rmed; and ac- the deity and
oneself]
as regarded [the relatIonship between
Tantra ofthe Great Natural Aa ?
Tantra ofthe Great Natural Aa ?
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
d h '
(rdo-rje lu-gu r ud) 319 ,nse an t e mdestructible chains [of light]
Finally th gy , ,:hIch are the nucleus or awareness are matured
inner e and mner elements of the three realm; dissolve
their t rouidgh the appearance of the cessation of y c os-ny zad-pa 1 snang-ba).
d
338 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Divisions ofAtiyoga 339
Now this [path of All-Surpassing Realisation] is also subsumed in the Three Supportive Essentials of the Body (bca'-ba lus-kyi gnad-gsum), the Three Essentials which Guide [the Eyes] towards the Expanse C'khrid-pa dbyings-kyi gnad-gsum) and the Three Essentials of Objective Appearance (snang-bayul-gyi gnad-gsum) , which are to be experientially cultivated. And when. [the essential of light] within the last of these groupings is classified according to the four lamps (sgron-ma bzhi), it consists of the watery lamp of the far-sighted [eyes] (rgyangs-zhag chu'i sgron-ma), the lamp of the expanse of awareness (rig-pa dbyings-kyi sgron-ma), the lamp of emptiness which is the seminal point (thig-le stong-pa'i sgron-ma), and the lamp of naturally present discriminative awareness (shes-rab rang-byung-gi sgron-ma).
The first of these lamps, [the watery lamp of the far-sighted eyes], senses the appearances which arise because it externally perceives the tone of awareness. The second, [the lamp of the expanse of awareness], is the ground from which the inner expanse arises as a tone of external radiance. The third, [the lamp of emptiness which is the seminal point], is the support which activates the arising forms. And the fourth, [the lamp of naturally present discriminative awareness], is the unerring abiding nature of higher insight, or the face of awareness, when it arises as a pure essence and not as a [gross] object.
Concerning these divisions, the Tantra of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
In the ma1). gala which is empty as the sky
Four kinds of uncontrived lamp
Radiate owing to the unimpeded reality. Concerning the lamp of the expanse of awareness: In the centre of space which is empty as the sky, The body of light, the natural expression of the
expanse,
Radiates in unimpeded, unceasing forms.
The body of buddha-mind, endowed with five
pristine cognitions,
Arises as an indestructible chain [of light]. Its coming and going
And its movement, too, are indeterminate. Penetration of this lamp of the expanse of
awareness,
If awareness is not disturbed,
Is well explained to be unchanging realisation.
If the lamp of naturally present discriminative awareness
Has cut off all exaggerations,
If the lamp of emptiness which is the seminal point,
Has effortlessly arisen,
And if, by means of the watery lamp of the
far-sighted eyes,
It is regarded without wavering;
That is said to be the limit of conclusive meditation.
In this way, the awareness ofhigher insight regards the indestructible chains [of light], and becomes skilled in the four visionary appearances (snang-ba bzhi) through the succession of their experiences. The en- trance to the buddha-fields is opened through the visionary appearance of the direct perception of reality (chos-nyid mngon-sum-gi snang-ba). Subsequently, the emanational body is seen through the visionary ap- pearance of ever increasing contemplative experience (nyams gong-'phel- ba'i snang-ba) in which the seminal point is almost matured in the body. The body of perfect rapture is seen through the visionary appearance of reaching the limit of awareness (rig-pa tshad-phebs-kyi snang-ba) in which [the seminal point] is matured in the body. Then, all appearances are purified in the ma1). gala of a single, great seminal point. All the things that are designated by the intellect cease and the body of reality is seen through the visionary appearance in which [those things] cease to be even apprehended in reality (chos-nyid-du 'dzin-pa tsam-yang zad- pa'i snang-ba). Accordingly, it is said in the Penetration of Sound:
Through the vision that is direct perception of reality The extremes which persist in mental scrutiny are
transcended.
Through ever increasing contemplative experience Bewildering appearances vanish,
And the pristine cognition of the intermediate state
is actualised.
Through the visionary appearance of reaching the
limit of awareness
Appearances on the path which realises the three
bodies are transcended.
Through the visionary appearance of their cessation
in reality
The continuity of smpsara with its three realms
is broken.
An almost similar aspect of this maturation of the seminal point in
the body is also referred to in the Kdlacakra Tantra:
The mind which apprehends space in all directions, And the unclosing eye which properly enters the path
of indestructible reality,
Out of come to perceive
340 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Apparitions of smoke, mirage, radiance, immaculate sky and butter lamps, .
Blazing flames, the moon, the sun, vajras, Supreme features and seminal points.
And in their midst is the form of the buddhas, The manifold bodies of perfect rapture, Without objective appearance.
Therefore, in this unsurpassedly secret [vehicle] it is most essential for one who is learned in directly making into the path the naturally present awareness, which transcends the sarp. sara-based mind from the begin- ning, to reach the result swiftly and directly. If it . were not S? , t? e samsara-based mind and mental events during the penod ofexpenential
cuitivation would not be transcended. Their result would be sarp. sara
itself. However, since cause and result are infallibly identical, there is
no occasion for lapsing into deviation.
In particular, the instantaneous awareness itself, which regards this
manifest inner radiance, reverses the mind and mental events of the three world realms along with the ground-of-all. It is the reversal of the realm of desire because it regards [inner radiance] with direct per- ception and is without the ebb and flow of internal is the reversal of the realm of form because there is no antIdote whIch allocates radiance to the radiant disposition. It is the reversal of the formless realm because there is no intellect which clings in the disposi-
tion of reality to one-pointed non-conceptualisation. It is the reversal of the ground-of-all because there is an awareness of the pure essences. It is the reversal of the consciousness of the ground-of-all because the naturally present, pristine cognition is determined. It is the reversal of the consciousnesses of the five senses because it does not appe. ar to
pursue ordinary [sensations] other than the objects of mner radiance; and, at that time, it is the reversal of the conSCIOusness of the intellect and the consciousness of conflicting emotions because there is no idea which scrutinises and there is an absence of all thoughts of desire and hatred. In brief, the pristine cognition of the buddhas,
liberated from the mind and mental events of the three world is conclusive in that which is nothing other than quiescence . nirvaJ)a]. Therefore, it is said in the Enumeration of Doctrines whzch zs the Great Pagoda of Precious Jewels:
Santamati, this mystery of the Tathagata's mind is mind intellect and consciousness; nor is the of abandoned either. This is the inconceIvable mystery of the Tathagata's mind.
t a which Those spiritual and philosophical systems of the secret r d· nt
hold the co-emergent pristine cognition to refer to the blIssful, ra la
and non-conceptual pristine cognitions, which are effected in the lower
tantras by the entry of the vital energy from the right and left channels
(ro-rkyang) into the central channel (dbu-ma),320 do not reverse the
consciousnesses of the eight aggregates. This is because [in those sys-
tems] the bliss of sensation is subsequently created by the intellect and
by the intellect that is conscious of conflicting emotions. The range of
non-conceptualising mind does not proceed elsewhere beyond the
ground-of-all. In addition, they hold that the vital energy and the [white
321
enter from the right and left pathways into the central channel and liberate each respective knot in the central channel; and that by this power the renunciations and realisations of the ten levels arise. This is an essential point of deviation, because [according to those systems] the vital energy and the mind remain in the centres (rtsa-'dab) which correspond to the six classes of living beings, giving rise to
322
impure, bewildering appearance.
In this [All-Surpassing Realisation], on the other hand, the vital
energies are absorbed in a natural quiescence, and apart from that, do not enter into the central channel and so forth. When the vital energy of the respective centres has become naturally pure, the vital energy of pristine cognition (ye-shes-kyi rlung) naturally radiates right where it is within a channel of light. Thus, there is no occasion for impure, bewildering appearances to arise from the natural expression of the buddha-bodies, fields and light, which are appearances of pure pristine cognition. The channels of light within the central channel mUltiply and become enlightened attributes in which the knotted forms of the channels (rtsa-mdud) gradually vanish into light; and therefrom the emergent realisations of the levels arise manifest in and of themselves. 323
Now, by the vanishing of the first pair of knotted channels into light, a hundred buddha-fields arise within the light which externally appears. Therein, rays of light are diffused, motion occurs through their re- absorption in a self-manifest manner, and the hundred buddha-fields vibrate through the shaking of the body. Internally also, a hundred non-conceptual contemplations of reality are entered and risen from, and other such experiences occur. 324 Therefore, it should be known that the higher paths exemplified by these occurrences are superior to the lower vehicles.
At the time when these four visionary experiences are concluded, the body is dissolved into atoms by Cutting Through Resistance and the buddha-body of indestructible reality is not thereby achieved. SInce it is not achieved, there is on that basis no means of attaining the great benefit for the sake of others which continues until samsara has been emptied. .
Therefore, [in All-Surpassing Realisation] the buddha body of form remains apparitional in the manner of the moon's reflection in water, While the awareI1ess abides in a formless state. As such, immeasurable
and red] seeds
Divisions ofAtiyoga 341
342 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
acts are performed on behalf of sentient beings. This is known as the buddha-body of great. transformation ('? ho-ba chen-po'i sku, maha- sahkrantikaya), exemphfied by [the attamment] of the great masterI Padmasambhava and Vimalamitra. If there is, for the while, no onel requiring to be trained on this basis, the body of form itself, which is a coalescence of outer radiance, manifest in and of itself, is absorbed into the inner expanse, the disposition of the body of reality free from conceptual elaboration, and then the subtle pristine cognition of indi- vidual intuitive awareness is centred in the inwardly radiant youthful vase body (gzhon-nu bum-pa'i sku). In the of this [youthful vase body] and without wavering from the highest meditative absorp- tion, reality is present as the basis for the emanation of pristine cognition, the great unimpeded spirituality which displays instruction for those requiring training. It is the culmination of the buddha-body of reality, in which the expanse and pristine cognition are without duality.
Therefore, it is asserted that enlightenment is the point of liberation in which primordial purity and spontaneous presence are without duality, the great primordial purity or abiding nature of the original ground. And it is equally asserted that [the view of] the Madhyamika who propound non-substantiality, though indeed a freedom from all extremes of conceptual elaboration, is but one extreme of emptiness because they deny even the buddha-bodies and pristine cognitions which manifest in and of themselves on the grounds that all activities ()ug-pa) at this moment abide in the firm cessation of quiescence.
Though distinctive opinions are variously found concerning the non- conceptuality, in terms of subject and object, of the all-knowing pristine cognition, the intention of the Primordial Lord [Samantabhadra] is particularly established as such through the proper path of the Great Perfection. Within the expanse of emptiness free from all conceptual elaborations that derives from its primordial purity, the essence abides through its spontaneous presence in the manner of the light which is radiant within a crystal but not externally manifest. This [spontaneous presence] comprises: three subtle pristine cognitions, forming the ground in which the buddha-fields and the bodies of perfect rapture arise manifest in and of themselves; five pristine cognitions which are given character through the expressive power of these [fields and bodies]; and the aspect of the ground in which the pristine cognition that knows cognitive objects arises. Since it is endowed with this pristine cognition itself, the essence is the source of all buddha-bodies and pristine cognitions. From it there emerges the power by which, without wavering from the body of reality, the two bodies of form appear, with their enlightened activities, to those who require training. If It were not so, the benefit of those requiring training and the immeasurable enlightened attributes of omniscience would not emerge through possession of pristine cognition. This has been stated ad infinitum 1U
Divisions ofAtzYoga 343 such texts as the Verse Summation of the Transcendental Perfection of
Discriminative Awareness (Ch. 5, v. 8cd):
If there were no pristine cognition,
The enlightened attributes would not increase, Nor would there be enlightenment
Or the oceanic attributes of the buddhas.
And in the Illuminating of the Lamp (sgron-ma snang-byed):325
So if there were no range of pristine cognition
There would be no distinction [between this]
And the outer space which is empty.
Therefore, from the ground, pristine cognition is pervasive. If there were no pristine cognition
There would be no distinction [between this] and nihilism.
This spontaneous presence of enlightened attributes is referred to in eloquent explanations, such as the following from the Great Commentary on the Buddhasamayoga (Buddhasamayoga(fka, T 1659):
This body of supreme bliss, characterised as skilful means and discriminative awareness without duality, embodies the essence of yoga. The hosts of Mara and the like which sym- bolise dualistic ideas are destroyed by this disposition, and, inasmuch as it possesses all the arrays ofexcellent enlightened attributes, there are apart from it no other details of en-
lightened attributes. It is present through their natural spon- taneous presence and disclosed through realisation.
The disposition of this body of reality gives rise to consecration or
blessing which arises as the self-manifesting buddha-body of perfect
rapture. Therefrom enlightened activities continuously emerge, such
as those of the Five Enlightened Families of the Tathagatas in the pure
buddha-fields, and such as those of the supreme emanational body in the impure fields.
to [these four visionary appearances of All-Surpassing RealIsatIOn] there are also the Esoteric Instructions of the Four Consoli- dations (mtha'-rten bzhi) which meaningfully draw [the practice] to its conclusion: The ground is determined in three unmoving states (mi-'gul- ba gsum), the limit [of awareness] is grasped by the three presences
(sdod-pa gsum-gyis tshad bzung-ba), the nail is riveted by the three attain- lllents (thob-pa gsum-gyis gzer gdab-pa) and the limit of liberation is revealed by the four assurances (gding-bzhis grol-tshad bstan-pa).
I
Inbrief h b·d" " "
" , t e a I mg nature of the Great PerfectIOn IS absolute in its
VIewp d I"
res ' ure an equa WIth to and result, indivisible with
pect to truth, naturally dIssolved WIth respect to the subject-object
344 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
dichotomy, and core-penetrating with respect to creation and cessation. It has not fallen into the extremes of either elaboration or non-elabora- tion, and it is uncontrived by the intellect. It neither radiates externally, nor is it apprehended internally, and nor does it lie in between. . For it thechaff-likewordsandconventionsoftheentirerangeofexpreSSIOn, t h e e n t i r e r a n g e o f t h o u g h t a n d s c r u t i n y h a v e b e c o m e o n l y d i s c u r s i v e designations. Thus, one determines that it does not abide in the of self-affirmation. It is said in the Mirror of the Heart of VaJrasattva (rdo-rje sems-dpa' snying-gi me-long, NGB Vol. 10):
It should be known that all the doctrines of awareness are free from the intellect involved in egocentric ideas.
Now at all times, ancient and recent, there have been those who,
boasting of attaining the profound reality through their intellectual
is [secure] conviction that [the deities] manifest in and of themselves in the manner of a child [securely] nestling into its mother's lap. And during the intermediate state of rebirth (srid-pa bar-do) the residual effect of one's [wholesome] deeds is prolonged in the manner of a conducting pipe being thrust into a canal which is blocked. Relying
on these oral instructions, fortunate beings are conveyed to the point
of original liberation. By the mere affirmation of a view which approx-
imates things as they really are, one never sees, or has the occasion to
obtain, the essential nucleus which is the pristine cognition realised in the abiding nature. So it is said:
Concerning the co-emergent pristine cognition of ultimate reality:
Apart from the impression made by accumulating provisions and purifying obscurations
And the exclusive blessing of the guru endowed with realisation,
Reliance on other methods should be known as delusion.
And in the Hevajra Tantra (Pt. l, Ch. 8, v. 36):
It should be known that
The co-emergent is unexpressed by another, And it cannot be found anywhere,
Save by relying on the guru's timely means And the provisions of one's own merit.
And as the glorious Saraha has said:
One who takes to heart whatever the guru has said Resembles one who sees a treasure
Lying in the palm of the hand.
! f the auspicious coincidences of the guru, the student, the world and Its contents accumulate, the great empowerment which pours out all means (rgyal-thabs spyi-blugs-kyi dbang-chen), pristine
ognItIOn Itself, IS conferred by the power of [the guru's] blessing being transferred, and it manifestly and directly descends. Then the meaning of that descent [of pristine cognition] is experienced in continuous Yoga which is the flow of the effortless state's presence. Relying
on the recognition of the details of the signs and experiences occurring
on the path, the removal of the obstacles of clinging to pleasant
creations have been terrified by the profound discourses concerning
,.
reality which is free from the intellect. Also, on the basis ofthe rejection of the lower sequences of the path by [passages such as] thIS, there have been those in both ancient and recent time who have been enthusiastic to undertake perpetual labours due to envy, and in connec- tion with their counterfeit, sophistical intelligence, which is extremely hostile to the [doctrine's] range of profundity and the vast abiding nature. However, as the sublime MafijusrI has said:
Concerning activities, the yogin
Apprehends them on the great paths,
Just as a deer pursues a mirage.
Though they always appear, they are not grasped.
But more than that, all of these [vehicles]
Are endowed with inauthentic intelligence.
The intelligence of the lowest yogas
Is surpassed by the highest.
The intelligence of the lower
Is rejected by the discriminative awareness of the higher.
One should therefore know this and be skilled in pacifying motivations connected with disputation in the inconceivable disposition of reality.
In addition, it is according to the esoteric instructions, which turn
the instructions of the Great Perfection to practical application, that all
things of samsara and nirvana are established as the display of the four
" b' h
intermediate states (bar-do). During the intermediate state of the place (skye-gnas-kyi bar-do) exaggerated notions connected wIth study and reflection on the oral instructions are cut off in the man? er of a sandpiper [decisively] entering its nest. During the intermedIate state of the moment of death ('chi-kha'i bar'-do) the oral are clarified in the manner of a dancing girl [delightedly] looking 1ll a mirror. During the intermediate state of reality (chos-nyid bar-do) there
and coar . d . se expenences, an
the advantages granted by the enlightened
;ttnbutes that are realised through experiential cultivation the J. Ound··, . ,
h' . atl? n IS acqUIred, through whIch the result is actualised in
[t IS lIfetIme and in this very body, without aspiring towards it in the Uture.
Divisions ofAtiyoga 345
11 A Recapitulation of the Resultant Vehicles
Concerning the second distinction which refers to their of a. cquiring accomplishment: The outer [vehicle] is that m whIch accomplishment is requested by aspiring to- and attending upon a deity of pristine cognition, and the mner [vehicle] is that in which accomplishment is seen to be intrinsically present because, through realisation of the supreme identity, mind-as-such manifests in and of it- self as a ma1). Qala of buddha-body and pristine cognition. It says in the Questions and Answers ofVajrasattva (rdo-rje sems- dpa'i zhus-lan, P 5082):
In reply to the question, "What is the distinction between the yogins of the outer and inner mantras in their acquisition ofaccomplishment? " he said:
As, for example, a king commands a minister, The outer way is the granting of accomplishment
from above.
And, as a king who holds sway having been
offered the kingdom by the people,
The unsurpassed way is that of the naturally
present Great Perfection.
And as it is said in the Secret Nucleus (Ch. 2, v. 6):
This wondrous, miraculous, and marvellous reality. . .
Then, concerning the third distinction which refers to their empowerments: The outer [vehicle] is that in which the three higher, supreme empowerments cannot be ob- tained, and the inner vehicle is that in which these three are emphatically grasped.
As to the fourth distinction which refers to their conduct: The inner [vehicle] can accept conduct in which the twenty elements of sarpsara are retained by skilful means, and the outer one cannot. And as to the fifth distinction which refers to their results: The outer [vehicle] can unite one with the result within seven, five or three human lifetimes and so forth, and the inner one can unite one with it in this very
lifetime.
Lharje Kharakpa328 and Lama Rok Sherap-o have said that, with to the tantra texts, there is a distinction between the way in :vhICh the ten categories of tantra are interpreted in the outer and the Inner [vehicles], and that, in particular, there are distinctions as to: Whether, with reference to empowerment, the three profound empower- lhents can or cannot be revealed; whether, with reference to the view,
[211 b. 4] Having ascertained the exegesis of the overall meaning [of the secret mantra] according to their classifications, there now follows the second part [see p. 257 above] in which the meaning subsumed in the particular sections [of the secret mantra] is recapitulated in order to facilitate understanding. This falls into two categories, namely, the
vehicle of the outer tantras of austere awareness (phyi thub-pa rgyud-kyi theg-pa) and the vehicle of the inner tantras of skilful means (nang-pa thabs-kyi rgyud-kyi theg-pa).
DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE OUTER AND INNER TANTRAS
[211b. 5-213a. 5] Though many dissimilar claims have been made by those of the past concerning the distinctions between these two vehicles, in this [Nyingma tradition] there are said to be five [distinctions] derived from the master Dropukpa who subsumed the intention of the four "pillars", who were the spiritual sons [of Zurcungpa]:326
Concerning the first distinction which refers to their views: The inner vehicle is that of the mantras in which mind-as-such is realised to be the supreme identity, and the outer vehicle is that in which there is no such realisation. It is said in Indrabhuti's Array of the Path of the Magical Net (Mayapathavyavasthapana,
P 4737):
Since those who uphold
The three enlightened families
And the five enlightened families
Do not realise the supreme identity,
I have propounded them as equivalent To the common [vehicles]. 327
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 347
()
the naturally present, pristine cognition can or cannot be propounded; whether, with reference to meditation, one can or cannot meditate on the [male and female deities] kissing one another; whether, with refer- ence to conduct, the five sacramental substances can or cannot be enjoyed; whether or not an entrance can be made, having regarded the
deity and oneself as identical; and whether, with reference to ac-
complishment, the acquistion takes a long or a short time, and is hoped
for externally or internally.
Lharje Celpa [Ktinga Dorje] ,329 too, has said that since these distinc-
tions refer merely to specific aspects [of the vehicles], they are correctly classified, on this occasion, into three categories, namely, the distinc- tions concerning the ground which is to be known, the distinctions concerning the path which is the act of knowing, and the distinctions concerning the result which is to be obtained.
Lord DrOlmawa [Samdrup Dorje]330 and Yungtonpa [Dorjepel]331 have both said that:
The inner mantras are those which hold the view, conduct and contemplation to be indivisible, and the outer mantras are those which do not. Is there then, one might ask, no distinction between the causal vehicle and the outer mantras? Not so; there is a distinction between whether relative ap-
pearances can or cannot be made into the path.
OUTER TANTRAS OF AUSTERE AWARENESS
If, among these [vehicles], the vehicle of the outer tantras of austere [awareness] is first classified, then the Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
The outer tantras are of three kinds: Kriya, Ubhaya and Yoga.
It is therefore divided into the vehicles of the Kriyatantra, the Ubhayatantra and the Yogatantra.
Kriyiitantra
[213a. 5-215b. 5] The first, or is under the headings of essence, verbal defimtlOn and classIfication. The first 0 these, [the essence], is that, ultimately, the purity that is free from the four extremes is realised, and, relatively, one resorts to the skilful means which aspire and strive towards accomplishments externally [conferred
Since they are not known to be the same without duality, The level of action requires alternate meditation
On an ultimate truth which is simply the pure reality And a deity of relative appearance endowed with
The enlightened attributes of pristine cognition. 332
Secondly, the verbal definition is that [the Sanskrit] kriya conveys the meaning of activity [or action] because it emphasises external activ- ity. Such is also said in the Commentary on the Final Meditation (Dhyan- ottarapatalatfka, T 2670):
This tantra is called Kriyatantra because it emphasises The activities of body and speech.
Thirdly, the Kriyatantra is classified according to six topics. Of these the first, the entrance, is twofold: There is the initial entrance [or empowerment] which effects maturation and the actual entrance itself. According to the former, the student is made into q worthy recipient [for the teaching] by the conferral ofthe water and crown empowerments along with their aspects (chu-dang cod-pan-gyi dbang 'khor-bcas bskur- ba). 333 It says in the Seminal Point of Pristine Cognition (Jiianatilaka- tantra, T 422):
The water empowerment and the crown Are well known in Kriyatantra.
And as for the latter: The [actual] entrance is effected by means of ablutions, cleanliness, and the three purities (dag-pa gsum). The Tantra of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
As to the entrance, it is entered
By the three purities, ablutions and cleanliness.
And on the subject of the three purities, it also says:
What, one might ask, are the three purities? They are the purity of the deity and the mal). 9ala, The purity of substances and rapture,
And the purity of mantra and contemplation.
Secondly, the view of Kriyatantra refers to the two truths, as it is said in the Sequence of the View (Ita-rim, T 4356):
According to Kriyatantra, living creatures are without bewilderment
When reality is regarded as the ultimate truth,
And when, relatively, mal). 9alas of three enlightened
families of deities appear,
Endowed with enlightened attributes of intrinsic
ro
348 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 349
by the deity]. It is said in the Sequence of the Path:
awareness.
350 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
. Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 351 The BeIng of Commitment (samayasattva)336
by means of the six real [sequential m d must therefore be created
Kriyarantra, namely, the deit of em 0 . es of] the deIty to the
deity of syllables (yi-ge'i lha) Yth d (stong-pa-nyzd-kyz lha), the ,eeity0sound( "lh) .
of form (gzugs-kyi lha), the deity of seals (ph ,slf,a z a , the deIty
of symbols (mtshan-ma'i lha) Th' , . ,yag-rgya zlha) and the deity
words from the extensive TTar;r ,IdS_IS stated in the following v j 'J avz ara1Ja 1 antra:
Thesixare[thed'f ] f .
Of d Ii el Ies 0 emptIness and syllables
Concerning the ultimate truth, it is held that mind-as-s
pristine cognition [which coalesces] emptiness and radiance, is free from the four extremes of being, non-being, appearance and emptiness; as it is said in the Determination and Distinction (la-zla-ba-dang shan-
'byed-pa lta-ba'i sgron-me, P 4727): Since the mind itself is awareness,
Without the four extremes,
It is none other than pristine cognition.
Now the relative truth [is held] to comprise both correct and incorrect modes, of which the incorrect one refers to all relative appearances which are considered to be both correct and incorrect [by those who
adhere to the philosophical systems] from the Madhyamika downwards, and the correct relative truth is held to refer to the enlightened attributes which are the realisation of reality and which appear as the maJ). qala
of deities belonging to the three enlightened families. As the previous
text continues:
Through the pristine cognition of the appearances
Which creatively arise,
The sublime, gentle and rough phenomena which appear
Are said to be pure when seen 334 In the maJ). qala of the three enlightened families.
Thirdly, on the subject of moral discipline, the Miraculous Key of Further Discernment speaks of eleven commitments:
The Three Precious Jewels and the enlightened mind, The mantras and seals - do not abandon them;
The vajra and bell should not be abandoned,
And similarly the deity and the guru. These are the subsidiary commitments. As for the five basic commitments:
One should not sleep on a [high] bed,
One should neither eat meat nor drink ale, And one should not eat garlic or radishes.
Then, there is also the Secret Tantra ofGeneral Rites (Sii:r/llinyavidhfnii1fl guhyatantra, T 806) which explains that there are three general commit-
ments and thirteen particular commitments; and so forth.
Fourth, meditation is both symbolic and non-symbolic. Concerning
the former, the Heruka Galpo says:
The meditations are on [the deities] of reality,
Sound, syllables,335 form, buddha-mind,
And the attainment of the perfect body of pristine
cognition.
uch
, the pure
soun , orm, seals and symbols. ' Thereafter, the Being of Pristine Co . , '- -
offerings, praises, recitations and 0nanasattva) is invited; is acquired h a ' so ort are perf?
rmed; and ac- the deity and oneself] as regarded [the relatIonship between
Tantra ofthe Great Natural Aa ? , a and servant. It says in the rzszng OJ wareness:
The deity and the yogin respectively Are regarded as a master and subject.
And in the Tantra which A ' h
(rigs thams-cad-pa'i dngos_grucbqulzres t"e Accomplishment of All Families
en-pa z rgyud):
By regarding [the deity] in the manner of a lord a master or a king,
And perceiving oneself as a servant The of accomplishment, ' That IS attained through the mantras Is accepted as the unsurpassed boon. '
'
Concerning the second [or non-symb r
nate meditation on the t h 0 IC medItatIOn]: There is alter-
pure disposition [of absorption occurs in the nng to those [aforementione t e our WIthout refer-
symbolic deities, are meditated onas and Dzstinction: 1 e. t says In the Determznatzon
Appeara. nces and emptiness are successively establIshed.
. ,
and with food, attire clea r e WIt. t for entering [the vehicle],
Fifth, conduct [according to th K ' -
namely, the activities connect d e. compnses SIX activities,
tion of mantras. It i; supports and the recita- er S31 In the Heruka Galpo:
Concerning pIa t [ d
And Ii d ,ne s or ays], stars and seasons,
00 ,attIre and cleanliness
The austerity, of discipline is pe;formed.
. ,
352 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
And in the Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions:
Conduct concerns the images of [the deity's] body, The implements symbolic of his mind, Recitations and so forth.
Sixth, concerning the result, it is held that within seven human lifetimes the level of a Holder of Indestructible Reality of the Three Enlightened Families, endowed with the essence of the three buddha- bodies and five pristine cognitions, will be obtained. The Heruka Galpo says:
Recapitulation o fResultant Vehicles 353 Those who uphold the Tantra of Both
Though conforming to Kriyatantra in conduct Do conform to Yogatantra in their view. ' Therefore their enlightened families and view
Are superior to those [of Kriyatantra].
And in the Sequence of the View:
Those who uphold the Tantra of Both Conform upwards in their view - And downwards in their conduct.
The also to be somewhat superior [to Kriyatantra] the VIew and medItatIon are directed towards four enlightened
famIlIes of the conquerors.
Sixth, concerning the result: It is held that within five lifetimes the of a o. f Reality belonging to the Four En- FamIlIes IS obtamed. The fourth enlightened family to which refers. subsumes the. Enlightened Family of Activity (las-kyi rigs)
In. th. e EnlIghtened FamIly of Precious Gems (rin-chen rigs). It is also m the Heruka Galpo:
One abides on the level of Vajradhara339 Endowed with four enlightened families.
And in the All-Accomplishing King:
It is a deviation which obscures
Non-duality for five human lifetimes.
Yogatantra
Thirdly, the vehicle of Yogatantra is considered under e of essence, verbal definition and classification. First, [ac- is rdmg t? the The blessing of the non-symbolic reality which . truth IS regarded as a deity belonging to the expanse of
reality, which relatively appears, and it is held that the
re' t. IS attamed in the acceptance of positive and the
S )ectlOn of negatIve Ideas [in relation to that deity]. It is said in the equence ofthe Path:
Since they are not seen to be present and equivalent,
The blessmg of pristine cognition Through which all things are Becomes an emanational [deity]
Of the expanse of indestructible reality
Adh. ,
n t e yogm . acts in terms of acceptance and rejection.
337
The Lords of the Three Families instruct living beings.
Ubhayatantra
[215b. 5-216b. 3] The second, the vehicle of Ubhayatantra, is referred to under the headings of essence, verbal definition and classification. First, [the essence] is that one resorts to the skilful means which attain accomplishment by practising the view and meditation in the manner of Yogatantra, and conduct in the manner of Kriyatantra. It is said in the Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions:
Accomplishment is attained by relying on both.
Secondly, [as to the verbal definition]: Ubhayatantra is so called because the [Sanskrit] word ubhaya ["both"] indicates that both the outer activities of body and speech and the inner yoga are equally performed. The Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising ofAwareness says:
Ubhayatantra is as follows:
The view is observed as in Yogatantra,
And conduct is performed as in Kriyatantra. Therefore it is known as the Tantra of Both.
Thirdly, the Ubhayatantra is classified under the six topics, ofwhich the first, the entrance, has two parts. The former is empowerment, which here refers to the three empowerments of the vajra, bell and name (rdor-dril-ming-gsumi 38 in addition to those of water and crown. As the Seminal Point of Pristine Cognition says:
The vajra, the bell and likewise the name [empowerments]
Are well clarified in the Caryarantra.
The actual entrance, along with the third topic, moral discipline, and the fifth, conduct, largely conform to Kriyatantra, whereas the second topic, or the view, and the fourth, meditation, largely conform to Yogatantra. It is said in the Turquoise Display:
Within seven lifetimes on the buddha level
354 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret A1antra .
fi . , ]" Derived from [the Sansknt] yoga,
Secondly, [the verbal de ImtIOn . 't emphasises or teaches the inner . so called because 1 .
the Yogatantra IS V' . A C llection of Esoteric Instructwns says: yoga. The Garland of zews. 0 .
Accomplishment is attained with emphasIs on yoga.
. . d d under six topics. The first,
the entrance, IS
dbang to th. e dbang), the sixth empower- indestructIble (r . 1] ifP" Cognition states:
ment. 340 The Semmal Pomt 0 nstme
The empowerment of the irreversible vase
The blessing of realisation appears as a deity. Accordingly, the perceptions of [mundane] Living creatures are bewilderment.
And also in the Turquoise Display:
Derived from the pure pristine cognition of the expanse,
In which both intrinsic awareness
And the signs of its actual vision are indivisible, The blessing arises as a deity of indestructible
reality'S expanse,
And the deity is regarded as a friend.
Thirdly, moral discipline includes the general commitments belong- ing to the five enlightened families, which are said to be the highest. The enlightened mind is first generated, and subsequently training in the three aspects of moral discipline is earnestly applied. Then there are said to be fourteen particular commitments, namely, three connected with Vairocana, four each with and Ratnasambhava, one with Amitabha, and two with Amoghasiddhi. The Miraculous Key of Further Discernment, however, claims that they number thirteen when two uncommon commitments are added to the eleven commitments of Kriyatantra. In its own words:
The limits guarded by the Yogatantra,
In addition to the limits guarded by the above
[Kriyatantra] ,
Include [the commitments] not to drink water
In a locality [inhabited by violators of commitments] And not to converse with such violators.
Fourth, meditation is both symbolic and non-symbolic. The former is meditation with reference to the yoga of the male and female deities, which applies the four seals (phyag-rgya bzhi) by means of the five awakenings (mngon-byang lnga) and four miracles (cho-'phrul bzhi). The Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions says:
Without emphasising outer paraphernalia, and by means of contemplation in which the male and female deities that are uncreated and unceasing in ultimate reality and the mind- stream in which they are represented are entirely pure, one becomes accomplished by emphasising the yoga of medita- tion on the sublime body ofform endowed with the four seals.
After the Being of Commitment (samayasattva) has been created and the Being of Pristine Cognition (jiiiinasattva) has been invited, [the deity] should then be regarded without the dichotomy of good or evil,
Thirdly, the Yogatantra ISC'consl empowerment which refers, . twofold The lormer IS . ,.
: ] fi powerments of awareness (ng-pa z
in addition to the [prevIouS lVe empowerment of the master of f
h '
The latter is the actual 7h' h is effected by means ofsymbohc
Has been clarified in Yogatantra.
This is a particular empowerment among t e SIX
And it is called the empowerment of the master. .
lC . n the All-Accomplishing King: and non-symbolic contemplatIOn. t says 1
One who desires the Bounteous Array of Having entered by symbolic and non-symbohc
methods. . .
Secondly, the VIew [0 o. g . ner radiance or emptiness, the
ultimate truth refers to all thmhgs m f conceptual elaboration. The nature of which is free from t e sIgns o.
Tantra of the Summation of the Real says.
Since all things are naturally radiant,
They are essentially pure from the begmnmg.
. f Y atantra] concerns the twO truths. The
wIt In . . . . f blessing derived from the realIsatIon 0
Heruka Galpo:
rea
lity Such IS a so sal 1 .
. .
. . d b en an incorrect relatIve whIch
The relative truth IS and a correct relative truth,
is similar to that of the prevIOUS [ve lC es] 'd' erned by living creatures h ld t efer to the appearances ISC .
whichis e not 0 r h' th t everywhere appears IS in their own minds because mg . a, e which is the . h' the mandala of indestructIble realIty s '1 'd 'n the
One who wishes to abide in the vehicle of Yogatantra Should look upon as the expanse of
indestructible reality.
And in the Sequence of the View: . .
f reality's expanse, .
Within the pristine cogmtIOn 0
Which is the purity of ultimate truth accordIng to
Y ogatantra,
. .
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 355
356 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and in the manner of a relative or friend. Offerings, praises, recitations and so forth should be made. So it is also said in the Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising of Awareness:
The deity and oneself, the yogin,
Are held to relate as relatives or friends.
Now the five awakenings (mngon-byang lnga) are the awakenings which occur through emptiness (stong-pa-nyid), through the visualisa- tion of a- lunar throne (zla-gdan), through seed-syllables of buddha- speech (gsung yig-'bru) , through hand implements symbolic of buddha- mind (thugs phyag-mtshan) and through the perfection of the [deity's] body (sku yongs-rdzogs). The four miracles (cho-'phrul bzhi) are the miracles of contemplation (ting-nge-'dzin), empowerment (dbang-bskur- ba), consecration or blessing (byin-gyis rlob-pa), and offerings (mchod- pa). Concerning these the Heruka Galpo says:
Non-conceptualisation, moon, buddha-speech, vajra-emblem,
And radiance of the [deity's] body during meditation
On the emanation and absorption [of light]; Contemplation, blessing, empowerment and offerings: Such are the five awakenings and four miracles.
Though these are the activities of meditation and offering, They are to be performed in order that merit might be
possessed.
The four seals (phyag-rgya bzhi) are so called because meditation ensues when the body, speech, mind and activity have been respectively sealed by: the great seal of buddha-body which secures the ground-of-all as the mirror-like pristine cognition (me-long kun-gzhi sku phyag-chen); the doctrinal seal of buddha-speech which secures the mental faculty as the pristine cognition of discernment (sor-rtog yid gsung chos-rgya); the commitment seal of buddha-mind which secures the mind of conflicting emotions as the pristine cognition of sameness (mnyam-nyid nyon-yid thugs dam-rgya); and the action seal of enlightened activity which secures the five senses as the pristine cognition of accomplishment (bya-ba sgo-lnga phrin-Ias las-rgya). Such are the four pristine cognitions which are to be actualised and with which they are connected. The [fifth] pristine cognition of the expanse of reality (chos-dbyings ye-shes), on the other hand, abides as the natural expression of them all.
The second [or non-symbolic meditation] refers to meditative absorp- tion in the disposition where there is no dichotomy between the essential nature of ultimate reality which cannot be symbolised and the appear- ance of its blessing as a deity, which is the apparitional aspect of pristine cognition. It says in the Emergence ofIndestructible Reality (Vajrodaya, T 2516):
Recapitulation ofResultant TT h' l
The d' . . ve lC es 357
ISPOSItIOn of the non-d 1
Is taken as the most sacred expanse of reality
accomplishments. 0 unsurpassed
Fifth, concerning conduct· W'th '
practices such as cleanliness' Id the aSSIstance of external mundane
oth b ' ,con ucteffectstheb fi f
ers YmaIntaining above all th . ene It 0 oneself and
Peak says: ' , e yoga ofthe deity. The Indestrnctible
INNER TANT
Abiding in th
.
e contemplatIOn of th d '
Do not dismiss all sentient b ' A1w b ' emgs. Al ays e mmdfu1 of the buddhas.
e eIty,
ways hold offerings to the b ddh u
as as Supreme is attained on the level o/thwIthm three human lifetimes
.
SIxth,astotheresult:Itisheldtht ' , .
the essence of the three bodies and m the All-Accomplishing King:
One who desires the BounteouS
e Array, endowed five pnstme cognitions. It says
Is held to be liberated And in the Lock of'the U
'h ' h Array ofYogatantra WIt m tree human lifetimes
.
. ,
openSItIes of the subject-
' j neart: Having purified the five pr
object dichotomy,
And, by the expressive pOwe f ' . cognitions rs 0 the five pnstme
HaAving the level of the B rray,
The result gathering the fiv obtained.
ounteous
e enlIghtened families is
uncreated body of reality then
s
,m an uncreated manner on behalf of l' .
bemgs. 1vmg Its perfect rapture embod '
Fulfils the benefit of l' , the five kinds of seal And its ten thousand emgs a bodhisattva,
Teach everywh beings,'
, l I O n emanatIOns
[219bA-22Ia I] S
Sk'UI 1 . econdly, there is the
ere m the presen ,
f h .
ce0 teSIXclassesof
RAS OF SKILFUL MEANS
h' 1
u ,means (nang-pa thabs-6k i r IC e of the inner tantras of
gy):;,d-kYl theg,-p,a), concerning which reat atural Anszng of Awareness:
,
It IS saId in the Tantra ofihe
.
J
Ru Garap Dorje
said:
358
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 359
The inner [vehicle] is held to be threefold: Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga.
It therefore comprises the Mahayoga tantras, the Anuyoga transmissions
and the Atiyoga esoteric instructions.
Concerning the distinctions between these three, the master Zur- 341
cungpa said in reply to a request made by Lencap Parwa:
Mahayoga appears as the miracle of awareness. Anuyoga appears as the expressive power of intrinsic awareness. Atiyoga is awareness, manifest in and of itself. Therefore,
342
stage, Anuyoga emphatically teaches the perfection stage, and the Great Perfection is effortless in both respects.
Cel Lotsawa Ktinga Dorje also eloquently asserted this to be the distinc- tion between their verbal definitions.
[Finally], the great, all-knowing Longcenpa [in his Great Chariot] has said:
The Father tantras of Mahayoga are the natural expression of the skilful means of appearance, intended on behalf of those requiring training who are mostly hostile and possessed by many ideas; the Mother tantras of Anuyoga are the discriminative awareness of the perfection stage which is the reality of emptiness, intended for the benefit of those who are mostly desirous and delight in the tranquillity of the mind; and the Atiyoga is revealed as the natural expression of their non-duality, intended for the benefit of those who are mostly deluded and who are energetic. Therefore the Great Array says:
For one who would transcend the mind
There is the creative phase,
For one who would possess the essence of mind There is the perfecting phase,
And for those who are supreme and most secret There is the Great Perfection.
And also in Mind at Rest (sems-nyid ngal-gso), he has said:
Mahayoga emphasises vital energy and the skilful means of the creation stage.
Anuyoga emphasises the seed and discriminative awareness of the perfection stage.
Atiyoga emphasises the pristine cognition in which everything is without duality.
Mahayoga
Among them, first the vehicle of Mahayoga is con- under the three headings of essence, verbal definition and clas- As to [the essence]: Its nature is such that liberation is ob- through a union of realisation and experience in the indivisible meanmg of the superior truth, by emphatic reliance on the creation stage of skilful means.
[as to the verbal definition]: The [Tibetan] rnal-'byorchen- fO. IS denved from the [Sanskrit] Mahayoga which means great union. . t IS so called because it unites the mind with the non-dual truth and IS thus superior to the ollter Yogatantra.
They refer respectively to a miracle,
To expressive power and to the self-manifest.
This means that [the three] are particularly distinguished according to their view: Mahayoga realises all things to be the miraculous events of mind-as-such, in which appearance and emptiness are indivisible; Anuyoga realises all things to be the expressive power of mind-as-such, in which the expanse and pristine cognition are indivisible; and Atiyoga
realises all things to be manifest in and of themselves as mind-as-such, the naturally present pristine cognition which is without creation or cessation from the beginning. This was asserted to be the most precious point by both Datik [Cosak of Nakmore] and Len [Sakya Zangpo of Chuwar]. 343
Kyo Kongbupa [Kyoton Sakye of Kongbu]344 also said that:
They have a greater or lesser degree of emphasis: Mahayoga lays great emphasis on conduct, Anuyoga lays great emphasis on contemplation, And Atiyoga lays great emphasis on the view.
Then, Lharje Rok Sherap-o has said that:
Mahayoga is creative because the deity is gradually created by means of three contemplations. Anuyoga is perfecting because the deity is created in a perfect manner without relying on that [threefold creative phase]. And Atiyoga, the Great Perfection, is uncreatable because it is liberated from
both the creation and perfection phases.
Or else, Mahayoga is greatly motivated with respect to
the ten categories of tantra, Anuyoga is so motivated to a lesser extent, and Atiyoga is liberated from motivation.
And in the words of Menyak Jungdra [or Khyungdra]:345
Though the three aspects of creation and perfection are pres- ent in them all, Mahayoga emphatically teaches the creation
360 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Thirdly, Mahayoga is classified according to the six topics, of which the first, the entrance, is twofold: The former refers to the empower_ ment. There are four empowerments which are to be conferred because three higher, supreme uncommon empowerments (thun-min mchog_ dbang gong-ma gsumi46 are added to the common vase empowerment (thun-mong-pa bum-dbang). It is said in the Subsequent Root Tantra of the Magical Net:
There are the master, the secret,
And the discriminating [empowerments], And, immediately afterwards, the fourth.
Five empowerments are also enumerated when the vase empower- ment (bum-dbang) is divided into its aspects of beneficence and ability (phan-nus gnyis). 347 The Sequence of the Activity of Indestructible Reality (Vajrakarmakrama, P 4761) says:
Its aspects become fivefold
Because [the vase empowerment] Confers beneficence and ability on one.
The latter is the actual entrance which is effected by means of three contemplations, namely, the yoga of great emptiness which is dis- criminative awareness (shes-rab stong-pa chen-po'i rnal-'byor) , the illusory compassion which is skilful means (thabs snying-rje sgyu-ma), and the seals which are subtle and coarse (phyag-rgya phra-rags). Therefore, Mahayoga is the path which emphatically teaches the creation stage. In this respect, it is also said in the Tantra of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness:
The entrance is the threefold contemplation.
And in the Miraculous Key ofFurther Discernment: The entrance of Mahayoga
Is effected by the threefold contemplation.
Secondly, the view [of Mahayoga] refers to the ultimate truth as that in which awareness, appearing without conceptual elaboration, is held to be spontaneously present as the essential basis; and all the ideas which are the expressive power of this awareness itself are held to be the relative truth, manifest in and ofthemselves as a maI). <;lala body and pristine cognition. Neither of these truths refers in a biased manner to either appearance or emptiness because their essence is an indivisible sameness. If it is conventionally expressed by the term divisible", its indivisibility is free from the range of perception because it transcends the objects of thought and expressions which apprehend it. In this respect, the Array of the Path of the Magical Net says:
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles
The superior, indivisible truth of sameness Th. ough revealed everywhere by synonyms'
Is m truth beyond objects of speech and thought.
361
And in the Sequence of the Path:
And in order to loosen348 attachment to that d
It and inexpressible WIthm the two conventional truths.
' . esCnptIOn,
translations of the secret
the fourteen basic violations of the c uct on the. knowledge of d d (b b " ommltments whIch are to be
guar e srung- ya zdam-tshig rtsa-ltung bcu-bzhi) and to th d based on the knowledge of the nature of the . e con uct meats and the fiv . commItments of the five
tshig sha-lnga are to be practised (spyad-bya'i dam-
In_the terminology of the ancient translations th . Mahayoga are said to number twenty-eight 349 Th of
Further Discernment says: . e
Concerning the guarded by Mahayoga, There are three baSIC commitments
And twenty-five ancillary ones which are kept.
lracu ous Key of
the three basic are those of buddha-body speech the dam-tshig gsum) , As for the ancilla;y ones,
There are those to be practised Those not to be renounced ' And those to be adopted. ' There are those to be known
And those to be attained.
concerning meditation' Th . .
phaSlsmg the class of . . ere are two tradItIOns, one em-
emphaSiSing the class for(attamment (sgrub-sde), and the other classes of means t . antra rgyud-sde). The former includes five namely, the of the deities of pristine cognition, on the Four Centres f' the Body of,the Sugatas by Relying
bZhi-la brten-nas bde_gsOh the Body (Jam-dpal-gyi sku 'khor-lo Lo egssu1sgrub-pa)'th MeA "
tus Speech by R 1 .
(rdo-rje lu-gu r ud) 319 ,nse an t e mdestructible chains [of light]
Finally th gy , ,:hIch are the nucleus or awareness are matured
inner e and mner elements of the three realm; dissolve
their t rouidgh the appearance of the cessation of y c os-ny zad-pa 1 snang-ba).
d
338 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Divisions ofAtiyoga 339
Now this [path of All-Surpassing Realisation] is also subsumed in the Three Supportive Essentials of the Body (bca'-ba lus-kyi gnad-gsum), the Three Essentials which Guide [the Eyes] towards the Expanse C'khrid-pa dbyings-kyi gnad-gsum) and the Three Essentials of Objective Appearance (snang-bayul-gyi gnad-gsum) , which are to be experientially cultivated. And when. [the essential of light] within the last of these groupings is classified according to the four lamps (sgron-ma bzhi), it consists of the watery lamp of the far-sighted [eyes] (rgyangs-zhag chu'i sgron-ma), the lamp of the expanse of awareness (rig-pa dbyings-kyi sgron-ma), the lamp of emptiness which is the seminal point (thig-le stong-pa'i sgron-ma), and the lamp of naturally present discriminative awareness (shes-rab rang-byung-gi sgron-ma).
The first of these lamps, [the watery lamp of the far-sighted eyes], senses the appearances which arise because it externally perceives the tone of awareness. The second, [the lamp of the expanse of awareness], is the ground from which the inner expanse arises as a tone of external radiance. The third, [the lamp of emptiness which is the seminal point], is the support which activates the arising forms. And the fourth, [the lamp of naturally present discriminative awareness], is the unerring abiding nature of higher insight, or the face of awareness, when it arises as a pure essence and not as a [gross] object.
Concerning these divisions, the Tantra of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
In the ma1). gala which is empty as the sky
Four kinds of uncontrived lamp
Radiate owing to the unimpeded reality. Concerning the lamp of the expanse of awareness: In the centre of space which is empty as the sky, The body of light, the natural expression of the
expanse,
Radiates in unimpeded, unceasing forms.
The body of buddha-mind, endowed with five
pristine cognitions,
Arises as an indestructible chain [of light]. Its coming and going
And its movement, too, are indeterminate. Penetration of this lamp of the expanse of
awareness,
If awareness is not disturbed,
Is well explained to be unchanging realisation.
If the lamp of naturally present discriminative awareness
Has cut off all exaggerations,
If the lamp of emptiness which is the seminal point,
Has effortlessly arisen,
And if, by means of the watery lamp of the
far-sighted eyes,
It is regarded without wavering;
That is said to be the limit of conclusive meditation.
In this way, the awareness ofhigher insight regards the indestructible chains [of light], and becomes skilled in the four visionary appearances (snang-ba bzhi) through the succession of their experiences. The en- trance to the buddha-fields is opened through the visionary appearance of the direct perception of reality (chos-nyid mngon-sum-gi snang-ba). Subsequently, the emanational body is seen through the visionary ap- pearance of ever increasing contemplative experience (nyams gong-'phel- ba'i snang-ba) in which the seminal point is almost matured in the body. The body of perfect rapture is seen through the visionary appearance of reaching the limit of awareness (rig-pa tshad-phebs-kyi snang-ba) in which [the seminal point] is matured in the body. Then, all appearances are purified in the ma1). gala of a single, great seminal point. All the things that are designated by the intellect cease and the body of reality is seen through the visionary appearance in which [those things] cease to be even apprehended in reality (chos-nyid-du 'dzin-pa tsam-yang zad- pa'i snang-ba). Accordingly, it is said in the Penetration of Sound:
Through the vision that is direct perception of reality The extremes which persist in mental scrutiny are
transcended.
Through ever increasing contemplative experience Bewildering appearances vanish,
And the pristine cognition of the intermediate state
is actualised.
Through the visionary appearance of reaching the
limit of awareness
Appearances on the path which realises the three
bodies are transcended.
Through the visionary appearance of their cessation
in reality
The continuity of smpsara with its three realms
is broken.
An almost similar aspect of this maturation of the seminal point in
the body is also referred to in the Kdlacakra Tantra:
The mind which apprehends space in all directions, And the unclosing eye which properly enters the path
of indestructible reality,
Out of come to perceive
340 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Apparitions of smoke, mirage, radiance, immaculate sky and butter lamps, .
Blazing flames, the moon, the sun, vajras, Supreme features and seminal points.
And in their midst is the form of the buddhas, The manifold bodies of perfect rapture, Without objective appearance.
Therefore, in this unsurpassedly secret [vehicle] it is most essential for one who is learned in directly making into the path the naturally present awareness, which transcends the sarp. sara-based mind from the begin- ning, to reach the result swiftly and directly. If it . were not S? , t? e samsara-based mind and mental events during the penod ofexpenential
cuitivation would not be transcended. Their result would be sarp. sara
itself. However, since cause and result are infallibly identical, there is
no occasion for lapsing into deviation.
In particular, the instantaneous awareness itself, which regards this
manifest inner radiance, reverses the mind and mental events of the three world realms along with the ground-of-all. It is the reversal of the realm of desire because it regards [inner radiance] with direct per- ception and is without the ebb and flow of internal is the reversal of the realm of form because there is no antIdote whIch allocates radiance to the radiant disposition. It is the reversal of the formless realm because there is no intellect which clings in the disposi-
tion of reality to one-pointed non-conceptualisation. It is the reversal of the ground-of-all because there is an awareness of the pure essences. It is the reversal of the consciousness of the ground-of-all because the naturally present, pristine cognition is determined. It is the reversal of the consciousnesses of the five senses because it does not appe. ar to
pursue ordinary [sensations] other than the objects of mner radiance; and, at that time, it is the reversal of the conSCIOusness of the intellect and the consciousness of conflicting emotions because there is no idea which scrutinises and there is an absence of all thoughts of desire and hatred. In brief, the pristine cognition of the buddhas,
liberated from the mind and mental events of the three world is conclusive in that which is nothing other than quiescence . nirvaJ)a]. Therefore, it is said in the Enumeration of Doctrines whzch zs the Great Pagoda of Precious Jewels:
Santamati, this mystery of the Tathagata's mind is mind intellect and consciousness; nor is the of abandoned either. This is the inconceIvable mystery of the Tathagata's mind.
t a which Those spiritual and philosophical systems of the secret r d· nt
hold the co-emergent pristine cognition to refer to the blIssful, ra la
and non-conceptual pristine cognitions, which are effected in the lower
tantras by the entry of the vital energy from the right and left channels
(ro-rkyang) into the central channel (dbu-ma),320 do not reverse the
consciousnesses of the eight aggregates. This is because [in those sys-
tems] the bliss of sensation is subsequently created by the intellect and
by the intellect that is conscious of conflicting emotions. The range of
non-conceptualising mind does not proceed elsewhere beyond the
ground-of-all. In addition, they hold that the vital energy and the [white
321
enter from the right and left pathways into the central channel and liberate each respective knot in the central channel; and that by this power the renunciations and realisations of the ten levels arise. This is an essential point of deviation, because [according to those systems] the vital energy and the mind remain in the centres (rtsa-'dab) which correspond to the six classes of living beings, giving rise to
322
impure, bewildering appearance.
In this [All-Surpassing Realisation], on the other hand, the vital
energies are absorbed in a natural quiescence, and apart from that, do not enter into the central channel and so forth. When the vital energy of the respective centres has become naturally pure, the vital energy of pristine cognition (ye-shes-kyi rlung) naturally radiates right where it is within a channel of light. Thus, there is no occasion for impure, bewildering appearances to arise from the natural expression of the buddha-bodies, fields and light, which are appearances of pure pristine cognition. The channels of light within the central channel mUltiply and become enlightened attributes in which the knotted forms of the channels (rtsa-mdud) gradually vanish into light; and therefrom the emergent realisations of the levels arise manifest in and of themselves. 323
Now, by the vanishing of the first pair of knotted channels into light, a hundred buddha-fields arise within the light which externally appears. Therein, rays of light are diffused, motion occurs through their re- absorption in a self-manifest manner, and the hundred buddha-fields vibrate through the shaking of the body. Internally also, a hundred non-conceptual contemplations of reality are entered and risen from, and other such experiences occur. 324 Therefore, it should be known that the higher paths exemplified by these occurrences are superior to the lower vehicles.
At the time when these four visionary experiences are concluded, the body is dissolved into atoms by Cutting Through Resistance and the buddha-body of indestructible reality is not thereby achieved. SInce it is not achieved, there is on that basis no means of attaining the great benefit for the sake of others which continues until samsara has been emptied. .
Therefore, [in All-Surpassing Realisation] the buddha body of form remains apparitional in the manner of the moon's reflection in water, While the awareI1ess abides in a formless state. As such, immeasurable
and red] seeds
Divisions ofAtiyoga 341
342 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
acts are performed on behalf of sentient beings. This is known as the buddha-body of great. transformation ('? ho-ba chen-po'i sku, maha- sahkrantikaya), exemphfied by [the attamment] of the great masterI Padmasambhava and Vimalamitra. If there is, for the while, no onel requiring to be trained on this basis, the body of form itself, which is a coalescence of outer radiance, manifest in and of itself, is absorbed into the inner expanse, the disposition of the body of reality free from conceptual elaboration, and then the subtle pristine cognition of indi- vidual intuitive awareness is centred in the inwardly radiant youthful vase body (gzhon-nu bum-pa'i sku). In the of this [youthful vase body] and without wavering from the highest meditative absorp- tion, reality is present as the basis for the emanation of pristine cognition, the great unimpeded spirituality which displays instruction for those requiring training. It is the culmination of the buddha-body of reality, in which the expanse and pristine cognition are without duality.
Therefore, it is asserted that enlightenment is the point of liberation in which primordial purity and spontaneous presence are without duality, the great primordial purity or abiding nature of the original ground. And it is equally asserted that [the view of] the Madhyamika who propound non-substantiality, though indeed a freedom from all extremes of conceptual elaboration, is but one extreme of emptiness because they deny even the buddha-bodies and pristine cognitions which manifest in and of themselves on the grounds that all activities ()ug-pa) at this moment abide in the firm cessation of quiescence.
Though distinctive opinions are variously found concerning the non- conceptuality, in terms of subject and object, of the all-knowing pristine cognition, the intention of the Primordial Lord [Samantabhadra] is particularly established as such through the proper path of the Great Perfection. Within the expanse of emptiness free from all conceptual elaborations that derives from its primordial purity, the essence abides through its spontaneous presence in the manner of the light which is radiant within a crystal but not externally manifest. This [spontaneous presence] comprises: three subtle pristine cognitions, forming the ground in which the buddha-fields and the bodies of perfect rapture arise manifest in and of themselves; five pristine cognitions which are given character through the expressive power of these [fields and bodies]; and the aspect of the ground in which the pristine cognition that knows cognitive objects arises. Since it is endowed with this pristine cognition itself, the essence is the source of all buddha-bodies and pristine cognitions. From it there emerges the power by which, without wavering from the body of reality, the two bodies of form appear, with their enlightened activities, to those who require training. If It were not so, the benefit of those requiring training and the immeasurable enlightened attributes of omniscience would not emerge through possession of pristine cognition. This has been stated ad infinitum 1U
Divisions ofAtzYoga 343 such texts as the Verse Summation of the Transcendental Perfection of
Discriminative Awareness (Ch. 5, v. 8cd):
If there were no pristine cognition,
The enlightened attributes would not increase, Nor would there be enlightenment
Or the oceanic attributes of the buddhas.
And in the Illuminating of the Lamp (sgron-ma snang-byed):325
So if there were no range of pristine cognition
There would be no distinction [between this]
And the outer space which is empty.
Therefore, from the ground, pristine cognition is pervasive. If there were no pristine cognition
There would be no distinction [between this] and nihilism.
This spontaneous presence of enlightened attributes is referred to in eloquent explanations, such as the following from the Great Commentary on the Buddhasamayoga (Buddhasamayoga(fka, T 1659):
This body of supreme bliss, characterised as skilful means and discriminative awareness without duality, embodies the essence of yoga. The hosts of Mara and the like which sym- bolise dualistic ideas are destroyed by this disposition, and, inasmuch as it possesses all the arrays ofexcellent enlightened attributes, there are apart from it no other details of en-
lightened attributes. It is present through their natural spon- taneous presence and disclosed through realisation.
The disposition of this body of reality gives rise to consecration or
blessing which arises as the self-manifesting buddha-body of perfect
rapture. Therefrom enlightened activities continuously emerge, such
as those of the Five Enlightened Families of the Tathagatas in the pure
buddha-fields, and such as those of the supreme emanational body in the impure fields.
to [these four visionary appearances of All-Surpassing RealIsatIOn] there are also the Esoteric Instructions of the Four Consoli- dations (mtha'-rten bzhi) which meaningfully draw [the practice] to its conclusion: The ground is determined in three unmoving states (mi-'gul- ba gsum), the limit [of awareness] is grasped by the three presences
(sdod-pa gsum-gyis tshad bzung-ba), the nail is riveted by the three attain- lllents (thob-pa gsum-gyis gzer gdab-pa) and the limit of liberation is revealed by the four assurances (gding-bzhis grol-tshad bstan-pa).
I
Inbrief h b·d" " "
" , t e a I mg nature of the Great PerfectIOn IS absolute in its
VIewp d I"
res ' ure an equa WIth to and result, indivisible with
pect to truth, naturally dIssolved WIth respect to the subject-object
344 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
dichotomy, and core-penetrating with respect to creation and cessation. It has not fallen into the extremes of either elaboration or non-elabora- tion, and it is uncontrived by the intellect. It neither radiates externally, nor is it apprehended internally, and nor does it lie in between. . For it thechaff-likewordsandconventionsoftheentirerangeofexpreSSIOn, t h e e n t i r e r a n g e o f t h o u g h t a n d s c r u t i n y h a v e b e c o m e o n l y d i s c u r s i v e designations. Thus, one determines that it does not abide in the of self-affirmation. It is said in the Mirror of the Heart of VaJrasattva (rdo-rje sems-dpa' snying-gi me-long, NGB Vol. 10):
It should be known that all the doctrines of awareness are free from the intellect involved in egocentric ideas.
Now at all times, ancient and recent, there have been those who,
boasting of attaining the profound reality through their intellectual
is [secure] conviction that [the deities] manifest in and of themselves in the manner of a child [securely] nestling into its mother's lap. And during the intermediate state of rebirth (srid-pa bar-do) the residual effect of one's [wholesome] deeds is prolonged in the manner of a conducting pipe being thrust into a canal which is blocked. Relying
on these oral instructions, fortunate beings are conveyed to the point
of original liberation. By the mere affirmation of a view which approx-
imates things as they really are, one never sees, or has the occasion to
obtain, the essential nucleus which is the pristine cognition realised in the abiding nature. So it is said:
Concerning the co-emergent pristine cognition of ultimate reality:
Apart from the impression made by accumulating provisions and purifying obscurations
And the exclusive blessing of the guru endowed with realisation,
Reliance on other methods should be known as delusion.
And in the Hevajra Tantra (Pt. l, Ch. 8, v. 36):
It should be known that
The co-emergent is unexpressed by another, And it cannot be found anywhere,
Save by relying on the guru's timely means And the provisions of one's own merit.
And as the glorious Saraha has said:
One who takes to heart whatever the guru has said Resembles one who sees a treasure
Lying in the palm of the hand.
! f the auspicious coincidences of the guru, the student, the world and Its contents accumulate, the great empowerment which pours out all means (rgyal-thabs spyi-blugs-kyi dbang-chen), pristine
ognItIOn Itself, IS conferred by the power of [the guru's] blessing being transferred, and it manifestly and directly descends. Then the meaning of that descent [of pristine cognition] is experienced in continuous Yoga which is the flow of the effortless state's presence. Relying
on the recognition of the details of the signs and experiences occurring
on the path, the removal of the obstacles of clinging to pleasant
creations have been terrified by the profound discourses concerning
,.
reality which is free from the intellect. Also, on the basis ofthe rejection of the lower sequences of the path by [passages such as] thIS, there have been those in both ancient and recent time who have been enthusiastic to undertake perpetual labours due to envy, and in connec- tion with their counterfeit, sophistical intelligence, which is extremely hostile to the [doctrine's] range of profundity and the vast abiding nature. However, as the sublime MafijusrI has said:
Concerning activities, the yogin
Apprehends them on the great paths,
Just as a deer pursues a mirage.
Though they always appear, they are not grasped.
But more than that, all of these [vehicles]
Are endowed with inauthentic intelligence.
The intelligence of the lowest yogas
Is surpassed by the highest.
The intelligence of the lower
Is rejected by the discriminative awareness of the higher.
One should therefore know this and be skilled in pacifying motivations connected with disputation in the inconceivable disposition of reality.
In addition, it is according to the esoteric instructions, which turn
the instructions of the Great Perfection to practical application, that all
things of samsara and nirvana are established as the display of the four
" b' h
intermediate states (bar-do). During the intermediate state of the place (skye-gnas-kyi bar-do) exaggerated notions connected wIth study and reflection on the oral instructions are cut off in the man? er of a sandpiper [decisively] entering its nest. During the intermedIate state of the moment of death ('chi-kha'i bar'-do) the oral are clarified in the manner of a dancing girl [delightedly] looking 1ll a mirror. During the intermediate state of reality (chos-nyid bar-do) there
and coar . d . se expenences, an
the advantages granted by the enlightened
;ttnbutes that are realised through experiential cultivation the J. Ound··, . ,
h' . atl? n IS acqUIred, through whIch the result is actualised in
[t IS lIfetIme and in this very body, without aspiring towards it in the Uture.
Divisions ofAtiyoga 345
11 A Recapitulation of the Resultant Vehicles
Concerning the second distinction which refers to their of a. cquiring accomplishment: The outer [vehicle] is that m whIch accomplishment is requested by aspiring to- and attending upon a deity of pristine cognition, and the mner [vehicle] is that in which accomplishment is seen to be intrinsically present because, through realisation of the supreme identity, mind-as-such manifests in and of it- self as a ma1). Qala of buddha-body and pristine cognition. It says in the Questions and Answers ofVajrasattva (rdo-rje sems- dpa'i zhus-lan, P 5082):
In reply to the question, "What is the distinction between the yogins of the outer and inner mantras in their acquisition ofaccomplishment? " he said:
As, for example, a king commands a minister, The outer way is the granting of accomplishment
from above.
And, as a king who holds sway having been
offered the kingdom by the people,
The unsurpassed way is that of the naturally
present Great Perfection.
And as it is said in the Secret Nucleus (Ch. 2, v. 6):
This wondrous, miraculous, and marvellous reality. . .
Then, concerning the third distinction which refers to their empowerments: The outer [vehicle] is that in which the three higher, supreme empowerments cannot be ob- tained, and the inner vehicle is that in which these three are emphatically grasped.
As to the fourth distinction which refers to their conduct: The inner [vehicle] can accept conduct in which the twenty elements of sarpsara are retained by skilful means, and the outer one cannot. And as to the fifth distinction which refers to their results: The outer [vehicle] can unite one with the result within seven, five or three human lifetimes and so forth, and the inner one can unite one with it in this very
lifetime.
Lharje Kharakpa328 and Lama Rok Sherap-o have said that, with to the tantra texts, there is a distinction between the way in :vhICh the ten categories of tantra are interpreted in the outer and the Inner [vehicles], and that, in particular, there are distinctions as to: Whether, with reference to empowerment, the three profound empower- lhents can or cannot be revealed; whether, with reference to the view,
[211 b. 4] Having ascertained the exegesis of the overall meaning [of the secret mantra] according to their classifications, there now follows the second part [see p. 257 above] in which the meaning subsumed in the particular sections [of the secret mantra] is recapitulated in order to facilitate understanding. This falls into two categories, namely, the
vehicle of the outer tantras of austere awareness (phyi thub-pa rgyud-kyi theg-pa) and the vehicle of the inner tantras of skilful means (nang-pa thabs-kyi rgyud-kyi theg-pa).
DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE OUTER AND INNER TANTRAS
[211b. 5-213a. 5] Though many dissimilar claims have been made by those of the past concerning the distinctions between these two vehicles, in this [Nyingma tradition] there are said to be five [distinctions] derived from the master Dropukpa who subsumed the intention of the four "pillars", who were the spiritual sons [of Zurcungpa]:326
Concerning the first distinction which refers to their views: The inner vehicle is that of the mantras in which mind-as-such is realised to be the supreme identity, and the outer vehicle is that in which there is no such realisation. It is said in Indrabhuti's Array of the Path of the Magical Net (Mayapathavyavasthapana,
P 4737):
Since those who uphold
The three enlightened families
And the five enlightened families
Do not realise the supreme identity,
I have propounded them as equivalent To the common [vehicles]. 327
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 347
()
the naturally present, pristine cognition can or cannot be propounded; whether, with reference to meditation, one can or cannot meditate on the [male and female deities] kissing one another; whether, with refer- ence to conduct, the five sacramental substances can or cannot be enjoyed; whether or not an entrance can be made, having regarded the
deity and oneself as identical; and whether, with reference to ac-
complishment, the acquistion takes a long or a short time, and is hoped
for externally or internally.
Lharje Celpa [Ktinga Dorje] ,329 too, has said that since these distinc-
tions refer merely to specific aspects [of the vehicles], they are correctly classified, on this occasion, into three categories, namely, the distinc- tions concerning the ground which is to be known, the distinctions concerning the path which is the act of knowing, and the distinctions concerning the result which is to be obtained.
Lord DrOlmawa [Samdrup Dorje]330 and Yungtonpa [Dorjepel]331 have both said that:
The inner mantras are those which hold the view, conduct and contemplation to be indivisible, and the outer mantras are those which do not. Is there then, one might ask, no distinction between the causal vehicle and the outer mantras? Not so; there is a distinction between whether relative ap-
pearances can or cannot be made into the path.
OUTER TANTRAS OF AUSTERE AWARENESS
If, among these [vehicles], the vehicle of the outer tantras of austere [awareness] is first classified, then the Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
The outer tantras are of three kinds: Kriya, Ubhaya and Yoga.
It is therefore divided into the vehicles of the Kriyatantra, the Ubhayatantra and the Yogatantra.
Kriyiitantra
[213a. 5-215b. 5] The first, or is under the headings of essence, verbal defimtlOn and classIfication. The first 0 these, [the essence], is that, ultimately, the purity that is free from the four extremes is realised, and, relatively, one resorts to the skilful means which aspire and strive towards accomplishments externally [conferred
Since they are not known to be the same without duality, The level of action requires alternate meditation
On an ultimate truth which is simply the pure reality And a deity of relative appearance endowed with
The enlightened attributes of pristine cognition. 332
Secondly, the verbal definition is that [the Sanskrit] kriya conveys the meaning of activity [or action] because it emphasises external activ- ity. Such is also said in the Commentary on the Final Meditation (Dhyan- ottarapatalatfka, T 2670):
This tantra is called Kriyatantra because it emphasises The activities of body and speech.
Thirdly, the Kriyatantra is classified according to six topics. Of these the first, the entrance, is twofold: There is the initial entrance [or empowerment] which effects maturation and the actual entrance itself. According to the former, the student is made into q worthy recipient [for the teaching] by the conferral ofthe water and crown empowerments along with their aspects (chu-dang cod-pan-gyi dbang 'khor-bcas bskur- ba). 333 It says in the Seminal Point of Pristine Cognition (Jiianatilaka- tantra, T 422):
The water empowerment and the crown Are well known in Kriyatantra.
And as for the latter: The [actual] entrance is effected by means of ablutions, cleanliness, and the three purities (dag-pa gsum). The Tantra of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
As to the entrance, it is entered
By the three purities, ablutions and cleanliness.
And on the subject of the three purities, it also says:
What, one might ask, are the three purities? They are the purity of the deity and the mal). 9ala, The purity of substances and rapture,
And the purity of mantra and contemplation.
Secondly, the view of Kriyatantra refers to the two truths, as it is said in the Sequence of the View (Ita-rim, T 4356):
According to Kriyatantra, living creatures are without bewilderment
When reality is regarded as the ultimate truth,
And when, relatively, mal). 9alas of three enlightened
families of deities appear,
Endowed with enlightened attributes of intrinsic
ro
348 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 349
by the deity]. It is said in the Sequence of the Path:
awareness.
350 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
. Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 351 The BeIng of Commitment (samayasattva)336
by means of the six real [sequential m d must therefore be created
Kriyarantra, namely, the deit of em 0 . es of] the deIty to the
deity of syllables (yi-ge'i lha) Yth d (stong-pa-nyzd-kyz lha), the ,eeity0sound( "lh) .
of form (gzugs-kyi lha), the deity of seals (ph ,slf,a z a , the deIty
of symbols (mtshan-ma'i lha) Th' , . ,yag-rgya zlha) and the deity
words from the extensive TTar;r ,IdS_IS stated in the following v j 'J avz ara1Ja 1 antra:
Thesixare[thed'f ] f .
Of d Ii el Ies 0 emptIness and syllables
Concerning the ultimate truth, it is held that mind-as-s
pristine cognition [which coalesces] emptiness and radiance, is free from the four extremes of being, non-being, appearance and emptiness; as it is said in the Determination and Distinction (la-zla-ba-dang shan-
'byed-pa lta-ba'i sgron-me, P 4727): Since the mind itself is awareness,
Without the four extremes,
It is none other than pristine cognition.
Now the relative truth [is held] to comprise both correct and incorrect modes, of which the incorrect one refers to all relative appearances which are considered to be both correct and incorrect [by those who
adhere to the philosophical systems] from the Madhyamika downwards, and the correct relative truth is held to refer to the enlightened attributes which are the realisation of reality and which appear as the maJ). qala
of deities belonging to the three enlightened families. As the previous
text continues:
Through the pristine cognition of the appearances
Which creatively arise,
The sublime, gentle and rough phenomena which appear
Are said to be pure when seen 334 In the maJ). qala of the three enlightened families.
Thirdly, on the subject of moral discipline, the Miraculous Key of Further Discernment speaks of eleven commitments:
The Three Precious Jewels and the enlightened mind, The mantras and seals - do not abandon them;
The vajra and bell should not be abandoned,
And similarly the deity and the guru. These are the subsidiary commitments. As for the five basic commitments:
One should not sleep on a [high] bed,
One should neither eat meat nor drink ale, And one should not eat garlic or radishes.
Then, there is also the Secret Tantra ofGeneral Rites (Sii:r/llinyavidhfnii1fl guhyatantra, T 806) which explains that there are three general commit-
ments and thirteen particular commitments; and so forth.
Fourth, meditation is both symbolic and non-symbolic. Concerning
the former, the Heruka Galpo says:
The meditations are on [the deities] of reality,
Sound, syllables,335 form, buddha-mind,
And the attainment of the perfect body of pristine
cognition.
uch
, the pure
soun , orm, seals and symbols. ' Thereafter, the Being of Pristine Co . , '- -
offerings, praises, recitations and 0nanasattva) is invited; is acquired h a ' so ort are perf?
rmed; and ac- the deity and oneself] as regarded [the relatIonship between
Tantra ofthe Great Natural Aa ? , a and servant. It says in the rzszng OJ wareness:
The deity and the yogin respectively Are regarded as a master and subject.
And in the Tantra which A ' h
(rigs thams-cad-pa'i dngos_grucbqulzres t"e Accomplishment of All Families
en-pa z rgyud):
By regarding [the deity] in the manner of a lord a master or a king,
And perceiving oneself as a servant The of accomplishment, ' That IS attained through the mantras Is accepted as the unsurpassed boon. '
'
Concerning the second [or non-symb r
nate meditation on the t h 0 IC medItatIOn]: There is alter-
pure disposition [of absorption occurs in the nng to those [aforementione t e our WIthout refer-
symbolic deities, are meditated onas and Dzstinction: 1 e. t says In the Determznatzon
Appeara. nces and emptiness are successively establIshed.
. ,
and with food, attire clea r e WIt. t for entering [the vehicle],
Fifth, conduct [according to th K ' -
namely, the activities connect d e. compnses SIX activities,
tion of mantras. It i; supports and the recita- er S31 In the Heruka Galpo:
Concerning pIa t [ d
And Ii d ,ne s or ays], stars and seasons,
00 ,attIre and cleanliness
The austerity, of discipline is pe;formed.
. ,
352 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
And in the Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions:
Conduct concerns the images of [the deity's] body, The implements symbolic of his mind, Recitations and so forth.
Sixth, concerning the result, it is held that within seven human lifetimes the level of a Holder of Indestructible Reality of the Three Enlightened Families, endowed with the essence of the three buddha- bodies and five pristine cognitions, will be obtained. The Heruka Galpo says:
Recapitulation o fResultant Vehicles 353 Those who uphold the Tantra of Both
Though conforming to Kriyatantra in conduct Do conform to Yogatantra in their view. ' Therefore their enlightened families and view
Are superior to those [of Kriyatantra].
And in the Sequence of the View:
Those who uphold the Tantra of Both Conform upwards in their view - And downwards in their conduct.
The also to be somewhat superior [to Kriyatantra] the VIew and medItatIon are directed towards four enlightened
famIlIes of the conquerors.
Sixth, concerning the result: It is held that within five lifetimes the of a o. f Reality belonging to the Four En- FamIlIes IS obtamed. The fourth enlightened family to which refers. subsumes the. Enlightened Family of Activity (las-kyi rigs)
In. th. e EnlIghtened FamIly of Precious Gems (rin-chen rigs). It is also m the Heruka Galpo:
One abides on the level of Vajradhara339 Endowed with four enlightened families.
And in the All-Accomplishing King:
It is a deviation which obscures
Non-duality for five human lifetimes.
Yogatantra
Thirdly, the vehicle of Yogatantra is considered under e of essence, verbal definition and classification. First, [ac- is rdmg t? the The blessing of the non-symbolic reality which . truth IS regarded as a deity belonging to the expanse of
reality, which relatively appears, and it is held that the
re' t. IS attamed in the acceptance of positive and the
S )ectlOn of negatIve Ideas [in relation to that deity]. It is said in the equence ofthe Path:
Since they are not seen to be present and equivalent,
The blessmg of pristine cognition Through which all things are Becomes an emanational [deity]
Of the expanse of indestructible reality
Adh. ,
n t e yogm . acts in terms of acceptance and rejection.
337
The Lords of the Three Families instruct living beings.
Ubhayatantra
[215b. 5-216b. 3] The second, the vehicle of Ubhayatantra, is referred to under the headings of essence, verbal definition and classification. First, [the essence] is that one resorts to the skilful means which attain accomplishment by practising the view and meditation in the manner of Yogatantra, and conduct in the manner of Kriyatantra. It is said in the Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions:
Accomplishment is attained by relying on both.
Secondly, [as to the verbal definition]: Ubhayatantra is so called because the [Sanskrit] word ubhaya ["both"] indicates that both the outer activities of body and speech and the inner yoga are equally performed. The Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising ofAwareness says:
Ubhayatantra is as follows:
The view is observed as in Yogatantra,
And conduct is performed as in Kriyatantra. Therefore it is known as the Tantra of Both.
Thirdly, the Ubhayatantra is classified under the six topics, ofwhich the first, the entrance, has two parts. The former is empowerment, which here refers to the three empowerments of the vajra, bell and name (rdor-dril-ming-gsumi 38 in addition to those of water and crown. As the Seminal Point of Pristine Cognition says:
The vajra, the bell and likewise the name [empowerments]
Are well clarified in the Caryarantra.
The actual entrance, along with the third topic, moral discipline, and the fifth, conduct, largely conform to Kriyatantra, whereas the second topic, or the view, and the fourth, meditation, largely conform to Yogatantra. It is said in the Turquoise Display:
Within seven lifetimes on the buddha level
354 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret A1antra .
fi . , ]" Derived from [the Sansknt] yoga,
Secondly, [the verbal de ImtIOn . 't emphasises or teaches the inner . so called because 1 .
the Yogatantra IS V' . A C llection of Esoteric Instructwns says: yoga. The Garland of zews. 0 .
Accomplishment is attained with emphasIs on yoga.
. . d d under six topics. The first,
the entrance, IS
dbang to th. e dbang), the sixth empower- indestructIble (r . 1] ifP" Cognition states:
ment. 340 The Semmal Pomt 0 nstme
The empowerment of the irreversible vase
The blessing of realisation appears as a deity. Accordingly, the perceptions of [mundane] Living creatures are bewilderment.
And also in the Turquoise Display:
Derived from the pure pristine cognition of the expanse,
In which both intrinsic awareness
And the signs of its actual vision are indivisible, The blessing arises as a deity of indestructible
reality'S expanse,
And the deity is regarded as a friend.
Thirdly, moral discipline includes the general commitments belong- ing to the five enlightened families, which are said to be the highest. The enlightened mind is first generated, and subsequently training in the three aspects of moral discipline is earnestly applied. Then there are said to be fourteen particular commitments, namely, three connected with Vairocana, four each with and Ratnasambhava, one with Amitabha, and two with Amoghasiddhi. The Miraculous Key of Further Discernment, however, claims that they number thirteen when two uncommon commitments are added to the eleven commitments of Kriyatantra. In its own words:
The limits guarded by the Yogatantra,
In addition to the limits guarded by the above
[Kriyatantra] ,
Include [the commitments] not to drink water
In a locality [inhabited by violators of commitments] And not to converse with such violators.
Fourth, meditation is both symbolic and non-symbolic. The former is meditation with reference to the yoga of the male and female deities, which applies the four seals (phyag-rgya bzhi) by means of the five awakenings (mngon-byang lnga) and four miracles (cho-'phrul bzhi). The Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions says:
Without emphasising outer paraphernalia, and by means of contemplation in which the male and female deities that are uncreated and unceasing in ultimate reality and the mind- stream in which they are represented are entirely pure, one becomes accomplished by emphasising the yoga of medita- tion on the sublime body ofform endowed with the four seals.
After the Being of Commitment (samayasattva) has been created and the Being of Pristine Cognition (jiiiinasattva) has been invited, [the deity] should then be regarded without the dichotomy of good or evil,
Thirdly, the Yogatantra ISC'consl empowerment which refers, . twofold The lormer IS . ,.
: ] fi powerments of awareness (ng-pa z
in addition to the [prevIouS lVe empowerment of the master of f
h '
The latter is the actual 7h' h is effected by means ofsymbohc
Has been clarified in Yogatantra.
This is a particular empowerment among t e SIX
And it is called the empowerment of the master. .
lC . n the All-Accomplishing King: and non-symbolic contemplatIOn. t says 1
One who desires the Bounteous Array of Having entered by symbolic and non-symbohc
methods. . .
Secondly, the VIew [0 o. g . ner radiance or emptiness, the
ultimate truth refers to all thmhgs m f conceptual elaboration. The nature of which is free from t e sIgns o.
Tantra of the Summation of the Real says.
Since all things are naturally radiant,
They are essentially pure from the begmnmg.
. f Y atantra] concerns the twO truths. The
wIt In . . . . f blessing derived from the realIsatIon 0
Heruka Galpo:
rea
lity Such IS a so sal 1 .
. .
. . d b en an incorrect relatIve whIch
The relative truth IS and a correct relative truth,
is similar to that of the prevIOUS [ve lC es] 'd' erned by living creatures h ld t efer to the appearances ISC .
whichis e not 0 r h' th t everywhere appears IS in their own minds because mg . a, e which is the . h' the mandala of indestructIble realIty s '1 'd 'n the
One who wishes to abide in the vehicle of Yogatantra Should look upon as the expanse of
indestructible reality.
And in the Sequence of the View: . .
f reality's expanse, .
Within the pristine cogmtIOn 0
Which is the purity of ultimate truth accordIng to
Y ogatantra,
. .
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 355
356 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and in the manner of a relative or friend. Offerings, praises, recitations and so forth should be made. So it is also said in the Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising of Awareness:
The deity and oneself, the yogin,
Are held to relate as relatives or friends.
Now the five awakenings (mngon-byang lnga) are the awakenings which occur through emptiness (stong-pa-nyid), through the visualisa- tion of a- lunar throne (zla-gdan), through seed-syllables of buddha- speech (gsung yig-'bru) , through hand implements symbolic of buddha- mind (thugs phyag-mtshan) and through the perfection of the [deity's] body (sku yongs-rdzogs). The four miracles (cho-'phrul bzhi) are the miracles of contemplation (ting-nge-'dzin), empowerment (dbang-bskur- ba), consecration or blessing (byin-gyis rlob-pa), and offerings (mchod- pa). Concerning these the Heruka Galpo says:
Non-conceptualisation, moon, buddha-speech, vajra-emblem,
And radiance of the [deity's] body during meditation
On the emanation and absorption [of light]; Contemplation, blessing, empowerment and offerings: Such are the five awakenings and four miracles.
Though these are the activities of meditation and offering, They are to be performed in order that merit might be
possessed.
The four seals (phyag-rgya bzhi) are so called because meditation ensues when the body, speech, mind and activity have been respectively sealed by: the great seal of buddha-body which secures the ground-of-all as the mirror-like pristine cognition (me-long kun-gzhi sku phyag-chen); the doctrinal seal of buddha-speech which secures the mental faculty as the pristine cognition of discernment (sor-rtog yid gsung chos-rgya); the commitment seal of buddha-mind which secures the mind of conflicting emotions as the pristine cognition of sameness (mnyam-nyid nyon-yid thugs dam-rgya); and the action seal of enlightened activity which secures the five senses as the pristine cognition of accomplishment (bya-ba sgo-lnga phrin-Ias las-rgya). Such are the four pristine cognitions which are to be actualised and with which they are connected. The [fifth] pristine cognition of the expanse of reality (chos-dbyings ye-shes), on the other hand, abides as the natural expression of them all.
The second [or non-symbolic meditation] refers to meditative absorp- tion in the disposition where there is no dichotomy between the essential nature of ultimate reality which cannot be symbolised and the appear- ance of its blessing as a deity, which is the apparitional aspect of pristine cognition. It says in the Emergence ofIndestructible Reality (Vajrodaya, T 2516):
Recapitulation ofResultant TT h' l
The d' . . ve lC es 357
ISPOSItIOn of the non-d 1
Is taken as the most sacred expanse of reality
accomplishments. 0 unsurpassed
Fifth, concerning conduct· W'th '
practices such as cleanliness' Id the aSSIstance of external mundane
oth b ' ,con ucteffectstheb fi f
ers YmaIntaining above all th . ene It 0 oneself and
Peak says: ' , e yoga ofthe deity. The Indestrnctible
INNER TANT
Abiding in th
.
e contemplatIOn of th d '
Do not dismiss all sentient b ' A1w b ' emgs. Al ays e mmdfu1 of the buddhas.
e eIty,
ways hold offerings to the b ddh u
as as Supreme is attained on the level o/thwIthm three human lifetimes
.
SIxth,astotheresult:Itisheldtht ' , .
the essence of the three bodies and m the All-Accomplishing King:
One who desires the BounteouS
e Array, endowed five pnstme cognitions. It says
Is held to be liberated And in the Lock of'the U
'h ' h Array ofYogatantra WIt m tree human lifetimes
.
. ,
openSItIes of the subject-
' j neart: Having purified the five pr
object dichotomy,
And, by the expressive pOwe f ' . cognitions rs 0 the five pnstme
HaAving the level of the B rray,
The result gathering the fiv obtained.
ounteous
e enlIghtened families is
uncreated body of reality then
s
,m an uncreated manner on behalf of l' .
bemgs. 1vmg Its perfect rapture embod '
Fulfils the benefit of l' , the five kinds of seal And its ten thousand emgs a bodhisattva,
Teach everywh beings,'
, l I O n emanatIOns
[219bA-22Ia I] S
Sk'UI 1 . econdly, there is the
ere m the presen ,
f h .
ce0 teSIXclassesof
RAS OF SKILFUL MEANS
h' 1
u ,means (nang-pa thabs-6k i r IC e of the inner tantras of
gy):;,d-kYl theg,-p,a), concerning which reat atural Anszng of Awareness:
,
It IS saId in the Tantra ofihe
.
J
Ru Garap Dorje
said:
358
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 359
The inner [vehicle] is held to be threefold: Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga.
It therefore comprises the Mahayoga tantras, the Anuyoga transmissions
and the Atiyoga esoteric instructions.
Concerning the distinctions between these three, the master Zur- 341
cungpa said in reply to a request made by Lencap Parwa:
Mahayoga appears as the miracle of awareness. Anuyoga appears as the expressive power of intrinsic awareness. Atiyoga is awareness, manifest in and of itself. Therefore,
342
stage, Anuyoga emphatically teaches the perfection stage, and the Great Perfection is effortless in both respects.
Cel Lotsawa Ktinga Dorje also eloquently asserted this to be the distinc- tion between their verbal definitions.
[Finally], the great, all-knowing Longcenpa [in his Great Chariot] has said:
The Father tantras of Mahayoga are the natural expression of the skilful means of appearance, intended on behalf of those requiring training who are mostly hostile and possessed by many ideas; the Mother tantras of Anuyoga are the discriminative awareness of the perfection stage which is the reality of emptiness, intended for the benefit of those who are mostly desirous and delight in the tranquillity of the mind; and the Atiyoga is revealed as the natural expression of their non-duality, intended for the benefit of those who are mostly deluded and who are energetic. Therefore the Great Array says:
For one who would transcend the mind
There is the creative phase,
For one who would possess the essence of mind There is the perfecting phase,
And for those who are supreme and most secret There is the Great Perfection.
And also in Mind at Rest (sems-nyid ngal-gso), he has said:
Mahayoga emphasises vital energy and the skilful means of the creation stage.
Anuyoga emphasises the seed and discriminative awareness of the perfection stage.
Atiyoga emphasises the pristine cognition in which everything is without duality.
Mahayoga
Among them, first the vehicle of Mahayoga is con- under the three headings of essence, verbal definition and clas- As to [the essence]: Its nature is such that liberation is ob- through a union of realisation and experience in the indivisible meanmg of the superior truth, by emphatic reliance on the creation stage of skilful means.
[as to the verbal definition]: The [Tibetan] rnal-'byorchen- fO. IS denved from the [Sanskrit] Mahayoga which means great union. . t IS so called because it unites the mind with the non-dual truth and IS thus superior to the ollter Yogatantra.
They refer respectively to a miracle,
To expressive power and to the self-manifest.
This means that [the three] are particularly distinguished according to their view: Mahayoga realises all things to be the miraculous events of mind-as-such, in which appearance and emptiness are indivisible; Anuyoga realises all things to be the expressive power of mind-as-such, in which the expanse and pristine cognition are indivisible; and Atiyoga
realises all things to be manifest in and of themselves as mind-as-such, the naturally present pristine cognition which is without creation or cessation from the beginning. This was asserted to be the most precious point by both Datik [Cosak of Nakmore] and Len [Sakya Zangpo of Chuwar]. 343
Kyo Kongbupa [Kyoton Sakye of Kongbu]344 also said that:
They have a greater or lesser degree of emphasis: Mahayoga lays great emphasis on conduct, Anuyoga lays great emphasis on contemplation, And Atiyoga lays great emphasis on the view.
Then, Lharje Rok Sherap-o has said that:
Mahayoga is creative because the deity is gradually created by means of three contemplations. Anuyoga is perfecting because the deity is created in a perfect manner without relying on that [threefold creative phase]. And Atiyoga, the Great Perfection, is uncreatable because it is liberated from
both the creation and perfection phases.
Or else, Mahayoga is greatly motivated with respect to
the ten categories of tantra, Anuyoga is so motivated to a lesser extent, and Atiyoga is liberated from motivation.
And in the words of Menyak Jungdra [or Khyungdra]:345
Though the three aspects of creation and perfection are pres- ent in them all, Mahayoga emphatically teaches the creation
360 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Thirdly, Mahayoga is classified according to the six topics, of which the first, the entrance, is twofold: The former refers to the empower_ ment. There are four empowerments which are to be conferred because three higher, supreme uncommon empowerments (thun-min mchog_ dbang gong-ma gsumi46 are added to the common vase empowerment (thun-mong-pa bum-dbang). It is said in the Subsequent Root Tantra of the Magical Net:
There are the master, the secret,
And the discriminating [empowerments], And, immediately afterwards, the fourth.
Five empowerments are also enumerated when the vase empower- ment (bum-dbang) is divided into its aspects of beneficence and ability (phan-nus gnyis). 347 The Sequence of the Activity of Indestructible Reality (Vajrakarmakrama, P 4761) says:
Its aspects become fivefold
Because [the vase empowerment] Confers beneficence and ability on one.
The latter is the actual entrance which is effected by means of three contemplations, namely, the yoga of great emptiness which is dis- criminative awareness (shes-rab stong-pa chen-po'i rnal-'byor) , the illusory compassion which is skilful means (thabs snying-rje sgyu-ma), and the seals which are subtle and coarse (phyag-rgya phra-rags). Therefore, Mahayoga is the path which emphatically teaches the creation stage. In this respect, it is also said in the Tantra of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness:
The entrance is the threefold contemplation.
And in the Miraculous Key ofFurther Discernment: The entrance of Mahayoga
Is effected by the threefold contemplation.
Secondly, the view [of Mahayoga] refers to the ultimate truth as that in which awareness, appearing without conceptual elaboration, is held to be spontaneously present as the essential basis; and all the ideas which are the expressive power of this awareness itself are held to be the relative truth, manifest in and ofthemselves as a maI). <;lala body and pristine cognition. Neither of these truths refers in a biased manner to either appearance or emptiness because their essence is an indivisible sameness. If it is conventionally expressed by the term divisible", its indivisibility is free from the range of perception because it transcends the objects of thought and expressions which apprehend it. In this respect, the Array of the Path of the Magical Net says:
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles
The superior, indivisible truth of sameness Th. ough revealed everywhere by synonyms'
Is m truth beyond objects of speech and thought.
361
And in the Sequence of the Path:
And in order to loosen348 attachment to that d
It and inexpressible WIthm the two conventional truths.
' . esCnptIOn,
translations of the secret
the fourteen basic violations of the c uct on the. knowledge of d d (b b " ommltments whIch are to be
guar e srung- ya zdam-tshig rtsa-ltung bcu-bzhi) and to th d based on the knowledge of the nature of the . e con uct meats and the fiv . commItments of the five
tshig sha-lnga are to be practised (spyad-bya'i dam-
In_the terminology of the ancient translations th . Mahayoga are said to number twenty-eight 349 Th of
Further Discernment says: . e
Concerning the guarded by Mahayoga, There are three baSIC commitments
And twenty-five ancillary ones which are kept.
lracu ous Key of
the three basic are those of buddha-body speech the dam-tshig gsum) , As for the ancilla;y ones,
There are those to be practised Those not to be renounced ' And those to be adopted. ' There are those to be known
And those to be attained.
concerning meditation' Th . .
phaSlsmg the class of . . ere are two tradItIOns, one em-
emphaSiSing the class for(attamment (sgrub-sde), and the other classes of means t . antra rgyud-sde). The former includes five namely, the of the deities of pristine cognition, on the Four Centres f' the Body of,the Sugatas by Relying
bZhi-la brten-nas bde_gsOh the Body (Jam-dpal-gyi sku 'khor-lo Lo egssu1sgrub-pa)'th MeA "
tus Speech by R 1 .
