But if these categories had true,
inherent
existence as such, then the past would always have been in the past and could never have happened.
Wang-ch-ug-Dor-je-Mahamudra-Eliminating-the-Darkness-of-Ignorance
(arisal).
And concerning this spontaneously arisen clear, void awareness which is free of all mental fabrications (of extreme modes of existence), which.
is not something that comes about by change, which does not waver from (or in any way block) the Great Bliss and which has just spontaneously arisen -when you are convinced that it arises and subsides at exactly the same moment like the knotting and uncoiling of a snake, this is the recognition of spontaneous (arisal) as automatically subsiding of itself.
The mind you are to be made to recognise is nor-
? 102 MAH. lMUDRA
mal consciousness which can think up anything and everything, is all-aware and all-flexible. It itself is known as the unity ofclarity and Voidness, the Great Bliss, the Voidness possessing that which is perpet- ually supreme, or Mahrunud. nt, the Great Seal of Voidness. When you recognise it, this is known as the insight of Mah~mudra. Therefore place your mind in its own state of vivid awareness without anything to meditate on and without letting it wander for even an instant. Relax and be at ease without any expectations or worries, hopes that your medita- tion will be good or fears that it will be bad. By cultivating the natural state ofyour normal conscious- ness, you will behold in the very instant of here and now the Mahrunud~ Great Seal of Voidness, the unity of bliss and Voidness and (you will see it) like
the clear expanse of cloudless space.
Now that mental quiescence has been joined with penetrative insight, sublime experiences and insights will happen. This fulfils the requirement of actually having entered the path of Liberation. Voidness is the way the mind is, clarity is its defining characteris- tic and the unity of these is the mind's nature. (There are many names for) this clear, vivid brilliance with a nature of bliss, clarity and bare (non-conceptuality), which is freeof all extremes of mentally fabricated (modes of existence) such as good or bad, arising,
ceasing or enduring, existing or not existing, perma. ;. nent or impermanent and which is beyond all words and thoughts, which cannot be identified (as this or that) and yet can be experienced. It is known as the very essence of great pristine awareness, the rea1ity of the great natural occurrence, the abiding nature of the way in which all knowables exist, pure
? PENETRATIYE INSiun~ ? ? ? --~--
awareness, the very nature of things, the equal factor (of salhsara and NirvaQa), the Great Bliss, the Buddha-nature, the perfection o f wisdom, ~mniscience, the Voidness possessing that which is perpetually supreme.
Because everything can be understood by the mind, it is (called) mind-only. Because it is free of all extremes or middle, it is Madhyamaka, the Great Central position. Because it is difficult for everyone to comprehend, it is the hidden, or secret tantra. Because it destroys all deceptions, it is the Vajrayana Diamond-hard Vehicle. Because it beholds the essence of Buddhahood, it is dalled the Dharmakuya. .
In short, what you must recognise is that which is free from all mental fabrications that would grasp at a duality (of truly existent consciousness and objects), in other words the pristine awareness of non-duality, the equal factor (of samsa:ra and NirvaQa), the Great Bliss free from mental fabrica- tions, the Maha:mudra Great Seal of Voidness. Fur- thermore, you should float above (the ocean of salhs-a:ra) on your fervent regard and loving respect (for your Guru) which you take as what is most vital. Then circle continually in making requests (to him for inspiration) without ever feeling you have
done enough. And then alight upon an obvious placing of his inspiration and blessings on you.
When you recognise that there is this stark brilliance as part of yourself, unobstructed, unhidden, free from being unobvious, you have arrived at the Mah~mudra that is the basis. To look at the nature (of the- mind) is the Mah-a:mudru that is the path.
To realise (this nature) with full conviction is the
? 104 MAH. . lMUDRA
Maha:mum that is the result. Therefore joyfully
cultivate yourself in this way.
Now the attainment of a (fully endowed) human body has become meaningful. You have actually entered the path of Liberation and made sams-a:ra have an end. Therefore meditate well and with joy, and cultivate this for a long time. That is extremely
important. Having looked at the settled and mov- ing minds and been introduced (to their actual natures), you have recognised that appearances are the mind, the mind is Voidness, Voidness is sponta- neous (arisal) and spontaneous (arisal) automatically subsides of itself. This is Maha:mudra, pointing a
finger at the Dharmaka:ya. Cultivate its practice continually. Follow it through to the end. Without leaving it as only a (dry) intellectual understanding, be certain to place it on your mind-stream. That is the eighth point (for penetrative insight meditation).
? Summaru
This has been the actual body of the text, the introduction to mental quiescence and penetrative insight. First you should focus on looking (at the nature of the mind) and then gradually you will be made to recognise it in accordance with how (your experiences) develop and your understanding o f them. It will all be correlated. In other (texts), there may be introductions in accordance with each way in which (experiences) may arise and be under- stood, and that is all right. But here I have corre- lated (the introduction) in accordance with the (four)
ways of looking and not relied on just amassing many words. These introductions, which accord with true insights and reach to the true meaning, must be correlated and applied by each person individually to his own account and progressive
insights. What I have written is in accordance with the general way in which (experiences) develop and achievements are made.
If from the beginning you were to be introduced to the nature (of the mind before you were ready), the introduction might have jaded you. If someone
familiar with the Dharma becomes jaded, it is. questionable whether (experiences and insights) will develop on his mind-stream. Therefore I have organised the way the introduction should be made like this in order to eliminate that (danger). This. concludes the actual body of the practice.
? Combining Hlahiimudrii witlt
? Otl? er Pra~ti~esand tl1e Fo1tr A~tivities
The third section is the concluding material, deal? ing with enhancing (your practice). In your medita? ? tion session (of single-minded concentration) have your mindfulness keep a check so that you have no
mental wandering. I f (your thoughts become completely) spread out, place (your meditation) aside (and take a rest). In your post-meditation period, if you lapse into mental wandering, alternate it more with meditation sessions in which you cultivate hav.
ing your mind not wander.
Thus you must gauge yourself and know when to take
a rest if you are pushing yourself too hard in meditation and when to meditate if your mind becomes too scattered during daily activity. Through such skilful alternation you will enhance your development of the MahAmudra realisa-
tion at all times.
When thinking about death and impermanence, you should have a state of mind that thinks, "As for death, my own combined body, speech and mind
are going to die". Then (on top of this) you should recognise the nature of death and of the mind that thinks of death and thus become liberated from ,grasping for (truly existing) permanence and imper-
? 110 MAHAMUDRA
manence, which are nothing but mentally labelled (categor:es made) by the mind. Likewise when thinking about all the disadvantages of salhs~ra or cyclic existence, you should come to realise that sarhs~ra and Ni~r;ta are like far and near moun- tains in a dream.
With such practices you enhance your realisation of the simultaneity of the two levels of truth. On the relative or conventional level you have death, impermanence, tho auJfering of samsara and so forth, all of which are deceptive
appearances nevertheless experienced as such. On the ultimate level the mode of existence of these appearances is Voidness; they lack true inherent existence. The two levels of truth, relative and ultimate, appearance and Void- ness, arc inseparable. You need the simultaneous realisa-
tion of both like two wings in order to fly. Do not go to either extreme that appearances are totally non-existent or that they truly exist. The former is nihilism or grasping at Voidness, the latter is the extreme of affirmation, grasp- ing at true existence. No amount of realisation of Void- ness shall make you less mindful of the common prelimi-
naries such as death meditation.
Furthermore, when you meditate on love and
compassion based on the realisation that all sentient beings have been your mothers and fathers, and likewise when you meditate on the wishing and venturing states of the Enlightened Motive of Bodhicitta up until your attainment of the Enlight-
ened Mind, you should recognise the nature of all these. Placing yourself in an uncontrived state, settle into a state of realisation having an outstand- ing (relative) Bodhicitta as its aspect and (an under- standing of) tbe nature (of this aspect, ultimate Bodhicitta) which is unmanufactured and free of all mental fabrications (of extreme modes of existence). Doing this is the inseparability of Voidness and
compassion.
? ENHANCII{G YOUR PRACI'ICE 1J
Love is the wish for everyone to be happy and compassion for them to be free of suffering. As you have undergone bcginningless rebirth, at some point everyone
? bas been your mother or father. Remembering their kind- ness and wishing to repay it, you should develop the wishing state of Bodhicitta, the thought to attain Buddha? hood in order to be most effectively able to help them. The venturing state of Bodhicitta is to engage in the practices that will bring you Enlightenment. such as the perfections o f generosity . moral discipline. patience, enthusiastic perseverance. meditative concentration, discri- minating awareness and so forth. All this is relative? Bodhicitta. Ultimate Bodhicitta is the realisation of Void- ness.
What is required is to have a simultaneous realisation of relative and ultimate Bodbicitta in the same manner as the two levels of truth. Just as when meditating on Guru- yoga you visualise your Guru in ? the form or aspect o r Buddha Vajradbllra while having the nature of your root Guru. you do the same here. Have the aspect or form of your meditation be compassion, while realising its nature as Voidness. This is the way to develop the realisation of" the inseparability of compassion and Voidness.
Also, when of the four tantric initiations you receive the vase empowerment, ycu are then permit- ted to do the practices of the development stage and visualise yourself as a deity. Now when you think of yourself as any of the four major meditational deities and you achieve clarity in your meditation of" the environment and all beings in it as d~ities and ?
all sounds as mantra, take a look at the nature of this. To practise in a state of unity of the develop- ment and completing stages, free from all thoughts (of true existence) is the Mahl[mudra: of the develop- ment stage.
There are many tantric meditational deities or yidams such as Heruka or Cakraaamvara. Hevajra. Guhyasamilja
? 412 MAHAMUDRA
and KiUacakra. On the development stage you visualise yourself as such deities, your environment as their mao! ;Jala celestial abodes, your speech as their mantra, your thoughts as pristine awareness, your actions as the enlightened activity of their virtuous conduct and so forth. This is to eliminate your compulsive grasping at ordinary appearances
and your holding them to be truly and inherently existent.
The completing stage, according to the Mahlmudri classification scheme, is divided into the stage having signa and that without signs. The former refers to the medita? tions on the energy-systems of the subtle body within the context of the development stage visualisation? and are done to channelise all the energy-winds into the central
channel for the blissful realisation of Voidness. The latter refers to the Mahimudri meditations done in this state.
In meditation, to have the clear appearance or aspect of a deity or mantra, while realising its Void nature is known as combining the development and completing stages or the mixture of Mahimudri ~ith the development stage. Whatever you visualise is the inseparable union of appear-
ance and Voidness.
Then you should meditate by applying the Clear Light. To recognise the self-nature (of reality) at all times, whether walking, lying, sitting or talking, is the mixture (of everything) with Mah-a:mudra.
You should apply the Clear Light realisation of every? thing as a dream to whatever you do. If in a dream you realise you are dreaming, you can then take full control of your dream. You can fty or do whatever you wish. Like? wise your waking state is but a deceptive dream. When you realise that nothing has true inherent existence, there is no limit to what you can do. With absolute conviction
in inseparable V oidness and appearance, free from the slightest doubt, you will no longer be restricted by ignorance and can take control of the elements and so forth.
Further, to practise single-pointedly in a state of inseparable de,? elopment and completing stages or
? ENHANCING YOUR'PRACTICB Ill?
mental quiescence and penetrative insight is (called the activity that is) aU-good. When this has become stable, you may then conceal yourself in fearsome solitary places and with awareness follow the view, meditations and activities. To practise like this is calJed the secret activity.
Secret activity is to go to such places as cemetaries, deserts or lonely mountains, and sleep with your head on a corpse or out in the wild. This is to check yourself to sec if superstitions and deluded states of mind still arise and to be able to examine them if and when they do. To auempt such activity without having achieved inseparable mental quiescence and penetrative insight is insane and there is the danger that you might go crazy. Therefore extreme caution
is required.
When you have become very stable in this, with
no mental wandering, you may then roam about and mix in large crowds. To take this as a path and practice is called the activity of being in crowds.
This is a similar type of practice to the previous one in the sense that it is intended as an opportunity to check your progress and examine the delusions, attachment and aversions that arise in noisy, crowded, chaotic situations.
According to differences (of which of these situations your mind) is stable in and which it is not, there are three (types of people) : gre1t. middling and little.
Some people can handle being alone but are unable to cope with crowds and busyness. Others thrive in activity with others, but cannot bear loneliness or being alone. It is essential to be able to be in any situation with combined
mental quiescence and penetrative insight.
There is no specific sign (differentiating) those who are great. But when they reach the great path of preparation and practise with the emanation of
? 114 M. 4H. . IMUDRA
appearances, they adopt the costume of Heruka and mix in fearsome circumstances with no thoughts whatsoever of what is to be eaten or not, what is clean or dirty or what is faulty or correct. Practising in this way, they progress gradually through the path of preparation, and when they reach the path of seeing they gain victory on their own part over demonic impulses of Mara, delusions and Hinayana (motivations). Thus (it is called the
activity bringing) victory over all directions.
According to the general Mah! yana description, there are five progressive paths on the way to Enlightenment. With the development of Bodhicitta you enter tho first of these, the path of accumulation on which you develop mental quiescence. On the second path of preparation you
perfect penetrative insight so that on the path of seeing you gain in your meditation session a bare non-conceptual understanding of Voidness. At this point you enter the first of the ten Bodhisattva stages {bhllmis). During the fourth path of meditation you further meditate in order to eliminate the obstacles preventing you from seeing Voidness at all times. At the path of no more learning you attain
the enlightened state of a Buddha.
lieruka is a general term for any male meditational
deity, or can refer specifically to Cakrasamvara. Those of greatest capacity, such as Tilopa and Naropa, adopt the bone jewellery and tiger-skin costume of a Heruka when on the path of preparation. They act like crazy men, eating anything that comes their way, not unlike the pig. There are many stories of Mahasiddhas, greatly realised masters, who would eat refuse or fish entrails. Practising in this way, they gained victory over 2111 superstitions, preconcep- tions and grasping at inherent existence, known collectively as "the Mara demons". This is an extremely advanced practice to be able to gain bare perception of Voidness.
As for the side of others, they work extremely extensively for the sake of sentient beings while
? ENHANCING YOUR PRACTICE 11S
engaged in the activity of being in crwods. Therefore this activity is also known as progressing with Mahamudni itself.
For those who are exceptionally sharp-witted, there is no need to enhance (their practice), for they are in (the Enlightened state of the Dharma- k-=rya) in which there is no longer anything to medi- tate upon or anyone to meditate. For those who are not like this, there are many methods to enhance (their practice) which they should learn from the mouths of their Guru. (General) methods to enhance your practice, however, are alternating your meditation and post-meditation periods, practising the path of the common vehicle (meditating on impermanence and so forth in terms ofMahamudra), pursuing tantric methods (in terms of Mahamudra), and engaging in the four types of activities (that which is aU-good and so forth). To exert effort and practise in this way is the first point for
enhancing (your practice).
? Tl1. e Five Distorted Views,
Tl1ree Skills a11d Fo? ? ? ? B11ddl? a Bodies
Furthermore, to eliminate interferences you should separate yourself from compulsive attraction to such things as virtuous and non-virtuous objects.
Conventionally, it is true that certain actions arc virtuous and others not. But ultimately these things have no true, inherent existence as such. If you regard certain actions as inherently "good" and arc compulsively attracted to them, or others as "sinful" and arc repulsed, such grasp-
ing will impede your progress.
Also, as the three times (past, present and future) cannot be established (as having true, inherent existence), you must abandon even the thought, "I shall work from this very moment until my attainment of Enlightenment. " Become certain that there is (instantaneous) Enlightenment in each instant.
Conventionally, there is past, present and future.
But if these categories had true, inherent existence as such, then the past would always have been in the past and could never have happened. The future would always be yet to come and could never occur. And the present would be ever so and never cease. Therefore, although it is impera- tive to have a Bodhicitta motivation, you should not conceive of working from now until Enlightenment when
? ENHANCING YOUR PRACTICE 117
this is based on an idea or your being in a truly existent moment now and Enlightenment as being somewhere ? ? out there" in the truly existent remote future.
By the very fact that thoughts arise and dissolve in exactly the same moment, Enlightenment is in each instant. If you are aware of this, that is referred to as "instantaneous Enlightenment". In other Buddhist vehicles, you attain Enlightenment by a long, drawn~out process of collecting
merit over three countless eons. To be sure, the realisation of Voidness and Enlightenment are the result of accumulated merit, but as the mind controls the body and speech, Mabamudr4. meditation on the mind is a peerless vehicle for accumulating enormous merit quickly. Instantaneous or instant Enlightenment does not mean that ignorance is eliminated magically from no cause and that you do not need to practise virtue, meditate or do anything in order to become Enlightened. It means that in each instant you can be Enlightened if you are aware of the true abiding nature of reality in that moment. And if you are not, you remain in samsara.
Do not hold your mind as being vulgar and ordi- nary. Recognise that from time immemorial it has been of the nature of the five pristine awarenesses.
Pristine awareness is of the inseparability of appearance and Voidness, of the two levels of truth, of the abiding nature of reality. It is the natural condition of your mind and has five aspects or functions, known as the five types of pristiue awareness. When you are unaware of them and overlay them with grasping at true existence, they are the major delusions.
Pristine awareness of the void nature of reality correctly discriminates between what is false and true. Overlaid with grasping for true existence, you wish to be rid of objects to which you ascribe such existence and thus you have anger. Unaware of the pristine awareness that is like a mirror you closeu-mindedly shroud yourself and ignore certain objects rather than clearly reflecting their appearance, and thus you have closed~minded ignorance. Unaware of the pristine
? 118 MAH-lMUDR. . l
awareness that sees the individual nature of things as void, you single out certain objects as more desirable by nature than others. This is longing desire. Unaware of the pristine awareness that sees the equality of things in insepar- able Voidness and appearance and so forth, you consider yourself better than others and thus have pride. Unaware of the pristine awareness that effortlessly accomplishes
everything, you are obsessed with others? achievements and do nothing for yourself. This is jealousy. Or you keep possessions to yourself and do not share or Jet things flow. This is miserliness. When you see, however, that the nature of the various delusions is the same as that of the five pristine awarenesses-and as all five are complete in each one, there can be many such lists of correlations-you transform the former into the latter.
Do not hold your own aggregates, cognitive spheres and bases as unclean. Become certain that from time immemorial they have been the male and female meditational deities and the male and female Bodhisattvas.
The aggregate physical and mental faculties are that of form, feelings, recognition, compositional factors and consciousness. The cognitive bases are the objects and cognitive powers of the faculties of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking. The cognitive spheres are the above bases plus the consciousness of each of these faculties.
In various tantras there arc numerous s)stems of corres- pondence, equating each of the above with a male or female meditationa! figure. One such system of a hundred deities is found in the ''Tibetan Book of the Dead (B'ar-d'o t'o-dr'ol)". At the time of death, these deities are revealed and they appear clearly. If you recognise them for what they are, you can gain liberation, but if you are frightened you will rush into one of the unfortunate rebirth states.
Abandon the wish to become liberated merely from hearing and thinking (about the teachings). Resolve to become liberated from (the additional) force of meditation and the blessings of the Guru.
? ENHANCING YOUR PRA<. . 'JJI. . ~:. o ? ? ~
In order to train your mind and overcome suffering, yo~ must rely on the powers of hearing, thinking and meditating. You must first hear a correct explanation of the teachings, on the nature of the mind for instance, and then think about them in order to ascertain their meaning. The latter is like looking at the mind and subjecting it to endless questions and logical analysis. Finally, when you have reached a decision about the nature of the mind, you must meditate and actually experience it to be so. Through the help of your Guru you come to recognise it from your meditation. Thus all three are needed to become enlightened.
In other words, abandon the five distorted ideas about objects, time, the nature (of your delusions), the way (your aggregates) are and the discriminating awarenesses (that come from hearing, thinking and meditating).
To have your body in the essential posture and your mind initially placed in single-minded concentration, having looked at the nature of the settled mind when it is settled and of the moving mind when it is moving, is called skill at the beginning of meditation. To rid yourself of fatigue (by taking a rest) when the unity of your single-
pointed concentration and essential bodily posture has become so spread apart they have separated is called skill intermediately in cutting off becoming diffuse. Not to be obsessed or attracted no matter what excellent boons arise (such as bliss, clarity or bare non-conceptuality) is called skill at the end in cultivating the boons. You should train yourself in these three skills.
The four Buddha bodies can be understood in terms of the mind.
The various appearances to and ofthe mind are the Nirm111}ak11ya or Emanation Body. Its aware-
? 120 MAHAMUDRA
ness is the Sambhogak~ya or Utility Body. Its Voidness is the Svabh~vak~ya or Nature Body and the inseparability (of the three) is the Dharmakaya
<>r Body of Truth.
Very often, the definitions of the Dharmakilya and Svabhavakaya are reveraed. A famous analogy for under- standing these bodies is that the Dharmakaya is like space, the Sambho! ! akaya like the moon and the Nirmanakaya like the reflection of that moon in water. All three are totally interdependent and inseparable. You cannot have the moon without the space it occupies and there can be no reflection independent of the moon. Likewise inseparable and interdependent are the Voidness, awareness and appearance ofthe mind.
When you have definitely decided that this is the way that all things are-appearance, existence, sams~ra, NirvaQa-and have ascertained that all things are isolated from all extremes of mentally fabricated modes of existence and are free of (inherent) arising, ceasing and enduring, then place
your mind single-pointedly in a state free of all expectations and worries and of all abandoning and adopting. That is the second point (for enhancing
your practice).
? Tl? e Tl? ree Places Wl? ere
You CanDeviate a11d tlae Pour Wl? ere Yo11 Can Lose
V oidness
Furthermore, because you will deviate into Three Realms if you are obsessed with the three (boons) of bliss, clarity and bare non-conceptuality,
do not hold these boons as supreme, no matter what arises, good or bad.
If you are obsessed with the boon of bliss and grasp at it to have true existence, you will be reborn as a god in the Desire Realm; if with clarity, in the Form Realm; and ir obsessed with bare non-conceptuality, in the Formless Realm.
Once you have ascertained (Voidness) through the insight that things are inherently neither one nor many (for instance that the mind and the body are neither totally the same nor completely different),
you might think that everything by nature is a total nothingness or that the intellectually defived mere negation which refutes true existence is the Voidness of everything (and that nothing exists even
conventionally). If you make this your meditation, you have lost Voidness with respect to its actual nature. Because you might become wild (having no belief) in cause and effect, you must abandon
? 122 MtfH. . IMUDR. . l
meditations that grasp at everything as being totally non-existent and those that are on such an intellec- tually formulated Voidness. Look at the nature or this grasping at total non-existence and then be uncontrived (without intellectually formulating anything).
If you look at the nature of the thought that grasps. at non-existence, it will automatically subside and dissolve- in its own place in the same manner as any other thought~ The nature of aU thoughts, even subtle ones such as grasp- ing, i! a clear, vivid awareness.
When you do not have the insight that all things. are void-both the (delusions) to be abandoned as. well as their opponents (namely V oidness)-then when many delusions or bad thoughts arise on your mind-stream, you might take them as your- enemy thinking, "These are killing my (chance for) Liberation". Then thinking, "These should be des- troyed by Voidness", you hold these two as a (truly existent) thing to be abandoned (on the one hand, and on the other a truly existent) thing to help. To? meditate on Voidness like this is to lose Voidness
with respect to its being an opponent. Recognise the nature of the very thought that grasps at the delusions or what is to be abandoned and the helper (Voidness) as being separate in nature, and place yourself in a state in which there is nothing: truly existent to refute or establish.
When you do not have the insight that the basis (namely the abiding nature of reality), the path (or meditation on that nature) and the result (the realisation of the Dharmaka:ya) are all three Void
(by nature), you might think that Voidness is the? supreme path for attaining Buddhahood (and does
? ENHANCING YOUR PRACTICE l . . . . r
not apply as well to the basis and the result). You might also think that if you understand (Voidness) it is the supreme path and that except for this, all the other Buddhist paths (such as the Hmayana meditations on the Four Noble Truths) are inferior. Not to think of these other paths as belonging to the methods (taught by Buddha), is to lose Voidness with respect to its being a path. Recognise? the nature of the very thought that is obsessed with Voidness and that grasps at it as being the supreme? path. By looking you will realise that everything
is void (the basis, path, as well as the result) and' that in Voidness there is no supreme or inferior,. nothing to be abandoned or to help.
The next place where you can lose Voidness is when? doing the tantric development stage practices of dissolving everything into Voidness with a mantra before visualising a meditational deity.
If you have no solid experience (of Voidness) you might imagine an intellectually formulated (mental image of) Voidness or its mantra spreading out over everything (as if it were a thing). Then because you exclusively thought that everything is this Voidness or that nothing could be established (conventionally) since everything is void, you might discard karma and the law of cause and effect, thinking, "What can come of virtuous actions which are (only) conditioned phenomena. ;, This is losing Voidness with respect to spreading it out (as if it were a thing). Look at the very thought that thinks "This is Voidness" and once you have recognised its nature, place yourself single-pointedly on the actual void nature of Voidness itself and have no thoughts (of a vacuum, for instance~
thinking "This is Voidness". )
? "124 MAHJMUDRJ
These intellectutually formulated ideas o f Voidness, however, are not totally improper under all circumstances. If beginners do not meditate with intellectual formulations (and logical reasonings), they will be unable to gain the insight of Voidness even if they are taught it from the beginning. But, by familiarising themselves with V oidness (concep- tually), they will ultimately gain an effortless
(non-conceptual) insight into Voidness. Therefore even meditating on an intellectually formulated V oidness can be permitted. However, ultimately (such a conceptual understanding) must be abondoned since it can be a place for losing Mah11:mud. nt.
A beginner refers to anyone who has not yet achieved the path of seeing and its bare non-conceptual perception of Voidness, in other words anyone who is not an Arya. If someone has collected an enormous amount of merit in his previous lifetimes, he may "skip ahead" and gain such bare perception immediately upon meditation This is rare. The more usual process is as follows.
First you develop n presumptive understanding of Voidness based on hearing a correct explanation. Presump- tion is reaching a correct conclusion either for a wrong reason or even a right one but which you do not under- stand. Your Guru teaches you about Voidness and although you do not really understand what he has said, you repeat his words and have an idea of Voidness based on hearsay.
Next, by repeatedly thinking about and logically analysing what he has said, you gain a valid inferential understanding of Voidness based on the intellectual, con- ceptual process of logical reasoning. By repeating this logical process and focusing on Voidness by mixing your actual understanding of it with an auxiliary conceptual one, such
as the mental image of space or a vacuum, so that you hav. : a more readily accessible object for concentration on Void-
? ENHANCING YOUR PRACTICE 12S?
ness, you will eventually achieve its bare, non-conceptual perception. This comes about not by a mystic leap of faith, but through the law of cause and effect as the result of your accumulation of merit. Therefore a mental image of Voidness such as one of a vacuum and a conceptual understanding based on logic are necessary aids for the full realisation of Voidness. But they must ultimately be abandoned, for they tend to make a ? 'thing" out of Void~ ness, which it is not, and can be a place for losing it such as when spreading out an intellectually formulated image of a Voidness as if it were a thing.
These, then, are the four places where you can lose (Voidness). Because they are interferences (to proper Mah~mudrlt meditation), you must not confuse what is to. be abandoned and adopted in accordance with (these teachings). Then in this
state, without any presumptive understanding ( o f Voidness), place your attention uncontrivedly on whatever arises. Do not stray from the here and
now. Be fluid and flowing without holding your body in a severe posture or holding your breath and so forth.
Such methods, as found in the "Six Yogas ofNaropa", are useful for achieving the Mahimudri insight, but once achieved arc no longer needed.
Whatever thoughts arise-virtuous, non~virtuous or unspecified- do not block them or establish? (their cessation), do not abandon (them) or adopt (opponents). Whatever arises, do not follow out, but rather place your attention on it without any grasping. That is the third point (for enhancing your practice).
? Tire Danger Points Where Tl1i1rgs "''''Y A rise A s " "
E11e111Y "''" OtlrerIDter- ferelrces
Furthermore, suppose you are feeling self- satisfied and happy that thoughts and delusions (are not interrupting) your meditation. Then all of a sudden many rough thoughts upset you violently and you cannot bring them under control in meditation. You might regard these thoughts as enemies that have arisen. Try to recognise these very thoughts and the nature of these very thoughts. Do not regard them as faults, but think of them with kindness.
For instance, if a thought of anger a1ises, regard it u an opportunity to cultivate patience or, if of desire, to meditate on the impermanence of what you wan? . Ultima- tely, however, if you merely focus on them, they will naturally subside.
Taking them into the sphere of your meditation, see that their nature is free of all mentally fabricated (extreme modes of existence) and that they arise (as the play) of the Dharmakaya. Cultivate (the
insight) that they are like this.
Suppose that previously whatever delusions
? ENHANCING YOUR PRACTICE 127
arose, you were able to wipe them off by (an inteJlectually formulated analysis of) Voidness.
This refers to being able to eliminate a delusion through a logical, intellectually formulated analysis o f its V oidness. For instance, if you desire a person or an object and after analysing whether it is the same or different from its parts, you conclude that it is neither and therefore lacks true exij:tence, your desire will fall apart as you see there is no solid, concrete object for it.
But then aU of a sudden without any control (another) delusion arises such as longing desire. Y ou might regard such a delusion as an enemy that has arisen. For this, whatever delusions arise, recognise their nature. By placing yourself in (a state of) neither blocking (them) nor establishing (their. cessation), they become purified (and subside) in their own place without your needing to abandon them. In other words, go into their own purity as is explained in the (methods for) taking thoughts
as a path, namely (focus on) the void nature of the outstanding aspect (or appearance of the thought) which is blissful, clear and non-conceptually bare. Cultivate yourself in this way.
When you search for the mind by analysis and see that it cannot be found and that all things cannot be established as truly existent, you might then discard (the conventional existence of)? every- thing, what is to be abandoned and what is to help, what is virtuous and what is not. Taking the experienced boon of bareness as the main thing, you might feel that yourself and all others have disappeared into a vacuum and therefore you should do nothing. Such grasping at Voidness is known as Voidness having arisen as an enemy or as spreading blackness an around.
? 12 8 MAH. . lMUDR. . l
Both the extremes of existence and non-existence must be refuted. But if you had to choose, it is better to fall to the former rather than to nihilism. Nagarjuna has said that Voidness refutes all true existence, but if you do not understand it, it is better to understand phenomena. Consider the example of a snake. If you say it is void and nothing, and do not respect its relati. . -e nature, it may bite
you and you will die. Likewise you can fall to a lower rehirth in a hell from disregarding the fact that non-
virtuous actions bring unfortunate results.
For this as well, you should recognise the nature of the grasping at Voidness itself. Placing yourself in a state of neither blocking nor establishing (its cessation), you will eliminate (such grasping). Therefore place your single-minded concentration like that.
The mind you are to be made to recognise is nor-
? 102 MAH. lMUDRA
mal consciousness which can think up anything and everything, is all-aware and all-flexible. It itself is known as the unity ofclarity and Voidness, the Great Bliss, the Voidness possessing that which is perpet- ually supreme, or Mahrunud. nt, the Great Seal of Voidness. When you recognise it, this is known as the insight of Mah~mudra. Therefore place your mind in its own state of vivid awareness without anything to meditate on and without letting it wander for even an instant. Relax and be at ease without any expectations or worries, hopes that your medita- tion will be good or fears that it will be bad. By cultivating the natural state ofyour normal conscious- ness, you will behold in the very instant of here and now the Mahrunud~ Great Seal of Voidness, the unity of bliss and Voidness and (you will see it) like
the clear expanse of cloudless space.
Now that mental quiescence has been joined with penetrative insight, sublime experiences and insights will happen. This fulfils the requirement of actually having entered the path of Liberation. Voidness is the way the mind is, clarity is its defining characteris- tic and the unity of these is the mind's nature. (There are many names for) this clear, vivid brilliance with a nature of bliss, clarity and bare (non-conceptuality), which is freeof all extremes of mentally fabricated (modes of existence) such as good or bad, arising,
ceasing or enduring, existing or not existing, perma. ;. nent or impermanent and which is beyond all words and thoughts, which cannot be identified (as this or that) and yet can be experienced. It is known as the very essence of great pristine awareness, the rea1ity of the great natural occurrence, the abiding nature of the way in which all knowables exist, pure
? PENETRATIYE INSiun~ ? ? ? --~--
awareness, the very nature of things, the equal factor (of salhsara and NirvaQa), the Great Bliss, the Buddha-nature, the perfection o f wisdom, ~mniscience, the Voidness possessing that which is perpetually supreme.
Because everything can be understood by the mind, it is (called) mind-only. Because it is free of all extremes or middle, it is Madhyamaka, the Great Central position. Because it is difficult for everyone to comprehend, it is the hidden, or secret tantra. Because it destroys all deceptions, it is the Vajrayana Diamond-hard Vehicle. Because it beholds the essence of Buddhahood, it is dalled the Dharmakuya. .
In short, what you must recognise is that which is free from all mental fabrications that would grasp at a duality (of truly existent consciousness and objects), in other words the pristine awareness of non-duality, the equal factor (of samsa:ra and NirvaQa), the Great Bliss free from mental fabrica- tions, the Maha:mudra Great Seal of Voidness. Fur- thermore, you should float above (the ocean of salhs-a:ra) on your fervent regard and loving respect (for your Guru) which you take as what is most vital. Then circle continually in making requests (to him for inspiration) without ever feeling you have
done enough. And then alight upon an obvious placing of his inspiration and blessings on you.
When you recognise that there is this stark brilliance as part of yourself, unobstructed, unhidden, free from being unobvious, you have arrived at the Mah~mudra that is the basis. To look at the nature (of the- mind) is the Mah-a:mudru that is the path.
To realise (this nature) with full conviction is the
? 104 MAH. . lMUDRA
Maha:mum that is the result. Therefore joyfully
cultivate yourself in this way.
Now the attainment of a (fully endowed) human body has become meaningful. You have actually entered the path of Liberation and made sams-a:ra have an end. Therefore meditate well and with joy, and cultivate this for a long time. That is extremely
important. Having looked at the settled and mov- ing minds and been introduced (to their actual natures), you have recognised that appearances are the mind, the mind is Voidness, Voidness is sponta- neous (arisal) and spontaneous (arisal) automatically subsides of itself. This is Maha:mudra, pointing a
finger at the Dharmaka:ya. Cultivate its practice continually. Follow it through to the end. Without leaving it as only a (dry) intellectual understanding, be certain to place it on your mind-stream. That is the eighth point (for penetrative insight meditation).
? Summaru
This has been the actual body of the text, the introduction to mental quiescence and penetrative insight. First you should focus on looking (at the nature of the mind) and then gradually you will be made to recognise it in accordance with how (your experiences) develop and your understanding o f them. It will all be correlated. In other (texts), there may be introductions in accordance with each way in which (experiences) may arise and be under- stood, and that is all right. But here I have corre- lated (the introduction) in accordance with the (four)
ways of looking and not relied on just amassing many words. These introductions, which accord with true insights and reach to the true meaning, must be correlated and applied by each person individually to his own account and progressive
insights. What I have written is in accordance with the general way in which (experiences) develop and achievements are made.
If from the beginning you were to be introduced to the nature (of the mind before you were ready), the introduction might have jaded you. If someone
familiar with the Dharma becomes jaded, it is. questionable whether (experiences and insights) will develop on his mind-stream. Therefore I have organised the way the introduction should be made like this in order to eliminate that (danger). This. concludes the actual body of the practice.
? Combining Hlahiimudrii witlt
? Otl? er Pra~ti~esand tl1e Fo1tr A~tivities
The third section is the concluding material, deal? ing with enhancing (your practice). In your medita? ? tion session (of single-minded concentration) have your mindfulness keep a check so that you have no
mental wandering. I f (your thoughts become completely) spread out, place (your meditation) aside (and take a rest). In your post-meditation period, if you lapse into mental wandering, alternate it more with meditation sessions in which you cultivate hav.
ing your mind not wander.
Thus you must gauge yourself and know when to take
a rest if you are pushing yourself too hard in meditation and when to meditate if your mind becomes too scattered during daily activity. Through such skilful alternation you will enhance your development of the MahAmudra realisa-
tion at all times.
When thinking about death and impermanence, you should have a state of mind that thinks, "As for death, my own combined body, speech and mind
are going to die". Then (on top of this) you should recognise the nature of death and of the mind that thinks of death and thus become liberated from ,grasping for (truly existing) permanence and imper-
? 110 MAHAMUDRA
manence, which are nothing but mentally labelled (categor:es made) by the mind. Likewise when thinking about all the disadvantages of salhs~ra or cyclic existence, you should come to realise that sarhs~ra and Ni~r;ta are like far and near moun- tains in a dream.
With such practices you enhance your realisation of the simultaneity of the two levels of truth. On the relative or conventional level you have death, impermanence, tho auJfering of samsara and so forth, all of which are deceptive
appearances nevertheless experienced as such. On the ultimate level the mode of existence of these appearances is Voidness; they lack true inherent existence. The two levels of truth, relative and ultimate, appearance and Void- ness, arc inseparable. You need the simultaneous realisa-
tion of both like two wings in order to fly. Do not go to either extreme that appearances are totally non-existent or that they truly exist. The former is nihilism or grasping at Voidness, the latter is the extreme of affirmation, grasp- ing at true existence. No amount of realisation of Void- ness shall make you less mindful of the common prelimi-
naries such as death meditation.
Furthermore, when you meditate on love and
compassion based on the realisation that all sentient beings have been your mothers and fathers, and likewise when you meditate on the wishing and venturing states of the Enlightened Motive of Bodhicitta up until your attainment of the Enlight-
ened Mind, you should recognise the nature of all these. Placing yourself in an uncontrived state, settle into a state of realisation having an outstand- ing (relative) Bodhicitta as its aspect and (an under- standing of) tbe nature (of this aspect, ultimate Bodhicitta) which is unmanufactured and free of all mental fabrications (of extreme modes of existence). Doing this is the inseparability of Voidness and
compassion.
? ENHANCII{G YOUR PRACI'ICE 1J
Love is the wish for everyone to be happy and compassion for them to be free of suffering. As you have undergone bcginningless rebirth, at some point everyone
? bas been your mother or father. Remembering their kind- ness and wishing to repay it, you should develop the wishing state of Bodhicitta, the thought to attain Buddha? hood in order to be most effectively able to help them. The venturing state of Bodhicitta is to engage in the practices that will bring you Enlightenment. such as the perfections o f generosity . moral discipline. patience, enthusiastic perseverance. meditative concentration, discri- minating awareness and so forth. All this is relative? Bodhicitta. Ultimate Bodhicitta is the realisation of Void- ness.
What is required is to have a simultaneous realisation of relative and ultimate Bodbicitta in the same manner as the two levels of truth. Just as when meditating on Guru- yoga you visualise your Guru in ? the form or aspect o r Buddha Vajradbllra while having the nature of your root Guru. you do the same here. Have the aspect or form of your meditation be compassion, while realising its nature as Voidness. This is the way to develop the realisation of" the inseparability of compassion and Voidness.
Also, when of the four tantric initiations you receive the vase empowerment, ycu are then permit- ted to do the practices of the development stage and visualise yourself as a deity. Now when you think of yourself as any of the four major meditational deities and you achieve clarity in your meditation of" the environment and all beings in it as d~ities and ?
all sounds as mantra, take a look at the nature of this. To practise in a state of unity of the develop- ment and completing stages, free from all thoughts (of true existence) is the Mahl[mudra: of the develop- ment stage.
There are many tantric meditational deities or yidams such as Heruka or Cakraaamvara. Hevajra. Guhyasamilja
? 412 MAHAMUDRA
and KiUacakra. On the development stage you visualise yourself as such deities, your environment as their mao! ;Jala celestial abodes, your speech as their mantra, your thoughts as pristine awareness, your actions as the enlightened activity of their virtuous conduct and so forth. This is to eliminate your compulsive grasping at ordinary appearances
and your holding them to be truly and inherently existent.
The completing stage, according to the Mahlmudri classification scheme, is divided into the stage having signa and that without signs. The former refers to the medita? tions on the energy-systems of the subtle body within the context of the development stage visualisation? and are done to channelise all the energy-winds into the central
channel for the blissful realisation of Voidness. The latter refers to the Mahimudri meditations done in this state.
In meditation, to have the clear appearance or aspect of a deity or mantra, while realising its Void nature is known as combining the development and completing stages or the mixture of Mahimudri ~ith the development stage. Whatever you visualise is the inseparable union of appear-
ance and Voidness.
Then you should meditate by applying the Clear Light. To recognise the self-nature (of reality) at all times, whether walking, lying, sitting or talking, is the mixture (of everything) with Mah-a:mudra.
You should apply the Clear Light realisation of every? thing as a dream to whatever you do. If in a dream you realise you are dreaming, you can then take full control of your dream. You can fty or do whatever you wish. Like? wise your waking state is but a deceptive dream. When you realise that nothing has true inherent existence, there is no limit to what you can do. With absolute conviction
in inseparable V oidness and appearance, free from the slightest doubt, you will no longer be restricted by ignorance and can take control of the elements and so forth.
Further, to practise single-pointedly in a state of inseparable de,? elopment and completing stages or
? ENHANCING YOUR'PRACTICB Ill?
mental quiescence and penetrative insight is (called the activity that is) aU-good. When this has become stable, you may then conceal yourself in fearsome solitary places and with awareness follow the view, meditations and activities. To practise like this is calJed the secret activity.
Secret activity is to go to such places as cemetaries, deserts or lonely mountains, and sleep with your head on a corpse or out in the wild. This is to check yourself to sec if superstitions and deluded states of mind still arise and to be able to examine them if and when they do. To auempt such activity without having achieved inseparable mental quiescence and penetrative insight is insane and there is the danger that you might go crazy. Therefore extreme caution
is required.
When you have become very stable in this, with
no mental wandering, you may then roam about and mix in large crowds. To take this as a path and practice is called the activity of being in crowds.
This is a similar type of practice to the previous one in the sense that it is intended as an opportunity to check your progress and examine the delusions, attachment and aversions that arise in noisy, crowded, chaotic situations.
According to differences (of which of these situations your mind) is stable in and which it is not, there are three (types of people) : gre1t. middling and little.
Some people can handle being alone but are unable to cope with crowds and busyness. Others thrive in activity with others, but cannot bear loneliness or being alone. It is essential to be able to be in any situation with combined
mental quiescence and penetrative insight.
There is no specific sign (differentiating) those who are great. But when they reach the great path of preparation and practise with the emanation of
? 114 M. 4H. . IMUDRA
appearances, they adopt the costume of Heruka and mix in fearsome circumstances with no thoughts whatsoever of what is to be eaten or not, what is clean or dirty or what is faulty or correct. Practising in this way, they progress gradually through the path of preparation, and when they reach the path of seeing they gain victory on their own part over demonic impulses of Mara, delusions and Hinayana (motivations). Thus (it is called the
activity bringing) victory over all directions.
According to the general Mah! yana description, there are five progressive paths on the way to Enlightenment. With the development of Bodhicitta you enter tho first of these, the path of accumulation on which you develop mental quiescence. On the second path of preparation you
perfect penetrative insight so that on the path of seeing you gain in your meditation session a bare non-conceptual understanding of Voidness. At this point you enter the first of the ten Bodhisattva stages {bhllmis). During the fourth path of meditation you further meditate in order to eliminate the obstacles preventing you from seeing Voidness at all times. At the path of no more learning you attain
the enlightened state of a Buddha.
lieruka is a general term for any male meditational
deity, or can refer specifically to Cakrasamvara. Those of greatest capacity, such as Tilopa and Naropa, adopt the bone jewellery and tiger-skin costume of a Heruka when on the path of preparation. They act like crazy men, eating anything that comes their way, not unlike the pig. There are many stories of Mahasiddhas, greatly realised masters, who would eat refuse or fish entrails. Practising in this way, they gained victory over 2111 superstitions, preconcep- tions and grasping at inherent existence, known collectively as "the Mara demons". This is an extremely advanced practice to be able to gain bare perception of Voidness.
As for the side of others, they work extremely extensively for the sake of sentient beings while
? ENHANCING YOUR PRACTICE 11S
engaged in the activity of being in crwods. Therefore this activity is also known as progressing with Mahamudni itself.
For those who are exceptionally sharp-witted, there is no need to enhance (their practice), for they are in (the Enlightened state of the Dharma- k-=rya) in which there is no longer anything to medi- tate upon or anyone to meditate. For those who are not like this, there are many methods to enhance (their practice) which they should learn from the mouths of their Guru. (General) methods to enhance your practice, however, are alternating your meditation and post-meditation periods, practising the path of the common vehicle (meditating on impermanence and so forth in terms ofMahamudra), pursuing tantric methods (in terms of Mahamudra), and engaging in the four types of activities (that which is aU-good and so forth). To exert effort and practise in this way is the first point for
enhancing (your practice).
? Tl1. e Five Distorted Views,
Tl1ree Skills a11d Fo? ? ? ? B11ddl? a Bodies
Furthermore, to eliminate interferences you should separate yourself from compulsive attraction to such things as virtuous and non-virtuous objects.
Conventionally, it is true that certain actions arc virtuous and others not. But ultimately these things have no true, inherent existence as such. If you regard certain actions as inherently "good" and arc compulsively attracted to them, or others as "sinful" and arc repulsed, such grasp-
ing will impede your progress.
Also, as the three times (past, present and future) cannot be established (as having true, inherent existence), you must abandon even the thought, "I shall work from this very moment until my attainment of Enlightenment. " Become certain that there is (instantaneous) Enlightenment in each instant.
Conventionally, there is past, present and future.
But if these categories had true, inherent existence as such, then the past would always have been in the past and could never have happened. The future would always be yet to come and could never occur. And the present would be ever so and never cease. Therefore, although it is impera- tive to have a Bodhicitta motivation, you should not conceive of working from now until Enlightenment when
? ENHANCING YOUR PRACTICE 117
this is based on an idea or your being in a truly existent moment now and Enlightenment as being somewhere ? ? out there" in the truly existent remote future.
By the very fact that thoughts arise and dissolve in exactly the same moment, Enlightenment is in each instant. If you are aware of this, that is referred to as "instantaneous Enlightenment". In other Buddhist vehicles, you attain Enlightenment by a long, drawn~out process of collecting
merit over three countless eons. To be sure, the realisation of Voidness and Enlightenment are the result of accumulated merit, but as the mind controls the body and speech, Mabamudr4. meditation on the mind is a peerless vehicle for accumulating enormous merit quickly. Instantaneous or instant Enlightenment does not mean that ignorance is eliminated magically from no cause and that you do not need to practise virtue, meditate or do anything in order to become Enlightened. It means that in each instant you can be Enlightened if you are aware of the true abiding nature of reality in that moment. And if you are not, you remain in samsara.
Do not hold your mind as being vulgar and ordi- nary. Recognise that from time immemorial it has been of the nature of the five pristine awarenesses.
Pristine awareness is of the inseparability of appearance and Voidness, of the two levels of truth, of the abiding nature of reality. It is the natural condition of your mind and has five aspects or functions, known as the five types of pristiue awareness. When you are unaware of them and overlay them with grasping at true existence, they are the major delusions.
Pristine awareness of the void nature of reality correctly discriminates between what is false and true. Overlaid with grasping for true existence, you wish to be rid of objects to which you ascribe such existence and thus you have anger. Unaware of the pristine awareness that is like a mirror you closeu-mindedly shroud yourself and ignore certain objects rather than clearly reflecting their appearance, and thus you have closed~minded ignorance. Unaware of the pristine
? 118 MAH-lMUDR. . l
awareness that sees the individual nature of things as void, you single out certain objects as more desirable by nature than others. This is longing desire. Unaware of the pristine awareness that sees the equality of things in insepar- able Voidness and appearance and so forth, you consider yourself better than others and thus have pride. Unaware of the pristine awareness that effortlessly accomplishes
everything, you are obsessed with others? achievements and do nothing for yourself. This is jealousy. Or you keep possessions to yourself and do not share or Jet things flow. This is miserliness. When you see, however, that the nature of the various delusions is the same as that of the five pristine awarenesses-and as all five are complete in each one, there can be many such lists of correlations-you transform the former into the latter.
Do not hold your own aggregates, cognitive spheres and bases as unclean. Become certain that from time immemorial they have been the male and female meditational deities and the male and female Bodhisattvas.
The aggregate physical and mental faculties are that of form, feelings, recognition, compositional factors and consciousness. The cognitive bases are the objects and cognitive powers of the faculties of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking. The cognitive spheres are the above bases plus the consciousness of each of these faculties.
In various tantras there arc numerous s)stems of corres- pondence, equating each of the above with a male or female meditationa! figure. One such system of a hundred deities is found in the ''Tibetan Book of the Dead (B'ar-d'o t'o-dr'ol)". At the time of death, these deities are revealed and they appear clearly. If you recognise them for what they are, you can gain liberation, but if you are frightened you will rush into one of the unfortunate rebirth states.
Abandon the wish to become liberated merely from hearing and thinking (about the teachings). Resolve to become liberated from (the additional) force of meditation and the blessings of the Guru.
? ENHANCING YOUR PRA<. . 'JJI. . ~:. o ? ? ~
In order to train your mind and overcome suffering, yo~ must rely on the powers of hearing, thinking and meditating. You must first hear a correct explanation of the teachings, on the nature of the mind for instance, and then think about them in order to ascertain their meaning. The latter is like looking at the mind and subjecting it to endless questions and logical analysis. Finally, when you have reached a decision about the nature of the mind, you must meditate and actually experience it to be so. Through the help of your Guru you come to recognise it from your meditation. Thus all three are needed to become enlightened.
In other words, abandon the five distorted ideas about objects, time, the nature (of your delusions), the way (your aggregates) are and the discriminating awarenesses (that come from hearing, thinking and meditating).
To have your body in the essential posture and your mind initially placed in single-minded concentration, having looked at the nature of the settled mind when it is settled and of the moving mind when it is moving, is called skill at the beginning of meditation. To rid yourself of fatigue (by taking a rest) when the unity of your single-
pointed concentration and essential bodily posture has become so spread apart they have separated is called skill intermediately in cutting off becoming diffuse. Not to be obsessed or attracted no matter what excellent boons arise (such as bliss, clarity or bare non-conceptuality) is called skill at the end in cultivating the boons. You should train yourself in these three skills.
The four Buddha bodies can be understood in terms of the mind.
The various appearances to and ofthe mind are the Nirm111}ak11ya or Emanation Body. Its aware-
? 120 MAHAMUDRA
ness is the Sambhogak~ya or Utility Body. Its Voidness is the Svabh~vak~ya or Nature Body and the inseparability (of the three) is the Dharmakaya
<>r Body of Truth.
Very often, the definitions of the Dharmakilya and Svabhavakaya are reveraed. A famous analogy for under- standing these bodies is that the Dharmakaya is like space, the Sambho! ! akaya like the moon and the Nirmanakaya like the reflection of that moon in water. All three are totally interdependent and inseparable. You cannot have the moon without the space it occupies and there can be no reflection independent of the moon. Likewise inseparable and interdependent are the Voidness, awareness and appearance ofthe mind.
When you have definitely decided that this is the way that all things are-appearance, existence, sams~ra, NirvaQa-and have ascertained that all things are isolated from all extremes of mentally fabricated modes of existence and are free of (inherent) arising, ceasing and enduring, then place
your mind single-pointedly in a state free of all expectations and worries and of all abandoning and adopting. That is the second point (for enhancing
your practice).
? Tl? e Tl? ree Places Wl? ere
You CanDeviate a11d tlae Pour Wl? ere Yo11 Can Lose
V oidness
Furthermore, because you will deviate into Three Realms if you are obsessed with the three (boons) of bliss, clarity and bare non-conceptuality,
do not hold these boons as supreme, no matter what arises, good or bad.
If you are obsessed with the boon of bliss and grasp at it to have true existence, you will be reborn as a god in the Desire Realm; if with clarity, in the Form Realm; and ir obsessed with bare non-conceptuality, in the Formless Realm.
Once you have ascertained (Voidness) through the insight that things are inherently neither one nor many (for instance that the mind and the body are neither totally the same nor completely different),
you might think that everything by nature is a total nothingness or that the intellectually defived mere negation which refutes true existence is the Voidness of everything (and that nothing exists even
conventionally). If you make this your meditation, you have lost Voidness with respect to its actual nature. Because you might become wild (having no belief) in cause and effect, you must abandon
? 122 MtfH. . IMUDR. . l
meditations that grasp at everything as being totally non-existent and those that are on such an intellec- tually formulated Voidness. Look at the nature or this grasping at total non-existence and then be uncontrived (without intellectually formulating anything).
If you look at the nature of the thought that grasps. at non-existence, it will automatically subside and dissolve- in its own place in the same manner as any other thought~ The nature of aU thoughts, even subtle ones such as grasp- ing, i! a clear, vivid awareness.
When you do not have the insight that all things. are void-both the (delusions) to be abandoned as. well as their opponents (namely V oidness)-then when many delusions or bad thoughts arise on your mind-stream, you might take them as your- enemy thinking, "These are killing my (chance for) Liberation". Then thinking, "These should be des- troyed by Voidness", you hold these two as a (truly existent) thing to be abandoned (on the one hand, and on the other a truly existent) thing to help. To? meditate on Voidness like this is to lose Voidness
with respect to its being an opponent. Recognise the nature of the very thought that grasps at the delusions or what is to be abandoned and the helper (Voidness) as being separate in nature, and place yourself in a state in which there is nothing: truly existent to refute or establish.
When you do not have the insight that the basis (namely the abiding nature of reality), the path (or meditation on that nature) and the result (the realisation of the Dharmaka:ya) are all three Void
(by nature), you might think that Voidness is the? supreme path for attaining Buddhahood (and does
? ENHANCING YOUR PRACTICE l . . . . r
not apply as well to the basis and the result). You might also think that if you understand (Voidness) it is the supreme path and that except for this, all the other Buddhist paths (such as the Hmayana meditations on the Four Noble Truths) are inferior. Not to think of these other paths as belonging to the methods (taught by Buddha), is to lose Voidness with respect to its being a path. Recognise? the nature of the very thought that is obsessed with Voidness and that grasps at it as being the supreme? path. By looking you will realise that everything
is void (the basis, path, as well as the result) and' that in Voidness there is no supreme or inferior,. nothing to be abandoned or to help.
The next place where you can lose Voidness is when? doing the tantric development stage practices of dissolving everything into Voidness with a mantra before visualising a meditational deity.
If you have no solid experience (of Voidness) you might imagine an intellectually formulated (mental image of) Voidness or its mantra spreading out over everything (as if it were a thing). Then because you exclusively thought that everything is this Voidness or that nothing could be established (conventionally) since everything is void, you might discard karma and the law of cause and effect, thinking, "What can come of virtuous actions which are (only) conditioned phenomena. ;, This is losing Voidness with respect to spreading it out (as if it were a thing). Look at the very thought that thinks "This is Voidness" and once you have recognised its nature, place yourself single-pointedly on the actual void nature of Voidness itself and have no thoughts (of a vacuum, for instance~
thinking "This is Voidness". )
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These intellectutually formulated ideas o f Voidness, however, are not totally improper under all circumstances. If beginners do not meditate with intellectual formulations (and logical reasonings), they will be unable to gain the insight of Voidness even if they are taught it from the beginning. But, by familiarising themselves with V oidness (concep- tually), they will ultimately gain an effortless
(non-conceptual) insight into Voidness. Therefore even meditating on an intellectually formulated V oidness can be permitted. However, ultimately (such a conceptual understanding) must be abondoned since it can be a place for losing Mah11:mud. nt.
A beginner refers to anyone who has not yet achieved the path of seeing and its bare non-conceptual perception of Voidness, in other words anyone who is not an Arya. If someone has collected an enormous amount of merit in his previous lifetimes, he may "skip ahead" and gain such bare perception immediately upon meditation This is rare. The more usual process is as follows.
First you develop n presumptive understanding of Voidness based on hearing a correct explanation. Presump- tion is reaching a correct conclusion either for a wrong reason or even a right one but which you do not under- stand. Your Guru teaches you about Voidness and although you do not really understand what he has said, you repeat his words and have an idea of Voidness based on hearsay.
Next, by repeatedly thinking about and logically analysing what he has said, you gain a valid inferential understanding of Voidness based on the intellectual, con- ceptual process of logical reasoning. By repeating this logical process and focusing on Voidness by mixing your actual understanding of it with an auxiliary conceptual one, such
as the mental image of space or a vacuum, so that you hav. : a more readily accessible object for concentration on Void-
? ENHANCING YOUR PRACTICE 12S?
ness, you will eventually achieve its bare, non-conceptual perception. This comes about not by a mystic leap of faith, but through the law of cause and effect as the result of your accumulation of merit. Therefore a mental image of Voidness such as one of a vacuum and a conceptual understanding based on logic are necessary aids for the full realisation of Voidness. But they must ultimately be abandoned, for they tend to make a ? 'thing" out of Void~ ness, which it is not, and can be a place for losing it such as when spreading out an intellectually formulated image of a Voidness as if it were a thing.
These, then, are the four places where you can lose (Voidness). Because they are interferences (to proper Mah~mudrlt meditation), you must not confuse what is to. be abandoned and adopted in accordance with (these teachings). Then in this
state, without any presumptive understanding ( o f Voidness), place your attention uncontrivedly on whatever arises. Do not stray from the here and
now. Be fluid and flowing without holding your body in a severe posture or holding your breath and so forth.
Such methods, as found in the "Six Yogas ofNaropa", are useful for achieving the Mahimudri insight, but once achieved arc no longer needed.
Whatever thoughts arise-virtuous, non~virtuous or unspecified- do not block them or establish? (their cessation), do not abandon (them) or adopt (opponents). Whatever arises, do not follow out, but rather place your attention on it without any grasping. That is the third point (for enhancing your practice).
? Tire Danger Points Where Tl1i1rgs "''''Y A rise A s " "
E11e111Y "''" OtlrerIDter- ferelrces
Furthermore, suppose you are feeling self- satisfied and happy that thoughts and delusions (are not interrupting) your meditation. Then all of a sudden many rough thoughts upset you violently and you cannot bring them under control in meditation. You might regard these thoughts as enemies that have arisen. Try to recognise these very thoughts and the nature of these very thoughts. Do not regard them as faults, but think of them with kindness.
For instance, if a thought of anger a1ises, regard it u an opportunity to cultivate patience or, if of desire, to meditate on the impermanence of what you wan? . Ultima- tely, however, if you merely focus on them, they will naturally subside.
Taking them into the sphere of your meditation, see that their nature is free of all mentally fabricated (extreme modes of existence) and that they arise (as the play) of the Dharmakaya. Cultivate (the
insight) that they are like this.
Suppose that previously whatever delusions
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arose, you were able to wipe them off by (an inteJlectually formulated analysis of) Voidness.
This refers to being able to eliminate a delusion through a logical, intellectually formulated analysis o f its V oidness. For instance, if you desire a person or an object and after analysing whether it is the same or different from its parts, you conclude that it is neither and therefore lacks true exij:tence, your desire will fall apart as you see there is no solid, concrete object for it.
But then aU of a sudden without any control (another) delusion arises such as longing desire. Y ou might regard such a delusion as an enemy that has arisen. For this, whatever delusions arise, recognise their nature. By placing yourself in (a state of) neither blocking (them) nor establishing (their. cessation), they become purified (and subside) in their own place without your needing to abandon them. In other words, go into their own purity as is explained in the (methods for) taking thoughts
as a path, namely (focus on) the void nature of the outstanding aspect (or appearance of the thought) which is blissful, clear and non-conceptually bare. Cultivate yourself in this way.
When you search for the mind by analysis and see that it cannot be found and that all things cannot be established as truly existent, you might then discard (the conventional existence of)? every- thing, what is to be abandoned and what is to help, what is virtuous and what is not. Taking the experienced boon of bareness as the main thing, you might feel that yourself and all others have disappeared into a vacuum and therefore you should do nothing. Such grasping at Voidness is known as Voidness having arisen as an enemy or as spreading blackness an around.
? 12 8 MAH. . lMUDR. . l
Both the extremes of existence and non-existence must be refuted. But if you had to choose, it is better to fall to the former rather than to nihilism. Nagarjuna has said that Voidness refutes all true existence, but if you do not understand it, it is better to understand phenomena. Consider the example of a snake. If you say it is void and nothing, and do not respect its relati. . -e nature, it may bite
you and you will die. Likewise you can fall to a lower rehirth in a hell from disregarding the fact that non-
virtuous actions bring unfortunate results.
For this as well, you should recognise the nature of the grasping at Voidness itself. Placing yourself in a state of neither blocking nor establishing (its cessation), you will eliminate (such grasping). Therefore place your single-minded concentration like that.
