as that [the secret mantra texts] belong either to the sectIOn of establIshed mstructions or to that of
marvellous
events.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
In the Ornamental Mirror ofCategories (tshig-don rgyan-gyi snang-ba)44 it says:
The great god holiest of conquerors Ascertains that which is knowable
In the following nine categories:
Animate substance (/iva), inanimate substance
(ajfva)45 and commitments (saytlvara), Rejuvenation (nirjara), bondage (bandha) and deeds
(karmasrava) ,
Evil (Papa), virtue (pulJya) and liberation
Consequently, it is held that liberation has form and colour, while trees are animate. They are called the Followers of the Conqueror (Jaina), Adherents ofthe Nine Categories and the Naked Ascetics (Nirgrantha).
Nihilism
[14a. 2-14b. 3] The fifth school is the only one which holds a nihilistic view. In Trayatrirp. sa, the heaven of the Thirty-three Gods, Brhaspati, who had become the accomplished guru of the gods, composed the treatise entitled Essence ofthe View which Negates Everything (thams-cad- la skur-pa 'debs-pa'i lta-ba'i snying-po)46 in order that the gods might develop enthusiasm for their struggle against the antigods. Later it was propagated in the human world by Valmlki. The treatise negates past and future births, saying [cf. Sarvadarsanasaytlgraha, Ch. l, v. l]:
Act joyously, good lady,
While you are not dead,
For nothing is not in death's range.
Even your body will vanish like powder. Where can there be rebirths?
It then negates the existence of invisible beings, saying:
As many creatures as there are,
They exist solely
Within the range of the senses.
Alas, whatever the learned say Resembles the tracks of a deceiving wolf.
Doctrines ofSaytlsara 67 It on to negate buddhahood as the result of progress on the path,
saymg:
The intellect is the body's soul,
It is the body's fruit and the body's attribute' Depending on three modes such as these '
There is no possibility of progress [to enlightenment]. It negates logic, saying:
Because it exaggerates There is no logic.
And it also negates causality, with the words [Summation ofthe R Tattvasaytlgraha, T 4266, vv. 1l1-12ab]: eal,
Who made the anthers of a lotus?
Who designed the markings of a peacock? Who sharpened the point of a thorn?
All things emerge substantially without cause.
Th
cause they are subs d · h·
e two Which h ume wIt m the status of the mind
ch
ave wrong und d'
ange the attitUde thr . erstan mg do represent views which
So it is that they are called the Followers of B h
the materialists, hedonists,47 and those who hr CS. arhaspatya),
from space.
CONCLUSION
. _
0 t at mmd emerges
d
? un erstandmg and wrong understanding
Since these four views of n exclusively originate f
.
has been said in the G they are mundane views. Such
from the passage b of Vzews: A Collection ofEsoteric Instructions egmnmg:
The countless sl1tras h' h views of senti . w
h
gat er together the erroneous
four cat . ent bemgs m the mundane realm fall within egones namely th h · h
nihilistic extr ' . , e apat etlc, t e materialists, the emlsts and the eternalistic extremists.
dOWn to:
All these are ignorant views.
these, the two who h h P I1osophical view H IC
ave no understanding represent no [SUch a View] be . owever, they are explained to be associated with
extremes which ough a phIlosophical system, but by clinging to
tremes, they have and depreciate the reality free from ex-
of liberation from Therefore, they are not the means
rpsara. ThiS applies not only to the n'h'l' .
I IIStlC ex-
.
68 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSan:zsara and Nirvar;a
Doctrines ofSan:zsara 69
tremists who are the worst among those professing philosophy, but to the eternalistic extremists as well, because, maintaining a self, they are bound by clinging to a self, which is the root of saqlsara. Accordingly, the Exposition of Valid Cognition (Pramar;avarttika, T 4210, Ch. 1, v. 193cd) says:
As long as one actually clings to a self, One will turn to saqlsara.
And in the Sequence of the Path:
Anyone who inclines towards
The duality of eternalism and nihilism Is said to deviate from the reality
Of the genuine essence.
On this occasion, I have not written about the texts and so forth which they individually uphold. One wishing to know them should look elsewhere. Some may well ask at this point whether it is not most inappropriate to explain the philosophical systems of the Outsiders,48 etc. , while analysing the Conqueror's transmitted precepts. Yet there is no fault, because having recognised the downfalls and things to be renounced on the path with reference to the eternalistic extremists who follow their own independent course, one has reason not to delay [in following] our own path, which is the supramundane vehicle. It says in the Heruka Galpo:
When the vehicle of the eternalistic extremists is well ascertained,
It is explained to you so that
You will not practise but renounce it.
Furthermore, with reference to those eternalistic extremists who are [the buddhas'] emanations, [there is no fault] because in addition to that aforementioned reason [for pursuing the path of the supramundane vehicle], they are said to represent the enlightened activity of the con- querors who train each in accord with his or her needs. It is said in the Rite which Ties by the Rope of Compassion of the Gathering of the Sugatas (bde-'dus-kyi thugs-rje dpyang-thag gnas-kyi lung, P 4781), which was composed by the bodhisattva Vajradharma:
By the diverse inroads of compassion, Training in whatever manner may be suitable, The Teacher speaks of this [true doctrine] And whatever appears therein
To the schools of the Outsiders.
In the very same way, one might well wonder how the development of such a negative view as that of the nihilistic extremists could appro-
. tely be within the conquerors' skilful means, since it is an extremely
pflaI·ble wrong view. None the less, it is appropriate because the nihilistic
terr d·hh·bl . extremists, too, a mIt muc t at IS reasona e. When one exammes
he scriptures or meets the arguments of those who established the pure
t . 49 . fif11 . 1
Prasailgika dialectIc, one IS Irst 0 a sceptIca, and subsequently
having seen the pure proof to the contrary, one comes to develop the correct logic. Therefore [the nihilists] are nearer to developing the correct view than the fools who have never entertained philosophy.
Again, if one asks how these [views] are explained to form an ensuing discussion that is derived from the vehicle of gods and human beings, they are so called because the receptive individuals who make progress through the vehicle ofgods and humans are both Outsiders and Insiders. With reference to the Outsiders, as Sura says:
The beings who do not side with your teaching are blinded by ignorance.
Though they have reached the summit of existence,
They will achieve a rebirth in which suffering re-emerges.
And with reference to the Insiders, even though they may hold to the refuge with a will to perform their duties on behalf of the Three Precious Jewels (dkon-mchog gsum), they are referred to as remaining only on the mundane path, unless their intellects aspire to liberation. As the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 1, v. 19) says:
With reference to differing volitions, The threefold refuge is laid down.
3 Doctrines of Nirvii1Ja
manent, all that is corrupt is suffering, all things are without self, and nirval)a is peace.
The three trainings are superior moral discipline, mind,sl and dis- riminative awareness, and it is the study of these through listening, ceflection and meditation for which the doctrine is respectively termed in the beginning, middle and end". As the Sun Commentmy
(Srama1Jerakarikavrttiprabhavatz, T 4125) says:
The learned realise that the Buddha's speech Teaches well the three trainings,
Is correctly endowed with the three seals,
And is virtuous in the beginning, middle and end.
The result, which can surpass the summit of existence, is described by Sura as follows:
One who follows your teaching,
Even without obtaining the actual foundation of
concentration,
Opposes rebirths as if they were the vision of Mara.
A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE SUPRAMUNDANE VEHICLE
The detailed account of the nature of this [supramundane vehicle] has two parts. Master Vasubandhu says [in the Treasury ofthe Abhidhanna) Abhzdhannakosa, T 4089, Ch. 8, v. 39ab]:
The two kinds of the Teacher's true doctrine Are transmission and realisation.
there is both the doctrine which realises his expressed meanmg and the doctrine which transmits his expressive words.
Realisation of the True Doctrine
The former, the doctrine of realisation, also has two parts. . Irstly , there is that doctrine attained through the attributes of realisa- tion, absorbed in the expanse [of reality]. This is the truth of
WcehSSatI. on to which the sublime beings have departed, the great nirvana erem a l l ' f ' . .
.
IC any[bI' b'
[cov' su Ime emg] departs, and which remedies the obscuration
naturally pure nucleus of inner radiance whose range e realIsed by each one individually.
[16a. 3-17b. 3] Secondly, the supramundane vehicle is explained in two parts: its superiority over [the vehicle of] the Outsiders and a detailed account of its own nature.
THE SUPERIORITY OF THE SUPRAMUNDANE VEHICLE
The true doctrine of nirva1). a,so which affords protection from the suf- fering of sarp. sara, is the best of all doctrines, supreme, perfect and more special than others. Therefore, it is expressed by the word "true". Grasping the Three Precious Jewels as the focus of refuge, it admits to, or is included within, four seals indicative of the transmitted which concern the view. By the study of the three correct trainings, it has a superior result because it can surpass the summit of existence. These [attributes] do not exist in the path of the Outsiders.
Among these [attributes], going for refuge must be the foundation and support of the path since that is the basis of the vows which support the aspiration for nirval)a. Therefore, one who has not gone for refuge does not develop the vows, and if one has not been bound by the vows, the correct path does not exist. The Seventy Verses on Going for Refuge (Trisara1Jasaptati, T 3971) says:
For the three kinds of layman, Going for refuge is the root Of [their] eight vows.
Though one may keep all the vows, None exist for one who has
Not gone for refuge.
The four seals are [the axioms that] all that is compounded is imper-
ob' SIgns 0 dualIstIC appearance have vanished, which is beyond of conception and expression. Secondly, there is that doctrine
And:
f'
realIsatIOn, the uncorrupted pristine
IC become th cog . . s
e essence 0 nnIOnalong . h.
. . .
wh' h wit Its concomitants. ThIS IS the truth of the path by
Doctrines ofNirvfi1Ja 71
72 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSarrzsara and NirvarJa
The first aspect is the desireless essence, or the unborn, pristine cognition in which the mind-streams of the four classes of sublime being have finished renouncing what must be renounced. And the second aspect is the natural expression of that pristine cognition or the antidote by which renunciation and desirelessness are achieved. As the sublime Ajita [in the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle, Ch. 1, vv. 10-ll] has said:
The doctrine is that which is without thought, Without duality and without ideas,
And which is pure, distinct and an antidote; Thus it is both that which is and by which There is freedom from desire,
Endowed with the characteristic of two truths. The reality of freedom from desire is subsumed By the truths of the cessation [of obscurations] And of the [correct] path.
Transmission of the True Doctrine
Secondly, the doctrine which transmits the expressive words [concern- ing that realisation] also has two aspects: the transmitted precepts of [the Buddha's] excellent teaching and the treatises which comment upon their intention.
4 Transmitted Precepts
[17b. 3-28a. 4] Firstly, [the transmitted precepts] are explained under three headings: characteristic, verbal definition and classification.
The transmitted precepts are characteristically the conquerors' scrip- tures preserved in the sutrapitaka and tantrapitaka which are endowed with four special qualities originating personally from our extraordinary Teacher, the Buddha. The doctrinal wheel of transmission means exactly this and is a synonym [for the term "transmitted precepts"]. The four special qualities are said in the Siltra which Encourages Superior
Aspiration (Adhyasayasaficodanasutra, T 69) to be the possession of ex- pressed meaning, immaculate words of expression, a function of re- nouncing rather than engaging in the conflicting emotions of the three realms, and a result which teaches the benefit of peace. Accordingly, the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 5, v. 18) says:
The speech which is closely connected With meaningful doctrine
And causes the all-conflicting emotions of The three realms to be renounced,
And that which teaches the benefit of peace, Is the Sage'sS2 speech.
Others are its opposite.
It is furth 1 .
ermore exp amed that the four [qualities] are to teach the tree trainin h . .
h
. gsast eexpressed[meamng],topossessImmaculatewords asItsexpression t h h .
ad'
0 possess t e tree kmds of valid cognition as proof, to a result that is virtuous in the beginning, middle and end.
erefore It is said:
the three trainings with immaculate words, Ando,:ed with the three kinds of valid cognition Tnd VIrtuous in the beginning, middle and end:
hese are the transmitted precepts
Which the Conqueror taught in the greater [vehicle].
74 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSan:zsara and Nirva1Ja
Their opposite should be known as The texts of others.
The verbal definition of the term transmitted precept is as follows: Derived from the [Sanskrit] [the prefix] su conveys the five meanings of noble, beautiful, happy, best and excellent, among which in this context it means excellent. means that which has been taught. It is because they are excellently taught that they are "transmitted precepts".
If one wonders how they are excellently taught, it is through ten aspects. As it is said in the Rational System of Exposition: 53
If one asks how they are excellently taught, they are so in ten ways, namely, through the nature oftheir genuine source, through the nature of their scope, through the nature of their approach, through the nature of their sound teaching, through the nature of their classification, through the nature of their support, through the nature of their causing com- prehension, through the nature of their titles, through the nature of their time, and through the nature of their complete grasp of enlightened attributes.
The transmitted precepts are classified in five ways: (1) through the personality [of the Buddha], (2) through time, (3) through sections, (4) through their function as antidotes and (5) through their power.
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO BUDDHA'S PERSONALITY
Firstly, when classified according to [the Buddha's] personality, there are three kinds of transmitted precept: those given in oral teaching, by blessing and by mandate.
Among these, [the transmitted precepts] given in oral teaching are also twofold. The teachings delivered impromptu by the Teacher at receptions are exemplified by the Verse Summation ofthe Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness (Prajfiaparamitasan:zcayagatha, T 13) in which it is said (Ch. l, intro. ):
Then, in order to delight correctly these four assemblies, the Transcendent Lord taught this further Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness, and at that time pro- nounced these verses. . .
The teachings which he gave at the request of an assembly are exemplified by the Litany of the Names of Mafijusrl san:zgfti, T 360). Therein it is stated (v. 13):
The Great Tantra of the Magical Net says that Immeasurable great Vajradharas, holders of secret
mantra,
Joyfully beseeched him to explain That which is the excellent teaching.
The transmitted precepts given by blessing are threefold. The trans- precepts given by the of his body are exemplified by the Sutra of the Ten Levels (Dasabhumzkasutra, T 44) which was taught by Vajragarbha and Vimukticandra who had developed the brilliance to explain request it after the Teacher had placed his hand on the
crowns of theIr heads. The transmitted precepts given by the blessi
. h l·fi ng of. are exemp I by the Transcendental Perfection of Dis-
cnmznatzve Awareness zn Ezght Thousand Lines (Astasahasrikap . --_ paramita, T which was explained by Subhuti
Lord had saId:
from the transcendental perfection of
dIscr. Immauve awareness of the great bodhisattvas, spiritual
warnors, you develop brilliance in the manner of the
gre. at bodhI. sattvas, spiritual warriors, who become disil-
. saIp. sara] through the transcendental perfec- tIOn of dIscnmmative awareness.
given by the blessing of his mind are said to . free subdIVIsIOns. Those transmitted precepts given by the bless- of his mind are exemplified by the Heart Sutra h· Awareness (Bhagavatfprajfiaparamitahrdaya T 21) b delIvered through the dialogue of Sariputra
platio y f e of the Teacher's meditative equipoise in the contem- given appearances. Then again, the transmitted precepts
the Sound the power of his mind are exemplified by birds trees d e octnne WhICh emerges even from the sky, and from
an forth through the accomplished power ofthe Buddha e transmItted p . b .
And :h
great spiritu 1· recepts gIven y the blessing of the power of his of mantra s by the collected transmitted precepts and others were spoken by pious
granting ext ; . power of the Buddha and whIch are capable of Co . raor mary results.
p.
mal Nirvan (M
ncermng the tran . d .
_ _precepts gIVen by mandate, the Siltra of
_ . a
Ananda when ·1
ahapannzrva1Jasutra, T 120) says:
into fi '1 . _ CounCI s are convened after I have passed duc dIna. mrval). a, let the teachings be compiled and intro-
eWIththewod"Thh Ih
sion" w· r . s us eard on a certain occa-
, Ith connectmg verses m the middle; and let them
Transmitted Precepts 75
76 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSa1! lsara and NirvalJa
be concluded with the words "Manifest praise to the teaching given by the Transcendent Lord".
In accordance with such advice, the compilers included the sayings which had been transmitted in that way.
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO TIME
Secondly, when classified according to time, the transmitted precepts comprise the three successive promulgations of the doctrinal wheel. 54 The first of these promulgations was concerned with the four truths, the second with signlessness, and the third with the definitive meaning of ultimate [reality].
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO SECTIONS
Thirdly, when classified according to sections, [the transmitted pre- cepts] form the twelve or nine branches of the scriptures. The enumera- tion of twelve is cited in the Great Commentary on the Transcendental Perfection o f Discriminative Awareness in Eight Thousand Lines (AHasaha- srikaprajflaparamittlvyakhyabhisamayala1! lkaraloka, T 3791):55
Sutras, aphorisms in prose and verse, and prophetic declarations,
Verses, meaningful expressions and narratives, Parables and legends,
Extensive teachings and tales of past lives,
Established instructions and marvellous events:
These twelve are the twelve branches of the scriptures.
The enumeration of nine branches excludes the three sections of narra- tives, parables and established instructions. Such is also said in the Clearly Worded Commentary (Mftlamadhyamakavrttiprasannapada, T 3860):
Including the sutra section of the buddhas and so forth, The teaching dependent on the two truths has nine
branches.
The twelve sections are also condensed into the three pi! aka. As it is
said in the Minor Transmissions (Vinayak$udragama, T 6): The five sections of the sutras, aphorisms in prose
and verse,
Prophetic declarations, verses and meaningful
expressions
Are subsumed within the Sutrapiraka.
The four sections of legends and narratives,
Parables and tales of past lives
Are subsumed within the Vinayapi! aka.
The three sections of extensive teaching, Marvellous events and established instructions Are subsumed within the Abhidharmapi! aka.
As far as the secret mantra (gsang-sngags) texts are concerned in this context, most ancients claim that they belong to the section of extensive teaching because they are said to be the Bodhisattvapi! aka of extensive teaching (Mahavaipulyabodhisattvapitaka) in the Mahayoga tantra en- titled the Magical Net ofMafljusrf[i. e. Namasa1! liiti, T 360]. The learned
Narton Senge-o,5. 6 however, h.
as that [the secret mantra texts] belong either to the sectIOn of establIshed mstructions or to that of marvellous events.
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO THEIR FUNCTION AS ANTIDOTES
Fourth: when classified according to their function as antidotes, [the transmItted precepts] consist of the eighty-four thousand doctrinal com- ponents. As the Dialogue with the Four Goddesses (Caturdevfpariprccha
T 446) says:
The Great Sage [divided] the doctrines into Eighty-four thousand components.
. ,
I'1.
t IS a . so SaId that the antidotes for each of the twenty-one thousand kinds
0:desIre. , hatred and delusion, and for conduct which results from these ree POIsons in equal proportion, are respectively each of the twenty-one ou. sand components of the Vinayapitaka, Sutrapitaka and Abhidhar-
'. '
'd : ,an 0 the Mantrapitaka of the Awareness-holders As it is
mapItaka d f
SalIntheRl·. t . .
eve atzon OJ Endless Treasure (mi-zad-pa'i gter bstan-pa): Th 'd
Ofe ote for the twenty-one thousand kinds deSIre, hatred, and delusion
And of cond . h' '
A
uct In w Ich all three poisons re of equal proportion
Is said to b .
e as many doctnnal components.
the mant
endowed
Elsewh .
ere, In other [t t] h "
' . ex s , t e great paIf9Ita VImalamitra subsumed ras WIthIn the Abh'dh . 1 "
. h 1 armapqa <a, saymg In the Great Perfection
W l t (rdzogs-pa chen-po dung-yig-can NYZ)57 KYI NYima D . 5:<a t ey elong to the Abhldharma. Accordingly,
that am
. ongtePIt1 h b . '
Illapitak and others also have claimed that the Abhidhar- . aContaInSbth d.
tras form t h ' 0 outer an mner aspects, among which the man- e Inner Abhidharma. Others such/as master Santipa59 and
Transmitted Precepts 77
78 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSal? lsara and NirvaYJa
Transmitted Precepts 79
Narton Senge-o have said that, subsuming the profound meaning, the Teacher included the mantras in the Sutrapitaka; for the Tantra ofthe Summation of the Real (Tattvasal? lgraha, T 479) says:
This sutra is excellently explained. And the VajravidaraYJa (T 750) says:
On listening to this sutra.
60
Although our own tradition
these, who subsumed [the mantras] within the Abhidharma[pitaka] and the Sutra[pitaka] because they determined their positions in accord with one or another tantra text, still, with reference to the tantrapitaka in general, it is best if they are allocated an independent pitaka, called either the Pitaka of the A wareness-holders, or the Fourth Pitaka. There- fore, the All-Accomplishing King says:
That spoken of as the antidote which cures everything Is the Fourth Pitaka teaching twenty-one thousand
components.
And also in the Tantra ofthe Dialogue with Subahu (Subahupariprccha-
namatantra, T 805): .
Thirty million five hundred thousand teachings Were given by the conquerors
In the Pitaka of Awareness-holders.
Furthermore, the Indestructible Peak (Vajrasekharamahaguhyayoga- tantra, T 480) speaks of:
The bodhisattva and inner vows Of the awareness-holders. . .
Hence, there is another way of subsuming [all the transmitted precepts] within three [sections], known as the pitaka of the pious attendants, bodhisattvas and awareness-holders, which respectively teach these three vows.
The Ornament ofthe Sutras ofthe Greater Vehicle (Mahayanasutralan:z- karakarika, T 4020, Ch. ll, v. lab) also says:
The pitaka appropriately number three or two Because they are compilations,
And owing to nine basic conditions.
Accordingly, if all the doctrinal components are subsumed, it is appro- priate to subsume them either under the three pitaka of the Vinaya, Satra and Abhidharma, or under the two pitaka of the pious attendants and bodhisattvas.
with reference to the threefold subsumption, the reason for
Here,. e number given is that the nine basic conditions are allocated h precIS. .
does not contradict [masters] such as
hoIdmg
be studied, [t e aslC con ItlOnS are t at t e tree trammgs are
e the three p1taka, three for each, by attendmg to what must be betWeen d studied and known. [The basic conditions] allocated to the by attending to what mus. t be renounced . are said t? be the th! e p . the antidote for doubt, the Vmaya as the antIdote for mvolve- Sutra the twO extremes, and the Abhidharma as the antidote for
t
f'·
to the supremacy 0 ones own VIew. y atten mg to w at
ined by the Sutra, superior moral discipline and mind are attained Vinaya, and superior discriminative awareness is attained by t:e Abhidharma. Then, by attendi. ng to w? at be known, . [the basic conditions] are that the doctnne and Its meanmg are explamed by the Sutra, attained by the Vinaya, and that, by the Abhidharma, one becomes skilled in the formulation of discourses. 61
These nine basic conditions are allocated between the three pitaka, but the importance of such a distribution is also that, by studying the three pitaka, propensities are left in the mind, by reflecting upon them the meaning is realised, and by meditating upon them, conflicting emotions are pacified through tranquillity, and one is liberated by means of properly realising just what is, through higher insight. As it is said in the Ornament ofthe Sutras ofthe Greater Vehicle (Ch. ll, v. lcd):
By understanding and pacifying propensities And by their proper realisation,
These are the cause of liberation.
Incidentally, [the pitaka] are verbally defined as follows: Aphorisms [or siitras] are so named because they are derived from [the Sanskrit] sutra [Tib. mdo]. As that same text [Ornament ofthe Sutras ofthe Greater Vehicle, Ch. l1, v. 3ab] says: '
Because they describe situations and characteristics, The doctrines and their meanings,
They are the Sutra[pitaka].
Hence the section of the slUras.
t [T;e Sanskrit word] abhi means manifest [or clear], and when added
aot. cer sYllables such as [the Sanskrit] mukhya, comes to mean "growing rnanhest". As [the above-cited text, Ch. ll v. 3cd] says:
it is manifest or clear, eeause it is repetitive,
of its overpowering realisation, 18 the Abhidharma.
lienee th .
e Abhidharma [Tib. chos mngon-pa].
ment m ·
B d· h hb· d··] h hh . .
80 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSarrzsara and Nirva1J,a
Transmitted Precepts 81
[The Sanskrit] Vinaya [Tib. 'dul-ba] means discipline. By syllabic variation it comes to mean moral downfall (vipatti)62 and so forth. As it is said [Ornament of the Sutras of the Greater Vehicle, Ch. ll, vA]:
It is the Vinaya
Because it sets forth downfalls,
The source of negativity,
Its rejection and renunciation,
Individuals and the affirmation of vows,
And the classification and ascertainment of vows.
[The Tibetan] sde-snod derived from the [Sanskrit] word pitaka con- veys the meanings of a collection, [Sanskrit] pi1J,q,aka, and of a large measuring basket, [Sanskrit] pitaka. The pitaka are so called because they subsume all objects of knowledge in an expressible form, or gather many meanings within them.
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO THEIR POWER
Fifth, when the transmitted precepts are classified according to their power, they form a vehicle because it appears that therein higher and higher paths are traversed, in the manner of a "vehicle". This notion is derived from the [Sanskrit] wordyana (theg-pa) , which generally conveys the meaning of "transportation". Therefore it is said in the Verse Sum- mation of the Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness (Ch. l, vv. 2lcd-22ab) also:
This vehicle is the great celestial palace. Riding on that, which is the best of vehicles, Manifestly attaining to delightful bliss,
All sentient beings pass into nirvaI). a.
When this vehicle is classified, one cannot say with absolute certainty that only such and such an enumeration is precise. This is because it was taught by the compassion of the Buddha in order to train each in accord with his or her needs, in a manner which suited the intellects of those requiring training. Such has also been saidin the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka, (Ch. 2, v. 203acd and Ch. lO, vA45abc):
In order to guide sentient beings completely, I have explained the entire vehicle.
As such it is not an object of reference.
This is expressed more briefly in the Lotus Siltra pU1J,qarfkasiltra, T 113, Ch. 2, v. 54ab):
The vehicle is one.
It is not divided into three.
According to such intentions, it is established that there is a single culminating vehicle. Yet, [other enumerations are also given]. There is a twofold classification into the lesser vehicle and the greater vehicle with its causal and resultant aspects;63 and a threefold classification either into the vehicles of the pious attendants, self-centred buddhas and bodhisattvas or, as it is said in the General Sutra which Gathers All Intentions, into the "vehicles of direction from the cause of suffering, austere awareness and overpowering means". Then, there is a fourfold classification which combines the three causal vehicles with the resultant vehicle, as stated in the Magical Net of Mafijusrl (v. l35cd):
Attaining disillusionment through the three vehicles, One abides in the result through the single vehicle.
Five vehicles are also given when the single vehicle of the higher realms [of saq1sara] is added as a path leading to these four vehicles. The Secret Nucleus (Ch. 3, v. 6) says:
[Through] the vehicle of gods and humans, The vehicle of the pious attendants,
The vehicle of the self-centred buddhas, The vehicle of the bodhisattvas
And the unsurpassed vehicle. . .
Again, there are nine successive vehicles when the "vehicle of direction from the cause of suffering" is divided into the trio of the vehicles of pious attendants, self-centred buddhas and bodhisattvas; the "vehicle of austere awareness" into the trio of the Kriyatantra, Caryatantra and Yogatantra; and the "vehicle of overpowering means" into the Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga. Therefore it is said in the All-Ac- complishing King:
Existentially there is only one,
But empirically there are nine vehicles.
In brief, it is said that the vehicle is inconceivable because its culmination cannot be reached until the degrees of the intellect have been exhausted. As it is found in the Siltra of the Descent to Lanka (Ch. 2, v. 202ab and Ch. lO, vA58ab):
As long as there are perceptions,
The culmination of the vehicles will never be reached.
From the standpoint of the essentially pure intellect, the path onwhiCh movement relies and the one by whom movement is made are not objective referents of even the word "vehicle". So [the same text, Ch. 2, V. 202cd and Ch. lO, vA58cd] says:
When the mind becomes transformed There is neither vehicle nor mover"
-
82 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSartZsara and NirvarJa
As for the following statement found in the Commentary on the Nucleus
of Indestructible Reality (VajrahrdayalartZkaratantrapafijika, T 2515):
For those who are Buddhists, Neither the fourth nor the fifth Are the Sage's intention.
There are some who affirm this to imply that only the enumeration of the three vehicles is valid. The actual meaning of this authoritative passage, however, is that the secret mantra texts are also subsumed within the vehicles of the pious attendants, self-centred buddhas and bodhisattvas and, on this occasion, only indicated in a general way. That statement, in particular, was purposefully made in order that the force of the verse beginning:
For those who are Buddhists. . .
might refute any equation with the five basic philosophical systems of wrong view held by the Outsiders and other such enumerations. Indeed, if that passage were [considered to be] a refutation of precise enumera- tions other than three vehicles, how then could one understand the Satra of the Descent to Lanka (Ch. 2, v. 201 and Ch. lO, v. 457) which does speak of five vehicles?
The vehicle of gods and the vehicle of Brahma,
And likewise the vehicles of the pious attendants, Tathagatas and self-centred buddhas were explained by me.
The Magical Net of Mafijufri (v. 135) also speaks of this [resultant] vehicle in the following words:
One who strives to benefit living beings
By means of the diverse vehicles
Attains disillusionment through the three vehicles And abides in the single vehicle's resuit.
It is inappropriate to think that some pious attendant or self-centred buddha, who has achieved disillusionment from saIpsara, starting from then develops the aspiration and application of the greater vehicle in his mind and attains omniscience, because [such texts] refer to the disillusionment of all three vehicles. Again, if one were to think that a bodhisattva who has attained disillusionment from the two extremes [of eternalism and nihilism] manifests the sublime buddha level through his own path of the causal greater vehicle, the above-cited statement [from the Magical Net of Mafijufrf] that the single vehicle [of the result] follows after the three vehicles would be meaningless.
If one asks what system is followed here: Though the definitive ordering of many vehicles has been made provisionally, these vehicles,
Transmitted Precepts 83
their circumstances and the varying degrees of their emphasis were revealed as a means of guiding those who require training. It is intended that when these vehicles have each arrived at the result oftheir respective paths, they are continued still higher in the supreme teaching of the vehicle of indestructible reality (Vajrayana), the unique path on which all buddhas have progressed. Those others are revealed merely as paths leading to this vehicle, and the paths which are to be traversed until perfect enlightenment are positioned like the rungs of a ladder. There- fore Nagarjuna has said:
This method has been taught by the perfect Buddha in the manner of the rungs of a ladder.
And in the Lotus Satra (Ch. 2, v. 54):
The teaching of the three vehicles of the sages Is the skilful means of the guiding [buddhas]. Though apart from the single vehicle,
A second does not exist,
The three vehicles are taught for the sake of guidance. And similarly in the Satra of the Descent to Lanka:
Those who are worn out by the path of rebirth Will not find the meaning of respite therein
[i. e. in lesser vehicles].
Furthermore, it is said in the Pagoda of Precious Jewels (Ratnaku{a, T 45-93):
Kasyapa, there are two vehicles, The lesser and the greater.
According to such passages the arrangment of only three vehicles is not exclusively observed. In this [Vajrayana] tradition of ours, there is a precise enumeration of four, namely, the vehicles of the pious attend- self-centred buddhas, bodhisattvas and mantras, the last of which IS classified into the three lower classes of tantra and the three aspects of creation and perfection belonging to the Unsurpassed Tantra (bla-na med-paJi rgyud). Therefore, there is no room for contradiction in this orderly succession of the vehicle. It is appropriate either to apply the name "single vehicle" to all the doctrines subsumed by the buddha level, or to apply the names of the individual vehicles to each in particu- lar, because they are the path which brings about progress towards all-knowing [enlightenment].
Among them, firstly the three outer vehicles of dialectics (mtshan-nyid theg-Pa gsum) are called vehicles because they respectively reach the of an arhat, a self-centred buddha [whose enlightenment is attained] 10 the manner of a parrot [i. e. in a group] or in the manner of a
84 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSa1flsara and NirvalJa
Transmitted Precepts 85
rhinoceros [i. e. in solitude], and the eleventh level64 which is called Universal Light (Samantaprabha).
Secondly, the three vehicles of the outer tantras of austere awareness (phyi-rgyud dka'-thub rig-pa'i theg-pa-gsum) are vehicles because they respectively cause one to reach the level of a Holder of Indestructible Reality belonging to Three Enlightened Families (rigs-gsum rdo-rje 'dzin- pa), the level of a Sky-farer belonging to Four Enlightened Families (rigs-bzhi mkha'-spyod-pa), and the level of the Bounteous Array of Five Enlightened Families (rigs-lnga stug-po bkod-pa, Skt. Ghanavyuha).
Thirdly, thethreevehiclesofinnertantras of skilful means (nang-rgyud thabs-kyi theg-pa gsum) are explained by the word "vehicle" because they respectively cause one to reach the level of the Great Mass of Rotating Syllables (yi-ge 'khor-lo tshogs-chen), the level of Great Bliss (bde-ba chen-po) and the level of Unsurpassed Pristine Cognition (ye-shes bla-ma).
With an intention directed towards this, it is said in the Sutra of Descent to Lanka (Ch. 2, v. 202 and Ch. lO, v. 458):
As long as sentient beings manifest There will be no end to the vehicles.
Therefore, it is said that there are as many approaches to the vehicle as accord with the number of thoughts in the mind.
In the context of this [tradition of ours] also, the higher and lower mantra vehicles are proportionately revealed to those of middling and highest acumen with an intention directed towards appraising the intel- lects of those requiring training, which are classified into three groups of three. In addition, in the fundamental path of each [vehicle] the view, meditation, conduct and result are completely explained, one by one, but only in the context of the individual capacity of their respective paths. Then, the culmination in which intellect and all things have ceased is established as the literal truth of the sublime path.
Furthermore, with regard to this point, the nirvaI). a of the vehicles of the pious attendants and self-centred buddhas does not reach the culmination except in a merely provisional way. Having actualised the result of their own paths, in order that the nirvaI). a of liberation might be attained, they are actually gathered in the greater vehicle because, starting from then, they are required to enter the greater vehicle.
In the causal aspect of the greater vehicle, and in the three lower classes of tantra, the'definitive order of the result is taught as an enum- eration. However, the distinctive attributes of profound hidden meaning [contained] in the path which causes progress toward this result are not revealed in them, and the actual result makes a great distinction between perfection and imperfection. For these reasons, it is in the unsurpassed vehicle that the skilful means is perfectly revealed. All the modes of the path and result contained in the lower [vehicles] are
fulfilled and gathered in this unsurpassed vehicle because its uncommon doctrines are neither included nor represented in those [lower vehicles].
However, even within the unsurpassed [vehicle] there are some paths of both the creation and perfection [stages] in which the means of attainment is no more than an intellectual contrivance. Since the object of their attainment becomes compounded, they differ from the vision of pristine cognition in an extreme way. This being the case, the Great Perfection, where there is no room for contact with intellectually con- trived doctrines, is the uncorrupted pristine cognition, the truth of the path subsumed by sublime minds and attained by the power of realisa- tion, which accords with the abiding nature of the truth of reality. This
is because the unerring reality, which the lower paths reveal through many enumerations as still to be actualised, is actually perceived here.
Because the vehicles, without exception, are gathered in this unsur- passed greater vehicle, it is also explained to be the "vehicle of pristine cognition". The Sutra of the Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas says:
Deeply involved in the vehicle of pristine cognition and in the greater vehicle, the mind dedicates the merit of those fundamental virtues.
And in the Sutra Requested by the Devaputra Suvikrantacinta (Suvikran- tacintaparipfcchasutra, T 161):
This vehicle of the greater vehicle,
The inconceivable vehicle of the buddhas, Giving sentient beings a chance,
Is the unsurpassed greater vehicle.
Among all the vehicles that there are,
This is intended to be supreme.
So it is that, derived from the greater vehicle, All vehicles are well classified.
In the Sublime Seal ofGreat Realisation ('phags-pa rtogs-chen phyag-rgya, T 265)65 it is said:
Certainly there is only one vehicle.
It does not exist as two or three. And in its commentary:
[The vehicles] of the pious attendants, self-centred buddhas, and the greater vehicle, are revealed in order to discipline those who require training by the three vehicles. In reality, there is but a single vehicle, the resultant vehicle of the indestructible reality.
And also in the Intermediate Mother:
Subhuti, there is only one vehicle,
The unsurpassed vehicle of the buddhas.
86 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSan:zsara and NirvalJa And in the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka:
Apart from the single vehicle, no second exists, And the third never exists except in the world When diverse living beings are trained.
Thus, on certain occasions such as these, the single vehicle is mentioned. None the less, in certain [passages] there are also statements in which no limits such as two, three or five [vehicles] and so forth are enumer-
ated. As it is said [in the same text, Ch. 2, v.
The great god holiest of conquerors Ascertains that which is knowable
In the following nine categories:
Animate substance (/iva), inanimate substance
(ajfva)45 and commitments (saytlvara), Rejuvenation (nirjara), bondage (bandha) and deeds
(karmasrava) ,
Evil (Papa), virtue (pulJya) and liberation
Consequently, it is held that liberation has form and colour, while trees are animate. They are called the Followers of the Conqueror (Jaina), Adherents ofthe Nine Categories and the Naked Ascetics (Nirgrantha).
Nihilism
[14a. 2-14b. 3] The fifth school is the only one which holds a nihilistic view. In Trayatrirp. sa, the heaven of the Thirty-three Gods, Brhaspati, who had become the accomplished guru of the gods, composed the treatise entitled Essence ofthe View which Negates Everything (thams-cad- la skur-pa 'debs-pa'i lta-ba'i snying-po)46 in order that the gods might develop enthusiasm for their struggle against the antigods. Later it was propagated in the human world by Valmlki. The treatise negates past and future births, saying [cf. Sarvadarsanasaytlgraha, Ch. l, v. l]:
Act joyously, good lady,
While you are not dead,
For nothing is not in death's range.
Even your body will vanish like powder. Where can there be rebirths?
It then negates the existence of invisible beings, saying:
As many creatures as there are,
They exist solely
Within the range of the senses.
Alas, whatever the learned say Resembles the tracks of a deceiving wolf.
Doctrines ofSaytlsara 67 It on to negate buddhahood as the result of progress on the path,
saymg:
The intellect is the body's soul,
It is the body's fruit and the body's attribute' Depending on three modes such as these '
There is no possibility of progress [to enlightenment]. It negates logic, saying:
Because it exaggerates There is no logic.
And it also negates causality, with the words [Summation ofthe R Tattvasaytlgraha, T 4266, vv. 1l1-12ab]: eal,
Who made the anthers of a lotus?
Who designed the markings of a peacock? Who sharpened the point of a thorn?
All things emerge substantially without cause.
Th
cause they are subs d · h·
e two Which h ume wIt m the status of the mind
ch
ave wrong und d'
ange the attitUde thr . erstan mg do represent views which
So it is that they are called the Followers of B h
the materialists, hedonists,47 and those who hr CS. arhaspatya),
from space.
CONCLUSION
. _
0 t at mmd emerges
d
? un erstandmg and wrong understanding
Since these four views of n exclusively originate f
.
has been said in the G they are mundane views. Such
from the passage b of Vzews: A Collection ofEsoteric Instructions egmnmg:
The countless sl1tras h' h views of senti . w
h
gat er together the erroneous
four cat . ent bemgs m the mundane realm fall within egones namely th h · h
nihilistic extr ' . , e apat etlc, t e materialists, the emlsts and the eternalistic extremists.
dOWn to:
All these are ignorant views.
these, the two who h h P I1osophical view H IC
ave no understanding represent no [SUch a View] be . owever, they are explained to be associated with
extremes which ough a phIlosophical system, but by clinging to
tremes, they have and depreciate the reality free from ex-
of liberation from Therefore, they are not the means
rpsara. ThiS applies not only to the n'h'l' .
I IIStlC ex-
.
68 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSan:zsara and Nirvar;a
Doctrines ofSan:zsara 69
tremists who are the worst among those professing philosophy, but to the eternalistic extremists as well, because, maintaining a self, they are bound by clinging to a self, which is the root of saqlsara. Accordingly, the Exposition of Valid Cognition (Pramar;avarttika, T 4210, Ch. 1, v. 193cd) says:
As long as one actually clings to a self, One will turn to saqlsara.
And in the Sequence of the Path:
Anyone who inclines towards
The duality of eternalism and nihilism Is said to deviate from the reality
Of the genuine essence.
On this occasion, I have not written about the texts and so forth which they individually uphold. One wishing to know them should look elsewhere. Some may well ask at this point whether it is not most inappropriate to explain the philosophical systems of the Outsiders,48 etc. , while analysing the Conqueror's transmitted precepts. Yet there is no fault, because having recognised the downfalls and things to be renounced on the path with reference to the eternalistic extremists who follow their own independent course, one has reason not to delay [in following] our own path, which is the supramundane vehicle. It says in the Heruka Galpo:
When the vehicle of the eternalistic extremists is well ascertained,
It is explained to you so that
You will not practise but renounce it.
Furthermore, with reference to those eternalistic extremists who are [the buddhas'] emanations, [there is no fault] because in addition to that aforementioned reason [for pursuing the path of the supramundane vehicle], they are said to represent the enlightened activity of the con- querors who train each in accord with his or her needs. It is said in the Rite which Ties by the Rope of Compassion of the Gathering of the Sugatas (bde-'dus-kyi thugs-rje dpyang-thag gnas-kyi lung, P 4781), which was composed by the bodhisattva Vajradharma:
By the diverse inroads of compassion, Training in whatever manner may be suitable, The Teacher speaks of this [true doctrine] And whatever appears therein
To the schools of the Outsiders.
In the very same way, one might well wonder how the development of such a negative view as that of the nihilistic extremists could appro-
. tely be within the conquerors' skilful means, since it is an extremely
pflaI·ble wrong view. None the less, it is appropriate because the nihilistic
terr d·hh·bl . extremists, too, a mIt muc t at IS reasona e. When one exammes
he scriptures or meets the arguments of those who established the pure
t . 49 . fif11 . 1
Prasailgika dialectIc, one IS Irst 0 a sceptIca, and subsequently
having seen the pure proof to the contrary, one comes to develop the correct logic. Therefore [the nihilists] are nearer to developing the correct view than the fools who have never entertained philosophy.
Again, if one asks how these [views] are explained to form an ensuing discussion that is derived from the vehicle of gods and human beings, they are so called because the receptive individuals who make progress through the vehicle ofgods and humans are both Outsiders and Insiders. With reference to the Outsiders, as Sura says:
The beings who do not side with your teaching are blinded by ignorance.
Though they have reached the summit of existence,
They will achieve a rebirth in which suffering re-emerges.
And with reference to the Insiders, even though they may hold to the refuge with a will to perform their duties on behalf of the Three Precious Jewels (dkon-mchog gsum), they are referred to as remaining only on the mundane path, unless their intellects aspire to liberation. As the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 1, v. 19) says:
With reference to differing volitions, The threefold refuge is laid down.
3 Doctrines of Nirvii1Ja
manent, all that is corrupt is suffering, all things are without self, and nirval)a is peace.
The three trainings are superior moral discipline, mind,sl and dis- riminative awareness, and it is the study of these through listening, ceflection and meditation for which the doctrine is respectively termed in the beginning, middle and end". As the Sun Commentmy
(Srama1Jerakarikavrttiprabhavatz, T 4125) says:
The learned realise that the Buddha's speech Teaches well the three trainings,
Is correctly endowed with the three seals,
And is virtuous in the beginning, middle and end.
The result, which can surpass the summit of existence, is described by Sura as follows:
One who follows your teaching,
Even without obtaining the actual foundation of
concentration,
Opposes rebirths as if they were the vision of Mara.
A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE SUPRAMUNDANE VEHICLE
The detailed account of the nature of this [supramundane vehicle] has two parts. Master Vasubandhu says [in the Treasury ofthe Abhidhanna) Abhzdhannakosa, T 4089, Ch. 8, v. 39ab]:
The two kinds of the Teacher's true doctrine Are transmission and realisation.
there is both the doctrine which realises his expressed meanmg and the doctrine which transmits his expressive words.
Realisation of the True Doctrine
The former, the doctrine of realisation, also has two parts. . Irstly , there is that doctrine attained through the attributes of realisa- tion, absorbed in the expanse [of reality]. This is the truth of
WcehSSatI. on to which the sublime beings have departed, the great nirvana erem a l l ' f ' . .
.
IC any[bI' b'
[cov' su Ime emg] departs, and which remedies the obscuration
naturally pure nucleus of inner radiance whose range e realIsed by each one individually.
[16a. 3-17b. 3] Secondly, the supramundane vehicle is explained in two parts: its superiority over [the vehicle of] the Outsiders and a detailed account of its own nature.
THE SUPERIORITY OF THE SUPRAMUNDANE VEHICLE
The true doctrine of nirva1). a,so which affords protection from the suf- fering of sarp. sara, is the best of all doctrines, supreme, perfect and more special than others. Therefore, it is expressed by the word "true". Grasping the Three Precious Jewels as the focus of refuge, it admits to, or is included within, four seals indicative of the transmitted which concern the view. By the study of the three correct trainings, it has a superior result because it can surpass the summit of existence. These [attributes] do not exist in the path of the Outsiders.
Among these [attributes], going for refuge must be the foundation and support of the path since that is the basis of the vows which support the aspiration for nirval)a. Therefore, one who has not gone for refuge does not develop the vows, and if one has not been bound by the vows, the correct path does not exist. The Seventy Verses on Going for Refuge (Trisara1Jasaptati, T 3971) says:
For the three kinds of layman, Going for refuge is the root Of [their] eight vows.
Though one may keep all the vows, None exist for one who has
Not gone for refuge.
The four seals are [the axioms that] all that is compounded is imper-
ob' SIgns 0 dualIstIC appearance have vanished, which is beyond of conception and expression. Secondly, there is that doctrine
And:
f'
realIsatIOn, the uncorrupted pristine
IC become th cog . . s
e essence 0 nnIOnalong . h.
. . .
wh' h wit Its concomitants. ThIS IS the truth of the path by
Doctrines ofNirvfi1Ja 71
72 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSarrzsara and NirvarJa
The first aspect is the desireless essence, or the unborn, pristine cognition in which the mind-streams of the four classes of sublime being have finished renouncing what must be renounced. And the second aspect is the natural expression of that pristine cognition or the antidote by which renunciation and desirelessness are achieved. As the sublime Ajita [in the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle, Ch. 1, vv. 10-ll] has said:
The doctrine is that which is without thought, Without duality and without ideas,
And which is pure, distinct and an antidote; Thus it is both that which is and by which There is freedom from desire,
Endowed with the characteristic of two truths. The reality of freedom from desire is subsumed By the truths of the cessation [of obscurations] And of the [correct] path.
Transmission of the True Doctrine
Secondly, the doctrine which transmits the expressive words [concern- ing that realisation] also has two aspects: the transmitted precepts of [the Buddha's] excellent teaching and the treatises which comment upon their intention.
4 Transmitted Precepts
[17b. 3-28a. 4] Firstly, [the transmitted precepts] are explained under three headings: characteristic, verbal definition and classification.
The transmitted precepts are characteristically the conquerors' scrip- tures preserved in the sutrapitaka and tantrapitaka which are endowed with four special qualities originating personally from our extraordinary Teacher, the Buddha. The doctrinal wheel of transmission means exactly this and is a synonym [for the term "transmitted precepts"]. The four special qualities are said in the Siltra which Encourages Superior
Aspiration (Adhyasayasaficodanasutra, T 69) to be the possession of ex- pressed meaning, immaculate words of expression, a function of re- nouncing rather than engaging in the conflicting emotions of the three realms, and a result which teaches the benefit of peace. Accordingly, the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 5, v. 18) says:
The speech which is closely connected With meaningful doctrine
And causes the all-conflicting emotions of The three realms to be renounced,
And that which teaches the benefit of peace, Is the Sage'sS2 speech.
Others are its opposite.
It is furth 1 .
ermore exp amed that the four [qualities] are to teach the tree trainin h . .
h
. gsast eexpressed[meamng],topossessImmaculatewords asItsexpression t h h .
ad'
0 possess t e tree kmds of valid cognition as proof, to a result that is virtuous in the beginning, middle and end.
erefore It is said:
the three trainings with immaculate words, Ando,:ed with the three kinds of valid cognition Tnd VIrtuous in the beginning, middle and end:
hese are the transmitted precepts
Which the Conqueror taught in the greater [vehicle].
74 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSan:zsara and Nirva1Ja
Their opposite should be known as The texts of others.
The verbal definition of the term transmitted precept is as follows: Derived from the [Sanskrit] [the prefix] su conveys the five meanings of noble, beautiful, happy, best and excellent, among which in this context it means excellent. means that which has been taught. It is because they are excellently taught that they are "transmitted precepts".
If one wonders how they are excellently taught, it is through ten aspects. As it is said in the Rational System of Exposition: 53
If one asks how they are excellently taught, they are so in ten ways, namely, through the nature oftheir genuine source, through the nature of their scope, through the nature of their approach, through the nature of their sound teaching, through the nature of their classification, through the nature of their support, through the nature of their causing com- prehension, through the nature of their titles, through the nature of their time, and through the nature of their complete grasp of enlightened attributes.
The transmitted precepts are classified in five ways: (1) through the personality [of the Buddha], (2) through time, (3) through sections, (4) through their function as antidotes and (5) through their power.
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO BUDDHA'S PERSONALITY
Firstly, when classified according to [the Buddha's] personality, there are three kinds of transmitted precept: those given in oral teaching, by blessing and by mandate.
Among these, [the transmitted precepts] given in oral teaching are also twofold. The teachings delivered impromptu by the Teacher at receptions are exemplified by the Verse Summation ofthe Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness (Prajfiaparamitasan:zcayagatha, T 13) in which it is said (Ch. l, intro. ):
Then, in order to delight correctly these four assemblies, the Transcendent Lord taught this further Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness, and at that time pro- nounced these verses. . .
The teachings which he gave at the request of an assembly are exemplified by the Litany of the Names of Mafijusrl san:zgfti, T 360). Therein it is stated (v. 13):
The Great Tantra of the Magical Net says that Immeasurable great Vajradharas, holders of secret
mantra,
Joyfully beseeched him to explain That which is the excellent teaching.
The transmitted precepts given by blessing are threefold. The trans- precepts given by the of his body are exemplified by the Sutra of the Ten Levels (Dasabhumzkasutra, T 44) which was taught by Vajragarbha and Vimukticandra who had developed the brilliance to explain request it after the Teacher had placed his hand on the
crowns of theIr heads. The transmitted precepts given by the blessi
. h l·fi ng of. are exemp I by the Transcendental Perfection of Dis-
cnmznatzve Awareness zn Ezght Thousand Lines (Astasahasrikap . --_ paramita, T which was explained by Subhuti
Lord had saId:
from the transcendental perfection of
dIscr. Immauve awareness of the great bodhisattvas, spiritual
warnors, you develop brilliance in the manner of the
gre. at bodhI. sattvas, spiritual warriors, who become disil-
. saIp. sara] through the transcendental perfec- tIOn of dIscnmmative awareness.
given by the blessing of his mind are said to . free subdIVIsIOns. Those transmitted precepts given by the bless- of his mind are exemplified by the Heart Sutra h· Awareness (Bhagavatfprajfiaparamitahrdaya T 21) b delIvered through the dialogue of Sariputra
platio y f e of the Teacher's meditative equipoise in the contem- given appearances. Then again, the transmitted precepts
the Sound the power of his mind are exemplified by birds trees d e octnne WhICh emerges even from the sky, and from
an forth through the accomplished power ofthe Buddha e transmItted p . b .
And :h
great spiritu 1· recepts gIven y the blessing of the power of his of mantra s by the collected transmitted precepts and others were spoken by pious
granting ext ; . power of the Buddha and whIch are capable of Co . raor mary results.
p.
mal Nirvan (M
ncermng the tran . d .
_ _precepts gIVen by mandate, the Siltra of
_ . a
Ananda when ·1
ahapannzrva1Jasutra, T 120) says:
into fi '1 . _ CounCI s are convened after I have passed duc dIna. mrval). a, let the teachings be compiled and intro-
eWIththewod"Thh Ih
sion" w· r . s us eard on a certain occa-
, Ith connectmg verses m the middle; and let them
Transmitted Precepts 75
76 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSa1! lsara and NirvalJa
be concluded with the words "Manifest praise to the teaching given by the Transcendent Lord".
In accordance with such advice, the compilers included the sayings which had been transmitted in that way.
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO TIME
Secondly, when classified according to time, the transmitted precepts comprise the three successive promulgations of the doctrinal wheel. 54 The first of these promulgations was concerned with the four truths, the second with signlessness, and the third with the definitive meaning of ultimate [reality].
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO SECTIONS
Thirdly, when classified according to sections, [the transmitted pre- cepts] form the twelve or nine branches of the scriptures. The enumera- tion of twelve is cited in the Great Commentary on the Transcendental Perfection o f Discriminative Awareness in Eight Thousand Lines (AHasaha- srikaprajflaparamittlvyakhyabhisamayala1! lkaraloka, T 3791):55
Sutras, aphorisms in prose and verse, and prophetic declarations,
Verses, meaningful expressions and narratives, Parables and legends,
Extensive teachings and tales of past lives,
Established instructions and marvellous events:
These twelve are the twelve branches of the scriptures.
The enumeration of nine branches excludes the three sections of narra- tives, parables and established instructions. Such is also said in the Clearly Worded Commentary (Mftlamadhyamakavrttiprasannapada, T 3860):
Including the sutra section of the buddhas and so forth, The teaching dependent on the two truths has nine
branches.
The twelve sections are also condensed into the three pi! aka. As it is
said in the Minor Transmissions (Vinayak$udragama, T 6): The five sections of the sutras, aphorisms in prose
and verse,
Prophetic declarations, verses and meaningful
expressions
Are subsumed within the Sutrapiraka.
The four sections of legends and narratives,
Parables and tales of past lives
Are subsumed within the Vinayapi! aka.
The three sections of extensive teaching, Marvellous events and established instructions Are subsumed within the Abhidharmapi! aka.
As far as the secret mantra (gsang-sngags) texts are concerned in this context, most ancients claim that they belong to the section of extensive teaching because they are said to be the Bodhisattvapi! aka of extensive teaching (Mahavaipulyabodhisattvapitaka) in the Mahayoga tantra en- titled the Magical Net ofMafljusrf[i. e. Namasa1! liiti, T 360]. The learned
Narton Senge-o,5. 6 however, h.
as that [the secret mantra texts] belong either to the sectIOn of establIshed mstructions or to that of marvellous events.
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO THEIR FUNCTION AS ANTIDOTES
Fourth: when classified according to their function as antidotes, [the transmItted precepts] consist of the eighty-four thousand doctrinal com- ponents. As the Dialogue with the Four Goddesses (Caturdevfpariprccha
T 446) says:
The Great Sage [divided] the doctrines into Eighty-four thousand components.
. ,
I'1.
t IS a . so SaId that the antidotes for each of the twenty-one thousand kinds
0:desIre. , hatred and delusion, and for conduct which results from these ree POIsons in equal proportion, are respectively each of the twenty-one ou. sand components of the Vinayapitaka, Sutrapitaka and Abhidhar-
'. '
'd : ,an 0 the Mantrapitaka of the Awareness-holders As it is
mapItaka d f
SalIntheRl·. t . .
eve atzon OJ Endless Treasure (mi-zad-pa'i gter bstan-pa): Th 'd
Ofe ote for the twenty-one thousand kinds deSIre, hatred, and delusion
And of cond . h' '
A
uct In w Ich all three poisons re of equal proportion
Is said to b .
e as many doctnnal components.
the mant
endowed
Elsewh .
ere, In other [t t] h "
' . ex s , t e great paIf9Ita VImalamitra subsumed ras WIthIn the Abh'dh . 1 "
. h 1 armapqa <a, saymg In the Great Perfection
W l t (rdzogs-pa chen-po dung-yig-can NYZ)57 KYI NYima D . 5:<a t ey elong to the Abhldharma. Accordingly,
that am
. ongtePIt1 h b . '
Illapitak and others also have claimed that the Abhidhar- . aContaInSbth d.
tras form t h ' 0 outer an mner aspects, among which the man- e Inner Abhidharma. Others such/as master Santipa59 and
Transmitted Precepts 77
78 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSal? lsara and NirvaYJa
Transmitted Precepts 79
Narton Senge-o have said that, subsuming the profound meaning, the Teacher included the mantras in the Sutrapitaka; for the Tantra ofthe Summation of the Real (Tattvasal? lgraha, T 479) says:
This sutra is excellently explained. And the VajravidaraYJa (T 750) says:
On listening to this sutra.
60
Although our own tradition
these, who subsumed [the mantras] within the Abhidharma[pitaka] and the Sutra[pitaka] because they determined their positions in accord with one or another tantra text, still, with reference to the tantrapitaka in general, it is best if they are allocated an independent pitaka, called either the Pitaka of the A wareness-holders, or the Fourth Pitaka. There- fore, the All-Accomplishing King says:
That spoken of as the antidote which cures everything Is the Fourth Pitaka teaching twenty-one thousand
components.
And also in the Tantra ofthe Dialogue with Subahu (Subahupariprccha-
namatantra, T 805): .
Thirty million five hundred thousand teachings Were given by the conquerors
In the Pitaka of Awareness-holders.
Furthermore, the Indestructible Peak (Vajrasekharamahaguhyayoga- tantra, T 480) speaks of:
The bodhisattva and inner vows Of the awareness-holders. . .
Hence, there is another way of subsuming [all the transmitted precepts] within three [sections], known as the pitaka of the pious attendants, bodhisattvas and awareness-holders, which respectively teach these three vows.
The Ornament ofthe Sutras ofthe Greater Vehicle (Mahayanasutralan:z- karakarika, T 4020, Ch. ll, v. lab) also says:
The pitaka appropriately number three or two Because they are compilations,
And owing to nine basic conditions.
Accordingly, if all the doctrinal components are subsumed, it is appro- priate to subsume them either under the three pitaka of the Vinaya, Satra and Abhidharma, or under the two pitaka of the pious attendants and bodhisattvas.
with reference to the threefold subsumption, the reason for
Here,. e number given is that the nine basic conditions are allocated h precIS. .
does not contradict [masters] such as
hoIdmg
be studied, [t e aslC con ItlOnS are t at t e tree trammgs are
e the three p1taka, three for each, by attendmg to what must be betWeen d studied and known. [The basic conditions] allocated to the by attending to what mus. t be renounced . are said t? be the th! e p . the antidote for doubt, the Vmaya as the antIdote for mvolve- Sutra the twO extremes, and the Abhidharma as the antidote for
t
f'·
to the supremacy 0 ones own VIew. y atten mg to w at
ined by the Sutra, superior moral discipline and mind are attained Vinaya, and superior discriminative awareness is attained by t:e Abhidharma. Then, by attendi. ng to w? at be known, . [the basic conditions] are that the doctnne and Its meanmg are explamed by the Sutra, attained by the Vinaya, and that, by the Abhidharma, one becomes skilled in the formulation of discourses. 61
These nine basic conditions are allocated between the three pitaka, but the importance of such a distribution is also that, by studying the three pitaka, propensities are left in the mind, by reflecting upon them the meaning is realised, and by meditating upon them, conflicting emotions are pacified through tranquillity, and one is liberated by means of properly realising just what is, through higher insight. As it is said in the Ornament ofthe Sutras ofthe Greater Vehicle (Ch. ll, v. lcd):
By understanding and pacifying propensities And by their proper realisation,
These are the cause of liberation.
Incidentally, [the pitaka] are verbally defined as follows: Aphorisms [or siitras] are so named because they are derived from [the Sanskrit] sutra [Tib. mdo]. As that same text [Ornament ofthe Sutras ofthe Greater Vehicle, Ch. l1, v. 3ab] says: '
Because they describe situations and characteristics, The doctrines and their meanings,
They are the Sutra[pitaka].
Hence the section of the slUras.
t [T;e Sanskrit word] abhi means manifest [or clear], and when added
aot. cer sYllables such as [the Sanskrit] mukhya, comes to mean "growing rnanhest". As [the above-cited text, Ch. ll v. 3cd] says:
it is manifest or clear, eeause it is repetitive,
of its overpowering realisation, 18 the Abhidharma.
lienee th .
e Abhidharma [Tib. chos mngon-pa].
ment m ·
B d· h hb· d··] h hh . .
80 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSarrzsara and Nirva1J,a
Transmitted Precepts 81
[The Sanskrit] Vinaya [Tib. 'dul-ba] means discipline. By syllabic variation it comes to mean moral downfall (vipatti)62 and so forth. As it is said [Ornament of the Sutras of the Greater Vehicle, Ch. ll, vA]:
It is the Vinaya
Because it sets forth downfalls,
The source of negativity,
Its rejection and renunciation,
Individuals and the affirmation of vows,
And the classification and ascertainment of vows.
[The Tibetan] sde-snod derived from the [Sanskrit] word pitaka con- veys the meanings of a collection, [Sanskrit] pi1J,q,aka, and of a large measuring basket, [Sanskrit] pitaka. The pitaka are so called because they subsume all objects of knowledge in an expressible form, or gather many meanings within them.
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO THEIR POWER
Fifth, when the transmitted precepts are classified according to their power, they form a vehicle because it appears that therein higher and higher paths are traversed, in the manner of a "vehicle". This notion is derived from the [Sanskrit] wordyana (theg-pa) , which generally conveys the meaning of "transportation". Therefore it is said in the Verse Sum- mation of the Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness (Ch. l, vv. 2lcd-22ab) also:
This vehicle is the great celestial palace. Riding on that, which is the best of vehicles, Manifestly attaining to delightful bliss,
All sentient beings pass into nirvaI). a.
When this vehicle is classified, one cannot say with absolute certainty that only such and such an enumeration is precise. This is because it was taught by the compassion of the Buddha in order to train each in accord with his or her needs, in a manner which suited the intellects of those requiring training. Such has also been saidin the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka, (Ch. 2, v. 203acd and Ch. lO, vA45abc):
In order to guide sentient beings completely, I have explained the entire vehicle.
As such it is not an object of reference.
This is expressed more briefly in the Lotus Siltra pU1J,qarfkasiltra, T 113, Ch. 2, v. 54ab):
The vehicle is one.
It is not divided into three.
According to such intentions, it is established that there is a single culminating vehicle. Yet, [other enumerations are also given]. There is a twofold classification into the lesser vehicle and the greater vehicle with its causal and resultant aspects;63 and a threefold classification either into the vehicles of the pious attendants, self-centred buddhas and bodhisattvas or, as it is said in the General Sutra which Gathers All Intentions, into the "vehicles of direction from the cause of suffering, austere awareness and overpowering means". Then, there is a fourfold classification which combines the three causal vehicles with the resultant vehicle, as stated in the Magical Net of Mafijusrl (v. l35cd):
Attaining disillusionment through the three vehicles, One abides in the result through the single vehicle.
Five vehicles are also given when the single vehicle of the higher realms [of saq1sara] is added as a path leading to these four vehicles. The Secret Nucleus (Ch. 3, v. 6) says:
[Through] the vehicle of gods and humans, The vehicle of the pious attendants,
The vehicle of the self-centred buddhas, The vehicle of the bodhisattvas
And the unsurpassed vehicle. . .
Again, there are nine successive vehicles when the "vehicle of direction from the cause of suffering" is divided into the trio of the vehicles of pious attendants, self-centred buddhas and bodhisattvas; the "vehicle of austere awareness" into the trio of the Kriyatantra, Caryatantra and Yogatantra; and the "vehicle of overpowering means" into the Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga. Therefore it is said in the All-Ac- complishing King:
Existentially there is only one,
But empirically there are nine vehicles.
In brief, it is said that the vehicle is inconceivable because its culmination cannot be reached until the degrees of the intellect have been exhausted. As it is found in the Siltra of the Descent to Lanka (Ch. 2, v. 202ab and Ch. lO, vA58ab):
As long as there are perceptions,
The culmination of the vehicles will never be reached.
From the standpoint of the essentially pure intellect, the path onwhiCh movement relies and the one by whom movement is made are not objective referents of even the word "vehicle". So [the same text, Ch. 2, V. 202cd and Ch. lO, vA58cd] says:
When the mind becomes transformed There is neither vehicle nor mover"
-
82 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSartZsara and NirvarJa
As for the following statement found in the Commentary on the Nucleus
of Indestructible Reality (VajrahrdayalartZkaratantrapafijika, T 2515):
For those who are Buddhists, Neither the fourth nor the fifth Are the Sage's intention.
There are some who affirm this to imply that only the enumeration of the three vehicles is valid. The actual meaning of this authoritative passage, however, is that the secret mantra texts are also subsumed within the vehicles of the pious attendants, self-centred buddhas and bodhisattvas and, on this occasion, only indicated in a general way. That statement, in particular, was purposefully made in order that the force of the verse beginning:
For those who are Buddhists. . .
might refute any equation with the five basic philosophical systems of wrong view held by the Outsiders and other such enumerations. Indeed, if that passage were [considered to be] a refutation of precise enumera- tions other than three vehicles, how then could one understand the Satra of the Descent to Lanka (Ch. 2, v. 201 and Ch. lO, v. 457) which does speak of five vehicles?
The vehicle of gods and the vehicle of Brahma,
And likewise the vehicles of the pious attendants, Tathagatas and self-centred buddhas were explained by me.
The Magical Net of Mafijufri (v. 135) also speaks of this [resultant] vehicle in the following words:
One who strives to benefit living beings
By means of the diverse vehicles
Attains disillusionment through the three vehicles And abides in the single vehicle's resuit.
It is inappropriate to think that some pious attendant or self-centred buddha, who has achieved disillusionment from saIpsara, starting from then develops the aspiration and application of the greater vehicle in his mind and attains omniscience, because [such texts] refer to the disillusionment of all three vehicles. Again, if one were to think that a bodhisattva who has attained disillusionment from the two extremes [of eternalism and nihilism] manifests the sublime buddha level through his own path of the causal greater vehicle, the above-cited statement [from the Magical Net of Mafijufrf] that the single vehicle [of the result] follows after the three vehicles would be meaningless.
If one asks what system is followed here: Though the definitive ordering of many vehicles has been made provisionally, these vehicles,
Transmitted Precepts 83
their circumstances and the varying degrees of their emphasis were revealed as a means of guiding those who require training. It is intended that when these vehicles have each arrived at the result oftheir respective paths, they are continued still higher in the supreme teaching of the vehicle of indestructible reality (Vajrayana), the unique path on which all buddhas have progressed. Those others are revealed merely as paths leading to this vehicle, and the paths which are to be traversed until perfect enlightenment are positioned like the rungs of a ladder. There- fore Nagarjuna has said:
This method has been taught by the perfect Buddha in the manner of the rungs of a ladder.
And in the Lotus Satra (Ch. 2, v. 54):
The teaching of the three vehicles of the sages Is the skilful means of the guiding [buddhas]. Though apart from the single vehicle,
A second does not exist,
The three vehicles are taught for the sake of guidance. And similarly in the Satra of the Descent to Lanka:
Those who are worn out by the path of rebirth Will not find the meaning of respite therein
[i. e. in lesser vehicles].
Furthermore, it is said in the Pagoda of Precious Jewels (Ratnaku{a, T 45-93):
Kasyapa, there are two vehicles, The lesser and the greater.
According to such passages the arrangment of only three vehicles is not exclusively observed. In this [Vajrayana] tradition of ours, there is a precise enumeration of four, namely, the vehicles of the pious attend- self-centred buddhas, bodhisattvas and mantras, the last of which IS classified into the three lower classes of tantra and the three aspects of creation and perfection belonging to the Unsurpassed Tantra (bla-na med-paJi rgyud). Therefore, there is no room for contradiction in this orderly succession of the vehicle. It is appropriate either to apply the name "single vehicle" to all the doctrines subsumed by the buddha level, or to apply the names of the individual vehicles to each in particu- lar, because they are the path which brings about progress towards all-knowing [enlightenment].
Among them, firstly the three outer vehicles of dialectics (mtshan-nyid theg-Pa gsum) are called vehicles because they respectively reach the of an arhat, a self-centred buddha [whose enlightenment is attained] 10 the manner of a parrot [i. e. in a group] or in the manner of a
84 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSa1flsara and NirvalJa
Transmitted Precepts 85
rhinoceros [i. e. in solitude], and the eleventh level64 which is called Universal Light (Samantaprabha).
Secondly, the three vehicles of the outer tantras of austere awareness (phyi-rgyud dka'-thub rig-pa'i theg-pa-gsum) are vehicles because they respectively cause one to reach the level of a Holder of Indestructible Reality belonging to Three Enlightened Families (rigs-gsum rdo-rje 'dzin- pa), the level of a Sky-farer belonging to Four Enlightened Families (rigs-bzhi mkha'-spyod-pa), and the level of the Bounteous Array of Five Enlightened Families (rigs-lnga stug-po bkod-pa, Skt. Ghanavyuha).
Thirdly, thethreevehiclesofinnertantras of skilful means (nang-rgyud thabs-kyi theg-pa gsum) are explained by the word "vehicle" because they respectively cause one to reach the level of the Great Mass of Rotating Syllables (yi-ge 'khor-lo tshogs-chen), the level of Great Bliss (bde-ba chen-po) and the level of Unsurpassed Pristine Cognition (ye-shes bla-ma).
With an intention directed towards this, it is said in the Sutra of Descent to Lanka (Ch. 2, v. 202 and Ch. lO, v. 458):
As long as sentient beings manifest There will be no end to the vehicles.
Therefore, it is said that there are as many approaches to the vehicle as accord with the number of thoughts in the mind.
In the context of this [tradition of ours] also, the higher and lower mantra vehicles are proportionately revealed to those of middling and highest acumen with an intention directed towards appraising the intel- lects of those requiring training, which are classified into three groups of three. In addition, in the fundamental path of each [vehicle] the view, meditation, conduct and result are completely explained, one by one, but only in the context of the individual capacity of their respective paths. Then, the culmination in which intellect and all things have ceased is established as the literal truth of the sublime path.
Furthermore, with regard to this point, the nirvaI). a of the vehicles of the pious attendants and self-centred buddhas does not reach the culmination except in a merely provisional way. Having actualised the result of their own paths, in order that the nirvaI). a of liberation might be attained, they are actually gathered in the greater vehicle because, starting from then, they are required to enter the greater vehicle.
In the causal aspect of the greater vehicle, and in the three lower classes of tantra, the'definitive order of the result is taught as an enum- eration. However, the distinctive attributes of profound hidden meaning [contained] in the path which causes progress toward this result are not revealed in them, and the actual result makes a great distinction between perfection and imperfection. For these reasons, it is in the unsurpassed vehicle that the skilful means is perfectly revealed. All the modes of the path and result contained in the lower [vehicles] are
fulfilled and gathered in this unsurpassed vehicle because its uncommon doctrines are neither included nor represented in those [lower vehicles].
However, even within the unsurpassed [vehicle] there are some paths of both the creation and perfection [stages] in which the means of attainment is no more than an intellectual contrivance. Since the object of their attainment becomes compounded, they differ from the vision of pristine cognition in an extreme way. This being the case, the Great Perfection, where there is no room for contact with intellectually con- trived doctrines, is the uncorrupted pristine cognition, the truth of the path subsumed by sublime minds and attained by the power of realisa- tion, which accords with the abiding nature of the truth of reality. This
is because the unerring reality, which the lower paths reveal through many enumerations as still to be actualised, is actually perceived here.
Because the vehicles, without exception, are gathered in this unsur- passed greater vehicle, it is also explained to be the "vehicle of pristine cognition". The Sutra of the Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas says:
Deeply involved in the vehicle of pristine cognition and in the greater vehicle, the mind dedicates the merit of those fundamental virtues.
And in the Sutra Requested by the Devaputra Suvikrantacinta (Suvikran- tacintaparipfcchasutra, T 161):
This vehicle of the greater vehicle,
The inconceivable vehicle of the buddhas, Giving sentient beings a chance,
Is the unsurpassed greater vehicle.
Among all the vehicles that there are,
This is intended to be supreme.
So it is that, derived from the greater vehicle, All vehicles are well classified.
In the Sublime Seal ofGreat Realisation ('phags-pa rtogs-chen phyag-rgya, T 265)65 it is said:
Certainly there is only one vehicle.
It does not exist as two or three. And in its commentary:
[The vehicles] of the pious attendants, self-centred buddhas, and the greater vehicle, are revealed in order to discipline those who require training by the three vehicles. In reality, there is but a single vehicle, the resultant vehicle of the indestructible reality.
And also in the Intermediate Mother:
Subhuti, there is only one vehicle,
The unsurpassed vehicle of the buddhas.
86 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSan:zsara and NirvalJa And in the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka:
Apart from the single vehicle, no second exists, And the third never exists except in the world When diverse living beings are trained.
Thus, on certain occasions such as these, the single vehicle is mentioned. None the less, in certain [passages] there are also statements in which no limits such as two, three or five [vehicles] and so forth are enumer-
ated. As it is said [in the same text, Ch. 2, v.
