It says m t e Kalacakra Tantra:
The collection of vowels and consonants is not The unchanging sound refers to the, cognition of supreme, unchanging blIss.
The collection of vowels and consonants is not The unchanging sound refers to the, cognition of supreme, unchanging blIss.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
235
to this system [i. e. the vehicle of skilful means] also, the result IS made into the path because the essence of the result in which all are indivisible, is regarded as the buddha-body of reality in appearances and emptiness are coalesced, and experienced by skIlful means. It says in the Tantra of the Extensive Magical Net:
246
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofSecret Mantra 247
In the nature of appearances,
Including the animate and inanimate world, There is no inherent essence.
This itself is the great body of reality,
The way of secret mantra is verbally defined as that which makes the result into the path and as the vehicle of indestructible reality because, through the outer mantras, one meditates with to the body, speech and mind of the deity and, according to the mner
mantras all things are realised and then experienced as the natural of the maI). <;ialas of buddha-body, speech and mind. The Miraculous Key to the Storehouse says:
Concerning the resultant vehicle of indestructible reality:
Moreover, if a somewhat detailed explanation is given according to the intention of the uncommon, inner tantras in this [Nyingma tradi- tion]: When the profound and vast abiding nature of inconceivable realit/37 is appraised according to the dialectical vehicle, ultimate truth is established through the valid cognition of inference by means of perceptive judgements made according to logical syllogisms, and so is an intellectually created ground. Tranquillity is then secured by means of efforts directed to the birth of intellectual certainty, and it is the ideas and scrutiny in relation to that [ground] which are merely labelled as higher insight. The mere profundity [of this dialectical vehicle] refers to the result as that which lies in the direction of attainment through causes compounded of countless provisions over a long period of time, and its vastness comprises the components, psychophysical bases and activity fields. All of these, having been established as the relative truth, are nothing but the rigid ensnarement of the perception which accepts and rejects.
The mantra [vehicle], on the other hand, does not refer to logical syllogisms and the intellectually contrived discriminative awareness produced by thought. Pristine cognition uncreated by the intellect is established as the non-conceptualising reality or nucleus of the buddha- body of reality by the third empowerment,238 by the irresistible descent of pristine cognition,239 and by incisively applying oneself to [practices associated with] the energy channels, currents and seminal points which depend on the body of indestructible reality. Then enlightenment is actualised in one lifetime, and so forth, after the ultimate truth has been realised by the intellect abiding naturally in this state.
In this way, the continuum of the ground (gzhi'i rgyud) is established both through that actual development of profundity and also through the vastness which is the expanse [of reality], primordially abiding as a maI). <;iala of inner radiance. Subsequently, it is revealed that the con- tinua of the path (lam-kyi rgyud-rnams) are to be experientially cultivated by realising that the entire world and its contents, along with the com- psychophysical bases and activity fields, which are the osten- relative appearances dependent on that [ground], are an array of celestial mansions and buddha-fields free from acceptance and re)ectl,on. And the continuum of the result ('bras-bu'i rgyud) is thereby estabhshed, including the eight common accomplishments and the un- common accomplishments which extend from the path of insight as far as the path of no-more-Iearning. Therefore, [the way of mantras] is unobscured with respect to profound and vast meaning.
In respects also, the mantras are superior through their swift- blIss and skilful means. If one inquires into the quality of their it is that enlightenment is attained through them within this ,Ife, SIxteen rebirths, three aeons or eight aeons. And if one inquires Into the reasons for their swiftness, it is that the mantras possess merit
When the maI). <;iala of the seals
236
has been made into the
path,
The result itself is then carried on the path. One's own body, speech and mind
Are united in the indestructible reality of Buddha-body, speech and mind.
Such is indicative of the vehicle of indestructible reality.
Yet [the way of secret mantra] also has other distinctive features, as it
is said in the Lamp of the Three Modes (Nayatrayapradfpa, T 3707):
Though they are identical in purpose,
The vehicle of the mantras is superior;
For it is unobscured and endowed with many means, It is without difficulty
And refers to those of highest acumen.
Although both the causal and resultant phases of the greater vehicle are identical in their purpose of seeking enlightenment with the aim of benefitting sentient beings, the mantras are superior through four dis- tinctive features. [First,] they are unobscured in the area of skilful means which includes meditation on the deity and the recitation of
mantras. [Second,] they are manifold because there are limitless ap- proaches among the tantrapi! aka, beginning with the Kriyatantra and Caryatantra, which correspond to the degrees of acumen [in who require training], without being confined to a single methodIcal ap- proach. [Third,] they are without difficulty because they are easIly accomplished without requiring that three "countless" aeons and the
like be arduously passed as in the causal path. [Fourth,] they are taught with an intention directed towards those of highest acumen who actually require training through the vehicle of these very mantras. So the mantras are superior in these four ways.
248 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofSecret J\;[antra 249
which originates from total enjoyment because, through their special rites, the offerings which are made are actually accepted by the deities; it is that by the power of mantras even a single drop ofwater is multiplied to the extent of the sands of the River Ganges and gives rise to as many merits; and it is that the contemplation of purifying [lands into] buddha- fields in which impure appearances have ceased is actualised by a novice. Moreover, through each particular quality of the mantras and contemplations, those extraordinary causes which bring sentient beings to maturity exist even in one who has just entered this vehicle, and through their range of contemplation, [the mantras] possess, from first to last, the discriminative awareness which refers to form as an aspect of the result in terms of the two truths.
If one inquires into the quality of their bliss, it is the absence of coarse physical and mental sensations. And if one inquires into the reasons for their bliss, it is that in this [vehicle] even a body which endures for six aeons may be achieved, that many miraculous abilities and contemplations are obtained, that through the power of the mantras the buddhas become actually present, and that through the application of the mantras and the tantras all the wishes of sentient beings are attained.
Then, if one inquires into the nature of their skilful means, [the mantras] include the training in moral disciplines such as the unchang- ing bliss, the training in contemplations which are both symbolic and non-symbolic, the training in discriminative awareness through which the two truths are realised to be primordially of indivisible nature, and they include all else that enters the range of experience.
Moreover, it is revealed in the Tantra ofthe Inconceivable Rali Cakra- saJ'! 'lvara:
In the lesser vehicle which includes the pious attendants, There are no esoteric instructions.
The vehicle of the awareness-holders is superior Through fifteen· distinctive features:
The distinctions of its view, conduct and mind control, Of its cause, result, path and level,
Of its time, rapture and yoga,
Of its self- and other-oriented benefits, and its intention, Its renunciation of laborious extremes, and its ease,
And its accumulation of the provisions.
Concerning superiority [of the mantras] through the view, mind-as- such is essentially and spontaneously present from the beginning as the ultimate truth, which has seven aspects of spiritual wealth, as follows. Through its function of being the naturally pure essence, it is the ultimate truth of the expanse. Through its function of abiding as the ground in which all things of nirvaJ). a arise, clear and radiant without all obscurations and veils, it is the ultimate truth of pristine cognition.
Then, it is the ultimate truth of the result, which unimpededly abides, whatever enlightened attributes of buddha-body and pristine cognition arise. The resultant doctrines which are the great mystery of the buddha's fivefold body, speech, mind, enlightened attributes and ac- tivities, being spontaneously present within the latter, are the ultimate truth of natural, original cessation. 240
The expressive power of this ultimate reality which is mind-as-such, otherwise [known as] the apparitional array ofthe world and its contents which, to childish persons, are ostensible relative appearances, is mani- fest in and of itself as a great maJ). Q. ala of buddha-body and pristine cognition. Thus, the relative truth is perfect in that sameness where saqlsara and nirvaIfa or good and evil are not distinguished. It is the great, superior body of reality wherein the truth is indivisible, and in
which these two truths [both ultimate and relative] abide from the beginning as the identity of a single essence, coalesced in the manner of gold and the colour gold, or of a butter lamp and the light of a butter lamp, without alternating between acceptance and rejection. Only in conventional terms is [this body of reality] called the indivisible truth, transcending thought and expression. Indeed, it genuinely transcends
the thoughts and expressions which apprehend it. It is neither improved by buddhas, nor worsened by sentient beings, because this doctrine of primordial origin, not being a contrived doctrine which suddenly arises, abides in the fundamental, natural state of mind-as-such. It is said in the Sequence of the Path by Buddhaguhya:
Since it is neither created nor contrived
By the conquerors or living beings,
Its natural expression is intrinsically indivisible,
And in order to loosen attachment to its descriptions It is unthinkable and inexpressible
Within the two conventional truths.
Although this abiding mode of the two truths is the superior view of th. e mantras, certain scholars of Tibet hold that, in general, there is dIstinction between the view of the vehicle of transcendental perfec- hons and that of the way of secret mantra. In particular, they disapprove of relative appearances being held within the view, and profess instead [the pure divine appearances] are similar to meditations on loving kIndness, compassion, enlightened mind and so forth because they are
the conceptual aspects of meditation [performed] by a subject with to a relative object. This, however, is the prattle of minds are disinclined to the spiritual and philosophical systems of the vehIcle of indestructible reality. It is of crucial importance that the above explanation be known as the view of the mantras and it is also ;xcee. dingly important to . meditate it. This is becau;e, concerning he vIew, when the meanmg of the VIew appears to the unbewildered
250 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofSecret Mantra 251
pristine cognition of sublime beings, through the eye of discriminative awareness which accords with the primordial abiding nature of all things, it is the abiding nature of all things, the measure of the ultimate truth. This is also because the things which appear as the objects of consciousness, which is the bewildered intellect of sentient beings, are false in that they are the apparitional nature or relative truth. For example, the six classes of living beings perceive the same water in many apparitional modes, but to the buddhas it appears as the expanse of the consort MamakI. 241
The abiding nature [of reality] is also exclusively free from the con- ceptual elaboration of any objective referent. If it is said in this Context that there is no difference between the views of the sutras and mantra texts because the dialectics explained in the sutras are not erroneous, they are similar in the sense that it is the aspect of the buddha-body of reality, derived from the expanse free from all conceptual elabora- tions, which is made into the path according to the explanations in the causal phase of the greater vehicle. However, in that freedom from conceptual elaborations, which is exclusively one of explicit negation, the emptiness endowed with all supreme aspects, the ground in which all uncorrupted things arise, and also the enlightened attributes of supreme bliss distinguished by the way of mantras, are incomplete. Therefore it says in the Taintless Light:
The emptiness of all aspects in space and the things which are uncreated are genuinely perceived in the manner of im- ages on a mirror. This is remote from the emptiness of empty nihilism which scrutinises the properties of the self, compris- ing the aggregate of atomic particles, in order to equate the conceptual elaborations manifested by one's own mind with dreams. The inner bliss, a phenomenon of which one is intrinsically aware, is passionately adhered to, and the bliss- ful phenomena of which one is aware through the external sense organs are totally abandoned.
And so it is explained in the Brief Teaching on the Tenets of the View P 4610):
The emptiness which scrutinises the components, Coreless as a plantain tree,
242
to this emptiness
Which is endowed with all supreme aspects.
Uncreated and unceasing,
The knowable appearances discerned therein
Are emptiness in the sense that they are substantially
empty,
And not in the sense of a scrutiny of the components.
The proponent of dialectics, apart from merely establishing that the characteristics of relative appearance are non-existent, does not know the essence which abides from the beginning as great purity and same- ness; and by not knowing that, he does not know the meditation which makes the precise aspects of the auspicious coincidence of the two buddha-bodies of form into the path. 243 By not knowing that, in turn, he does not know the means of accumulating the extraordinary provi-
sions through which the desired qualities244 are rapturously experi- enced, so that, being bound by the antidote of renunciation, he is obliged to aspire to a goal within three "countless" aeons. In the way of mantras, however, this utterly pure, original abiding nature of reality, in which the truest of results - that of the non-dual essence of the expanse and pristine cognition, the coalescence of bliss and emptiness
- is spontaneously present from the beginning, is known as the object
of the view. And thereafter meditation is the training which relates to
this real disposition or enters into the experience of it. In this way, the
intellect is purified by making that reality and its aspects into the path
during the illusion-like creation stage (utpattikrama) and during the
extraordinary perfection stage (sampannakrama) in which [practices as-
sociated with] the energy channels, currents and seminal points are incisively applied.
When all the apparitional modes ofsuddenly arisen deluded thoughts,
originating from impure dependence - including the world, its contents,
components, psychophysical bases and activity fields - have gradually
:anished, the essence is present, in which the primordial abiding nature
IS actualised as a malfc;lala of utterly pure buddha-body and pristine
cognition. So, it is because the view and meditation of the mantras are
superior that it is proven to be the resultant vehicle. As it is said in the
Lotus Peak (Padmasekhara):
Concerning the natural expression of the taintless expanse, Along with the three bodies and four kinds ofpristine cognition: When, in that pure state,
An image of actualised intrinsic radiance Is made into the path,
It is correctly called the resultant vehicle.
r As for the meditations of loving kindness, compassion and en-
Ightened mind: There is no occasion to identify them with the uncom-
l11? n view and meditation of the mantras because the subjective con-
SCIOusness by which they refer to their appropriate appearances is a
sUddenly' . fi' I . ,
h" ,ansen, Impure IctlOn. t can be SImply realIsed even by
Intellects these are details ,concerning the
, elopment of enlIghtened mInd accordIng to the relatIve truth which ISt h' - ,
o aug t In the sutra texts. Therefore, as previously cited, the Sequence
if the Path of the Magical Net says:
Is dissimilar
252
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofSecret Mantra 253
Within the unsurpassed vehicle, there are those Holding ultimate reality to be perfect in sameness245 And relative appearances to include everything, Both the pure and the impure.
The great vehicle of skilful means, however,
Does not divide even relative appearances According to purity and suffering.
The higher and lower views are just so.
Still greater than that is the distinction between the following two kinds of view. First, there is the view that pristine cognition, the great intrinsic abiding reality which is the naturally pure inner radiance of the expanse, remains incontrovertibly as the abiding nature ofimmaculate awareness, transcending the three times and free from all conceptual elaborations, present as a naturally occurring fundamental nature, liberated from the bondage of created doctrines, and pure from the start without requiring to be artificially contrived by an intellectually applied analysis. The second view is laboriously created, adhering to extremes which accept or reject the mind and its mental events since, through the intellect and analysis, it claims to clarify eternalist and nihilist extremes. The distinction between these two views is similar to that between heaven and earth, and with reference to the abiding nature of the view, the former would appear to be genuine and the latter conventional.
Therefore, when a deity is observed [through the mantra vehicles]: according to the Kriyarantra, a deity of pure reality is realised; according to the Yogatantra, a deity blessed with great dynamic pristine cognition is additionally realised; and according to the Unsurpassed Yogatantra, in addition to both of these, [the deity] is realised within the spontane- ously present maJ). <;iala. Otherwise, there would be no basis for purifi- cation in the abiding nature of the ground, there would be no need for the coincidence of the object of purification and of the act of purification, and one would instead cling to that which does not exist as if it did. It would be equivalent to meditation on the horns of a hare.
Now this refers to the distinction of the view [in the way of mantras]. Yet the master Indrabhuti has also explained that:
There is a distinction of guru, a distinction of vessel, a dis- tinction of ritual, a distinction of ritual action, a distinction of commitment, a distinction of view and a distinction of conduct.
And [in his Point ofLiberation) Muktitilaka, T 1859], Buddhajiianapada has also said:
This vehicle is uncommon in three respects: the one who becomes accomplished through it, its path and its result.
In thi. s the latter, who explains that [mantras] have distinctions in theIr VIew result, also makes a distinction between the attainment of buddhahood m the causal and resultant [vehicles].
[the mantras] are revealed to be superior through three distInctIve. _These are elucidated in the Definitive Order of the Three Vehzcles (Trzyanavyavasthana, T 3712):
The vehicle pure in its visualisation,
Its power of assistance and level of conduct, To those who are endowed with intelligence Is well known to be the greatest.
Accordingly, [the mantras] are revealed to be superior because therein ? ne. three maJ). <;ialas246 in which all things are mdivisible, namely: a VIew pure in its visualisation, for it regards the natural and their utterly pure range of activity; a power endowed WIth the vows of uncommon commitment to assist it; and the deeds of the Tathagata as conduct.
Again, it is revealed in the Sublime Lasso ofSkilful Means (,phags-pa thabs-kyi zhags-pa, T 835):
The mantras are superior through four greatest qualities, namely, the greatest of visualisations, and similarly, the greatest of attainments, the greatest of pristine cognitions and the greatest of skilful means.
And 1)0mbI Heruka has also said:
In this [tradition], the vehicle of mantras is superior Through the distinction of its recipients,
Through the properties which mark its recipients, Through the distinction of its texts and paths,
And through the distinction of its results.
the resultant view is one which realises the abiding nature of
d d · · .
IstmctIOns are revealed within it. For these reasons it is h . ,
at t . e VIew [of the mantras] holds distinction [over that of e causal vehIcle].
realIty
,an
proven th th
Similarly, concerning [the second distinction of the mantras] 247 trough th . d · . . ' and . con uct. The of dIalectIcs continues to accept
in reJect. m terms of a corruptIble moral discipline because he abides
b perCeptIOns which abandon and obstruct the five poisons that are to
The mantras, however, are superior through their pro-
h
th Ions, offenngs, unchanging moral discipline and so forth because e SOurce [of s - ] . d
nature . . arpsara IS into the path by means of its [true] The' whIch IS of purity and sameness.
111· d n, concermng [the thIrd dIstmction of the mantras], through In -control: The proponent of dialectics requires that the contempla-
254 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret
tions of tranquillity and higher insight be attained over a long period of time by the most exhaustive of efforts in mind-control. The mant. ras, however, are superior because pristine cognition is instantly reahsed through the extraordinary yoga ofthe two stages and their coalescence.
Concerning [the fourth distinction of the mantras], through their causal basis: The proponent of dialectics holds that ultimate reality is seen by one who has previously gone through the provisions s. o forth, whereas the mantras are superior because the truth of realIty IS realised by one who has been forcibly introduced to pristine cognition, which intrinsically abides as the causal basis of separation from obscura- tions (bral-rgyu).
As for [the fifth distinction of the mantras], through their path: The proponent of dialectics requires that the path be over many great aeons by the alternation of meditative absorptIon and ItS once the provisions have been accumulated. The mantras are supenor since one who enters the path in which meditative absorption and its aftermath are indivisible progresses swiftly.
Also, concerning [the sixth distinction of the mantras], through their result: In the dialectics [the result] is considered to emerge after a long period of time, whereas the mantras are superior because it is held that the ground and result are indivisible and spontaneously present here and now.
Concerning [the seventh distinction of the mantras], throug. h their levels: In the dialectics [the levels] are held to number eleven by dIfferen- tiating the successive renunciations and antidotes. 248 The mantras, how- ever are superior because [they progress] to the twelfth level of the Lotus Endowed (ma-chags padma-can), the thirteenth level of the Holder of Indestructible Reality (rdo-rje 'dzin-pa) and so on.
As for [the eighth distinction of the mantras], that of time: The proponent of dialectics loiters for three great, "countless" aeons the like, whereas the mantras are superior because one whose commIt- ments are unimpaired achieves [the goal] in one lifetime and so forth . .
Concerning [the ninth distinction], that of rapture: In dialectics attaIn- ment comes after desired qualities have been renounced, while the man- tras are superior because the friendship [ofdesired qualities] is cuItivated.
Concerning [the tenth distinction], that of yoga: The prop. onent of dialectics differentiates between meditative absorption and ItS after- math, whereas the mantras are superior because the inconceivable yoga in which they are indivisible is made into path. . elf-
Then concerning [the eleventh], that of theIr benefits WhICh are s and other-oriented: The proponent of dialectics does not mobre than provisional slight benefits, whereas the mantras are supenor e- cause through them one acts on behalf of oneself and others by many approaches which cut off [evil] and bring [others] into the fold, whichever deeds are appropriate.
Concerning [the twelfth], that of intention: In dialectics nothing is known apart from the mere causal vehicle, whereas the mantras are superior since they ascertain the great mystery of the result.
[By the thirteenth distinction] the mantras are superior to dialectics because the fault of fatigue is easily renounced, and [by the fourteenth] are so great benefit is achieved with little hardship.
Fmally, concernmg [the fifteenth distinction], that of the accumula- tion of provisions: The proponent of dialectics requires that the conduct of the six transcendental perfections, beginning with liberality be ex- tensively over countless aeons. In the mantras, 'though
[the are somewhat smaller, they are vast because liberality to be practIsed after [the provisions of offering] have been multiplied In the storehouse of space through the blessing or consecration of the mantras. All. objects are perceived as buddha-fields, all raptures are
mto offerings and conflicting emotions are naturally
pure without havmg been renounced. The provisions of merit and
pristine cognition are swiftly contracted and perfected. Therefore the mantras are superior.
Furthermore, according to the dialectics the appearance of the has an illusory nature and, by means of the ordinary actIOns of the body, one does no more than enter into virtue. According to. th. e mantras the of the buddha-body is that all appearances
wlthm the world and Its contents are deities and celestial mansions and the maI)<;iala of buddha-body, the emanation and
Hon [of lIght] from the deity's seal are not bypassed. 249 Therefore [the mantras] are superior.
According to the dialectics, buddha-speech is empty in the manner of an and when ordinary speech is cut off one does no more than enter mto virtue. The mantras, on the other hand, are superior because the mystery of buddha-speech is a raincloud of doctrine. It is perceived
as the natural expression of a great, imperishable vibration of melody and11d . , a soun s, words and tones anse as the natural intonation of
mantras, because ordinary speech abides from the beginning in the
maI)<;iala of buddha-speech. Thereby all that is said is potent and unim- pededly effective.
th The proponen: of dialectics seals the buddha-mind with the [view] and thought are without independent existence, Ill" avmg obstructed the ebb and flow of thoughts in the ordinary does . no. more than cling to the contemplations of tranquillity bUddh The mantras are superior because the mystery of
remel a mmd as the expression of reality, where sup-
su
Y unchangmg great blIss and the emptiness endowed with all Preme aspect h' h . . .
s, w IC IS essentIally deVOId of substantial existence Pontaneously present, without the duality of meditative absorption
ar
s e Coalesced. All recollections and thoughts of the ordinary mind
Superiority ofSecret Mantra 255
256 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and its aftermath, in the maQQala of the non-conceptualising yoga, a continuous stream of contemplation, which is reality'S display.
This alone serves to illustrate that one should know the other distinc- tive features [of the mantras] to be inconceivable. But if are ab- breviated, they should be condensed according to the followmg words from the Prophetic Declaration of Intention (Sandhivyakara1Jatantra,
T 444):
That which is known by the buddhas
Over utterly countless aeons
Is the perfect enlightenment attained in one moment And within one lifetime by the mantrins.
2 The Essence and Definition of Secret Mantra
V ajrasattva
[143a. 6-147b. l] The extraordinary vehicles are expounded in two parts, one giving a detailed exegesis of the overall meaning according to their general classifications and the other recapitulating the meaning sub- sumed in their particular sections.
The first is outlined under the three headings of the essence, verbal definition and classification. First, [the essence] is that the of the greater vehicle, which was taught by the Teacher, Vajradhara, observes that the ground and result are indivisible and spontaneously present, owing to which the natural expression of the truth of the origin [of sarpsara] appears as the truth of the path, and the natural expression of the truth of suffering appears as the truth of cessation. Thus, in respect of action, the result is swiftly accomplished by experientially cultivating the abiding nature of the ground, without rejection and acceptance.
Secondly, concerning the verbal definitions: The [Sanskrit] mana(s), which conveys the meaning of mind, and traya, which conveys that of protection, become "mantra" by syllabic contraction, and therefrom the sense of protecting the mind fyid-skyob in Tibetan] is derived. It says in the Guhyasamaja Tantra:
Whatever has arisen through the conditions Of sense organs and objects is the mind. This mind is explained by [the term] man, And tra has the sense of granting protection.
And also, in the Great All-Radiating Seminal Point which is an Ancient Translation (snga-'gyur thig-le kun-gsal chen-po, NGB Vo1. 5):
Concerning the verbal definition of the three kinds of mantra,
They are so called because they protect consciousness. According to such explanations, mantras are [so called] because they easily and swiftly protect the consciousness of the mind.
On the subject of protection by their ease, it says in the Mahamaya Tantra (T 425):
258
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret
Essence and Definition ofSecret Mantra 259
As for the five sensual raptures: It is by freely indulging therein That accomplishment is attained.
And on the subject of protection by their swiftness: Without to provisions amassed over three "countless" [aeons] and the lIke, result can be actualised through the skilful means [of the m one lifetime, and so forth. Hence they are and resultant vehicle. As it is said in the Glorious Semzna oznt OJ m race (Srfsarrzputatilaka, T 382):
Though over many millions of aeons. . . . There are buddhas who have difficulty m thIS, It is granted [by the mantras] in this very lIfetIme. Hence they are called the resultant vehicle.
And in the Buddhasamayoga (T 366-7):
Through countless millions of a e o n s . . All the buddhas do not obtain actual [enlIghtenment], The secret mantras, by the rites of this life,
Obtain it in this very lifetime.
Then again, the great seal of [the deity's] bodily form, reflecting the. emptiness endowed with all supreme aspects (mam-kun mch? g-ldan-gyz stong-gzugs phyag-rgya chen-po), is introduced by [the a melting bliss, which is symbolised by [the syllables] T? IS cognition or unchanging supreme bliss, which coalesces m a essence the emptiness and co-emer. gent arising' from the pu;;oe the seminal point of great desire, IS oblIgatory for al. l buddhas, h' too is [defined as] mantra because it easily and sWIftly protects t e and constrains the objects to be renounced, namely, the sities symbols and ideas which respectIVely transfer h the v;riable [desire realm] and the blissful [form realm].
It says m t e Kalacakra Tantra:
The collection of vowels and consonants is not The unchanging sound refers to the, cognition of supreme, unchanging blIss. SImIlarly, smce th y are the reality which protects the min? , ,the too, are called the supreme, unchanging pnstme cogmtIOn.
And in the Indestructible Peak (Vajrasekhara, T 480):
The characteristic of all the mantras
Is the mind of all the buddhas. . Since they cause the nucleus of reality to be attamed, They are genuinely endowed with reality's expanse.
The collection of transmitted precepts which extensively teach this [way of mantras] is called the Piraka of the Awareness-holders or the Pitaka of the Vehicle of Indestructible Reality. Derived from the pitaka, which conveys the meanings of a container or a
measuring basket, the most extensive piraka is so called because it establishes in accord with the abiding nature and reveals in detail all conditions which are knowable, from the doctrine concerning the com- ponents, psychophysical bases and activity fields to the buddha-body and pristine cognition. Because all the meanings of the three lower piraka are gathered and perfected in this, it is also called the source of
all the piraka. The Tantra of the Extensive Magical Net says:
Concerning the king of intrinsic awareness, Which realises the meaning of sameness: Just as all rivers flow into the great ocean, In these most skilful means,
Which realise the unsurpassed meaning,
The inconceivable vehicles of liberation are all
gathered.
Then, concerning the expression "awareness-holder" (rig-'dzin, Skt. vidyadhara), [when referring to the realized exponents of secret mantra,] there are three [mundane] kinds. First, there is the lesser one who holds
the awareness of the accomplishment of eight great activities. These are:
Medicinal pills, eye-salve and swift feet, The penetration of matter
And accomplishment of the enchanted sword, Sky-faring and invisibility,
And that of immortality and the supression of disease. 2S 1
The middling one is the common sort who holds the awareness of the
desire realms; and the greater one holds the awareness of the desire
and form realms. The life-span, rapture and so forth of the latter endure for either six aeons or immeasurably.
The supramundane awareness-holders are either the coalescent be-
ings (Yuganaddhasattva) who abide on the level [of the paths] of learning
beginning with the path of insight, or those who possess the taintless bOdy of pristine cognition.
,Also, there are those [awareness-holders] who are endowed with the rambow body but do not possess a body of form belonging to the three realms, and these have seven distinctions of enlightened attributes, namely, they abide in contemplation, possess the five supernormal Cognitive powers, act in various fields on behalf of living beings, are
Without desire or covetousness, enJoy limitless desires as supreme bliss,
260 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
transcend the span of life, and abide in a mental body. However, those in whom the basket of the components [i. e. the physical body] has not diminished possess only the body of pristine cognition, and when it has been diminished by deeds and contemplation, it is called the aware- ness-holders' body of pristine cognition.
In the Mahayoga, [awareness-holders} are classifie? kinds: those holding the awareness of maturatlO. n (rnam-smzn rzg- th? se holding the awareness of power over the hfe-span dzzn), those holding the awareness of the great seal (phyag-chen rzg- dzzn), those holding the awareness of spontaneous presence (lhun-grub 'dzin). And, in the Buddhasamayoga Tantra, the [above] enumeratIOn of seven is given. .
The Pitaka of the Awareness-holders is thus named eIther because it is the to be studied by these [awareness-holders] or because one who enters this vehicle comes to attain these common and supreme accomplishments. As explained in the Commentary on the Tantra ofthe Dialogue with Subahu (Subahuparipfcchiitantrapi1JeJiirtha, T 2671):
That which is called the Pi1aka of the Awareness-holders is
the ground studied by the holders of gnostic mantras. Its
savour of the enlightened mind subsumes these. Now this is the contemplation of Vajrasattva [the spiritual of indestructible reality] and this nature is the indestructible reality. The vehicle of indestructible reality, inasmuch as it
is both the indestructible reality and a vehicle, means the same as the mantra vehicle. It is called unsurpassed because it is the supreme reality of all vehicles.
In the Taintless Light Avalokitesvara says:
teaching accords with this spiritual and philosophical system . . . th . 252
reality is supreme indivisibility and insepara- bilIty, and the vehicle which leads to it is the vehicle of indestructible reality. The style of the mantras and the style
of the transcendental perfections which [respectively] are
identified as the result and the cause are blended together [in it].
of transmIssIons concermng e vIew.
Now this [way of mantras] is also known as the vehicle of indestruc- tible reality (rdo-rye theg-pa, Skt. Vajrayana). By definition, this conveys the sense of "undivided" (mi-phyed) and "imperishable" (mz- shigs). That which is not divided into anything never . wavers from mind-as-such in the abiding nature of reality, despIte the dIfferent apparitional modes of both saI11sara and nirvaJ)a. Therefore, as it is said [Hevajra Tantra, Pt. 1, Ch. 1, v. 4a]:
It is the undifferentiated nature that is expressed in the word vajra.
The mind of all the buddhas is imperishable because it is the essence of reality which cannot be destroyed by any symbolic doctrine. Since it is similar to a vajra, the so-called indestructible mind of all buddhas abides, as previously explained,. as the ess:nce of mantra. . T? e "vehicle" is used both metaphoncally and lIterally because It IS eIth the support for the attainment of this [reality] or else the [path] through which it is traversed. It is explained in the Commentary on the Guhyasamaja:
Concerning that which is called the vehicle of reality: The entire greater vehicle is subsumed by the SIX transcendental perfections. They in turn are subsumed by skilful means and discriminative awareness, and the common
And also:
The vehicle of indestructible reality is the vehicle of the
perfect buddhas. Since it cannot be changed by
the vehIcles of the extremists, pious attendants and self-
c:ntred buddhas, it is the vehicle of indestructible reality.
one proceeds through it to liberation, it is the vehicle of Indestructible reality.
In such ways [the definition of the vehicle of indestructible reality] has been extensively taught.
F. urthermore, the [Sanskrit] tantra also conveys the meaning of pro-
tectmg the mind, for cetana has the sense ofmind and traya ofprotection.
on entitled Endowed with Pristine Cognition nbuddhakapalatantrapanJzkaJnanavatl) T 1652) says:
Tantra is so called because it protects the mind from conceptual thoughts.
Tantrapiraka are so called because they form the collection or class of the tantras.
TheWordt I· h
th antra a so, In t e manner of the strings of the lute conveys e sen f . . . ,
PUre
se? contInuIty: It IS so called because it subsumes the naturally realIty of the mmdfrom sentient being to buddha within the
Essence and Definition ofSecret Mantra 261
:vhich ! s . said to be the indestructible reality is the pnstme cognition, the indestructible reality of the mconceIVable buddha-mind. Whatever possesses it is en- dowed with indestructible reality.
And:
262 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
continuum of ground, path and result, continuously abiding without interruption. The Guhyasamaja Tantra says:
Tantra is defined as a continuity. This tantra is of three kinds:
It is divided according to the ground,
Its natural expression and its inalienableness. . Thus the natural expression is the causal basIs, The ground is defined as means,
And similarly inalienableness IS the result.
The meaning of tantra is subsumed by these three.
And the Subsequent Tantra of the Secret Nucleus (sgyu-'phrul phyi-ma, NGB Vol. 14) says:
Tantra is explained as continuity: . From its skilful means and causal basIs, The result is derived.
3 The Three Continua of Ground, Path and Result
[147b. l-lSOb. S] [The way of secret mantra] is classified according to two divisions, one which generally reveals the definitive order of the three kinds of tantra or continuum comprising the expressed meaning (brjod-bya rgyud-gsum) and the other explaining, in particular, the divi- sions of the four tantrapi! aka which form their literary expression (ljod- byed rgyud-sde bzhi).
The former consists of three kinds of continuum, namely, the con- tinuum of the ground or basis which is to be realised, the continuum of skilful means or the path through which realisation and progress are acquired, and the continuum ofthe result wherein the goal is reached.
CONTINUUM OF THE GROUND
Concerning the first of these: The ground is that which is primordially present as the abiding nature without bondage or liberation. It is the enlightened mind of intrinsic awareness, the natural inner radiance wherein truth is indivisible and which is free from the range of the intellect. It is endowed with four extraordinary attributes, namely: it is distinguished by harmony with the resultant realities of buddha-fields, bodies, pristine cognitions and so forth; it is supreme bliss by nature; it is uninterrupted; and it is attained through [the nature of] reality. 253 Although it becomes the ground or basis of both saq1sara and nirval). a depending on whether it is realised or not, it is defined as the continuum of the basis because its natural expression continues without change.
As the essence of the buddhas, [the continuum of the ground] is the nucleus of the sugata. As emptiness, it gives rise to the enlightened of the buddha-body of reality, and as appearance, it gives to the buddha-body of form. Because [the continuum] is present In that way, it is the enlightened family which naturally abides. As the ground of both saq1sara and nirvu1)a, it is the pristine cog- nItIon of the ground-of-all. It is one's own real nature according to
264 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Kriyatantra. It is the blessing without symbols which is ultimate reality, and the deity of the expanse of indestructible reality which is relative appearance according to Ubhayatantra and Yogatantra [respectively]. It is the superior, great buddha-body of reality in which the two truths
are indivisible according to Mahayoga. It is the fundamental offspring
great spirituality according to Atiyoga.
It is explained, in particular, that the support for the continuum of
the basis is the buddha-body of reality, the enlightened mind-as-such 254
of two, each with an identical savour, and as such it abides primor- dially in the nature of the three imperishable, indestructible realities of the most subtle three media [i. e. the body, speech and mind], with- out straying in any respect. It says in the lizjra Garland [lizjramala,
T 445]:
That which abides in the heart of corporeal beings, As the form of the naturally present, uncorrupted
pristine cognition,
The imperishable seminal point which is supreme bliss,
All-pervasive in the manner of the sky,
Is the natural expression of the dynamic body of reality.
And in the Glorious Kalacakra:
Just as, if water is poured into a vase, the space within it does not vanish, that which is endowed with the indestruct- ible reality of all-encompassing space is similarly present within the body, without regard to any object.
As such passages extensively indicate, this ground of liberation, the spontaneously present reality that is the pristine cognition abiding in oneself, is definitively the basis which brings about the continuum of
the result. Therefore, the Blossom ofEsoteric Instructions (Srfsan:zputatan- trarajatfkamnayamafijariphala, T 1198) says:
The essence, which is the emptiness of substances, does not mean anything other than one's own nature or feature; it has the meaning of one's own essence. This is both the basis, and the holder of indestructible reality who effects [the re-
sult]. The same buddhahood, accomplished from beginning- less time through the essential nature uncovered by stains,
is basis of that buddhahood which is characterised as an attamment of the immaculate [reality].
of the enlightened mind in which the expanse and pristine
y e ernng conSCIOusness which apprehends them although they have no true existence as obJ'ects S' " b '
mal)9
cognition are non-dual according to Anuyoga; and it is the ground which is conventionally expressed as essence, natural expression and
ala
which is naturally present in the heart centre
an imperishable seminal point within a pure essence (dvangs-ma) of five colours. Furthermore, it emanates as the six pure essences, those of the five elements and the mind, which [are divided into three] groups
of corporeal beings as
Nagarjuna [in the Eulogy to the Expanse of Reality, The water that lies within the earth
Remains immaculately pure.
The within conflicting emotions, too, Remams SImIlarly immaculate.
CONTINUUM OF THE P A TH
Sec? ;dly , the . of the path refers to the skilful means which pU,n y these stams covenng the continuum of the ground S' , abides as the connecting activity between the ground and the causmg the ground to be, perceived through its downward and result to be obtamed through its upward connection it is the of the path. In the Great Master [Padmasambhava's1Garland
The ostensible. of sarpsara are the stains obscurin ground of punficatIOn through which the continuum of th g
ted Th b '
tOthe pur,lfied beca,use they are specifically designated
b h [ h . mce It IS 0 scured y t em, t e abides in the manner of a gemstone in a filth
'J
zews, A Coliectzon of Esoterzc Instrzlctions it says:
Concerning this, the goal is conclusively reached by means ? f . Awareness, or the four kinds of real- IS th,e of perception, the repeated ex- ? f It IS the characteristic of the entrance, and the of it by the power of experience is the charac- tenstIc of the result,
t? e basis [of the continuum of the path] is the view whose c enstIc IS perception it d" ,
charact ' , , ' s con ItIon IS the contemplation whose
isation I,S entrance, and its result is characterised as the actual-
object IS established with reference to the perception of the
of be by cultivation, or to the object
entrance or IS establIshed with reference to the actual
result is establ'°h mde IhtatIOn through experiential cultivation; and the IS e w en the object of m d' , ,
being actualised Th I ' e ItatIOn IS referred to as has actualised ail th e ,atter both the conclusive result which isation has b at e realIsed, and the result in which actual-
the form mto the path only to a certain extent of which er IS I entIcal to the continuum of the result and the latter is
The Three Continua 265
e resu t IS
266 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
the third characteristic during the continuum of the path. The definitive order of these shall be briefly explained below.
Having generally indicated the fundamentals of the path, the actual subject-matter of tantra, which is required for its implementation, is then revealed in accordance with its particular classifications. The path is said to be clearly divided into the following ten categories: a view of the real, determinate conduct, array, successive gradation of empowerment, commitment which is not transgressed, enlightened ac- tivity which is displayed, fulfilment of aspiration, unwavering contem- plation, offering which brings the goal to fruition, and mantra recitation accompanied by the seals which bind [the practitioner to realisation].
CONTINUUM OF THE RESULT
Thirdly, concerning the continuum of the result: The result refers to the enlightened attributes which are qualitatively present in the ground and actualised after those stains which obscure the continuum of the ground have been purified by the power of meditating on the path. In the commentary on the Secret Nucleus entitled [Illuminating Lamp of the] Fundamental Text it is said:
When accomplishment has been perfected It is called the result.
It is the result, therefore, because in it the thoughts of those who aspire to the unsurpassed, supreme result are entirely perfected, and it is the continuum (tantra) because its continuity is never broken.
Although within the pi! aka of the greater vehicle which concerns transcendental perfection, the result of supreme enlightenment is re- vealed in detail, there is a great distinction between the two kinds of buddhahood, one of which is explained therein and the other in the unsurpassed mantra texts. The former is attained through aspiration and conduct with respect to the two provisions and the latter is that in which the whole extent of the natural continuum of the ground is qualitatively actualised. Since it is incorrect [to say] that the uncommon result of this [buddhahood] is accomplished without relying on the uncommon path of the secret mantras, only the awareness-holder of spontaneous presence on the final path is conventionally a buddha. Indeed, the great adherents of the glorious Zur tradItIOn claim that the actual buddhahood of the mantra path must be obtained even after that.
When the doctrines of the result are classified, they are manifold, including the ten powers and [four] fearlessnesses which are generallY known, and including the seven branches of union (saptasamputa) which are known only in the unsurpassed [mantras]. And then according to
The Three Continua 267 the text of the Tantra of the [Secret} Nucleus .
twenty-five resultant realities which gather are saId . be
structure of the supporting buddha-bodies tions and enlightened activities.
em t? e. definItIve ' supported prIstIne cogni-
4 The Four Tantrapitaka
It is with an intention directed toward the four ages258 That the tantras are explained to be of four kinds.
Teaching is also said to be given in the form of the four because they instruct those to be trained who have four kinds of desire, but I shall not treat this separately because its import is actually included in this [analysis]. 259
The first three of these four which are specifically enu- merated, are known as "the vehicle of austere awareness" and are established as the three outer because their teachings re- spectively emphasise the external observances of body and speech, equate both external observances and the inner mind, and emphasise the inner mind without abandoning the external observances. The last is superior to these and is therefore established as "the vehicle of overpowering means", the Unsurpassed Yoga of skilful means and discriminative awareness in coalescence.
The former comprises the three [vehicles] of the Kriyatantra, Caryatantra and Yogatantra, referring to which the Commentary which Epitomises the Hevajra [TantraJ (Hevajrapi'tJq,artha(fka, T ll80) says:
If one has little ability to meditate on the real, there is the Kriyatantra which mostly teaches external conduct for those who openly delight in symbolic conduct.
And:
[lS0b. S-1S2a. 2] Secondly, concerning the explanation the divisions of the four which form the hterary expreSSIOn of the mantra vehicles, it is said, in Tantra of Array the Nucleus of Indestructible Reality (rdo-r}e snymg-po bkod-pa z rgyud).
The tantras intended by the Sugata
Are correctly explained to be of four kinds: Kriya, Carya, Yoga and Unsurpassed Tantra.
While there are many dissimilar ways of dividing them, the reas? n for this division into the four which are well known: IS they are taught as the paths respectively for those of lowest, mIddhng, superior and highest acumen [who require training], and as the means by which those beings are gradually led. the . result. In the [Indestruct- ible} Tent (Vajrapafijaratantra, T 419) It IS Said:
The Kriyatantra is for the basest, .
And Caryatantra256 is for those who are . The Yogatantra is for the supreme among sentIent bemgs, And Unsurpassed Yoga is for those who are yet more
superior.
The four tantrapitaka are also said to be taught with reference to the
For those who are devoted to the distinctions of activity but are disinclined to abandon the inner identification which indeed unites with the vast conduct of skilful means and discriminative awareness, there is the Ubhayatantra [i. e. Caryatantra] which is derived in common from both the Kriyatantra and Yogatantra.
four temporal as found in the following words [from the Tantra . ' ]257
And so on. Then in the Commentary on the Tantra of the Awakening of Great Vairocana (Mahavairocanabhisambodhitantra(fka, T 2663) it says:
The [Yogatantra] including the Sublime Tantra ofthe Summa- tion of the Real emphasises inner union, and yet it is not without external conduct.
KRIYA TANTRA
The first of these Kriya, means action, . ecause it emphatically teaches the actions of body and speech. Its view IS that ultimately there are enlightened attributes through which one's real nature is realised to be pure and without conceptual elabora- tIons of the four: extremes, and, distinct from these, there are relative
which Genuinely Gathers All the Deztzes:
The Kriyatantra is [emphasised] during the first age or
the Tretayuga, .
The Yogatantra is emphasised during the thIrd age or
. '
the Krtayuga,
The Caryatantra is emphasIsed dunng the second age 0
r
the Dvaparayuga,
And the Unsurpassed Tantra is emphasIsed dunng the
fourth age or the Kaliyuga.
. '
The Four Tantrapi(aka 269
270 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
appearances which have the characteristics of an utterly pure deity. Through this view, one resorts to skilful means, aspiring and striving towards an accomplishment externally [conferred by the deity]. It is explained in Buddhaguhya's Sequence of the Path:
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.
Meditation in this context therefore refers to the yoga associated with three enlightened families of pure deities of relative appearance. By means of the deity's six modes, namely, the deity of emptiness, the deity of syllables, the deity of sound, the deity of form, the deity of seals and the deity of symbols,260 whether one is oneself visualised as the deity or not, one aspires towards accomplishment, relating to the Being of Pristine Cognition (jiianasattva) as a master, and [considering] oneself as a servant. The Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising ofAwareness says:
The deity and the pure yogin
Are seen respectively as master and servant.
The deity is delighted by ablutions, cleanliness, fasting and other such austerities in conduct, and, by maintaining the appropriate ascetic discipline, the mind becomes immersed in the sound which is the reality of [mantra] recitation, in [the deity's] mind and in the ground. The reality of this concentration also has three aspects, as explained in the following passage:
Abiding in the flame of secret mantra, Accomplishment is given;
Abiding in its sound, the yoga is conferred; And at the limit of sound, freedom is granted.
As a result of having made these [meditations and conduct] into the path, one becomes provisionally accomplished as a sky-faring aware- ness-holder who is equal in fortune to a god of the desire realm, and, having practised the conduct of the mantras on that basis, the level of the Holder of Indestructible Reality belonging to the Three Enlightened Families (rigs-gsum rdo-rje 'dzin-pa), which is explained in this Kriya- tantra, is conclusively actualised. The Heruka Galpo says:
Within seven lifetimes on the buddha level
The Lords of the Three Families instruct living beings.
The pilaka which reveals these [practices of Kriyatantra] includes the Tantra of the Dialogue with Subahu, the Tantra of the Emergence of
The Four Tantrapitaka 271 Tani (Sarvatathagatamatrtaravisvakannabhavatantra T 726) th K '
of Commitments T 502) SubJugatzon of Dem. ons (Bhutaejamaratantra, T 747).
T. h. en, when is classified according to its enlightened famIlIes, there are SIX types namely those of th T h- L
V . W Ih . ' , e atagata, otus aqa, . ea t , Ennchment and enlightened families. Each
of these IS further analysed accordmg to its cent 1d - ra
consort, u$1Jz$a, male and female wrathful d 't'
. d" el Ies, ma e and female
mterme lanes, and male and female servants 'Yet all [K . -
h b d . nya tantras]
w en su ,are gathered within the two classes of the secret mant ' and the gnostIc mantra. 261 ra
UBHAYATANTRA
. . 4-153b. 5] the Ubhayatantra [or Caryatantra] is prac- _In accordance WIth the view of Yogatantra and the conduct of it is called the tantra of equal parts or the tantra
o oth, formIng the connecting link between those two The Y; t
of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
The Ubhayatantra is as follows:
The view is seen as in Yogatantra
And conduct performed as in Kriyatantra. Therefore it is known as the tantra of both.
is IS . vlew and conduct have been established as the ground
an ra
there
o h"
should meditate definitively on the symboli; sylla-
tion' s deItIes. of form, t. hen become steadfast in contempla-
Vair roug on:-P? Inted_ As the Awakening of [Great]
ocana (Mahavazrocanabhzsambodhitantra, T 494) says: When the syllables are conjoined with syllables262
And the of reality is made into the ground [of medItatIOn],
With utmost mental concentration
One should make a hundred thousand recitations.
ure 0 u tlmate reality and h are provisional 1 so on,
Then When the vog . h
in the nat f 1'· a WIt out symbols, In whIch the mind is absorbed
een experienced, there Reality bel . ' addItIOn: the level of a Holder of Indestructible
as
as the accomplishment of the body of an
Pa) is c 0 to Four EnlIghtened Families (rigs-bzhi rdo-rie 'dzin- 1
onc USlve y actualised b h ' .
to this system [i. e. the vehicle of skilful means] also, the result IS made into the path because the essence of the result in which all are indivisible, is regarded as the buddha-body of reality in appearances and emptiness are coalesced, and experienced by skIlful means. It says in the Tantra of the Extensive Magical Net:
246
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofSecret Mantra 247
In the nature of appearances,
Including the animate and inanimate world, There is no inherent essence.
This itself is the great body of reality,
The way of secret mantra is verbally defined as that which makes the result into the path and as the vehicle of indestructible reality because, through the outer mantras, one meditates with to the body, speech and mind of the deity and, according to the mner
mantras all things are realised and then experienced as the natural of the maI). <;ialas of buddha-body, speech and mind. The Miraculous Key to the Storehouse says:
Concerning the resultant vehicle of indestructible reality:
Moreover, if a somewhat detailed explanation is given according to the intention of the uncommon, inner tantras in this [Nyingma tradi- tion]: When the profound and vast abiding nature of inconceivable realit/37 is appraised according to the dialectical vehicle, ultimate truth is established through the valid cognition of inference by means of perceptive judgements made according to logical syllogisms, and so is an intellectually created ground. Tranquillity is then secured by means of efforts directed to the birth of intellectual certainty, and it is the ideas and scrutiny in relation to that [ground] which are merely labelled as higher insight. The mere profundity [of this dialectical vehicle] refers to the result as that which lies in the direction of attainment through causes compounded of countless provisions over a long period of time, and its vastness comprises the components, psychophysical bases and activity fields. All of these, having been established as the relative truth, are nothing but the rigid ensnarement of the perception which accepts and rejects.
The mantra [vehicle], on the other hand, does not refer to logical syllogisms and the intellectually contrived discriminative awareness produced by thought. Pristine cognition uncreated by the intellect is established as the non-conceptualising reality or nucleus of the buddha- body of reality by the third empowerment,238 by the irresistible descent of pristine cognition,239 and by incisively applying oneself to [practices associated with] the energy channels, currents and seminal points which depend on the body of indestructible reality. Then enlightenment is actualised in one lifetime, and so forth, after the ultimate truth has been realised by the intellect abiding naturally in this state.
In this way, the continuum of the ground (gzhi'i rgyud) is established both through that actual development of profundity and also through the vastness which is the expanse [of reality], primordially abiding as a maI). <;iala of inner radiance. Subsequently, it is revealed that the con- tinua of the path (lam-kyi rgyud-rnams) are to be experientially cultivated by realising that the entire world and its contents, along with the com- psychophysical bases and activity fields, which are the osten- relative appearances dependent on that [ground], are an array of celestial mansions and buddha-fields free from acceptance and re)ectl,on. And the continuum of the result ('bras-bu'i rgyud) is thereby estabhshed, including the eight common accomplishments and the un- common accomplishments which extend from the path of insight as far as the path of no-more-Iearning. Therefore, [the way of mantras] is unobscured with respect to profound and vast meaning.
In respects also, the mantras are superior through their swift- blIss and skilful means. If one inquires into the quality of their it is that enlightenment is attained through them within this ,Ife, SIxteen rebirths, three aeons or eight aeons. And if one inquires Into the reasons for their swiftness, it is that the mantras possess merit
When the maI). <;iala of the seals
236
has been made into the
path,
The result itself is then carried on the path. One's own body, speech and mind
Are united in the indestructible reality of Buddha-body, speech and mind.
Such is indicative of the vehicle of indestructible reality.
Yet [the way of secret mantra] also has other distinctive features, as it
is said in the Lamp of the Three Modes (Nayatrayapradfpa, T 3707):
Though they are identical in purpose,
The vehicle of the mantras is superior;
For it is unobscured and endowed with many means, It is without difficulty
And refers to those of highest acumen.
Although both the causal and resultant phases of the greater vehicle are identical in their purpose of seeking enlightenment with the aim of benefitting sentient beings, the mantras are superior through four dis- tinctive features. [First,] they are unobscured in the area of skilful means which includes meditation on the deity and the recitation of
mantras. [Second,] they are manifold because there are limitless ap- proaches among the tantrapi! aka, beginning with the Kriyatantra and Caryatantra, which correspond to the degrees of acumen [in who require training], without being confined to a single methodIcal ap- proach. [Third,] they are without difficulty because they are easIly accomplished without requiring that three "countless" aeons and the
like be arduously passed as in the causal path. [Fourth,] they are taught with an intention directed towards those of highest acumen who actually require training through the vehicle of these very mantras. So the mantras are superior in these four ways.
248 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofSecret J\;[antra 249
which originates from total enjoyment because, through their special rites, the offerings which are made are actually accepted by the deities; it is that by the power of mantras even a single drop ofwater is multiplied to the extent of the sands of the River Ganges and gives rise to as many merits; and it is that the contemplation of purifying [lands into] buddha- fields in which impure appearances have ceased is actualised by a novice. Moreover, through each particular quality of the mantras and contemplations, those extraordinary causes which bring sentient beings to maturity exist even in one who has just entered this vehicle, and through their range of contemplation, [the mantras] possess, from first to last, the discriminative awareness which refers to form as an aspect of the result in terms of the two truths.
If one inquires into the quality of their bliss, it is the absence of coarse physical and mental sensations. And if one inquires into the reasons for their bliss, it is that in this [vehicle] even a body which endures for six aeons may be achieved, that many miraculous abilities and contemplations are obtained, that through the power of the mantras the buddhas become actually present, and that through the application of the mantras and the tantras all the wishes of sentient beings are attained.
Then, if one inquires into the nature of their skilful means, [the mantras] include the training in moral disciplines such as the unchang- ing bliss, the training in contemplations which are both symbolic and non-symbolic, the training in discriminative awareness through which the two truths are realised to be primordially of indivisible nature, and they include all else that enters the range of experience.
Moreover, it is revealed in the Tantra ofthe Inconceivable Rali Cakra- saJ'! 'lvara:
In the lesser vehicle which includes the pious attendants, There are no esoteric instructions.
The vehicle of the awareness-holders is superior Through fifteen· distinctive features:
The distinctions of its view, conduct and mind control, Of its cause, result, path and level,
Of its time, rapture and yoga,
Of its self- and other-oriented benefits, and its intention, Its renunciation of laborious extremes, and its ease,
And its accumulation of the provisions.
Concerning superiority [of the mantras] through the view, mind-as- such is essentially and spontaneously present from the beginning as the ultimate truth, which has seven aspects of spiritual wealth, as follows. Through its function of being the naturally pure essence, it is the ultimate truth of the expanse. Through its function of abiding as the ground in which all things of nirvaJ). a arise, clear and radiant without all obscurations and veils, it is the ultimate truth of pristine cognition.
Then, it is the ultimate truth of the result, which unimpededly abides, whatever enlightened attributes of buddha-body and pristine cognition arise. The resultant doctrines which are the great mystery of the buddha's fivefold body, speech, mind, enlightened attributes and ac- tivities, being spontaneously present within the latter, are the ultimate truth of natural, original cessation. 240
The expressive power of this ultimate reality which is mind-as-such, otherwise [known as] the apparitional array ofthe world and its contents which, to childish persons, are ostensible relative appearances, is mani- fest in and of itself as a great maJ). Q. ala of buddha-body and pristine cognition. Thus, the relative truth is perfect in that sameness where saqlsara and nirvaIfa or good and evil are not distinguished. It is the great, superior body of reality wherein the truth is indivisible, and in
which these two truths [both ultimate and relative] abide from the beginning as the identity of a single essence, coalesced in the manner of gold and the colour gold, or of a butter lamp and the light of a butter lamp, without alternating between acceptance and rejection. Only in conventional terms is [this body of reality] called the indivisible truth, transcending thought and expression. Indeed, it genuinely transcends
the thoughts and expressions which apprehend it. It is neither improved by buddhas, nor worsened by sentient beings, because this doctrine of primordial origin, not being a contrived doctrine which suddenly arises, abides in the fundamental, natural state of mind-as-such. It is said in the Sequence of the Path by Buddhaguhya:
Since it is neither created nor contrived
By the conquerors or living beings,
Its natural expression is intrinsically indivisible,
And in order to loosen attachment to its descriptions It is unthinkable and inexpressible
Within the two conventional truths.
Although this abiding mode of the two truths is the superior view of th. e mantras, certain scholars of Tibet hold that, in general, there is dIstinction between the view of the vehicle of transcendental perfec- hons and that of the way of secret mantra. In particular, they disapprove of relative appearances being held within the view, and profess instead [the pure divine appearances] are similar to meditations on loving kIndness, compassion, enlightened mind and so forth because they are
the conceptual aspects of meditation [performed] by a subject with to a relative object. This, however, is the prattle of minds are disinclined to the spiritual and philosophical systems of the vehIcle of indestructible reality. It is of crucial importance that the above explanation be known as the view of the mantras and it is also ;xcee. dingly important to . meditate it. This is becau;e, concerning he vIew, when the meanmg of the VIew appears to the unbewildered
250 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofSecret Mantra 251
pristine cognition of sublime beings, through the eye of discriminative awareness which accords with the primordial abiding nature of all things, it is the abiding nature of all things, the measure of the ultimate truth. This is also because the things which appear as the objects of consciousness, which is the bewildered intellect of sentient beings, are false in that they are the apparitional nature or relative truth. For example, the six classes of living beings perceive the same water in many apparitional modes, but to the buddhas it appears as the expanse of the consort MamakI. 241
The abiding nature [of reality] is also exclusively free from the con- ceptual elaboration of any objective referent. If it is said in this Context that there is no difference between the views of the sutras and mantra texts because the dialectics explained in the sutras are not erroneous, they are similar in the sense that it is the aspect of the buddha-body of reality, derived from the expanse free from all conceptual elabora- tions, which is made into the path according to the explanations in the causal phase of the greater vehicle. However, in that freedom from conceptual elaborations, which is exclusively one of explicit negation, the emptiness endowed with all supreme aspects, the ground in which all uncorrupted things arise, and also the enlightened attributes of supreme bliss distinguished by the way of mantras, are incomplete. Therefore it says in the Taintless Light:
The emptiness of all aspects in space and the things which are uncreated are genuinely perceived in the manner of im- ages on a mirror. This is remote from the emptiness of empty nihilism which scrutinises the properties of the self, compris- ing the aggregate of atomic particles, in order to equate the conceptual elaborations manifested by one's own mind with dreams. The inner bliss, a phenomenon of which one is intrinsically aware, is passionately adhered to, and the bliss- ful phenomena of which one is aware through the external sense organs are totally abandoned.
And so it is explained in the Brief Teaching on the Tenets of the View P 4610):
The emptiness which scrutinises the components, Coreless as a plantain tree,
242
to this emptiness
Which is endowed with all supreme aspects.
Uncreated and unceasing,
The knowable appearances discerned therein
Are emptiness in the sense that they are substantially
empty,
And not in the sense of a scrutiny of the components.
The proponent of dialectics, apart from merely establishing that the characteristics of relative appearance are non-existent, does not know the essence which abides from the beginning as great purity and same- ness; and by not knowing that, he does not know the meditation which makes the precise aspects of the auspicious coincidence of the two buddha-bodies of form into the path. 243 By not knowing that, in turn, he does not know the means of accumulating the extraordinary provi-
sions through which the desired qualities244 are rapturously experi- enced, so that, being bound by the antidote of renunciation, he is obliged to aspire to a goal within three "countless" aeons. In the way of mantras, however, this utterly pure, original abiding nature of reality, in which the truest of results - that of the non-dual essence of the expanse and pristine cognition, the coalescence of bliss and emptiness
- is spontaneously present from the beginning, is known as the object
of the view. And thereafter meditation is the training which relates to
this real disposition or enters into the experience of it. In this way, the
intellect is purified by making that reality and its aspects into the path
during the illusion-like creation stage (utpattikrama) and during the
extraordinary perfection stage (sampannakrama) in which [practices as-
sociated with] the energy channels, currents and seminal points are incisively applied.
When all the apparitional modes ofsuddenly arisen deluded thoughts,
originating from impure dependence - including the world, its contents,
components, psychophysical bases and activity fields - have gradually
:anished, the essence is present, in which the primordial abiding nature
IS actualised as a malfc;lala of utterly pure buddha-body and pristine
cognition. So, it is because the view and meditation of the mantras are
superior that it is proven to be the resultant vehicle. As it is said in the
Lotus Peak (Padmasekhara):
Concerning the natural expression of the taintless expanse, Along with the three bodies and four kinds ofpristine cognition: When, in that pure state,
An image of actualised intrinsic radiance Is made into the path,
It is correctly called the resultant vehicle.
r As for the meditations of loving kindness, compassion and en-
Ightened mind: There is no occasion to identify them with the uncom-
l11? n view and meditation of the mantras because the subjective con-
SCIOusness by which they refer to their appropriate appearances is a
sUddenly' . fi' I . ,
h" ,ansen, Impure IctlOn. t can be SImply realIsed even by
Intellects these are details ,concerning the
, elopment of enlIghtened mInd accordIng to the relatIve truth which ISt h' - ,
o aug t In the sutra texts. Therefore, as previously cited, the Sequence
if the Path of the Magical Net says:
Is dissimilar
252
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Superiority ofSecret Mantra 253
Within the unsurpassed vehicle, there are those Holding ultimate reality to be perfect in sameness245 And relative appearances to include everything, Both the pure and the impure.
The great vehicle of skilful means, however,
Does not divide even relative appearances According to purity and suffering.
The higher and lower views are just so.
Still greater than that is the distinction between the following two kinds of view. First, there is the view that pristine cognition, the great intrinsic abiding reality which is the naturally pure inner radiance of the expanse, remains incontrovertibly as the abiding nature ofimmaculate awareness, transcending the three times and free from all conceptual elaborations, present as a naturally occurring fundamental nature, liberated from the bondage of created doctrines, and pure from the start without requiring to be artificially contrived by an intellectually applied analysis. The second view is laboriously created, adhering to extremes which accept or reject the mind and its mental events since, through the intellect and analysis, it claims to clarify eternalist and nihilist extremes. The distinction between these two views is similar to that between heaven and earth, and with reference to the abiding nature of the view, the former would appear to be genuine and the latter conventional.
Therefore, when a deity is observed [through the mantra vehicles]: according to the Kriyarantra, a deity of pure reality is realised; according to the Yogatantra, a deity blessed with great dynamic pristine cognition is additionally realised; and according to the Unsurpassed Yogatantra, in addition to both of these, [the deity] is realised within the spontane- ously present maJ). <;iala. Otherwise, there would be no basis for purifi- cation in the abiding nature of the ground, there would be no need for the coincidence of the object of purification and of the act of purification, and one would instead cling to that which does not exist as if it did. It would be equivalent to meditation on the horns of a hare.
Now this refers to the distinction of the view [in the way of mantras]. Yet the master Indrabhuti has also explained that:
There is a distinction of guru, a distinction of vessel, a dis- tinction of ritual, a distinction of ritual action, a distinction of commitment, a distinction of view and a distinction of conduct.
And [in his Point ofLiberation) Muktitilaka, T 1859], Buddhajiianapada has also said:
This vehicle is uncommon in three respects: the one who becomes accomplished through it, its path and its result.
In thi. s the latter, who explains that [mantras] have distinctions in theIr VIew result, also makes a distinction between the attainment of buddhahood m the causal and resultant [vehicles].
[the mantras] are revealed to be superior through three distInctIve. _These are elucidated in the Definitive Order of the Three Vehzcles (Trzyanavyavasthana, T 3712):
The vehicle pure in its visualisation,
Its power of assistance and level of conduct, To those who are endowed with intelligence Is well known to be the greatest.
Accordingly, [the mantras] are revealed to be superior because therein ? ne. three maJ). <;ialas246 in which all things are mdivisible, namely: a VIew pure in its visualisation, for it regards the natural and their utterly pure range of activity; a power endowed WIth the vows of uncommon commitment to assist it; and the deeds of the Tathagata as conduct.
Again, it is revealed in the Sublime Lasso ofSkilful Means (,phags-pa thabs-kyi zhags-pa, T 835):
The mantras are superior through four greatest qualities, namely, the greatest of visualisations, and similarly, the greatest of attainments, the greatest of pristine cognitions and the greatest of skilful means.
And 1)0mbI Heruka has also said:
In this [tradition], the vehicle of mantras is superior Through the distinction of its recipients,
Through the properties which mark its recipients, Through the distinction of its texts and paths,
And through the distinction of its results.
the resultant view is one which realises the abiding nature of
d d · · .
IstmctIOns are revealed within it. For these reasons it is h . ,
at t . e VIew [of the mantras] holds distinction [over that of e causal vehIcle].
realIty
,an
proven th th
Similarly, concerning [the second distinction of the mantras] 247 trough th . d · . . ' and . con uct. The of dIalectIcs continues to accept
in reJect. m terms of a corruptIble moral discipline because he abides
b perCeptIOns which abandon and obstruct the five poisons that are to
The mantras, however, are superior through their pro-
h
th Ions, offenngs, unchanging moral discipline and so forth because e SOurce [of s - ] . d
nature . . arpsara IS into the path by means of its [true] The' whIch IS of purity and sameness.
111· d n, concermng [the thIrd dIstmction of the mantras], through In -control: The proponent of dialectics requires that the contempla-
254 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret
tions of tranquillity and higher insight be attained over a long period of time by the most exhaustive of efforts in mind-control. The mant. ras, however, are superior because pristine cognition is instantly reahsed through the extraordinary yoga ofthe two stages and their coalescence.
Concerning [the fourth distinction of the mantras], through their causal basis: The proponent of dialectics holds that ultimate reality is seen by one who has previously gone through the provisions s. o forth, whereas the mantras are superior because the truth of realIty IS realised by one who has been forcibly introduced to pristine cognition, which intrinsically abides as the causal basis of separation from obscura- tions (bral-rgyu).
As for [the fifth distinction of the mantras], through their path: The proponent of dialectics requires that the path be over many great aeons by the alternation of meditative absorptIon and ItS once the provisions have been accumulated. The mantras are supenor since one who enters the path in which meditative absorption and its aftermath are indivisible progresses swiftly.
Also, concerning [the sixth distinction of the mantras], through their result: In the dialectics [the result] is considered to emerge after a long period of time, whereas the mantras are superior because it is held that the ground and result are indivisible and spontaneously present here and now.
Concerning [the seventh distinction of the mantras], throug. h their levels: In the dialectics [the levels] are held to number eleven by dIfferen- tiating the successive renunciations and antidotes. 248 The mantras, how- ever are superior because [they progress] to the twelfth level of the Lotus Endowed (ma-chags padma-can), the thirteenth level of the Holder of Indestructible Reality (rdo-rje 'dzin-pa) and so on.
As for [the eighth distinction of the mantras], that of time: The proponent of dialectics loiters for three great, "countless" aeons the like, whereas the mantras are superior because one whose commIt- ments are unimpaired achieves [the goal] in one lifetime and so forth . .
Concerning [the ninth distinction], that of rapture: In dialectics attaIn- ment comes after desired qualities have been renounced, while the man- tras are superior because the friendship [ofdesired qualities] is cuItivated.
Concerning [the tenth distinction], that of yoga: The prop. onent of dialectics differentiates between meditative absorption and ItS after- math, whereas the mantras are superior because the inconceivable yoga in which they are indivisible is made into path. . elf-
Then concerning [the eleventh], that of theIr benefits WhICh are s and other-oriented: The proponent of dialectics does not mobre than provisional slight benefits, whereas the mantras are supenor e- cause through them one acts on behalf of oneself and others by many approaches which cut off [evil] and bring [others] into the fold, whichever deeds are appropriate.
Concerning [the twelfth], that of intention: In dialectics nothing is known apart from the mere causal vehicle, whereas the mantras are superior since they ascertain the great mystery of the result.
[By the thirteenth distinction] the mantras are superior to dialectics because the fault of fatigue is easily renounced, and [by the fourteenth] are so great benefit is achieved with little hardship.
Fmally, concernmg [the fifteenth distinction], that of the accumula- tion of provisions: The proponent of dialectics requires that the conduct of the six transcendental perfections, beginning with liberality be ex- tensively over countless aeons. In the mantras, 'though
[the are somewhat smaller, they are vast because liberality to be practIsed after [the provisions of offering] have been multiplied In the storehouse of space through the blessing or consecration of the mantras. All. objects are perceived as buddha-fields, all raptures are
mto offerings and conflicting emotions are naturally
pure without havmg been renounced. The provisions of merit and
pristine cognition are swiftly contracted and perfected. Therefore the mantras are superior.
Furthermore, according to the dialectics the appearance of the has an illusory nature and, by means of the ordinary actIOns of the body, one does no more than enter into virtue. According to. th. e mantras the of the buddha-body is that all appearances
wlthm the world and Its contents are deities and celestial mansions and the maI)<;iala of buddha-body, the emanation and
Hon [of lIght] from the deity's seal are not bypassed. 249 Therefore [the mantras] are superior.
According to the dialectics, buddha-speech is empty in the manner of an and when ordinary speech is cut off one does no more than enter mto virtue. The mantras, on the other hand, are superior because the mystery of buddha-speech is a raincloud of doctrine. It is perceived
as the natural expression of a great, imperishable vibration of melody and11d . , a soun s, words and tones anse as the natural intonation of
mantras, because ordinary speech abides from the beginning in the
maI)<;iala of buddha-speech. Thereby all that is said is potent and unim- pededly effective.
th The proponen: of dialectics seals the buddha-mind with the [view] and thought are without independent existence, Ill" avmg obstructed the ebb and flow of thoughts in the ordinary does . no. more than cling to the contemplations of tranquillity bUddh The mantras are superior because the mystery of
remel a mmd as the expression of reality, where sup-
su
Y unchangmg great blIss and the emptiness endowed with all Preme aspect h' h . . .
s, w IC IS essentIally deVOId of substantial existence Pontaneously present, without the duality of meditative absorption
ar
s e Coalesced. All recollections and thoughts of the ordinary mind
Superiority ofSecret Mantra 255
256 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
and its aftermath, in the maQQala of the non-conceptualising yoga, a continuous stream of contemplation, which is reality'S display.
This alone serves to illustrate that one should know the other distinc- tive features [of the mantras] to be inconceivable. But if are ab- breviated, they should be condensed according to the followmg words from the Prophetic Declaration of Intention (Sandhivyakara1Jatantra,
T 444):
That which is known by the buddhas
Over utterly countless aeons
Is the perfect enlightenment attained in one moment And within one lifetime by the mantrins.
2 The Essence and Definition of Secret Mantra
V ajrasattva
[143a. 6-147b. l] The extraordinary vehicles are expounded in two parts, one giving a detailed exegesis of the overall meaning according to their general classifications and the other recapitulating the meaning sub- sumed in their particular sections.
The first is outlined under the three headings of the essence, verbal definition and classification. First, [the essence] is that the of the greater vehicle, which was taught by the Teacher, Vajradhara, observes that the ground and result are indivisible and spontaneously present, owing to which the natural expression of the truth of the origin [of sarpsara] appears as the truth of the path, and the natural expression of the truth of suffering appears as the truth of cessation. Thus, in respect of action, the result is swiftly accomplished by experientially cultivating the abiding nature of the ground, without rejection and acceptance.
Secondly, concerning the verbal definitions: The [Sanskrit] mana(s), which conveys the meaning of mind, and traya, which conveys that of protection, become "mantra" by syllabic contraction, and therefrom the sense of protecting the mind fyid-skyob in Tibetan] is derived. It says in the Guhyasamaja Tantra:
Whatever has arisen through the conditions Of sense organs and objects is the mind. This mind is explained by [the term] man, And tra has the sense of granting protection.
And also, in the Great All-Radiating Seminal Point which is an Ancient Translation (snga-'gyur thig-le kun-gsal chen-po, NGB Vo1. 5):
Concerning the verbal definition of the three kinds of mantra,
They are so called because they protect consciousness. According to such explanations, mantras are [so called] because they easily and swiftly protect the consciousness of the mind.
On the subject of protection by their ease, it says in the Mahamaya Tantra (T 425):
258
Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret
Essence and Definition ofSecret Mantra 259
As for the five sensual raptures: It is by freely indulging therein That accomplishment is attained.
And on the subject of protection by their swiftness: Without to provisions amassed over three "countless" [aeons] and the lIke, result can be actualised through the skilful means [of the m one lifetime, and so forth. Hence they are and resultant vehicle. As it is said in the Glorious Semzna oznt OJ m race (Srfsarrzputatilaka, T 382):
Though over many millions of aeons. . . . There are buddhas who have difficulty m thIS, It is granted [by the mantras] in this very lIfetIme. Hence they are called the resultant vehicle.
And in the Buddhasamayoga (T 366-7):
Through countless millions of a e o n s . . All the buddhas do not obtain actual [enlIghtenment], The secret mantras, by the rites of this life,
Obtain it in this very lifetime.
Then again, the great seal of [the deity's] bodily form, reflecting the. emptiness endowed with all supreme aspects (mam-kun mch? g-ldan-gyz stong-gzugs phyag-rgya chen-po), is introduced by [the a melting bliss, which is symbolised by [the syllables] T? IS cognition or unchanging supreme bliss, which coalesces m a essence the emptiness and co-emer. gent arising' from the pu;;oe the seminal point of great desire, IS oblIgatory for al. l buddhas, h' too is [defined as] mantra because it easily and sWIftly protects t e and constrains the objects to be renounced, namely, the sities symbols and ideas which respectIVely transfer h the v;riable [desire realm] and the blissful [form realm].
It says m t e Kalacakra Tantra:
The collection of vowels and consonants is not The unchanging sound refers to the, cognition of supreme, unchanging blIss. SImIlarly, smce th y are the reality which protects the min? , ,the too, are called the supreme, unchanging pnstme cogmtIOn.
And in the Indestructible Peak (Vajrasekhara, T 480):
The characteristic of all the mantras
Is the mind of all the buddhas. . Since they cause the nucleus of reality to be attamed, They are genuinely endowed with reality's expanse.
The collection of transmitted precepts which extensively teach this [way of mantras] is called the Piraka of the Awareness-holders or the Pitaka of the Vehicle of Indestructible Reality. Derived from the pitaka, which conveys the meanings of a container or a
measuring basket, the most extensive piraka is so called because it establishes in accord with the abiding nature and reveals in detail all conditions which are knowable, from the doctrine concerning the com- ponents, psychophysical bases and activity fields to the buddha-body and pristine cognition. Because all the meanings of the three lower piraka are gathered and perfected in this, it is also called the source of
all the piraka. The Tantra of the Extensive Magical Net says:
Concerning the king of intrinsic awareness, Which realises the meaning of sameness: Just as all rivers flow into the great ocean, In these most skilful means,
Which realise the unsurpassed meaning,
The inconceivable vehicles of liberation are all
gathered.
Then, concerning the expression "awareness-holder" (rig-'dzin, Skt. vidyadhara), [when referring to the realized exponents of secret mantra,] there are three [mundane] kinds. First, there is the lesser one who holds
the awareness of the accomplishment of eight great activities. These are:
Medicinal pills, eye-salve and swift feet, The penetration of matter
And accomplishment of the enchanted sword, Sky-faring and invisibility,
And that of immortality and the supression of disease. 2S 1
The middling one is the common sort who holds the awareness of the
desire realms; and the greater one holds the awareness of the desire
and form realms. The life-span, rapture and so forth of the latter endure for either six aeons or immeasurably.
The supramundane awareness-holders are either the coalescent be-
ings (Yuganaddhasattva) who abide on the level [of the paths] of learning
beginning with the path of insight, or those who possess the taintless bOdy of pristine cognition.
,Also, there are those [awareness-holders] who are endowed with the rambow body but do not possess a body of form belonging to the three realms, and these have seven distinctions of enlightened attributes, namely, they abide in contemplation, possess the five supernormal Cognitive powers, act in various fields on behalf of living beings, are
Without desire or covetousness, enJoy limitless desires as supreme bliss,
260 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
transcend the span of life, and abide in a mental body. However, those in whom the basket of the components [i. e. the physical body] has not diminished possess only the body of pristine cognition, and when it has been diminished by deeds and contemplation, it is called the aware- ness-holders' body of pristine cognition.
In the Mahayoga, [awareness-holders} are classifie? kinds: those holding the awareness of maturatlO. n (rnam-smzn rzg- th? se holding the awareness of power over the hfe-span dzzn), those holding the awareness of the great seal (phyag-chen rzg- dzzn), those holding the awareness of spontaneous presence (lhun-grub 'dzin). And, in the Buddhasamayoga Tantra, the [above] enumeratIOn of seven is given. .
The Pitaka of the Awareness-holders is thus named eIther because it is the to be studied by these [awareness-holders] or because one who enters this vehicle comes to attain these common and supreme accomplishments. As explained in the Commentary on the Tantra ofthe Dialogue with Subahu (Subahuparipfcchiitantrapi1JeJiirtha, T 2671):
That which is called the Pi1aka of the Awareness-holders is
the ground studied by the holders of gnostic mantras. Its
savour of the enlightened mind subsumes these. Now this is the contemplation of Vajrasattva [the spiritual of indestructible reality] and this nature is the indestructible reality. The vehicle of indestructible reality, inasmuch as it
is both the indestructible reality and a vehicle, means the same as the mantra vehicle. It is called unsurpassed because it is the supreme reality of all vehicles.
In the Taintless Light Avalokitesvara says:
teaching accords with this spiritual and philosophical system . . . th . 252
reality is supreme indivisibility and insepara- bilIty, and the vehicle which leads to it is the vehicle of indestructible reality. The style of the mantras and the style
of the transcendental perfections which [respectively] are
identified as the result and the cause are blended together [in it].
of transmIssIons concermng e vIew.
Now this [way of mantras] is also known as the vehicle of indestruc- tible reality (rdo-rye theg-pa, Skt. Vajrayana). By definition, this conveys the sense of "undivided" (mi-phyed) and "imperishable" (mz- shigs). That which is not divided into anything never . wavers from mind-as-such in the abiding nature of reality, despIte the dIfferent apparitional modes of both saI11sara and nirvaJ)a. Therefore, as it is said [Hevajra Tantra, Pt. 1, Ch. 1, v. 4a]:
It is the undifferentiated nature that is expressed in the word vajra.
The mind of all the buddhas is imperishable because it is the essence of reality which cannot be destroyed by any symbolic doctrine. Since it is similar to a vajra, the so-called indestructible mind of all buddhas abides, as previously explained,. as the ess:nce of mantra. . T? e "vehicle" is used both metaphoncally and lIterally because It IS eIth the support for the attainment of this [reality] or else the [path] through which it is traversed. It is explained in the Commentary on the Guhyasamaja:
Concerning that which is called the vehicle of reality: The entire greater vehicle is subsumed by the SIX transcendental perfections. They in turn are subsumed by skilful means and discriminative awareness, and the common
And also:
The vehicle of indestructible reality is the vehicle of the
perfect buddhas. Since it cannot be changed by
the vehIcles of the extremists, pious attendants and self-
c:ntred buddhas, it is the vehicle of indestructible reality.
one proceeds through it to liberation, it is the vehicle of Indestructible reality.
In such ways [the definition of the vehicle of indestructible reality] has been extensively taught.
F. urthermore, the [Sanskrit] tantra also conveys the meaning of pro-
tectmg the mind, for cetana has the sense ofmind and traya ofprotection.
on entitled Endowed with Pristine Cognition nbuddhakapalatantrapanJzkaJnanavatl) T 1652) says:
Tantra is so called because it protects the mind from conceptual thoughts.
Tantrapiraka are so called because they form the collection or class of the tantras.
TheWordt I· h
th antra a so, In t e manner of the strings of the lute conveys e sen f . . . ,
PUre
se? contInuIty: It IS so called because it subsumes the naturally realIty of the mmdfrom sentient being to buddha within the
Essence and Definition ofSecret Mantra 261
:vhich ! s . said to be the indestructible reality is the pnstme cognition, the indestructible reality of the mconceIVable buddha-mind. Whatever possesses it is en- dowed with indestructible reality.
And:
262 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
continuum of ground, path and result, continuously abiding without interruption. The Guhyasamaja Tantra says:
Tantra is defined as a continuity. This tantra is of three kinds:
It is divided according to the ground,
Its natural expression and its inalienableness. . Thus the natural expression is the causal basIs, The ground is defined as means,
And similarly inalienableness IS the result.
The meaning of tantra is subsumed by these three.
And the Subsequent Tantra of the Secret Nucleus (sgyu-'phrul phyi-ma, NGB Vol. 14) says:
Tantra is explained as continuity: . From its skilful means and causal basIs, The result is derived.
3 The Three Continua of Ground, Path and Result
[147b. l-lSOb. S] [The way of secret mantra] is classified according to two divisions, one which generally reveals the definitive order of the three kinds of tantra or continuum comprising the expressed meaning (brjod-bya rgyud-gsum) and the other explaining, in particular, the divi- sions of the four tantrapi! aka which form their literary expression (ljod- byed rgyud-sde bzhi).
The former consists of three kinds of continuum, namely, the con- tinuum of the ground or basis which is to be realised, the continuum of skilful means or the path through which realisation and progress are acquired, and the continuum ofthe result wherein the goal is reached.
CONTINUUM OF THE GROUND
Concerning the first of these: The ground is that which is primordially present as the abiding nature without bondage or liberation. It is the enlightened mind of intrinsic awareness, the natural inner radiance wherein truth is indivisible and which is free from the range of the intellect. It is endowed with four extraordinary attributes, namely: it is distinguished by harmony with the resultant realities of buddha-fields, bodies, pristine cognitions and so forth; it is supreme bliss by nature; it is uninterrupted; and it is attained through [the nature of] reality. 253 Although it becomes the ground or basis of both saq1sara and nirval). a depending on whether it is realised or not, it is defined as the continuum of the basis because its natural expression continues without change.
As the essence of the buddhas, [the continuum of the ground] is the nucleus of the sugata. As emptiness, it gives rise to the enlightened of the buddha-body of reality, and as appearance, it gives to the buddha-body of form. Because [the continuum] is present In that way, it is the enlightened family which naturally abides. As the ground of both saq1sara and nirvu1)a, it is the pristine cog- nItIon of the ground-of-all. It is one's own real nature according to
264 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
Kriyatantra. It is the blessing without symbols which is ultimate reality, and the deity of the expanse of indestructible reality which is relative appearance according to Ubhayatantra and Yogatantra [respectively]. It is the superior, great buddha-body of reality in which the two truths
are indivisible according to Mahayoga. It is the fundamental offspring
great spirituality according to Atiyoga.
It is explained, in particular, that the support for the continuum of
the basis is the buddha-body of reality, the enlightened mind-as-such 254
of two, each with an identical savour, and as such it abides primor- dially in the nature of the three imperishable, indestructible realities of the most subtle three media [i. e. the body, speech and mind], with- out straying in any respect. It says in the lizjra Garland [lizjramala,
T 445]:
That which abides in the heart of corporeal beings, As the form of the naturally present, uncorrupted
pristine cognition,
The imperishable seminal point which is supreme bliss,
All-pervasive in the manner of the sky,
Is the natural expression of the dynamic body of reality.
And in the Glorious Kalacakra:
Just as, if water is poured into a vase, the space within it does not vanish, that which is endowed with the indestruct- ible reality of all-encompassing space is similarly present within the body, without regard to any object.
As such passages extensively indicate, this ground of liberation, the spontaneously present reality that is the pristine cognition abiding in oneself, is definitively the basis which brings about the continuum of
the result. Therefore, the Blossom ofEsoteric Instructions (Srfsan:zputatan- trarajatfkamnayamafijariphala, T 1198) says:
The essence, which is the emptiness of substances, does not mean anything other than one's own nature or feature; it has the meaning of one's own essence. This is both the basis, and the holder of indestructible reality who effects [the re-
sult]. The same buddhahood, accomplished from beginning- less time through the essential nature uncovered by stains,
is basis of that buddhahood which is characterised as an attamment of the immaculate [reality].
of the enlightened mind in which the expanse and pristine
y e ernng conSCIOusness which apprehends them although they have no true existence as obJ'ects S' " b '
mal)9
cognition are non-dual according to Anuyoga; and it is the ground which is conventionally expressed as essence, natural expression and
ala
which is naturally present in the heart centre
an imperishable seminal point within a pure essence (dvangs-ma) of five colours. Furthermore, it emanates as the six pure essences, those of the five elements and the mind, which [are divided into three] groups
of corporeal beings as
Nagarjuna [in the Eulogy to the Expanse of Reality, The water that lies within the earth
Remains immaculately pure.
The within conflicting emotions, too, Remams SImIlarly immaculate.
CONTINUUM OF THE P A TH
Sec? ;dly , the . of the path refers to the skilful means which pU,n y these stams covenng the continuum of the ground S' , abides as the connecting activity between the ground and the causmg the ground to be, perceived through its downward and result to be obtamed through its upward connection it is the of the path. In the Great Master [Padmasambhava's1Garland
The ostensible. of sarpsara are the stains obscurin ground of punficatIOn through which the continuum of th g
ted Th b '
tOthe pur,lfied beca,use they are specifically designated
b h [ h . mce It IS 0 scured y t em, t e abides in the manner of a gemstone in a filth
'J
zews, A Coliectzon of Esoterzc Instrzlctions it says:
Concerning this, the goal is conclusively reached by means ? f . Awareness, or the four kinds of real- IS th,e of perception, the repeated ex- ? f It IS the characteristic of the entrance, and the of it by the power of experience is the charac- tenstIc of the result,
t? e basis [of the continuum of the path] is the view whose c enstIc IS perception it d" ,
charact ' , , ' s con ItIon IS the contemplation whose
isation I,S entrance, and its result is characterised as the actual-
object IS established with reference to the perception of the
of be by cultivation, or to the object
entrance or IS establIshed with reference to the actual
result is establ'°h mde IhtatIOn through experiential cultivation; and the IS e w en the object of m d' , ,
being actualised Th I ' e ItatIOn IS referred to as has actualised ail th e ,atter both the conclusive result which isation has b at e realIsed, and the result in which actual-
the form mto the path only to a certain extent of which er IS I entIcal to the continuum of the result and the latter is
The Three Continua 265
e resu t IS
266 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
the third characteristic during the continuum of the path. The definitive order of these shall be briefly explained below.
Having generally indicated the fundamentals of the path, the actual subject-matter of tantra, which is required for its implementation, is then revealed in accordance with its particular classifications. The path is said to be clearly divided into the following ten categories: a view of the real, determinate conduct, array, successive gradation of empowerment, commitment which is not transgressed, enlightened ac- tivity which is displayed, fulfilment of aspiration, unwavering contem- plation, offering which brings the goal to fruition, and mantra recitation accompanied by the seals which bind [the practitioner to realisation].
CONTINUUM OF THE RESULT
Thirdly, concerning the continuum of the result: The result refers to the enlightened attributes which are qualitatively present in the ground and actualised after those stains which obscure the continuum of the ground have been purified by the power of meditating on the path. In the commentary on the Secret Nucleus entitled [Illuminating Lamp of the] Fundamental Text it is said:
When accomplishment has been perfected It is called the result.
It is the result, therefore, because in it the thoughts of those who aspire to the unsurpassed, supreme result are entirely perfected, and it is the continuum (tantra) because its continuity is never broken.
Although within the pi! aka of the greater vehicle which concerns transcendental perfection, the result of supreme enlightenment is re- vealed in detail, there is a great distinction between the two kinds of buddhahood, one of which is explained therein and the other in the unsurpassed mantra texts. The former is attained through aspiration and conduct with respect to the two provisions and the latter is that in which the whole extent of the natural continuum of the ground is qualitatively actualised. Since it is incorrect [to say] that the uncommon result of this [buddhahood] is accomplished without relying on the uncommon path of the secret mantras, only the awareness-holder of spontaneous presence on the final path is conventionally a buddha. Indeed, the great adherents of the glorious Zur tradItIOn claim that the actual buddhahood of the mantra path must be obtained even after that.
When the doctrines of the result are classified, they are manifold, including the ten powers and [four] fearlessnesses which are generallY known, and including the seven branches of union (saptasamputa) which are known only in the unsurpassed [mantras]. And then according to
The Three Continua 267 the text of the Tantra of the [Secret} Nucleus .
twenty-five resultant realities which gather are saId . be
structure of the supporting buddha-bodies tions and enlightened activities.
em t? e. definItIve ' supported prIstIne cogni-
4 The Four Tantrapitaka
It is with an intention directed toward the four ages258 That the tantras are explained to be of four kinds.
Teaching is also said to be given in the form of the four because they instruct those to be trained who have four kinds of desire, but I shall not treat this separately because its import is actually included in this [analysis]. 259
The first three of these four which are specifically enu- merated, are known as "the vehicle of austere awareness" and are established as the three outer because their teachings re- spectively emphasise the external observances of body and speech, equate both external observances and the inner mind, and emphasise the inner mind without abandoning the external observances. The last is superior to these and is therefore established as "the vehicle of overpowering means", the Unsurpassed Yoga of skilful means and discriminative awareness in coalescence.
The former comprises the three [vehicles] of the Kriyatantra, Caryatantra and Yogatantra, referring to which the Commentary which Epitomises the Hevajra [TantraJ (Hevajrapi'tJq,artha(fka, T ll80) says:
If one has little ability to meditate on the real, there is the Kriyatantra which mostly teaches external conduct for those who openly delight in symbolic conduct.
And:
[lS0b. S-1S2a. 2] Secondly, concerning the explanation the divisions of the four which form the hterary expreSSIOn of the mantra vehicles, it is said, in Tantra of Array the Nucleus of Indestructible Reality (rdo-r}e snymg-po bkod-pa z rgyud).
The tantras intended by the Sugata
Are correctly explained to be of four kinds: Kriya, Carya, Yoga and Unsurpassed Tantra.
While there are many dissimilar ways of dividing them, the reas? n for this division into the four which are well known: IS they are taught as the paths respectively for those of lowest, mIddhng, superior and highest acumen [who require training], and as the means by which those beings are gradually led. the . result. In the [Indestruct- ible} Tent (Vajrapafijaratantra, T 419) It IS Said:
The Kriyatantra is for the basest, .
And Caryatantra256 is for those who are . The Yogatantra is for the supreme among sentIent bemgs, And Unsurpassed Yoga is for those who are yet more
superior.
The four tantrapitaka are also said to be taught with reference to the
For those who are devoted to the distinctions of activity but are disinclined to abandon the inner identification which indeed unites with the vast conduct of skilful means and discriminative awareness, there is the Ubhayatantra [i. e. Caryatantra] which is derived in common from both the Kriyatantra and Yogatantra.
four temporal as found in the following words [from the Tantra . ' ]257
And so on. Then in the Commentary on the Tantra of the Awakening of Great Vairocana (Mahavairocanabhisambodhitantra(fka, T 2663) it says:
The [Yogatantra] including the Sublime Tantra ofthe Summa- tion of the Real emphasises inner union, and yet it is not without external conduct.
KRIYA TANTRA
The first of these Kriya, means action, . ecause it emphatically teaches the actions of body and speech. Its view IS that ultimately there are enlightened attributes through which one's real nature is realised to be pure and without conceptual elabora- tIons of the four: extremes, and, distinct from these, there are relative
which Genuinely Gathers All the Deztzes:
The Kriyatantra is [emphasised] during the first age or
the Tretayuga, .
The Yogatantra is emphasised during the thIrd age or
. '
the Krtayuga,
The Caryatantra is emphasIsed dunng the second age 0
r
the Dvaparayuga,
And the Unsurpassed Tantra is emphasIsed dunng the
fourth age or the Kaliyuga.
. '
The Four Tantrapi(aka 269
270 Fundamentals: Vehicles ofSecret Mantra
appearances which have the characteristics of an utterly pure deity. Through this view, one resorts to skilful means, aspiring and striving towards an accomplishment externally [conferred by the deity]. It is explained in Buddhaguhya's Sequence of the Path:
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.
Meditation in this context therefore refers to the yoga associated with three enlightened families of pure deities of relative appearance. By means of the deity's six modes, namely, the deity of emptiness, the deity of syllables, the deity of sound, the deity of form, the deity of seals and the deity of symbols,260 whether one is oneself visualised as the deity or not, one aspires towards accomplishment, relating to the Being of Pristine Cognition (jiianasattva) as a master, and [considering] oneself as a servant. The Tantra ofthe Great Natural Arising ofAwareness says:
The deity and the pure yogin
Are seen respectively as master and servant.
The deity is delighted by ablutions, cleanliness, fasting and other such austerities in conduct, and, by maintaining the appropriate ascetic discipline, the mind becomes immersed in the sound which is the reality of [mantra] recitation, in [the deity's] mind and in the ground. The reality of this concentration also has three aspects, as explained in the following passage:
Abiding in the flame of secret mantra, Accomplishment is given;
Abiding in its sound, the yoga is conferred; And at the limit of sound, freedom is granted.
As a result of having made these [meditations and conduct] into the path, one becomes provisionally accomplished as a sky-faring aware- ness-holder who is equal in fortune to a god of the desire realm, and, having practised the conduct of the mantras on that basis, the level of the Holder of Indestructible Reality belonging to the Three Enlightened Families (rigs-gsum rdo-rje 'dzin-pa), which is explained in this Kriya- tantra, is conclusively actualised. The Heruka Galpo says:
Within seven lifetimes on the buddha level
The Lords of the Three Families instruct living beings.
The pilaka which reveals these [practices of Kriyatantra] includes the Tantra of the Dialogue with Subahu, the Tantra of the Emergence of
The Four Tantrapitaka 271 Tani (Sarvatathagatamatrtaravisvakannabhavatantra T 726) th K '
of Commitments T 502) SubJugatzon of Dem. ons (Bhutaejamaratantra, T 747).
T. h. en, when is classified according to its enlightened famIlIes, there are SIX types namely those of th T h- L
V . W Ih . ' , e atagata, otus aqa, . ea t , Ennchment and enlightened families. Each
of these IS further analysed accordmg to its cent 1d - ra
consort, u$1Jz$a, male and female wrathful d 't'
. d" el Ies, ma e and female
mterme lanes, and male and female servants 'Yet all [K . -
h b d . nya tantras]
w en su ,are gathered within the two classes of the secret mant ' and the gnostIc mantra. 261 ra
UBHAYATANTRA
. . 4-153b. 5] the Ubhayatantra [or Caryatantra] is prac- _In accordance WIth the view of Yogatantra and the conduct of it is called the tantra of equal parts or the tantra
o oth, formIng the connecting link between those two The Y; t
of the Great Natural Arising of Awareness says:
The Ubhayatantra is as follows:
The view is seen as in Yogatantra
And conduct performed as in Kriyatantra. Therefore it is known as the tantra of both.
is IS . vlew and conduct have been established as the ground
an ra
there
o h"
should meditate definitively on the symboli; sylla-
tion' s deItIes. of form, t. hen become steadfast in contempla-
Vair roug on:-P? Inted_ As the Awakening of [Great]
ocana (Mahavazrocanabhzsambodhitantra, T 494) says: When the syllables are conjoined with syllables262
And the of reality is made into the ground [of medItatIOn],
With utmost mental concentration
One should make a hundred thousand recitations.
ure 0 u tlmate reality and h are provisional 1 so on,
Then When the vog . h
in the nat f 1'· a WIt out symbols, In whIch the mind is absorbed
een experienced, there Reality bel . ' addItIOn: the level of a Holder of Indestructible
as
as the accomplishment of the body of an
Pa) is c 0 to Four EnlIghtened Families (rigs-bzhi rdo-rie 'dzin- 1
onc USlve y actualised b h ' .
