If you do not merge
emptiness
with bliss,
it is senseless-not at all the Mantra path.
it is senseless-not at all the Mantra path.
Tarthang-Tulku-Mother-of-Knowledge-The-Enlightenment-of-Yeshe-Tsogyal
-=--------------~~~--------------~
And though the limited samsaric mind tries to hold on, it is powerless.
"Sentient beings who are drawn
to radiance, creativity, and perfection
will gain the Developing and Perfecting Stages,
and the Great Perfection.
Nothing can stop this process.
By destroying karma, destroying samsara's constituents, destroying the need to be taught, and destroying the aggregates, the five realms and the five elements are destroyed as well. Beyond misery is a wondrous place!
"Fifty years from now, in the bird month, on the eighth day, mTsho-rgyal will travel to the Lotus Light,
and a great host of qakas and qakinis will welcome you. Until then, strive to benefit beings. "
Then Padmasambhava disappeared.
As mTsho-rgyallater explained: "Then, I, mTsho-rgyal, went back to the great meditation cave of lHo-brag in mKhar-chu. There I gave Nam-mkha'i snying-po instructions concerning patterning and energy to further his spiritual advancement, along with the siddhi practices of longevity. My students developed both the ordinary and the great siddhis.
"Then I meditated upon the actionless Great Perfection, and the Chos-nyid zad-pa, the highest of the Ati realizations, arose. I benefitted sentient beings by manifesting in various guises, and they saw me in various forms:
"To those sentient beings who were hungry, I manifested as an abundance of food, establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings who were cold,
I manifested as sun and fire, establishing them in bliss.
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To those sentient beings who were poor,
I manifested as myriads of jewels, establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings who lacked clothes, I manifested as apparel,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings without children, I manifested as sons and daughters, establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings desiring a woman,
I manifested as an irresistible maiden, establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings desiring a husband, I manifested as a handsome man, establishing them in bliss.
"To those sentient beings wanting supernatural powers, I gave the eight great siddhi practices,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings suffering from sickness,
I manifested as medicine,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings suffering from misery, I manifested as satisfaction,
establishing them in bliss.
"Those sentient beings suffering under the laws,
I led to a land of harmony, friendship, and love,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings suffering from fear of wild animals, I manifested as safety,
establishing them in bliss.
Those sentient beings who had fallen into abysses, I brought forth from abysses,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings suffering by fire,
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I manifested as water, establishing them in bliss.
"To those sentient beings whose suffering was caused by any of the five elements,
I manifested as the antidote,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings who were blind,
I manifested as eyes,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings who were crippled, I manifested as limbs,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings who were dumb, I manifested as tongues,
establishing them in bliss.
"From those sentient beings on the point of death, I took away death,
establishing them in bliss.
Those sentient beings who had just died,
I led on the paths of transformation,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings wandering in the bardo, I manifested as tutelary deities,
establishing them in bliss.
"Those sentient beings wandering in the hot hells, I cooled. And those suffering from cold, I warmed.
Thus, to all beings suffering for any reason,
I manifested varied and appropriate aid,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings born as hungry ghosts, I manifested as food and drink.
Those sentient beings wandering as animals,
I liberated from the suffering
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of stupidity, dumbness, and servitude, establishing them in bliss.
"Those sentient beings born as men
in barbarous or wrong-thinking lands,
I turned from the wrong paths,
establishing them in bliss.
Those sentient beings born as demigods,
I saved from quarrels, fights, and strife,
establishing them in bliss.
Those sentient beings born as gods,
I saved from the pain of falling to lower states, establishing them in bliss.
Any beings who suffered from any kind of disharmony, I saved from that disharmony,
establishing them in bliss.
"In short, wherever there is space,
the five elements are pervasive.
Wherever there are the five elements,
sentient beings are pervasive.
Wherever there are sentient beings, emotions are pervasive. Wherever there are emotions, my compassion is pervasive. That is how widespread my help has been.
For twenty years more,
I appeared and disappeared throughout the world. "
At this time there came from India a lady who had been Guru Rinpoche's body consort, a cJakini of the Pristine Awareness: a queen of practice, a queen of healing, a knowledge-holder, another possessor of auspicious marks, a sister of the gods, a flower-her name was Mandarava, and she came from the sky with seven students.
mTsho-rgyal met her, and for thirty-nine days they remained to- gether sharing and discussing the higher Dharma teachings. In par- ticular, Mandarava asked mTsho-rgyal for twenty-seven of Guru Rinpoche's technical Dharma teachings which had not been known
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in India. mTsho-rgyal offered them to her. And then she asked Mandarava, the <Jakini of long life, the mistress of longevity, for seven technical instructions on longevity, as well as thirteen teachings in- cluding certain Hayagriva practices. mTsho-rgyal then hid them as Dharma treasures.
Then mTsho-rgyal sang this song:
"oM AJ:I HOM!
I;>akini, you have the deathless Vajra Body;
you abide in space like the rainbow,
moving skillfully and at will, unhindered by objects. Victor over the Demon Lord of Death,
subduer of the demons of the aggregates,
free from the bondage ofemotionality, subduer ofgods, Mistress of Life, I;>akini, is this not you?
"From the highest heaven throughout the three realms, mistress of all wondrous essences,
who achieved the Body of Great Bliss sealed by emptiness itself, Mandarava, Mother of beings, to you I bow.
"Beings are born and die,
the cycle is driven by karma-
the Aow stirred up and impure
like the torrent from a water wheel.
I pray that I become realized, like you,
who have dosed and barred the downward gate.
May even I obtain the mind of the Bodhisattva,
and end karma, end pleasure, end bewildered confusion, end all the cycles of the three realms,
and end all conceptualization.
May I pass beyond bliss to the realm of Great Bliss, never to be parted from Great Bliss, the All-good. "
This was her prayer. Then mTsho-rgyal asked Mandarava for many technical teachings that were unknown in the land of Tibet, and Mandarava, queen of practice, sister ofgods, answered her:
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"KyeHo!
You are the qakini accomplished in the secret teachings; you can manifest at will in both pure and impure realms; you collected the quintessence of the Lotus precepts; Great Mother, Prajiiaparamita, is this not you?
"You entered the path and saw the truth of the Dharma; in this very lifetime you totally renounced
the eight worldly dharmas;
you practiced the disciplines, gathered the nectar,
and controlled worldly appearances.
Pure and unspoiled, forever young, mTsho-rgyal, I bow to you.
"Though powerful karmic winds endlessly spin samsara,
you rescue sinful sentient beings with your skillful practice.
The ways of the wrong-minded, the demons, and Bon have declined, and now the Dharma is established as custom.
"Powerful lady, you and I have become as one.
From here you will pass into a realm of infinite purity;
you will enter the land of the Lotus Light,
and within the brilliance of Padma Thod-phreng's compassion, you and I will manifest charismatically to benefit beings.
May all beings in the three realms
rise out of the pit of samsara! "
Having made this prayer, Mandarava disappeared into space.
After that, sBe Ye-shes snying-po, rMa Rin-chen-mchog, '0-bran dPal-gyi gzhon-nu, Lang-lab rGyal-ba byang-chub rdo-rje, 'Dar-cha rDo-rje dpa'-bo, dBus-kyi Siirya thad-pa, the Bhutani girl bKra-shis spyi-'dren, the Nepali Kalasiddhi, Li-bza' Byang-chub sgrol-ma, Shel- dkar rDo-rje mtsho-mo, mKhar-chen gZhon-nu sgrol-ma, and so forth, eleven disciples and seventy-nine other followers with faith accompanied mTsho-rgyal to the Zab-bu valley in Shangs where for ten years she concentrated on the completion of their training. Then she entered a meditation of complete transcendence.
Ye-shes snying-po together with six other students who had mas- tered their karma and other followers with faith went to mTsho-rgyal,
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asking her to continue to turn the Wheel of the Dharma and not to pass beyond the world of misery:
"KyeMaHo!
You are the Great Mother, the Perfection of Wisdom,
the Dharmakaya, endowed with all the auspicious signs!
Ifthe wondrous sun and moon disappear into space,
whom can we turn to, we two-legged beings crawling the earth? Stay a while longer and open the mandala ofgreat wisdom.
"You are the Victorious One,
the moisture-granting cloud of the Sambhogakaya.
If the nectar of the teachings disappears into space,
whom can we turn to, we tender young sprouts living on the earth? Stay a while longer and rain down the nectar of the Dharma.
"You are the place of refuge, mTsho-rgyal,
the NirmaQakaya teacher.
If your auspicious and revealing beauty disappears into space, whom can we turn to,
ourselves and others like us, bereft of the Dharma?
Stay a while longer and teach, mature, and liberate us.
Pray hear us, wondrous mTsho-rgyal! "
Praying to her, they were choked with sadness, and mTsho-rgyal responded: "My children, please prepare a great mandala offering. A while longer I will open mandalas of many great and profound secret teachings and explain them to you. But on the eighth day, only my name will remain in the land ofTibet. "
Though all her students were miserable and upset, they prepared a great mandala offering, and mTsho-rgyal took her place at its center. All her students, Dharma brothers and sisters, sat before her with downcast faces, and every time they looked at mTsho-rgyal, their eyes filled with tears. mTsho-rgyal told them:
"All of you gathered here, listen closely! Direct the power of your minds to my voice. You needn't despair, you should rejoice.
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Because life is composite, it is impermanent.
Because objects are merely appearance,
they have no real foundation.
Because paths are confused, they are without truth. Because the fundamental nature of things is emptiness, objects have no real status.
Because the mind is merely dualistic concepts, it has no ground or root.
I have never seen anything that is finally real.
"You faithful brothers and sisters gathered here,
you pray to me, the Mother, unceasingly,
but it is the expanse of the Great Bliss which gives blessings. There is no such thing as meeting and parting.
My power is such that I am free from karma and can lead others- I give refuge without distinguishing self and other,
and manifest compassion.
For me, the Mother, there is no suffering
from death or from change.
You need not despair, brothers and sisters,
that my deeds on this part of the earth are ending.
My Lord, the Orgyan Lord, predicted
that in this life I would help beings for two hundred years.
Now more years than that have passed.
No short time have I helped Tibet; a long time I have helped her.
"At thirteen, I became a queen;
at sixteen, the Guru in his compassion received me;
at twenty, I obtained empowerments and practiced the disciplines; at thirty, I developed siddhis and worked to benefit beings;
at forty, I meditated upon the Enlightened Mind of the Guru;
at fifty, I conquered demons and guarded the teachings;
at sixty, I taught from texts and expanded the Sangha;
at seventy, I developed the Chos-nyid;
at eighty, Guru Rinpoche went to the Southwest;
at ninety, I saw the Chos-nyid mngon-sum;
at one hundred ten, I developed the Rig-pa-tshad;
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at one hundred twenty, I was Dharma master to the Dharma King; at one hundred thirty, I wandered throughout all Tibet;
at one hundred fifty, I hid gter and practiced to benefit others;
at one hundred sixty, Mu-khri passed away;
at one hundred seventy, I completed my students' training;
at one hundred eighty, I sent forth a manifestation to lHo-brag; at one hundred ninety, I met my sister, supreme in practice;
I received excellent technical instructions
and longevity practices, and now I am freed
from the taint of birth and death.
Now two hundred eleven years have passed-
well, have I not helped Tibet long enough?
Aren't you grateful, all you gods and men?
Has anyone else experienced such pleasure and pain?
Now it seems the time is gone.
"Friends, do not be unhappy. Practice earnestly and deeply. Meditate upon the actionless Great Perfection.
There is no other way to transcend misery.
This is the heart's blood ofOrgyan Padrna-
he gave it to me, now I give it to you.
Practice and you will achieve siddhi.
Give instruction to all beings who are ready,
but do not give it to those who are not.
Do not give it to those who have violated their vows. And keep it from those with wrong views. "
mTsho-rgyal explained further what she meant, and opened a man- dala of the Ati Great Perfection for eleven of her root students. She gave her final oral lineage teachings as well as one hundred technical instructions which were like her heart. At that instant, all who heard her voice were liberated.
Then mTsho-rgyal went to a meditation cave on the side of sPa-rna snow mountain. In the two hundred and eleventh year of her life, on the third day of the bird month, mTsho-rgyal said: "On the eighth day of the month I will travel to the great spectacle of Zab-bu peak; soon after I will reside again on the Copper-colored Mountain. "
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With eleven of her close disciples and fifty of her other followers, mTsho-rgyal set out for the peak of Zab-bu. On the seventh day, half way up Zab-bu mountain, they came to a cave shaped like two praying hands. There they stayed while she gave twenty-five different technical instructions and turned the great wheel of the lama's teaching. All her students gathered in front of her, and mTsho-rgyal told them: "It is the nature of sentient beings to be impermanent and to be taught. "
Then bKra-shis spyi-'dren offered her a mandala ofgold and asked:
"Mother, kind mistress,
one mother of sentient beings of the three realms,
if you do not stay to guard your children,
those knowing how to put hand to mouth will survive, but many, not knowing, will die like hungry ghosts.
"You are like that great golden gem in the sky.
If you do not stay to clear away the darkness of beings, those with the eye of wisdom may reach the path,
but those with ordinary eyes will fall into the abyss.
"You are the Teacher's regent, the one auspiciously marked. If you do not stay to guard those who listen to the Dharma, the Arhats and the self-sufficient may succeed,
but who will guard the Sravakas,
the listeners who find it difficult to understand?
"You are the ~akini, the lovely Sarasvati.
If you do not stay to guard the people,
the lotsawas and scholars may succeed,
but who will guide ordinary limited beings?
"Kye Ma! Alas, Lady of auspicious marks,
stay to look upon your followers with compassion! This group of brothers and sisters gathered here pleads for the nectar of your words. "
bKra-shis spyi-'dren bowed many times, and mTsho-rgyal answered:
"Kye Ma! Listen, faithful Bhutan! girl, I myself, the Lady mTsho-rgyal,
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have not tired of benefitting beings.
But all Tibet is filled with the Dharma.
Many years, two hundred and eleven, have passed, and now my work of teaching is surely complete. There is no way I can stay, I cannot prolong it- like all sentient beings, I must go beyond.
Now I will give you a few last words of counsel.
"Sisters and brothers gathered here, try to listen to me. Though the black-headed beings are innumerable, those who follow the teachings can be easily counted. Those who have entered the Sangha are fewer still. And those who have achieved siddhi
are like stars in the daytime-
it is scarcely possible to become a Buddha.
Thus the meaning of the Dharma is most important. Some say there are eighty thousand Dharma doors, some say four thousand or a countless number.
But they can be summarized in nine vehicles.
"The nine vehicles are arranged in three stages, leading up to the Ati.
The meaning of the Ati is divided into
vision, meditation, action,
and fruit, which is the highest Dharma.
The vision is free from conceptualization as subject and object; the meditation is the natural continuity ofexperience;
the action is unwavering centeredness, free from any delusion. The fruit is the natural radiant creativity
and perfection of the Three Kayas.
"The foundations of the Dharma are indicated: Externally, follow the teachings of the Vinaya,
and you will naturally be respected by others-
there will be no contradiction between inside and outside. Internally, follow the Dharma practices of the Siitras,
and you will naturally accumulate the causes of virtue. 181
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Rely upon the basic Abhidharma philosophy,
learn the tenets of the different schools,
and you will end all doubts, exaggeration, and prejudice. These three are the foundation of the Dharma-
without these means, you cannot grasp the Teachings.
"Be heedful of Kriya teachings on pure behavior,
and you will cleanse the stain of habitual proclivities.
Be heedful of the Upaya teachings on purity of mind,
and you will naturally become accustomed to Dharma meditation. Be heedful of the Yoga teachings on vision and realization,
and blessings and compassion will naturally pervade your being.
"Enter the devotional practice of the Mahayoga,
and vision, meditation, and action will naturally arise. Enter the patterning and energy of the Anuyoga practice, and you will naturally bring forth powerful realization. The Ati itself purifies the snying-thig,
and instantly Buddhahood is achieved.
You need no other teaching.
Rely on the example of my life,
all you who follow after me, the Mother,
and you will find benefit for both yourselves and others, and achieve the fruit. "
Then the Bhutani girl Kalasiddhi bowed low and circumambulated mTsho-rgyal many times and asked:
"If you, the Mother, pass into the expanse of space, how can we in Tibet enter the Mantrayana?
How can we master the profound path?
Who will help us clear away obstacles
and bring forth the benefits of our own being?
Please stay and guard the land of Tibet with your compassion. "
mTsho-rgyal answered her:
"Kye Ma!
Listen, lineaged girl, Mantra-born youthful siddhi-ma,
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teacher of the virtuous Dharma to sentient beings.
You have an enlightened attitude and the conditions for growth. In the future those on the Mantra path will gather here. Whoever would practice the profound path-
first seek a teacher with the appropriate characteristics.
Ask the teacher with all the right signs
for empowerment and offer perfect commitment in return. Practice continuously until you bring
patterning and energy under your control.
Ask for the three empowerments, and purify your passions. Explore the meaning of the FourJoys for six months,
or until you perfect the auspicious bodily marks and signs. Mingle male and female energies,
and mix upper and lower energies in the proper manner.
"Let male aid female, and female aid male- let each penetrate the other as in weaving. Develop your potential,
increase and purify your creativity and bliss.
If you do not merge emptiness with bliss,
it is senseless-not at all the Mantra path.
Practice the co-emergence of bliss and emptiness,
guard the yab and yum commitments as you would your eyes.
"Skillfully handle the five ritual implements; avoid the demon obstacles.
Do not let the vitality diminish
and explore perfect creativity.
If your understanding begins to lessen, strive to make it complete.
"Do not lose yourselfin ordinary physical agitation- that is for ordinary men and women.
Meditate upon me with the intensity of a deity. Visualize me in your four root cakras
as a central figure within a host of deities.
Strive for mantric energy in your speech-
without that energy, your practice is merely ordinary passion.
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"Spread the world of illusion before you
and pierce it to the marrow.
Search every part of it, drive into it with your mind. l. . ct vitality itself pervade your mind.
If you let the signs of vitality lessen,
it is like killing a Buddha.
"Bring whatever happens under your own power. Hold on to ecstasy and find its essence- otherwise the secret teachings are meaningless. Perfect the fruit of your passion, the Great Bliss.
"Carefully guard the naturalness of experience.
Protect your commitment as if it were your life and body- if you let it go, there is no expiation.
Take all this to heart; this is the teaching.
"Those who enter the door of the secret teaching
may develop great desire-control this.
Cast deceit and pride into the sea!
Burn desire, burn it with the fire of your mind's intensity. Throw profit, gain, and transgression to the winds.
I. . ct doubts and confusion disappear.
"Keep your secret behavior from others-
vow not to reveal the secret doors.
Ifyou succeed, if marks and signs of heat appear,
do not show them.
Do not let go of the three roots,
the lama, the yidam, the qakini, and rely upon your yidam. Do not stop the continuous cycle of practice.
Keep a compassionate enlightened mind and help others.
"Dedicate merit, and remain detached from its object. All this is appropriate general behavior.
Act thus for the heart of siddhi.
You and I are the same, one in essence-
we will manifest together in the future to benefit beings. " 184
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Then sBe Ye-shes snying-po asked:
"E Ma! Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal-ma!
For my benefit, and that of others like me, I ask for your oral instructions.
Stay and bless us with your compassion- please never part from us. "
mTsho-rgyal answered him:
"Kye Ho! Listen, Ye-shes snying-po!
Ask the Lord Lama for blessings,
ask the four <Jakinis how to act effectively.
Portents and signs will come when they are needed. Here is a simple explanation of how to act:
Listen once again, Ye-shes snying.
"Behave in a respectable manner,
following the basic Vinaya teachings;
this way you will easily guide the common people. But practice the Mantrayana energetically,
and you will quickly achieve realization.
"In your practice of the Dharma, earnestly follow the Siitras, so that the source teachings take root.
Do the practices of the yidam,
and you will attain siddhi and whatever you desire.
"Questions will clear up with study of the Abhidharma, and you will be freed from all doubts.
Integrate the practices of patterning, energy, and vitality, and as you perfect them, signs of warmth will quickly come.
"Practice the purifications of the Kriya teachings,
and soon all stains will be cleared away.
Strengthen the essences of vision, meditation, and action, and you will certainly reap future benefits.
"Meditating upon the fruit, the actionless Great Perfection, the Chos-zad transcends the subjective mind-
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this is the Great Perfection.
Your prayers for sentient beings will be boundless, without distinctions,
and you will do immeasurable good for all beings. "
Then rMa Rin-chen-mchog asked:
"Lama, Lady mTsho-rgyal-ma!
If you go to the land of Orgyan,
what will the brothers and sisters gathered here do? Who will give us blessings?
Is there no way for us to stay together-
must we be separated from you? "
As he finished, tears streamed down his face, and Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal answered him:
"Kye Ho! Listen, yogi!
You have achieved the mantric siddhis;
you have an excellent mind and can benefit beings.
I, the Lady Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal,
by the compassionate blessings of the Guru,
now have achieved the fruit, complete creativity and perfection. Tomorrow I go to the land of Orgyan.
Brothers and sisters gathered here, ask and blessings will come. Hold fast to the supreme Dharma for your own good,
and help others without arrogance or pride.
Through vision, meditation, and action you will be freed.
"Rely on my words which you have asked for; draw reverence and humility from your very bones. Meditate only on the brilliance
of the Lama's pure awareness; visualize the Lama; let the visualization penetrate you,
so that you and the lama become one.
Whatever experiences arise, just let them be.
"I am the master of all samsara and nirvana. If you know Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal-
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you know she resides in the hearts ofall beings, and manifests in all realms and all sense fields, and incarnates again and again
in all the twelve links of dependent origination. You know that we are inseparable;
we always have been and always will be together.
But if you do not know me, you are tied to outside appearances.
"If you cut away the root, the one mind-itself will arise from within and pervade all the 'outside' with great Pristine Awareness.
Innate bliss will whirl like the ocean,
and insight will penetrate like the golden eye of the great fish.
"Use and guard this deep experience and bliss; leap beyond and through to perfect creativity; run and roll through the fields ofappearance; disappear and fly up into space.
In the broad expanse ofgreat Pristine Awareness merge into the ocean of the nectar of Great Bliss. Amid vivid symbols and dancing forms,
amid letters of flashing light,
the Chos-nyid mngon-gsum
and the Nyams-snang-gong will expand.
The Rig-pa-tshad will mightily take hold until it dissolves into the primordial expanse of the Chos-nyid zad-tshad.
Use this means, and we will never be parted. "
Thus she spoke. Then '0-bran gZhon-nu-dpal asked:
"Kye Ma! Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal-ma!
If you go to the land of Orgyan,
how can ordinary apathetic uninspired people like me produce vision, meditation, and action?
Would you give me a few more words ofinstruction? "
Thus he asked, and she answered him:
"E Ma Ho! Listen, faithful gZhon-nu-dpal! Until you perfect the skills of the six vehicles,
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I will not see you flying with joy and ease, like birds that nest upon the cliffs.
But by the powerful beating of the wings of creativity and perfection,
you can cut through the razor-like winds and go or stay wherever you desire.
"I myself as well, the Lady mTsho-rgyal,
when first I practiced, had not perfected my creativity and skill, and though I wished for enlightenment,
my body was slow to respond.
"But when I had perfected that creativity
through the Developing and Perfecting Stages, through the Great Perfection,
my heavy corporeal body was transformed into light.
"Soon I will stand before the Orgyan Guru,
so I give you a few last words.
Vision is the general defining characteristic of the Dharma. What does this mean?
Your practice is not just emptiness-
clear-seeing radiance and pure awareness are present.
But as nothing is established as eternal,
this presentation is naturally empty.
The essential nature of experience is called vision.
With regards to vision, how does it work?
When you do the visualizations of the Developing Stage, this is the transformation of yourself into deity.
When the visualization reaches out to all sentient beings and returns, this is responsive compassion.
When Perfection is attained, this is Mahamudra.
The essential nature of vision is free
from either the eternal or the transitory.
This vision is self-realized, seeing itself.
It is not a looking upon the realization, the seeing,
but that very seeing awareness.
This is what is designated vision.
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"Meditation is the ground of the Dharma.
What does this mean? In the flow of your practice,
through continually and steadily inspecting
the essential nature of vision,
you create a meditation completely unbounded.
This is called evenness and composure.
How does this meditation work?
Whether you are practicing the Developing or Perfecting Stages, the experience is significant and yet unconceptualized.
Whatever happens, happens within continuing concentration.
A meditation ofeither the Developing or Perfecting Stages
must be free from three conditions:
instability, cloudiness, and dullness.
Hold the experience without distraction and without concepts- such evenness and composure is meditation.
"Action is the activity of the Dharma.
What does this mean? In the flow of your practice,
when you reach the meditation endowed with the depth of vision, you will see all the various kinds of action,
all characterized by continuity and nondistraction.
How does this action work?
The exact manifesting of action is not specific;
whatever happens, you remain continuously
and incontrovertibly with the experience,
using the experience for spiritual advancement.
"In truth, whether walking, moving, sleeping, eating, or sitting, on all the paths ofaction, remain in contact with your practice, be it the Developing or Perfecting practice,
the Great Perfection practice, or some other.
Never allow yourself to be separated from your practice.
By such action you are endowed with the very epitome of action.
"This is my final spoken instruction,
and now I am going to rNga-yab Island.
Fill all Tibet with these teachings,
and all who are filled with devotion will be blessed. "
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Thus she spoke. Then Shel-dkar-bza' rDo-rje-mtsho asked:
"Kye Ma! Mother ofall Tibet!
Most special Guide ofall gathered here, there is no other like you. Please don't take your compassion from me!
Please take me with you to Padma-'od.
But if my evil karma is so heavy that I cannot follow you,
please give many more teachings and instructions. "
Choked with tears, she was barely able to speak and collapsed on the ground. When she had come to herself, mTsho-rgyal answered her:
"E Ma Ho! listen, faithful daughter of Shel-dkar-bza'! Wisdom I;>ikini, Vajra Ocean!
This body, formed of flesh and blood, is a fetter,
and being inferior, oppresses you.
But ifyou meditate using the patterning and energy practices, you will have the means to wander through space.
"Ifyou bring energy and mind under your own power,
you will truly achieve what is called siddhi.
Though your mind is deceitful and fraught with the five poisons, though your life stream is naturally unsettled
and your communication bound by ordinary conceptualization, they can be purified.
"If you want to achieve Buddhahood,
meditate upon the Mahamudr:i.
liberation-the unity of openness and Pristine Awareness- is not different from Buddhahood.
"The transitory aggregates are deeply deceitful,
the ground ofall good and evil.
Cut them off. Ifyou want to obtain the Rainbow Body, meditate upon the Great Perfection Ati.
"If you employ the Chos-nyid zad-sa,
you will be truly spontaneous and free from karmic action. Then you have the means to move freely through space.
For a little while only, until enlightenment, your body is coarse.
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"Ifyou want to know the way to Padma-'od
listen to this teaching.
Do not for an instant lose contact with your own root lama. Visualize him, honor him, respect and have faith in him;
pray and ask for the four empowerments and blessings. Meditate upon him as a burning light always within your heart, and visualize merging with his three gates
until you become one and inseparable.
"Meditate thus upon the Mahamudri.
Follow the path, gain understanding, and guard your insight, draw forth your wisdom, and carefully cultivate
creativity, openness, and bliss.
Bring dualistic and obsessing objects into the path.
Purify them profoundly in the Great Perfection,
and enter the ground of the final Ati.
You will have eleven more births,
aiding beings ofTibet with your skillful means.
Then come to Padma-'od.
"Your manifestation will be known as
rDo-rje bde-chen Padma-mtsho.
You and the disciple Nam-mkha'i snying-po
will merge skillful means and discriminating wisdom.
Together you will scatter tens of millions of teachings
in the barbarous border countries of cannibals,
and benefit beings with meaning, not just words.
You will be the body consort of the one named Nam-mkha'i snying-po. You will remain for thirty thousand years, as men count them,
and then you will come to Padma-'od, never again parting from the Lord Guru. "
Thus mTsho-rgyal prophesied and gave many instructions.
Then La-gsum rGyal-ba byang-chub bowed before mTsho-rgyal and circumambulated her many times. He presented mTsho-rgyal with a mandala of seven turquoises, the principal one radiating a thousand shining blue lights, and asked:
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"E Ma Ho! Wonderful Lady who never forgets!
Master of the secret teachings of Padmasambhava,
Sarasvati, Mistress of Great Bliss and the most profound wisdom, mTsho-rgyal-ma, sole sun in the dark land of Tibet!
"Now, before you go to the southwest once and for all, please give me, as a great blessing,
a few more words of instruction.
Let them be complete, essential, profound,
sharp and quick to succeed.
"I ask for the teaching that brings Buddhahood in one lifetime. And I ask also, please, how many times will I be reborn,
and when will I meet with you again, <Jakini?
Please, do not part from us yet-
protect us with your compassion. "
When he asked for these teachings, Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal gave to him: the mKha'-spyod sprul-sku'i snying-thig, the Phyi-mdo dang bstun-pa mkha'-'gro sku-gsum rkang-sgrub, and the sPyod-yul 'dul-ba dkar-po, the Thog-'beb drag-spyod mam-gsum, the Bla-ma sku-gsum rkyang- sgrub, the Byin-rlabs dbang-gi sgo-mo, and the gZer-'joms lta-ba cig chod, the rTags-tshad so-ba dgu 'dres, the gNad-kyi me-btsa' mam- gsum, the rDzas sngags dmigs-yul brgya-rtsa, the rJes-gcod lcam-bu gzer-them sogs spyi tshan-bcu, the Nang gsang-sngags dang bstun-pa bla-ma mkha'-'gro zung-'jug-tu bsgrub-thabs, the bsGom-pa sgyu-ma 'phrul-'gros, the rTsa-rlung 'gag don bcu-pa, and the Man-ngag gcig chog zab-mo, the bsGyur-sbyang sbel-ba mam-gsum, the mKa'-'gro'i bang mdzod mig gcig, the mKha'-'gro'i dmar-pa snying-gcig, the mKha'-'gro gnyen-po srog gcig, the Man-ngag sngags-kha sum-sbrel, the 'Od-zer zhabs-pa mam-gsum, the dPa'-bo gyad stobs mam-gsum spyi tshan bcu-gcig, the gSang-ba man-ngag ltar bla-ma mkha'-'gro
rang Ius dbyer-med-du bsgrub-thabs, the lTa-ba phyag-rgya chen-po, the 'Bras-bu rdzogs-chen chig-chod, the Man-ngag gtum-mo sum- sbrel, the gDams-ngag thos chog mam-gsum, the Nyams-len bsgom- pa mam-gsum, the gCig chog mun chos mam-gsum, the Las-phran dgos-pa mam-gsum, the rTen-'brel me-long mam-gsum, the rGyab chos dgos-pa mam-gsum, the bKa'-srung myur mgyogs mam-gsum,
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and the Drag sngags gnad-kha rnam-gsum, and so on, and twelve various final teachings.
rGyal-ba byang-chub and seven other disciples, having received these teachings, reached the liberation of the highest radiant light and were freed.
Then Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal made these prophecies:
"E Ma Ho! Listen attentively, rGyal-ba byang-chub-pa.
Listen well, Lord Dharma Protector.
You were Arya Sa-le, my heroic consort of skillful means.
In a former time, the time of Sa-le, when you were that Acarya, you and I merged skillful means and wisdom.
Together we practiced profound and secret teachings,
and because of those blessings,
I achieved liberation in this life.
And yet, though you and I were intimate friends then, still sometimes you had doubts, you wavered, you scoffed.
"Thus, you will continue to undergo future rebirths, and though you will be a great siddha,
you will meet with obstacles.
You will be troubled by gossip,
exaggerated praise and blame, abuse and evil counsel.
Your benefit to beings will be counteracted by hindrances.
But whatever happens, remember, this is due to previous actions. Finally, you will become one with Padmasambhava and mTsho-rgyal.
"For thirteen future births, you will aid beings: In the future, toward the end of that time,
you will manifest to the west of this Mount Meru as a most wrathful being.
You will have the name of Nam-mkha'
and the form of a fierce Vajra l)aka.
Three births more and you will be called sTag-shams,
and you will stop the winds of karma and come to Padma-'od.
And though the limited samsaric mind tries to hold on, it is powerless.
"Sentient beings who are drawn
to radiance, creativity, and perfection
will gain the Developing and Perfecting Stages,
and the Great Perfection.
Nothing can stop this process.
By destroying karma, destroying samsara's constituents, destroying the need to be taught, and destroying the aggregates, the five realms and the five elements are destroyed as well. Beyond misery is a wondrous place!
"Fifty years from now, in the bird month, on the eighth day, mTsho-rgyal will travel to the Lotus Light,
and a great host of qakas and qakinis will welcome you. Until then, strive to benefit beings. "
Then Padmasambhava disappeared.
As mTsho-rgyallater explained: "Then, I, mTsho-rgyal, went back to the great meditation cave of lHo-brag in mKhar-chu. There I gave Nam-mkha'i snying-po instructions concerning patterning and energy to further his spiritual advancement, along with the siddhi practices of longevity. My students developed both the ordinary and the great siddhis.
"Then I meditated upon the actionless Great Perfection, and the Chos-nyid zad-pa, the highest of the Ati realizations, arose. I benefitted sentient beings by manifesting in various guises, and they saw me in various forms:
"To those sentient beings who were hungry, I manifested as an abundance of food, establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings who were cold,
I manifested as sun and fire, establishing them in bliss.
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To those sentient beings who were poor,
I manifested as myriads of jewels, establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings who lacked clothes, I manifested as apparel,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings without children, I manifested as sons and daughters, establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings desiring a woman,
I manifested as an irresistible maiden, establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings desiring a husband, I manifested as a handsome man, establishing them in bliss.
"To those sentient beings wanting supernatural powers, I gave the eight great siddhi practices,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings suffering from sickness,
I manifested as medicine,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings suffering from misery, I manifested as satisfaction,
establishing them in bliss.
"Those sentient beings suffering under the laws,
I led to a land of harmony, friendship, and love,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings suffering from fear of wild animals, I manifested as safety,
establishing them in bliss.
Those sentient beings who had fallen into abysses, I brought forth from abysses,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings suffering by fire,
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I manifested as water, establishing them in bliss.
"To those sentient beings whose suffering was caused by any of the five elements,
I manifested as the antidote,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings who were blind,
I manifested as eyes,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings who were crippled, I manifested as limbs,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings who were dumb, I manifested as tongues,
establishing them in bliss.
"From those sentient beings on the point of death, I took away death,
establishing them in bliss.
Those sentient beings who had just died,
I led on the paths of transformation,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings wandering in the bardo, I manifested as tutelary deities,
establishing them in bliss.
"Those sentient beings wandering in the hot hells, I cooled. And those suffering from cold, I warmed.
Thus, to all beings suffering for any reason,
I manifested varied and appropriate aid,
establishing them in bliss.
To those sentient beings born as hungry ghosts, I manifested as food and drink.
Those sentient beings wandering as animals,
I liberated from the suffering
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of stupidity, dumbness, and servitude, establishing them in bliss.
"Those sentient beings born as men
in barbarous or wrong-thinking lands,
I turned from the wrong paths,
establishing them in bliss.
Those sentient beings born as demigods,
I saved from quarrels, fights, and strife,
establishing them in bliss.
Those sentient beings born as gods,
I saved from the pain of falling to lower states, establishing them in bliss.
Any beings who suffered from any kind of disharmony, I saved from that disharmony,
establishing them in bliss.
"In short, wherever there is space,
the five elements are pervasive.
Wherever there are the five elements,
sentient beings are pervasive.
Wherever there are sentient beings, emotions are pervasive. Wherever there are emotions, my compassion is pervasive. That is how widespread my help has been.
For twenty years more,
I appeared and disappeared throughout the world. "
At this time there came from India a lady who had been Guru Rinpoche's body consort, a cJakini of the Pristine Awareness: a queen of practice, a queen of healing, a knowledge-holder, another possessor of auspicious marks, a sister of the gods, a flower-her name was Mandarava, and she came from the sky with seven students.
mTsho-rgyal met her, and for thirty-nine days they remained to- gether sharing and discussing the higher Dharma teachings. In par- ticular, Mandarava asked mTsho-rgyal for twenty-seven of Guru Rinpoche's technical Dharma teachings which had not been known
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in India. mTsho-rgyal offered them to her. And then she asked Mandarava, the <Jakini of long life, the mistress of longevity, for seven technical instructions on longevity, as well as thirteen teachings in- cluding certain Hayagriva practices. mTsho-rgyal then hid them as Dharma treasures.
Then mTsho-rgyal sang this song:
"oM AJ:I HOM!
I;>akini, you have the deathless Vajra Body;
you abide in space like the rainbow,
moving skillfully and at will, unhindered by objects. Victor over the Demon Lord of Death,
subduer of the demons of the aggregates,
free from the bondage ofemotionality, subduer ofgods, Mistress of Life, I;>akini, is this not you?
"From the highest heaven throughout the three realms, mistress of all wondrous essences,
who achieved the Body of Great Bliss sealed by emptiness itself, Mandarava, Mother of beings, to you I bow.
"Beings are born and die,
the cycle is driven by karma-
the Aow stirred up and impure
like the torrent from a water wheel.
I pray that I become realized, like you,
who have dosed and barred the downward gate.
May even I obtain the mind of the Bodhisattva,
and end karma, end pleasure, end bewildered confusion, end all the cycles of the three realms,
and end all conceptualization.
May I pass beyond bliss to the realm of Great Bliss, never to be parted from Great Bliss, the All-good. "
This was her prayer. Then mTsho-rgyal asked Mandarava for many technical teachings that were unknown in the land of Tibet, and Mandarava, queen of practice, sister ofgods, answered her:
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"KyeHo!
You are the qakini accomplished in the secret teachings; you can manifest at will in both pure and impure realms; you collected the quintessence of the Lotus precepts; Great Mother, Prajiiaparamita, is this not you?
"You entered the path and saw the truth of the Dharma; in this very lifetime you totally renounced
the eight worldly dharmas;
you practiced the disciplines, gathered the nectar,
and controlled worldly appearances.
Pure and unspoiled, forever young, mTsho-rgyal, I bow to you.
"Though powerful karmic winds endlessly spin samsara,
you rescue sinful sentient beings with your skillful practice.
The ways of the wrong-minded, the demons, and Bon have declined, and now the Dharma is established as custom.
"Powerful lady, you and I have become as one.
From here you will pass into a realm of infinite purity;
you will enter the land of the Lotus Light,
and within the brilliance of Padma Thod-phreng's compassion, you and I will manifest charismatically to benefit beings.
May all beings in the three realms
rise out of the pit of samsara! "
Having made this prayer, Mandarava disappeared into space.
After that, sBe Ye-shes snying-po, rMa Rin-chen-mchog, '0-bran dPal-gyi gzhon-nu, Lang-lab rGyal-ba byang-chub rdo-rje, 'Dar-cha rDo-rje dpa'-bo, dBus-kyi Siirya thad-pa, the Bhutani girl bKra-shis spyi-'dren, the Nepali Kalasiddhi, Li-bza' Byang-chub sgrol-ma, Shel- dkar rDo-rje mtsho-mo, mKhar-chen gZhon-nu sgrol-ma, and so forth, eleven disciples and seventy-nine other followers with faith accompanied mTsho-rgyal to the Zab-bu valley in Shangs where for ten years she concentrated on the completion of their training. Then she entered a meditation of complete transcendence.
Ye-shes snying-po together with six other students who had mas- tered their karma and other followers with faith went to mTsho-rgyal,
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asking her to continue to turn the Wheel of the Dharma and not to pass beyond the world of misery:
"KyeMaHo!
You are the Great Mother, the Perfection of Wisdom,
the Dharmakaya, endowed with all the auspicious signs!
Ifthe wondrous sun and moon disappear into space,
whom can we turn to, we two-legged beings crawling the earth? Stay a while longer and open the mandala ofgreat wisdom.
"You are the Victorious One,
the moisture-granting cloud of the Sambhogakaya.
If the nectar of the teachings disappears into space,
whom can we turn to, we tender young sprouts living on the earth? Stay a while longer and rain down the nectar of the Dharma.
"You are the place of refuge, mTsho-rgyal,
the NirmaQakaya teacher.
If your auspicious and revealing beauty disappears into space, whom can we turn to,
ourselves and others like us, bereft of the Dharma?
Stay a while longer and teach, mature, and liberate us.
Pray hear us, wondrous mTsho-rgyal! "
Praying to her, they were choked with sadness, and mTsho-rgyal responded: "My children, please prepare a great mandala offering. A while longer I will open mandalas of many great and profound secret teachings and explain them to you. But on the eighth day, only my name will remain in the land ofTibet. "
Though all her students were miserable and upset, they prepared a great mandala offering, and mTsho-rgyal took her place at its center. All her students, Dharma brothers and sisters, sat before her with downcast faces, and every time they looked at mTsho-rgyal, their eyes filled with tears. mTsho-rgyal told them:
"All of you gathered here, listen closely! Direct the power of your minds to my voice. You needn't despair, you should rejoice.
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Because life is composite, it is impermanent.
Because objects are merely appearance,
they have no real foundation.
Because paths are confused, they are without truth. Because the fundamental nature of things is emptiness, objects have no real status.
Because the mind is merely dualistic concepts, it has no ground or root.
I have never seen anything that is finally real.
"You faithful brothers and sisters gathered here,
you pray to me, the Mother, unceasingly,
but it is the expanse of the Great Bliss which gives blessings. There is no such thing as meeting and parting.
My power is such that I am free from karma and can lead others- I give refuge without distinguishing self and other,
and manifest compassion.
For me, the Mother, there is no suffering
from death or from change.
You need not despair, brothers and sisters,
that my deeds on this part of the earth are ending.
My Lord, the Orgyan Lord, predicted
that in this life I would help beings for two hundred years.
Now more years than that have passed.
No short time have I helped Tibet; a long time I have helped her.
"At thirteen, I became a queen;
at sixteen, the Guru in his compassion received me;
at twenty, I obtained empowerments and practiced the disciplines; at thirty, I developed siddhis and worked to benefit beings;
at forty, I meditated upon the Enlightened Mind of the Guru;
at fifty, I conquered demons and guarded the teachings;
at sixty, I taught from texts and expanded the Sangha;
at seventy, I developed the Chos-nyid;
at eighty, Guru Rinpoche went to the Southwest;
at ninety, I saw the Chos-nyid mngon-sum;
at one hundred ten, I developed the Rig-pa-tshad;
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at one hundred twenty, I was Dharma master to the Dharma King; at one hundred thirty, I wandered throughout all Tibet;
at one hundred fifty, I hid gter and practiced to benefit others;
at one hundred sixty, Mu-khri passed away;
at one hundred seventy, I completed my students' training;
at one hundred eighty, I sent forth a manifestation to lHo-brag; at one hundred ninety, I met my sister, supreme in practice;
I received excellent technical instructions
and longevity practices, and now I am freed
from the taint of birth and death.
Now two hundred eleven years have passed-
well, have I not helped Tibet long enough?
Aren't you grateful, all you gods and men?
Has anyone else experienced such pleasure and pain?
Now it seems the time is gone.
"Friends, do not be unhappy. Practice earnestly and deeply. Meditate upon the actionless Great Perfection.
There is no other way to transcend misery.
This is the heart's blood ofOrgyan Padrna-
he gave it to me, now I give it to you.
Practice and you will achieve siddhi.
Give instruction to all beings who are ready,
but do not give it to those who are not.
Do not give it to those who have violated their vows. And keep it from those with wrong views. "
mTsho-rgyal explained further what she meant, and opened a man- dala of the Ati Great Perfection for eleven of her root students. She gave her final oral lineage teachings as well as one hundred technical instructions which were like her heart. At that instant, all who heard her voice were liberated.
Then mTsho-rgyal went to a meditation cave on the side of sPa-rna snow mountain. In the two hundred and eleventh year of her life, on the third day of the bird month, mTsho-rgyal said: "On the eighth day of the month I will travel to the great spectacle of Zab-bu peak; soon after I will reside again on the Copper-colored Mountain. "
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With eleven of her close disciples and fifty of her other followers, mTsho-rgyal set out for the peak of Zab-bu. On the seventh day, half way up Zab-bu mountain, they came to a cave shaped like two praying hands. There they stayed while she gave twenty-five different technical instructions and turned the great wheel of the lama's teaching. All her students gathered in front of her, and mTsho-rgyal told them: "It is the nature of sentient beings to be impermanent and to be taught. "
Then bKra-shis spyi-'dren offered her a mandala ofgold and asked:
"Mother, kind mistress,
one mother of sentient beings of the three realms,
if you do not stay to guard your children,
those knowing how to put hand to mouth will survive, but many, not knowing, will die like hungry ghosts.
"You are like that great golden gem in the sky.
If you do not stay to clear away the darkness of beings, those with the eye of wisdom may reach the path,
but those with ordinary eyes will fall into the abyss.
"You are the Teacher's regent, the one auspiciously marked. If you do not stay to guard those who listen to the Dharma, the Arhats and the self-sufficient may succeed,
but who will guard the Sravakas,
the listeners who find it difficult to understand?
"You are the ~akini, the lovely Sarasvati.
If you do not stay to guard the people,
the lotsawas and scholars may succeed,
but who will guide ordinary limited beings?
"Kye Ma! Alas, Lady of auspicious marks,
stay to look upon your followers with compassion! This group of brothers and sisters gathered here pleads for the nectar of your words. "
bKra-shis spyi-'dren bowed many times, and mTsho-rgyal answered:
"Kye Ma! Listen, faithful Bhutan! girl, I myself, the Lady mTsho-rgyal,
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have not tired of benefitting beings.
But all Tibet is filled with the Dharma.
Many years, two hundred and eleven, have passed, and now my work of teaching is surely complete. There is no way I can stay, I cannot prolong it- like all sentient beings, I must go beyond.
Now I will give you a few last words of counsel.
"Sisters and brothers gathered here, try to listen to me. Though the black-headed beings are innumerable, those who follow the teachings can be easily counted. Those who have entered the Sangha are fewer still. And those who have achieved siddhi
are like stars in the daytime-
it is scarcely possible to become a Buddha.
Thus the meaning of the Dharma is most important. Some say there are eighty thousand Dharma doors, some say four thousand or a countless number.
But they can be summarized in nine vehicles.
"The nine vehicles are arranged in three stages, leading up to the Ati.
The meaning of the Ati is divided into
vision, meditation, action,
and fruit, which is the highest Dharma.
The vision is free from conceptualization as subject and object; the meditation is the natural continuity ofexperience;
the action is unwavering centeredness, free from any delusion. The fruit is the natural radiant creativity
and perfection of the Three Kayas.
"The foundations of the Dharma are indicated: Externally, follow the teachings of the Vinaya,
and you will naturally be respected by others-
there will be no contradiction between inside and outside. Internally, follow the Dharma practices of the Siitras,
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Rely upon the basic Abhidharma philosophy,
learn the tenets of the different schools,
and you will end all doubts, exaggeration, and prejudice. These three are the foundation of the Dharma-
without these means, you cannot grasp the Teachings.
"Be heedful of Kriya teachings on pure behavior,
and you will cleanse the stain of habitual proclivities.
Be heedful of the Upaya teachings on purity of mind,
and you will naturally become accustomed to Dharma meditation. Be heedful of the Yoga teachings on vision and realization,
and blessings and compassion will naturally pervade your being.
"Enter the devotional practice of the Mahayoga,
and vision, meditation, and action will naturally arise. Enter the patterning and energy of the Anuyoga practice, and you will naturally bring forth powerful realization. The Ati itself purifies the snying-thig,
and instantly Buddhahood is achieved.
You need no other teaching.
Rely on the example of my life,
all you who follow after me, the Mother,
and you will find benefit for both yourselves and others, and achieve the fruit. "
Then the Bhutani girl Kalasiddhi bowed low and circumambulated mTsho-rgyal many times and asked:
"If you, the Mother, pass into the expanse of space, how can we in Tibet enter the Mantrayana?
How can we master the profound path?
Who will help us clear away obstacles
and bring forth the benefits of our own being?
Please stay and guard the land of Tibet with your compassion. "
mTsho-rgyal answered her:
"Kye Ma!
Listen, lineaged girl, Mantra-born youthful siddhi-ma,
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teacher of the virtuous Dharma to sentient beings.
You have an enlightened attitude and the conditions for growth. In the future those on the Mantra path will gather here. Whoever would practice the profound path-
first seek a teacher with the appropriate characteristics.
Ask the teacher with all the right signs
for empowerment and offer perfect commitment in return. Practice continuously until you bring
patterning and energy under your control.
Ask for the three empowerments, and purify your passions. Explore the meaning of the FourJoys for six months,
or until you perfect the auspicious bodily marks and signs. Mingle male and female energies,
and mix upper and lower energies in the proper manner.
"Let male aid female, and female aid male- let each penetrate the other as in weaving. Develop your potential,
increase and purify your creativity and bliss.
If you do not merge emptiness with bliss,
it is senseless-not at all the Mantra path.
Practice the co-emergence of bliss and emptiness,
guard the yab and yum commitments as you would your eyes.
"Skillfully handle the five ritual implements; avoid the demon obstacles.
Do not let the vitality diminish
and explore perfect creativity.
If your understanding begins to lessen, strive to make it complete.
"Do not lose yourselfin ordinary physical agitation- that is for ordinary men and women.
Meditate upon me with the intensity of a deity. Visualize me in your four root cakras
as a central figure within a host of deities.
Strive for mantric energy in your speech-
without that energy, your practice is merely ordinary passion.
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"Spread the world of illusion before you
and pierce it to the marrow.
Search every part of it, drive into it with your mind. l. . ct vitality itself pervade your mind.
If you let the signs of vitality lessen,
it is like killing a Buddha.
"Bring whatever happens under your own power. Hold on to ecstasy and find its essence- otherwise the secret teachings are meaningless. Perfect the fruit of your passion, the Great Bliss.
"Carefully guard the naturalness of experience.
Protect your commitment as if it were your life and body- if you let it go, there is no expiation.
Take all this to heart; this is the teaching.
"Those who enter the door of the secret teaching
may develop great desire-control this.
Cast deceit and pride into the sea!
Burn desire, burn it with the fire of your mind's intensity. Throw profit, gain, and transgression to the winds.
I. . ct doubts and confusion disappear.
"Keep your secret behavior from others-
vow not to reveal the secret doors.
Ifyou succeed, if marks and signs of heat appear,
do not show them.
Do not let go of the three roots,
the lama, the yidam, the qakini, and rely upon your yidam. Do not stop the continuous cycle of practice.
Keep a compassionate enlightened mind and help others.
"Dedicate merit, and remain detached from its object. All this is appropriate general behavior.
Act thus for the heart of siddhi.
You and I are the same, one in essence-
we will manifest together in the future to benefit beings. " 184
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Then sBe Ye-shes snying-po asked:
"E Ma! Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal-ma!
For my benefit, and that of others like me, I ask for your oral instructions.
Stay and bless us with your compassion- please never part from us. "
mTsho-rgyal answered him:
"Kye Ho! Listen, Ye-shes snying-po!
Ask the Lord Lama for blessings,
ask the four <Jakinis how to act effectively.
Portents and signs will come when they are needed. Here is a simple explanation of how to act:
Listen once again, Ye-shes snying.
"Behave in a respectable manner,
following the basic Vinaya teachings;
this way you will easily guide the common people. But practice the Mantrayana energetically,
and you will quickly achieve realization.
"In your practice of the Dharma, earnestly follow the Siitras, so that the source teachings take root.
Do the practices of the yidam,
and you will attain siddhi and whatever you desire.
"Questions will clear up with study of the Abhidharma, and you will be freed from all doubts.
Integrate the practices of patterning, energy, and vitality, and as you perfect them, signs of warmth will quickly come.
"Practice the purifications of the Kriya teachings,
and soon all stains will be cleared away.
Strengthen the essences of vision, meditation, and action, and you will certainly reap future benefits.
"Meditating upon the fruit, the actionless Great Perfection, the Chos-zad transcends the subjective mind-
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this is the Great Perfection.
Your prayers for sentient beings will be boundless, without distinctions,
and you will do immeasurable good for all beings. "
Then rMa Rin-chen-mchog asked:
"Lama, Lady mTsho-rgyal-ma!
If you go to the land of Orgyan,
what will the brothers and sisters gathered here do? Who will give us blessings?
Is there no way for us to stay together-
must we be separated from you? "
As he finished, tears streamed down his face, and Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal answered him:
"Kye Ho! Listen, yogi!
You have achieved the mantric siddhis;
you have an excellent mind and can benefit beings.
I, the Lady Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal,
by the compassionate blessings of the Guru,
now have achieved the fruit, complete creativity and perfection. Tomorrow I go to the land of Orgyan.
Brothers and sisters gathered here, ask and blessings will come. Hold fast to the supreme Dharma for your own good,
and help others without arrogance or pride.
Through vision, meditation, and action you will be freed.
"Rely on my words which you have asked for; draw reverence and humility from your very bones. Meditate only on the brilliance
of the Lama's pure awareness; visualize the Lama; let the visualization penetrate you,
so that you and the lama become one.
Whatever experiences arise, just let them be.
"I am the master of all samsara and nirvana. If you know Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal-
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you know she resides in the hearts ofall beings, and manifests in all realms and all sense fields, and incarnates again and again
in all the twelve links of dependent origination. You know that we are inseparable;
we always have been and always will be together.
But if you do not know me, you are tied to outside appearances.
"If you cut away the root, the one mind-itself will arise from within and pervade all the 'outside' with great Pristine Awareness.
Innate bliss will whirl like the ocean,
and insight will penetrate like the golden eye of the great fish.
"Use and guard this deep experience and bliss; leap beyond and through to perfect creativity; run and roll through the fields ofappearance; disappear and fly up into space.
In the broad expanse ofgreat Pristine Awareness merge into the ocean of the nectar of Great Bliss. Amid vivid symbols and dancing forms,
amid letters of flashing light,
the Chos-nyid mngon-gsum
and the Nyams-snang-gong will expand.
The Rig-pa-tshad will mightily take hold until it dissolves into the primordial expanse of the Chos-nyid zad-tshad.
Use this means, and we will never be parted. "
Thus she spoke. Then '0-bran gZhon-nu-dpal asked:
"Kye Ma! Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal-ma!
If you go to the land of Orgyan,
how can ordinary apathetic uninspired people like me produce vision, meditation, and action?
Would you give me a few more words ofinstruction? "
Thus he asked, and she answered him:
"E Ma Ho! Listen, faithful gZhon-nu-dpal! Until you perfect the skills of the six vehicles,
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I will not see you flying with joy and ease, like birds that nest upon the cliffs.
But by the powerful beating of the wings of creativity and perfection,
you can cut through the razor-like winds and go or stay wherever you desire.
"I myself as well, the Lady mTsho-rgyal,
when first I practiced, had not perfected my creativity and skill, and though I wished for enlightenment,
my body was slow to respond.
"But when I had perfected that creativity
through the Developing and Perfecting Stages, through the Great Perfection,
my heavy corporeal body was transformed into light.
"Soon I will stand before the Orgyan Guru,
so I give you a few last words.
Vision is the general defining characteristic of the Dharma. What does this mean?
Your practice is not just emptiness-
clear-seeing radiance and pure awareness are present.
But as nothing is established as eternal,
this presentation is naturally empty.
The essential nature of experience is called vision.
With regards to vision, how does it work?
When you do the visualizations of the Developing Stage, this is the transformation of yourself into deity.
When the visualization reaches out to all sentient beings and returns, this is responsive compassion.
When Perfection is attained, this is Mahamudra.
The essential nature of vision is free
from either the eternal or the transitory.
This vision is self-realized, seeing itself.
It is not a looking upon the realization, the seeing,
but that very seeing awareness.
This is what is designated vision.
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"Meditation is the ground of the Dharma.
What does this mean? In the flow of your practice,
through continually and steadily inspecting
the essential nature of vision,
you create a meditation completely unbounded.
This is called evenness and composure.
How does this meditation work?
Whether you are practicing the Developing or Perfecting Stages, the experience is significant and yet unconceptualized.
Whatever happens, happens within continuing concentration.
A meditation ofeither the Developing or Perfecting Stages
must be free from three conditions:
instability, cloudiness, and dullness.
Hold the experience without distraction and without concepts- such evenness and composure is meditation.
"Action is the activity of the Dharma.
What does this mean? In the flow of your practice,
when you reach the meditation endowed with the depth of vision, you will see all the various kinds of action,
all characterized by continuity and nondistraction.
How does this action work?
The exact manifesting of action is not specific;
whatever happens, you remain continuously
and incontrovertibly with the experience,
using the experience for spiritual advancement.
"In truth, whether walking, moving, sleeping, eating, or sitting, on all the paths ofaction, remain in contact with your practice, be it the Developing or Perfecting practice,
the Great Perfection practice, or some other.
Never allow yourself to be separated from your practice.
By such action you are endowed with the very epitome of action.
"This is my final spoken instruction,
and now I am going to rNga-yab Island.
Fill all Tibet with these teachings,
and all who are filled with devotion will be blessed. "
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Thus she spoke. Then Shel-dkar-bza' rDo-rje-mtsho asked:
"Kye Ma! Mother ofall Tibet!
Most special Guide ofall gathered here, there is no other like you. Please don't take your compassion from me!
Please take me with you to Padma-'od.
But if my evil karma is so heavy that I cannot follow you,
please give many more teachings and instructions. "
Choked with tears, she was barely able to speak and collapsed on the ground. When she had come to herself, mTsho-rgyal answered her:
"E Ma Ho! listen, faithful daughter of Shel-dkar-bza'! Wisdom I;>ikini, Vajra Ocean!
This body, formed of flesh and blood, is a fetter,
and being inferior, oppresses you.
But ifyou meditate using the patterning and energy practices, you will have the means to wander through space.
"Ifyou bring energy and mind under your own power,
you will truly achieve what is called siddhi.
Though your mind is deceitful and fraught with the five poisons, though your life stream is naturally unsettled
and your communication bound by ordinary conceptualization, they can be purified.
"If you want to achieve Buddhahood,
meditate upon the Mahamudr:i.
liberation-the unity of openness and Pristine Awareness- is not different from Buddhahood.
"The transitory aggregates are deeply deceitful,
the ground ofall good and evil.
Cut them off. Ifyou want to obtain the Rainbow Body, meditate upon the Great Perfection Ati.
"If you employ the Chos-nyid zad-sa,
you will be truly spontaneous and free from karmic action. Then you have the means to move freely through space.
For a little while only, until enlightenment, your body is coarse.
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"Ifyou want to know the way to Padma-'od
listen to this teaching.
Do not for an instant lose contact with your own root lama. Visualize him, honor him, respect and have faith in him;
pray and ask for the four empowerments and blessings. Meditate upon him as a burning light always within your heart, and visualize merging with his three gates
until you become one and inseparable.
"Meditate thus upon the Mahamudri.
Follow the path, gain understanding, and guard your insight, draw forth your wisdom, and carefully cultivate
creativity, openness, and bliss.
Bring dualistic and obsessing objects into the path.
Purify them profoundly in the Great Perfection,
and enter the ground of the final Ati.
You will have eleven more births,
aiding beings ofTibet with your skillful means.
Then come to Padma-'od.
"Your manifestation will be known as
rDo-rje bde-chen Padma-mtsho.
You and the disciple Nam-mkha'i snying-po
will merge skillful means and discriminating wisdom.
Together you will scatter tens of millions of teachings
in the barbarous border countries of cannibals,
and benefit beings with meaning, not just words.
You will be the body consort of the one named Nam-mkha'i snying-po. You will remain for thirty thousand years, as men count them,
and then you will come to Padma-'od, never again parting from the Lord Guru. "
Thus mTsho-rgyal prophesied and gave many instructions.
Then La-gsum rGyal-ba byang-chub bowed before mTsho-rgyal and circumambulated her many times. He presented mTsho-rgyal with a mandala of seven turquoises, the principal one radiating a thousand shining blue lights, and asked:
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"E Ma Ho! Wonderful Lady who never forgets!
Master of the secret teachings of Padmasambhava,
Sarasvati, Mistress of Great Bliss and the most profound wisdom, mTsho-rgyal-ma, sole sun in the dark land of Tibet!
"Now, before you go to the southwest once and for all, please give me, as a great blessing,
a few more words of instruction.
Let them be complete, essential, profound,
sharp and quick to succeed.
"I ask for the teaching that brings Buddhahood in one lifetime. And I ask also, please, how many times will I be reborn,
and when will I meet with you again, <Jakini?
Please, do not part from us yet-
protect us with your compassion. "
When he asked for these teachings, Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal gave to him: the mKha'-spyod sprul-sku'i snying-thig, the Phyi-mdo dang bstun-pa mkha'-'gro sku-gsum rkang-sgrub, and the sPyod-yul 'dul-ba dkar-po, the Thog-'beb drag-spyod mam-gsum, the Bla-ma sku-gsum rkyang- sgrub, the Byin-rlabs dbang-gi sgo-mo, and the gZer-'joms lta-ba cig chod, the rTags-tshad so-ba dgu 'dres, the gNad-kyi me-btsa' mam- gsum, the rDzas sngags dmigs-yul brgya-rtsa, the rJes-gcod lcam-bu gzer-them sogs spyi tshan-bcu, the Nang gsang-sngags dang bstun-pa bla-ma mkha'-'gro zung-'jug-tu bsgrub-thabs, the bsGom-pa sgyu-ma 'phrul-'gros, the rTsa-rlung 'gag don bcu-pa, and the Man-ngag gcig chog zab-mo, the bsGyur-sbyang sbel-ba mam-gsum, the mKa'-'gro'i bang mdzod mig gcig, the mKha'-'gro'i dmar-pa snying-gcig, the mKha'-'gro gnyen-po srog gcig, the Man-ngag sngags-kha sum-sbrel, the 'Od-zer zhabs-pa mam-gsum, the dPa'-bo gyad stobs mam-gsum spyi tshan bcu-gcig, the gSang-ba man-ngag ltar bla-ma mkha'-'gro
rang Ius dbyer-med-du bsgrub-thabs, the lTa-ba phyag-rgya chen-po, the 'Bras-bu rdzogs-chen chig-chod, the Man-ngag gtum-mo sum- sbrel, the gDams-ngag thos chog mam-gsum, the Nyams-len bsgom- pa mam-gsum, the gCig chog mun chos mam-gsum, the Las-phran dgos-pa mam-gsum, the rTen-'brel me-long mam-gsum, the rGyab chos dgos-pa mam-gsum, the bKa'-srung myur mgyogs mam-gsum,
192
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and the Drag sngags gnad-kha rnam-gsum, and so on, and twelve various final teachings.
rGyal-ba byang-chub and seven other disciples, having received these teachings, reached the liberation of the highest radiant light and were freed.
Then Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal made these prophecies:
"E Ma Ho! Listen attentively, rGyal-ba byang-chub-pa.
Listen well, Lord Dharma Protector.
You were Arya Sa-le, my heroic consort of skillful means.
In a former time, the time of Sa-le, when you were that Acarya, you and I merged skillful means and wisdom.
Together we practiced profound and secret teachings,
and because of those blessings,
I achieved liberation in this life.
And yet, though you and I were intimate friends then, still sometimes you had doubts, you wavered, you scoffed.
"Thus, you will continue to undergo future rebirths, and though you will be a great siddha,
you will meet with obstacles.
You will be troubled by gossip,
exaggerated praise and blame, abuse and evil counsel.
Your benefit to beings will be counteracted by hindrances.
But whatever happens, remember, this is due to previous actions. Finally, you will become one with Padmasambhava and mTsho-rgyal.
"For thirteen future births, you will aid beings: In the future, toward the end of that time,
you will manifest to the west of this Mount Meru as a most wrathful being.
You will have the name of Nam-mkha'
and the form of a fierce Vajra l)aka.
Three births more and you will be called sTag-shams,
and you will stop the winds of karma and come to Padma-'od.
