The former is
meditation
with reference to the yoga of the male and female deities, which applies the four seals (phyag-rgya bzhi) by means of the five awakenings (mngon-byang lnga) and four miracles (cho-'phrul bzhi).
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
And it is equally asserted that [the view of] the Madhyamika who propound non-substantiality, though indeed a freedom from all extremes of conceptual elaboration, is but one extreme of emptiness because they deny even the buddha-bodies and pristine cognitions which manifest in and of themselves on the grounds that all activities ()ug-pa) at this moment abide in the firm cessation of quiescence.
Though distinctive opinions are variously found concerning the non- conceptuality, in terms of subject and object, of the all-knowing pristine cognition, the intention of the Primordial Lord [Samantabhadra] is particularly established as such through the proper path of the Great Perfection. Within the expanse of emptiness free from all conceptual elaborations that derives from its primordial purity, the essence abides through its spontaneous presence in the manner of the light which is radiant within a crystal but not externally manifest. This [spontaneous presence] comprises: three subtle pristine cognitions, forming the ground in which the buddha-fields and the bodies of perfect rapture arise manifest in and of themselves; five pristine cognitions which are given character through the expressive power of these [fields and bodies]; and the aspect of the ground in which the pristine cognition that knows cognitive objects arises. Since it is endowed with this pristine cognition itself, the essence is the source of all buddha-bodies and pristine cognitions. From it there emerges the power by which, without wavering from the body of reality, the two bodies of form appear, with their enlightened activities, to those who require training. If It were not so, the benefit of those requiring training and the immeasurable enlightened attributes of omniscience would not emerge through possession of pristine cognition. This has been stated ad infinitum 1U
Divisions ofAtzYoga 343 such texts as the Verse Summation of the Transcendental Perfection of
Discriminative Awareness (Ch. 5, v. 8cd):
If there were no pristine cognition,
The enlightened attributes would not increase, Nor would there be enlightenment
Or the oceanic attributes of the buddhas.
And in the Illuminating of the Lamp (sgron-ma snang-byed):325
So if there were no range of pristine cognition
There would be no distinction [between this]
And the outer space which is empty.
Therefore, from the ground, pristine cognition is pervasive. If there were no pristine cognition
There would be no distinction [between this] and nihilism.
This spontaneous presence of enlightened attributes is referred to in eloquent explanations, such as the following from the Great Commentary on the Buddhasamayoga (Buddhasamayoga(fka, T 1659):
This body of supreme bliss, characterised as skilful means and discriminative awareness without duality, embodies the essence of yoga. The hosts of Mara and the like which sym- bolise dualistic ideas are destroyed by this disposition, and, inasmuch as it possesses all the arrays ofexcellent enlightened attributes, there are apart from it no other details of en-
lightened attributes. It is present through their natural spon- taneous presence and disclosed through realisation.
The disposition of this body of reality gives rise to consecration or
blessing which arises as the self-manifesting buddha-body of perfect
rapture. Therefrom enlightened activities continuously emerge, such
as those of the Five Enlightened Families of the Tathagatas in the pure
buddha-fields, and such as those of the supreme emanational body in the impure fields.
to [these four visionary appearances of All-Surpassing RealIsatIOn] there are also the Esoteric Instructions of the Four Consoli- dations (mtha'-rten bzhi) which meaningfully draw [the practice] to its conclusion: The ground is determined in three unmoving states (mi-'gul- ba gsum), the limit [of awareness] is grasped by the three presences
(sdod-pa gsum-gyis tshad bzung-ba), the nail is riveted by the three attain- lllents (thob-pa gsum-gyis gzer gdab-pa) and the limit of liberation is revealed by the four assurances (gding-bzhis grol-tshad bstan-pa).
I
Inbrief h b·d" " "
" , t e a I mg nature of the Great PerfectIOn IS absolute in its
VIewp d I"
res ' ure an equa WIth to and result, indivisible with
pect to truth, naturally dIssolved WIth respect to the subject-object
344 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
dichotomy, and core-penetrating with respect to creation and cessation. It has not fallen into the extremes of either elaboration or non-elabora- tion, and it is uncontrived by the intellect. It neither radiates externally, nor is it apprehended internally, and nor does it lie in between. . For it thechaff-likewordsandconventionsoftheentirerangeofexpreSSIOn, t h e e n t i r e r a n g e o f t h o u g h t a n d s c r u t i n y h a v e b e c o m e o n l y d i s c u r s i v e designations. Thus, one determines that it does not abide in the of self-affirmation. It is said in the Mirror of the Heart of VaJrasattva (rdo-rje sems-dpa' snying-gi me-long, NGB Vol. 10):
It should be known that all the doctrines of awareness are free from the intellect involved in egocentric ideas.
Now at all times, ancient and recent, there have been those who,
boasting of attaining the profound reality through their intellectual
is [secure] conviction that [the deities] manifest in and of themselves in the manner of a child [securely] nestling into its mother's lap. And during the intermediate state of rebirth (srid-pa bar-do) the residual effect of one's [wholesome] deeds is prolonged in the manner of a conducting pipe being thrust into a canal which is blocked. Relying
on these oral instructions, fortunate beings are conveyed to the point
of original liberation. By the mere affirmation of a view which approx-
imates things as they really are, one never sees, or has the occasion to
obtain, the essential nucleus which is the pristine cognition realised in the abiding nature. So it is said:
Concerning the co-emergent pristine cognition of ultimate reality:
Apart from the impression made by accumulating provisions and purifying obscurations
And the exclusive blessing of the guru endowed with realisation,
Reliance on other methods should be known as delusion.
And in the Hevajra Tantra (Pt. l, Ch. 8, v. 36):
It should be known that
The co-emergent is unexpressed by another, And it cannot be found anywhere,
Save by relying on the guru's timely means And the provisions of one's own merit.
And as the glorious Saraha has said:
One who takes to heart whatever the guru has said Resembles one who sees a treasure
Lying in the palm of the hand.
! f the auspicious coincidences of the guru, the student, the world and Its contents accumulate, the great empowerment which pours out all means (rgyal-thabs spyi-blugs-kyi dbang-chen), pristine
ognItIOn Itself, IS conferred by the power of [the guru's] blessing being transferred, and it manifestly and directly descends. Then the meaning of that descent [of pristine cognition] is experienced in continuous Yoga which is the flow of the effortless state's presence. Relying
on the recognition of the details of the signs and experiences occurring
on the path, the removal of the obstacles of clinging to pleasant
creations have been terrified by the profound discourses concerning
,.
reality which is free from the intellect. Also, on the basis ofthe rejection of the lower sequences of the path by [passages such as] thIS, there have been those in both ancient and recent time who have been enthusiastic to undertake perpetual labours due to envy, and in connec- tion with their counterfeit, sophistical intelligence, which is extremely hostile to the [doctrine's] range of profundity and the vast abiding nature. However, as the sublime MafijusrI has said:
Concerning activities, the yogin
Apprehends them on the great paths,
Just as a deer pursues a mirage.
Though they always appear, they are not grasped.
But more than that, all of these [vehicles]
Are endowed with inauthentic intelligence.
The intelligence of the lowest yogas
Is surpassed by the highest.
The intelligence of the lower
Is rejected by the discriminative awareness of the higher.
One should therefore know this and be skilled in pacifying motivations connected with disputation in the inconceivable disposition of reality.
In addition, it is according to the esoteric instructions, which turn
the instructions of the Great Perfection to practical application, that all
things of samsara and nirvana are established as the display of the four
" b' h
intermediate states (bar-do). During the intermediate state of the place (skye-gnas-kyi bar-do) exaggerated notions connected wIth study and reflection on the oral instructions are cut off in the man? er of a sandpiper [decisively] entering its nest. During the intermedIate state of the moment of death ('chi-kha'i bar'-do) the oral are clarified in the manner of a dancing girl [delightedly] looking 1ll a mirror. During the intermediate state of reality (chos-nyid bar-do) there
and coar . d . se expenences, an
the advantages granted by the enlightened
;ttnbutes that are realised through experiential cultivation the J. Ound··, . ,
h' . atl? n IS acqUIred, through whIch the result is actualised in
[t IS lIfetIme and in this very body, without aspiring towards it in the Uture.
Divisions ofAtiyoga 345
11 A Recapitulation of the Resultant Vehicles
Concerning the second distinction which refers to their of a. cquiring accomplishment: The outer [vehicle] is that m whIch accomplishment is requested by aspiring to- and attending upon a deity of pristine cognition, and the mner [vehicle] is that in which accomplishment is seen to be intrinsically present because, through realisation of the supreme identity, mind-as-such manifests in and of it- self as a ma1). Qala of buddha-body and pristine cognition. It says in the Questions and Answers ofVajrasattva (rdo-rje sems- dpa'i zhus-lan, P 5082):
In reply to the question, "What is the distinction between the yogins of the outer and inner mantras in their acquisition ofaccomplishment? " he said:
As, for example, a king commands a minister, The outer way is the granting of accomplishment
from above.
And, as a king who holds sway having been
offered the kingdom by the people,
The unsurpassed way is that of the naturally
present Great Perfection.
And as it is said in the Secret Nucleus (Ch. 2, v. 6):
This wondrous, miraculous, and marvellous reality. . .
Then, concerning the third distinction which refers to their empowerments: The outer [vehicle] is that in which the three higher, supreme empowerments cannot be ob- tained, and the inner vehicle is that in which these three are emphatically grasped.
As to the fourth distinction which refers to their conduct: The inner [vehicle] can accept conduct in which the twenty elements of sarpsara are retained by skilful means, and the outer one cannot. And as to the fifth distinction which refers to their results: The outer [vehicle] can unite one with the result within seven, five or three human lifetimes and so forth, and the inner one can unite one with it in this very
lifetime.
Lharje Kharakpa328 and Lama Rok Sherap-o have said that, with to the tantra texts, there is a distinction between the way in :vhICh the ten categories of tantra are interpreted in the outer and the Inner [vehicles], and that, in particular, there are distinctions as to: Whether, with reference to empowerment, the three profound empower- lhents can or cannot be revealed; whether, with reference to the view,
[211 b. 4] Having ascertained the exegesis of the overall meaning [of the secret mantra] according to their classifications, there now follows the second part [see p. 257 above] in which the meaning subsumed in the particular sections [of the secret mantra] is recapitulated in order to facilitate understanding. This falls into two categories, namely, the
vehicle of the outer tantras of austere awareness (phyi thub-pa rgyud-kyi theg-pa) and the vehicle of the inner tantras of skilful means (nang-pa thabs-kyi rgyud-kyi theg-pa).
DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE OUTER AND INNER TANTRAS
[211b. 5-213a. 5] Though many dissimilar claims have been made by those of the past concerning the distinctions between these two vehicles, in this [Nyingma tradition] there are said to be five [distinctions] derived from the master Dropukpa who subsumed the intention of the four "pillars", who were the spiritual sons [of Zurcungpa]:326
Concerning the first distinction which refers to their views: The inner vehicle is that of the mantras in which mind-as-such is realised to be the supreme identity, and the outer vehicle is that in which there is no such realisation. It is said in Indrabhuti's Array of the Path of the Magical Net (Mayapathavyavasthapana,
P 4737):
Since those who uphold
The three enlightened families
And the five enlightened families
Do not realise the supreme identity,
I have propounded them as equivalent To the common [vehicles]. 327
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 347
()
the naturally present, pristine cognition can or cannot be propounded; whether, with reference to meditation, one can or cannot meditate on the [male and female deities] kissing one another; whether, with refer- ence to conduct, the five sacramental substances can or cannot be enjoyed; whether or not an entrance can be made, having regarded the
deity and oneself as identical; and whether, with reference to ac-
complishment, the acquistion takes a long or a short time, and is hoped
for externally or internally.
Lharje Celpa [Ktinga Dorje] ,329 too, has said that since these distinc-
tions refer merely to specific aspects [of the vehicles], they are correctly classified, on this occasion, into three categories, namely, the distinc- tions concerning the ground which is to be known, the distinctions concerning the path which is the act of knowing, and the distinctions concerning the result which is to be obtained.
Lord DrOlmawa [Samdrup Dorje]330 and Yungtonpa [Dorjepel]331 have both said that:
The inner mantras are those which hold the view, conduct and contemplation to be indivisible, and the outer mantras are those which do not. Is there then, one might ask, no distinction between the causal vehicle and the outer mantras? Not so; there is a distinction between whether relative ap-
pearances can or cannot be made into the path.
OUTER TANTRAS OF AUSTERE AWARENESS
If, among these [vehicles], the vehicle of the outer tantras of austere [awareness] is first classified, then the Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
The outer tantras are of three kinds: Kriya, Ubhaya and Yoga.
It is therefore divided into the vehicles of the Kriyatantra, the Ubhayatantra and the Yogatantra.
Kriyiitantra
[213a. 5-215b. 5] The first, or is under the headings of essence, verbal defimtlOn and classIfication. The first 0 these, [the essence], is that, ultimately, the purity that is free from the four extremes is realised, and, relatively, one resorts to the skilful means which aspire and strive towards accomplishments externally [conferred
Since they are not known to be the same without duality, The level of action requires alternate meditation
On an ultimate truth which is simply the pure reality And a deity of relative appearance endowed with
The enlightened attributes of pristine cognition. 332
Secondly, the verbal definition is that [the Sanskrit] kriya conveys the meaning of activity [or action] because it emphasises external activ- ity. Such is also said in the Commentary on the Final Meditation (Dhyan- ottarapatalatfka, T 2670):
This tantra is called Kriyatantra because it emphasises The activities of body and speech.
Thirdly, the Kriyatantra is classified according to six topics. Of these the first, the entrance, is twofold: There is the initial entrance [or empowerment] which effects maturation and the actual entrance itself. According to the former, the student is made into q worthy recipient [for the teaching] by the conferral ofthe water and crown empowerments along with their aspects (chu-dang cod-pan-gyi dbang 'khor-bcas bskur- ba). 333 It says in the Seminal Point of Pristine Cognition (Jiianatilaka- tantra, T 422):
The water empowerment and the crown Are well known in Kriyatantra.
And as for the latter: The [actual] entrance is effected by means of ablutions, cleanliness, and the three purities (dag-pa gsum). The Tantra of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
As to the entrance, it is entered
By the three purities, ablutions and cleanliness.
And on the subject of the three purities, it also says:
What, one might ask, are the three purities? They are the purity of the deity and the mal). 9ala, The purity of substances and rapture,
And the purity of mantra and contemplation.
Secondly, the view of Kriyatantra refers to the two truths, as it is said in the Sequence of the View (Ita-rim, T 4356):
According to Kriyatantra, living creatures are without bewilderment
When reality is regarded as the ultimate truth,
And when, relatively, mal). 9alas of three enlightened
families of deities appear,
Endowed with enlightened attributes of intrinsic
ro
348 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 349
by the deity]. It is said in the Sequence of the Path:
awareness.
350 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
. Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 351 The BeIng of Commitment (samayasattva)336
by means of the six real [sequential m d must therefore be created
Kriyarantra, namely, the deit of em 0 . es of] the deIty to the
deity of syllables (yi-ge'i lha) Yth d (stong-pa-nyzd-kyz lha), the ,eeity0sound( "lh) .
of form (gzugs-kyi lha), the deity of seals (ph ,slf,a z a , the deIty
of symbols (mtshan-ma'i lha) Th' , . ,yag-rgya zlha) and the deity
words from the extensive TTar;r ,IdS_IS stated in the following v j 'J avz ara1Ja 1 antra:
Thesixare[thed'f ] f .
Of d Ii el Ies 0 emptIness and syllables
Concerning the ultimate truth, it is held that mind-as-s
pristine cognition [which coalesces] emptiness and radiance, is free from the four extremes of being, non-being, appearance and emptiness; as it is said in the Determination and Distinction (la-zla-ba-dang shan-
'byed-pa lta-ba'i sgron-me, P 4727): Since the mind itself is awareness,
Without the four extremes,
It is none other than pristine cognition.
Now the relative truth [is held] to comprise both correct and incorrect modes, of which the incorrect one refers to all relative appearances which are considered to be both correct and incorrect [by those who
adhere to the philosophical systems] from the Madhyamika downwards, and the correct relative truth is held to refer to the enlightened attributes which are the realisation of reality and which appear as the maJ). qala
of deities belonging to the three enlightened families. As the previous
text continues:
Through the pristine cognition of the appearances
Which creatively arise,
The sublime, gentle and rough phenomena which appear
Are said to be pure when seen 334 In the maJ). qala of the three enlightened families.
Thirdly, on the subject of moral discipline, the Miraculous Key of Further Discernment speaks of eleven commitments:
The Three Precious Jewels and the enlightened mind, The mantras and seals - do not abandon them;
The vajra and bell should not be abandoned,
And similarly the deity and the guru. These are the subsidiary commitments. As for the five basic commitments:
One should not sleep on a [high] bed,
One should neither eat meat nor drink ale, And one should not eat garlic or radishes.
Then, there is also the Secret Tantra ofGeneral Rites (Sii:r/llinyavidhfnii1fl guhyatantra, T 806) which explains that there are three general commit-
ments and thirteen particular commitments; and so forth.
Fourth, meditation is both symbolic and non-symbolic. Concerning
the former, the Heruka Galpo says:
The meditations are on [the deities] of reality,
Sound, syllables,335 form, buddha-mind,
And the attainment of the perfect body of pristine
cognition.
uch
, the pure
soun , orm, seals and symbols. ' Thereafter, the Being of Pristine Co . , '- -
offerings, praises, recitations and 0nanasattva) is invited; is acquired h a ' so ort are perf? rmed; and ac- the deity and oneself] as regarded [the relatIonship between
Tantra ofthe Great Natural Aa ? , a and servant. It says in the rzszng OJ wareness:
The deity and the yogin respectively Are regarded as a master and subject.
And in the Tantra which A ' h
(rigs thams-cad-pa'i dngos_grucbqulzres t"e Accomplishment of All Families
en-pa z rgyud):
By regarding [the deity] in the manner of a lord a master or a king,
And perceiving oneself as a servant The of accomplishment, ' That IS attained through the mantras Is accepted as the unsurpassed boon. '
'
Concerning the second [or non-symb r
nate meditation on the t h 0 IC medItatIOn]: There is alter-
pure disposition [of absorption occurs in the nng to those [aforementione t e our WIthout refer-
symbolic deities, are meditated onas and Dzstinction: 1 e. t says In the Determznatzon
Appeara. nces and emptiness are successively establIshed.
. ,
and with food, attire clea r e WIt. t for entering [the vehicle],
Fifth, conduct [according to th K ' -
namely, the activities connect d e. compnses SIX activities,
tion of mantras. It i; supports and the recita- er S31 In the Heruka Galpo:
Concerning pIa t [ d
And Ii d ,ne s or ays], stars and seasons,
00 ,attIre and cleanliness
The austerity, of discipline is pe;formed.
. ,
352 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
And in the Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions:
Conduct concerns the images of [the deity's] body, The implements symbolic of his mind, Recitations and so forth.
Sixth, concerning the result, it is held that within seven human lifetimes the level of a Holder of Indestructible Reality of the Three Enlightened Families, endowed with the essence of the three buddha- bodies and five pristine cognitions, will be obtained. The Heruka Galpo says:
Recapitulation o fResultant Vehicles 353 Those who uphold the Tantra of Both
Though conforming to Kriyatantra in conduct Do conform to Yogatantra in their view. ' Therefore their enlightened families and view
Are superior to those [of Kriyatantra].
And in the Sequence of the View:
Those who uphold the Tantra of Both Conform upwards in their view - And downwards in their conduct.
The also to be somewhat superior [to Kriyatantra] the VIew and medItatIon are directed towards four enlightened
famIlIes of the conquerors.
Sixth, concerning the result: It is held that within five lifetimes the of a o. f Reality belonging to the Four En- FamIlIes IS obtamed. The fourth enlightened family to which refers. subsumes the. Enlightened Family of Activity (las-kyi rigs)
In. th. e EnlIghtened FamIly of Precious Gems (rin-chen rigs). It is also m the Heruka Galpo:
One abides on the level of Vajradhara339 Endowed with four enlightened families.
And in the All-Accomplishing King:
It is a deviation which obscures
Non-duality for five human lifetimes.
Yogatantra
Thirdly, the vehicle of Yogatantra is considered under e of essence, verbal definition and classification. First, [ac- is rdmg t? the The blessing of the non-symbolic reality which . truth IS regarded as a deity belonging to the expanse of
reality, which relatively appears, and it is held that the
re' t. IS attamed in the acceptance of positive and the
S )ectlOn of negatIve Ideas [in relation to that deity]. It is said in the equence ofthe Path:
Since they are not seen to be present and equivalent,
The blessmg of pristine cognition Through which all things are Becomes an emanational [deity]
Of the expanse of indestructible reality
Adh. ,
n t e yogm . acts in terms of acceptance and rejection.
337
The Lords of the Three Families instruct living beings.
Ubhayatantra
[215b. 5-216b. 3] The second, the vehicle of Ubhayatantra, is referred to under the headings of essence, verbal definition and classification. First, [the essence] is that one resorts to the skilful means which attain accomplishment by practising the view and meditation in the manner of Yogatantra, and conduct in the manner of Kriyatantra. It is said in the Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions:
Accomplishment is attained by relying on both.
Secondly, [as to the verbal definition]: Ubhayatantra is so called because the [Sanskrit] word ubhaya ["both"] indicates that both the outer activities of body and speech and the inner yoga are equally performed. The Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising ofAwareness says:
Ubhayatantra is as follows:
The view is observed as in Yogatantra,
And conduct is performed as in Kriyatantra. Therefore it is known as the Tantra of Both.
Thirdly, the Ubhayatantra is classified under the six topics, ofwhich the first, the entrance, has two parts. The former is empowerment, which here refers to the three empowerments of the vajra, bell and name (rdor-dril-ming-gsumi 38 in addition to those of water and crown. As the Seminal Point of Pristine Cognition says:
The vajra, the bell and likewise the name [empowerments]
Are well clarified in the Caryarantra.
The actual entrance, along with the third topic, moral discipline, and the fifth, conduct, largely conform to Kriyatantra, whereas the second topic, or the view, and the fourth, meditation, largely conform to Yogatantra. It is said in the Turquoise Display:
Within seven lifetimes on the buddha level
354 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret A1antra .
fi . , ]" Derived from [the Sansknt] yoga,
Secondly, [the verbal de ImtIOn . 't emphasises or teaches the inner . so called because 1 .
the Yogatantra IS V' . A C llection of Esoteric Instructwns says: yoga. The Garland of zews. 0 .
Accomplishment is attained with emphasIs on yoga.
. . d d under six topics. The first,
the entrance, IS
dbang to th. e dbang), the sixth empower- indestructIble (r . 1] ifP" Cognition states:
ment. 340 The Semmal Pomt 0 nstme
The empowerment of the irreversible vase
The blessing of realisation appears as a deity. Accordingly, the perceptions of [mundane] Living creatures are bewilderment.
And also in the Turquoise Display:
Derived from the pure pristine cognition of the expanse,
In which both intrinsic awareness
And the signs of its actual vision are indivisible, The blessing arises as a deity of indestructible
reality'S expanse,
And the deity is regarded as a friend.
Thirdly, moral discipline includes the general commitments belong- ing to the five enlightened families, which are said to be the highest. The enlightened mind is first generated, and subsequently training in the three aspects of moral discipline is earnestly applied. Then there are said to be fourteen particular commitments, namely, three connected with Vairocana, four each with and Ratnasambhava, one with Amitabha, and two with Amoghasiddhi. The Miraculous Key of Further Discernment, however, claims that they number thirteen when two uncommon commitments are added to the eleven commitments of Kriyatantra. In its own words:
The limits guarded by the Yogatantra,
In addition to the limits guarded by the above
[Kriyatantra] ,
Include [the commitments] not to drink water
In a locality [inhabited by violators of commitments] And not to converse with such violators.
Fourth, meditation is both symbolic and non-symbolic.
The former is meditation with reference to the yoga of the male and female deities, which applies the four seals (phyag-rgya bzhi) by means of the five awakenings (mngon-byang lnga) and four miracles (cho-'phrul bzhi). The Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions says:
Without emphasising outer paraphernalia, and by means of contemplation in which the male and female deities that are uncreated and unceasing in ultimate reality and the mind- stream in which they are represented are entirely pure, one becomes accomplished by emphasising the yoga of medita- tion on the sublime body ofform endowed with the four seals.
After the Being of Commitment (samayasattva) has been created and the Being of Pristine Cognition (jiiiinasattva) has been invited, [the deity] should then be regarded without the dichotomy of good or evil,
Thirdly, the Yogatantra ISC'consl empowerment which refers, . twofold The lormer IS . ,.
: ] fi powerments of awareness (ng-pa z
in addition to the [prevIouS lVe empowerment of the master of f
h '
The latter is the actual 7h' h is effected by means ofsymbohc
Has been clarified in Yogatantra.
This is a particular empowerment among t e SIX
And it is called the empowerment of the master. .
lC . n the All-Accomplishing King: and non-symbolic contemplatIOn. t says 1
One who desires the Bounteous Array of Having entered by symbolic and non-symbohc
methods. . .
Secondly, the VIew [0 o. g . ner radiance or emptiness, the
ultimate truth refers to all thmhgs m f conceptual elaboration. The nature of which is free from t e sIgns o.
Tantra of the Summation of the Real says.
Since all things are naturally radiant,
They are essentially pure from the begmnmg.
. f Y atantra] concerns the twO truths. The
wIt In . . . . f blessing derived from the realIsatIon 0
Heruka Galpo:
rea
lity Such IS a so sal 1 .
. .
. . d b en an incorrect relatIve whIch
The relative truth IS and a correct relative truth,
is similar to that of the prevIOUS [ve lC es] 'd' erned by living creatures h ld t efer to the appearances ISC .
whichis e not 0 r h' th t everywhere appears IS in their own minds because mg . a, e which is the . h' the mandala of indestructIble realIty s '1 'd 'n the
One who wishes to abide in the vehicle of Yogatantra Should look upon as the expanse of
indestructible reality.
And in the Sequence of the View: . .
f reality's expanse, .
Within the pristine cogmtIOn 0
Which is the purity of ultimate truth accordIng to
Y ogatantra,
. .
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 355
356 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and in the manner of a relative or friend. Offerings, praises, recitations and so forth should be made. So it is also said in the Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising of Awareness:
The deity and oneself, the yogin,
Are held to relate as relatives or friends.
Now the five awakenings (mngon-byang lnga) are the awakenings which occur through emptiness (stong-pa-nyid), through the visualisa- tion of a- lunar throne (zla-gdan), through seed-syllables of buddha- speech (gsung yig-'bru) , through hand implements symbolic of buddha- mind (thugs phyag-mtshan) and through the perfection of the [deity's] body (sku yongs-rdzogs). The four miracles (cho-'phrul bzhi) are the miracles of contemplation (ting-nge-'dzin), empowerment (dbang-bskur- ba), consecration or blessing (byin-gyis rlob-pa), and offerings (mchod- pa). Concerning these the Heruka Galpo says:
Non-conceptualisation, moon, buddha-speech, vajra-emblem,
And radiance of the [deity's] body during meditation
On the emanation and absorption [of light]; Contemplation, blessing, empowerment and offerings: Such are the five awakenings and four miracles.
Though these are the activities of meditation and offering, They are to be performed in order that merit might be
possessed.
The four seals (phyag-rgya bzhi) are so called because meditation ensues when the body, speech, mind and activity have been respectively sealed by: the great seal of buddha-body which secures the ground-of-all as the mirror-like pristine cognition (me-long kun-gzhi sku phyag-chen); the doctrinal seal of buddha-speech which secures the mental faculty as the pristine cognition of discernment (sor-rtog yid gsung chos-rgya); the commitment seal of buddha-mind which secures the mind of conflicting emotions as the pristine cognition of sameness (mnyam-nyid nyon-yid thugs dam-rgya); and the action seal of enlightened activity which secures the five senses as the pristine cognition of accomplishment (bya-ba sgo-lnga phrin-Ias las-rgya). Such are the four pristine cognitions which are to be actualised and with which they are connected. The [fifth] pristine cognition of the expanse of reality (chos-dbyings ye-shes), on the other hand, abides as the natural expression of them all.
The second [or non-symbolic meditation] refers to meditative absorp- tion in the disposition where there is no dichotomy between the essential nature of ultimate reality which cannot be symbolised and the appear- ance of its blessing as a deity, which is the apparitional aspect of pristine cognition. It says in the Emergence ofIndestructible Reality (Vajrodaya, T 2516):
Recapitulation ofResultant TT h' l
The d' . . ve lC es 357
ISPOSItIOn of the non-d 1
Is taken as the most sacred expanse of reality
accomplishments. 0 unsurpassed
Fifth, concerning conduct· W'th '
practices such as cleanliness' Id the aSSIstance of external mundane
oth b ' ,con ucteffectstheb fi f
ers YmaIntaining above all th . ene It 0 oneself and
Peak says: ' , e yoga ofthe deity. The Indestrnctible
INNER TANT
Abiding in th
.
e contemplatIOn of th d '
Do not dismiss all sentient b ' A1w b ' emgs. Al ays e mmdfu1 of the buddhas.
e eIty,
ways hold offerings to the b ddh u
as as Supreme is attained on the level o/thwIthm three human lifetimes
.
SIxth,astotheresult:Itisheldtht ' , .
the essence of the three bodies and m the All-Accomplishing King:
One who desires the BounteouS
e Array, endowed five pnstme cognitions. It says
Is held to be liberated And in the Lock of'the U
'h ' h Array ofYogatantra WIt m tree human lifetimes
.
. ,
openSItIes of the subject-
' j neart: Having purified the five pr
object dichotomy,
And, by the expressive pOwe f ' . cognitions rs 0 the five pnstme
HaAving the level of the B rray,
The result gathering the fiv obtained.
ounteous
e enlIghtened families is
uncreated body of reality then
s
,m an uncreated manner on behalf of l' .
bemgs. 1vmg Its perfect rapture embod '
Fulfils the benefit of l' , the five kinds of seal And its ten thousand emgs a bodhisattva,
Teach everywh beings,'
, l I O n emanatIOns
[219bA-22Ia I] S
Sk'UI 1 . econdly, there is the
ere m the presen ,
f h .
ce0 teSIXclassesof
RAS OF SKILFUL MEANS
h' 1
u ,means (nang-pa thabs-6k i r IC e of the inner tantras of
gy):;,d-kYl theg,-p,a), concerning which reat atural Anszng of Awareness:
,
It IS saId in the Tantra ofihe
.
J
Ru Garap Dorje
said:
358
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 359
The inner [vehicle] is held to be threefold: Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga.
It therefore comprises the Mahayoga tantras, the Anuyoga transmissions
and the Atiyoga esoteric instructions.
Concerning the distinctions between these three, the master Zur- 341
cungpa said in reply to a request made by Lencap Parwa:
Mahayoga appears as the miracle of awareness. Anuyoga appears as the expressive power of intrinsic awareness. Atiyoga is awareness, manifest in and of itself. Therefore,
342
stage, Anuyoga emphatically teaches the perfection stage, and the Great Perfection is effortless in both respects.
Cel Lotsawa Ktinga Dorje also eloquently asserted this to be the distinc- tion between their verbal definitions.
[Finally], the great, all-knowing Longcenpa [in his Great Chariot] has said:
The Father tantras of Mahayoga are the natural expression of the skilful means of appearance, intended on behalf of those requiring training who are mostly hostile and possessed by many ideas; the Mother tantras of Anuyoga are the discriminative awareness of the perfection stage which is the reality of emptiness, intended for the benefit of those who are mostly desirous and delight in the tranquillity of the mind; and the Atiyoga is revealed as the natural expression of their non-duality, intended for the benefit of those who are mostly deluded and who are energetic. Therefore the Great Array says:
For one who would transcend the mind
There is the creative phase,
For one who would possess the essence of mind There is the perfecting phase,
And for those who are supreme and most secret There is the Great Perfection.
And also in Mind at Rest (sems-nyid ngal-gso), he has said:
Mahayoga emphasises vital energy and the skilful means of the creation stage.
Anuyoga emphasises the seed and discriminative awareness of the perfection stage.
Atiyoga emphasises the pristine cognition in which everything is without duality.
Mahayoga
Among them, first the vehicle of Mahayoga is con- under the three headings of essence, verbal definition and clas- As to [the essence]: Its nature is such that liberation is ob- through a union of realisation and experience in the indivisible meanmg of the superior truth, by emphatic reliance on the creation stage of skilful means.
[as to the verbal definition]: The [Tibetan] rnal-'byorchen- fO. IS denved from the [Sanskrit] Mahayoga which means great union. . t IS so called because it unites the mind with the non-dual truth and IS thus superior to the ollter Yogatantra.
They refer respectively to a miracle,
To expressive power and to the self-manifest.
This means that [the three] are particularly distinguished according to their view: Mahayoga realises all things to be the miraculous events of mind-as-such, in which appearance and emptiness are indivisible; Anuyoga realises all things to be the expressive power of mind-as-such, in which the expanse and pristine cognition are indivisible; and Atiyoga
realises all things to be manifest in and of themselves as mind-as-such, the naturally present pristine cognition which is without creation or cessation from the beginning. This was asserted to be the most precious point by both Datik [Cosak of Nakmore] and Len [Sakya Zangpo of Chuwar]. 343
Kyo Kongbupa [Kyoton Sakye of Kongbu]344 also said that:
They have a greater or lesser degree of emphasis: Mahayoga lays great emphasis on conduct, Anuyoga lays great emphasis on contemplation, And Atiyoga lays great emphasis on the view.
Then, Lharje Rok Sherap-o has said that:
Mahayoga is creative because the deity is gradually created by means of three contemplations. Anuyoga is perfecting because the deity is created in a perfect manner without relying on that [threefold creative phase]. And Atiyoga, the Great Perfection, is uncreatable because it is liberated from
both the creation and perfection phases.
Or else, Mahayoga is greatly motivated with respect to
the ten categories of tantra, Anuyoga is so motivated to a lesser extent, and Atiyoga is liberated from motivation.
And in the words of Menyak Jungdra [or Khyungdra]:345
Though the three aspects of creation and perfection are pres- ent in them all, Mahayoga emphatically teaches the creation
360 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Thirdly, Mahayoga is classified according to the six topics, of which the first, the entrance, is twofold: The former refers to the empower_ ment. There are four empowerments which are to be conferred because three higher, supreme uncommon empowerments (thun-min mchog_ dbang gong-ma gsumi46 are added to the common vase empowerment (thun-mong-pa bum-dbang). It is said in the Subsequent Root Tantra of the Magical Net:
There are the master, the secret,
And the discriminating [empowerments], And, immediately afterwards, the fourth.
Five empowerments are also enumerated when the vase empower- ment (bum-dbang) is divided into its aspects of beneficence and ability (phan-nus gnyis). 347 The Sequence of the Activity of Indestructible Reality (Vajrakarmakrama, P 4761) says:
Its aspects become fivefold
Because [the vase empowerment] Confers beneficence and ability on one.
The latter is the actual entrance which is effected by means of three contemplations, namely, the yoga of great emptiness which is dis- criminative awareness (shes-rab stong-pa chen-po'i rnal-'byor) , the illusory compassion which is skilful means (thabs snying-rje sgyu-ma), and the seals which are subtle and coarse (phyag-rgya phra-rags). Therefore, Mahayoga is the path which emphatically teaches the creation stage. In this respect, it is also said in the Tantra of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness:
The entrance is the threefold contemplation.
And in the Miraculous Key ofFurther Discernment: The entrance of Mahayoga
Is effected by the threefold contemplation.
Secondly, the view [of Mahayoga] refers to the ultimate truth as that in which awareness, appearing without conceptual elaboration, is held to be spontaneously present as the essential basis; and all the ideas which are the expressive power of this awareness itself are held to be the relative truth, manifest in and ofthemselves as a maI). <;lala body and pristine cognition. Neither of these truths refers in a biased manner to either appearance or emptiness because their essence is an indivisible sameness. If it is conventionally expressed by the term divisible", its indivisibility is free from the range of perception because it transcends the objects of thought and expressions which apprehend it. In this respect, the Array of the Path of the Magical Net says:
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles
The superior, indivisible truth of sameness Th. ough revealed everywhere by synonyms'
Is m truth beyond objects of speech and thought.
361
And in the Sequence of the Path:
And in order to loosen348 attachment to that d
It and inexpressible WIthm the two conventional truths.
' . esCnptIOn,
translations of the secret
the fourteen basic violations of the c uct on the. knowledge of d d (b b " ommltments whIch are to be
guar e srung- ya zdam-tshig rtsa-ltung bcu-bzhi) and to th d based on the knowledge of the nature of the . e con uct meats and the fiv . commItments of the five
tshig sha-lnga are to be practised (spyad-bya'i dam-
In_the terminology of the ancient translations th . Mahayoga are said to number twenty-eight 349 Th of
Further Discernment says: . e
Concerning the guarded by Mahayoga, There are three baSIC commitments
And twenty-five ancillary ones which are kept.
lracu ous Key of
the three basic are those of buddha-body speech the dam-tshig gsum) , As for the ancilla;y ones,
There are those to be practised Those not to be renounced ' And those to be adopted. ' There are those to be known
And those to be attained.
concerning meditation' Th . .
phaSlsmg the class of . . ere are two tradItIOns, one em-
emphaSiSing the class for(attamment (sgrub-sde), and the other classes of means t . antra rgyud-sde). The former includes five namely, the of the deities of pristine cognition, on the Four Centres f' the Body of,the Sugatas by Relying
bZhi-la brten-nas bde_gsOh the Body (Jam-dpal-gyi sku 'khor-lo Lo egssu1sgrub-pa)'th MeA "
tus Speech by R 1 . , e eans lor ttammg the gyi rta-skad thengs- on the Three Neighs of Hayagrlva (rta-mgrin-
Attaining the sgrub-pa);theMeans enuine and Uniqu A . ea Ity of Mmd by Relying on the Present Pristine C e . the Awareness and Naturally
thugS ri ogmtIOn whIch IS Yangdak the Mind (y d . g-pa rang-byung-;gi ye-shes yang-dag grub-pa
362 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
thugs rdo-rje'i sgrub-pa); the Means for Attaining Nectar Attributes which Perfectly Reveal All Things of Sarpsara and Nirval)a as the Enlightened Attributes of Mahottara (che-mchog-gi 'khor-'das-kyi chos-thams-cad tan-du rdzogs-par ston-pa bdud-rtsi yon-tan-gyi sgrub-pa); and the Means for Attaining the Enlightened Activity ofVajrakiia which Emphatically Teaches the Skilful Means for Training Malicious Beings by the Rites of Sorcery of Vajrakiia (phur-pa'i mngon-spyod-kyi las-kyis gdug-pa-can 'dul-ba'i thabs gtso-bor ston-pa phur-ba phrin-las-kyi sgrub-pa). Also cluded in this section are the three common classes of means for attain- ment, namely, the Means for Attaining the Liberating Sorcery of aral:1 (ma-mo rbod-gtong), the Malign Mantra (drag-sngags dmod-pa) and the Mundane Praise ()ig-rten mchod-bstod).
Concerning the latter [i. e. the class oftantras]: Mahayoga is generally classified according to three kinds of tantra, namely, Father, Mother, and Non-Dual. In the Father tantras such as the Guhyasamaja there is held to be experiential cultivation in a manner which is non-conceptual with respect to radiance and emptiness because they emphasise the area of skilful means according to the creation stage and also the vital energy according to the perfection stage connected with it.
In the Mother tantras such as Cakrasarrzvara, Hevajra and Yangdak (NGB Vol. 25), the conceptual elaboration of the creation stage is diminished, and there is held to be experiential cultivation in a manner which is non-conceptual with respect to bliss and emptiness, and in which the perfection stage of discriminative awareness emphasises the seed or seminal point of enlightened mind.
Then in the Neutral tantras such as the Magical Net (T 832-7, NGB Vols. 14-16) the phases of creation and perfection are coalesced and there is held to be experiential cultivation in a manner which emphasises the blissful, radiant and non-conceptual pristine cognition that is de- veloped through the energy channels, currents and seminal points ac- cording to the perfection stage, and above all, the supreme pristine cognition of inner radiance.
In this context, [meditation] is explained with reference to the Root
, . Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 363
is subdIvIded into the devotional meditation (mos-bs ' ive perfection (nges-rdzogs) The f i o ' , gom) and the defimt-
Tantra ofthe Secret Nucleus. Accordingly, the Three Stages (rim-g P 4742)350 says:
There are said to be the two particular kinds of meditation:
The sequence of symbolic meditation And the nature of just what is.
,
o ,IS: supreme nature of the Transcendent Lord
Thus there is both symbolic and non-symbolic meditation.
The former comprises both the creation and perfection stages. ,AS for the creation stage: It refers to the experiential cultivation in whIch
the deity and ideas are meditated on as indivisible by emphasising the gradual creation of the mal)Qala through the three contemplations, It
from the undivided three
the, of pristine cognition, ' e obtamed m thIS very lifetime.
AndinthS,. ,
e emmal Pomt of Pristine Cognition:
Otherwise im d' 1
Th ' ,m e late y after abandoning [this body],
e result WIll be accomplished without any effort.
sum
v. 1I8): y present IS actualIsed. It says in the Guhyasamaja (Ch. 13, Th'
, " . rmer IS exemplIfied b th nal cUltIvatIOn which though firmn ' y
, ' essmcontemplatio h obtamed, completes the ritual branches ofth , n
'
e expenen-
b
Partner's body] ('
og-sgo in the Three Stages:
kh wer ams-gsum rol-p
oor [or sexual centre of one's " ,
a 1 man-ngag). Therefore It says
as not ' e creatIon stage dur'
een h
,, e Iveyogasbelongmgt [h h and connection which are endowed with 0 t, e pat s of]
four kmds of awareness-holders who ' h corruP:IOn, and the
course 0f a smgle evening session of d' . ,m g t e form. 351 The latter refers to th fi me ItatIOn on,a [partIcular divine]
' are WIt out corruptIOn eperectIOnstagerefer t b h h ' , .
which [the energy ch I S O ot t e esotenc mstructions through annes,currentsandse ' 1 ' ]
and trained within the "upper door of ' mlbna pomts are grasped , onesown ody"(t "'d
T h fi
gyl man-ngag), and the esoteric instructio . s eng-sgo ul- of the three realms through "the 10 d ns ,;Vhlch concern the dIsplay
There are oral instructions
According to the upper and lower doors.
meditation refers to the contemplation of real- Then, fifth, as to conduct· A h' b 1 '
practised wi h . . nyt, e ongmg to sarpsara can be skilful lIt IS :;tained by the foundation of
,
lracu ous l,-ey to the Storehouse:
The Mah. ayoga of the creation phase
the rites of "! iberation" and sexual practices352
Th
Ive nectars whIch are sacramental substances roug the conduct which observes great skilful
SIxth, as to the result· In th' l'fi ' , ,
[after death] the emb d' I or m the mtermediate state spontaneousl' ,0 m whIch the five buddha-bodies are
A. nuyoga
[224a 2-2
. 28a. 3] The vehicle of h A
transmissions (lung anu-
Yoga) is Considered under h h t e
t e tree headmgs ofessence, verbal definition
364 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and classification. As to [the essence]: Its nature is such that liberation is obtained through a union of realisation and experience of the. truth in which the expanse [of reality] and pristine cognition. duality, by emphatic reliance on the perfection stage of dlscnmmatlVe awareness.
Secondly, [as to the verbal definition]: The [Sanskrit] Anuyoga is rendered [in Tibetan] as rjes-su mal-'byor or it emphatically reveals the path of desire in pursuIt of dlscnmmatlVe awareness (shes-rab ry'es-chags-kyi-lam).
Thirdly, Anuyoga is classified according to the six topics, of the first the entrance, is twofold. The former is empowerment, whIch refers t ; the thirty-six empowerment ceremonies subsumed by four categories of outer, inner, attaining and secret m the mandalas of Anuyoga (phyi-nang-sgrub-gsang-bzhls bsdus-pa l dbang-chog It says in the All-Gathering Awareness:
The outer empowerment and the inner empowerment, The attaining empowerment and the secret
empowerment
Are respectively complete with ten aspects,
With eleven, with thirteen and with two aspects.
According to some, the eight hundred and thirty-one ancillary em- powerments,353 which are derived from the basic thirty-six tioned, are the empowerments ofthe nine vehicles. Therefore, It IS saId in the Summation ofthe Meaning ofEmpowerment (dbang-don bsdus-pa):
Derived from the six vehicles including Yogatantra, The outer empowerment is to be conferred as a
continuous stream.
And in the Analysis ofthe Meaning ofEmpowerment (dbang-don mam-par
'byed-pa):
The ten empowerments bring about Possession of the enlightened family, The eleven empowerments bring about The inner secret meaning,
The thirteen empowerments are known As those of the "great guru",
And the two empowerments perfect The empowerment of the nine vehicles.
How is it, one might then object, that these become the empowerments of Anuyoga [which is only one of the nine f There is indeed no contradiction because, in accord with the 0 learned gurus, they are called the empowerment of the nine vehIcles
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 365
(thetdgu'i in so ,far as they correspond to nine sequences of the
vehIcle. There IS no basIs, however, for the opinion expressed by ordin-
ary of the empowerment for the Sutra which Gathers All
Intentwns [that they actually are the empowerments ofthe nine veh' I ] Ifth "b dl ICes.
, ey It IS a sur y implied that one would have to admit the hIgher Atiyoga empowerment to be gathered within the Anuyoga em- powerment. , By way of illustration, the uncommon doctrinal termino- logy of the mner [tantras] is not found in the outer tantras. The great
awareness-holder Terdak Lingpa has therefore said:
If one must refer to the fusion Of the basic rites of Anuyoga
With the details of the particular doctrines of the eight [other] vehicles,
How these [other vehicles] then define the illustrative basIs of Anuyoga [in particular]?
is therefore no contradiction inasmuch as he is of the former opmIOn [expressed by learned gurus].
,latter [aspect of the entrance into Anuyoga] is the actual entrance W h I C ? , I S e f f e c t e d b y m e a n s o f t h e n o n - d u a l i t y o f t h e e x p a n s e a n d
cogmtIOn. It says m the All-Accomplishing King:
entered into the expanse and pristine cognition WhIch, according to Anuyoga, are held to be
indivisible. . .
What, one might ask, is the nature of the entrance? It is effected in
the manner not of the creation but of the perfection stage. It says in the Lock of the Heart:
expanse itself is pristine cognition. Pnstme cogmtIOn, awareness, is the expanse itself.
The supreme bliss of this non-dual display Is not entered gradually.
In all the [divine] seals of apparitional existence 354
The great seal of apparitional existence is immediately encountered
In the manner of a fish leaping from the water. Secondly as t h ' A .
itself is th ' . 0 t e 11 thmgs are one's own mind, and that natu ' e pure celestIal space of the mother SamantabhadrI whose
I"
SPect th e mal)<;iala (ye Jl-bzhin-pa'i dkyil-'khor). I n this re-
re IS uncreated and fre f·
called th " e • conceptua elaboratIOn. It is also
, e eneral Satra which Gathers All Intentions also says: Since which has emerged from the mind is
emptmess,
All that hfls emerged from it is empty.
366 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
This uncreated [reality], unceasing in all respec,ts, is awareness
" ndala of naturally present hght. It IS called the whIch asarna:' bhadraorthespontaneouslypresent
In this ma1f<;lala of the outer, inner and secret arrays,
Apparitional existence is an expanse of pure male and female deities.
And in the Miraculous Key to the Storehouse: According to Anuyoga, the perfection phase,
The components, psychophysical bases and activity fields Are held to be uncreated, in a perfect manner,
In the ma1f<;lala of male and female deities.
Thirdly, concerning moral diScipline, the Summation ofthe Meaning of the Secret Satra says:
It is commitment which apprehends the basis.
Though distinctive opinions are variously found concerning the non- conceptuality, in terms of subject and object, of the all-knowing pristine cognition, the intention of the Primordial Lord [Samantabhadra] is particularly established as such through the proper path of the Great Perfection. Within the expanse of emptiness free from all conceptual elaborations that derives from its primordial purity, the essence abides through its spontaneous presence in the manner of the light which is radiant within a crystal but not externally manifest. This [spontaneous presence] comprises: three subtle pristine cognitions, forming the ground in which the buddha-fields and the bodies of perfect rapture arise manifest in and of themselves; five pristine cognitions which are given character through the expressive power of these [fields and bodies]; and the aspect of the ground in which the pristine cognition that knows cognitive objects arises. Since it is endowed with this pristine cognition itself, the essence is the source of all buddha-bodies and pristine cognitions. From it there emerges the power by which, without wavering from the body of reality, the two bodies of form appear, with their enlightened activities, to those who require training. If It were not so, the benefit of those requiring training and the immeasurable enlightened attributes of omniscience would not emerge through possession of pristine cognition. This has been stated ad infinitum 1U
Divisions ofAtzYoga 343 such texts as the Verse Summation of the Transcendental Perfection of
Discriminative Awareness (Ch. 5, v. 8cd):
If there were no pristine cognition,
The enlightened attributes would not increase, Nor would there be enlightenment
Or the oceanic attributes of the buddhas.
And in the Illuminating of the Lamp (sgron-ma snang-byed):325
So if there were no range of pristine cognition
There would be no distinction [between this]
And the outer space which is empty.
Therefore, from the ground, pristine cognition is pervasive. If there were no pristine cognition
There would be no distinction [between this] and nihilism.
This spontaneous presence of enlightened attributes is referred to in eloquent explanations, such as the following from the Great Commentary on the Buddhasamayoga (Buddhasamayoga(fka, T 1659):
This body of supreme bliss, characterised as skilful means and discriminative awareness without duality, embodies the essence of yoga. The hosts of Mara and the like which sym- bolise dualistic ideas are destroyed by this disposition, and, inasmuch as it possesses all the arrays ofexcellent enlightened attributes, there are apart from it no other details of en-
lightened attributes. It is present through their natural spon- taneous presence and disclosed through realisation.
The disposition of this body of reality gives rise to consecration or
blessing which arises as the self-manifesting buddha-body of perfect
rapture. Therefrom enlightened activities continuously emerge, such
as those of the Five Enlightened Families of the Tathagatas in the pure
buddha-fields, and such as those of the supreme emanational body in the impure fields.
to [these four visionary appearances of All-Surpassing RealIsatIOn] there are also the Esoteric Instructions of the Four Consoli- dations (mtha'-rten bzhi) which meaningfully draw [the practice] to its conclusion: The ground is determined in three unmoving states (mi-'gul- ba gsum), the limit [of awareness] is grasped by the three presences
(sdod-pa gsum-gyis tshad bzung-ba), the nail is riveted by the three attain- lllents (thob-pa gsum-gyis gzer gdab-pa) and the limit of liberation is revealed by the four assurances (gding-bzhis grol-tshad bstan-pa).
I
Inbrief h b·d" " "
" , t e a I mg nature of the Great PerfectIOn IS absolute in its
VIewp d I"
res ' ure an equa WIth to and result, indivisible with
pect to truth, naturally dIssolved WIth respect to the subject-object
344 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
dichotomy, and core-penetrating with respect to creation and cessation. It has not fallen into the extremes of either elaboration or non-elabora- tion, and it is uncontrived by the intellect. It neither radiates externally, nor is it apprehended internally, and nor does it lie in between. . For it thechaff-likewordsandconventionsoftheentirerangeofexpreSSIOn, t h e e n t i r e r a n g e o f t h o u g h t a n d s c r u t i n y h a v e b e c o m e o n l y d i s c u r s i v e designations. Thus, one determines that it does not abide in the of self-affirmation. It is said in the Mirror of the Heart of VaJrasattva (rdo-rje sems-dpa' snying-gi me-long, NGB Vol. 10):
It should be known that all the doctrines of awareness are free from the intellect involved in egocentric ideas.
Now at all times, ancient and recent, there have been those who,
boasting of attaining the profound reality through their intellectual
is [secure] conviction that [the deities] manifest in and of themselves in the manner of a child [securely] nestling into its mother's lap. And during the intermediate state of rebirth (srid-pa bar-do) the residual effect of one's [wholesome] deeds is prolonged in the manner of a conducting pipe being thrust into a canal which is blocked. Relying
on these oral instructions, fortunate beings are conveyed to the point
of original liberation. By the mere affirmation of a view which approx-
imates things as they really are, one never sees, or has the occasion to
obtain, the essential nucleus which is the pristine cognition realised in the abiding nature. So it is said:
Concerning the co-emergent pristine cognition of ultimate reality:
Apart from the impression made by accumulating provisions and purifying obscurations
And the exclusive blessing of the guru endowed with realisation,
Reliance on other methods should be known as delusion.
And in the Hevajra Tantra (Pt. l, Ch. 8, v. 36):
It should be known that
The co-emergent is unexpressed by another, And it cannot be found anywhere,
Save by relying on the guru's timely means And the provisions of one's own merit.
And as the glorious Saraha has said:
One who takes to heart whatever the guru has said Resembles one who sees a treasure
Lying in the palm of the hand.
! f the auspicious coincidences of the guru, the student, the world and Its contents accumulate, the great empowerment which pours out all means (rgyal-thabs spyi-blugs-kyi dbang-chen), pristine
ognItIOn Itself, IS conferred by the power of [the guru's] blessing being transferred, and it manifestly and directly descends. Then the meaning of that descent [of pristine cognition] is experienced in continuous Yoga which is the flow of the effortless state's presence. Relying
on the recognition of the details of the signs and experiences occurring
on the path, the removal of the obstacles of clinging to pleasant
creations have been terrified by the profound discourses concerning
,.
reality which is free from the intellect. Also, on the basis ofthe rejection of the lower sequences of the path by [passages such as] thIS, there have been those in both ancient and recent time who have been enthusiastic to undertake perpetual labours due to envy, and in connec- tion with their counterfeit, sophistical intelligence, which is extremely hostile to the [doctrine's] range of profundity and the vast abiding nature. However, as the sublime MafijusrI has said:
Concerning activities, the yogin
Apprehends them on the great paths,
Just as a deer pursues a mirage.
Though they always appear, they are not grasped.
But more than that, all of these [vehicles]
Are endowed with inauthentic intelligence.
The intelligence of the lowest yogas
Is surpassed by the highest.
The intelligence of the lower
Is rejected by the discriminative awareness of the higher.
One should therefore know this and be skilled in pacifying motivations connected with disputation in the inconceivable disposition of reality.
In addition, it is according to the esoteric instructions, which turn
the instructions of the Great Perfection to practical application, that all
things of samsara and nirvana are established as the display of the four
" b' h
intermediate states (bar-do). During the intermediate state of the place (skye-gnas-kyi bar-do) exaggerated notions connected wIth study and reflection on the oral instructions are cut off in the man? er of a sandpiper [decisively] entering its nest. During the intermedIate state of the moment of death ('chi-kha'i bar'-do) the oral are clarified in the manner of a dancing girl [delightedly] looking 1ll a mirror. During the intermediate state of reality (chos-nyid bar-do) there
and coar . d . se expenences, an
the advantages granted by the enlightened
;ttnbutes that are realised through experiential cultivation the J. Ound··, . ,
h' . atl? n IS acqUIred, through whIch the result is actualised in
[t IS lIfetIme and in this very body, without aspiring towards it in the Uture.
Divisions ofAtiyoga 345
11 A Recapitulation of the Resultant Vehicles
Concerning the second distinction which refers to their of a. cquiring accomplishment: The outer [vehicle] is that m whIch accomplishment is requested by aspiring to- and attending upon a deity of pristine cognition, and the mner [vehicle] is that in which accomplishment is seen to be intrinsically present because, through realisation of the supreme identity, mind-as-such manifests in and of it- self as a ma1). Qala of buddha-body and pristine cognition. It says in the Questions and Answers ofVajrasattva (rdo-rje sems- dpa'i zhus-lan, P 5082):
In reply to the question, "What is the distinction between the yogins of the outer and inner mantras in their acquisition ofaccomplishment? " he said:
As, for example, a king commands a minister, The outer way is the granting of accomplishment
from above.
And, as a king who holds sway having been
offered the kingdom by the people,
The unsurpassed way is that of the naturally
present Great Perfection.
And as it is said in the Secret Nucleus (Ch. 2, v. 6):
This wondrous, miraculous, and marvellous reality. . .
Then, concerning the third distinction which refers to their empowerments: The outer [vehicle] is that in which the three higher, supreme empowerments cannot be ob- tained, and the inner vehicle is that in which these three are emphatically grasped.
As to the fourth distinction which refers to their conduct: The inner [vehicle] can accept conduct in which the twenty elements of sarpsara are retained by skilful means, and the outer one cannot. And as to the fifth distinction which refers to their results: The outer [vehicle] can unite one with the result within seven, five or three human lifetimes and so forth, and the inner one can unite one with it in this very
lifetime.
Lharje Kharakpa328 and Lama Rok Sherap-o have said that, with to the tantra texts, there is a distinction between the way in :vhICh the ten categories of tantra are interpreted in the outer and the Inner [vehicles], and that, in particular, there are distinctions as to: Whether, with reference to empowerment, the three profound empower- lhents can or cannot be revealed; whether, with reference to the view,
[211 b. 4] Having ascertained the exegesis of the overall meaning [of the secret mantra] according to their classifications, there now follows the second part [see p. 257 above] in which the meaning subsumed in the particular sections [of the secret mantra] is recapitulated in order to facilitate understanding. This falls into two categories, namely, the
vehicle of the outer tantras of austere awareness (phyi thub-pa rgyud-kyi theg-pa) and the vehicle of the inner tantras of skilful means (nang-pa thabs-kyi rgyud-kyi theg-pa).
DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE OUTER AND INNER TANTRAS
[211b. 5-213a. 5] Though many dissimilar claims have been made by those of the past concerning the distinctions between these two vehicles, in this [Nyingma tradition] there are said to be five [distinctions] derived from the master Dropukpa who subsumed the intention of the four "pillars", who were the spiritual sons [of Zurcungpa]:326
Concerning the first distinction which refers to their views: The inner vehicle is that of the mantras in which mind-as-such is realised to be the supreme identity, and the outer vehicle is that in which there is no such realisation. It is said in Indrabhuti's Array of the Path of the Magical Net (Mayapathavyavasthapana,
P 4737):
Since those who uphold
The three enlightened families
And the five enlightened families
Do not realise the supreme identity,
I have propounded them as equivalent To the common [vehicles]. 327
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 347
()
the naturally present, pristine cognition can or cannot be propounded; whether, with reference to meditation, one can or cannot meditate on the [male and female deities] kissing one another; whether, with refer- ence to conduct, the five sacramental substances can or cannot be enjoyed; whether or not an entrance can be made, having regarded the
deity and oneself as identical; and whether, with reference to ac-
complishment, the acquistion takes a long or a short time, and is hoped
for externally or internally.
Lharje Celpa [Ktinga Dorje] ,329 too, has said that since these distinc-
tions refer merely to specific aspects [of the vehicles], they are correctly classified, on this occasion, into three categories, namely, the distinc- tions concerning the ground which is to be known, the distinctions concerning the path which is the act of knowing, and the distinctions concerning the result which is to be obtained.
Lord DrOlmawa [Samdrup Dorje]330 and Yungtonpa [Dorjepel]331 have both said that:
The inner mantras are those which hold the view, conduct and contemplation to be indivisible, and the outer mantras are those which do not. Is there then, one might ask, no distinction between the causal vehicle and the outer mantras? Not so; there is a distinction between whether relative ap-
pearances can or cannot be made into the path.
OUTER TANTRAS OF AUSTERE AWARENESS
If, among these [vehicles], the vehicle of the outer tantras of austere [awareness] is first classified, then the Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
The outer tantras are of three kinds: Kriya, Ubhaya and Yoga.
It is therefore divided into the vehicles of the Kriyatantra, the Ubhayatantra and the Yogatantra.
Kriyiitantra
[213a. 5-215b. 5] The first, or is under the headings of essence, verbal defimtlOn and classIfication. The first 0 these, [the essence], is that, ultimately, the purity that is free from the four extremes is realised, and, relatively, one resorts to the skilful means which aspire and strive towards accomplishments externally [conferred
Since they are not known to be the same without duality, The level of action requires alternate meditation
On an ultimate truth which is simply the pure reality And a deity of relative appearance endowed with
The enlightened attributes of pristine cognition. 332
Secondly, the verbal definition is that [the Sanskrit] kriya conveys the meaning of activity [or action] because it emphasises external activ- ity. Such is also said in the Commentary on the Final Meditation (Dhyan- ottarapatalatfka, T 2670):
This tantra is called Kriyatantra because it emphasises The activities of body and speech.
Thirdly, the Kriyatantra is classified according to six topics. Of these the first, the entrance, is twofold: There is the initial entrance [or empowerment] which effects maturation and the actual entrance itself. According to the former, the student is made into q worthy recipient [for the teaching] by the conferral ofthe water and crown empowerments along with their aspects (chu-dang cod-pan-gyi dbang 'khor-bcas bskur- ba). 333 It says in the Seminal Point of Pristine Cognition (Jiianatilaka- tantra, T 422):
The water empowerment and the crown Are well known in Kriyatantra.
And as for the latter: The [actual] entrance is effected by means of ablutions, cleanliness, and the three purities (dag-pa gsum). The Tantra of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
As to the entrance, it is entered
By the three purities, ablutions and cleanliness.
And on the subject of the three purities, it also says:
What, one might ask, are the three purities? They are the purity of the deity and the mal). 9ala, The purity of substances and rapture,
And the purity of mantra and contemplation.
Secondly, the view of Kriyatantra refers to the two truths, as it is said in the Sequence of the View (Ita-rim, T 4356):
According to Kriyatantra, living creatures are without bewilderment
When reality is regarded as the ultimate truth,
And when, relatively, mal). 9alas of three enlightened
families of deities appear,
Endowed with enlightened attributes of intrinsic
ro
348 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 349
by the deity]. It is said in the Sequence of the Path:
awareness.
350 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
. Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 351 The BeIng of Commitment (samayasattva)336
by means of the six real [sequential m d must therefore be created
Kriyarantra, namely, the deit of em 0 . es of] the deIty to the
deity of syllables (yi-ge'i lha) Yth d (stong-pa-nyzd-kyz lha), the ,eeity0sound( "lh) .
of form (gzugs-kyi lha), the deity of seals (ph ,slf,a z a , the deIty
of symbols (mtshan-ma'i lha) Th' , . ,yag-rgya zlha) and the deity
words from the extensive TTar;r ,IdS_IS stated in the following v j 'J avz ara1Ja 1 antra:
Thesixare[thed'f ] f .
Of d Ii el Ies 0 emptIness and syllables
Concerning the ultimate truth, it is held that mind-as-s
pristine cognition [which coalesces] emptiness and radiance, is free from the four extremes of being, non-being, appearance and emptiness; as it is said in the Determination and Distinction (la-zla-ba-dang shan-
'byed-pa lta-ba'i sgron-me, P 4727): Since the mind itself is awareness,
Without the four extremes,
It is none other than pristine cognition.
Now the relative truth [is held] to comprise both correct and incorrect modes, of which the incorrect one refers to all relative appearances which are considered to be both correct and incorrect [by those who
adhere to the philosophical systems] from the Madhyamika downwards, and the correct relative truth is held to refer to the enlightened attributes which are the realisation of reality and which appear as the maJ). qala
of deities belonging to the three enlightened families. As the previous
text continues:
Through the pristine cognition of the appearances
Which creatively arise,
The sublime, gentle and rough phenomena which appear
Are said to be pure when seen 334 In the maJ). qala of the three enlightened families.
Thirdly, on the subject of moral discipline, the Miraculous Key of Further Discernment speaks of eleven commitments:
The Three Precious Jewels and the enlightened mind, The mantras and seals - do not abandon them;
The vajra and bell should not be abandoned,
And similarly the deity and the guru. These are the subsidiary commitments. As for the five basic commitments:
One should not sleep on a [high] bed,
One should neither eat meat nor drink ale, And one should not eat garlic or radishes.
Then, there is also the Secret Tantra ofGeneral Rites (Sii:r/llinyavidhfnii1fl guhyatantra, T 806) which explains that there are three general commit-
ments and thirteen particular commitments; and so forth.
Fourth, meditation is both symbolic and non-symbolic. Concerning
the former, the Heruka Galpo says:
The meditations are on [the deities] of reality,
Sound, syllables,335 form, buddha-mind,
And the attainment of the perfect body of pristine
cognition.
uch
, the pure
soun , orm, seals and symbols. ' Thereafter, the Being of Pristine Co . , '- -
offerings, praises, recitations and 0nanasattva) is invited; is acquired h a ' so ort are perf? rmed; and ac- the deity and oneself] as regarded [the relatIonship between
Tantra ofthe Great Natural Aa ? , a and servant. It says in the rzszng OJ wareness:
The deity and the yogin respectively Are regarded as a master and subject.
And in the Tantra which A ' h
(rigs thams-cad-pa'i dngos_grucbqulzres t"e Accomplishment of All Families
en-pa z rgyud):
By regarding [the deity] in the manner of a lord a master or a king,
And perceiving oneself as a servant The of accomplishment, ' That IS attained through the mantras Is accepted as the unsurpassed boon. '
'
Concerning the second [or non-symb r
nate meditation on the t h 0 IC medItatIOn]: There is alter-
pure disposition [of absorption occurs in the nng to those [aforementione t e our WIthout refer-
symbolic deities, are meditated onas and Dzstinction: 1 e. t says In the Determznatzon
Appeara. nces and emptiness are successively establIshed.
. ,
and with food, attire clea r e WIt. t for entering [the vehicle],
Fifth, conduct [according to th K ' -
namely, the activities connect d e. compnses SIX activities,
tion of mantras. It i; supports and the recita- er S31 In the Heruka Galpo:
Concerning pIa t [ d
And Ii d ,ne s or ays], stars and seasons,
00 ,attIre and cleanliness
The austerity, of discipline is pe;formed.
. ,
352 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
And in the Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions:
Conduct concerns the images of [the deity's] body, The implements symbolic of his mind, Recitations and so forth.
Sixth, concerning the result, it is held that within seven human lifetimes the level of a Holder of Indestructible Reality of the Three Enlightened Families, endowed with the essence of the three buddha- bodies and five pristine cognitions, will be obtained. The Heruka Galpo says:
Recapitulation o fResultant Vehicles 353 Those who uphold the Tantra of Both
Though conforming to Kriyatantra in conduct Do conform to Yogatantra in their view. ' Therefore their enlightened families and view
Are superior to those [of Kriyatantra].
And in the Sequence of the View:
Those who uphold the Tantra of Both Conform upwards in their view - And downwards in their conduct.
The also to be somewhat superior [to Kriyatantra] the VIew and medItatIon are directed towards four enlightened
famIlIes of the conquerors.
Sixth, concerning the result: It is held that within five lifetimes the of a o. f Reality belonging to the Four En- FamIlIes IS obtamed. The fourth enlightened family to which refers. subsumes the. Enlightened Family of Activity (las-kyi rigs)
In. th. e EnlIghtened FamIly of Precious Gems (rin-chen rigs). It is also m the Heruka Galpo:
One abides on the level of Vajradhara339 Endowed with four enlightened families.
And in the All-Accomplishing King:
It is a deviation which obscures
Non-duality for five human lifetimes.
Yogatantra
Thirdly, the vehicle of Yogatantra is considered under e of essence, verbal definition and classification. First, [ac- is rdmg t? the The blessing of the non-symbolic reality which . truth IS regarded as a deity belonging to the expanse of
reality, which relatively appears, and it is held that the
re' t. IS attamed in the acceptance of positive and the
S )ectlOn of negatIve Ideas [in relation to that deity]. It is said in the equence ofthe Path:
Since they are not seen to be present and equivalent,
The blessmg of pristine cognition Through which all things are Becomes an emanational [deity]
Of the expanse of indestructible reality
Adh. ,
n t e yogm . acts in terms of acceptance and rejection.
337
The Lords of the Three Families instruct living beings.
Ubhayatantra
[215b. 5-216b. 3] The second, the vehicle of Ubhayatantra, is referred to under the headings of essence, verbal definition and classification. First, [the essence] is that one resorts to the skilful means which attain accomplishment by practising the view and meditation in the manner of Yogatantra, and conduct in the manner of Kriyatantra. It is said in the Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions:
Accomplishment is attained by relying on both.
Secondly, [as to the verbal definition]: Ubhayatantra is so called because the [Sanskrit] word ubhaya ["both"] indicates that both the outer activities of body and speech and the inner yoga are equally performed. The Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising ofAwareness says:
Ubhayatantra is as follows:
The view is observed as in Yogatantra,
And conduct is performed as in Kriyatantra. Therefore it is known as the Tantra of Both.
Thirdly, the Ubhayatantra is classified under the six topics, ofwhich the first, the entrance, has two parts. The former is empowerment, which here refers to the three empowerments of the vajra, bell and name (rdor-dril-ming-gsumi 38 in addition to those of water and crown. As the Seminal Point of Pristine Cognition says:
The vajra, the bell and likewise the name [empowerments]
Are well clarified in the Caryarantra.
The actual entrance, along with the third topic, moral discipline, and the fifth, conduct, largely conform to Kriyatantra, whereas the second topic, or the view, and the fourth, meditation, largely conform to Yogatantra. It is said in the Turquoise Display:
Within seven lifetimes on the buddha level
354 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret A1antra .
fi . , ]" Derived from [the Sansknt] yoga,
Secondly, [the verbal de ImtIOn . 't emphasises or teaches the inner . so called because 1 .
the Yogatantra IS V' . A C llection of Esoteric Instructwns says: yoga. The Garland of zews. 0 .
Accomplishment is attained with emphasIs on yoga.
. . d d under six topics. The first,
the entrance, IS
dbang to th. e dbang), the sixth empower- indestructIble (r . 1] ifP" Cognition states:
ment. 340 The Semmal Pomt 0 nstme
The empowerment of the irreversible vase
The blessing of realisation appears as a deity. Accordingly, the perceptions of [mundane] Living creatures are bewilderment.
And also in the Turquoise Display:
Derived from the pure pristine cognition of the expanse,
In which both intrinsic awareness
And the signs of its actual vision are indivisible, The blessing arises as a deity of indestructible
reality'S expanse,
And the deity is regarded as a friend.
Thirdly, moral discipline includes the general commitments belong- ing to the five enlightened families, which are said to be the highest. The enlightened mind is first generated, and subsequently training in the three aspects of moral discipline is earnestly applied. Then there are said to be fourteen particular commitments, namely, three connected with Vairocana, four each with and Ratnasambhava, one with Amitabha, and two with Amoghasiddhi. The Miraculous Key of Further Discernment, however, claims that they number thirteen when two uncommon commitments are added to the eleven commitments of Kriyatantra. In its own words:
The limits guarded by the Yogatantra,
In addition to the limits guarded by the above
[Kriyatantra] ,
Include [the commitments] not to drink water
In a locality [inhabited by violators of commitments] And not to converse with such violators.
Fourth, meditation is both symbolic and non-symbolic.
The former is meditation with reference to the yoga of the male and female deities, which applies the four seals (phyag-rgya bzhi) by means of the five awakenings (mngon-byang lnga) and four miracles (cho-'phrul bzhi). The Garland of Views: A Collection of Esoteric Instructions says:
Without emphasising outer paraphernalia, and by means of contemplation in which the male and female deities that are uncreated and unceasing in ultimate reality and the mind- stream in which they are represented are entirely pure, one becomes accomplished by emphasising the yoga of medita- tion on the sublime body ofform endowed with the four seals.
After the Being of Commitment (samayasattva) has been created and the Being of Pristine Cognition (jiiiinasattva) has been invited, [the deity] should then be regarded without the dichotomy of good or evil,
Thirdly, the Yogatantra ISC'consl empowerment which refers, . twofold The lormer IS . ,.
: ] fi powerments of awareness (ng-pa z
in addition to the [prevIouS lVe empowerment of the master of f
h '
The latter is the actual 7h' h is effected by means ofsymbohc
Has been clarified in Yogatantra.
This is a particular empowerment among t e SIX
And it is called the empowerment of the master. .
lC . n the All-Accomplishing King: and non-symbolic contemplatIOn. t says 1
One who desires the Bounteous Array of Having entered by symbolic and non-symbohc
methods. . .
Secondly, the VIew [0 o. g . ner radiance or emptiness, the
ultimate truth refers to all thmhgs m f conceptual elaboration. The nature of which is free from t e sIgns o.
Tantra of the Summation of the Real says.
Since all things are naturally radiant,
They are essentially pure from the begmnmg.
. f Y atantra] concerns the twO truths. The
wIt In . . . . f blessing derived from the realIsatIon 0
Heruka Galpo:
rea
lity Such IS a so sal 1 .
. .
. . d b en an incorrect relatIve whIch
The relative truth IS and a correct relative truth,
is similar to that of the prevIOUS [ve lC es] 'd' erned by living creatures h ld t efer to the appearances ISC .
whichis e not 0 r h' th t everywhere appears IS in their own minds because mg . a, e which is the . h' the mandala of indestructIble realIty s '1 'd 'n the
One who wishes to abide in the vehicle of Yogatantra Should look upon as the expanse of
indestructible reality.
And in the Sequence of the View: . .
f reality's expanse, .
Within the pristine cogmtIOn 0
Which is the purity of ultimate truth accordIng to
Y ogatantra,
. .
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 355
356 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and in the manner of a relative or friend. Offerings, praises, recitations and so forth should be made. So it is also said in the Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising of Awareness:
The deity and oneself, the yogin,
Are held to relate as relatives or friends.
Now the five awakenings (mngon-byang lnga) are the awakenings which occur through emptiness (stong-pa-nyid), through the visualisa- tion of a- lunar throne (zla-gdan), through seed-syllables of buddha- speech (gsung yig-'bru) , through hand implements symbolic of buddha- mind (thugs phyag-mtshan) and through the perfection of the [deity's] body (sku yongs-rdzogs). The four miracles (cho-'phrul bzhi) are the miracles of contemplation (ting-nge-'dzin), empowerment (dbang-bskur- ba), consecration or blessing (byin-gyis rlob-pa), and offerings (mchod- pa). Concerning these the Heruka Galpo says:
Non-conceptualisation, moon, buddha-speech, vajra-emblem,
And radiance of the [deity's] body during meditation
On the emanation and absorption [of light]; Contemplation, blessing, empowerment and offerings: Such are the five awakenings and four miracles.
Though these are the activities of meditation and offering, They are to be performed in order that merit might be
possessed.
The four seals (phyag-rgya bzhi) are so called because meditation ensues when the body, speech, mind and activity have been respectively sealed by: the great seal of buddha-body which secures the ground-of-all as the mirror-like pristine cognition (me-long kun-gzhi sku phyag-chen); the doctrinal seal of buddha-speech which secures the mental faculty as the pristine cognition of discernment (sor-rtog yid gsung chos-rgya); the commitment seal of buddha-mind which secures the mind of conflicting emotions as the pristine cognition of sameness (mnyam-nyid nyon-yid thugs dam-rgya); and the action seal of enlightened activity which secures the five senses as the pristine cognition of accomplishment (bya-ba sgo-lnga phrin-Ias las-rgya). Such are the four pristine cognitions which are to be actualised and with which they are connected. The [fifth] pristine cognition of the expanse of reality (chos-dbyings ye-shes), on the other hand, abides as the natural expression of them all.
The second [or non-symbolic meditation] refers to meditative absorp- tion in the disposition where there is no dichotomy between the essential nature of ultimate reality which cannot be symbolised and the appear- ance of its blessing as a deity, which is the apparitional aspect of pristine cognition. It says in the Emergence ofIndestructible Reality (Vajrodaya, T 2516):
Recapitulation ofResultant TT h' l
The d' . . ve lC es 357
ISPOSItIOn of the non-d 1
Is taken as the most sacred expanse of reality
accomplishments. 0 unsurpassed
Fifth, concerning conduct· W'th '
practices such as cleanliness' Id the aSSIstance of external mundane
oth b ' ,con ucteffectstheb fi f
ers YmaIntaining above all th . ene It 0 oneself and
Peak says: ' , e yoga ofthe deity. The Indestrnctible
INNER TANT
Abiding in th
.
e contemplatIOn of th d '
Do not dismiss all sentient b ' A1w b ' emgs. Al ays e mmdfu1 of the buddhas.
e eIty,
ways hold offerings to the b ddh u
as as Supreme is attained on the level o/thwIthm three human lifetimes
.
SIxth,astotheresult:Itisheldtht ' , .
the essence of the three bodies and m the All-Accomplishing King:
One who desires the BounteouS
e Array, endowed five pnstme cognitions. It says
Is held to be liberated And in the Lock of'the U
'h ' h Array ofYogatantra WIt m tree human lifetimes
.
. ,
openSItIes of the subject-
' j neart: Having purified the five pr
object dichotomy,
And, by the expressive pOwe f ' . cognitions rs 0 the five pnstme
HaAving the level of the B rray,
The result gathering the fiv obtained.
ounteous
e enlIghtened families is
uncreated body of reality then
s
,m an uncreated manner on behalf of l' .
bemgs. 1vmg Its perfect rapture embod '
Fulfils the benefit of l' , the five kinds of seal And its ten thousand emgs a bodhisattva,
Teach everywh beings,'
, l I O n emanatIOns
[219bA-22Ia I] S
Sk'UI 1 . econdly, there is the
ere m the presen ,
f h .
ce0 teSIXclassesof
RAS OF SKILFUL MEANS
h' 1
u ,means (nang-pa thabs-6k i r IC e of the inner tantras of
gy):;,d-kYl theg,-p,a), concerning which reat atural Anszng of Awareness:
,
It IS saId in the Tantra ofihe
.
J
Ru Garap Dorje
said:
358
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 359
The inner [vehicle] is held to be threefold: Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga.
It therefore comprises the Mahayoga tantras, the Anuyoga transmissions
and the Atiyoga esoteric instructions.
Concerning the distinctions between these three, the master Zur- 341
cungpa said in reply to a request made by Lencap Parwa:
Mahayoga appears as the miracle of awareness. Anuyoga appears as the expressive power of intrinsic awareness. Atiyoga is awareness, manifest in and of itself. Therefore,
342
stage, Anuyoga emphatically teaches the perfection stage, and the Great Perfection is effortless in both respects.
Cel Lotsawa Ktinga Dorje also eloquently asserted this to be the distinc- tion between their verbal definitions.
[Finally], the great, all-knowing Longcenpa [in his Great Chariot] has said:
The Father tantras of Mahayoga are the natural expression of the skilful means of appearance, intended on behalf of those requiring training who are mostly hostile and possessed by many ideas; the Mother tantras of Anuyoga are the discriminative awareness of the perfection stage which is the reality of emptiness, intended for the benefit of those who are mostly desirous and delight in the tranquillity of the mind; and the Atiyoga is revealed as the natural expression of their non-duality, intended for the benefit of those who are mostly deluded and who are energetic. Therefore the Great Array says:
For one who would transcend the mind
There is the creative phase,
For one who would possess the essence of mind There is the perfecting phase,
And for those who are supreme and most secret There is the Great Perfection.
And also in Mind at Rest (sems-nyid ngal-gso), he has said:
Mahayoga emphasises vital energy and the skilful means of the creation stage.
Anuyoga emphasises the seed and discriminative awareness of the perfection stage.
Atiyoga emphasises the pristine cognition in which everything is without duality.
Mahayoga
Among them, first the vehicle of Mahayoga is con- under the three headings of essence, verbal definition and clas- As to [the essence]: Its nature is such that liberation is ob- through a union of realisation and experience in the indivisible meanmg of the superior truth, by emphatic reliance on the creation stage of skilful means.
[as to the verbal definition]: The [Tibetan] rnal-'byorchen- fO. IS denved from the [Sanskrit] Mahayoga which means great union. . t IS so called because it unites the mind with the non-dual truth and IS thus superior to the ollter Yogatantra.
They refer respectively to a miracle,
To expressive power and to the self-manifest.
This means that [the three] are particularly distinguished according to their view: Mahayoga realises all things to be the miraculous events of mind-as-such, in which appearance and emptiness are indivisible; Anuyoga realises all things to be the expressive power of mind-as-such, in which the expanse and pristine cognition are indivisible; and Atiyoga
realises all things to be manifest in and of themselves as mind-as-such, the naturally present pristine cognition which is without creation or cessation from the beginning. This was asserted to be the most precious point by both Datik [Cosak of Nakmore] and Len [Sakya Zangpo of Chuwar]. 343
Kyo Kongbupa [Kyoton Sakye of Kongbu]344 also said that:
They have a greater or lesser degree of emphasis: Mahayoga lays great emphasis on conduct, Anuyoga lays great emphasis on contemplation, And Atiyoga lays great emphasis on the view.
Then, Lharje Rok Sherap-o has said that:
Mahayoga is creative because the deity is gradually created by means of three contemplations. Anuyoga is perfecting because the deity is created in a perfect manner without relying on that [threefold creative phase]. And Atiyoga, the Great Perfection, is uncreatable because it is liberated from
both the creation and perfection phases.
Or else, Mahayoga is greatly motivated with respect to
the ten categories of tantra, Anuyoga is so motivated to a lesser extent, and Atiyoga is liberated from motivation.
And in the words of Menyak Jungdra [or Khyungdra]:345
Though the three aspects of creation and perfection are pres- ent in them all, Mahayoga emphatically teaches the creation
360 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Thirdly, Mahayoga is classified according to the six topics, of which the first, the entrance, is twofold: The former refers to the empower_ ment. There are four empowerments which are to be conferred because three higher, supreme uncommon empowerments (thun-min mchog_ dbang gong-ma gsumi46 are added to the common vase empowerment (thun-mong-pa bum-dbang). It is said in the Subsequent Root Tantra of the Magical Net:
There are the master, the secret,
And the discriminating [empowerments], And, immediately afterwards, the fourth.
Five empowerments are also enumerated when the vase empower- ment (bum-dbang) is divided into its aspects of beneficence and ability (phan-nus gnyis). 347 The Sequence of the Activity of Indestructible Reality (Vajrakarmakrama, P 4761) says:
Its aspects become fivefold
Because [the vase empowerment] Confers beneficence and ability on one.
The latter is the actual entrance which is effected by means of three contemplations, namely, the yoga of great emptiness which is dis- criminative awareness (shes-rab stong-pa chen-po'i rnal-'byor) , the illusory compassion which is skilful means (thabs snying-rje sgyu-ma), and the seals which are subtle and coarse (phyag-rgya phra-rags). Therefore, Mahayoga is the path which emphatically teaches the creation stage. In this respect, it is also said in the Tantra of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness:
The entrance is the threefold contemplation.
And in the Miraculous Key ofFurther Discernment: The entrance of Mahayoga
Is effected by the threefold contemplation.
Secondly, the view [of Mahayoga] refers to the ultimate truth as that in which awareness, appearing without conceptual elaboration, is held to be spontaneously present as the essential basis; and all the ideas which are the expressive power of this awareness itself are held to be the relative truth, manifest in and ofthemselves as a maI). <;lala body and pristine cognition. Neither of these truths refers in a biased manner to either appearance or emptiness because their essence is an indivisible sameness. If it is conventionally expressed by the term divisible", its indivisibility is free from the range of perception because it transcends the objects of thought and expressions which apprehend it. In this respect, the Array of the Path of the Magical Net says:
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles
The superior, indivisible truth of sameness Th. ough revealed everywhere by synonyms'
Is m truth beyond objects of speech and thought.
361
And in the Sequence of the Path:
And in order to loosen348 attachment to that d
It and inexpressible WIthm the two conventional truths.
' . esCnptIOn,
translations of the secret
the fourteen basic violations of the c uct on the. knowledge of d d (b b " ommltments whIch are to be
guar e srung- ya zdam-tshig rtsa-ltung bcu-bzhi) and to th d based on the knowledge of the nature of the . e con uct meats and the fiv . commItments of the five
tshig sha-lnga are to be practised (spyad-bya'i dam-
In_the terminology of the ancient translations th . Mahayoga are said to number twenty-eight 349 Th of
Further Discernment says: . e
Concerning the guarded by Mahayoga, There are three baSIC commitments
And twenty-five ancillary ones which are kept.
lracu ous Key of
the three basic are those of buddha-body speech the dam-tshig gsum) , As for the ancilla;y ones,
There are those to be practised Those not to be renounced ' And those to be adopted. ' There are those to be known
And those to be attained.
concerning meditation' Th . .
phaSlsmg the class of . . ere are two tradItIOns, one em-
emphaSiSing the class for(attamment (sgrub-sde), and the other classes of means t . antra rgyud-sde). The former includes five namely, the of the deities of pristine cognition, on the Four Centres f' the Body of,the Sugatas by Relying
bZhi-la brten-nas bde_gsOh the Body (Jam-dpal-gyi sku 'khor-lo Lo egssu1sgrub-pa)'th MeA "
tus Speech by R 1 . , e eans lor ttammg the gyi rta-skad thengs- on the Three Neighs of Hayagrlva (rta-mgrin-
Attaining the sgrub-pa);theMeans enuine and Uniqu A . ea Ity of Mmd by Relying on the Present Pristine C e . the Awareness and Naturally
thugS ri ogmtIOn whIch IS Yangdak the Mind (y d . g-pa rang-byung-;gi ye-shes yang-dag grub-pa
362 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
thugs rdo-rje'i sgrub-pa); the Means for Attaining Nectar Attributes which Perfectly Reveal All Things of Sarpsara and Nirval)a as the Enlightened Attributes of Mahottara (che-mchog-gi 'khor-'das-kyi chos-thams-cad tan-du rdzogs-par ston-pa bdud-rtsi yon-tan-gyi sgrub-pa); and the Means for Attaining the Enlightened Activity ofVajrakiia which Emphatically Teaches the Skilful Means for Training Malicious Beings by the Rites of Sorcery of Vajrakiia (phur-pa'i mngon-spyod-kyi las-kyis gdug-pa-can 'dul-ba'i thabs gtso-bor ston-pa phur-ba phrin-las-kyi sgrub-pa). Also cluded in this section are the three common classes of means for attain- ment, namely, the Means for Attaining the Liberating Sorcery of aral:1 (ma-mo rbod-gtong), the Malign Mantra (drag-sngags dmod-pa) and the Mundane Praise ()ig-rten mchod-bstod).
Concerning the latter [i. e. the class oftantras]: Mahayoga is generally classified according to three kinds of tantra, namely, Father, Mother, and Non-Dual. In the Father tantras such as the Guhyasamaja there is held to be experiential cultivation in a manner which is non-conceptual with respect to radiance and emptiness because they emphasise the area of skilful means according to the creation stage and also the vital energy according to the perfection stage connected with it.
In the Mother tantras such as Cakrasarrzvara, Hevajra and Yangdak (NGB Vol. 25), the conceptual elaboration of the creation stage is diminished, and there is held to be experiential cultivation in a manner which is non-conceptual with respect to bliss and emptiness, and in which the perfection stage of discriminative awareness emphasises the seed or seminal point of enlightened mind.
Then in the Neutral tantras such as the Magical Net (T 832-7, NGB Vols. 14-16) the phases of creation and perfection are coalesced and there is held to be experiential cultivation in a manner which emphasises the blissful, radiant and non-conceptual pristine cognition that is de- veloped through the energy channels, currents and seminal points ac- cording to the perfection stage, and above all, the supreme pristine cognition of inner radiance.
In this context, [meditation] is explained with reference to the Root
, . Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 363
is subdIvIded into the devotional meditation (mos-bs ' ive perfection (nges-rdzogs) The f i o ' , gom) and the defimt-
Tantra ofthe Secret Nucleus. Accordingly, the Three Stages (rim-g P 4742)350 says:
There are said to be the two particular kinds of meditation:
The sequence of symbolic meditation And the nature of just what is.
,
o ,IS: supreme nature of the Transcendent Lord
Thus there is both symbolic and non-symbolic meditation.
The former comprises both the creation and perfection stages. ,AS for the creation stage: It refers to the experiential cultivation in whIch
the deity and ideas are meditated on as indivisible by emphasising the gradual creation of the mal)Qala through the three contemplations, It
from the undivided three
the, of pristine cognition, ' e obtamed m thIS very lifetime.
AndinthS,. ,
e emmal Pomt of Pristine Cognition:
Otherwise im d' 1
Th ' ,m e late y after abandoning [this body],
e result WIll be accomplished without any effort.
sum
v. 1I8): y present IS actualIsed. It says in the Guhyasamaja (Ch. 13, Th'
, " . rmer IS exemplIfied b th nal cUltIvatIOn which though firmn ' y
, ' essmcontemplatio h obtamed, completes the ritual branches ofth , n
'
e expenen-
b
Partner's body] ('
og-sgo in the Three Stages:
kh wer ams-gsum rol-p
oor [or sexual centre of one's " ,
a 1 man-ngag). Therefore It says
as not ' e creatIon stage dur'
een h
,, e Iveyogasbelongmgt [h h and connection which are endowed with 0 t, e pat s of]
four kmds of awareness-holders who ' h corruP:IOn, and the
course 0f a smgle evening session of d' . ,m g t e form. 351 The latter refers to th fi me ItatIOn on,a [partIcular divine]
' are WIt out corruptIOn eperectIOnstagerefer t b h h ' , .
which [the energy ch I S O ot t e esotenc mstructions through annes,currentsandse ' 1 ' ]
and trained within the "upper door of ' mlbna pomts are grasped , onesown ody"(t "'d
T h fi
gyl man-ngag), and the esoteric instructio . s eng-sgo ul- of the three realms through "the 10 d ns ,;Vhlch concern the dIsplay
There are oral instructions
According to the upper and lower doors.
meditation refers to the contemplation of real- Then, fifth, as to conduct· A h' b 1 '
practised wi h . . nyt, e ongmg to sarpsara can be skilful lIt IS :;tained by the foundation of
,
lracu ous l,-ey to the Storehouse:
The Mah. ayoga of the creation phase
the rites of "! iberation" and sexual practices352
Th
Ive nectars whIch are sacramental substances roug the conduct which observes great skilful
SIxth, as to the result· In th' l'fi ' , ,
[after death] the emb d' I or m the mtermediate state spontaneousl' ,0 m whIch the five buddha-bodies are
A. nuyoga
[224a 2-2
. 28a. 3] The vehicle of h A
transmissions (lung anu-
Yoga) is Considered under h h t e
t e tree headmgs ofessence, verbal definition
364 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and classification. As to [the essence]: Its nature is such that liberation is obtained through a union of realisation and experience of the. truth in which the expanse [of reality] and pristine cognition. duality, by emphatic reliance on the perfection stage of dlscnmmatlVe awareness.
Secondly, [as to the verbal definition]: The [Sanskrit] Anuyoga is rendered [in Tibetan] as rjes-su mal-'byor or it emphatically reveals the path of desire in pursuIt of dlscnmmatlVe awareness (shes-rab ry'es-chags-kyi-lam).
Thirdly, Anuyoga is classified according to the six topics, of the first the entrance, is twofold. The former is empowerment, whIch refers t ; the thirty-six empowerment ceremonies subsumed by four categories of outer, inner, attaining and secret m the mandalas of Anuyoga (phyi-nang-sgrub-gsang-bzhls bsdus-pa l dbang-chog It says in the All-Gathering Awareness:
The outer empowerment and the inner empowerment, The attaining empowerment and the secret
empowerment
Are respectively complete with ten aspects,
With eleven, with thirteen and with two aspects.
According to some, the eight hundred and thirty-one ancillary em- powerments,353 which are derived from the basic thirty-six tioned, are the empowerments ofthe nine vehicles. Therefore, It IS saId in the Summation ofthe Meaning ofEmpowerment (dbang-don bsdus-pa):
Derived from the six vehicles including Yogatantra, The outer empowerment is to be conferred as a
continuous stream.
And in the Analysis ofthe Meaning ofEmpowerment (dbang-don mam-par
'byed-pa):
The ten empowerments bring about Possession of the enlightened family, The eleven empowerments bring about The inner secret meaning,
The thirteen empowerments are known As those of the "great guru",
And the two empowerments perfect The empowerment of the nine vehicles.
How is it, one might then object, that these become the empowerments of Anuyoga [which is only one of the nine f There is indeed no contradiction because, in accord with the 0 learned gurus, they are called the empowerment of the nine vehIcles
Recapitulation ofResultant Vehicles 365
(thetdgu'i in so ,far as they correspond to nine sequences of the
vehIcle. There IS no basIs, however, for the opinion expressed by ordin-
ary of the empowerment for the Sutra which Gathers All
Intentwns [that they actually are the empowerments ofthe nine veh' I ] Ifth "b dl ICes.
, ey It IS a sur y implied that one would have to admit the hIgher Atiyoga empowerment to be gathered within the Anuyoga em- powerment. , By way of illustration, the uncommon doctrinal termino- logy of the mner [tantras] is not found in the outer tantras. The great
awareness-holder Terdak Lingpa has therefore said:
If one must refer to the fusion Of the basic rites of Anuyoga
With the details of the particular doctrines of the eight [other] vehicles,
How these [other vehicles] then define the illustrative basIs of Anuyoga [in particular]?
is therefore no contradiction inasmuch as he is of the former opmIOn [expressed by learned gurus].
,latter [aspect of the entrance into Anuyoga] is the actual entrance W h I C ? , I S e f f e c t e d b y m e a n s o f t h e n o n - d u a l i t y o f t h e e x p a n s e a n d
cogmtIOn. It says m the All-Accomplishing King:
entered into the expanse and pristine cognition WhIch, according to Anuyoga, are held to be
indivisible. . .
What, one might ask, is the nature of the entrance? It is effected in
the manner not of the creation but of the perfection stage. It says in the Lock of the Heart:
expanse itself is pristine cognition. Pnstme cogmtIOn, awareness, is the expanse itself.
The supreme bliss of this non-dual display Is not entered gradually.
In all the [divine] seals of apparitional existence 354
The great seal of apparitional existence is immediately encountered
In the manner of a fish leaping from the water. Secondly as t h ' A .
itself is th ' . 0 t e 11 thmgs are one's own mind, and that natu ' e pure celestIal space of the mother SamantabhadrI whose
I"
SPect th e mal)<;iala (ye Jl-bzhin-pa'i dkyil-'khor). I n this re-
re IS uncreated and fre f·
called th " e • conceptua elaboratIOn. It is also
, e eneral Satra which Gathers All Intentions also says: Since which has emerged from the mind is
emptmess,
All that hfls emerged from it is empty.
366 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
This uncreated [reality], unceasing in all respec,ts, is awareness
" ndala of naturally present hght. It IS called the whIch asarna:' bhadraorthespontaneouslypresent
In this ma1f<;lala of the outer, inner and secret arrays,
Apparitional existence is an expanse of pure male and female deities.
And in the Miraculous Key to the Storehouse: According to Anuyoga, the perfection phase,
The components, psychophysical bases and activity fields Are held to be uncreated, in a perfect manner,
In the ma1f<;lala of male and female deities.
Thirdly, concerning moral diScipline, the Summation ofthe Meaning of the Secret Satra says:
It is commitment which apprehends the basis.
