No More Learning

1. The Three Causal Vehicles
i. Shravakayana or The Way of the Hearers
View: With regard to the two kinds of lack of self-identity or selflessness they understand the lack of self-iden- tity in personalities (gang. zag. gi. bdag. med; pudgala- nairatma), yet they uphold the ultimate reality of dimensionless atoms and the shortest, indivisible mo- mentsofconsciousnessasanexampleoftheself-iden-
tity of phenomena (chos. kyi. bdag; dharmatma).
Aim: The wish to attain peace and happiness for oneself.
Practice: The observance of any one of the eight (or seven) vows of individual liberation (so. sor. thar. pa; pratimok? ta). These are: i) Upavasatha-shila, the precepts kept on lunar observance days; ii) Upasaka-shila, male devo- tees' precepts; iii) Upasika-slu1a, female devotees' pre- cepts; iv) Shrama~era-slu1a, male novices' precepts; v) Shrama~erika-shila, female novices' precepts; vi) Shikshama~a-shila, training precepts for female pro- bationers; vii) Bhikl? hu-shila, fully ordained monks'
? precepts; viii) Bhi~hu-r:ti-shila, fully ordained nuns' precepts.
Meditation: Making the mind and body fit for practice by the meditation of tranquillity or calm abiding (zhi. gnas; shamatha), such as meditation on repulsiveness as an antidote to desire, concentrating on the exhalation and inhalation of breath to subdue discursive thoughts and the four close contemplations on form, feeling, consciousness and phenomena and so forth. They follow this with vivid insight meditation (lhag. mthong; vipashyana) on the Four Noble Truths with their 16 aspects such as impermanence and so forth. Wisdom is attained by meditating on the un- derstanding of suffering as an illness, rejecting the cause of suffering as the cause of an illness, attaining the cessation of suffering like the cure of an illness, and depending on the spiritual path as one depends
on medicine which is the antidote to an illness.
Result: There are four stages of the result: that of a stream- enterer, a once-returner, a never-returner and an Arhat (lit. : One who has "subdued the enemy" of conflict- ing emotions). Each of these stages has two phases, namely the initial or entrance stage, and the result.
Thus there are eight stages. of result in all.
zz. Pratyeknbuddhayana or the Way ofthe Solitary Realizers, the Self-Enlightened or Silent Buddhas.
View: The Pratyekabuddha understands the absence of a self in personalities as well as that related to mental events. They understand the lack of self-identity in phenomenal objects but hold the view that the small-
est moment of consciousness is ultimately real.
Aim: To achieve one's own enlightenment by one's own efforts.
Practice: To observe arty one of the vows of individual libera- tion.
Meditation: To meditate on tranquil abiding or shamatha, and upon the Four Noble Truths with their 16 aspects as followed in the Shravaka-yana. In addition they meditate on the 12 links in the chain of interdependent origination
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(rten. 'byung; pratityasamutpada) in successive and reverse orders.
Result: After accumulating virtue for one hundred aeons, the rhinoceros-like Pratyekabuddha will complete "on one seat" the attainments from the "heat" stage of the Path of Endeavor (sbyor. lam; prayogamarga) un- til Arhathood, on the stage of no more learning
(mi. slob. lam; ashai~hamarga). iii. Bodhisattvayana
View: The Bodhisattva reaches the conclusion that all phe- nomena are without any self identity.
Aim: The urge to attain the fully awakened state of being for the benefit of others.
Practice: They practice the six transcending perfections of giv- ing, ethical discipline, patience, diligence, meditative stability, and discriminating intelligence or wisdom, as well as developing the four qualities for attracting disciples (bsdu. dngos. bzhi); giving (byin. pa), gentle speech (snyan. smra), practice according to the mean- ing of the Dharma (don. mthun) and encouraging oth-
ers to act according to the meaning (don. spyod)
Meditation: In the four paths of training, meditation on the mean- ing of the dual lack of self-identity and the 37 wings of enlightenment. These 37 aspects of the path are as follows: the four foundations of mindfulness (dran. pa. nye. bar. bzhag. pa. bzhi), the four perfect abandonments (yang. dag. spangha. bzhi), the four miraculous powers (rdzu. 'phrul. gyi. rkang. pa. bzhi), the five faculties (dbang. po. lnga), the five forces (stobs. lnga), the seven branches of enlightenment (byang. chub. kyi. yan. lag. bdun) and the eight-fold Noble Path ('phags. lam.
yan. lag. brgyad).
Result: After three measureless aeons the Bodhisattva will attain for the sake of himself the fully awakened state, the Dharmakaya, and for the benefit of others until cyclic existence is ended, he shall appear and act for the sake of sentient beings by means of the two per- fect bodies of form, that of the Sal! lbhogakaya and
the Nirmiil)kiiya.
? 2. The Six Resultant Vehicles
The practice of the Tantric path is extraordinary in comparison to the general approach of the Siitra by virtue of a number of distin- guishing features. The text known as the Lamp of the Three Tech- niques (tshul. gsum. gron. me) states:
The aim is the same but there is no delusion; There are many skillful means and no difficulties; It is for people of sharp intellect;
Hence the Tantrayana is especially noble.
The goal is the same as the general practice of siitra, being only the attainment of a fully awakened state of being, yet in the way of attainment, according to tantra, all appearances of cyclic existence are perceived as naturally pure and are to be used as means of supporting the practitioner on the path. Thus, since all phenom- ena are perceived as primordially pure because the result of the path is taken as the practice, there are no dualistic defilements as there are in the ordinary causal vehicles, in which the acceptance of certain practices and the avoidance of others is a fundamental part of the path. Tantra utilizes many skillful means which are employed in accordance with the specific psychological capacity of the practitioner, and so it avoids the difficulties associated with the siitra practices such as giving one's body to others. The tantric path is for people of sharp intelligence and a predisposition to- wards its practice.
In order to engage in Vajrayana it is essential to have direct contact with a Tantric Master, and to recognize him as the com- plete master (khyab. bdag) of all spheres of tantric practice. By re- ceiving the full empowerment, initiation and teachings from him, it becomes possible for the mind to be liberated within this life- time. The entrance to Tantric practice is the empowerment (dbang. ; abhi~hekha) which involves, according to the specific level of the tantric practice, various rituals and visualizations. It is inappropri- ate to attempt the practice of Tantra without receiving such initia- tion. This carries with it a number of commitments, the first being that one must observe the precepts associated with the practice (dam. tshig; samaya) without transgressing them. One must also engage in the actual practice of the tantric maJ)c;lala, which involves two stages, the visualization process (bskyed. rim; utpattikrama) and the process of completion (rdzogs. rim; sampannakrama), in-
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volving the recitation of mystical formulae, the practice of a spe- cific method for accomplishment (sgrub. thabs; sadhana) and the complete familiarization with this in meditation. In this way one should complete the various stages and the spiritual paths, thereby attaining the ultimate result. This is the general way of practicing Tantra.
i. The Three External? Tantras ?
A Nyingma text known as the Self-arising Tantra (rang. shar) states: "There are three external tantras: Kriya, Carya and Yoga. "
(a) Kriyi or ACtion Tantra (bya. rgyud)
View: In reality all things are perceived as the same, in that appearance and emptiness are an inseparable truth (snang. stong. bden. pa. dbyer. med). However, on the relative level of practice, the divinity or meditational deity is related to in the same way by the practitioner
as a servant relates to his master or lord.
Practice: Mainly involves the performance of ritual actions of the body and speech such as washing and cleaning oneself and one's abode. It also involves a lot of de-
tails concerning proper and improper foods.
Meditation: In the ordinary practice of Kriya Tantra one does not visualize oneself as divine or as the divinity, but in a special form of the practice the devotee imagines him- self as a divinity by way of the six "divinities", which include meditation on the divine state of thusness or emptiness (de. nyid. stong. pa'i. lha). Generally the practitioner visualizes before himself the deity, and invites it to be present as a servant would a lord by making offerings and singing praises. He or she then concentrates on visualizing the deity's body, speech and mind, the celestial palaces, the spreading and contracting of rays of light from the deity and thereby receives the blessings of the deity through supplica-
tion, recitation and meditative stability.
Result: The final result after seven or 16lives is the attain- ment of the "Vajra-Holder of the Three Knowledges"
(rigs. gsum. rdo. rje. 'dzin. pa).
? (b) Caryi Tantra or Upa Yoga Tantra (spyod. rgyud)
The view in this case is the same as in the following tantra, the Yoga Tantra, whereas the practice is very similar to that of the Kriya Tantra.
Meditation:
The deity is visualized in front of oneself, and the prac- titioner also visualizes himself or herself as divine, so that the relationship is similar to that of a brother, sis- ter or a friend. The method of practice then involves recitation of mantra and the stabilization of one's con- centration. In this case there are two kinds of medita- tion, the yoga with signs and the yoga withoJJt. That with signs involves the stabilization of mind by con- centrating one-pointedly on the deity, the letters of the mantra (in the heart), the gestures or mudras and the form perceived in visualization. The signless yoga
avoids the concentration on such characteristics and involves leaving the mind to rem? ain in the state of ultimate? truth.
The attainment of the state of Vajradhara (rdo. rje. 'dzin. pa) within seven lives.
Result:
(c) Yoga Tantra (mal. 'byor. rgyud)
View:
Practice:
Meditation:
In ultimate reality all things are naturally free from the signs of mental projections (spros. mtshan. dang. bral. ba), thereby being radiant clarity and emp- tiness (od. gsal. stong. pa. nyid). On the relative level all appearances are regarded as mal)c;lalas of the divini- ties and the inspirational blessing of truth itself (chos. nyid. kyi. byin. rlabs)
The practitioner looks upon external activities such as cleaning and eating specific foods as merely the support for the practice and mainly concentrates on practicing for the benefit of others by dwelling in the yoga of the divinity (lha'i. mal. 'byor).
Again there are two aspects, the yoga with and with- out signs. The yoga with signs consists of visualizing oneself in the form of the deity by means of the five perfect qualities of enlightenment (mngon. byang). These are as follows: the perfection of the lunar seat represents the pure realm; the perfection of the seed
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syllables represents the speech of the deity; the per- fection of the symbolic instruments held by the dei- ties represents the mind of the deity; the perfection of complete form of the deity represents the mar:tc;lala of the deity and the perfection of wisdom-deity or jflanasattva, being visualized within the heart of the deity, represents the essence or wisdom of the deity. The practice also involves the four miraculous mani- festations. These are known as follows: i) the miracle of the meditative concentration which is the display about the deity's retinue; ii) the miracle of initiation which is the initiation itself; iii} the miracle of the bless- ing is the sealing of the practice by means of a mudra; and iv) the miracle of offering is the practice involv- ing offering, praising, and reciting mantras. One then summons the deity and absorbs him or her into one- self, binding the deity by means of the four mudras,
and after performing the offering, praises, and mantra recitations in the actual practice, the deity is released and one bids the deity farewell while requesting him or her to dwell in the enlightened state. The yoga without signs involves meditating directly on the state of just that itself or tathata (de. kho. na. nyid), the non- dual nature of the ultimate truth; the blessing of which, here, is that non-duality is inseparable from the appearance of the divinities which are in them- selves manifestations of supreme wisdom.
Result: Within three lifetimes one shall attain Buddhahood in the realm of the Beautiful Array (stug. po. bkod. pa).
ii. The three Internal Tantras
In the Self-arising Tantra it is stated, "Three are considered inner tantras: Maha, Anu and Ati. " In brief, the qualities that make the inner tantras more extraordinary than the outer ones are as fol- lows:
First of all, in the initiation the external tantras are mainly centered on the initiation of the Vase (bum. dbang} whereas the in- ner tantras have in addition three other initiations, the Secret (gsang. dbang), the Wisdom (shes. rab. ye. shes. kyi. dbang) and the Verbal initiations (tshig. dbang). As regards the view, the outer tantras maintain the distinction between the two truths, whereas
? the inner ones uphold their inseparable identity. With meditation, in the inner tantras the view is upheld that all things are equal in purity, thus avoiding any duality of rejection or acceptance. With- out renouncing any of the three poisons of desire, aggression and ignorance, they make use of them as the path so that desire is taken as the union of bliss and emptiness, hatred as the union of clarity and emptiness, and ignorance as the union of awareness and emp- tiness. They practice the meditation of the two stages of tantra with- out any partiality towards one over the other. The visualization in the inner tantras involves oneself as the deity in union with the consort (yab.
yum) which indicates the complete union of skillful means and wisdom. The external tantras cannot be practiced in
such a way.
Furthermore, in the practice of the inner tantras the five meats
ofcow,dog,elephant,horseandman,togetherwiththe6venectars of excrement, brains, semen, blood and urine are used without any duality such as their acceptance or rejection. Such object involved in the practice cannot be found in the practice of the outer tantras. It is by practicing the inner tantras that the resultant state of en- lightenment can be achieved in this very life.
(a) Mahi Yoga
These are also known as the Father Tantras (pha. rgyud) and center primarily on elabor. ate visualizations and various other activities of somewhat secondary importance. Emphasis in meditation is placed on realizing the illusory body (rgyu. lus; miyideha) as be- ing the ultimate wisdom in terms of the skillful means of appear- ance, the completion process of the inner energy (rlung. gi. rdzogs. rim)andtheactionofextraordinarybehavior(mngon. spyod. kyi. las) for subduing enemies of the Dharma. This practice is primarily for an individual who has a greater predominance of anger or aggres- sion and discriminating thoughts.
View: The view of the ultimate truth is that all things are the essence of mind and that appearance and empti- ness are inseparable in the realm of the Dharmakiya. The relative truth is the power of this to manifest it- self so that all thoughts, speech and action are the self- appearance of the ma! )9ala of the Vajra Body, Speech
and Mind.
Practice: The practice of the Father Tantras involves utilizing by skillful means, and without attachment to any-
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thing, the objects throughout cyclic existence, enjoy- ing them and utilizing them in the practice without rejecting or accepting anything, including such ob- jects as the five meats and nectars.
Meditation: Meditation is focused on the non-dualistic supreme wisdom of bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality by pu- rifying all appearances as divinities and their envi- ronments and to visualize the psycho-physical con- stituents (phung. po. lnga; skandhas), the sensory spheres (khams; dhatu) and the sensory entrances
(skye. mched; ayatana) as divine.
Result: The achievement of the fully Awakened state of be- ing in this very lifetime.
(b) Anu Yoga Tantra
The Anu Yoga Tantra is also known as the Mother Tantra (ma. rgyud) and in tantras of this classification, rather than the emphasis being placed on the skillful means involved in the development process, the practitioner meditates primarily on the completion process (rdzogs. rim). The practice thus emphasizes the cultivation of the discriminating wisdom which cognizes emptiness. This is done by means of the yoga of radiant clarity, and the method of integrating skillful means is to utilize the bliss attained through sexual prac- tice. From the four actions which may be undertaken in tantric prac- tice, namely that of pacification, expansion, power and wrathful- ness, here the emphasis is mainly on that of power. This tantra is directed more to an individual who has a predominance of desire and who likes the mind to be stabilized (sems. gnas. pa. la. dga'. ba) and who also has the ability to engage in the physical practices.
View: The practitioner perceives everything arising as the three maJ::t~alas. The maJ::t~ala of the nature of every- thing is spontaneously manifest and is seen as Samantabhadra, the masculine counterpart in the practice. That this is empty of attachment to extreme views is perceived as the primordial maJ::t~ala which has existed from the very beginning and is manifest as Samantabhadri, the female counterpart of the prac- tice. That both of them in nature abide in the essence of union without separation or joining is perceived as the maJ::t~ala of Bodhicitta. The outcome of this
? total integration is great bliss, and is conceived as the son of the mystical union.
Practice: The practice mainly centers on understanding the es- sence of oneness, or a holistic view.
Meditation: In meditation one cultivates the awareness that the world and all beings have been enlightened in the mai;tt;falas of deities from the very beginning. There is less emphasis on visualization and more on the per- fection of bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality by means of the yogas of the psychic veins, semen and
psychic energy (rtsa. thig. rlung. gi. rnal. 'byor).
There are two main aspects to meditation in Anu Yoga, the paths of liberation and skillful means. In the path of liberation one meditates on the ultimate significance of reality by cultivating the primordial awareness which is not disturbed by conceptualiz- ing thoughts (rnam. par. mi. rtog. pa'i. ye. shes). In ac- cordance with the "letter" one meditates by reciting the mantras for visualization and visualizing the world and the beings as mai;tt;falas of divinities, aris- ing within one's field of perception spontaneously like fish leaping out of the river. In the path of skillful means the meditation involves developing the co- emergent primordial awareness (lhan. skyes. kyi. ye. shes) by means of either using the four or six psy- chic centers ('khor. lo; cakras) of the "upper doors" of
the head, throat, heart, navel, stomach and sexual psychic centers, which is a gradual way, or by using the union of the "lower doors" which is the instanta- neous way.
Result The attainment of complete enlightenment within the space of one lifetime. '
Ati Yoga
This is also known as the Great Completion (rdzogs. pa. chen. po; Mahasandhi) and is specially characterized by being known as the great primordial wisdom of the equality of purity, the naturally arisen primordial wisdom free from assumptions and projections, the final nature of all things and the summit of all spiritual vehi- cles. This is considered the most fitting practice to discipline peo- ple of a greater predominance of ignorance and active mind.
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The practitioner concludes that everything within the realm of both cyclic existence and the state beyond sorrow, sai! 'Sara and nirvat:ta, is in the nature of the great primordial wisdom of the spontaneously aris- ing Dharmakaya or perfect body of truth. All things are only appearances in the mind. Their existence is false because in reality their apparent nature is non- existent. All things within the world are of the same nature without any discrimination. They have been this way from the beginning of time and are in the nature of the three perfect bodies (sku. gsum; trikaya). The empty essence of the mind itself is the Dharmakaya, the radiant, clear nature of the mind is the Saxp. bhogakaya and the unimpeded universal compassion of the mind is the Nirmat:takaya (ngo. bo. stong. pa. chos. sku; rang. bzhin. gsal. ba. longs. sku; thugs. rje. 'gags. med. sprul. sku)
The Dzog-chen practice encompasses the experience of everything without acceptance or rejection, by per- ceiving all that appears as activities of truth itself or the Dharma essence (chos. nyid;dharmata).
Dzog-chen is practiced according to three categories of teachings in the tantras: i) the Mind Category (sems. sde) mainly involves revealing, by means of analysis, the essential nature of the self-awareness of the Dharmakaya, ii) the Expansive Category (klong. sde) centers on showing the meditation of abid- ing effortlessly in the state of reality itself or the Dharma essence, iii) the Concealed Instruction Cat- egory (man. ngag. sde) concentrates on analyzing the primordial awareness of the self-existent lumines- cence, or radiant clarity, while remaining in the state of reality itself, a state of detachment from accept- ance or rejection which is free from the very begin- ning of time.
Long-chen Rab-jam-pa, in his Treasury of TenetS, divides the three categories of the Dzog-chen tantras in the following way:
In Sem-de all the various appearances are the play of the mind, just as in the single face of a
Practice:
Meditation:
? mirror various colors can appear. In Long-de the self-arising primordial awareness and all the various phenomena which arise from its manifestative power are liberated and pure from the beginning. Thus even the mind and the play of appearances of the mind do not exist in truth. In Man-ngag-de one is not to remain in mental analysis but is to make the nature spontaneously clear or self-evident, and to pierce to the point (to get to the very heart of the essential under- standing) like the fire-probe treatment.
Accordingly one should first make the mind recep- tive by following the preliminary practices. Then one should obtain the "introduction to intrinsic aware- ness" by means of the initiation of awareness (rig. pa'i. tsal. dbang). Following this one should prac- tice the actuai path which in Dzog-chen means first remaining without moving from the state of the ac- tual unmodified meaning of the originally pure "cut- ting to the essence" (khregs. chod). Secondly one fol- lows the method of "instantaneous arrival" or Tho- gal (thod. rgal), which involves six points of sponta-
neous accomplishment. These relate to the i} body, ii} speech, iii) mind, iv) the "rising door" or eyes, v) the "rising ground" or object, and vi) the "breathing awareness". In this practice the delusions are puri- fied into the original ground and the four visions are perfected. These are: i) the direct perception of truth itself, ii) the development of experiences and sensa- tions, iii} arriving at an understanding of the meas- ure of intrinsic awareness or Rig-pa, and iv) dissolv- ing everything into reality itself or Dharmata. One first perceives the meaning of the bare perception of pure awareness (rig. pa. mngon. sum), then enhances it, which will lead to the arrival at an understanding of the true state of being, until finally all delusory appearances of everything are exhausted or purified into the vast expanse of reality itself. Upon reaching this stage one will attain the four confidences, namely confidence of no fear of hell, no expectation of results,
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no expectation of attainment and purifying happiness and enjoyment in the essential sameness.
Result: From this point onwards all will be perfected and one will dwell in the state of spontaneous perfection (lhun. rdzogs), the state of the primordial Buddha Samantabhadra, and one will be liberated in the state
of primordial purity.
? Notes
1. dkon. mchog. gswn; tri-ratna.
2. bDe. bar. gshegs. pa; Sugata.
3. rtsa. ba. gswn.
4. Physical channels (rsta; nac;ti); energy winds (rlung; vayu); seminal
essence (thig. le; hindu).
5. Essence (ngo. bo;svabhava); nature (rang. bzhin; pralq"iti); compassion
(thugs. rje; kanu:ta).
6. Byang. chub. snying. po; Bodhima~c;ta.
7. Ngal. gso. The anxiety-free state of Buddhahood.
8. Rang. rig. 'od. gsal.
9. Tshad. med. bzhi.
10. Long. spyod. rdzogs. pa'i. sku; Saf! lbhogakaya.
11. Khams. gsum; triloka or tridhatu. They are (1) the desire realm
('dod. khams; kamadhatu), (2) the form realm (gzugs. khams; rupadhatu), and (3) the formless realm (gzugs. med. khams; arupadhatu).
12. Khros. ma.
13. The body, speech and mind-in other words, the three media of ac-
tions.
14. All appearances are perfected as deities, all sounds are purified as
mantras and all thoughts are ripened into the Dharmakaya, the per-
fect body of truth.
15. Rig. pa'i. gdangs.
16. Chos. nyid; dharmata.
17. mngon.