No More Learning

4. Mar:u~ala Offering
According to this text there are two practices related to offering of the mat:t<;lala which accumulate merit. The main one is the Mat:t<;lala Offering proper and the secondary practice is known as the Men- dicant's Accumulation of Merit (ku. su. lu'i. tshogs. bsag) The pur- pose of the preceding practice was to dispel unfavorable obstruc- tions by purification of non-virtuous deeds. This alone is insuffi- cient for realization to be attafued. One should additionally accu- mulate merit in order to build up more and more favorable condi- tions for experiencing the essence of the path. Without the accu- mulation of merit one will never attain complete realization nor will one understand the meaning of Emptiness. Thus it is essential to cultivate the dual accumulation of both physical merit and men- tal wisdom. On this method, Tilopa has said, "0 Naropa, my son: until you have understood that the appearance of interdepend- ence relationships is not produced, do not depart from the tWo wheels of the chariot of accumulation of merit and wisdom. " A tantra also states, "Without the accumulation of merit there will be no result, just as oil cannot be extracted from sand. "
Fundamentally the mat:t<;lala practice is an offering both of ma- terials and of mentally visualized objects, of all the finest things
? both within and without cyclic existence, to the most excellent of objects, the Three Supreme Jewels. Since innumerable forms of ac- cumulation of merit are included in the Mcu;aC;iala practice, it is one of the best ways to accomplish the path. First in the actual practice we should amass the finest materials that we can as our material objects of offering. These should be arrayed on an altar or suitable place. Next we should visualize the Assembly Tree, the object of our offering, as when we go for Refuge. The accumulation of merit in this practice is accomplished primarily by means of offering through mental visualization. Although there are many methods of offering the Mcu;aC;iala, here we are concerned with the offering to the Three Perfect Bodies or the Three Kiyas.
The Nirmil;lakiya Mcu;aC;iala Offering involves all the beings and the world systems, including oneself and one's possessions, being offered to the assembly of NirmiJ:takiya manifestations. This is known as the common Nirmii;takiya Mai;t9ala Offering. Above this imagined universe we should visualize the Pure Land of Beau- tifully Arrayed Akani~? h! }la which has the five certainties associ- ated with the SaJ:! lbhogakiya state, namely the certainty of place, teacher, disciples, doctrine and time. This is an unimaginable ar- ray of palaces ornamented by numerous goddesses of offering, and itistheywhomwepresenttotheassemblyofSaJ:! lbhogakayaforms in the visualized Refuge Tree. This is known as the uncommon SaJ! lbhogakiya Mcu;aC;iala. Above this is the Dharmakiya Mai;t9ala, thehighestofall. Inthiscasewebuildtheofferingoutofallthoughts arising from the manifestation of unceasing luminosity, the four- fold vision and so forth, heaped upon a base of the unborn Dharmadhitu. All this is offered to the assembly of the Dharmakiya. All this is offered to the assembly of the Dharmakiya.
Although this visualization is described in terms of 'above' and ? 'below', "above the NirmiJ:takiya" and so forth, in actuality there is no question of partially of extremes-there is no 'above and be- low'. With this in mind and with our visualization clear, we should recite the relevant stanzas. We should make nine heaps on the m8I;l9ala plate for the Nirmii;takiya, five heaps for the ~bhoga- kiya and one for the Dharmakiya. Conversely we may recite the 37 heap Mai;t9ala Offering, or if we are not able to do that we may complete the practice by reciting the shortest form, the seven-
heaped Offering.
The second form of Mai;t9ala Offering here, the Mendicant's
Accumulation of Merit, is a special way practiced by simple yogis.
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It is called Cho (gcod) which means "cutting off" or severing the four demonic influences simultaneously. The four demonic forces are (1) Kamadeva, the god of lust, (2) the demon of death, (3) the demon of emotional defilements, and (4) the demon of the aggre- gates. It is an aspect of the practice for accumulation merit. Gener- ally we are far more attached to our body than to any possessions, so to cut off attachment to our body and to give it away is more beneficial than any other kind of offering. In the practice of Cho the objects to whom the offerings are made are visualized in the sky above us and the offering objects themselves are imagined be- low them. As we recite the stanza we should visualize ourself trans- formed into the Qakini Rudrani (khros. ma) and that our body is transformed into the nectar of Primordial Awareness, a suitable object of offering. As we recite the second stanza we should visual- ize that by giving away this body cherished by the ego the scared recipients are satisfied. We then think that all our karmic debts have been cleared, that all obstacles of illness and the like have melted away, and that the non-virtuous tendencies and emotional defile- ments have been purified. By doing so we receive as blessings all the qualities of the objects to whom the offering is made. In conclu- sion we should remain in a meditative state of non- conceptualization, realizing the object of offering, the offering and offerer to be empty of self-nature.
This Mendicant's practice results in benefits such as the per- fection of merit, the overcoming of obstacles to one's life, pacifying of illness and evil spirits and the ability to recognize the Radiant Clarity, or Clear Light, in the intermediary stage between death and the next life.
5. Prostrations
There is no special place assigned to prostrations in this text of the Uncommon Preliminary Practices, but in fact one hundred thousand prostrations are performed as an integral part of it. The actual practice of prostration is found among the seven acts of devotion included in the Unification with the Spiritual Master, the following section and main practice, and it is proper to perform prostrations while reciting the verses of that practice. However these days the full hundred thousand prostrations are done either in combination with the Refuge, Activating the Awakening Mind or the Vajrasattva practice. When making prostrations we should visualize the
? assembly of the Refuge Objects in the sky above us, and with rev- erence perform full bodily prostrations while reciting the relevant verses. This should be done with strong devotion and faith towards the objects of prostration, never allowing our mind to wander to- wards any other object. We can expand the meditation so that we visualize our body being multiplied into as many atoms as there are in the world. We first stand straight and fold our hands to- gether like a lotus blossom. We place them successively at our head, throat and heart, and while thinking that our physical, verbal and mental defilements are purified, we should touch our head, hands and knees to the ground while executing a full bodily prostration. We should rise immediately, and think that our defilements are purified and that we have received the blessings of the Body, Speech, Mind, Qualities and Activity of the Buddhas. We should meditate in this way while performing prostrations with a strong faith and belief.
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The Actual Path
1. Unification with the Spiritual Master (Guru Yoga)
A tantra states, "It is better for a person to remember a Spiritual Master for a moment, than to meditate on one hundred forms of divinities for one hundred thousand aeons. " Saraha, the teacher of Nagarjuna stated, "The spontaneously arising Primordial Aware- ness is obviously a product of purification of defilements, accu- mulation of merit, and of the blessing of realized masters: a spiritual method other than just this should be understood as mistaken. "
The practice of Unification with the Spiritual Master is the finest method for realizing the innate wisdom within oneself. It is accomplished through one's own faith and by the grace or blessing of the Spiritual Guide. All Fully Awakened Beings abide insepara- bly in the expanse of Primordial Awareness, and all are in essence one. The Spiritual Master is the embodiment unifying all wisdom, compassion and power of an A wakened Being. Understanding this with strong devotion and belief will lead to a direct experience of the essence of the path. By these means the emotional defilements are purified and the accumulation of merit and wisdom is perfected. Mixing one's own mind with the mind of the master through the four Tantric Empowerments, and then abiding relaxed in that state, enables the blessings of the Lama to be transferred to one's own mind, and thus one's mind and the mind of the teacher will become inseparable. This is the extraordinary path gaining liberation effort- lessly through the realization of the unmodified nature of reality.
The All-knowing Long-chen Rab-jam-pa says in his Gyu-ma Ngal-so (Relaxing in the Illusory Nature), "Merely by practicing devotion to one's teacher one shall easily attain the spiritual stages and paths. If one never departs from the thought of the Spiritual Master, all Fully Awakened Beings will be with you without any separation. "
Although this practice is designated as the final part of the Preliminary Practice, it is in fact the most important aspect of all practices.
? i. Visualization
To purify all perceptible phenomena into the state of equality and purity is the sublime uniqueness ofTantra. In this case all phenom- ena are purified into the Pure Land and divinities of Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava. One should dissolve the ordinary way of grasp- ing all perceptible phenomena into the expanse of Truth (chos. dbying. ; Dharmadhatu), the emptiness of self existent enti- ties, and then imagine them as the Pure Land of the Glorious Cop- per-colored Mountain, Akanif? h~a Tamtra shri$parvata, which is fully adorned with all symbols and ornamentation. At the center of this palace we should imagine ourself as Vajra Yogini in appear- ance and the J? akini Ye-she Tsho-gyal in nature.
Vajra Yogini's form may vary according to different traditions. In the text Kun-zang La-ma'i Zhal-lung, the visualization of Vajra Yogini is as follows. She is naked, red in color, with flower and bone ornaments. In her right hand she is shaking skull drum (t;[amaru) in the air, signifying awakening from the sleep of igno- rance. Her left hand rests on her hip and holds a curved vajra blade, signifying the severing of the three poisons of greed, ignorance and hatred at the root. Her two legs stand in the advancing posture on a lotus and sun seat. Her three eyes look urgently into the heart of Guru Rinpoche. According to the teachings from the great master Jam-yang Khyen-tse'i Wang-po, the variation is that she holds a curved vajra blade in her right hand which signifies cutting off grasping and grasper from the root. Her left hand holds a skull filled with blood, signifying the destruction of the root of birth and death. In the cleft of her left arm she holds a trident of kha~anga, signifying the inseparability of wisdom and skillful means. She stands on a seat of lotus, sun and corpse in the advancing posture and is adorned with silk and bone ornaments. Her three eyes look into the heart of Guru Rinpoche with devotion.
In visualizing oneself as Vajra Yogini, the J? akini, there are three purposes: it prepares one as a suitable vessel for receiving Tantric empowerments; it hastens the development of Blissful Emptiness and WISdom; and it enables one to be accepted as a disciple by Padmasal! lbhava.
While holding the visualization of oneself as Vajra Yogini accord- ing to either of these explanations, or according to specific instruc- tions from one's own teacher, we should visualize, in the sky in front or above one's head, the form of Padma5a1! 1bhava. He sits in
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the midst of a large, fully blossomed one hundred thousand-pet- alled lotus, on a seat of sun and moon, which signify the insepara- bility of Wisdom and Skillful Means. He is one's principle Lama appearing in the form of Guru Rinpoche or Padmasarp. bhava, with all major and minor marks associated with the perfect form of a Buddha, the embodiment of all the objects of Refuge. He has one face, signifying the realization that all existent things are of "one taste" in the actual state of the Dharma nature. He has two hands,
signifying the inseparable relationship between Wisdom and Skillful Means. His complexion is white with a pink hue, signify- ing the unity of Bliss and Emptiness. He stares with both eyes which signify impartiality in looking upon the world with wisdom and compassion. His youthful appearance signifies freedom from the changes of birth, death and old age. He is wearing a white under- garment (gsang. gos) and a red gown ('dong. ma}, signifying the perfection of the Bodhisattva's vehicle. Over these he wears a dark blue tunic (phod. chen) signifying perfection in the practice of Tantra, and over this a red robe (chos. gos) signifying his perfection of the path of the Hinayana or Shravakayana, and over all these he wears a dark brocade cape, signifying complete accomplishment in all spiritual traditions of Buddhism. He holds in his right hand a five-pronged Vajra scepte~ at his heart with a threatening mudra, banishing negative thoughts of a duality between that which is grasped and the grasper. In his left hand he holds a skull, in which is a vessel filled with nectar, signifying the attainment of power over life (tshe. dbang. rig. 'dzin). In the cleft of his left arm he holds a trident (kha~vanga), the concealed symbol of his consort, Mandarava, the revealer of Bliss and Emptiness. He wears the hat known as the Lotus Hat signifying that the belongs to the Lotus Family of the Dhyani Buddha Amitabha. He wears shoes known as Sak-lham, and sits in the playful posture of a king signifying the accomplishment of his own aims and those of others.
Surrounding him in various auras of rainbows, large and small, one should visualize the eight Siddhas of India, the 25 close Tibetan disciples, the Lord of subjects, the three spiritual roots of the Lama, Yidam and Khadro, Dharma Protectors and all objects of Ref- uge massing like a billowing array of clouds. These divinities should be visualized in a pure land in a state of great luminescence and natural equanimity, appearing, but not having existence in reality. All the forms are clear yet unmixed with the duality of actual exist- ence, like the reflection of the moon in water and a rainbow in the sky.
? ii. Invocation and Invitation
This seven line prayer of invocation of the Mind of Guru Rinpoche originated from Guru Rinpoche himself, and was revealed consist- ently, again and again by earlier and later revealers of the spiritual treasures. If one recites this prayer, Guru Rinpoche himself has promised that he will actually come and instill blessings. There are different meanings of this prayer according to the various levels of capacity of the disciples. On the ordinary level the interpretation is as follows:
In the northwest country of Uddiyana
Is the one born on the pistil of the stem of a lotus And endowed with the most marvelous attainments, Renowned as the Lotus-Born One, PadmasaJ11bhava, And surrounded by a retinue of many J? akinis:
I will practice by following you;
Please come forth to grace me with your inspiration. GURU PADMA SIDDHI HU? ;
This is a direct expression of the method for practicing the prayer in relation to Guru Rinpoche's appearance in this world as a perfect body of Emanation or Nirmal). akaya. In actuality he is not separable from the Primordial Buddha, Samantabhadra, who is, from the very beginning, fully liberated in the state of the self-origi- nated Dharmakaya. Without moving from the expanse of the Dharmakaya, he is spontaneously accomplished in the state of the SaJ11bhogakaya which is endowed with five certain qualities. He is the spontaneous arising of unimaginably various miraculous mani- festations, all of which are their own reflection of his compassion. This is the actual way in which Guru Rinpoche abides and appears, and is the display which is exclusively perceived by a fully awak- ened being.
For the ordinary disciples who have good fortune, he took birth as the Lotus Born One in the form of PadmasaJ11bhava, Guru Rinpoche. During his life he manifested himself to his disciples in forms appropriate to the occasion such as one of the eight emana- tions of the guru (gu. ru. mtshan. brgyad). It was in one of these forms that he performed innumerable miracles with his psychic powers and tantric attainments (dngos. grub; siddhi) and displayed vari- ous acts of learning, teaching and debate to his disciples-men and women, ordinary and highly realized beings, non-humans as well as spirits-in his own country of Uddiyana (N. W. Pakistan), in
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India and in Tibet. This level of interpretation is the general way of understanding the implication of these seven lines when praying to this extraordinary object of devotion.
That interpretation of these lines is as follows:
The prayer begins with the seed syllable HlJ? -the invoca- tion of the mind of Guru Rinpoche, the mind of all the Buddhas, the indicator of the self-arisen primordial wisdom. The first line speaks of his origin in the land North west of India, the country of Uddiyana, the land of J? akinis and the Dhamako~ha Lake. The sec- ond refers to his miraculous birth on the pistil of the stem of a lo- tus. At that time all the qualities and blessings of the three mystic aspects of a Buddha's body, speech and mind came together in the form of the seed syllable HRi and dissolved into the heart of Amitabha Buddha. From his heart they emanated as five colored rays of light and lit upon the pistil of the lotus. There they trans- formed into Guru Rinpoche and he thus took birth. The third line shows that he spontaneously accomplished the two-fold benefit for himself and others and exhibited a marvelous life by such means as his eight emanations. He achieved the supreme attainment, the unification with Dorje-chang (Vajradhara). His name, in the fourth line, is renowned as the Lotus-born, Padmasa~bhava. And in the fifth line, he is surrounded by retinues of many J? akas (mkha'. 'gro) and J? akinis (mkha'. 'gro. ma), the inspirational emanations of tantric
energy and wisdom.
At the conclusion in the sixth and seventh lines one should
pray with the three kinds of faith-faith which is pure and cleanses the mind (dang. ba'i. dad. pa), faith which is inspirational and de- sirous of accomplishing the same attainment as the object of such devotion ('dod. pa'i. dad. pa) and faith which is grounded in full confidence in the unequalled qualities of the object of faith (yid. ches. kyi. dad. pa). Here we pray " 0 protector, in following you I will practice" with the intention of emulating Guru Rinpoche and achieving inseparability with him, or simply to develop confidence and conviction in the path. In the last line, keeping in mind that we and all sentient beings are sunk in the ocean of the three suffering! i of birth, ageing and death, we request Guru Rinpoche, who is wise, compassionate and powerful, to "please come forth to grace me with your inspirational blessings of your body, speech and mind," transforming ours just as iron is transmuted into gold.
The concluding mantra of Padmasambhava for invoking his
? blessings has the following meaning: Guru, or Lama in Tibetan, the Spiritual Master, means one who is "weighty" or "heavy" with excellent qualities, and also means one to whom no one is supe- rior-one who is peerless; Padma is the first name of Guru Rinpoche; siddhi are the common and uncommon spiritual attain- ments we wish to obtain; and HU? means the supplication to be- stow these attainments. Thus the whole mantra means "0 Guru, bestow the spiritual attainments. "
Although this is the general interpretation of these seven lines and mantra, there are deeper meanings according to the level of one's intelligence and attainment. There is the hidden meaning: first according to the Way of Liberation (grol. lam) which reflects the tantric understanding of emptiness; second according to the Way of Skillful Means (thabs. lam) which reflects the tantric meth- ods of practice such as the meaning according to the general proc- ess of the Completing Stage (rdzogs. rim) using the inner psychic system; and third is the meaning according to the specific teaching of the Innermost Essence, the practice of Instantaneous Presence (thod. rgal) in the State.
Beyond this these seven lines can be inter- preted according to the realization of the actual accomplishment of the practice. These levels are disclosed by one's Spiritual Master and accommodate the various natures, intellects and capacities of the disciples. It is appropriate to recite it according to one's level of realization.
One should recite it with a sweet devotional melody, imagin- ing that the actual divinities came from the Pure Land of the Cop- per-colored Mountain like snowflakes falling from the sky and merge with their visualized counterparts like the snowflakes fall- ing upon water. The visualization becomes very bright, emitting rays of light with tremendous intensity. Thereupon one should develop deep faith that they are in fact the embodiment of all the wisdom, compassion and power of the Fully Awakened Beings.
iii. The Seven Aspects ofDevotionfor the Accumulation ofMerit
In order to develop within oneself the extraordinary realizations of the spiritual stages and paths, it is necessary to dispel unfavorable conditions and to activate those which are favorable. This leads to theattainmentofthecommonanduncommonextraordinarypow- ers. With this aim in view, one should purify mental defilements within the context of aid from the assembly of Refuge objects of the
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most excellent path of Tantra. Imagining the assembly in one's mind's eye, one should engage in methods for purification and ac- cumulation by the seven aspects of devotional practice.
With prostration, visualize one's own body multiplied to the number of atoms in the world together with all sentient beings, and without any pride one should perform full prostrations devot- ing body, speech and mind to the objects of Refuge.
The practice of offering involves actual offerings of those which are pleasingly and cleanly arranged, and visualized offering, which are all the wealth of the gods and materials which are pleasing to the senses throughout the world, filling the sky, together with nu- merous offering goddesses who hold aloft exquisite arrays of of- ferings. These should then be visualized as being offered to the assembly without any trace of attachment and avarice or hypoc- risy. One should consider that the recipients are pleased with the quality of this offering.
With confession, we should lay bare all wrongdoings that we and all other beings have accumulated throughout the three times in actions of our body, speech and mind. This should be done with a strong feeling of repentance and remorse, and an intention to turn away from committing such actions again. We should visual- ize that by confessing, rays of light shine forth from the objects of Refuge, touch the bodies of all sentient beings, and purify us from all defilements as if washed away by water. In accordance with a special form of confession, all defilements are purified by relaxing in the state of realization of luminescence or radiant clarity, free from conceptualization.
When we rejoice, we should rejoice in the accumulation of vir- tues on both the relative and ultimate level of oneself and others, without any trace of jealousy.
To all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and spiritual teachers dwell- ing in the ten directions, one should request that they set in motion the wheel of Dharma of the great, medium and lower vehicles, in accordance with the varying capacities and intellects of the disci- ples. We should wish that these teachings are given ceaselessly, without any interruption.
We should request that the Fully Awakened Beings, their spir- itual sons and all realized teachers do not leave this world for the state of Nirval)a, and that they remain within the world for the sake of beings until all sentient beings have attained Buddhahood and cyclic existence has been emptied.
? In the last of these seven practices, we should dedicate the merit of ourselves and others which has been accumulated throughout time, in order that all sentient beings may enjoy happiness and virtue, finally attaining the state of the All-knowing Primordial Pro- tector. This we should do without hoping for recompense or per- sonal gain from such action, in accordance with the way in which- Maftjushri and other Bodhisattvas distribute their merit.
After all defilements and unfavorable conditions have been purified, and spiritual merit and favorable conditions for achiev- ing Liberation have been accumulated, the rain of blessings of the Refuge Lama is required so that the corps of the achievement of Liberation and the state of Omniscience may grow. To attract the rainfilled cloud of bliss it is necessary to practice invocation with a strong faith through the "wind of prayer".
iv. Invocation
With the mind focused single-pointedly in prayer, one should pray to Guru Rinpoche, who is seen as inseparable from one's own Root Lama-the united body of Wisdom, Compassion and Power of all Buddhas-thinking: "I and others who are sunk deep in the ocean of cyclic existence have no guide except you; we depend upon you in this life and the next. Please always watch over us with your kindness. " This prayer should be performed with full and deep consideration of its meaning, so that tears come to our eyes and the hairs stand up on our body.
v. The Mantra Recitation
At the end of this prayer one should repeat the essence of the heart of the prayer known as "Siddhi". All the outer manifestations of sa~sara should be recognized as the emanation of the pure realm of Guru Rinpoche, the Glorious Copper-colored Mountain; all beings should be seen as J? akas and J? akinis; all sounds should be heard as the Siddhi mantra; and all reflections of mind should be recog- nized as being self-liberated. from the very beginning. The signifi- cance of the mantra is as follows:
0? AHHillyi: These are the seeds of the vajra body, speech and mind of all the Buddhas.
VAJRA: The body of Truth, the Dharmakaya, which in its ada- mantine nature is not able to be affected by the con-
ceptualizing of characteristic thoughts.
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GURU: The perfect body of Complete Enjoyment, the SaJ! tbhogakaya, signifies that this visionary state is weighty with the heavy abundance of enlightened
qualities.
PADMA: The perfect body of Emanation, the Ninnat;takaya,
is in the nature of discriminating awareness arising in the Speech-Padma family.
By praying to Guru Rinpoche, who is the embodiment of these three perfect bodies, then,
SIDDHI: All the common and uncommon attainments, HU? : May be bestowed in my mind immediately.
2. Prayers to the Lamas of the Lineage
This prayer is a condensation of a prayer to all the Lamas of the lineage beginning with Kuntu Zangpo, passing through Vajrasattva, Garab Dorje, Srisinha and so forth to Guru Rinpoche and his disci- ples, and from them through Long-Chen Rab-jam-pa, Jig-me Ling- pa, Do-drup Chen, Gyal-wa'i Nyu-gu and so forth, all the way down to one's own Root Lama. More lengthy prayers to the lineage can be added depending on instructions given by one's own teacher.
Aspirational Prayers
With these aspirations we direct our mind towards the attainment of the spiritual stages, paths and results of the Dzog-chen practice. For those relating to this life, we should think, "May I develop re- nunciation, the wish to gain liberation from cyclic existence; may I be suitably connected with a Tantric Master; may his realization be transferred to my mind; may everything be perceived as arising as the three Vajras-namely the appearances as divine, sounds as mantra and the mind as Dhannakaya; and may I perfect the four mystical visions. "
Following this is a prayer which relates to the passage between death and the next life. Here we express the aspiration that if we do not achieve liberation in this life, "may the death-trance arise as Primordial Wisdom, and the vision of the Intermediate State be liberated as the SaJ! lbhogakaya; may I perfect the experiences of the Essence (ngo. bo) and its manifestation (rang. bzhin) by the path of Treg-cho (khregs. chod) and Tho-gal (thod. rgal), and thus in the Intermediate State attain liberation like a child climbing into his mother's lap. "
? If we do not achieve liberation then, with the support of the five practices for attaining Buddhahood without meditation (namely the practice of Chakras or diagrams, which leads to lib- eration through seeing; that of Nectar, which gives liberation through hearing; that of Mantra, which gives liberation through tasting; and that of Mudra, which gives liberation through touch- ing and that of Transference of consciousness, which leads to lib- eration through recollecting) we should wish, "May I then gain rebirth as a Nirmar:ta. kaya in a Pure realm and attain liberation thereby receiving Mahayana teachings. Thus may I perform serv- ice for others without any effort. " We should pray to achieve all the above aspirations by the power of the Ultimate Truth.
3. Receiving the Four Empowerments
Through praying in such a way the minds of the Refuge Objects have been invoked, and we should visualize that all the surround- ing retinue dissolve into Guru Rinpoche, and that his glory of Wis- dom and Power increases tremendously. Rays of light are then emitted from his three sacred places, and they enter oneself at the same three points so that the Four Tantric Empowerments are ob- tained, the four defilements are purified and the state of the four Perfect Bodies is actualized. At the end we should mix our own mind with the mind of Guru Rinpoche and relax in that state.
In conclusion, we should dissolve the visualization with a feel- ing of strong devotion, and from this dissolution comes a warm red ray of light from Guru Rinpoche's heart. It dissolves into our own heart and we become a red body of light which then dissolves into Guru Rinpoche's heart. We should be at ease in that state with- out reflection or conceptualization for as long as possible.
4. Dedication
Distribution of merit for the benefit of others should be done with kindness, compassion and the altruistic attitude of Awakening Mind, so that we wish all sentient beings may, by these good ac- tions, gain happiness and the ultimate attainment of Enlighten- ment. If one dedicates merit for the ultimate benefit of others the virtues will never decrease, they will only increase. It is an im- mensely powerful, skillful means for perfecting one's own accu- mulation of goodness. The exceptional means of dedicating merit is to do so in conjunction with the realization of their non-reality-
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without the practice being defiled by attachment to any reality in the merit to be dedicated, in the objects to whom it is being dedi- cated and in the purpose for which it is dedicated. If one aspires to achieve such a purpose supported by any sacred object and the cause of merit-good actions-they will fulfill one's wishes. There- fore, from the depths of one's heart, one should make vast aspira- tions for the achievement of happiness, good fortune and birth in higher realms of existence, and finally for the attainment of the Fully Awakened state both by oneself and others.
? ? Part- Ill The Nine Yanas28
? A Guide to the Approaches to Enlightenment
Generally the wide variety of traditions and paths in Buddhism reflects the numerous dispositions and capacities of its followers. Withi. Jt the Nyingma tradition they are all synthesized into nine, of which the Dzog-chen of Atiyoga is the supreme, the others being considered as the tools or adjuncts to this. Just as there are disci- ples at varying stages of spiritual development, there are also vary- ing levels of spiritual paths, and these paths reflect the type of prac- tice which is emphasized at such levels.
Out of the nine vehicles, or Yanas, the first and the second, that of the Hearers, Shravakas, and that of the solitary Realizers, the Pratyekabuddhas, both belong to the Lesser Vehicle or Hinayana. Their training consists mainly of cultivating pure moral discipline. The third is the vehicle of the Bodhisattva, the A waken- ing Warrior. Here the practitioner mainly cultivates the Awaken- ing Mind, the altruistic thought to bring ultimate benefit to others. This way and the successive vehicles belong to the Greater Vehicle or Mahayana. These first three Yanas are known as Causal Vehi- cles, because the practice is directed towards those activities which act as a cause for the attainment of Enlightenment. They are also known respectively as the lower, middle and higher spiritual paths of beings on the ordinary level of capability. The last six vehicles, which ? include the Action or I<riya, Performance or Carya and the yoga Tantras, and the Mahii, Anu and Ati Yogas, are all part of the
Tantric Path. They mainly involve training in the purification of the appearances of existence (snang. srid). The first three are known as the external tantras, the last three as the internal ones. These are also known as the Resultant Vehicles because the practice prima- rily centers on the result of the path itself being taken as the prac- tice. This is the path for those of exceptional ability, who are en- dowed with excellent or superlative capacity.
In the Tantra known as Heruka Kalpo it states:
"By the Causal Vehicle it can be understood That the mind is the cause of Buddhahood.
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By the Resultant Vehicle meditate
That the mind itself (sems. nyid) is Buddhahood. "
In the Causal vehicles the mind will accumulate the mental and physical merit, and by practicing the path of the Bodhisattva's conduct the result will be obtained. Thus it is considered that the mind is just the cause of the result and that the cause and result precede and follow one another. Thus they are known as the Causal V ehicles.
The six vehicles of the Tantras are viewed in such a way that the essence of the mind is the final attainment or the result, and that this has been within oneself from the very beginning, yet is covered by fleeting defilements and negativities. If these are un- covered and the recognition of one's own self-nature arises, that is the attainment of the ultimate result. So in this case there is no discrimination of "preceding and following" in the idea normally associated with cause and result. Therefore it is called the Result- ant Vehicle. These six higher vehicles are more extraordinary than the lower ones by virtue of the wide variety of profound and rapid skillful means associated with their practice.
1. The Three Causal Vehicles
i. Shravakayana or The Way of the Hearers
View: With regard to the two kinds of lack of self-identity or selflessness they understand the lack of self-iden- tity in personalities (gang. zag. gi. bdag. med; pudgala- nairatma), yet they uphold the ultimate reality of dimensionless atoms and the shortest, indivisible mo- mentsofconsciousnessasanexampleoftheself-iden-
tity of phenomena (chos. kyi. bdag; dharmatma).
Aim: The wish to attain peace and happiness for oneself.
Practice: The observance of any one of the eight (or seven) vows of individual liberation (so. sor. thar. pa; pratimok? ta). These are: i) Upavasatha-shila, the precepts kept on lunar observance days; ii) Upasaka-shila, male devo- tees' precepts; iii) Upasika-slu1a, female devotees' pre- cepts; iv) Shrama~era-slu1a, male novices' precepts; v) Shrama~erika-shila, female novices' precepts; vi) Shikshama~a-shila, training precepts for female pro- bationers; vii) Bhikl? hu-shila, fully ordained monks'
? precepts; viii) Bhi~hu-r:ti-shila, fully ordained nuns' precepts.
Meditation: Making the mind and body fit for practice by the meditation of tranquillity or calm abiding (zhi. gnas; shamatha), such as meditation on repulsiveness as an antidote to desire, concentrating on the exhalation and inhalation of breath to subdue discursive thoughts and the four close contemplations on form, feeling, consciousness and phenomena and so forth. They follow this with vivid insight meditation (lhag. mthong; vipashyana) on the Four Noble Truths with their 16 aspects such as impermanence and so forth. Wisdom is attained by meditating on the un- derstanding of suffering as an illness, rejecting the cause of suffering as the cause of an illness, attaining the cessation of suffering like the cure of an illness, and depending on the spiritual path as one depends
on medicine which is the antidote to an illness.
Result: There are four stages of the result: that of a stream- enterer, a once-returner, a never-returner and an Arhat (lit. : One who has "subdued the enemy" of conflict- ing emotions). Each of these stages has two phases, namely the initial or entrance stage, and the result.
Thus there are eight stages. of result in all.
zz. Pratyeknbuddhayana or the Way ofthe Solitary Realizers, the Self-Enlightened or Silent Buddhas.
View: The Pratyekabuddha understands the absence of a self in personalities as well as that related to mental events. They understand the lack of self-identity in phenomenal objects but hold the view that the small-
est moment of consciousness is ultimately real.
Aim: To achieve one's own enlightenment by one's own efforts.
Practice: To observe arty one of the vows of individual libera- tion.
Meditation: To meditate on tranquil abiding or shamatha, and upon the Four Noble Truths with their 16 aspects as followed in the Shravaka-yana. In addition they meditate on the 12 links in the chain of interdependent origination
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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.