
Among men he is the Lord of the Sakyas who subdues
Mara,
In the domain of tormented spirits he is Jvalamukha, To animals he is called Sirpha,
And in the hells he is Yama, lord of deeds.
Such a sixfold classification of realms applies in this world system of Patient Endurance (mi-mjed 'jig-rten-gyi khams, Skt. Sahalokadhiitu), the thirteenth among the series of twenty-five world which, as has already been explained, are situated one above the other upon the heart of a lotus on the palms of [Vairocana] the Great Glaciai Lake of Pristine Cognition, at the centre of his buddha-fields which are as infinite in extent as atomic particles. In this context, the [Tibetan] word mi-mjed ["endurable"] is explained to mean patient or intrepid. The sentient beings of this field endure desire, endure hatred, endure delusion and endure fetters of conflicting emotion. Thus, it is so called because the [Sanskrit] word saha conveys the sense of endurance or capability.
The living beings [inhabiting this world] appear also to have their own respective world-forming deeds. The Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas says:
The distinctions of deeds are inconceivable. The world of the hells slopes downwards. The world of Yama is topsy-turvy.
The animals and antigods move upwards and downwards.
Or the celestia! beings face upwards, the animal beings face honzontally, and the hellIsh and tormented beings face downwards.
These six [classes of beings] are complete within a single trichilio- cosmo As the Short Commentary on the Secret Nucleus (Srfguhyagar- bhapirJ4iirthatfkii, P 4755) says:
The six kinds of creatures in a single trichiliocosm Are said to be the field of a single emanational body.
The world system of the four continents comprises everything from the energy field [below the earth]132 upwards as far as Akanistha. The chiliocosm has a circumference which encloses one thousand world systems. The is encircled by a second perimeter enclosing tImes that m extent. The trichiliocosm is encircled by a
thIrd penmeter one thousand times the dichiliocosm in extent. The frontier limits of one myriad world systems are one billion times that in extent; a series of myriad world systems one billion times that· a myriad oceanic world systems one billion times that; and one of these equals a single Buddha-field whose Foundation and Centre are with Flowers (Kusumatalagarbhiilarrzkiirak$etra) , which is explamed to be the field of a supreme emanational body.
these. realms, [the supreme emanational body] projects the lamp of mstructlOn for those requiring training in as many ways as they have psychophysical bases, sense organs and modes of conduct, and acts on of sentient beings through four kinds of instruction. These four are mst:uction the great merit of the body, instruction by the direct mmd, instruction by inconceivable miraculous abilities,
and mstructlOn by knowledge conveyed in speech.
Concerning the first of these [which instructs by the great merit of the b d ] . . . .
o y , It IS ImpossIble to enumerate exactly, or otherwise to qualify,
131
the deeds of the Teacher's emanational body for it is a topic beyond con. I- '
u n the. sutras the greater vehicle, too, all manner of
q antItles are mentlOned whIch contradict one another and do not lend
themselves to summarisation; but here when his principle activities are SUbsumed . t . h
, ms ructlOn t rough the great merit of the body refers to
the deeds of t k b· h .
b. . a mg lrt ,renouncmg the world, practising asceticism
Mara, attaining buddhahood, turning the doctrinal wheel:
bISplaymg great miracles and passing into final nirvana. It is so called
ecause those requiring training who actually see them possess im- measurable merit.
Secondlyconc. . . b· .
the . - . ' mstructlOn y the dIrect perceptIon of mind,
hpnstme cogmtlOn [of the supreme emanational body] which is un It:ldered and unimpeded in respect of the three times: does not
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 131
132 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
discriminate between the three times while entering into all that is knowable. Accordingly, there are six supernormal cognitive powers which accompany his mind. These are the supernormal cognitive power which knows time totally without obscuration, the supernormal cogni- tive power which knows the minds of others totally unobscured, the supernormal cognitive power of clairvoyance which totally perceives everything, the supernormal cognitive power of clairaudience which totally hears everything, the supernormal cognitive power which mean- ingfully enacts rites of total benefit to sentient beings, and the supernor- mal cognitive power with respect to the cessation of corruption, in which obscurations have been purified. Since these directly perceive and overpower all that is knowable, they are instruction by the direct perception of his mind.
Thirdly, concerning instruction by miraculous abilities, the supreme emanational body acts on behalf of those who require training through the totally inconceivable [mystery] of his buddha-body, the totally in- conceivable [mystery] of his buddha-speech, and the totally inconceiv- able mystery of his buddha-mind. The mystery of buddha-body refers to his emanations who train living beings in accord with their class, such as Brahma and lsvara133 among the gods, a universal emperor among men, and Vemacitra among the antigods;134 and similarly as a woodpecker (shing-rta-mo) for the sake of birds, 135 Drdhasamadana, the king of lions, for the sake of wildlife,136 and so on. It refers, too, to the revelations of the maI). Qala of his visage which appropriately mani- fests in and of itself as the peaceful and wrathful deities, pisacf and so on, and to his revelations at various times, as when taking birth, trans- ferring realms, living, passing away, and residing [in other realms], which accord with the respective fortunes [of those requiring training].
The mystery of his bUddha-speech refers to the fact that the/revelation of the doctrine, which manifests according to those requiring training and their intelligence, is also understood by means ofdifferent languages and symbols. As the Great Bounteousness ofthe Buddhas [i. e. the Aspi- ration of Good Conduct, v. 18] says:
In the language ofgods, the languages ofnagas and In the languages of trolls and of humans,
In as many languages as there are among living beings, I teach the doctrine in the languages of all.
The mystery of his buddha-mind refers to the pristine cognition, free from all corruptions, which manifests appropriately for all by qual- itatively knowing the attitudes and minds of those requiring training. This threefold mystery is instruction through inconceivable miraculous abilities.
Fourth, concerning instruction by knowledge conveyed in speech, the supreme emanational body gives abbreviated teaching by means of
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 133 the five vehicles which correspond to the perception of th . .
. . h ose reqUInng trammg,. w 0 are . of five families or types (gotra). He gives detailed
teachIng eighty-four thousand doctrinal components as an antIdote for the eIghty-four thousand conflI·ctI·ng emot· d
h Idh· . IOns,an e conc u es corresponding to the degree of acumen [in
those reqUIre All these are instruction by knowledge conveyed In speech whIch conveys understanding beyond the attributes of mere. an. d. words, to the realms of sentient beings in an
appropnately IntellIgIble form through the tathagatas' bl . A - f d fi . . essIng.
sutra 0 e InItlVe meaning says: all these teachings,
I dId not teach a single syllable.
Diversified Emanations
s a
the eI? anations include all things basic to the greater of beIngs. As such, [the Teacher] reveals physical forms ongInate both naturally and through deliberate efforts _ emanatIons III the form of mansions verdant meadows ghandh l .
d . . . ' ,0 aspIres, an on the plaInS of suffering; as well as material objects such as
WIshmg Tree the Wish-fulfilling Gem (Cintama1}i), food, clothIng and medicine. It also includes other dIverse eman. atlOns. of artistry and birth such as a great fish which
appeared a of famine, a noble creature which appeared [to an epIdemIc, the horse Ajaneyabalaha in the island ofogres-
ses, and a golden bee in a swampy marsh. 140
descriptions [of these diversified emanations] are found dahs_ In _the Sutra of the Lamp of Precious Jewels
nama
ara1}zmahayanasutra, T 145):
EverYWhere I reveal many forms:
As kings among bards composing verses,
As dancers, drummers, athletes and musicians As dancers wearing beautiful ornaments
tadornments and garlands,
nd
bAnd merchants, captains and landlords.
become kings, priests and messengers, octors learned m the rites of worldly treatises And a vast oasis in a wilderness. '
I unending treasures of medicine and
precIOUS gems,
The Gem and the Tree which Brin s Forth WIshes; g
as masters ofmagical display.
become villagers, headmen and governors,
' '
134 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 135
And I reveal the path to those who deviate from the path.
Emanations According to the Great Perfection
According to one method of emanational the uncommon Great Perfection In partIcular, tebac dedrhs °b d
dfomtheappantIonal u a- 0 y emanational body have emanate r d b h If
of erfect ra ture in twelve different realms, and have acte on e a of by simultaneously manifesting great ema- national teachings of buddha-body, speech and mmd.
physical form, equal in size to the body of a living being, naturally produced from one hundred and one precious gems, which naturally arises through the blessing of the twelve teachers. Since these three [actualities] are uncompounded, they are subject neither to creation nor destruction, and since they arise naturally through blessing, they have immeasurable miraculous abilities and enlightened attributes. Therefore, no matter who encounters them, they are the support which causes the teaching of the body, speech and mind of the emanational bodies of past and future buddhas to multiply in the world systems. They also embody the enlightened activities [of those emanations] which are seen, heard and felt, and which subsequently cause corporeal reality to vanish of its own accord.
As for the realms in which [these actualities] reside, while they are
naturally expressed in a perpetual cycle, they reside in different realms
according to the times for instruction through the teachings of buddha-
body, speech and mind. The vajra, during the time for teaching through
buddha-body, remains on an island in the country of O<;i<;iiyana and
generates light, sound and countless emanational monks endowed with
miraculous abilities. During the time for teaching through buddha-
speech, the vajra is wielded by the kings on Mount Malaya, the
abode of Vajrapa1). i; and during the time for teaching through buddha-
142
mind, it abides in space above the Vajrasana.
The book, during the time for teaching through buddha-body, is
kept by the <;iakinls in the sublime space five hundred yojana above the Vajrasana; and during the time for teaching through buddha-speech, it remains with these same [<;iakinls]. Then during the time for teaching through buddha-mind, the book remains in the Cave ofthe Most Wrath- ful Sage (rab-tu khros-pa drang-srong-gi phug-pa).
The physical form, during the time for teaching through buddha- body, abides as the actual bodies of the buddhas, along with their emanations and further emanations through the blessing [of the aforementioned twelve teachers], and manifests the ma1). <;iala of their visage. During the time for teaching through buddha-speech, the phys- ical form roams indefinitely throughout Jambudvlpa and becomes a focus of worship for all extraordinary assemblies of gods and humans. On occasions when harm comes to the teaching, the physical form emits light from its bodies, the syllable HOM from their mouths and the fire of pristine cognition from their eyes. Then during the time for teaching which instructs through buddha-mind, it performs prostra- tions to the great glorious [Samantabhadra] whose natural expression remains the same, in the highest storey of Vajrapa1). i's palace in the celestial heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (Trayatrirrzsa), and it is the embodiment of oceanic miracles.
Simultaneously, the twelve teachers of the emanational body, too, appeared within their twelve realms. During the first aeon inhabited
Vajra on Lotus
In this world [Jambudvlpaj, the actuality of reality is a hand-sIzed vaJra produced fron: £ d by the Great which is naturally arisen through the. perfect rapture Perfection. The actuality of the teachIng 0 It nd of reality produced
'. from one hundred and one precIoUS fke an Only Son (rang-
. k 1· ingthenatura sou
is a four-mch boo ,proc a I m . hich is naturally ansen
through the blessing of the Naturally Present eac zng z . 1 body l·S the
. NYZ 1 7) The emanatlOna byung-ba bstan-pa bu-gczg-pa, vo . .
136 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 137
by those who require training, in the place called Pagoda of (dga'-ldan brtsegs-pa), the teacher Acintyaprabhasa [appeared] to a re- tinue of the Thousand Buddhas,143 and revealed the Penetration of Sound which is the basis of all teachings. It was compiled by the son
of the Gaje Wangcuk assisted by the son of the Nyima Nangje during the period when sentient beings had a hfe-span of Im-
measurable years.
In the world system of Patient Endurance (Sahalokadhatu), the
teacher [appeared to] a retinue of hundred thousand dakinls and revealed the teaching of the Fzve Tantras of Buddha-body, Sp;ech, Mind, Enlightened and Activ. ities (sku- gsung-thugs yon-tan phrin-las-kyi rgyud lnga) dUrIng the perIod when sentient beings had a life-span of ten million years.
In the realm of the Moisture Gathering Light Mass (drod-gsher 'od-kyis spungs-pa), the teacher Pel Jikpa Kyopei Yi [appeared a retinue of six hundred thousand bodhisattvas, and revealed the teachmg of the tantras Churner ofSarrzsara's Depths ('khor-ba dong-sprugs) , Crossing the Peacock's Neck (rma-bya mjing-bsnol, NGB Vol.
2), and the Glorious Tantra ofthe
Cessation of the Four Elements (dpal 'byung-bzhi zad-pa'i rgyud) during the period when the life-span was one hundred thousand years.
In the realm of Appearance in the W omb of Conception (chags-'byung mngal-du snang-ba), the teacher Zhonu Rolpa Nampali Tsewa [appeared to] a retinue of one thousand and and revealed the teaching of the Five Basic Tantras and Szx Branch Tantras of the
Mental Class (sems-sde rtsa-ba'i rgyud-lnga-dang yan-lag-gi rgyud-drug)
during the period when the life-span was eighty thousand years. . In the realm of the Garden of Sustaining Youth (,tsho-byed gzhon-nu'l ldum-ra), the sixth teacher Vajradhara144 appeared to a including the Seven Generations of Buddhas, and revealed teachmgs such as the
six transcendental perfections during the period when the life-span was
seventy thousand years.
In the realm of the Blazing Fire Mountain Charnel Ground of Most
Secret Display (gsang-chen rol-pa dur-khrod me-ri the. teacher Kumaravlrabalin appeared to a retinue of seven the bodhisattva Balahaka, and revealed the doctrine of many tantrapqaka, including those of the Father Tantra (pha-rgyud) and Mother Tantra (ma- rgyud) during the period when the life-span was sixty thousand years.
In the realm of the Ogre Cave endowed with the Sound of the Rulu Mantra (srin-phug ru-Iu'i sgra-dang-ldan-pa), the teacher Drangsong Trhopei Gyelpo [appeared to] a retinue often million ogres, and doctrines such as the Ten Tantras on the Discipline of Coarse Defilements
(rags-pa 'dul-ba'i rgyud-bcu) during the period when the life-span was ten thousand years. ,.
In the realm of Rajagrha near Vulture Peak phung-po 1 rgyaZ-po'i khab), the teacher Arhat SuvafJ)aprabhasa (gser- od dam-pa)
appeared to a retinue of immeasurable sublime pious attendants en- dowed with miraculous abilities and revealed immeasurable myriads of true doctrines on the Vinaya (,dul-ba) during the period when sentient beings had a life-span of five thousand years.
In the realm of the Turquoise Eyebrow in Mongolia (sog-po gYu'i smin-ma-can) near the victorious tree of enlightenment,145 the teacher Tsewe Rolpei Lodro [appeared to] a retinue of eighth level bodhi- sattvas146 and revealed the Seven Tantras ofSubtle Meaning (phra-rgyud bdun-pa) and so forth during the period when the life-span was one thousand years.
In the realm of Vulture Peak (Grdhrakara), the teacher, the elder Kasyapa, appeared to a retinue of seven long-living and revealed true doctrines which included the slUras, the Kriyatantra, and eighty thousand doctrines of the Anuyoga transmission during the period when the life-span was five hundred years.
In the realm of Vajrasana, near the forthcoming Tree of Enlighten- ment,147 the teacher Yab Ngondzok Gyelpo appeared to a retinue of the Lords of the Three Families and revealed only doctrines of definitive meaning during the period when the life-span was three hundred years.
Then in the realm of AnathapiQc;lada's Pleasure Grove (kun-dga' ra- ba), the teacher Sakyamuni [appeared to] a retinue of the four orders, and promulgated the doctrinal wheel of the four truths twelve times during the period when the life-span was one hundred years.
Since these events in the twelve realms are each connected with the five excellences [ofplace, teacher, retinue, doctrine and time], an enum- eration of sixty doctrines emerges.
Concerning the approach [of the Great Perfection] to enlightened activities also, many special attributes have been explained. The twelve deeds of the body are as follows: In the twelve different realms, the Teacher himself appeared, emanated in twelve forms endowed with different colours and symbolic implements. He came forth in order to propagate the teaching of the body, relying on the charisma of the buddha-body which is said to perform twelve different deeds of im- measurable benefit to different gatherings of those requiring training Who belong to twelve dissimilar classes or types (gotra).
Then, while [emanating] these bodies, he delivered twelve different doctrinal wheels of speech and so came forth in order to propagate the of speech, which is said to perform deeds which liberate living bemgs from the twelve different fetters of speech. During the time of that same speech, through the twelve different intentions of his mind, he came forth in order to propagate the teaching of mind which is said to perform deeds which liberate the different classes of living beings from their twelve thought patterns. So it is that a single emanational body who establishes the teaching in this way requires an enumeration of ninety-six doctrines. One who possesses these doctrines is said to be
138 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
a master of the teaching, and if one does not possess them it is said that the partial teaching of the Buddha has appeared, in the w? rld; for these doctrines have emerged from the perfect generatIon of enhghtened
mind in the past,
It is said in the Great Array:
Through nine aspects beginning with the outer, The details of his deeds must be distinguished,
Therefore, deeds are spoken of in many ways. For example, dee,ds of body, speech and mind are each classified into three outer and mner aspects and each of these is also classified into fo;ur. I shall not enlarge upon this here. They are all evident m area of
[the Teacher's] intention, and the Sugata, m skIlful means, manifests the buddha-body of form in ways whIch correspond to number of atoms in the myriad fields of those requiring training, whIch
are of oceanic extent.
Concerning the revelation of the buddhas' deeds, should not
think that there is a contradiction even if within one there differences. Since the emanational power of the buddhas IS an mconcelV- able object, it is not even within the range of the ? f sublime [bodhisattvas], let alone ordinary persons. Smce theIr tImes
and those who require to be trained by them and so be exactly enumerated, one should not, having seen one of aspects, disparage the others. For this it is in _the Sublzme which Genuinely Comprises the Entzre Doctrme (Aryadharmasan:zgztz,
T 238):
Sentient beings who will an aeon of dissolution to become an aeon of evolution can indeed transform an aeon of dissolu- tion into an aeon of evolution; and they experience an aeon of evolution. Sentient beings who will an aeon of evolution
to become an aeon of dissolution can indeed transform an aeon of evolution into an aeon of dissolution; and they experi- ence an aeon of dissolution. But really the evolution and the dissolution do not change into one another; for it is the will which changes in this way. Similarly, sentient beings. who
will one aeon to become just one morning may expenence one aeon in one morning. And sentient beings who will morning to become one aeon may experience j. ust is called the miraculous ability born ofthe bodhIsattva swIll.
4 TheFiveBuddha-bodiesand Five Pristine Cognitions
[60a. 3-63a. 5] When these three buddha-bodies [which have just been outlined] are classified according to the five buddha-bodies, there are
148
two exegetical traditions. Scholars of the Zur tradition
there are five buddha-bodies with the addition of the body of awakening (abhisambodhikaya), which derives from the distinct apparitional functions of the three bodies; and the body of indestructible reality (vajrakaya) which derives from the function of their indivisible essence. These scholars assert therefore that the three bodies of reality, perfect rapture and emanation are the characteristic nature of the buddha- body, while the other two are the conventional buddha-body because, among them, the former is determined by the function of the form of the three bodies and the latter by the function of their indivisible essence.
The Longcenpa claims that the three bodies of reality, awakenmg and indestructible reality are the characteristic nature of the that manifests in and of itself (rang-snang), while the bodIes of perfect rapture and emanation are conventional because they are c? mpounded by the external perception (gzhan-snang) of those who reqUlre training.
Though no contradiction is discerned whichever of these explanations one follows, none the less when the buddha-body is definitively ordered according to its characteristic nature, it is the original expanse, the naturally pure point of liberation, primordially pure, in which all bUddhas are of a single expanse, the reality in which all paths are traversed, that is called the unchanging buddha-body of Indestructible reality. This is because it is perpetual, stable, and without changing or turning into all manner offorms. bt al,so called "natural purity" because it is taintless from the
, egmnlng, and "the buddha endowed with two purities" because it
IS une,rly pure with respect to the two aspects of suddenly arisen ob-
SCUratIOn. As the Net ofPristine Cognition (ye-shes drva-ba, NGB Vol. IS) says: .
claim that
140 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Five Buddha-bodies and Five Pristine Cognitions 141
The pure expanse is the body of indestructible reality. It is unchanging, undecaying and beyond thought.
The buddha-body of awakening is so called because it possesses the attributes of knowledge, love and power such as the ten powers (dasatathagatabala, Mvt. 119-29), the four fearlessnesses (catur- vaisaradya, Mvt. 130-34), the eighteen distinct attributes ofthe buddhas (aHadasaverJikabuddhadharma, Mvt. 135-53) and great compassion (mahakarurJa, Mvt. 154-86). It abides as the basis for the arising of all distinct doctrines and its attributes are free from obscuration owing to the unimpeded expression of [all-]knowing pristine cognition which is the apparitional aspect [of the above-mentioned body of indestructible reality] endowed with the two purities. As the above-cited [Net of Pristine Cognition] says:
Because it is taintless, it is pure.
Vast in attributes, it is consummate. Permeated by non-duality, it is coalescent. Such is called the body of awakening.
Then, when the buddha-body is definitively ordered according to pristine cognition, it is explained that the pristine cognition of the expanse of reality (dharmadhatujiiana) is the pristine cognition which qualitatively knows [the view, ji-lta-ba mkhyen-pa'i ye-shes], and the four subsequent pristine cognitions through their functions of support- ing and depending on [the former] comprise the pristine cognition which quantitatively knows [phenomena, ji-snyed-pa mkhyen-pa'i ye- shes]. The great scholars who taught the definitive meaning during the later period of doctrinal propagation [in Tibet]149 meant the same when they explained the pristine cognition of the expanse of reality to refer to ultimate reality and the four subsequent pristine cognitions to be intermingled with various aspects of relative appearance.
Moreover, among those pristine cognitions, the former is held to be [the perception characterizing] the buddha-body of reality. As the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 2, v. 38) says:
Without beginning, middle or end, and indivisible,
It is neither two, nor three, taintless and without thought.
The four subsequent pristine cognitions are respectively described in the following quotations from the Ornament of the Sutras of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 9, vv. 68-9):
The selfless mirror-like pristine cognition
Is completely unbroken and permanent.
Undeluded with regard to all [things] that are knowable, It is never directed upon them.
Since it is the causal basis of all pristine cognitions,
As if the supreme source of pristine cognition, It is the buddhahood of perfect rapture.
And (Ch. 9, vv. 70-1):
The pristine cognition of sameness
Is held to be purity of meditation
With respect to sentient beings.
That which abides dynamically and at peace
Is held to be the pristine cognition of sameness. At all times endowed with loving kindness
And pure, consummate spirituality,
The buddha-body is definitively revealed
For all sentient beings in accord with their devotion.
And again (Ch. 9, vv. 72-3):
The pristine cognition of discernment,
Ever unimpeded with regard to all that is knowable, Is solely like a treasure store
Of the contemplations and the dharaJ). Is.
In all the surrounding maJ). Qalas,
As the revealer of all excellent attributes,
It causes a downpour of the supreme doctrine, Cutting off all doubts.
Thus these three pristine cognitions refer to the buddha-body of perfect rapture.
Then, [the pristine cognition of accomplishment] refers to the emana- tional body. As the same text says (Ch. 9, v. 74):
The pristine cognition of accomplishment
Is diversified in all realms.
Through measureless, unthinkable emanations It acts on behalf of all sentient beings. ISO
In this context, the great all-knowing Longcenpa has explained that the two pristine cognitions of the expanse of reality and sameness are the pristine cognition which qualitatively knows [the view] because their function is to perceive the abiding nature [of reality], while the three pristine cognitions are the pristine cognition which quantita- tIvely knows [phenomena] because their functions are respectively to be the ground for the arising [of all forms], to discern objects and to act on behalf ofliving beings. As it is said in the Penetration o fSound:
By the actuality of qualitatively knowing [the view]
The abiding nature of reality is known for one's own sake.
142 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Five Buddha-bodies and Five Pristine Cognitions 143
By that of quantitatively knowing [phenomena] The mental condition of those requiring training is
known.
The body which instructs the different beings who
require training
Is none other than the reflection of such
compassion.
The siitras speak of the rank of the great [emanations] ,:ho these three buddha-bodies and five pristine cognitions as [bemg attamed when] the empowerment of great light rays is conferred by the myriad tathagatas of the ten directions on a bodhisattva. This happens as the bodhisattva attains buddhahood, having relied on the unobstructed path at the end of the continuum, culminating the paths and ten levels according to the causal phase of the greater vehIcle. Thereby the two obscurations [covering] the bodhisattva's own level are purified.
However, it is variously explained in the Unsurpassed Tantras of the way of mantras and their commentaries that there is no method of purifying the subtle propensities which transfer to the three appearances of the variable [desire realm], the [form realm] and the experiential [formless realm] through [the umon of] the white and red seminal points [sperm and ovum] and the vital energy without relying on the empowerment of supreme desire. lSI The Magical Net of Mafijusrf (v. 135cd) is of the same opinion when it says:
Attaining disillusionment through the three vehicles, One abides in the result through the single vehicle.
Thus, the necessity of attaining the culmination of the causal by relying on the mantras can be known from the very names gIVen to the causal and resultant vehicles.
One might then object that the definitive structure of the result which is taught in the causal phase of the greater vehicle would become mean- ingless; and yet there is no fault. Though that [structure] has revealed to those dull persons who aspire through the causal it is in the mantras that the culmination of the siitras' definitive meamng abides. It does not follow that the buddhahood of the mantras does not refer to the buddhahood of the path of siitras. After the result had been spoken of in the siitras under such as the absolute inner radiance of reality and the true self,ls- then the most extensIve abiding nature of reality and the complete means which realise it were revealed in the mantras. Just as, when the end of the long path ters the short path, wherever they originated, they are both IdentIcal in their purpose.
Again, if one were to object that the path of the siitras then become a meaningless teaching apart from the mantras, that IS 110t the
case. Just as none but a person of powerful physique and intelligence can set out on a path of deep ravines and precipices, even though the distance be very short, there are great risks for all those who require training through the mantras apart from those of highest acumen and most potent intelligence. Then, just as one feeble in body and intelli- gence sets out on a journey which, though long, is without the fear of deep ravines and the like, and so encounters few risks by proceeding slowly, such is the teaching of the long path of the siitras. It is therefore a most essential point that one should know [the Teacher's] methods of teaching the doctrine to be unsurpassed; for the All-knowing One is learned in skilful means. If it were otherwise, the two vehicles of cause and result would deviate from his basic intention, they would not be gathered together in the single culminating vehicle, the definitive
meaning would also be divided in two, and other great flaws such as
these would exist. One must learn therefore that the Conqueror's en- lightened activity is never to be wasted.
5 Distinctive Attributes of the Buddha- bodies and Pristine Cognitions
Third, the blessing which arises from the body of reality according to the vehicle of dialectics is nothing but the two buddha-bodies of form; but as for the body of reality according to the mantras, the five bodies and various other apparitions arise from its blessing, which is the expanse [of reality] and pristine cognition, the coalescence of appear- ance and emptiness.
The buddha-body of perfect rapture and the body of emanation similarly have their distinctive attributes, which are outlined as follows. The vehicle of dialectics holds that the two buddha-bodies of form are created by causes and conditions, while the body of form according to the mantras is not created by causes and conditions. As the above [Extensive Magical Net] says:
For it does not depend on causes and conditions. . .
When classified, [the buddha-body of form] has two aspects, namely, the distinctive attributes of the body of perfect rapture and those of the emanational body.
The distinctive attributes of the buddha-body of perfect rapture are also twofold. Concerning the distinctive attributes of the rapture that is experienced, the body of perfect rapture according to the vehicle of dialec- tics experiences rapture in positive areas, but not in negative areas. The body of perfect rapture according to the mantras experiences rapture in both areas. Then there are distinctive attributes of the means of the experi- ence. In the vehicle of dialectics there are no means of experiencing rapture in negative areas, whereas the mantras do have means of experiencing rapture in both positive and negative areas.
Then, the distinctive attributes of the emanational body are also twofold. The distinctive attribute of its object, the one who requires the training, is that, according to the vehicle of dialectics, the emana- tional body only instructs those requiring training who are positively disposed, but not those of a negative character; whereas the emanational body according to the mantras is impartial regarding the character of those requiring to be trained. The distinctive attributes oftheir methods instruction are such that the emanational body in the vehicle of dIalectics has no means of instructing those of negative disposition, whereas the emanational body of the mantras is endowed with the means of instructing those of both positive and negative dispositions who require training.
In addition, one should know that other distinctions also exist. For example, the body of reality is distinguished by utterly unchanging supreme bliss. The body of perfect rapture endowed with the five is the apparitional aspect consisting of all the fields, teachers and retmues, which is spontaneously present in the great inner radiance of the ground, manifest in and of itself (rang-snang), but it is not com- POunded by external perception (gzhan-snang). The emanational body
[63a. 5-66b. 2] As for the distinctive attributes of the and pristine cognitions which are revealed in the causal and resultant vehIcles: In order to classify intellectually the distinctive attributes of the causal and resultant vehicles, the great scholars of supreme discernment in the past have examined the distinctive attributes of the buddhas as assessed in the sutra and the mantra texts in the following way.
The buddha-body of reality has three distinctive attributes of essence, characteristic and blessing, among which the first, the essence, is that the body of reality according to the vehicle of dialectics is sky-like unelaborate emptiness. As it is said in the Introduction to the Madhya- maka (Ch. l1, v. 16):
When the dry brushwood of all that is knowable is
burnt,
The peace which results is the body of reality of the
conquerors.
At that time there is neither creation nor cessation,
For the cessation of mind has been actualised by that body.
The buddha-body of reality according to the mantras, however, the natural expression of the expanse [of reality] and pristine cognItIOn, the coalescence of appearance and emptiness. As it is said in the Tantra of the Extensive Magical Net:
In the world with its moving and motionless
creatures,
In the nature of all such appearances, There is no substantial existence.
Secondly, as for its characteristic: The body of according the vehicle of dialectics has fallen into the extreme of emptmess, whereas the body of reality according to the mantras does not fall into extremes of eternalism and nihilism since there is no dichotomy between appear- ance and emptiness.
Distinctive Attributes 145
146 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Distinctive Attributes 147
has power to act on behalf of those who require training, ,having mastered the myriad ways that are suitable for the four of enlightened activity to be applied by means of the four kInds of
instruction. ,, ' bh' Then as for the actions performed on behalf of lIvmg bemgs y t, IS
[emanational] body: Whenever a tathagata his level, the oceans of the myriad realms of the sentlent bemgs v:ho training and all the distinctive attributes of the of which are derived from his own essence, are nothmg but the dIsplay of great compassion. All [those requiring training and the of
training] are of a common savour and are spontaneously effort, disregarding causes and conditions such p,rovlslon of ment accumulated by those requiring training and dlstmctlOns of the, Con- queror's aspiration. Therefore, the natural expression the of all sentient beings, and the all-pervasive natural expressIOn of realIty, which is the pristine cognition of the buddhas and the, nucleus of, the
sugata, are inseparable from each other, without commg and gomg, transferring and changing, as the oil that pervades the sesame seed. Enlightened activity is present therein, pervadi,ng the na- ture of reality, and its uncompounded essence IS charactenstlcally per- manent, pervasive and spontaneous.
It says in the Sutra of the Introduction to the Development of the Power of Faith (Sraddhabaladhanavataramudnisutra, T 201):
MafijusrI, in all the myriad world systems of the ten direc- tions all the domains of the extremists and all the mundane and ;upramundane activities which occur originate through the spontaneously present pristine cognition of the Tathagata. If you ask why it is so, it is because he possesses
distinct attributes.
Commenting on the meaning of [the buddhas'] permanence, the Su-
preme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 4, v. 12) says:
Since he is disillusioned with dependence,
Perceives himself and sentient beings equally,
And has not completed his deeds,
He does not cease to act for the duration of sarpsara.
Then, commenting on the meaning of his pervasiveness and spontane- ous presence, it says (Ch. 1, v. 76):
Ever spontaneously present to living beings Throughout infinite space,
Endowed with unimpeded intelligence,
He genuinely proceeds to benefit sentient beings.
And in the Hundred Parables on Deeds:
The ocean domain of sea monsters
May well pass beyond time,
But for the sake of his sons requiring training, The Buddha will not pass beyond time.
Accordingly, this spontaneously present enlightened activity has re- gard for the awakening of the different minds requiring training in accord with their fortune, but is non-conceptual with respect to the effort amassed by the continuum of nirvaI). a. It is an encounter between the expressive power of the nucleus of the tathagata and the phenomena which suddenly arise in the manner of sarpsara. As a result, those who have matured the sprout of enlightenment, those who are in the process of maturing it and the means which brings about maturation are the amazing play of the sugatas' enlightened activity and compassion. These are, respectively, the spiritual benefactors who reveal the path of liber- ation, the adherents of the path and the antidotes which purify the stains arising on the path.
It is said in the Tantra of the Extensive Magical Net:
Through the blessing of his great compassion
In all the worlds of the ten directions,
As many as there are atoms,
The enlightened activities on behalf of living beings
are inconceivable.
Through body, speech, mind, attributes
And activities which are spontaneously present, Those requiring training, inexhaustible in extent, Are purified of evil existences and enlightened. The perfect provision of pristine cognition is
everywhere revealed.
It is additionally maintained that [the buddhas], without moving from the pristine cognition of meditative equipoise, act on behalf of sentient beings during the aftermath of their meditation. As has been explained [in the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle, Ch. 2, v. 7cd]:
Both the non-conceptualising state
And its aftermath are held to be pristine cognition.
Then, concerning the claim that the benefit of living creatures is basically caused by the increase in positive attributes of those requiring training, and conditioned by the former aspiration of the buddhas, the Introduction to the Madhyamaka (Ch. ll, v. 17) says:
The fields and bodies are like the Wishing Tree,
148
Fundamentals: Nature a/the Buddha-bodies
They are non-conceptualising in the manner of the Wish-fulfilling Gem;
Ever remaining to guide the world until beings have been liberated,
They appear to those who are free from elaboration.
Yet it is difficult to say that even these words reach the culmination of the definitive meaning, apart from their mere reference to a single aspect of the revelation [of buddha nature] for the sake of ordinary beings who require training.
This completes the anthology explaining the appearance of the Con- queror or Teacher endowed with the three buddha-bodies, the second part of this book, the Feast in which Eloquence Appears, which is a definitive ordering of the precious teaching of the vehicle of indestruct- ible reality according to the Ancient Translation School.
Part Three
Causal Vehicles of Dialectics
Introduction
[66b. 2-66b. 4] Having briefly described the appearance ofthe Conqueror as the teachers endowed with the three buddha-bodies in the world system of Patient Endurance, now, among the promulgations of the doctrinal wheel delivered by these teachers, I shall first explain the definitive structure of the three turnings of the doctrinal wheel according to the causal [vehicles]. This includes a statement ofthe overall meaning according to classifications and a recapitulation of the meaning sub- sumed in their particular sections.
1 The Three Promulgations of the Doctrinal Wheel
[66b. 4-68b. l] At the outset, the doctrinal wheel of the causal vehicle was promulgated in three successive stages by [Sakyamuni], the su- preme emanational buddha-body and sage. The first commenced with the four truths, the second concerned the absence of attributes, and the third the excellent analysis [of reality].
THE FIRST PROMULGA TION
The first is as follows: After discerning the utterly impure realms of sentient beings, the Teacher who promulgated the first turning of the doctrinal wheel intended to encourage these beings by the disturbing topics ofimpermanence, impurity, suffering, selflessness, ugliness, and so forth, and then cause them to forsake the attitude which actually clings to sarpsara. For in this way they would achieve appropriate insight into ultimate truth and adhere to the path of the greater vehicle.
At the Deer Park of in the district of VaraI! asI, he repeated the four [truths] of suffering, its origin, the path and cessation [of sarpsara] three times to an assembly consisting of his five noble com- panions.
The modes of the doctrine revealed in this context include the Four Transmissions of the Pitaka of the pious attendants and self-centred buddhas who belong to the lesser vehicle.
THE SECOND PROMULGA TION
Concerning the second: The Tathagata's perseverance was not inter- rupted merely by that first promulgation of the doctrinal wheel. Sub- sequently, the Teacher promulgated the intermediate turning of the doctrinal wheel, intending that the realisation of the ultimate truth, Which is referred to by synonyms in order to bring about the partial
154 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofDialectics
cessation of conceptual elaboration, should become the actual founda- tion for the path of the greater vehicle. In this way egotism would be averted once beings had comprehended the buddha nature through the extensive topics of emptiness, signlessness, and aspirationlessness in relation to all things.
In places such as Vulture Peak near Rajagrha and chiefly to the communities of bodhisattvas, he revealed the Bodhisattvapiraka of the greater vehicle, which extensively teach the ineffable, unthinkable, inexpressible reality of just what is, whereby all things from form to omniscience are totally divorced from substantial existence.
The long versions [of these piraka] are the Billion Lines on the Trans- cendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness C*Satakotiprajfta- paramita) and the Transcendental Perfection ofDiscriminative Awareness in One Hundred Thousand Lines. The intermediate versions include the Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness in Twenty-five Thousand Lines, and the short versions include the Transcendental Per- fection of Discriminative Awareness in Eight Thousand Lines; however, one should know there are an inconceivable number in addition to these.
THE THIRD PROMULGA TION
Concerning the third: The Tathagata's perseverance was not interrupted merely by that second promulgation of the doctrinal wheel. Sub- sequently the Teacher promulgated the final turning of the doctrinal wheel, directing his intention towards the nucleus of the path of the greater vehicle, and actually revealed the ultimate truth for which there is no synonym. This he did after opposing all bases for the views concerning being and non-being and the like by causing sentient beings to penetrate the objective range of the Buddha through the topics of that irreversible promulgation153 and through topics concerning the utter purity of the three spheres [of subject, object and their interaction].
In places such as Mount Malaya, the Point of Enlightenment154 and VaisalI, at indeterminate times and to the host of great bodhisattvas who required the essential training, he excellently analysed all things from form to omniscience in accord with the three essential natures of the imaginary (parikalpita), the dependent (paratantra) and the absolute and having established the nature of the ground, path and result, he extensively revealed the abiding reality of the of the tathagata.
Included in this promulgation are the Billion Verses of the Great Collection of the Most Extensive Siitras according to the Greater Vehicle (*Mahavaipulyamahayanasutrantamahasalflgraha), the Great Bounteous- ness of the Buddhas, the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka, the Sutra of the Bounteous Array (Ghanavyuhasutra, T 110), the Great Satra of Final
. _
Nzrva1Ja and the Satra which Decisively R
mocanasutra, T 106).
The Three Promulgations 155 I h J .
evea s t e ntentzon CSandhinir-
The hold that the doctrinal wh I ' .
sions were given comprise eXclusivel the ee s m these transmis-
tika hold that the three paths of insi ht mSIght. The Sautran- ing are comprised in the doctrinal '1 and no-more-Iearn- vehicle claim all five paths to be ee. s, followers of the greater
This causal vehicle when cIa c? fintdame m doctrinal wheels.
