No More Learning

It has been said that the mind is in essence empty and by nature clear, and that there is a third quality, unimpededness, which we experience in our present state as all the emotions, thoughts, con- cepts, experiences of pleasure and pain, and so forth, which arise without obstruction in our minds. All these are the unimpeded manifestation of mind in the unenlightened context. From the enlightened point of view, however. this unimpeded manifestation is termed the Nirmanakaya: the manifestation of Enlightenment in physical form in the physical world. Various levels and aspects of this phenomenon are described. For example, we can speak of supreme Nirmanakayas, such as the completely enlightened Shakyamuni Buddha, and we can speak of what are termed literal- ly, "birth incarnations"-beings who, although not completely enlightened, nevertheless represent some degree of Enlightenment working through physical form or through various arts, crafts,
The Four Noble Truths 37
38 The Dharma
sciences and so forth. The physical manifestation of Enlightenment is not a deliberate undertaking on the part of the Buddha nature; it is not the result of some determination like "Now I will emanate in this particular realm in this particular form;" rather, it is a spon- taneous expression, just as light radiates spontaneously from the sun without the sun issuing directives or giving any conscious thought to the matter. The sun is, and it radiates. Dharmakaya and Sam- bhogakaya simply are; they radiate, and the radiation is the Nir- manakaya.
Hinayana and Mahayana Views of the Path
What has so far been described as the Truth of the Path per- tains equally to Hinayana and Mahayana: At both levels of teaching we find the same concepts of the Five Paths, the Thirty-seven Elements conducive to Enlightenment, and so forth. The difference lies in the scope of the interpretation of these topics. For example, from the Hinayana point of view, generosity involves giving up all one's wealth and, ideally, taking monk's or nun's vows, leading an extremely simple life, with only robes and a begging bowl, and get- ting only what is necessary for the present day, and no more. In short, the Hinayana ideal of generosity involves a complete rejection of acquisition, a total abandonment of one's attachment to wealth, and the pursuit of a very simplified way of life. From the Mahayana point of view, this ideal is extended to include a continual sharing of whatever wealth comes our way; even our own body is considered worthy as an offering. In one way or another, whatever appears is continually dedicated, either to the Dharma or to the benefit of other beings.
From the Hinayana point of view, morality means very much what we might normally think-living a good life by avoiding harm- ful or negative actions. This view of morality is also found in the Mahayana, but it is greatly expanded through the emphasis on developing good qualities and virtuous tendencies in ourselves, and by the dedication of our lives for the benefit of other beings. In this way, the scope is greater.
The Hinayana and Mahayana do share views of the Path to Enlightenment but what has been said here about Enlightenment
itself pertains particularly to the Mahayana and Vajrayana. For the Hinayana, the goal is the cessation of negative factors; only at the Mahayana and Vajrayana levels does one speak of the development of the mind's positive potential.
We can get a clearer idea of the difference between the two views of Enlightenment by examining the words used to describe it in each system. The Hinayana goal is the attainment of the level of an Arhat. This term is translated into Tibetan as dra chom pa [dgra bcom pa], which means "having conquered the enemy. " The enemy here is the emotions and the ignorance which keep us locked in sam? sara, and the intention is to overcome or eliminate those factors. This is where the principle of Cessation-the other term used to describe Enlightenment in the Hinayana-comes in. Cessation refers to stopping the emotions that confuse the mind, and stopping discursive thoughts-fixations on materiality and immateriality, reality and non-reality, and all such conceptual frameworks-that limit awareness. When Cessation is achieved, all of these have been arrested, and the mind is simply absorbed in the experience of Emptiness, without any wavering or distraction. This is the Hinayana ideal, and it will certainly lead to complete Enlighten? ment. However, the length of time it will take to do so is immense, and during this almost interminable period, there is virtually no ability to help others. That is why the term Hinayana, "the lesser vehicle," is applied, because the scope is relatively narrow. Cessation does, however, represent at least a degree of Liberation from sam- sara, because an individual who experiences it has no need to rein- carnate: the power of karma to cause rebirth in the cycle of samsara has been transcended.
Perhaps the understanding of all these concepts-the Five Paths, the Ten Levels of Bodhisattva Realization, the Thirty-seven Elements conducive to their realization, the different qualities of the Three Kayas-is not strictly necessary; if we are diligent in Dharma practice and meditate, we are going to experience them all anyway. They will not fail to arise just because we don't know what to call them, or necessarily arise just because we do. On the other hand, there seems to be something very important in giving guidelines to help people understand more about the elements of Dharma prac? tice and the enlightened state towards which they're working.
The Four Noble Truths 39
40 The Dharma
Reasons to Study the Four Noble Truths
The value of understanding our situation from the point of view of both samsara and Nirvana is this: to understand the cause and result of samsara motivates us to seek an alternative: once we have realized the limitations of our situation, there is the possibility of seeking something else. And if we understand the cause and result aspects of the Path, then this fuels our motivation not simply to re- ject samsara, but to seek Enlightenment. Moreover, to understand the great qualities of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas inspires one with faith in, and awe at, what is possible. Faith, energy, and motivation are very helpful in developing an understanding of the Four Noble Truths.
Having achieved this precious human existence with its oppor? tunities and freedoms, and in having met with the teachings of the Dharma, we are pivotally poised. On one side is the possibility of continuing to wander ignorantly in the cycle of rebirth, and on the other the possibility of transcending samsara and actually achieving Enlightenment. Both possibilities stem from the mind that each and every one of us has and experiences. It is this mind we already have that is essentially empty and illuminating by nature, that can and does experience the different levels of Bodhisattva Realization; it is this same mind that can achieve and experience complete Enlightenment.


3
The Four Dharmas oJGampopa
0 ur precious human birth affords opportunity and leisure for Dharma practice and gives us access to the vast and profound tradition of the teachings of the Buddhadharma. Among these, the Four Dharmas of Gampopa provide a concise survey of the entire
Path, divided into four levels.
The First Dharma: The Mind Turns Towards Dharma
This first teaching involves a thorough understanding of our situation in samsara and the different destinies within the cycle, the six states of rebirth: three lower ones-the hell realms, the hungry ghost realm, and the animal realm; and three higher-the human, asura, and god realms. Through this teaching, we learn the conse- quences of virtuous and unvirtuous actions, which tendencies lead to these various rebirths, and the sufferings which the beings in these realms undergo. We come to understand that although a particular karmic process may lead from higher to lower or lower to higher rebirths, samsara itself provides no means of escape, and if we rely
44 The Dharma
on it, we can make no progress towards Enlightenment. At the beginning of the Path, this understanding of samsara is necessary to turn the mind towards the Dharma, and to do this we contemplate the Four Ordinary Preliminaries.
The first of these concerns the unique value of the human life we are now experiencing. Because of the blessing of the Three jewels and their influence in previous lives, we have, at some point, developed a virtuous tendency that has brought about our present human birth, with all its opportunities, leisure and freedom to prac? tice Dharma. Very few beings preserve this virtuous tendency (by avoiding negative actions, thoughts, and speech and encouraging positive ones), and very few achieve the resultant state of a precious human birth. If we think of the stars in the night sky as representing the multitude of beings in samsara, then a star in daytime represents the precious human birth-it is something possible, but most unlikely. Human birth is an extremely rare occurrence.
The second of the Four Preliminaries concerns impermanence. Now that we have the precious opportunity of human birth we should make the best use of it and actually realize the full potential of being human. This can be accomplished through our efforts to transcend completely the cycle of rebirth and achieve Buddhahood. In addition we must understand that mortality and impermanence are part of our existence, and that our human birth, obtained with such difficulty, will pass away. In everything we experience, there is moment-by-moment change and instability. Like a candle flame blown by a strong wind, our human existence may be extinguished at any moment; like a bubble on the surface of water, it may sud- denly burst; like morning dew on the grass, it soon evaporates.
Next, to realize the full potential of being human, we must ex? amine the concept of karma, the process of cause and effect, especially the relationship between our actions and their results. We need to recognize fully the unfailing connection between what we do now and what we experience later.
The fourth contemplation that turns the mind towards Dhar? ma deals with the unsatisfactory and painful nature of samsara. Without an appreciation of impermanence and our own impending death, we are likely to be distracted by the pleasures of the world and indulge ourselves in emotional conflict and confusion. When
The Four Dharmas of Gampopa 45
that happens, we become exhausted by the life we lead and do not get to what really matters. We neither really see what is actually happening in our lives, nor make good use of our situation. Before we know it, our life is finished and it is time to die. If we lack the foundation of a stable practice, we go to death helplessly, in fear and anguish.
By contemplating these preliminaries-the potential of a precious human existence, impermanence and the inevitability of death, the karmic process of cause and effect, and the sufferings and limitations of samsara- we tum our minds to the Dharma, and thus fulfil the first of the Four Teachings of Gampopa.
The Second Dharma: The Dharma Becomes The Path
Once involved in the teachings, we come to the second of the Four Dharmas: the teachings of the Dharma become our way of life, our path. Our attitude towards what is superior to us-the Three
Jewels-begins to change, and so does our attitude towards the be- ings in samsara who are equal or inferior to us. The first attitude is expressed when we take Refuge, with faith, devotion and respect, in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. We realize that in Bud- dhahood one is omniscient and omnipresent, endowed with infinite capabilities. We see that the teachings of the Dharma, which pro- ceed from this enlightened state, are the Path that every being can follow to Enlightenment. We recognize that the Sangha, or assembly of practitioners who realize and transmit the teachings, are companions or guides who can show us the Path. In the Vajrayana tradition, we add the Three Roots-Lama, Yidam and Dharma Protector-to the Three Jewels as sources of Refuge.
When the Dharma becomes our Path, we develop a second at- titude, that of compassion. In contemplating the beings who are in samsara with us, we consider that space is infinite, pervading all directions, and that the realm of sentient beings extends as far as space itself. At some point in the past, every one of these numberless beings has been our mother or our father. Through innumerable cycles of lifetimes we have developed an extremely close karmic con- nection with each one of them. When compassion develops we see that all life is the same, and that every single being wishes to be hap-
46 The Dharma
py: in every fonn of life a fundamental search for happiness goes o n - but in a way that contradicts and defeats the aim of this search. Few beings understand that real happiness is the result of virtuous conduct. Many are involved in actually destroying their chances for happiness through confused and harmful actions and thoughts. When we see this we develop real affection and compassion for other beings. This infinite compassion for all forms of life is the second at? titude involved in making the teaching our Path. Through faith and compassion the teaching that has attracted us becomes an entire way of life.
The Development of Compassion
Although we realize the necessity of working not only for our own benefit but for the welfare of all beings, we need to be honest about our own limitations and recognize that we have little power or ability to be truly effective in helping beings to free themselves. The way we become effective in this is through achieving Buddhahood or, at least, by reaching some level of Bodhisattva realization. At these higher levels we gain the ability to manifest for the sake of guiding beings out of their confusion.
The attitude of altruism is called Relative Bodhicitta; the desire to develop it is the foundation of Mahayana practice and the vessel for all virtue.
One method for developing Bodhicitta is called tong len (gtong len], which literally means "sending (and] taking. " The attitude here is that each of us is only one being, while the number of beings in the universe is infinite. Would it not be a worthy goal if this one being could take on all the pain of every other being in the universe and free each and every one of them from suffering? We therefore resolve to take on ourselves all this suffering, to take it away from all other beings, even their incipient or potential suffering, and all of its causes. At the same time we develop the attitude of sending all our virtue, happiness, health, wealth and potential for long life to other beings. Anything that we enjoy, anything noble or worthy, positive or happy in our situation we send selflessly to every other being. Thus the meditation is one of willingly taking on all that is negative and willingly giving away all that is positive. We reverse our usual tendency to cling to what we want for ourselves and to ignore others.
The Four Dharmas ofGampopa 47
We develop a deep empathy with everything that lives. The method of sending and taking is a most effective way of developing the Bodhisattva's motivation.
The kind of compassion we have described so far is called "compassion with reference to sentient beings" (sem chen la mik pay nying je (sems can la dmigs pa'i snying rje]). A dualism lingers here, however, because we are still caught by the threefold idea of (1) ourselves experiencing the compassion, (2) other beings as the objects of compassion, and (3) the actual act of feeling compassion through understanding or perceiving the suffering of others. This framework prepares our path in the Mahayana. Once this kind of compassion has been established, we arrive at a second. The realiza- tion begins to grow that the self which is feeling the compassion, the objects of the compassion, and the compassion itself are all in a cer- tain sense illusory. We see that these three aspects belong to a con- ventional, not ultimate, reality. They are nothing in themselves, but simply illusions that create the appearance of a dualistic framework. Perceiving these illusions and thereby understanding the true emp- tiness of all phenomena and experience is what we call "compassion with reference to all phenomena" (cho Ia mik pay nying je [chos Ia dmigs pa'i snying rje]). This is the main path of Mahayana practice.
From this second kind of compassion a third develops, "non- referential compassion" (mi me nying je [dmigs med snying rje]). Here we entirely transcend any concern with subject/object reference. It is the ultimate experience that results in Buddhahood. All these three levels of compassion are connected, so if we begin with the basic level by developing loving-kindness and compassion towards all beings, we lay a foundation which guarantees that our path will lead directly to Enlightenment.
The Third Dharma: The Path Dispels Confusion
The third Dharma of Gampopa states that by traveling the Path our confusion is dispelled. The principal theme of the teaching here is the experience of emptiness- the realization of the ultimate nature of mind. In meditation we realize that our mind and all the experiences which it projects are fundamentally unreal: they exist conventionally, but not in an ultimate sense. This Realization of Emptiness is known as Ultimate Bodhicitta.
48 The Dharma
An analogy can be drawn between the ocean and the mind, which is essentially empty, without limiting characteristics or ultimate reality. This empty mind, however, has its projection, which is the whole phenomenal world. The form, sound, taste, touch, smell, and inner thoughts, which constitute what we ex- perience correspond to waves on the surface of the ocean. Once we see, through meditation, that the nature of mind is fundamentally empty, we become automatically aware that the projections of mind are fundamentally empty too. These projections are like waves that arise from and subside into the ocean; at no point are they ever separate from it.
Although we may have some understanding that mind is essen- tially empty, it may be difficult to relate this idea to phenomenal ex- istence. An example may help. At the present moment we have a physical body, and during our waking existence we are extremely at- tached to it. We take it to be real, a self-existent entity. But during dreams, we inhabit a different kind of body, and experience a dif- ferent state of being. A complete phenomenal existence is associated with this "dream body. " We see, smell, touch, hear, feel, think and communicate-we experience a complete universe. But when we awaken it becomes obvious that the universe of the dream has no ultimate reality. It certainly is not in the outer world as we know it, nor in the room where we sleep, nor inside our body; it cannot be found anywhere. When the dream is over, its 'reality' simply disap- pears-it was only a projection of mind. It is fairly easy to under-
stand this in relation to the dream state. What we must also com- prehend is that our experience in the waking state is of the same general nature and occurs through the same process.
Realized Mahasiddhas, such as Tilopa and Naropa of India, or Marpa and Milarepa of Tibet, were able to perform miraculous changes in the phenomenal universe. They could do so because they had realized the entire phenomenal world as essentially empty and a projection of mind. This allowed them to manifest miracles and ac- tually change the phenomenal world. Such transformation is not possible when our mind clings to what we experience as ultimately real and immutable.
The present phase of our existence ends in death, when the kar- ma which directs the course of this physical existence is exhausted.
The Four Dharmas of Gampopa 49
At death there is a definite and final separation of consciousness from the physical body, which is simply discarded. What continues is the individual consciousness, the mind of the being entering into the bardo experience. During that after-death state, we experience another kind of phenomenal universe. Though lacking the basis of a physical organism, the mind is able to see, hear, smell, taste, touch, think, and perceive in much the same way as it does now. Though there is nothing more than a state of consciousness, the mind con- tinues to follow its habits and to manifest in set patterns. Thus our habitual conviction that experience is ultimately real continues after physical death, and what happens there resembles what happens in the dream state and waking consciousness.
A story about a monk in Tibet illustrates this. It happened not very long ago, in fact, during the lifetime of my father. Near my home in Tibet there is a Nyingmapa monastery called Dzokchen. A monk from this monastery decided that he did not want to stay there any more, but preferred to go into business. He left and went to the nonh of that region to become a trader, hoping to accumulate a for- tune. He actually did become fairly successful. Because of his former relationship with a monastery, he was also considered something of a Dharma teacher, so he had a group of followers as well as the wealth amassed through his trading ventures. One day he met a magician who was able to exercise a certain mental control over people. The trader didn't realize the power of this person, and the magician cast a spell that caused the trader to experience a powerful illusion in which he met a woman, married and had children; he acquired a large estate and family to look after, and engaged in many trading ventures that brought him vast riches. He passed his whole life this way and became old with white hair and few teeth. Then the illusion disappeared: he was back where he had been, and perhaps only one or two days had passed. During that time the magician had stolen everything he possessed, and the trader woke without a penny in the world. He had only the memory of his long fantasy of a lifetime's activities, distractions and projects.
Just like the trader's fantasy, our own daily experiences have an illusory quality. In the Mahayana sutras, it is taught that everything we experience is like a reflection, a mirage, a rainbow in the sky, or the moon shining on the water's surface; everything we experience has only conventional reality and is ultimately unreal.
50 The Dharma
We experience the third Dharma of Gampopa when, first, we become convinced that we must dispel our confusion through understanding and experiencing the essential emptiness of mind, and, second, when this reveals the illusory nature of all phenomena; then the Path dispels confusion.
The Fourth Dharma:
Confusion Arises as Primordial Awareness
The fourth Dharma of Gampopa is the transformation of con? fusion into Primordial Awareness. This fundamental transforma? tion is effected on the level of Anuttarayogatantra, the highest of the four levels of Vajrayana teachings.
This transformation is not difficult to explain theoretically. In an ordinary state awareness is clouded and confused; if we recognize the mind's nature, then we experience Primordial Awareness. On a practical level, however, this does not happen automatically: a cer- tain kind of skillful means is needed. To transform discursive into enlightened awareness, we use the wealth of techniques available in the Vajrayana, especially the Development and Fulfillment stages of meditation (che rim/dzo rim [(bskyed rim/rdzogs rim]). In our pres? ent situation as unenlightened beings, our three faculties of body, speech, and mind are obscured by basic ignorance. To transform that confusion into awareness, we must become physically, verbally, and mentally aware, so in Vajrayana practice we utilize these very faculties of our whole being to effect a complete transformation.
Considering our physical body. we can see how we are attached to it as something permanent, pure and real. Yet this physical body is temporary, composed of numerous impure and decaying substances. It is conventionally, not ultimately, real. Our habitual and instinctive clinging to it obstructs the arising of Primordial Awareness. We must come to realize that this body is simply something that appears and that it has no self-nature. Based on the projections of the mind, the body represents the heart of the form aspect of consciousness. Until we realize this, the transformation of confusion into Primordial Awareness will not happen spontaneously or easily.
In tantric practice, the body is transformed by a meditation that leads us to identify with a pure or enlightened form, for exam?
The Four Dharmas of Gampopa 51
pie, Chenrezi, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Here we put aside the fixation on our own body and instead identify with a pure form. In doing so, it is important also to realize that the deity is pure ap- pearance, and does not partake of substantiality in any way. In meditation we become completely identified with this form, which is empty, without solidity, without self-nature or ultimate reality beyond its pure appearance. This experience is called "The Union of Appearance and Emptiness" (nang tong sung juk [snang stong zung 'jug]).
Such a transformation is based upon understanding that all our experience is a subjective projection of mind, and therefore our at- titude towards things is decisive. Through changing our attitude we change our experience, and when we meditate in the way described, transformation is possible. This is especially true when we focus on an enlightened form such as the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The image of Chenrezi itself is a real expression of the state of enligh- tened compassion. It is not a fabrication. There is actually an enlightened being called Chenrezi, able to confer blessing and at- tainment. To experience this, certain conditions must come together.
An analogy would be taking a photograph of someone. We put film in the camera, we point it at whomever we're photographing and take the picture; the image of the person is pro- jected onto the film, and when it's developed, we have a certain im- age of that person. Something similar happens when we meditate on an enlightened form. There is an "external" expression called Chenrezi. Through our efforts in meditation, we come to identify with this pure form, to have faith in it, and to realize the intrinsic compassion and state of awareness Chenrezi represents. In this way we can become a "copy" of the deity and receive the blessing of the Bodhisattva of Compassion. This is the first aspect of the transfor- mation of confusion into Primordial Awareness based on meditation upon our body as an enlightened form.
The second aspect of transformation concerns our speech. Although it may be easy to consider speech as intangible, that it simply appears and disappears, we actually relate to it as to something real. It is because we become so attached to what we say and hear that speech has such power. Mere words, which have no ultimate reality, can determine our happiness and suffering. We
52 The Dharma
create pleasure and pain through our fundamental clinging to sound and speech.
In the Vajrayana context, we recite and meditate on mantra, which is enlightened sound, the speech of the deity, the Union of Sound and Emptiness (dra tong sung juk [sgra stong zung 'jug]). It has no intrinsic reality, but is simply the manifestation of pure sound, experienced simultaneously with its Emptiness. Through mantra, we no longer cling to the reality of the speech and sound en- countered in life, but experience it as essentially empty. Then con- fusion of the speech aspect of our being is transformed into enlightened awareness.
At first, the Union of Sound and Emptiness is simply an intellec- tual concept of what our meditation should be. Through continued application, it becomes our actual experience. Here, as elsewhere in the practice, attitude is all-important, as this story about a teacher in Tibet illustrates. The teacher had two disciples, who both under- took to perform a hundred million recitations of the mantra of Chenrezi, OM MANI PADME HUNG. In the presence of their Lama, they took a vow to do so, and went off to complete the prac- tice. One of the disciples was very diligent, though his realization was perhaps not so profound. He set out to accomplish the practice as quickly as possible and recited the mantra incessantly, day and night. After long efforts, he completed his one hundred million recitations, in three years. The other disciple was extremely in- telligent, but perhaps not as diligent, because he certainly did not launch into the practice with the same enthusiasm. But when his friend was approaching the completion of his retreat, the second disciple, who still had not recited very many mantras, went up on the top of a hill. He sat down there, and began to meditate that all beings throughout the universe were transformed into Chenrezi. He meditated that the sound of the mantra was not only issuing from the mouth of each and every being, but that every atom in the universe was vibrating with it, and for a few days he recited the mantra in this state of samadhi.
When the two disciples went to their Lama to indicate they they'd finished the practice, he said, "Oh, you've both done ex- cellently. You were very diligent, and you were very wise. You both accomplished the one hundred million recitations of the mantra. "
The Four Dharma. s of Gampopa 53
Thus through changing our attitude and developing our under- standing, practice becomes far more powerful.
The six syllable mantra of Chenrezi, OM MANI PADME HUNG, is an expression of Chenrezi's blessing and enlightened power. The six syllables are associated with different aspects of our experience: six basic emotional afflictions in the mind are being transformed, six aspects of Primordial Awareness are being realized. These sets of six belong to the mandala of the six different Buddha families which become manifest in the enlightened mind. The man- tra of Chenrezi has power to effect transformations on all these levels.
Another way of interpreting the mantra is that the syllable OM is the essence of enlightened form; MANI PADME, the four syllables in the middle, represent the speech of Enlightenment; and the last syllable HUNG represents the mind of Enlightenment. The
body, speech, and mind of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are in- herent in the sound of this mantra. It purifies the obscurations of body, speech, and mind, and brings all beings to the state of Realization. When it is joined with our own faith and efforts in meditation and recitation, the transformative power of the mantra arises and develops. It is truly possible to purify ourselves in this way.
The mind aspect of the Chenrezi meditation centers in the heart region where the mantra and seed-syllable HRIH are located. Light is visualized as going out from these and making offerings to all the Buddhas, purifying the obscurations of all beings, and establishing them in Enlightenment. The mind aspect is also con? nected with formless meditation, simply resting the mind in its own empty nature. After practicing this for some time, a change will oc- cur: we will have the experience that anything arising in the mind, any emotion or thought, arises from and dissolves back into Emp? tiness. For that duration we are nowhere other than in Emptiness. In this state, we experience mind as the Union of Awareness and Emptiness (rik tong sung juk [rig stong zung 'jug]). This is Mahamudra.
The threefold Chenrezi meditation thus utilizes meditational techniques relating to body, speech, and mind. At the end of a ses- sion of practice, the visualization dissolves into a formless state, and we simply rest the mind evenly in its own nature. At this time we can
54 The Dharma
experience body, speech, and mind a5 arising from basic, empty mind. We recognize this mind as the fundamental aspect and body and speech to be secondary projections based upon consciousness. This represents the gathering of all aspects of our experience into one- the Emptiness of mind from which everything arises. Through this, we have realized the fourth Dharma of Gampopa: confusion has arisen as Primordial Awareness.
4
Bardo
The word bardo literally means "an interval between two things. " Bar means 'interval' and do means 'two. ' We can think of this interval in a spatial or temporal way. If there are two houses, the space between them is a bardo. The period between sunrise and sunset, the interval of daylight, is a bardo. A bardo can be of long or shon duration, of wide or narrow expanse.
To a large extent our experience is made up of intervals be- tween one thing and another. Even in the case of the momentary thoughts that arise in our mind, there is an interval between one thought arising and fading and the next thought appearing. Such a gap, even if infinitesimal, is a pan of every process. Everything we experience has this quality of intervals between states.
The Six Bardos
Cenain aspects of bardo are more important than others. One of the most crucial is our waking existence, from the moment of birth to the time we die. This waking existence is the first great bar?
56 The Dharma
do in our experience, the Bardo between Birth and Death (che shi bar do [skye shi'i bar do]).
The bardo of the dream state, which lasts from the moment we go to sleep at night until the moment we wake in the morning is another example. The state of consciousness that obtains during that interval is termed the Dream Bardo (mi lam bar do [rmi lam bar do]).
For an ordinary person, the trauma of death produces a state of unconsciousness, which lasts for an indefinite time: it may be very brief or quite long. Traditionally, this period of blackout is con- sidered to last three and a half days. Afterwards, the consciousness of the individual begins to awaken again and experience things in a new way. The interval of unconsciousness into which the mind is plunged by the trauma of death, and which lasts till the awakening of consciousness again, is referred to in Tioetan as the cho nyi bar- do [chos nyid bar do], the interval of the ultimate nature of phenomena; here the mind is plunged into its own nature, though in a confused or ignorant way.
The next phase of the after? death experience is the re- awakening of consciousness, which includes the many days that can be spent experiencing the fantastic projections of mind, the hallucinations produced and experienced by the mind in the after- death state. From the moment of this reawakening of consciousness (the end of the cho nyi bardo) to the moment we take actual physical rebirth in one of the six realms of samsara, is known as the si pa bar- do [srid pa bardo], the Bardo of Becoming. Another way of inter- preting the Tibetan is as the bardo of possibility, since at this point we have not taken physical birth and there are numerous possibilities for various kinds of existence.
These are the four major instances of the Bardo principle. Another example is a state of meditation: when someone who prac- tices begins to meditate effectively, there is a cenain change in con- sciousness; when that person rises from the meditation and goes about worldly activities again, there is a cessation of that state of consciousness. The interval of actual formal meditation is called the Bardo of Meditative Stability, sam ten bar do [bsam gtan bar do]. The sixth bardo we distinguish is the Bardo of Gestation, che nay bar do [skye gnas bar do]. This interval begins at the end of the Bar-
do of ? Becoming when the consciousness of the being unites with the sperm and egg in the womb of the mother and lasts until the time of physical binh, the beginning of the Bardo between Birth and Death.
These six kinds of bardo that we experience as human or sen- tient beings in samsara can be changed for the better, but the power to do this lies in the waking state. It is in the bardo of our present lives that we can make the most progress in developing the ability to deal effectively with all the others. What we usually mean by the word, bardo, however, is the Bardo of Becoming, the phase of hallucinations before new physical conception.
The Five Elements and the Nature ofMind
Our present unenlightened state is based on a fundamental state of ignorance, a fundamental discursive consciousness, kun shi nam she [kun gzhi rnam shes]. It is the fundamental consciousness which is distorted and confused. There is, however, a possibility of experiencing the true nature of mind, and when that pure awareness is present we no longer have kun shi nam she but kun shi ye she [kun gzhi ye shes]. That change of a single syllable from nam to ye, makes a tremendous difference, because now we are referring to fundamental Primordial Awareness rather than fundamental ig- norance.
In both cases we are talking about mind, which essentially em- bodies what in our physical universe we term the five elements. The potential for these elements exists in the mind and always has- it is not something created at some particular time. In its inherent nature, mind always has the five elemental qualities, and it is from this potential that the experiences of the after-death state arise.
When we speak of mind, we speak of something that is not a thing in itself. In its most fundamental sense, mind is not something we can limit. We cannot say it has a panicular shape, size or loca- tion, color or form, or any other limiting characteristic. The ele- ment we call space, which in our perceptual situation also has no limiting characteristics, is this very emptiness of mind; this is the elemental quality of space in the mind.
But mind is not simply empty; it has the illuminating potential to perceive anything whatsoever. This unlimited ability of mind to
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perceive is its illuminating nature, and corresponds to the element of fire.
This mind, essentially empty and illuminating, gives rise to all experience which, whether of samsara or Nirvana, is rooted in mind just as plants are rooted in soil. This function of the mind as the origin of all experience corresponds to the elemental quality of eanh.
Another aspect of the mind is its dynamic quality. Mind is never still: no single experience in it lasts, but quickly passes to another. Whether one is undergoing an emotional reaction, an ex- perience of pleasure or pain, or a sensory perception such as seeing or hearing, the contents of the mind are always in a state of flux. This continual activity of mind is the elemental quality of wind.
Mind with these four elemental qualities has always been so and always will be. This very continuity, and the fact that mind adapts itself to different situations, corresponds to the element of water.
Just as water sustains its continuity and adapts itself to every contour as it flows, the mind too is fluent, continuous, and adaptable.
The Five Elements and the Physical Body
The origin or basis of all experience is mind, characterized by the five elemental qualities. Our particular situation at the moment is that of physical waking existence, in which we experience what is termed the body of Completely Ripened Karma (nam min ji Iii [rnam smin gyi Ius]). The meaning here is that completely ripened karmic tendencies have given rise to this seemingly solid, concrete projection of mind that is our physical body.
The connection between the body we now experience and the mind which produced it is as follows. The solid elements of our body, such as flesh and bone, represent the element of eanh, just as the "solidity" of mind- its function as the basis and origin of all ex- perience- reflects the element of earth. Similarly, the bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, urine, lymph and so forth, represent the ele- ment of water. The biological warmth of the body is the element of fire, while the element of space is represented by the orifices of the body, and by the spatial separation of the organs, which, instead of forming a homogeneous mass, are distinct and separate from each
other. Finally, there is the element of wind, which is connected with the breath, and maintains the organism by way of the respiratory process.
In short, it is from mind, which embodies the five elemental qualities, that the physical body develops. The physical body itself is imbued with these qualities, and it is because of this mind/body complex that we perceive the outside world-which in turn is com- posed of the five elemental qualities of earth, water, fire, wind, and space.
The Five Elements in the Bardo
Right now we are at a pivotal point between impure, un- enlightened states of existence and the possibility of enlighten? ment. For ordinary beings the cho nyi bardo is experienced as a period of deep unconsciousness following the moment of death. There is no mental activity or perception, only a blank state of fun? damental unconsciousness. This bardo ends with the first glimmer of awareness in the mind. In the interval between the end of the cho nyi bardo and before the beginning of the si pa bardo there arises what is called the Vision of the Five Lights. The appearance of these is connected with the five elemental qualities.
The different colors which the mind in the bardo state perceives are the natural expression, the radiance, of the fundamen- tal, intrinsic qualities of mind. The element of water is perceived as white light; space as blue light; earth as yellow; fire as red; and wind as green. These colors are simply the natural expression of the elemental qualities in the mind when the first glimmer of con- sciousness begins to appear.
As consciousness begins to develop and perceive more, the ex- perience of the elemental qualities also becomes more developed. What was formerly the simple impression of diferent rays or colors of light now undergoes a change. The light begins to integrate itself and cohere into tz"g le [thig le], points or balls of light in varying sizes. It is within these spheres of concentrated light that we ex? perience the Mandalas of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities.
In this context we speak of the five realms of existence in any one of which we may be reborn, because of the impure level of our
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experience. The usual description is of the six realms of existence, the six principal emotions that lead to them, and the six Buddhas who appear in them. In the context of the five-fold mandala pattern, however, desire and avarice are combined, because they share the same basic nature of clinging, and so the realm of the asuras is eliminated, the higher asuras being re-classified with desire gods in the god realm, and the lower asuras included in the animal realm.
The Mandalas of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities
From an absolute level, the mind that perceives a deity and the deity itself are not two separate things, but are essentially the same. As long as we have no direct realization, however, the mind has the impression of being an "I" which experiences and takes as "other" that which is experienced. During the after-death experience, this split results in a tendency of the mind to feel threatened when the first mandala of the peaceful deities arises: the Mandala of the Five Buddha Families, their consorts and attendant deities, and a sixth family, that of Dorje Sempa, like a canopy over the whole mandala. At this time, we perceive enormous spherical concentrations of light, in which we see the Mandala of the Peaceful Deities emanating a most brilliant radiance. To the confused mind, this ra- diance is quite overpowering, and to confront the Peaceful Deities is rather like trying to stare into the sun. With the peaceful deities, we also simultaneously perceive the six light rays connected with the six realms of samsara. These are far less intense, so the mind that is repelled by the experience of the pure forms tends to be attracted by the subdued light rays leading to the various states of rebirth in sam? sara. In this way the confused mind is drawn towards samsaric rebirth.
After the mandala of the Peaceful Deities comes the Mandala of the Wrathful Deities. Ignorance again causes the brilliance and power of these forms, spontaneous expressions of the mind's own nature, to be perceived as something external and threatening. At this point the after? death experience becomes terrifying and repellent, instead of an experience of the unity of the perceiver and the perceived.
The Possibility ofEnlightenment in the Bardo
The cycle of teachings known in Tibetan as the Bardo Todrol [bar do thos grol] and the empowerments connected with it are designed to help practitioners receive the blessing and develop the understanding that will benefit them in the after-death ex- perience. With this support, when the pure forms are perceived, they will be seen for what they are- projections of mind essentially identical with it and neither external nor threatening. Liberation arises at that moment in the after-death state when consciousness can realize its experiences to be nothing other than mind itself. The teachings and empowerments connected with the Bardo Todrol cy- cle introduce us to the deities and explanatory concepts and so prepare us for what happens after death.
The possibility of enlightenment in the after death state rests upon three things. The first is the fundamentally enlightened nature of mind, the seed of Buddhahood, without which nothing would be possible. The second is the blessing inherent in the pure forms of the deities. The third is the connection we have established with those deities through empowerment, and the understanding we have, both intellectually and intuitively, of what is actually taking place. When all these three elements come together, the possibility exists of achieving liberation during the instant of confronting the mandalas of the deities.
If this liberation does not happen in the interval between the cho nyi bardo and the Bardo of Becoming, the benefits of receiving empowerment and understanding teachings about the nature of the after-death experience continue into the subsequent phases of the after-death experience, that of the Bardo of Becoming. This means that we can either experience a positive rebirth in the 5Ycle of sam- sara or, in some cases, achieve existence in what we term the Bud- dha Realms, a great and sure step towards ultimate Enlightenment.
The Bardo of Becoming
The experience of confronting the mandalas of the deities takes place only briefly and if the opportunity is lost, then the mind enters the Bardo of Becoming. Here the situation becomes roughly
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analogous to what we experience now-many varied impressions continually arise in the mind and we cling to them, taking them all to be ultimately real. This hallucinatory state is traditionally said to last for a period of fony-nine days before the consciousness takes physical form again as an embryo. At the end of each week there is the trauma of realizing that we are dead and our minds plunge into another state of unconsciousness like the one immediately after death, but not quite as intense. After each of these very shon periods of unconsciousness, consciousness returns, and once more the mandalas of the deities present themselves, but now in a fragmentary and fleeting way. The successive opportunities afford- ed by these appearances are not as great as at the first stage, but the possibility of Liberation does recur throughout the after-death ex- perience.
The Symbolism of the Mandala of Deities
The purity of enlightenment is embodied by the mandala of deities. For example, what we normally experience as the five skand- has (the aggregates of the mind/body complex) we recognize on the pure level as the Buddhas of the Five Families. The mind's elemen- tal qualities, which we experience as the elements in our physical body and the outer universe, on the pure level are the five female consorts of the five Buddhas. On the ordinary level we experience eight types of confused consciousness, while on the pure level these are eight male Bodhisattvas. On the impure level we speak of the eight objects of those different kinds of consciousness, and on the pure level we speak of the eight female Bodhisattvas. Each one of these pure forms expresses an enlightened perspective of a pan of our impure experience. It is not only possible to connect the dif- ferent aspects of our impure consciousness with the pure forms, but also to connect these pure forms with the nature of mind itself.
There has been and could still be much commentary on the relationship between these different levels of expression and our own experience. For our present purposes, it is sufficient to understand that the six bardos we've discussed briefly are the six major phases of experience for any being wandering in the cycle of rebinh. In every one of them the practice of Dharma is of the greatest possible value,
for through it we can purify ourselves of confusion, obscurations, and negative emotions, and further develop our awareness and merit.
Questions and Answers
QUESTION: Aren't the Mandalas of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities related to one particular cultural tradition? How do those schooled in other traditions perceive them?
ANSWER: In the tradition of these teachings it doesn't matter whether you're a Buddhist or not: you will still have the experience of the wrathful and peaceful deities. The advantage of being a Bud- dhist or having practiced this particular approach is that you will recognize the experience for what it is. But the experience is fun? damentally the same, even for non-humans. Every being that goes through the bardo has some perception of the lights, of the concen? trated spheres of light, and the mandalas appearing within them. Usually, however, there is no recognition and no attempt at recogni- tion, just a feeling that the experience is threatening and repellent. The mind is terrified and retreats from the experience.
In the traditional texts it is stated that even the consciousness of an insect in the bardo state has the same experience. Each and every being in the six realms of existence has what is called Tathagatagarbha, the Seed of Enlightenment, which is fundamen? tal awareness of the ultimate nature of mind. It is from this that bar- do experiences arise as natural projections of mind, not as something produced by cultural conditioning.
QUESTION: The mind is traditionally described as having three aspects; are the three elements that correspond to these aspects more important than the remaining two?
ANSWER: In the presentation of mind as having three aspects-its essence is empty, its nature is clarity, and its manifestation is unimpeded-we reckon the Emptiness and the Clarity of mind as the elements of space and fire. The element of wind, the continual movement of mind, is the third aspect, unimpeded manifestation. Now the element of earth is the function of mind as the origin and basis of all experience, and the element of water is the continuity of mind. These two functions (continuity and basis) apply to all three
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aspects. Thus, the mind is essentially empty (space), has Clarity (fire) and the ability to manifest unimpededly (wind), and throughout all three there is continuity (water) and the ability to provide a basis (earth).