bzhi), the five
faculties
(dbang.
Jig-Me-Lingpa-The-Dzogchen-Innermost-Essence-Preliminary-Practice
pa), faith which is inspirational and de- sirous of accomplishing the same attainment as the object of such devotion ('dod.
pa'i.
dad.
pa) and faith which is grounded in full confidence in the unequalled qualities of the object of faith (yid.
ches.
kyi.
dad.
pa).
Here we pray " 0 protector, in following you I will practice" with the intention of emulating Guru Rinpoche and achieving inseparability with him, or simply to develop confidence and conviction in the path.
In the last line, keeping in mind that we and all sentient beings are sunk in the ocean of the three suffering!
i of birth, ageing and death, we request Guru Rinpoche, who is wise, compassionate and powerful, to "please come forth to grace me with your inspirational blessings of your body, speech and mind," transforming ours just as iron is transmuted into gold.
The concluding mantra of Padmasambhava for invoking his
? blessings has the following meaning: Guru, or Lama in Tibetan, the Spiritual Master, means one who is "weighty" or "heavy" with excellent qualities, and also means one to whom no one is supe- rior-one who is peerless; Padma is the first name of Guru Rinpoche; siddhi are the common and uncommon spiritual attain- ments we wish to obtain; and HU? means the supplication to be- stow these attainments. Thus the whole mantra means "0 Guru, bestow the spiritual attainments. "
Although this is the general interpretation of these seven lines and mantra, there are deeper meanings according to the level of one's intelligence and attainment. There is the hidden meaning: first according to the Way of Liberation (grol. lam) which reflects the tantric understanding of emptiness; second according to the Way of Skillful Means (thabs. lam) which reflects the tantric meth- ods of practice such as the meaning according to the general proc- ess of the Completing Stage (rdzogs. rim) using the inner psychic system; and third is the meaning according to the specific teaching of the Innermost Essence, the practice of Instantaneous Presence (thod. rgal) in the State. Beyond this these seven lines can be inter- preted according to the realization of the actual accomplishment of the practice. These levels are disclosed by one's Spiritual Master and accommodate the various natures, intellects and capacities of the disciples. It is appropriate to recite it according to one's level of realization.
One should recite it with a sweet devotional melody, imagin- ing that the actual divinities came from the Pure Land of the Cop- per-colored Mountain like snowflakes falling from the sky and merge with their visualized counterparts like the snowflakes fall- ing upon water. The visualization becomes very bright, emitting rays of light with tremendous intensity. Thereupon one should develop deep faith that they are in fact the embodiment of all the wisdom, compassion and power of the Fully Awakened Beings.
iii. The Seven Aspects ofDevotionfor the Accumulation ofMerit
In order to develop within oneself the extraordinary realizations of the spiritual stages and paths, it is necessary to dispel unfavorable conditions and to activate those which are favorable. This leads to theattainmentofthecommonanduncommonextraordinarypow- ers. With this aim in view, one should purify mental defilements within the context of aid from the assembly of Refuge objects of the
55
? 56
most excellent path of Tantra. Imagining the assembly in one's mind's eye, one should engage in methods for purification and ac- cumulation by the seven aspects of devotional practice.
With prostration, visualize one's own body multiplied to the number of atoms in the world together with all sentient beings, and without any pride one should perform full prostrations devot- ing body, speech and mind to the objects of Refuge.
The practice of offering involves actual offerings of those which are pleasingly and cleanly arranged, and visualized offering, which are all the wealth of the gods and materials which are pleasing to the senses throughout the world, filling the sky, together with nu- merous offering goddesses who hold aloft exquisite arrays of of- ferings. These should then be visualized as being offered to the assembly without any trace of attachment and avarice or hypoc- risy. One should consider that the recipients are pleased with the quality of this offering.
With confession, we should lay bare all wrongdoings that we and all other beings have accumulated throughout the three times in actions of our body, speech and mind. This should be done with a strong feeling of repentance and remorse, and an intention to turn away from committing such actions again. We should visual- ize that by confessing, rays of light shine forth from the objects of Refuge, touch the bodies of all sentient beings, and purify us from all defilements as if washed away by water. In accordance with a special form of confession, all defilements are purified by relaxing in the state of realization of luminescence or radiant clarity, free from conceptualization.
When we rejoice, we should rejoice in the accumulation of vir- tues on both the relative and ultimate level of oneself and others, without any trace of jealousy.
To all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and spiritual teachers dwell- ing in the ten directions, one should request that they set in motion the wheel of Dharma of the great, medium and lower vehicles, in accordance with the varying capacities and intellects of the disci- ples. We should wish that these teachings are given ceaselessly, without any interruption.
We should request that the Fully Awakened Beings, their spir- itual sons and all realized teachers do not leave this world for the state of Nirval)a, and that they remain within the world for the sake of beings until all sentient beings have attained Buddhahood and cyclic existence has been emptied.
? In the last of these seven practices, we should dedicate the merit of ourselves and others which has been accumulated throughout time, in order that all sentient beings may enjoy happiness and virtue, finally attaining the state of the All-knowing Primordial Pro- tector. This we should do without hoping for recompense or per- sonal gain from such action, in accordance with the way in which- Maftjushri and other Bodhisattvas distribute their merit.
After all defilements and unfavorable conditions have been purified, and spiritual merit and favorable conditions for achiev- ing Liberation have been accumulated, the rain of blessings of the Refuge Lama is required so that the corps of the achievement of Liberation and the state of Omniscience may grow. To attract the rainfilled cloud of bliss it is necessary to practice invocation with a strong faith through the "wind of prayer".
iv. Invocation
With the mind focused single-pointedly in prayer, one should pray to Guru Rinpoche, who is seen as inseparable from one's own Root Lama-the united body of Wisdom, Compassion and Power of all Buddhas-thinking: "I and others who are sunk deep in the ocean of cyclic existence have no guide except you; we depend upon you in this life and the next. Please always watch over us with your kindness. " This prayer should be performed with full and deep consideration of its meaning, so that tears come to our eyes and the hairs stand up on our body.
v. The Mantra Recitation
At the end of this prayer one should repeat the essence of the heart of the prayer known as "Siddhi". All the outer manifestations of sa~sara should be recognized as the emanation of the pure realm of Guru Rinpoche, the Glorious Copper-colored Mountain; all beings should be seen as J? akas and J? akinis; all sounds should be heard as the Siddhi mantra; and all reflections of mind should be recog- nized as being self-liberated. from the very beginning. The signifi- cance of the mantra is as follows:
0? AHHillyi: These are the seeds of the vajra body, speech and mind of all the Buddhas.
VAJRA: The body of Truth, the Dharmakaya, which in its ada- mantine nature is not able to be affected by the con-
ceptualizing of characteristic thoughts.
57
? 58
GURU: The perfect body of Complete Enjoyment, the SaJ! tbhogakaya, signifies that this visionary state is weighty with the heavy abundance of enlightened
qualities.
PADMA: The perfect body of Emanation, the Ninnat;takaya,
is in the nature of discriminating awareness arising in the Speech-Padma family.
By praying to Guru Rinpoche, who is the embodiment of these three perfect bodies, then,
SIDDHI: All the common and uncommon attainments, HU? : May be bestowed in my mind immediately.
2. Prayers to the Lamas of the Lineage
This prayer is a condensation of a prayer to all the Lamas of the lineage beginning with Kuntu Zangpo, passing through Vajrasattva, Garab Dorje, Srisinha and so forth to Guru Rinpoche and his disci- ples, and from them through Long-Chen Rab-jam-pa, Jig-me Ling- pa, Do-drup Chen, Gyal-wa'i Nyu-gu and so forth, all the way down to one's own Root Lama. More lengthy prayers to the lineage can be added depending on instructions given by one's own teacher.
Aspirational Prayers
With these aspirations we direct our mind towards the attainment of the spiritual stages, paths and results of the Dzog-chen practice. For those relating to this life, we should think, "May I develop re- nunciation, the wish to gain liberation from cyclic existence; may I be suitably connected with a Tantric Master; may his realization be transferred to my mind; may everything be perceived as arising as the three Vajras-namely the appearances as divine, sounds as mantra and the mind as Dhannakaya; and may I perfect the four mystical visions. "
Following this is a prayer which relates to the passage between death and the next life. Here we express the aspiration that if we do not achieve liberation in this life, "may the death-trance arise as Primordial Wisdom, and the vision of the Intermediate State be liberated as the SaJ! lbhogakaya; may I perfect the experiences of the Essence (ngo. bo) and its manifestation (rang. bzhin) by the path of Treg-cho (khregs. chod) and Tho-gal (thod. rgal), and thus in the Intermediate State attain liberation like a child climbing into his mother's lap. "
? If we do not achieve liberation then, with the support of the five practices for attaining Buddhahood without meditation (namely the practice of Chakras or diagrams, which leads to lib- eration through seeing; that of Nectar, which gives liberation through hearing; that of Mantra, which gives liberation through tasting; and that of Mudra, which gives liberation through touch- ing and that of Transference of consciousness, which leads to lib- eration through recollecting) we should wish, "May I then gain rebirth as a Nirmar:ta. kaya in a Pure realm and attain liberation thereby receiving Mahayana teachings. Thus may I perform serv- ice for others without any effort. " We should pray to achieve all the above aspirations by the power of the Ultimate Truth.
3. Receiving the Four Empowerments
Through praying in such a way the minds of the Refuge Objects have been invoked, and we should visualize that all the surround- ing retinue dissolve into Guru Rinpoche, and that his glory of Wis- dom and Power increases tremendously. Rays of light are then emitted from his three sacred places, and they enter oneself at the same three points so that the Four Tantric Empowerments are ob- tained, the four defilements are purified and the state of the four Perfect Bodies is actualized. At the end we should mix our own mind with the mind of Guru Rinpoche and relax in that state.
In conclusion, we should dissolve the visualization with a feel- ing of strong devotion, and from this dissolution comes a warm red ray of light from Guru Rinpoche's heart. It dissolves into our own heart and we become a red body of light which then dissolves into Guru Rinpoche's heart. We should be at ease in that state with- out reflection or conceptualization for as long as possible.
4. Dedication
Distribution of merit for the benefit of others should be done with kindness, compassion and the altruistic attitude of Awakening Mind, so that we wish all sentient beings may, by these good ac- tions, gain happiness and the ultimate attainment of Enlighten- ment. If one dedicates merit for the ultimate benefit of others the virtues will never decrease, they will only increase. It is an im- mensely powerful, skillful means for perfecting one's own accu- mulation of goodness. The exceptional means of dedicating merit is to do so in conjunction with the realization of their non-reality-
59
? 60
without the practice being defiled by attachment to any reality in the merit to be dedicated, in the objects to whom it is being dedi- cated and in the purpose for which it is dedicated. If one aspires to achieve such a purpose supported by any sacred object and the cause of merit-good actions-they will fulfill one's wishes. There- fore, from the depths of one's heart, one should make vast aspira- tions for the achievement of happiness, good fortune and birth in higher realms of existence, and finally for the attainment of the Fully Awakened state both by oneself and others.
? ? Part- Ill The Nine Yanas28
? A Guide to the Approaches to Enlightenment
Generally the wide variety of traditions and paths in Buddhism reflects the numerous dispositions and capacities of its followers. Withi. Jt the Nyingma tradition they are all synthesized into nine, of which the Dzog-chen of Atiyoga is the supreme, the others being considered as the tools or adjuncts to this. Just as there are disci- ples at varying stages of spiritual development, there are also vary- ing levels of spiritual paths, and these paths reflect the type of prac- tice which is emphasized at such levels.
Out of the nine vehicles, or Yanas, the first and the second, that of the Hearers, Shravakas, and that of the solitary Realizers, the Pratyekabuddhas, both belong to the Lesser Vehicle or Hinayana. Their training consists mainly of cultivating pure moral discipline. The third is the vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the A waken- ing Warrior. Here the practitioner mainly cultivates the Awaken- ing Mind, the altruistic thought to bring ultimate benefit to others. This way and the successive vehicles belong to the Greater Vehicle or Mahayana. These first three Yanas are known as Causal Vehi- cles, because the practice is directed towards those activities which act as a cause for the attainment of Enlightenment. They are also known respectively as the lower, middle and higher spiritual paths of beings on the ordinary level of capability. The last six vehicles, which ? include the Action or I<riya, Performance or Carya and the yoga Tantras, and the Mahii, Anu and Ati Yogas, are all part of the
Tantric Path. They mainly involve training in the purification of the appearances of existence (snang. srid). The first three are known as the external tantras, the last three as the internal ones. These are also known as the Resultant Vehicles because the practice prima- rily centers on the result of the path itself being taken as the prac- tice. This is the path for those of exceptional ability, who are en- dowed with excellent or superlative capacity.
In the Tantra known as Heruka Kalpo it states:
"By the Causal Vehicle it can be understood That the mind is the cause of Buddhahood.
? 64
By the Resultant Vehicle meditate
That the mind itself (sems. nyid) is Buddhahood. "
In the Causal vehicles the mind will accumulate the mental and physical merit, and by practicing the path of the Bodhisattva's conduct the result will be obtained. Thus it is considered that the mind is just the cause of the result and that the cause and result precede and follow one another. Thus they are known as the Causal V ehicles.
The six vehicles of the Tantras are viewed in such a way that the essence of the mind is the final attainment or the result, and that this has been within oneself from the very beginning, yet is covered by fleeting defilements and negativities. If these are un- covered and the recognition of one's own self-nature arises, that is the attainment of the ultimate result. So in this case there is no discrimination of "preceding and following" in the idea normally associated with cause and result. Therefore it is called the Result- ant Vehicle. These six higher vehicles are more extraordinary than the lower ones by virtue of the wide variety of profound and rapid skillful means associated with their practice.
1. The Three Causal Vehicles
i. Shravakayana or The Way of the Hearers
View: With regard to the two kinds of lack of self-identity or selflessness they understand the lack of self-iden- tity in personalities (gang. zag. gi. bdag. med; pudgala- nairatma), yet they uphold the ultimate reality of dimensionless atoms and the shortest, indivisible mo- mentsofconsciousnessasanexampleoftheself-iden-
tity of phenomena (chos. kyi. bdag; dharmatma).
Aim: The wish to attain peace and happiness for oneself.
Practice: The observance of any one of the eight (or seven) vows of individual liberation (so. sor. thar. pa; pratimok? ta). These are: i) Upavasatha-shila, the precepts kept on lunar observance days; ii) Upasaka-shila, male devo- tees' precepts; iii) Upasika-slu1a, female devotees' pre- cepts; iv) Shrama~era-slu1a, male novices' precepts; v) Shrama~erika-shila, female novices' precepts; vi) Shikshama~a-shila, training precepts for female pro- bationers; vii) Bhikl? hu-shila, fully ordained monks'
? precepts; viii) Bhi~hu-r:ti-shila, fully ordained nuns' precepts.
Meditation: Making the mind and body fit for practice by the meditation of tranquillity or calm abiding (zhi. gnas; shamatha), such as meditation on repulsiveness as an antidote to desire, concentrating on the exhalation and inhalation of breath to subdue discursive thoughts and the four close contemplations on form, feeling, consciousness and phenomena and so forth. They follow this with vivid insight meditation (lhag. mthong; vipashyana) on the Four Noble Truths with their 16 aspects such as impermanence and so forth. Wisdom is attained by meditating on the un- derstanding of suffering as an illness, rejecting the cause of suffering as the cause of an illness, attaining the cessation of suffering like the cure of an illness, and depending on the spiritual path as one depends
on medicine which is the antidote to an illness.
Result: There are four stages of the result: that of a stream- enterer, a once-returner, a never-returner and an Arhat (lit. : One who has "subdued the enemy" of conflict- ing emotions). Each of these stages has two phases, namely the initial or entrance stage, and the result.
Thus there are eight stages. of result in all.
zz. Pratyeknbuddhayana or the Way ofthe Solitary Realizers, the Self-Enlightened or Silent Buddhas.
View: The Pratyekabuddha understands the absence of a self in personalities as well as that related to mental events. They understand the lack of self-identity in phenomenal objects but hold the view that the small-
est moment of consciousness is ultimately real.
Aim: To achieve one's own enlightenment by one's own efforts.
Practice: To observe arty one of the vows of individual libera- tion.
Meditation: To meditate on tranquil abiding or shamatha, and upon the Four Noble Truths with their 16 aspects as followed in the Shravaka-yana. In addition they meditate on the 12 links in the chain of interdependent origination
65
? 66
(rten. 'byung; pratityasamutpada) in successive and reverse orders.
Result: After accumulating virtue for one hundred aeons, the rhinoceros-like Pratyekabuddha will complete "on one seat" the attainments from the "heat" stage of the Path of Endeavor (sbyor. lam; prayogamarga) un- til Arhathood, on the stage of no more learning
(mi. slob. lam; ashai~hamarga). iii. Bodhisattvayana
View: The Bodhisattva reaches the conclusion that all phe- nomena are without any self identity.
Aim: The urge to attain the fully awakened state of being for the benefit of others.
Practice: They practice the six transcending perfections of giv- ing, ethical discipline, patience, diligence, meditative stability, and discriminating intelligence or wisdom, as well as developing the four qualities for attracting disciples (bsdu. dngos. bzhi); giving (byin. pa), gentle speech (snyan. smra), practice according to the mean- ing of the Dharma (don. mthun) and encouraging oth-
ers to act according to the meaning (don. spyod)
Meditation: In the four paths of training, meditation on the mean- ing of the dual lack of self-identity and the 37 wings of enlightenment. These 37 aspects of the path are as follows: the four foundations of mindfulness (dran. pa. nye. bar. bzhag. pa. bzhi), the four perfect abandonments (yang. dag. spangha. bzhi), the four miraculous powers (rdzu. 'phrul. gyi. rkang. pa.
bzhi), the five faculties (dbang. po. lnga), the five forces (stobs. lnga), the seven branches of enlightenment (byang. chub. kyi. yan. lag. bdun) and the eight-fold Noble Path ('phags. lam.
yan. lag. brgyad).
Result: After three measureless aeons the Bodhisattva will attain for the sake of himself the fully awakened state, the Dharmakaya, and for the benefit of others until cyclic existence is ended, he shall appear and act for the sake of sentient beings by means of the two per- fect bodies of form, that of the Sal! lbhogakaya and
the Nirmiil)kiiya.
? 2. The Six Resultant Vehicles
The practice of the Tantric path is extraordinary in comparison to the general approach of the Siitra by virtue of a number of distin- guishing features. The text known as the Lamp of the Three Tech- niques (tshul. gsum. gron. me) states:
The aim is the same but there is no delusion; There are many skillful means and no difficulties; It is for people of sharp intellect;
Hence the Tantrayana is especially noble.
The goal is the same as the general practice of siitra, being only the attainment of a fully awakened state of being, yet in the way of attainment, according to tantra, all appearances of cyclic existence are perceived as naturally pure and are to be used as means of supporting the practitioner on the path. Thus, since all phenom- ena are perceived as primordially pure because the result of the path is taken as the practice, there are no dualistic defilements as there are in the ordinary causal vehicles, in which the acceptance of certain practices and the avoidance of others is a fundamental part of the path. Tantra utilizes many skillful means which are employed in accordance with the specific psychological capacity of the practitioner, and so it avoids the difficulties associated with the siitra practices such as giving one's body to others. The tantric path is for people of sharp intelligence and a predisposition to- wards its practice.
In order to engage in Vajrayana it is essential to have direct contact with a Tantric Master, and to recognize him as the com- plete master (khyab. bdag) of all spheres of tantric practice. By re- ceiving the full empowerment, initiation and teachings from him, it becomes possible for the mind to be liberated within this life- time. The entrance to Tantric practice is the empowerment (dbang. ; abhi~hekha) which involves, according to the specific level of the tantric practice, various rituals and visualizations. It is inappropri- ate to attempt the practice of Tantra without receiving such initia- tion. This carries with it a number of commitments, the first being that one must observe the precepts associated with the practice (dam. tshig; samaya) without transgressing them. One must also engage in the actual practice of the tantric maJ)c;lala, which involves two stages, the visualization process (bskyed. rim; utpattikrama) and the process of completion (rdzogs. rim; sampannakrama), in-
67
? 68
volving the recitation of mystical formulae, the practice of a spe- cific method for accomplishment (sgrub. thabs; sadhana) and the complete familiarization with this in meditation. In this way one should complete the various stages and the spiritual paths, thereby attaining the ultimate result. This is the general way of practicing Tantra.
i. The Three External? Tantras ?
A Nyingma text known as the Self-arising Tantra (rang. shar) states: "There are three external tantras: Kriya, Carya and Yoga. "
(a) Kriyi or ACtion Tantra (bya. rgyud)
View: In reality all things are perceived as the same, in that appearance and emptiness are an inseparable truth (snang. stong. bden. pa. dbyer. med). However, on the relative level of practice, the divinity or meditational deity is related to in the same way by the practitioner
as a servant relates to his master or lord.
Practice: Mainly involves the performance of ritual actions of the body and speech such as washing and cleaning oneself and one's abode. It also involves a lot of de-
tails concerning proper and improper foods.
Meditation: In the ordinary practice of Kriya Tantra one does not visualize oneself as divine or as the divinity, but in a special form of the practice the devotee imagines him- self as a divinity by way of the six "divinities", which include meditation on the divine state of thusness or emptiness (de. nyid. stong. pa'i. lha). Generally the practitioner visualizes before himself the deity, and invites it to be present as a servant would a lord by making offerings and singing praises. He or she then concentrates on visualizing the deity's body, speech and mind, the celestial palaces, the spreading and contracting of rays of light from the deity and thereby receives the blessings of the deity through supplica-
tion, recitation and meditative stability.
Result: The final result after seven or 16lives is the attain- ment of the "Vajra-Holder of the Three Knowledges"
(rigs. gsum. rdo. rje. 'dzin. pa).
? (b) Caryi Tantra or Upa Yoga Tantra (spyod. rgyud)
The view in this case is the same as in the following tantra, the Yoga Tantra, whereas the practice is very similar to that of the Kriya Tantra.
Meditation:
The deity is visualized in front of oneself, and the prac- titioner also visualizes himself or herself as divine, so that the relationship is similar to that of a brother, sis- ter or a friend. The method of practice then involves recitation of mantra and the stabilization of one's con- centration. In this case there are two kinds of medita- tion, the yoga with signs and the yoga withoJJt. That with signs involves the stabilization of mind by con- centrating one-pointedly on the deity, the letters of the mantra (in the heart), the gestures or mudras and the form perceived in visualization. The signless yoga
avoids the concentration on such characteristics and involves leaving the mind to rem? ain in the state of ultimate? truth.
The attainment of the state of Vajradhara (rdo. rje. 'dzin. pa) within seven lives.
Result:
(c) Yoga Tantra (mal. 'byor. rgyud)
View:
Practice:
Meditation:
In ultimate reality all things are naturally free from the signs of mental projections (spros. mtshan. dang. bral. ba), thereby being radiant clarity and emp- tiness (od. gsal. stong. pa. nyid). On the relative level all appearances are regarded as mal)c;lalas of the divini- ties and the inspirational blessing of truth itself (chos. nyid. kyi. byin. rlabs)
The practitioner looks upon external activities such as cleaning and eating specific foods as merely the support for the practice and mainly concentrates on practicing for the benefit of others by dwelling in the yoga of the divinity (lha'i. mal. 'byor).
Again there are two aspects, the yoga with and with- out signs. The yoga with signs consists of visualizing oneself in the form of the deity by means of the five perfect qualities of enlightenment (mngon. byang). These are as follows: the perfection of the lunar seat represents the pure realm; the perfection of the seed
69
? 70
syllables represents the speech of the deity; the per- fection of the symbolic instruments held by the dei- ties represents the mind of the deity; the perfection of complete form of the deity represents the mar:tc;lala of the deity and the perfection of wisdom-deity or jflanasattva, being visualized within the heart of the deity, represents the essence or wisdom of the deity. The practice also involves the four miraculous mani- festations. These are known as follows: i) the miracle of the meditative concentration which is the display about the deity's retinue; ii) the miracle of initiation which is the initiation itself; iii} the miracle of the bless- ing is the sealing of the practice by means of a mudra; and iv) the miracle of offering is the practice involv- ing offering, praising, and reciting mantras. One then summons the deity and absorbs him or her into one- self, binding the deity by means of the four mudras,
and after performing the offering, praises, and mantra recitations in the actual practice, the deity is released and one bids the deity farewell while requesting him or her to dwell in the enlightened state. The yoga without signs involves meditating directly on the state of just that itself or tathata (de. kho. na. nyid), the non- dual nature of the ultimate truth; the blessing of which, here, is that non-duality is inseparable from the appearance of the divinities which are in them- selves manifestations of supreme wisdom.
Result: Within three lifetimes one shall attain Buddhahood in the realm of the Beautiful Array (stug. po. bkod. pa).
ii. The three Internal Tantras
In the Self-arising Tantra it is stated, "Three are considered inner tantras: Maha, Anu and Ati. " In brief, the qualities that make the inner tantras more extraordinary than the outer ones are as fol- lows:
First of all, in the initiation the external tantras are mainly centered on the initiation of the Vase (bum. dbang} whereas the in- ner tantras have in addition three other initiations, the Secret (gsang. dbang), the Wisdom (shes. rab. ye. shes. kyi. dbang) and the Verbal initiations (tshig. dbang). As regards the view, the outer tantras maintain the distinction between the two truths, whereas
? the inner ones uphold their inseparable identity. With meditation, in the inner tantras the view is upheld that all things are equal in purity, thus avoiding any duality of rejection or acceptance. With- out renouncing any of the three poisons of desire, aggression and ignorance, they make use of them as the path so that desire is taken as the union of bliss and emptiness, hatred as the union of clarity and emptiness, and ignorance as the union of awareness and emp- tiness. They practice the meditation of the two stages of tantra with- out any partiality towards one over the other. The visualization in the inner tantras involves oneself as the deity in union with the consort (yab. yum) which indicates the complete union of skillful means and wisdom. The external tantras cannot be practiced in
such a way.
Furthermore, in the practice of the inner tantras the five meats
ofcow,dog,elephant,horseandman,togetherwiththe6venectars of excrement, brains, semen, blood and urine are used without any duality such as their acceptance or rejection. Such object involved in the practice cannot be found in the practice of the outer tantras. It is by practicing the inner tantras that the resultant state of en- lightenment can be achieved in this very life.
(a) Mahi Yoga
These are also known as the Father Tantras (pha. rgyud) and center primarily on elabor. ate visualizations and various other activities of somewhat secondary importance. Emphasis in meditation is placed on realizing the illusory body (rgyu. lus; miyideha) as be- ing the ultimate wisdom in terms of the skillful means of appear- ance, the completion process of the inner energy (rlung. gi. rdzogs. rim)andtheactionofextraordinarybehavior(mngon. spyod. kyi. las) for subduing enemies of the Dharma. This practice is primarily for an individual who has a greater predominance of anger or aggres- sion and discriminating thoughts.
View: The view of the ultimate truth is that all things are the essence of mind and that appearance and empti- ness are inseparable in the realm of the Dharmakiya. The relative truth is the power of this to manifest it- self so that all thoughts, speech and action are the self- appearance of the ma! )9ala of the Vajra Body, Speech
and Mind.
Practice: The practice of the Father Tantras involves utilizing by skillful means, and without attachment to any-
71
? 72
thing, the objects throughout cyclic existence, enjoy- ing them and utilizing them in the practice without rejecting or accepting anything, including such ob- jects as the five meats and nectars.
Meditation: Meditation is focused on the non-dualistic supreme wisdom of bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality by pu- rifying all appearances as divinities and their envi- ronments and to visualize the psycho-physical con- stituents (phung. po. lnga; skandhas), the sensory spheres (khams; dhatu) and the sensory entrances
(skye. mched; ayatana) as divine.
Result: The achievement of the fully Awakened state of be- ing in this very lifetime.
(b) Anu Yoga Tantra
The Anu Yoga Tantra is also known as the Mother Tantra (ma. rgyud) and in tantras of this classification, rather than the emphasis being placed on the skillful means involved in the development process, the practitioner meditates primarily on the completion process (rdzogs. rim). The practice thus emphasizes the cultivation of the discriminating wisdom which cognizes emptiness. This is done by means of the yoga of radiant clarity, and the method of integrating skillful means is to utilize the bliss attained through sexual prac- tice. From the four actions which may be undertaken in tantric prac- tice, namely that of pacification, expansion, power and wrathful- ness, here the emphasis is mainly on that of power. This tantra is directed more to an individual who has a predominance of desire and who likes the mind to be stabilized (sems. gnas. pa. la. dga'. ba) and who also has the ability to engage in the physical practices.
View: The practitioner perceives everything arising as the three maJ::t~alas. The maJ::t~ala of the nature of every- thing is spontaneously manifest and is seen as Samantabhadra, the masculine counterpart in the practice. That this is empty of attachment to extreme views is perceived as the primordial maJ::t~ala which has existed from the very beginning and is manifest as Samantabhadri, the female counterpart of the prac- tice. That both of them in nature abide in the essence of union without separation or joining is perceived as the maJ::t~ala of Bodhicitta. The outcome of this
? total integration is great bliss, and is conceived as the son of the mystical union.
Practice: The practice mainly centers on understanding the es- sence of oneness, or a holistic view.
Meditation: In meditation one cultivates the awareness that the world and all beings have been enlightened in the mai;tt;falas of deities from the very beginning. There is less emphasis on visualization and more on the per- fection of bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality by means of the yogas of the psychic veins, semen and
psychic energy (rtsa. thig. rlung. gi. rnal. 'byor).
There are two main aspects to meditation in Anu Yoga, the paths of liberation and skillful means. In the path of liberation one meditates on the ultimate significance of reality by cultivating the primordial awareness which is not disturbed by conceptualiz- ing thoughts (rnam. par. mi. rtog. pa'i. ye. shes). In ac- cordance with the "letter" one meditates by reciting the mantras for visualization and visualizing the world and the beings as mai;tt;falas of divinities, aris- ing within one's field of perception spontaneously like fish leaping out of the river. In the path of skillful means the meditation involves developing the co- emergent primordial awareness (lhan. skyes. kyi. ye. shes) by means of either using the four or six psy- chic centers ('khor.
The concluding mantra of Padmasambhava for invoking his
? blessings has the following meaning: Guru, or Lama in Tibetan, the Spiritual Master, means one who is "weighty" or "heavy" with excellent qualities, and also means one to whom no one is supe- rior-one who is peerless; Padma is the first name of Guru Rinpoche; siddhi are the common and uncommon spiritual attain- ments we wish to obtain; and HU? means the supplication to be- stow these attainments. Thus the whole mantra means "0 Guru, bestow the spiritual attainments. "
Although this is the general interpretation of these seven lines and mantra, there are deeper meanings according to the level of one's intelligence and attainment. There is the hidden meaning: first according to the Way of Liberation (grol. lam) which reflects the tantric understanding of emptiness; second according to the Way of Skillful Means (thabs. lam) which reflects the tantric meth- ods of practice such as the meaning according to the general proc- ess of the Completing Stage (rdzogs. rim) using the inner psychic system; and third is the meaning according to the specific teaching of the Innermost Essence, the practice of Instantaneous Presence (thod. rgal) in the State. Beyond this these seven lines can be inter- preted according to the realization of the actual accomplishment of the practice. These levels are disclosed by one's Spiritual Master and accommodate the various natures, intellects and capacities of the disciples. It is appropriate to recite it according to one's level of realization.
One should recite it with a sweet devotional melody, imagin- ing that the actual divinities came from the Pure Land of the Cop- per-colored Mountain like snowflakes falling from the sky and merge with their visualized counterparts like the snowflakes fall- ing upon water. The visualization becomes very bright, emitting rays of light with tremendous intensity. Thereupon one should develop deep faith that they are in fact the embodiment of all the wisdom, compassion and power of the Fully Awakened Beings.
iii. The Seven Aspects ofDevotionfor the Accumulation ofMerit
In order to develop within oneself the extraordinary realizations of the spiritual stages and paths, it is necessary to dispel unfavorable conditions and to activate those which are favorable. This leads to theattainmentofthecommonanduncommonextraordinarypow- ers. With this aim in view, one should purify mental defilements within the context of aid from the assembly of Refuge objects of the
55
? 56
most excellent path of Tantra. Imagining the assembly in one's mind's eye, one should engage in methods for purification and ac- cumulation by the seven aspects of devotional practice.
With prostration, visualize one's own body multiplied to the number of atoms in the world together with all sentient beings, and without any pride one should perform full prostrations devot- ing body, speech and mind to the objects of Refuge.
The practice of offering involves actual offerings of those which are pleasingly and cleanly arranged, and visualized offering, which are all the wealth of the gods and materials which are pleasing to the senses throughout the world, filling the sky, together with nu- merous offering goddesses who hold aloft exquisite arrays of of- ferings. These should then be visualized as being offered to the assembly without any trace of attachment and avarice or hypoc- risy. One should consider that the recipients are pleased with the quality of this offering.
With confession, we should lay bare all wrongdoings that we and all other beings have accumulated throughout the three times in actions of our body, speech and mind. This should be done with a strong feeling of repentance and remorse, and an intention to turn away from committing such actions again. We should visual- ize that by confessing, rays of light shine forth from the objects of Refuge, touch the bodies of all sentient beings, and purify us from all defilements as if washed away by water. In accordance with a special form of confession, all defilements are purified by relaxing in the state of realization of luminescence or radiant clarity, free from conceptualization.
When we rejoice, we should rejoice in the accumulation of vir- tues on both the relative and ultimate level of oneself and others, without any trace of jealousy.
To all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and spiritual teachers dwell- ing in the ten directions, one should request that they set in motion the wheel of Dharma of the great, medium and lower vehicles, in accordance with the varying capacities and intellects of the disci- ples. We should wish that these teachings are given ceaselessly, without any interruption.
We should request that the Fully Awakened Beings, their spir- itual sons and all realized teachers do not leave this world for the state of Nirval)a, and that they remain within the world for the sake of beings until all sentient beings have attained Buddhahood and cyclic existence has been emptied.
? In the last of these seven practices, we should dedicate the merit of ourselves and others which has been accumulated throughout time, in order that all sentient beings may enjoy happiness and virtue, finally attaining the state of the All-knowing Primordial Pro- tector. This we should do without hoping for recompense or per- sonal gain from such action, in accordance with the way in which- Maftjushri and other Bodhisattvas distribute their merit.
After all defilements and unfavorable conditions have been purified, and spiritual merit and favorable conditions for achiev- ing Liberation have been accumulated, the rain of blessings of the Refuge Lama is required so that the corps of the achievement of Liberation and the state of Omniscience may grow. To attract the rainfilled cloud of bliss it is necessary to practice invocation with a strong faith through the "wind of prayer".
iv. Invocation
With the mind focused single-pointedly in prayer, one should pray to Guru Rinpoche, who is seen as inseparable from one's own Root Lama-the united body of Wisdom, Compassion and Power of all Buddhas-thinking: "I and others who are sunk deep in the ocean of cyclic existence have no guide except you; we depend upon you in this life and the next. Please always watch over us with your kindness. " This prayer should be performed with full and deep consideration of its meaning, so that tears come to our eyes and the hairs stand up on our body.
v. The Mantra Recitation
At the end of this prayer one should repeat the essence of the heart of the prayer known as "Siddhi". All the outer manifestations of sa~sara should be recognized as the emanation of the pure realm of Guru Rinpoche, the Glorious Copper-colored Mountain; all beings should be seen as J? akas and J? akinis; all sounds should be heard as the Siddhi mantra; and all reflections of mind should be recog- nized as being self-liberated. from the very beginning. The signifi- cance of the mantra is as follows:
0? AHHillyi: These are the seeds of the vajra body, speech and mind of all the Buddhas.
VAJRA: The body of Truth, the Dharmakaya, which in its ada- mantine nature is not able to be affected by the con-
ceptualizing of characteristic thoughts.
57
? 58
GURU: The perfect body of Complete Enjoyment, the SaJ! tbhogakaya, signifies that this visionary state is weighty with the heavy abundance of enlightened
qualities.
PADMA: The perfect body of Emanation, the Ninnat;takaya,
is in the nature of discriminating awareness arising in the Speech-Padma family.
By praying to Guru Rinpoche, who is the embodiment of these three perfect bodies, then,
SIDDHI: All the common and uncommon attainments, HU? : May be bestowed in my mind immediately.
2. Prayers to the Lamas of the Lineage
This prayer is a condensation of a prayer to all the Lamas of the lineage beginning with Kuntu Zangpo, passing through Vajrasattva, Garab Dorje, Srisinha and so forth to Guru Rinpoche and his disci- ples, and from them through Long-Chen Rab-jam-pa, Jig-me Ling- pa, Do-drup Chen, Gyal-wa'i Nyu-gu and so forth, all the way down to one's own Root Lama. More lengthy prayers to the lineage can be added depending on instructions given by one's own teacher.
Aspirational Prayers
With these aspirations we direct our mind towards the attainment of the spiritual stages, paths and results of the Dzog-chen practice. For those relating to this life, we should think, "May I develop re- nunciation, the wish to gain liberation from cyclic existence; may I be suitably connected with a Tantric Master; may his realization be transferred to my mind; may everything be perceived as arising as the three Vajras-namely the appearances as divine, sounds as mantra and the mind as Dhannakaya; and may I perfect the four mystical visions. "
Following this is a prayer which relates to the passage between death and the next life. Here we express the aspiration that if we do not achieve liberation in this life, "may the death-trance arise as Primordial Wisdom, and the vision of the Intermediate State be liberated as the SaJ! lbhogakaya; may I perfect the experiences of the Essence (ngo. bo) and its manifestation (rang. bzhin) by the path of Treg-cho (khregs. chod) and Tho-gal (thod. rgal), and thus in the Intermediate State attain liberation like a child climbing into his mother's lap. "
? If we do not achieve liberation then, with the support of the five practices for attaining Buddhahood without meditation (namely the practice of Chakras or diagrams, which leads to lib- eration through seeing; that of Nectar, which gives liberation through hearing; that of Mantra, which gives liberation through tasting; and that of Mudra, which gives liberation through touch- ing and that of Transference of consciousness, which leads to lib- eration through recollecting) we should wish, "May I then gain rebirth as a Nirmar:ta. kaya in a Pure realm and attain liberation thereby receiving Mahayana teachings. Thus may I perform serv- ice for others without any effort. " We should pray to achieve all the above aspirations by the power of the Ultimate Truth.
3. Receiving the Four Empowerments
Through praying in such a way the minds of the Refuge Objects have been invoked, and we should visualize that all the surround- ing retinue dissolve into Guru Rinpoche, and that his glory of Wis- dom and Power increases tremendously. Rays of light are then emitted from his three sacred places, and they enter oneself at the same three points so that the Four Tantric Empowerments are ob- tained, the four defilements are purified and the state of the four Perfect Bodies is actualized. At the end we should mix our own mind with the mind of Guru Rinpoche and relax in that state.
In conclusion, we should dissolve the visualization with a feel- ing of strong devotion, and from this dissolution comes a warm red ray of light from Guru Rinpoche's heart. It dissolves into our own heart and we become a red body of light which then dissolves into Guru Rinpoche's heart. We should be at ease in that state with- out reflection or conceptualization for as long as possible.
4. Dedication
Distribution of merit for the benefit of others should be done with kindness, compassion and the altruistic attitude of Awakening Mind, so that we wish all sentient beings may, by these good ac- tions, gain happiness and the ultimate attainment of Enlighten- ment. If one dedicates merit for the ultimate benefit of others the virtues will never decrease, they will only increase. It is an im- mensely powerful, skillful means for perfecting one's own accu- mulation of goodness. The exceptional means of dedicating merit is to do so in conjunction with the realization of their non-reality-
59
? 60
without the practice being defiled by attachment to any reality in the merit to be dedicated, in the objects to whom it is being dedi- cated and in the purpose for which it is dedicated. If one aspires to achieve such a purpose supported by any sacred object and the cause of merit-good actions-they will fulfill one's wishes. There- fore, from the depths of one's heart, one should make vast aspira- tions for the achievement of happiness, good fortune and birth in higher realms of existence, and finally for the attainment of the Fully Awakened state both by oneself and others.
? ? Part- Ill The Nine Yanas28
? A Guide to the Approaches to Enlightenment
Generally the wide variety of traditions and paths in Buddhism reflects the numerous dispositions and capacities of its followers. Withi. Jt the Nyingma tradition they are all synthesized into nine, of which the Dzog-chen of Atiyoga is the supreme, the others being considered as the tools or adjuncts to this. Just as there are disci- ples at varying stages of spiritual development, there are also vary- ing levels of spiritual paths, and these paths reflect the type of prac- tice which is emphasized at such levels.
Out of the nine vehicles, or Yanas, the first and the second, that of the Hearers, Shravakas, and that of the solitary Realizers, the Pratyekabuddhas, both belong to the Lesser Vehicle or Hinayana. Their training consists mainly of cultivating pure moral discipline. The third is the vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the A waken- ing Warrior. Here the practitioner mainly cultivates the Awaken- ing Mind, the altruistic thought to bring ultimate benefit to others. This way and the successive vehicles belong to the Greater Vehicle or Mahayana. These first three Yanas are known as Causal Vehi- cles, because the practice is directed towards those activities which act as a cause for the attainment of Enlightenment. They are also known respectively as the lower, middle and higher spiritual paths of beings on the ordinary level of capability. The last six vehicles, which ? include the Action or I<riya, Performance or Carya and the yoga Tantras, and the Mahii, Anu and Ati Yogas, are all part of the
Tantric Path. They mainly involve training in the purification of the appearances of existence (snang. srid). The first three are known as the external tantras, the last three as the internal ones. These are also known as the Resultant Vehicles because the practice prima- rily centers on the result of the path itself being taken as the prac- tice. This is the path for those of exceptional ability, who are en- dowed with excellent or superlative capacity.
In the Tantra known as Heruka Kalpo it states:
"By the Causal Vehicle it can be understood That the mind is the cause of Buddhahood.
? 64
By the Resultant Vehicle meditate
That the mind itself (sems. nyid) is Buddhahood. "
In the Causal vehicles the mind will accumulate the mental and physical merit, and by practicing the path of the Bodhisattva's conduct the result will be obtained. Thus it is considered that the mind is just the cause of the result and that the cause and result precede and follow one another. Thus they are known as the Causal V ehicles.
The six vehicles of the Tantras are viewed in such a way that the essence of the mind is the final attainment or the result, and that this has been within oneself from the very beginning, yet is covered by fleeting defilements and negativities. If these are un- covered and the recognition of one's own self-nature arises, that is the attainment of the ultimate result. So in this case there is no discrimination of "preceding and following" in the idea normally associated with cause and result. Therefore it is called the Result- ant Vehicle. These six higher vehicles are more extraordinary than the lower ones by virtue of the wide variety of profound and rapid skillful means associated with their practice.
1. The Three Causal Vehicles
i. Shravakayana or The Way of the Hearers
View: With regard to the two kinds of lack of self-identity or selflessness they understand the lack of self-iden- tity in personalities (gang. zag. gi. bdag. med; pudgala- nairatma), yet they uphold the ultimate reality of dimensionless atoms and the shortest, indivisible mo- mentsofconsciousnessasanexampleoftheself-iden-
tity of phenomena (chos. kyi. bdag; dharmatma).
Aim: The wish to attain peace and happiness for oneself.
Practice: The observance of any one of the eight (or seven) vows of individual liberation (so. sor. thar. pa; pratimok? ta). These are: i) Upavasatha-shila, the precepts kept on lunar observance days; ii) Upasaka-shila, male devo- tees' precepts; iii) Upasika-slu1a, female devotees' pre- cepts; iv) Shrama~era-slu1a, male novices' precepts; v) Shrama~erika-shila, female novices' precepts; vi) Shikshama~a-shila, training precepts for female pro- bationers; vii) Bhikl? hu-shila, fully ordained monks'
? precepts; viii) Bhi~hu-r:ti-shila, fully ordained nuns' precepts.
Meditation: Making the mind and body fit for practice by the meditation of tranquillity or calm abiding (zhi. gnas; shamatha), such as meditation on repulsiveness as an antidote to desire, concentrating on the exhalation and inhalation of breath to subdue discursive thoughts and the four close contemplations on form, feeling, consciousness and phenomena and so forth. They follow this with vivid insight meditation (lhag. mthong; vipashyana) on the Four Noble Truths with their 16 aspects such as impermanence and so forth. Wisdom is attained by meditating on the un- derstanding of suffering as an illness, rejecting the cause of suffering as the cause of an illness, attaining the cessation of suffering like the cure of an illness, and depending on the spiritual path as one depends
on medicine which is the antidote to an illness.
Result: There are four stages of the result: that of a stream- enterer, a once-returner, a never-returner and an Arhat (lit. : One who has "subdued the enemy" of conflict- ing emotions). Each of these stages has two phases, namely the initial or entrance stage, and the result.
Thus there are eight stages. of result in all.
zz. Pratyeknbuddhayana or the Way ofthe Solitary Realizers, the Self-Enlightened or Silent Buddhas.
View: The Pratyekabuddha understands the absence of a self in personalities as well as that related to mental events. They understand the lack of self-identity in phenomenal objects but hold the view that the small-
est moment of consciousness is ultimately real.
Aim: To achieve one's own enlightenment by one's own efforts.
Practice: To observe arty one of the vows of individual libera- tion.
Meditation: To meditate on tranquil abiding or shamatha, and upon the Four Noble Truths with their 16 aspects as followed in the Shravaka-yana. In addition they meditate on the 12 links in the chain of interdependent origination
65
? 66
(rten. 'byung; pratityasamutpada) in successive and reverse orders.
Result: After accumulating virtue for one hundred aeons, the rhinoceros-like Pratyekabuddha will complete "on one seat" the attainments from the "heat" stage of the Path of Endeavor (sbyor. lam; prayogamarga) un- til Arhathood, on the stage of no more learning
(mi. slob. lam; ashai~hamarga). iii. Bodhisattvayana
View: The Bodhisattva reaches the conclusion that all phe- nomena are without any self identity.
Aim: The urge to attain the fully awakened state of being for the benefit of others.
Practice: They practice the six transcending perfections of giv- ing, ethical discipline, patience, diligence, meditative stability, and discriminating intelligence or wisdom, as well as developing the four qualities for attracting disciples (bsdu. dngos. bzhi); giving (byin. pa), gentle speech (snyan. smra), practice according to the mean- ing of the Dharma (don. mthun) and encouraging oth-
ers to act according to the meaning (don. spyod)
Meditation: In the four paths of training, meditation on the mean- ing of the dual lack of self-identity and the 37 wings of enlightenment. These 37 aspects of the path are as follows: the four foundations of mindfulness (dran. pa. nye. bar. bzhag. pa. bzhi), the four perfect abandonments (yang. dag. spangha. bzhi), the four miraculous powers (rdzu. 'phrul. gyi. rkang. pa.
bzhi), the five faculties (dbang. po. lnga), the five forces (stobs. lnga), the seven branches of enlightenment (byang. chub. kyi. yan. lag. bdun) and the eight-fold Noble Path ('phags. lam.
yan. lag. brgyad).
Result: After three measureless aeons the Bodhisattva will attain for the sake of himself the fully awakened state, the Dharmakaya, and for the benefit of others until cyclic existence is ended, he shall appear and act for the sake of sentient beings by means of the two per- fect bodies of form, that of the Sal! lbhogakaya and
the Nirmiil)kiiya.
? 2. The Six Resultant Vehicles
The practice of the Tantric path is extraordinary in comparison to the general approach of the Siitra by virtue of a number of distin- guishing features. The text known as the Lamp of the Three Tech- niques (tshul. gsum. gron. me) states:
The aim is the same but there is no delusion; There are many skillful means and no difficulties; It is for people of sharp intellect;
Hence the Tantrayana is especially noble.
The goal is the same as the general practice of siitra, being only the attainment of a fully awakened state of being, yet in the way of attainment, according to tantra, all appearances of cyclic existence are perceived as naturally pure and are to be used as means of supporting the practitioner on the path. Thus, since all phenom- ena are perceived as primordially pure because the result of the path is taken as the practice, there are no dualistic defilements as there are in the ordinary causal vehicles, in which the acceptance of certain practices and the avoidance of others is a fundamental part of the path. Tantra utilizes many skillful means which are employed in accordance with the specific psychological capacity of the practitioner, and so it avoids the difficulties associated with the siitra practices such as giving one's body to others. The tantric path is for people of sharp intelligence and a predisposition to- wards its practice.
In order to engage in Vajrayana it is essential to have direct contact with a Tantric Master, and to recognize him as the com- plete master (khyab. bdag) of all spheres of tantric practice. By re- ceiving the full empowerment, initiation and teachings from him, it becomes possible for the mind to be liberated within this life- time. The entrance to Tantric practice is the empowerment (dbang. ; abhi~hekha) which involves, according to the specific level of the tantric practice, various rituals and visualizations. It is inappropri- ate to attempt the practice of Tantra without receiving such initia- tion. This carries with it a number of commitments, the first being that one must observe the precepts associated with the practice (dam. tshig; samaya) without transgressing them. One must also engage in the actual practice of the tantric maJ)c;lala, which involves two stages, the visualization process (bskyed. rim; utpattikrama) and the process of completion (rdzogs. rim; sampannakrama), in-
67
? 68
volving the recitation of mystical formulae, the practice of a spe- cific method for accomplishment (sgrub. thabs; sadhana) and the complete familiarization with this in meditation. In this way one should complete the various stages and the spiritual paths, thereby attaining the ultimate result. This is the general way of practicing Tantra.
i. The Three External? Tantras ?
A Nyingma text known as the Self-arising Tantra (rang. shar) states: "There are three external tantras: Kriya, Carya and Yoga. "
(a) Kriyi or ACtion Tantra (bya. rgyud)
View: In reality all things are perceived as the same, in that appearance and emptiness are an inseparable truth (snang. stong. bden. pa. dbyer. med). However, on the relative level of practice, the divinity or meditational deity is related to in the same way by the practitioner
as a servant relates to his master or lord.
Practice: Mainly involves the performance of ritual actions of the body and speech such as washing and cleaning oneself and one's abode. It also involves a lot of de-
tails concerning proper and improper foods.
Meditation: In the ordinary practice of Kriya Tantra one does not visualize oneself as divine or as the divinity, but in a special form of the practice the devotee imagines him- self as a divinity by way of the six "divinities", which include meditation on the divine state of thusness or emptiness (de. nyid. stong. pa'i. lha). Generally the practitioner visualizes before himself the deity, and invites it to be present as a servant would a lord by making offerings and singing praises. He or she then concentrates on visualizing the deity's body, speech and mind, the celestial palaces, the spreading and contracting of rays of light from the deity and thereby receives the blessings of the deity through supplica-
tion, recitation and meditative stability.
Result: The final result after seven or 16lives is the attain- ment of the "Vajra-Holder of the Three Knowledges"
(rigs. gsum. rdo. rje. 'dzin. pa).
? (b) Caryi Tantra or Upa Yoga Tantra (spyod. rgyud)
The view in this case is the same as in the following tantra, the Yoga Tantra, whereas the practice is very similar to that of the Kriya Tantra.
Meditation:
The deity is visualized in front of oneself, and the prac- titioner also visualizes himself or herself as divine, so that the relationship is similar to that of a brother, sis- ter or a friend. The method of practice then involves recitation of mantra and the stabilization of one's con- centration. In this case there are two kinds of medita- tion, the yoga with signs and the yoga withoJJt. That with signs involves the stabilization of mind by con- centrating one-pointedly on the deity, the letters of the mantra (in the heart), the gestures or mudras and the form perceived in visualization. The signless yoga
avoids the concentration on such characteristics and involves leaving the mind to rem? ain in the state of ultimate? truth.
The attainment of the state of Vajradhara (rdo. rje. 'dzin. pa) within seven lives.
Result:
(c) Yoga Tantra (mal. 'byor. rgyud)
View:
Practice:
Meditation:
In ultimate reality all things are naturally free from the signs of mental projections (spros. mtshan. dang. bral. ba), thereby being radiant clarity and emp- tiness (od. gsal. stong. pa. nyid). On the relative level all appearances are regarded as mal)c;lalas of the divini- ties and the inspirational blessing of truth itself (chos. nyid. kyi. byin. rlabs)
The practitioner looks upon external activities such as cleaning and eating specific foods as merely the support for the practice and mainly concentrates on practicing for the benefit of others by dwelling in the yoga of the divinity (lha'i. mal. 'byor).
Again there are two aspects, the yoga with and with- out signs. The yoga with signs consists of visualizing oneself in the form of the deity by means of the five perfect qualities of enlightenment (mngon. byang). These are as follows: the perfection of the lunar seat represents the pure realm; the perfection of the seed
69
? 70
syllables represents the speech of the deity; the per- fection of the symbolic instruments held by the dei- ties represents the mind of the deity; the perfection of complete form of the deity represents the mar:tc;lala of the deity and the perfection of wisdom-deity or jflanasattva, being visualized within the heart of the deity, represents the essence or wisdom of the deity. The practice also involves the four miraculous mani- festations. These are known as follows: i) the miracle of the meditative concentration which is the display about the deity's retinue; ii) the miracle of initiation which is the initiation itself; iii} the miracle of the bless- ing is the sealing of the practice by means of a mudra; and iv) the miracle of offering is the practice involv- ing offering, praising, and reciting mantras. One then summons the deity and absorbs him or her into one- self, binding the deity by means of the four mudras,
and after performing the offering, praises, and mantra recitations in the actual practice, the deity is released and one bids the deity farewell while requesting him or her to dwell in the enlightened state. The yoga without signs involves meditating directly on the state of just that itself or tathata (de. kho. na. nyid), the non- dual nature of the ultimate truth; the blessing of which, here, is that non-duality is inseparable from the appearance of the divinities which are in them- selves manifestations of supreme wisdom.
Result: Within three lifetimes one shall attain Buddhahood in the realm of the Beautiful Array (stug. po. bkod. pa).
ii. The three Internal Tantras
In the Self-arising Tantra it is stated, "Three are considered inner tantras: Maha, Anu and Ati. " In brief, the qualities that make the inner tantras more extraordinary than the outer ones are as fol- lows:
First of all, in the initiation the external tantras are mainly centered on the initiation of the Vase (bum. dbang} whereas the in- ner tantras have in addition three other initiations, the Secret (gsang. dbang), the Wisdom (shes. rab. ye. shes. kyi. dbang) and the Verbal initiations (tshig. dbang). As regards the view, the outer tantras maintain the distinction between the two truths, whereas
? the inner ones uphold their inseparable identity. With meditation, in the inner tantras the view is upheld that all things are equal in purity, thus avoiding any duality of rejection or acceptance. With- out renouncing any of the three poisons of desire, aggression and ignorance, they make use of them as the path so that desire is taken as the union of bliss and emptiness, hatred as the union of clarity and emptiness, and ignorance as the union of awareness and emp- tiness. They practice the meditation of the two stages of tantra with- out any partiality towards one over the other. The visualization in the inner tantras involves oneself as the deity in union with the consort (yab. yum) which indicates the complete union of skillful means and wisdom. The external tantras cannot be practiced in
such a way.
Furthermore, in the practice of the inner tantras the five meats
ofcow,dog,elephant,horseandman,togetherwiththe6venectars of excrement, brains, semen, blood and urine are used without any duality such as their acceptance or rejection. Such object involved in the practice cannot be found in the practice of the outer tantras. It is by practicing the inner tantras that the resultant state of en- lightenment can be achieved in this very life.
(a) Mahi Yoga
These are also known as the Father Tantras (pha. rgyud) and center primarily on elabor. ate visualizations and various other activities of somewhat secondary importance. Emphasis in meditation is placed on realizing the illusory body (rgyu. lus; miyideha) as be- ing the ultimate wisdom in terms of the skillful means of appear- ance, the completion process of the inner energy (rlung. gi. rdzogs. rim)andtheactionofextraordinarybehavior(mngon. spyod. kyi. las) for subduing enemies of the Dharma. This practice is primarily for an individual who has a greater predominance of anger or aggres- sion and discriminating thoughts.
View: The view of the ultimate truth is that all things are the essence of mind and that appearance and empti- ness are inseparable in the realm of the Dharmakiya. The relative truth is the power of this to manifest it- self so that all thoughts, speech and action are the self- appearance of the ma! )9ala of the Vajra Body, Speech
and Mind.
Practice: The practice of the Father Tantras involves utilizing by skillful means, and without attachment to any-
71
? 72
thing, the objects throughout cyclic existence, enjoy- ing them and utilizing them in the practice without rejecting or accepting anything, including such ob- jects as the five meats and nectars.
Meditation: Meditation is focused on the non-dualistic supreme wisdom of bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality by pu- rifying all appearances as divinities and their envi- ronments and to visualize the psycho-physical con- stituents (phung. po. lnga; skandhas), the sensory spheres (khams; dhatu) and the sensory entrances
(skye. mched; ayatana) as divine.
Result: The achievement of the fully Awakened state of be- ing in this very lifetime.
(b) Anu Yoga Tantra
The Anu Yoga Tantra is also known as the Mother Tantra (ma. rgyud) and in tantras of this classification, rather than the emphasis being placed on the skillful means involved in the development process, the practitioner meditates primarily on the completion process (rdzogs. rim). The practice thus emphasizes the cultivation of the discriminating wisdom which cognizes emptiness. This is done by means of the yoga of radiant clarity, and the method of integrating skillful means is to utilize the bliss attained through sexual prac- tice. From the four actions which may be undertaken in tantric prac- tice, namely that of pacification, expansion, power and wrathful- ness, here the emphasis is mainly on that of power. This tantra is directed more to an individual who has a predominance of desire and who likes the mind to be stabilized (sems. gnas. pa. la. dga'. ba) and who also has the ability to engage in the physical practices.
View: The practitioner perceives everything arising as the three maJ::t~alas. The maJ::t~ala of the nature of every- thing is spontaneously manifest and is seen as Samantabhadra, the masculine counterpart in the practice. That this is empty of attachment to extreme views is perceived as the primordial maJ::t~ala which has existed from the very beginning and is manifest as Samantabhadri, the female counterpart of the prac- tice. That both of them in nature abide in the essence of union without separation or joining is perceived as the maJ::t~ala of Bodhicitta. The outcome of this
? total integration is great bliss, and is conceived as the son of the mystical union.
Practice: The practice mainly centers on understanding the es- sence of oneness, or a holistic view.
Meditation: In meditation one cultivates the awareness that the world and all beings have been enlightened in the mai;tt;falas of deities from the very beginning. There is less emphasis on visualization and more on the per- fection of bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality by means of the yogas of the psychic veins, semen and
psychic energy (rtsa. thig. rlung. gi. rnal. 'byor).
There are two main aspects to meditation in Anu Yoga, the paths of liberation and skillful means. In the path of liberation one meditates on the ultimate significance of reality by cultivating the primordial awareness which is not disturbed by conceptualiz- ing thoughts (rnam. par. mi. rtog. pa'i. ye. shes). In ac- cordance with the "letter" one meditates by reciting the mantras for visualization and visualizing the world and the beings as mai;tt;falas of divinities, aris- ing within one's field of perception spontaneously like fish leaping out of the river. In the path of skillful means the meditation involves developing the co- emergent primordial awareness (lhan. skyes. kyi. ye. shes) by means of either using the four or six psy- chic centers ('khor.
