All of these uphold the
authenticity
of the Four Veda.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
And in the Oral Instructions ofMafijusrf(MafijuSrfmukhagama, T 1853-4) it says:
All things of sarpsara are held to be non-existent
Like the multicoloured rope when perceived as a snake.
Moreover, the creator of the happiness and suffering of sarpsara, the high and the low and all such apparitional modes, is karma or [world- forming] deeds, corrupted by all-conflicting emotions, which are of three types. Without exception these modes are created by deeds, em- anated by deeds, matured by deeds, and they appear through the power of deeds. Accordingly, it is said in the Hundred Parables on Deeds
(Karmasatakasutra, T 340):
The diversity of the world is developed through deeds. Happiness and suffering are created by deeds.
Deeds originate from an accumulation of conditions And by deeds happiness and suffering are made.
And in the to the Madhyamaka (Madhyamakavatara, T 3861, Ch. 6, v. 89) It explains:
By mind itself the diverse
Sentient and inanimate worlds
Are allocated their share of deeds Living creatures without
Are said to be created through deeds. THE MUND
ANE VEHICLE AND THE BRAHMA VEHICLE
The Mundane Vehicle
In brief, the entire array of the inanimate
Th· . '
[7b. 2-10a 3]
god . e mundane vehIcle or the basic vehicle followed by
S and human b . . I .
Verbal d . . emgs IS exp amed under three headings: essence,
The essence is a of g d
o s and hum
efimtlOn and classification.
f'
0 progressmg to the conclUSIve happiness
.
an emgs w IC acks the power to subhmate sarpsara.
h d ny met 0
hI'
b ' h"
58 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSan:zsara and NirvarJa
Doctrines ofSan:zsara 59
It is verbally defined as a vehicle because it can merely unite with, and progress towards, the result of happiness experienced by gods and human beings. Its classifications are sixfold, namely, entrance, view, moral discipline, meditation, conduct and result.
Firstly, concerning the entrance: After having seen the three evil existences, which are naturally endowed with suffering, one enters by means of renouncing the unvirtuous deeds, which are the cause of birth therein. As it is said in the Heruka Galpo (he-ru-kagal-po, NGB Vol. 25):
Non-virtue is renounced by the vehicle ofgods and humans.
In this context the ten non-virtues consist of three physical deeds - to kill, to steal and to commit sexual misconduct; four verbal deeds - to lie, to slander, to talk irresponsibly and to utter abuse; and three mental deeds - to covet, to be malicious and to hold wrong views.
Secondly, concerning the view: The correct view is the conviction that there are such things as a future world and the cause and fruition of deeds. It says in the Collection ofMeaningful Expressions (Udanavarga, T 326, Ch. 4, v. 9):
The great one who possesses
The correct view for a mundane being Even in a thousand lifetimes
Will not turn to evil existences.
Conversely, with a wrong view, even though one may have practised other virtuous deeds, such as abstaining from murder, one will reap the fruit of suffering. As it is said in the Letter to a Friend (Suhrllekha, T 4182, v. 46):
Even though an individual may have practised well, with a wrong view
All that matures will be unbearable.
Therefore, it is important that the correct view be retained.
Thirdly, moral discipline is nothing but the moral discipline of re- nouncing the ten non-virtues. It has been said in the above-mentioned
[Letter to a Friend, v ,11]:
The [eight vows of the] purificatory fast
Cause the pleasant body of the gods who act as they desire To be bestowed upon lay people.
This being the case, is not the moral discipline derived from correct commitment explained to be necessary for one who would progress to the rank of the gods? Though indeed mentioned, it is spoken of only with reference to [the attainment of] the extraordinary [form] realms. For the ordinary [form] realms, its necessity is uncertain. 26 Therefore,
ese I tter realms are held to be attained simply by enacting the deeds
ath of the ten virtues, along with their concomitants, which are and pa .
retained by the correct VIew. h . f h .
Furthermore, concepts sue as punty 0 t e graspmg components
area . . 11d cience and humilIty IS ca e
her duties of a,nd with And . t ue for an evil or mfenor bemg. The Treatlse on BehavlOur entUled
ISr k. bbd ,. ) 27 the Holy Ornament (lugs- yz stan- cos am-pa z rgyan says:
To honour well those who are worthy of reverence,
To be especially benevolent to those who are unprotected, And not to forget to repay kindness
Is the conduct of a holy being,
The holy person actually chooses death,
Rather than a life which has forsaken conscience, Experiences which are tainted with sin,
And power gained 1 y the deception of friends.
And again:
An evil delights in sin, Shows ingratitude and casts away Conscience like an enemy.
That one will do anything
To achieve his or her own purpose.
And in the Short Chapter on Discrimination ('byed-pa le'u chung) sixteen
pure human laws (mi-chos gtsang-ma bcu-drug) are taught as follows:
Develop faith in the Three Precious Jewels without sorrow or weariness; search ultimately for the true doctrine; skilfully study the excellent sciences; first recollect and then appraise anything that is to be undertaken; do not hanker after unas- signed work; look to a higher level and emulate the ancients and those of superior conduct; repay kindness to one's par- ents of the past, present and future; be broad-minded and hospitable in one's dealings with elder and younger siblings and paternal relatives; ensure that the young respect their elders by degrees; show loving kindness to one's neighbours; arduously assist one's acquaintances who are spiritual bene- factors; perfectly fulfil the needs of those nearby who are connected through the worldly round; help others through o? e's skill in science and the arts; provide a refuge with kmdness to those who depend upon it; resist bad advice and establish advice which will increase the happiness of the COuntry; and, entrusting one's deeds to the doctrine, one
th
dhered to, and one who has been motivated by the possession of
hI'b'fi fi '
a 0 y or supenor emg or per ormmg
60 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSarrzsara and NirvalJa
should bring one's spouse to obtain the ground of enlighten- ment in future lives.
Fourth, meditation: There is training until one has the power to bring about the proper result.
Fifth, conduct: One enacts the deeds and path of the ten virtues "endowed with corruption" along with their concomitants, which [vir- tues] are so named after their function which is [merely] to renounce the ten non-virtues. The positive virtues of such physical actions as prostration, verbal actions as praise and mental actions which benefit others by virtuous thoughts are also included. However, one might object, is it not said in the Heruka Galpo that on the vehicle of gods and humans, the ten modes of doctrinal conduct such as writing [scrip- tures] and making offerings are necessary? Here, as before, there is a distinction between [the attainment of] the extraordinary realms, and the ordinary realms.
Sixth, the result is as follows: By the extent of the power of one's virtuous deeds, one is born in the ten higher levels of the desire realm, namely, among the human beings of the four continents or among the six species of Kama divinities. Accordingly, the Tantra of the Extensive Magical Net says:
The practice of the ten virtues and the renunciation of non- virtues
Are the basis for birth among the gods and humans of the desire realm.
And in Buddhaguhya's28 Sequence of the Path it says:
By emphasising the ten virtues
And not equating virtue with non-virtue,
One is born among the gods and human beings. Without understanding sameness, one wanders in the
desire realm.
Since this vehicle progresses to the culmination of the happiness desired in this life either as an emperor among men, or as a fYlaster of the Paranirmitavasavartin29 realm of the gods, the Satra of the Descent to Lanka speaks of it as the divine vehicle, after the name of the highest realm to which it progresses. It has been said of this vehicle in the Sequence of the Path:
It is definitively arranged
As the first of the fundamental vehicles.
Accordingly, it either forms the foundation of, or is preliminary to, all the vehicles, because the vehicle which is not retained by the correct view and which does not observe the deeds and path of the ten virtues
Doctrines ofSarrzsara 61 its actual foundation is nowhere to be found. The Hevajra Tantra
417-18, Pt. 2, Ch. 2, v. 18cd) also states: Having commenced from the ten virtues
His doctrine is disclosed.
The Brahma Vehicle
[lOa. 3-lIb. 3] The Siitra of the Descent to Lanka also speaks of the vehicle of Brahma. Here Brahma does not only apply to the three realms which begin with the Brahmakayika,30 but the meanings of chaste, clean and pure are also conveyed by the word Brahma; for the conflicting emotion of desire is cleansed and purified. In this way the above siitra refers to the whole range of the word Brahma. All twenty- one higher realms, including the seventeen form realms of the gods and the four formless realms, are expressed by the word Brahma, and the path, along with its concomitants, which progresses to these realms is called the vehicle ofBrahma. 31 It also says that one who has renounced the conflicting emotions of the lower level will be born in a higher realm by the power of having meditated with tranquillity, and with higher insight which perceives as coarse the level below one's own and perceives as subtle one's own level. Therefore, one will not be born in
the higher realms without obtaining an actual foundation in the four me? itative concentrations and the four formless absorptions on the path whIch removes attachment to the level below one's own. So it is that the meditative concentrations and absorptions are held to be the actual vehicle of and the four immeasurables and five mundane super- co? muve powers to be the extraordinary path of enlightened attnbutes III the vehicle of Brahma.
These attributes also require a view which accepts the [doctrine of] and their result; an entrance and a moral discipline through the ten non-virtues are renounced; a conduct through which the ten are observed as before, but through which in addition the namely, loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic and equammny are practised; and a meditation which includes both
? rmal and formless absorptions. The formal ones are the four medita- -tIVe which are characteristically disillusioned with the
sensatIOnsofd' A h '. .
· . eSIre. s t e Intennedzate Mother [Transcendental perl'ec-
tlOnofD " .
vim' . Awareness zn Twenty-five Thousand Lines, Pafica-
J!
Ideas and scrutiny is the third concentration, and mental actIon united with delight is the fourth concentration.
. satlsahasrzkapraJiiaparamita, T 9] says:
That which possesses both ideas and scrutiny is the first That which possesses no ideas but scrutiny
alone IS the d .
b ' secon concentratIOn. Mental actIOn devOId of
'.
62 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSarrzsara and NirvalJa
Doctrines ofSarrzsara 63
The latter [i. e. the formless ones] are the four absorptions which are characteristically disillusioned with the cognition of the four concentra- tions. These are the absorptions into the activity field infinite as the sky, into the activity field of infinite consciousness, into the activity field of nothing at all, and into the activity field where there is neither perception nor non-perception. They are the culmination of the path to the summit of existence. 32 Concerning these, the Tantra of the Ex- tensive Magical Net also says:
One whose conduct is the four immeasurables And whose meditation is unwavering
Will be born in the Brahma realms and so forth.
The result [in this context] refers to both the form and formless realms. As regards the former, one takes birth in the three realms which begin with Brahmakayika through having meditated respectively on the weak, middling, and strong aspects of the actual foundation of the first concentration, and [by applying the second, third and fourth con- centrations] in the same way, altogether there are twelve such ordinary realms in which one revolves. During the fourth concentration the uncorrupted discriminative awareness of the sublime beings increases and one takes birth in the Five Pure Abodes beginning with Avrha through meditation in five respective stages. Yet, one does not obtain freedom from attachment to form, and one continues to wander in sarpsara through attachment to the flavour of concentration. As the Sequence of the Path says:
Holding to individual selfhood through the stages Of the four immeasurables and four concentrations, And imputing self in all forms,
One takes birth successively in the Brahma realms.
As regards the latter [type of result], one takes birth as a formless god by clinging to [the idea of] self during the contemplation endowed with
c: 11 ws: on this topic the opinions of past masters slightly differ. The 100 . h34l'hh f d .
33
higher insight is absent. The same text [Sequence of the Path] says:
Without understanding sameness and that which is formless,
One does not know the four names to be non-existent. When one abides in the four activity fields,
One is born on the level of the summit of existence.
THOSE OF NO UNDERSTANDING AND THOSE OF WRONG UNDERST ANDING
[llb. 3-16a. 3] The ensuing discussion of the views held by those of no understanding and by those of wrong understanding is explained as
. Their essence is that they are totally deluded because from the begin- nmg they have not understood [the relationship] between the causes results of deeds. The verbal definition is that they are called apathetic
ecdause. they do not act in response to the existence or non-existence
of octnnes con . h
four nominal components
in which the discriminative awareness of
tef Suryaprabhasirp a CaIrns t at t ose 0 no un erstandmg are
%:Strio of the materialists (rgyang-Jphen-pa, Skt.
Lokayata) and the mhilIstlc extremIsts (mur stug-pa), while those of
wrong understanding are the eternalistic extremists (mu stegs-paJ Skt.
35
the apathetic and those of wrong understanding the extremists, both
tfrthika). Master LIlavajra
eternalistic and nihilistic. Vimalamitra
claims that those of no understanding are
36
The apathetic and materialists
Have no understanding,
The nihilistic and eternalistic extremists Have wrong understanding.
Since a similar account also is found in the great master Padmasam- bhava's Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions, I shall adopt the same approach here.
Those of No Understanding
[12a. 1-12a. 4] Among those of no understanding and those of wrong understanding, the former are both interpreted and classified as follows. They are interpreted to be ordinary individuals whose attitudes have not been changed by a philosophical system. They are classified into two groups: the actual and the incidental.
The Apathetic
d'
. exp ame under three headmgs: essence, verbal definition and clas-
First, those who actually have no understanding, the mundane apathetic
are I' SIficatIOn.
'
nea er renunc'
the S
has said:
. . d
cernmg mter ependent causes and results and observe
t'.
'
la IOn nor commItment. As the Parkap Commentary [on ecret Nucleus) Guhyagarbhamahatantrarajatfka, P 4718] says:
He who understands nothing at all Is a mundane apathetic being.
Their classificat' " "
in£ . Ion IS mto an mfenor type and a dubious type. The
enortypehave db d. II .
lllent of 0 " a ase mte ect ,:hlch does not consider the attain-
and res P SHIve attnbutes. The dubIOUS type are both good and evil, emble those described below.
64 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSarrzsara and NirvalJa The Materialists
[l2a. 4-12b. 4] Secondly, those who are incidentally classed with those of no understanding, the materialists, are also explained under three headings. Their essence is that without understanding the existence or non-existence of previous and future lives, they are inclined to achieve only the slight temporal and spiritual well-being of one lifetime. The verbal definition is that they are called materialists because, rejecting
the future as remote, their achievements depend upon the mysterious expressions, oracles, dreams and calculations of mundane beings, such as those who are mighty and powerful in this life. Their classification is into two types: the cut-off and the perceptive. The former includes those cut off by nature and by conditions. Since [the view that there are cut-off beings] is not held by those who uphold the philosophy of
the greater vehicle (Mahayana), they may be known in detail from othersources. 37Theperceptivetypeisfourfold. Asagreatsiitra(mdo
chen-po) says:
The four perceptive types,
Known as the attached, the distracted,
The fearful, and the aspiring,
Appear as the field
Capable of retaining the seed [of enlightenment].
Respectively, these four are unable to resist lustful attachment to objects of desire, distracted by the duties of man-made laws in this life, success- ful in power and wealth through evil means, and the type which aspires to renounce the ten non-virtues and attain liberation.
Those of Wrong Understanding
[12b. 4-16a. 3] Secondly, those of wrong understanding are and classified as follows. They are interpreted to be any receptive individuals whose attitudes have been changed by wrong philosophy. They are classified as the five sophistic schools of the extremist masters
Doctrines ofSarrzsara 65 [Kapila, the Yoga As the Compendium ofthe Nucleus ofPristine
Cognition (]fianasarasamuccaya, T 3851) says: The Sarpkhya speak of attributes;
The Followers of Kapila maintain they are empty.
So it is that they are called the SaIpkhya, the Followers of Kapila and
Adherents of the Three Attributes (TraigulJya). Aisvara
[13a. 3-13b. 1] The_second school holding eternalistic view is that of the Followers of ISvara [Siva]. The god ISvara, the teacher of many tantrapitaka, had two students who attained accomplishment, namely, and Kal). ada. The adherents of Nyaya (Naiyayika) depend on the View of Reason (Nyayadarsana) which was composed by whilethe dependontheClearDistinction(bye-brag
gsal-ba, Skt. which was composed by Kal). ada. This school holds that all the bondage and liberation of sentient beings is created by Isvara:
Having no consciousness, these living creatures Lack control over their own happiness and sorrow. But when dispatched by Isvara,
They become creatures who exclusively inhabit The abyss [of evil existences]
Or the higher realms [of gods and humans]. 4o
Thus they are called Followers of Isvara, Followers of the Owl (Au- 111kya)41 and Adherents of the Six Categories
[B. b. 1-13b. 6] The third school holding an eternalist view is the I
composed the Anthology of Vedic Treatises. The four-
faced Brahma was born from the lotus of his navel, and after emanating th . ,
e entIre world and its contents, he recollected the great Four Veda, the the Samaveda, the Yajurveda and the Atharvaveda. d hIs exegeses were compiled by the sages and the following five
-VI. VIsIOns emerged:42 the grammarians (Vaiyakarana) who rely on lsnu' . . . .
" ,treatIse entItled Lzght Rays of Grammatical Speech (brda'-sprod
od-zer); the logicians including Aviddhakarna43 who rely on terszA . ,TVT • •
" gm s weapons ofExpresswn (smra-ba'i mtshon-cha)' the mystics
aifmohng accomplished meditators who rely on the rsi Nine O"cles oteMd' . . . '. . J'
e ltatwnal Sequence (bsgom-rim skor-dgu)' those proponents of
textual ex . h '
egesls w 0 emphasise ritual, relying on the rsi Bhrgu's Clear
JUdgem ( . . .
ph ' . ent rnam-dpyod gsal-ba); and the followers of Caraka who are
YSlclans relying on the Anthology of Caraka (Carakasarrzhita), which
38
them are four schools ofthe eternalist view, the first being the Sarpkhya.
Sarrzkhya
[12b. 5-13a. 3] During the age when living beings had a life-span of twenty thousand years,39 the sage Kapila attained accomplishment through the austerities of the eternalistic extremists many treatises. There were two students who upheld his phIlosophIcal Bharadvaja and Patafijali. Those who follow the tenet of Bharadva)a,
that all that is knowable is divided into twenty-five categories, are the Sarpkhya. Those based on the tenet ofPatafijali, that the abiding natu. re of the twenty-five categories is empty, are the Followers of Kapiia
of the past, who turn outwards rather than inwards.
Included among
66 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSaytlsara and NirvalJa
was composed by the ni Atreya and others.
All of these uphold the authenticity of the Four Veda. When classified, they are known as the Followers of the Followers of Brahma and the Fol- lowers of the Veda.
Jainism
[13b. 6-14a. 2] The fourth school holding an eternalistic view is the Jaina (rgyal-ba-pa). In the Ornamental Mirror ofCategories (tshig-don rgyan-gyi snang-ba)44 it says:
The great god holiest of conquerors Ascertains that which is knowable
In the following nine categories:
Animate substance (/iva), inanimate substance
(ajfva)45 and commitments (saytlvara), Rejuvenation (nirjara), bondage (bandha) and deeds
(karmasrava) ,
Evil (Papa), virtue (pulJya) and liberation
Consequently, it is held that liberation has form and colour, while trees are animate. They are called the Followers of the Conqueror (Jaina), Adherents ofthe Nine Categories and the Naked Ascetics (Nirgrantha).
Nihilism
[14a. 2-14b. 3] The fifth school is the only one which holds a nihilistic view. In Trayatrirp. sa, the heaven of the Thirty-three Gods, Brhaspati, who had become the accomplished guru of the gods, composed the treatise entitled Essence ofthe View which Negates Everything (thams-cad- la skur-pa 'debs-pa'i lta-ba'i snying-po)46 in order that the gods might develop enthusiasm for their struggle against the antigods. Later it was propagated in the human world by Valmlki. The treatise negates past and future births, saying [cf. Sarvadarsanasaytlgraha, Ch. l, v. l]:
Act joyously, good lady,
While you are not dead,
For nothing is not in death's range.
Even your body will vanish like powder. Where can there be rebirths?
It then negates the existence of invisible beings, saying:
As many creatures as there are,
They exist solely
Within the range of the senses.
Alas, whatever the learned say Resembles the tracks of a deceiving wolf.
Doctrines ofSaytlsara 67 It on to negate buddhahood as the result of progress on the path,
saymg:
The intellect is the body's soul,
It is the body's fruit and the body's attribute' Depending on three modes such as these '
There is no possibility of progress [to enlightenment]. It negates logic, saying:
Because it exaggerates There is no logic.
And it also negates causality, with the words [Summation ofthe R Tattvasaytlgraha, T 4266, vv. 1l1-12ab]: eal,
Who made the anthers of a lotus?
Who designed the markings of a peacock? Who sharpened the point of a thorn?
All things emerge substantially without cause.
Th
cause they are subs d · h·
e two Which h ume wIt m the status of the mind
ch
ave wrong und d'
ange the attitUde thr . erstan mg do represent views which
So it is that they are called the Followers of B h
the materialists, hedonists,47 and those who hr CS. arhaspatya),
from space.
CONCLUSION
. _
0 t at mmd emerges
d
? un erstandmg and wrong understanding
Since these four views of n exclusively originate f
.
has been said in the G they are mundane views. Such
from the passage b of Vzews: A Collection ofEsoteric Instructions egmnmg:
The countless sl1tras h' h views of senti . w
h
gat er together the erroneous
four cat . ent bemgs m the mundane realm fall within egones namely th h · h
nihilistic extr ' . , e apat etlc, t e materialists, the emlsts and the eternalistic extremists.
dOWn to:
All these are ignorant views.
these, the two who h h P I1osophical view H IC
ave no understanding represent no [SUch a View] be . owever, they are explained to be associated with
extremes which ough a phIlosophical system, but by clinging to
tremes, they have and depreciate the reality free from ex-
of liberation from Therefore, they are not the means
rpsara. ThiS applies not only to the n'h'l' .
I IIStlC ex-
.
68 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSan:zsara and Nirvar;a
Doctrines ofSan:zsara 69
tremists who are the worst among those professing philosophy, but to the eternalistic extremists as well, because, maintaining a self, they are bound by clinging to a self, which is the root of saqlsara. Accordingly, the Exposition of Valid Cognition (Pramar;avarttika, T 4210, Ch. 1, v. 193cd) says:
As long as one actually clings to a self, One will turn to saqlsara.
And in the Sequence of the Path:
Anyone who inclines towards
The duality of eternalism and nihilism Is said to deviate from the reality
Of the genuine essence.
On this occasion, I have not written about the texts and so forth which they individually uphold. One wishing to know them should look elsewhere. Some may well ask at this point whether it is not most inappropriate to explain the philosophical systems of the Outsiders,48 etc. , while analysing the Conqueror's transmitted precepts. Yet there is no fault, because having recognised the downfalls and things to be renounced on the path with reference to the eternalistic extremists who follow their own independent course, one has reason not to delay [in following] our own path, which is the supramundane vehicle. It says in the Heruka Galpo:
When the vehicle of the eternalistic extremists is well ascertained,
It is explained to you so that
You will not practise but renounce it.
Furthermore, with reference to those eternalistic extremists who are [the buddhas'] emanations, [there is no fault] because in addition to that aforementioned reason [for pursuing the path of the supramundane vehicle], they are said to represent the enlightened activity of the con- querors who train each in accord with his or her needs. It is said in the Rite which Ties by the Rope of Compassion of the Gathering of the Sugatas (bde-'dus-kyi thugs-rje dpyang-thag gnas-kyi lung, P 4781), which was composed by the bodhisattva Vajradharma:
By the diverse inroads of compassion, Training in whatever manner may be suitable, The Teacher speaks of this [true doctrine] And whatever appears therein
To the schools of the Outsiders.
In the very same way, one might well wonder how the development of such a negative view as that of the nihilistic extremists could appro-
. tely be within the conquerors' skilful means, since it is an extremely
pflaI·ble wrong view. None the less, it is appropriate because the nihilistic
terr d·hh·bl . extremists, too, a mIt muc t at IS reasona e. When one exammes
he scriptures or meets the arguments of those who established the pure
t . 49 . fif11 . 1
Prasailgika dialectIc, one IS Irst 0 a sceptIca, and subsequently
having seen the pure proof to the contrary, one comes to develop the correct logic. Therefore [the nihilists] are nearer to developing the correct view than the fools who have never entertained philosophy.
Again, if one asks how these [views] are explained to form an ensuing discussion that is derived from the vehicle of gods and human beings, they are so called because the receptive individuals who make progress through the vehicle ofgods and humans are both Outsiders and Insiders. With reference to the Outsiders, as Sura says:
The beings who do not side with your teaching are blinded by ignorance.
Though they have reached the summit of existence,
They will achieve a rebirth in which suffering re-emerges.
And with reference to the Insiders, even though they may hold to the refuge with a will to perform their duties on behalf of the Three Precious Jewels (dkon-mchog gsum), they are referred to as remaining only on the mundane path, unless their intellects aspire to liberation. As the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 1, v. 19) says:
With reference to differing volitions, The threefold refuge is laid down.
3 Doctrines of Nirvii1Ja
manent, all that is corrupt is suffering, all things are without self, and nirval)a is peace.
The three trainings are superior moral discipline, mind,sl and dis- riminative awareness, and it is the study of these through listening, ceflection and meditation for which the doctrine is respectively termed in the beginning, middle and end". As the Sun Commentmy
(Srama1Jerakarikavrttiprabhavatz, T 4125) says:
The learned realise that the Buddha's speech Teaches well the three trainings,
Is correctly endowed with the three seals,
And is virtuous in the beginning, middle and end.
The result, which can surpass the summit of existence, is described by Sura as follows:
One who follows your teaching,
Even without obtaining the actual foundation of
concentration,
Opposes rebirths as if they were the vision of Mara.
A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE SUPRAMUNDANE VEHICLE
The detailed account of the nature of this [supramundane vehicle] has two parts. Master Vasubandhu says [in the Treasury ofthe Abhidhanna) Abhzdhannakosa, T 4089, Ch. 8, v. 39ab]:
The two kinds of the Teacher's true doctrine Are transmission and realisation.
there is both the doctrine which realises his expressed meanmg and the doctrine which transmits his expressive words.
Realisation of the True Doctrine
The former, the doctrine of realisation, also has two parts. . Irstly , there is that doctrine attained through the attributes of realisa- tion, absorbed in the expanse [of reality]. This is the truth of
WcehSSatI. on to which the sublime beings have departed, the great nirvana erem a l l ' f ' . .
.
IC any[bI' b'
[cov' su Ime emg] departs, and which remedies the obscuration
naturally pure nucleus of inner radiance whose range e realIsed by each one individually.
[16a. 3-17b. 3] Secondly, the supramundane vehicle is explained in two parts: its superiority over [the vehicle of] the Outsiders and a detailed account of its own nature.
THE SUPERIORITY OF THE SUPRAMUNDANE VEHICLE
The true doctrine of nirva1). a,so which affords protection from the suf- fering of sarp. sara, is the best of all doctrines, supreme, perfect and more special than others. Therefore, it is expressed by the word "true". Grasping the Three Precious Jewels as the focus of refuge, it admits to, or is included within, four seals indicative of the transmitted which concern the view. By the study of the three correct trainings, it has a superior result because it can surpass the summit of existence. These [attributes] do not exist in the path of the Outsiders.
Among these [attributes], going for refuge must be the foundation and support of the path since that is the basis of the vows which support the aspiration for nirval)a. Therefore, one who has not gone for refuge does not develop the vows, and if one has not been bound by the vows, the correct path does not exist. The Seventy Verses on Going for Refuge (Trisara1Jasaptati, T 3971) says:
For the three kinds of layman, Going for refuge is the root Of [their] eight vows.
Though one may keep all the vows, None exist for one who has
Not gone for refuge.
The four seals are [the axioms that] all that is compounded is imper-
ob' SIgns 0 dualIstIC appearance have vanished, which is beyond of conception and expression. Secondly, there is that doctrine
And:
f'
realIsatIOn, the uncorrupted pristine
IC become th cog . . s
e essence 0 nnIOnalong . h.
. . .
wh' h wit Its concomitants. ThIS IS the truth of the path by
Doctrines ofNirvfi1Ja 71
72 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSarrzsara and NirvarJa
The first aspect is the desireless essence, or the unborn, pristine cognition in which the mind-streams of the four classes of sublime being have finished renouncing what must be renounced. And the second aspect is the natural expression of that pristine cognition or the antidote by which renunciation and desirelessness are achieved. As the sublime Ajita [in the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle, Ch. 1, vv. 10-ll] has said:
The doctrine is that which is without thought, Without duality and without ideas,
And which is pure, distinct and an antidote; Thus it is both that which is and by which There is freedom from desire,
Endowed with the characteristic of two truths. The reality of freedom from desire is subsumed By the truths of the cessation [of obscurations] And of the [correct] path.
Transmission of the True Doctrine
Secondly, the doctrine which transmits the expressive words [concern- ing that realisation] also has two aspects: the transmitted precepts of [the Buddha's] excellent teaching and the treatises which comment upon their intention.
4 Transmitted Precepts
[17b. 3-28a. 4] Firstly, [the transmitted precepts] are explained under three headings: characteristic, verbal definition and classification.
The transmitted precepts are characteristically the conquerors' scrip- tures preserved in the sutrapitaka and tantrapitaka which are endowed with four special qualities originating personally from our extraordinary Teacher, the Buddha. The doctrinal wheel of transmission means exactly this and is a synonym [for the term "transmitted precepts"]. The four special qualities are said in the Siltra which Encourages Superior
Aspiration (Adhyasayasaficodanasutra, T 69) to be the possession of ex- pressed meaning, immaculate words of expression, a function of re- nouncing rather than engaging in the conflicting emotions of the three realms, and a result which teaches the benefit of peace. Accordingly, the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 5, v. 18) says:
The speech which is closely connected With meaningful doctrine
And causes the all-conflicting emotions of The three realms to be renounced,
And that which teaches the benefit of peace, Is the Sage'sS2 speech.
Others are its opposite.
It is furth 1 .
ermore exp amed that the four [qualities] are to teach the tree trainin h . .
h
. gsast eexpressed[meamng],topossessImmaculatewords asItsexpression t h h .
ad'
0 possess t e tree kmds of valid cognition as proof, to a result that is virtuous in the beginning, middle and end.
erefore It is said:
the three trainings with immaculate words, Ando,:ed with the three kinds of valid cognition Tnd VIrtuous in the beginning, middle and end:
hese are the transmitted precepts
Which the Conqueror taught in the greater [vehicle].
74 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSan:zsara and Nirva1Ja
Their opposite should be known as The texts of others.
The verbal definition of the term transmitted precept is as follows: Derived from the [Sanskrit] [the prefix] su conveys the five meanings of noble, beautiful, happy, best and excellent, among which in this context it means excellent. means that which has been taught. It is because they are excellently taught that they are "transmitted precepts".
If one wonders how they are excellently taught, it is through ten aspects. As it is said in the Rational System of Exposition: 53
If one asks how they are excellently taught, they are so in ten ways, namely, through the nature oftheir genuine source, through the nature of their scope, through the nature of their approach, through the nature of their sound teaching, through the nature of their classification, through the nature of their support, through the nature of their causing com- prehension, through the nature of their titles, through the nature of their time, and through the nature of their complete grasp of enlightened attributes.
The transmitted precepts are classified in five ways: (1) through the personality [of the Buddha], (2) through time, (3) through sections, (4) through their function as antidotes and (5) through their power.
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO BUDDHA'S PERSONALITY
Firstly, when classified according to [the Buddha's] personality, there are three kinds of transmitted precept: those given in oral teaching, by blessing and by mandate.
Among these, [the transmitted precepts] given in oral teaching are also twofold. The teachings delivered impromptu by the Teacher at receptions are exemplified by the Verse Summation ofthe Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness (Prajfiaparamitasan:zcayagatha, T 13) in which it is said (Ch. l, intro. ):
Then, in order to delight correctly these four assemblies, the Transcendent Lord taught this further Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness, and at that time pro- nounced these verses. . .
The teachings which he gave at the request of an assembly are exemplified by the Litany of the Names of Mafijusrl san:zgfti, T 360). Therein it is stated (v. 13):
The Great Tantra of the Magical Net says that Immeasurable great Vajradharas, holders of secret
mantra,
Joyfully beseeched him to explain That which is the excellent teaching.
The transmitted precepts given by blessing are threefold. The trans- precepts given by the of his body are exemplified by the Sutra of the Ten Levels (Dasabhumzkasutra, T 44) which was taught by Vajragarbha and Vimukticandra who had developed the brilliance to explain request it after the Teacher had placed his hand on the
crowns of theIr heads. The transmitted precepts given by the blessi
. h l·fi ng of. are exemp I by the Transcendental Perfection of Dis-
cnmznatzve Awareness zn Ezght Thousand Lines (Astasahasrikap . --_ paramita, T which was explained by Subhuti
Lord had saId:
from the transcendental perfection of
dIscr. Immauve awareness of the great bodhisattvas, spiritual
warnors, you develop brilliance in the manner of the
gre. at bodhI. sattvas, spiritual warriors, who become disil-
. saIp. sara] through the transcendental perfec- tIOn of dIscnmmative awareness.
given by the blessing of his mind are said to . free subdIVIsIOns. Those transmitted precepts given by the bless- of his mind are exemplified by the Heart Sutra h· Awareness (Bhagavatfprajfiaparamitahrdaya T 21) b delIvered through the dialogue of Sariputra
platio y f e of the Teacher's meditative equipoise in the contem- given appearances. Then again, the transmitted precepts
the Sound the power of his mind are exemplified by birds trees d e octnne WhICh emerges even from the sky, and from
an forth through the accomplished power ofthe Buddha e transmItted p . b .
And :h
great spiritu 1· recepts gIven y the blessing of the power of his of mantra s by the collected transmitted precepts and others were spoken by pious
granting ext ; . power of the Buddha and whIch are capable of Co . raor mary results.
p.
mal Nirvan (M
ncermng the tran . d .
_ _precepts gIVen by mandate, the Siltra of
_ . a
Ananda when ·1
ahapannzrva1Jasutra, T 120) says:
into fi '1 . _ CounCI s are convened after I have passed duc dIna. mrval). a, let the teachings be compiled and intro-
eWIththewod"Thh Ih
sion" w· r . s us eard on a certain occa-
, Ith connectmg verses m the middle; and let them
Transmitted Precepts 75
76 Fundamentals: Doctrines ofSa1! lsara and NirvalJa
be concluded with the words "Manifest praise to the teaching given by the Transcendent Lord".
In accordance with such advice, the compilers included the sayings which had been transmitted in that way.
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO TIME
Secondly, when classified according to time, the transmitted precepts comprise the three successive promulgations of the doctrinal wheel. 54 The first of these promulgations was concerned with the four truths, the second with signlessness, and the third with the definitive meaning of ultimate [reality].
TRANSMITTED PRECEPTS ACCORDING TO SECTIONS
Thirdly, when classified according to sections, [the transmitted pre- cepts] form the twelve or nine branches of the scriptures. The enumera- tion of twelve is cited in the Great Commentary on the Transcendental Perfection o f Discriminative Awareness in Eight Thousand Lines (AHasaha- srikaprajflaparamittlvyakhyabhisamayala1! lkaraloka, T 3791):55
Sutras, aphorisms in prose and verse, and prophetic declarations,
Verses, meaningful expressions and narratives, Parables and legends,
Extensive teachings and tales of past lives,
Established instructions and marvellous events:
These twelve are the twelve branches of the scriptures.
The enumeration of nine branches excludes the three sections of narra- tives, parables and established instructions. Such is also said in the Clearly Worded Commentary (Mftlamadhyamakavrttiprasannapada, T 3860):
Including the sutra section of the buddhas and so forth, The teaching dependent on the two truths has nine
branches.
The twelve sections are also condensed into the three pi! aka. As it is
said in the Minor Transmissions (Vinayak$udragama, T 6): The five sections of the sutras, aphorisms in prose
and verse,
Prophetic declarations, verses and meaningful
expressions
Are subsumed within the Sutrapiraka.
The four sections of legends and narratives,
Parables and tales of past lives
Are subsumed within the Vinayapi! aka.
The three sections of extensive teaching, Marvellous events and established instructions Are subsumed within the Abhidharmapi! aka.
As far as the secret mantra (gsang-sngags) texts are concerned in this context, most ancients claim that they belong to the section of extensive teaching because they are said to be the Bodhisattvapi! aka of extensive teaching (Mahavaipulyabodhisattvapitaka) in the Mahayoga tantra en- titled the Magical Net ofMafljusrf[i. e.
