is the <;lakinI or female consort who
embodies
emptiness and the expanse of reality.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
hedonists.
The Outsiders (phyi-rol-pa) or non-Buddhists are here divided into
those who follow a course independent of Buddhism and those who overtly teach a non-Buddhist doctrine, but are in fact emanations of
Spiritual and Philosophical Systems (grub-mtha' mdzod).
Tib. tshu-rol mdzes-pa-ba is a rendering for Skt. Ciirviika, whIch IS interpreted in Tibetan to mean "adherents of pleasures at hand",
the buddhas.
For some interesting observations on the relationship between the
scepticism of the Lokayata and the Prasangika dialectic, refer to D.
Chattopadhyaya, Indian Philosophy, a popular introduction, pp. 186ff.
Tib. myang-'das, literally meaning "gone beyond sorrow".
Superior mind (lhag-pa'i sems, Skt. adhicitta) is that which develops
experience in meditation. . The Sage (drang-srong, Skt. ni) in this case refers to Sakyamum
52
Buddha.
I. e. the Nyingma tradition.
The primary source for this section is Vasubandhu, Commentary on the Ornament of the Siltras of the Greater Vehicle (Mahiiyiinasiltrii-
laytlktiravytikhyti, Darbhanga BST 13), p. 55.
The Sanskrit version (Darbhanga edn. , p. 56) of the Ornament of the
Sutras of the Greater Vehicle reads iipatti, although the Tibetan clearly gives vipatti in keeping with the content of the passage. .
The distinction between the causal aspect of the vehIcle or the bodhisattva vehicle and the six resultant vehicles of tantra is explored in great detail in Pt. 2, pp. 139-48; in Pt. 3 which deals with the nature
of the causal aspects; and in Pt. 4 which focuses on the resultant aspects. The eleventh level is held by bodhisattvas to be the buddha level. For these eleven levels, and the subsequent buddha levels until the Unsurpassed Pristine Cognition (ye-shes bla-ma), which are
below, see the Glossary of Enumerations; and Longcenpa, Dzspeilzng
76
77 78
Fundamentals: Part One 7
8 l'votes
228-40; and Obermiller, History of Buddhism by Bu-ston, pp. 152-5. Bibliographies documenting recent research on the works. Dha! "- maklrti will be found in the sources listed under Prama1}avznlscaya m the second part of the Bibliography.
79 On the patriarch Upagupta, see History, p. 436; ! he An account ofY asalis involvement in the second council IS proVIded i l l Hzstory, p. 429. It is based on the T 6). For a detailed account of this period and Its personahtIes, such as Yasal). , Sarvakamin and Kubjita, refer to HBI, pp. 134ff.
80 On Nagarjuna, refer to Obermiller, History of Buddhism by Bu-ston, pp. 122-30; Taranatha, bka'-babs bdun-Idan-gyi rnam-thar (translated in D. Templeman, The Seven Instruction Lineages, pp. 4-8); E. Lamotte, Traite de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse; and M. Walleser, "The Life of Nagarjuna from Tibetan and Chinese Sources" Asia Major 1 (1923), pp. 421-55. Research to date is surveyed in HIL 7. 1. . . .
81 Because the Vindication ofConventional Truth does not eXIst m a TIbetan translation, Tibetan authorities often count Nagarjuna'sJewel Garland (Ratnavalf) as the sixth collection of reasoning. . . .
82 The term "reality" in this Buddhist usage refers to the abIdmg emptI- ness of all things (chos-nyid, Skt. dharmata) and "apparitional reality" to their manifestation (chos-can, Skt. dharmin). See p. 19.
83 On Kawa Peltsek, see History, pp. 515 and 522.
84 The text reads instead lam rnam-bkod (P 4737), which was composed
by King Ja.
85 Refer to L. Sternbach, "Les Aphorismes dits de Calfakya dans les
textes bouddhiques du Tibet et du Turkestan Oriental" Journal Asiatique 259 (1971), pp. 71-82, for remarks on the extant Tibetan redaction of this work.
86 An oral attribution made by Lama Sonam Topgyel. However the precise source is unidentified.
87 These are, respectively, Mvt. 4972-5006, 5007-26, 5027-34 and 5035- 45.
95
96 97
98
99
100 101 102
103
104 105 106
107
Fundamentals: Part Two 9 Cognition (Prama1}avarttika), Ch. 1, v. 3.
Briefly, the axiom of the result ('bras-rtags, Skt. karyahetu) governs causal inferences; the axiom of identity (rang-bzhin-rtags, Skt. svabhavahetu) governs inferences determined by the internal relations among a subject of phenomena (chos-can, Skt. dharmin) and its phenomena (chos, Skt. dharma); and the axiom of the absence of the objective referent (mi-dmigs-pa'i rtags, Skt. anupalabdhihetu) governs
88 Here the text reads shes-rig for shes-rab.
89 Y utokpa is briefly mentioned in History, p. 753.
The nine numbers (sme-ba dgu) and the trigrams (spar-kha) are explained in W. A. Sherrill and W. K. Chu, Anthology ofthe I Ching. For indications concerning their roles in Tibetan astrology and divina- tion, see G. Dorje, Tibetan Elemental Divination Paintings, pp. 92- 108; and the articles by S. Hummel and D. Schuh listed in the final section of the Bibliography.
Refer to the fifteenth-century Tibetan compendium of knowledge, bshad-mdzod yid-bzhin nor-bu, pp. 428-32.
On Dalf<;iin, see D. K. Gupta, A Cn'tical Study of Dandin and his Works; and S. K. De, History of Sanskrit Poetics. . .
See Jamgon Kongtriil, shes-bya kun-khyab mdzod, Vol. 2, p. 324, for a discussion on the Gau<;ia style of East India and the Vaidarbha style of the south, as understood in Tibet.
Geometric poetry refers to verses which can be read in any direction.
It includes acrostic verse (ardhabhrama or sarvatobhadra), and zigzag-
ging (gomlltrika). See Gupta, A Critical Study ofDa1}cjin and his Works, pp. 238-9.
The modern study of Sakya Palf<;iita's life and works is thoroughly surveyed in D. P. Jackson, The Entrance Gateforthe Wise (Section III). On the South Indian (Vaidarbha) tradition of verse, refer to M. Win- ternitz, History ofIndian Literature, Vol. III, p. 15
also . Rechung Rinpoche, Tibetan Medicine, pp. 147-327, for a detaIled bIography;
and F. Meyer, Gso-ba rig-pa: Ie systememedical tibetain, pp. 80,91-2. _
90 According to the Indian tradition, this treatise is attrIbuted to bhata. Tibetans have identified Sura with both and Vag- bhata. See Taranatha, History of Buddhism in India, pp. 130-6; also F. Lessing and A. Wayman, Mkhas Grub l! je's of the
Buddhist Tantras, p. 78n. ; and C. Vogel, Vagbhata s
91 All inflected nouns and conjugated verbs are subsumed wIthm these two classes. "Gender" (rtags, Skt. linga), as used here, should be taken to refer to nominal stems of determinate gender, in contrast to, e. g. ,
adjectival or pronominal stems, whose gende! " must be fixed:
92 These subdivisions are represented by a serIes of grammatIcal texts
On Candragomin, see Taranarha, History of Buddhism in India, pp. 199-209; Obermiller, History ofBuddhism by Bu-ston, pp. 132-4; and M. Tatz, "The Life of Candragomin in Tibetan Historical Tradition" The Tibet Journal VII, 3 (1982), pp. 3-22.
On Srlgupta, see Taranatha, History of Buddhism in India, pp. 225 and 252; and on Sakyamati, ibid. , p. 260.
(T 4422-8) in the Tangyur (bstan-'gyur). . . . , FUNDAMENTALS: PART TWO 93 This is not precisely the form in which thIS verse IS gIVen m the
Compendium of Valid Cognition. It corresponds exactly, however, to
Sankarasvamin, Nyayapravesa, v. 1. . . . 94 This line actually corresponds to Dharmaklrti, ExposItwn of Valzd
108 See below, p. 131.
109 A "countless" aeon (grangs-med bskal-pa) refers not to infinity but to a specific span of time defined in the Treasury of the Abhidharma
negative inferences, such as the modus tollens of classical western logic. For the history of this debate in Tibet, refer to D. S. Ruegg, The Life ofBu ston Rinpoche, pp. 37-8, n. 1.
Tib. go-la refers to the twenty-eight constellations (rgyu-skar nyer-
brgyad) and the twelve lunar mansions (khyim bcu-gnyis). See D. Schuh,
Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Tibetischen Kalenderrechnung, pp. 147-8.
The twelve two-hour periods are named after the twelve animals, which follow the same sequential order as the twelve months and twelve years. See n. 1330.
10 Notes
(Abhidharrnakosa) as 1059 aeons. Refer to R. Kloetzli, Buddhist Cosmol-
criminative awareness (shes-rab, Skt. prajfia) and the sixteen consonants which symbolise skilful means (thabs, Skt. upaya). During the perfec- tion stage of contemplation (rdzogs-rim, Skt. sampannakrama) these seed-syllables of light occupy the right and left channels in the body respectively, but they intermingle in the central channel. (Our text here reads phan-tshun ma-'dres. . . instead ofphan-tshun 'dres-shing. . . ) Then, generating the coalescent bliss of discriminative awareness, or emptiness, and skilful means, or compassion, they give rise to the sixteen delights (dga'-ba bcu-drug)0 This experience is duplicated in accordance with the upward and downward movement of the vital energy (rlung, Skt. vayu), and so these sixteen delights come to possess the thirty-two major marks of the buddha-body of perfect rapture. Each of the sixteen delights experienced in series by the male consort is also endowed with the five pristine cognitions, making a total of eighty minor marks. This is the resultant and primordial buddha-body, which is not created by an accumulation of causes and provisions. The feeling of receptiveness, which this surpasses, is an experience belong- ing to the path of connection (sbyor-lam, Skt. prayogamarga) in the causal phase of the vehicle (Khenpo Palden Sherap). See also Longcenpa, Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions, p. 460 (GGFTC, pp. 1015-17).
125 rnam-pa mchog-dang ldan-pa'i stong-pa-nyid is the emptiness in which the pure appearances of the buddha-body and pristine cognition are coalesced. See pp. 282-3.
126 See PI. 2 for the maf. 1<;iala of peaceful and wrathful deities.
127 rdo-rje btsun-mo (Skt.
is the <;lakinI or female consort who embodies emptiness and the expanse of reality. Refer to Jamgon Kongtrul's discussion in shes-bya kun-khyab mdzod, Vol. 4, p. 411, in which the womb of the Vajra Queen is identified with emptiness free
from conceptual elaboration and the buddha level itself.
128 Surendra or Devendra is the form assumed by the Buddha among the gods and MunIndra is his form as Sakyamuni among human beings. For the precise identification of vaiqurya as beryl and aquamarine, see Meyer, Gso-ba rig-pa: Ie systeme medical tibetain, p. 177. The English word beryl in fact shares a common origin with the Tamil ve! ur/belur and the Prakrit ve! uriya (Skt. vaiqurya). The terrain of beryl is the
Trayatrirpsa heaven.
129 Vairocana is so called because he is the pure, enlightened nature of
the component of form. Similarly, is the king of consciousness, Ratnasambhava is the king of feeling, Amitabha is the king of discernment and Amoghasiddhi is the king of habitual tendencies.
130 The extraordinary of the body of perfect rapture is perceived only by buddhas and tenth level bodhisattvas and is contrasted with the lower realms of the emanational body which are visible to bodhisattvas below the tenth level. However the natural body of perfect rapture is strictly described as being manifest only to itself and not in an extraneous manner. The interpretation of this terse passage follows the oral commentary of Tulku Perna Wangyel.
131 Or "the lord of Yama's functionaries" (las-kyi gshin-rje mgon).
132 Tib. rlung-dkyil is the maQ. <;lala of wind, on which, according to the
110
111 112
113
1 1 4 115
116 117
118 119
120 121
ogy, pp. 113ff. b
The Point of other b? d- refers to the place . Vajrasana, the IndestructIble dhas attain Enlightenment which is the
Seat, at Bodh Gaya; to t e mner of Enlightenment which is
realm; an. d to the reality (vajrakaya). For the specific
the buddha-bodyJ! d his encounter with Mara, see History, enlightenment of ;:o,akyamum an
2 123
utpattikrama) the visuahsatIon requ f IOty and then to fd. . f mtheexpanse0 rea1 ,
propriate mat:t<;iala 0 oelUes 0 ro The accomplishments which make and recIte theIr nature of the mat:t<;iala.
are attamed thereby accord g -pranidhanaraja section of the This quotation occurs m the Bhadracarya A· v 3a
12
ifthe Buddhas (vatamsaf«L3 u , . . Sutra ofthe Great Bc:unteousness 0d ibed here, which accord with the The major and mmor escr . d d to be the fourth or most
pp. 419-21.
ee p.
gsal rdo-rye b ddha-bodY of reality, Samantabhadra, whIch or of e u d time The teachings of the Great Per-
cannot be hmlted spacehoan I referred to as the vehicle of the fection which pertam to t IS leve a .
ObI N I us of Inner RadIance.
IndestructI e uc e 0 bO dO h tomy and without the threefold I. e. itiswithoutthesubJect-o. Ject lC 0
124
History, pp. 423ff.
S 118 below T e n estruc
0
Doctrine (chos-kyz spnn-pa, There is an extensIve account 0
0
T:
28-31 See also .
o
beginmng 0
reasury, pp.
ds of Vairocana m the lorm 0
h GI te oss
ary of EnumeratIons lor
0
cf
f L
's Wish-fulfillmg
ongcenpa. c the twenty-five world systems said to
h I d
tible Nucleus of Inner Radiance ('od-
h dO
o · Skt *Prabhasvaravajragarbha) IS t e
f beginning mIddle and end.
0 ' dOth the "pristine cognition WhiC
•00
quantitatively knows [phenomena] This is a synonym for the supreme
0h
n ed-pamkhyen-pa'zye-s es . slctha-body of reality (chos-sku
dIstmCtIOns 0
S e e b e I o wP , . · " (
140 ItIScontraste WI . h)
u as Cloud of
0 0
Skt Dharrnamegha). ee n. .
. f this cosmological formation at the
d h
be situated upon the e Ulp01! e fia::mahahimasagara); and also His-
.
ye-shes gangs-chen ! odd realm is situated at the hearto of
0
tory, pp. 409 . Vairocana and IS representatIve 0
are detaIled below on p. S
most secret a ee
the Glossary of Enumerations for the
q
0
f the mind aspect of his buddha-mmd I M O d Worlds
(thugs-'7i thugs:. 'Preasury The relerence lor
of the buddha-body of perfect rapture The ma! or and mmor in terms of their outer, inner, secret and
outer category of the thzrt! '-twoo major mar 0 554-96.
For the Innermost SpintualIty, refer to HzstolY. ' pp. b k d 0
view of the Great are conSI ere
mtIon Refer to p. secret kind of pnstme cog . .
The twofold bliss is that of the slxteen vow
342
els which symbolise dis-
•0
.
0
ks and the eighty minor marks.
00_
Skt During the staoge? me meditator to invite the ap-
0 _p Skt bodhimanda)
f d· 0 xpenence ( s ye -nm,
.
0
0
Fundamentals: Part Two 11
12 Notes
Fundamentals: Part Three 13
133
134 135
136
137 138
139
140
141 142 143
Abhidharma, the physical universe is based.
Isvara refers in this context not to Siva but to Indra. Refer to Sura, Jatakamala, Peking Tangyur, Vol. 128, p. 21; and for Brahma, ibi. d. , pp. 21-2. Also see the Sanskrit version of the Jatakamala (Darbhanga edn. , BST 21); and its English translation by P. Khoroche, Once the
150 The correspondence of the Tibetan to the Sanskrit is not precise for this particular verse.
151 Seminal point (thig-le, Skt. bindu) is the nucleus or seed of the en- lightened mind which comprises a range of meanings, from the white and red seminal fluids of the physical body to the seminal points of light which appear during All-Surpassing Realisation. In this context, the white and red seminal points (thig-Ie dkar-dmar) are the sperm and ovum which, in union with vital energy (rlung), create the three world realms along with their appearances, and become the source of rebirth in sarpsara. According to the resultant phase of the greater vehicle, these propensities are purified by the empowerment of supreme desire (,dod-chags chen-po'i dbang-bskur), whereas the empowerment of great light rays (,od-zer chen-po'i dbang-bskur) given in the causal phase of the greater vehicle merely purifies the two obscurations in a gradual way. For the distinctions between these two, see p. 247; History, pp. 912-13; and also Longcenpa, Treasury ofthe Supreme Vehicle, pp. 663-4.
152 Tib. dam-pa'i bdag is equivalent to Skt. paramatma. It is explained in the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle that the true selfis revealed when the dichotomy of self and non-self has been transcended (Ch. 1, v. 37): "It is true self owing to the quiescence of all conceptual elaboration with reference to self and non-self. "
FUNDAMENTALS: PART THREE
153 The third promulgation is called irreversible because there is no pos- sibility of its revelations being qualified or reversed, as is the case with the previous promulgations (Lama Sonam Topgyel).
154 I. e. Vajrasana. See above, n. 110.
155 These three essential natures are explained below in accordance with
Vijfianavada, pp. 160-2; and according to Great Madhyamaka,
pp. 169-77.
156 These behaviour patterns, which are mentally imposed, are held to
be form by the Refer to the discussion in Mipham Rin-
poche, mkhas-pa'i tshul-la 'jug-pa'i sgo, fols. 4a. 3-4b. 4.
157 See pp. 226-7 below; and the Glossary of Enumerations under sixteen
minor truths.
158 Refer to the Abhidharmakosavyakhya, Vol. 2, pp. 966-70, in which
Yasomitra compares this contemplation to a diamond drill which
pierces all, because it pierces all dispositions.
159 See below, pp. 160-2, for the basic tenets of Mind Only.
160 The self-centred buddhas are said to be rhinoceros-like because they
adhere to a course of solitary realisation, in which their meditation depends on the subtle subjective aspect of phenomena. See below, pp. 227-3l.
161 For the background relevant to this quotation, refer to S. Levi, Materiaux pour Fhude du systeme Vzj"iiaptimatra, p. 43, n. 1.
162 These are explained in Longcenpa, Wish-fulfilling Treasury, pp. 617-18. The third category holds sensa and consciousness to be mental attri- butes which are the two parts of one essential consciousness, in the manner of the white and the yolk of an egg.
144
145 146
147
148 149
Vajradhara is known as the sixth teacher because he . over th. e mandala of the Conquerors of the Five Enlightened FamIlIes: VaI- Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi. This is, of course, quite distinct from the Bodhi Tree at Vajrasana
(Author).
The eighth level experienced by bodhisattvas is as the Imm? v- able (mi-gYo-ba, Skt. Acala) because there is no pOSSIbIlIty ofregresslOn
for one who reaches it. . I. e. the Bodhi Tree which subsequently became the location or Pomt
of Enlightenment for Sakyamuni Buddha at Vajrasana.
Refer to History, pp. 617-84. .
For the views of the main proponents of the later TIbetan schools,
refer to pp. 197-205.
Buddha Was a Monkey, Chs. 11, 17 and 29.
On Vemacitra, see the Divyavadana, 182. 13; the Siltra of Extensive Play (Lalitavistara), 241. 3; and the Mahavastu, 3. 138. 2.
The tale of the woodpecker is related by Sura in the Jatakamala, Ch. 34. For an English translation, see Aryasura, The Marvelous Com- panion, pp. 349-53; Khoroche, Once the Buddha, pp. . For the tale of Drdhasamadana, see Siltra of the WIse and Foolzsh
T341), Ch. 49.
Tib. mu-ge'i tshe nya-bo-che.
The noble creature (srog-chags des-pa) is the rohita fish. This is re- counted by Peltrul Rinpoche in The WOrds of My Perfect Teacher, pp.
230-31.
For the horse Ajaneyabalaha, see the Pali Valahassa Jataka, no. 196;
and also R. A. Stein, Recherches sur l'epopee et Ie barde au tibet, pp. 426, 510-11, where cang-shes balaha is identified with Hayagrlva on the basis of the bka'-gdams pha-chos bu-chos, and as the mount of
Ling Kesar.
The golden bee was an emanation of Avalokitesvara. Refer to
Kara1Jq,avyilhasiltra, pp. 47ff. , as cited in H. Dayal's Bodhisattva Doc- trine in Sanskrit Buddhist Literature, p. 49.
The primary source for this section is Longcenpa, Treasury of the
Supreme Vehicle, pp. 20-6. .
I. e. the Indestructible Seat at Bodh Gaya. See p. 115 above and HIstOry,
p. 409. . . Tib. sangs-rgyas stong-rtsa gcig is interpreted by the Author m thIS
context to mean the Thousand Buddhas. Longcenpa in the Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle, p. 24, reads sangs-rgyas stong-dang rtsa. gnyis. In his Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions, p. 131, he explams added two to be VajrapaI). i and MafijusrI. Pawo Tsuklak Trhengwa m the Scholar's Feast of Doctrinal History (dpa'-bo chos-'byung), p. 200,
maintains that in the Penetration ofSound (sgra thal-'gyur) the additional two are asserted to be lha'i bu nyi-ma rab-tu snang-ba and dga'-byed
dbang-phyug. .
14 Notes
Fundamentals: Part Three 15 181 Tib. gzhung-lam, Skt. granthamarga, refers to the texts and path of the
teaching on the Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Aware-
ness (Prajfiaparamita), which is central to the bodhisattva vehicle. 182 Through their methodical order and planning such activities are said to be indicative of the transmitted precepts taught by Sakyamuni
Buddha.
183 This nature is respectively the buddha-body of form (gzugs-sku, Skt.
The Outsiders (phyi-rol-pa) or non-Buddhists are here divided into
those who follow a course independent of Buddhism and those who overtly teach a non-Buddhist doctrine, but are in fact emanations of
Spiritual and Philosophical Systems (grub-mtha' mdzod).
Tib. tshu-rol mdzes-pa-ba is a rendering for Skt. Ciirviika, whIch IS interpreted in Tibetan to mean "adherents of pleasures at hand",
the buddhas.
For some interesting observations on the relationship between the
scepticism of the Lokayata and the Prasangika dialectic, refer to D.
Chattopadhyaya, Indian Philosophy, a popular introduction, pp. 186ff.
Tib. myang-'das, literally meaning "gone beyond sorrow".
Superior mind (lhag-pa'i sems, Skt. adhicitta) is that which develops
experience in meditation. . The Sage (drang-srong, Skt. ni) in this case refers to Sakyamum
52
Buddha.
I. e. the Nyingma tradition.
The primary source for this section is Vasubandhu, Commentary on the Ornament of the Siltras of the Greater Vehicle (Mahiiyiinasiltrii-
laytlktiravytikhyti, Darbhanga BST 13), p. 55.
The Sanskrit version (Darbhanga edn. , p. 56) of the Ornament of the
Sutras of the Greater Vehicle reads iipatti, although the Tibetan clearly gives vipatti in keeping with the content of the passage. .
The distinction between the causal aspect of the vehIcle or the bodhisattva vehicle and the six resultant vehicles of tantra is explored in great detail in Pt. 2, pp. 139-48; in Pt. 3 which deals with the nature
of the causal aspects; and in Pt. 4 which focuses on the resultant aspects. The eleventh level is held by bodhisattvas to be the buddha level. For these eleven levels, and the subsequent buddha levels until the Unsurpassed Pristine Cognition (ye-shes bla-ma), which are
below, see the Glossary of Enumerations; and Longcenpa, Dzspeilzng
76
77 78
Fundamentals: Part One 7
8 l'votes
228-40; and Obermiller, History of Buddhism by Bu-ston, pp. 152-5. Bibliographies documenting recent research on the works. Dha! "- maklrti will be found in the sources listed under Prama1}avznlscaya m the second part of the Bibliography.
79 On the patriarch Upagupta, see History, p. 436; ! he An account ofY asalis involvement in the second council IS proVIded i l l Hzstory, p. 429. It is based on the T 6). For a detailed account of this period and Its personahtIes, such as Yasal). , Sarvakamin and Kubjita, refer to HBI, pp. 134ff.
80 On Nagarjuna, refer to Obermiller, History of Buddhism by Bu-ston, pp. 122-30; Taranatha, bka'-babs bdun-Idan-gyi rnam-thar (translated in D. Templeman, The Seven Instruction Lineages, pp. 4-8); E. Lamotte, Traite de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse; and M. Walleser, "The Life of Nagarjuna from Tibetan and Chinese Sources" Asia Major 1 (1923), pp. 421-55. Research to date is surveyed in HIL 7. 1. . . .
81 Because the Vindication ofConventional Truth does not eXIst m a TIbetan translation, Tibetan authorities often count Nagarjuna'sJewel Garland (Ratnavalf) as the sixth collection of reasoning. . . .
82 The term "reality" in this Buddhist usage refers to the abIdmg emptI- ness of all things (chos-nyid, Skt. dharmata) and "apparitional reality" to their manifestation (chos-can, Skt. dharmin). See p. 19.
83 On Kawa Peltsek, see History, pp. 515 and 522.
84 The text reads instead lam rnam-bkod (P 4737), which was composed
by King Ja.
85 Refer to L. Sternbach, "Les Aphorismes dits de Calfakya dans les
textes bouddhiques du Tibet et du Turkestan Oriental" Journal Asiatique 259 (1971), pp. 71-82, for remarks on the extant Tibetan redaction of this work.
86 An oral attribution made by Lama Sonam Topgyel. However the precise source is unidentified.
87 These are, respectively, Mvt. 4972-5006, 5007-26, 5027-34 and 5035- 45.
95
96 97
98
99
100 101 102
103
104 105 106
107
Fundamentals: Part Two 9 Cognition (Prama1}avarttika), Ch. 1, v. 3.
Briefly, the axiom of the result ('bras-rtags, Skt. karyahetu) governs causal inferences; the axiom of identity (rang-bzhin-rtags, Skt. svabhavahetu) governs inferences determined by the internal relations among a subject of phenomena (chos-can, Skt. dharmin) and its phenomena (chos, Skt. dharma); and the axiom of the absence of the objective referent (mi-dmigs-pa'i rtags, Skt. anupalabdhihetu) governs
88 Here the text reads shes-rig for shes-rab.
89 Y utokpa is briefly mentioned in History, p. 753.
The nine numbers (sme-ba dgu) and the trigrams (spar-kha) are explained in W. A. Sherrill and W. K. Chu, Anthology ofthe I Ching. For indications concerning their roles in Tibetan astrology and divina- tion, see G. Dorje, Tibetan Elemental Divination Paintings, pp. 92- 108; and the articles by S. Hummel and D. Schuh listed in the final section of the Bibliography.
Refer to the fifteenth-century Tibetan compendium of knowledge, bshad-mdzod yid-bzhin nor-bu, pp. 428-32.
On Dalf<;iin, see D. K. Gupta, A Cn'tical Study of Dandin and his Works; and S. K. De, History of Sanskrit Poetics. . .
See Jamgon Kongtriil, shes-bya kun-khyab mdzod, Vol. 2, p. 324, for a discussion on the Gau<;ia style of East India and the Vaidarbha style of the south, as understood in Tibet.
Geometric poetry refers to verses which can be read in any direction.
It includes acrostic verse (ardhabhrama or sarvatobhadra), and zigzag-
ging (gomlltrika). See Gupta, A Critical Study ofDa1}cjin and his Works, pp. 238-9.
The modern study of Sakya Palf<;iita's life and works is thoroughly surveyed in D. P. Jackson, The Entrance Gateforthe Wise (Section III). On the South Indian (Vaidarbha) tradition of verse, refer to M. Win- ternitz, History ofIndian Literature, Vol. III, p. 15
also . Rechung Rinpoche, Tibetan Medicine, pp. 147-327, for a detaIled bIography;
and F. Meyer, Gso-ba rig-pa: Ie systememedical tibetain, pp. 80,91-2. _
90 According to the Indian tradition, this treatise is attrIbuted to bhata. Tibetans have identified Sura with both and Vag- bhata. See Taranatha, History of Buddhism in India, pp. 130-6; also F. Lessing and A. Wayman, Mkhas Grub l! je's of the
Buddhist Tantras, p. 78n. ; and C. Vogel, Vagbhata s
91 All inflected nouns and conjugated verbs are subsumed wIthm these two classes. "Gender" (rtags, Skt. linga), as used here, should be taken to refer to nominal stems of determinate gender, in contrast to, e. g. ,
adjectival or pronominal stems, whose gende! " must be fixed:
92 These subdivisions are represented by a serIes of grammatIcal texts
On Candragomin, see Taranarha, History of Buddhism in India, pp. 199-209; Obermiller, History ofBuddhism by Bu-ston, pp. 132-4; and M. Tatz, "The Life of Candragomin in Tibetan Historical Tradition" The Tibet Journal VII, 3 (1982), pp. 3-22.
On Srlgupta, see Taranatha, History of Buddhism in India, pp. 225 and 252; and on Sakyamati, ibid. , p. 260.
(T 4422-8) in the Tangyur (bstan-'gyur). . . . , FUNDAMENTALS: PART TWO 93 This is not precisely the form in which thIS verse IS gIVen m the
Compendium of Valid Cognition. It corresponds exactly, however, to
Sankarasvamin, Nyayapravesa, v. 1. . . . 94 This line actually corresponds to Dharmaklrti, ExposItwn of Valzd
108 See below, p. 131.
109 A "countless" aeon (grangs-med bskal-pa) refers not to infinity but to a specific span of time defined in the Treasury of the Abhidharma
negative inferences, such as the modus tollens of classical western logic. For the history of this debate in Tibet, refer to D. S. Ruegg, The Life ofBu ston Rinpoche, pp. 37-8, n. 1.
Tib. go-la refers to the twenty-eight constellations (rgyu-skar nyer-
brgyad) and the twelve lunar mansions (khyim bcu-gnyis). See D. Schuh,
Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Tibetischen Kalenderrechnung, pp. 147-8.
The twelve two-hour periods are named after the twelve animals, which follow the same sequential order as the twelve months and twelve years. See n. 1330.
10 Notes
(Abhidharrnakosa) as 1059 aeons. Refer to R. Kloetzli, Buddhist Cosmol-
criminative awareness (shes-rab, Skt. prajfia) and the sixteen consonants which symbolise skilful means (thabs, Skt. upaya). During the perfec- tion stage of contemplation (rdzogs-rim, Skt. sampannakrama) these seed-syllables of light occupy the right and left channels in the body respectively, but they intermingle in the central channel. (Our text here reads phan-tshun ma-'dres. . . instead ofphan-tshun 'dres-shing. . . ) Then, generating the coalescent bliss of discriminative awareness, or emptiness, and skilful means, or compassion, they give rise to the sixteen delights (dga'-ba bcu-drug)0 This experience is duplicated in accordance with the upward and downward movement of the vital energy (rlung, Skt. vayu), and so these sixteen delights come to possess the thirty-two major marks of the buddha-body of perfect rapture. Each of the sixteen delights experienced in series by the male consort is also endowed with the five pristine cognitions, making a total of eighty minor marks. This is the resultant and primordial buddha-body, which is not created by an accumulation of causes and provisions. The feeling of receptiveness, which this surpasses, is an experience belong- ing to the path of connection (sbyor-lam, Skt. prayogamarga) in the causal phase of the vehicle (Khenpo Palden Sherap). See also Longcenpa, Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions, p. 460 (GGFTC, pp. 1015-17).
125 rnam-pa mchog-dang ldan-pa'i stong-pa-nyid is the emptiness in which the pure appearances of the buddha-body and pristine cognition are coalesced. See pp. 282-3.
126 See PI. 2 for the maf. 1<;iala of peaceful and wrathful deities.
127 rdo-rje btsun-mo (Skt.
is the <;lakinI or female consort who embodies emptiness and the expanse of reality. Refer to Jamgon Kongtrul's discussion in shes-bya kun-khyab mdzod, Vol. 4, p. 411, in which the womb of the Vajra Queen is identified with emptiness free
from conceptual elaboration and the buddha level itself.
128 Surendra or Devendra is the form assumed by the Buddha among the gods and MunIndra is his form as Sakyamuni among human beings. For the precise identification of vaiqurya as beryl and aquamarine, see Meyer, Gso-ba rig-pa: Ie systeme medical tibetain, p. 177. The English word beryl in fact shares a common origin with the Tamil ve! ur/belur and the Prakrit ve! uriya (Skt. vaiqurya). The terrain of beryl is the
Trayatrirpsa heaven.
129 Vairocana is so called because he is the pure, enlightened nature of
the component of form. Similarly, is the king of consciousness, Ratnasambhava is the king of feeling, Amitabha is the king of discernment and Amoghasiddhi is the king of habitual tendencies.
130 The extraordinary of the body of perfect rapture is perceived only by buddhas and tenth level bodhisattvas and is contrasted with the lower realms of the emanational body which are visible to bodhisattvas below the tenth level. However the natural body of perfect rapture is strictly described as being manifest only to itself and not in an extraneous manner. The interpretation of this terse passage follows the oral commentary of Tulku Perna Wangyel.
131 Or "the lord of Yama's functionaries" (las-kyi gshin-rje mgon).
132 Tib. rlung-dkyil is the maQ. <;lala of wind, on which, according to the
110
111 112
113
1 1 4 115
116 117
118 119
120 121
ogy, pp. 113ff. b
The Point of other b? d- refers to the place . Vajrasana, the IndestructIble dhas attain Enlightenment which is the
Seat, at Bodh Gaya; to t e mner of Enlightenment which is
realm; an. d to the reality (vajrakaya). For the specific
the buddha-bodyJ! d his encounter with Mara, see History, enlightenment of ;:o,akyamum an
2 123
utpattikrama) the visuahsatIon requ f IOty and then to fd. . f mtheexpanse0 rea1 ,
propriate mat:t<;iala 0 oelUes 0 ro The accomplishments which make and recIte theIr nature of the mat:t<;iala.
are attamed thereby accord g -pranidhanaraja section of the This quotation occurs m the Bhadracarya A· v 3a
12
ifthe Buddhas (vatamsaf«L3 u , . . Sutra ofthe Great Bc:unteousness 0d ibed here, which accord with the The major and mmor escr . d d to be the fourth or most
pp. 419-21.
ee p.
gsal rdo-rye b ddha-bodY of reality, Samantabhadra, whIch or of e u d time The teachings of the Great Per-
cannot be hmlted spacehoan I referred to as the vehicle of the fection which pertam to t IS leve a .
ObI N I us of Inner RadIance.
IndestructI e uc e 0 bO dO h tomy and without the threefold I. e. itiswithoutthesubJect-o. Ject lC 0
124
History, pp. 423ff.
S 118 below T e n estruc
0
Doctrine (chos-kyz spnn-pa, There is an extensIve account 0
0
T:
28-31 See also .
o
beginmng 0
reasury, pp.
ds of Vairocana m the lorm 0
h GI te oss
ary of EnumeratIons lor
0
cf
f L
's Wish-fulfillmg
ongcenpa. c the twenty-five world systems said to
h I d
tible Nucleus of Inner Radiance ('od-
h dO
o · Skt *Prabhasvaravajragarbha) IS t e
f beginning mIddle and end.
0 ' dOth the "pristine cognition WhiC
•00
quantitatively knows [phenomena] This is a synonym for the supreme
0h
n ed-pamkhyen-pa'zye-s es . slctha-body of reality (chos-sku
dIstmCtIOns 0
S e e b e I o wP , . · " (
140 ItIScontraste WI . h)
u as Cloud of
0 0
Skt Dharrnamegha). ee n. .
. f this cosmological formation at the
d h
be situated upon the e Ulp01! e fia::mahahimasagara); and also His-
.
ye-shes gangs-chen ! odd realm is situated at the hearto of
0
tory, pp. 409 . Vairocana and IS representatIve 0
are detaIled below on p. S
most secret a ee
the Glossary of Enumerations for the
q
0
f the mind aspect of his buddha-mmd I M O d Worlds
(thugs-'7i thugs:. 'Preasury The relerence lor
of the buddha-body of perfect rapture The ma! or and mmor in terms of their outer, inner, secret and
outer category of the thzrt! '-twoo major mar 0 554-96.
For the Innermost SpintualIty, refer to HzstolY. ' pp. b k d 0
view of the Great are conSI ere
mtIon Refer to p. secret kind of pnstme cog . .
The twofold bliss is that of the slxteen vow
342
els which symbolise dis-
•0
.
0
ks and the eighty minor marks.
00_
Skt During the staoge? me meditator to invite the ap-
0 _p Skt bodhimanda)
f d· 0 xpenence ( s ye -nm,
.
0
0
Fundamentals: Part Two 11
12 Notes
Fundamentals: Part Three 13
133
134 135
136
137 138
139
140
141 142 143
Abhidharma, the physical universe is based.
Isvara refers in this context not to Siva but to Indra. Refer to Sura, Jatakamala, Peking Tangyur, Vol. 128, p. 21; and for Brahma, ibi. d. , pp. 21-2. Also see the Sanskrit version of the Jatakamala (Darbhanga edn. , BST 21); and its English translation by P. Khoroche, Once the
150 The correspondence of the Tibetan to the Sanskrit is not precise for this particular verse.
151 Seminal point (thig-le, Skt. bindu) is the nucleus or seed of the en- lightened mind which comprises a range of meanings, from the white and red seminal fluids of the physical body to the seminal points of light which appear during All-Surpassing Realisation. In this context, the white and red seminal points (thig-Ie dkar-dmar) are the sperm and ovum which, in union with vital energy (rlung), create the three world realms along with their appearances, and become the source of rebirth in sarpsara. According to the resultant phase of the greater vehicle, these propensities are purified by the empowerment of supreme desire (,dod-chags chen-po'i dbang-bskur), whereas the empowerment of great light rays (,od-zer chen-po'i dbang-bskur) given in the causal phase of the greater vehicle merely purifies the two obscurations in a gradual way. For the distinctions between these two, see p. 247; History, pp. 912-13; and also Longcenpa, Treasury ofthe Supreme Vehicle, pp. 663-4.
152 Tib. dam-pa'i bdag is equivalent to Skt. paramatma. It is explained in the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle that the true selfis revealed when the dichotomy of self and non-self has been transcended (Ch. 1, v. 37): "It is true self owing to the quiescence of all conceptual elaboration with reference to self and non-self. "
FUNDAMENTALS: PART THREE
153 The third promulgation is called irreversible because there is no pos- sibility of its revelations being qualified or reversed, as is the case with the previous promulgations (Lama Sonam Topgyel).
154 I. e. Vajrasana. See above, n. 110.
155 These three essential natures are explained below in accordance with
Vijfianavada, pp. 160-2; and according to Great Madhyamaka,
pp. 169-77.
156 These behaviour patterns, which are mentally imposed, are held to
be form by the Refer to the discussion in Mipham Rin-
poche, mkhas-pa'i tshul-la 'jug-pa'i sgo, fols. 4a. 3-4b. 4.
157 See pp. 226-7 below; and the Glossary of Enumerations under sixteen
minor truths.
158 Refer to the Abhidharmakosavyakhya, Vol. 2, pp. 966-70, in which
Yasomitra compares this contemplation to a diamond drill which
pierces all, because it pierces all dispositions.
159 See below, pp. 160-2, for the basic tenets of Mind Only.
160 The self-centred buddhas are said to be rhinoceros-like because they
adhere to a course of solitary realisation, in which their meditation depends on the subtle subjective aspect of phenomena. See below, pp. 227-3l.
161 For the background relevant to this quotation, refer to S. Levi, Materiaux pour Fhude du systeme Vzj"iiaptimatra, p. 43, n. 1.
162 These are explained in Longcenpa, Wish-fulfilling Treasury, pp. 617-18. The third category holds sensa and consciousness to be mental attri- butes which are the two parts of one essential consciousness, in the manner of the white and the yolk of an egg.
144
145 146
147
148 149
Vajradhara is known as the sixth teacher because he . over th. e mandala of the Conquerors of the Five Enlightened FamIlIes: VaI- Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi. This is, of course, quite distinct from the Bodhi Tree at Vajrasana
(Author).
The eighth level experienced by bodhisattvas is as the Imm? v- able (mi-gYo-ba, Skt. Acala) because there is no pOSSIbIlIty ofregresslOn
for one who reaches it. . I. e. the Bodhi Tree which subsequently became the location or Pomt
of Enlightenment for Sakyamuni Buddha at Vajrasana.
Refer to History, pp. 617-84. .
For the views of the main proponents of the later TIbetan schools,
refer to pp. 197-205.
Buddha Was a Monkey, Chs. 11, 17 and 29.
On Vemacitra, see the Divyavadana, 182. 13; the Siltra of Extensive Play (Lalitavistara), 241. 3; and the Mahavastu, 3. 138. 2.
The tale of the woodpecker is related by Sura in the Jatakamala, Ch. 34. For an English translation, see Aryasura, The Marvelous Com- panion, pp. 349-53; Khoroche, Once the Buddha, pp. . For the tale of Drdhasamadana, see Siltra of the WIse and Foolzsh
T341), Ch. 49.
Tib. mu-ge'i tshe nya-bo-che.
The noble creature (srog-chags des-pa) is the rohita fish. This is re- counted by Peltrul Rinpoche in The WOrds of My Perfect Teacher, pp.
230-31.
For the horse Ajaneyabalaha, see the Pali Valahassa Jataka, no. 196;
and also R. A. Stein, Recherches sur l'epopee et Ie barde au tibet, pp. 426, 510-11, where cang-shes balaha is identified with Hayagrlva on the basis of the bka'-gdams pha-chos bu-chos, and as the mount of
Ling Kesar.
The golden bee was an emanation of Avalokitesvara. Refer to
Kara1Jq,avyilhasiltra, pp. 47ff. , as cited in H. Dayal's Bodhisattva Doc- trine in Sanskrit Buddhist Literature, p. 49.
The primary source for this section is Longcenpa, Treasury of the
Supreme Vehicle, pp. 20-6. .
I. e. the Indestructible Seat at Bodh Gaya. See p. 115 above and HIstOry,
p. 409. . . Tib. sangs-rgyas stong-rtsa gcig is interpreted by the Author m thIS
context to mean the Thousand Buddhas. Longcenpa in the Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle, p. 24, reads sangs-rgyas stong-dang rtsa. gnyis. In his Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions, p. 131, he explams added two to be VajrapaI). i and MafijusrI. Pawo Tsuklak Trhengwa m the Scholar's Feast of Doctrinal History (dpa'-bo chos-'byung), p. 200,
maintains that in the Penetration ofSound (sgra thal-'gyur) the additional two are asserted to be lha'i bu nyi-ma rab-tu snang-ba and dga'-byed
dbang-phyug. .
14 Notes
Fundamentals: Part Three 15 181 Tib. gzhung-lam, Skt. granthamarga, refers to the texts and path of the
teaching on the Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Aware-
ness (Prajfiaparamita), which is central to the bodhisattva vehicle. 182 Through their methodical order and planning such activities are said to be indicative of the transmitted precepts taught by Sakyamuni
Buddha.
183 This nature is respectively the buddha-body of form (gzugs-sku, Skt.
