No More Learning

Were there time to listen to great long texts, They might be our (rescue] ships in these our days; But [for now] avoid all disturbance of mind,
And cultivate only the counsel of the holy.
There's so much to be learned in so little while, And we know not the length of this life's span;
So be like the goose straining milk from water,27 Taking only the pure desires from those you have.
Bibliography o f Siistra
Returning to the words "BASIC STANZAS ON THE MIDDLE
INSIGHT AND MEANS 139
? 140 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
W A Y " in my root text [Stanza 51], my reference is to [Nagarjuna's] Insight: Basic Stanzas on the Middle Way. And when I said "TEXTS LIKE", I had in mind such works as his No Fear from Anywhere, the Refutation of Objections, the Sixty Stanzas of Reasoning, the Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness, the Precious Garland, the Twenty Stanzas on Mahiiyiina, the Hundred Syllables, and [KamalasTia's] Rice Seedling Sutra Commentary.
By "TEXTS LIKE . . . " I also refer to the treatises composed by men such as venerable Aryadeva, the holy Acarya's gersonal disciple, and Candrakirti, Bhavaviveka, and Santideva.
Aryadeva is the author of the following: the Great "Finely Woven": a Middle Way Treatise, the Length of a Forearm, the Finger-Length Instruction, and the Heart of Wisdom Compendium.
The works of Acarya Candraklrti are: the Supplement to [Niigiirjuna's] "Treatise on the Middle Way", the Com- mentary on "The Sixty Stanzas of Reasoning", the Five Chapters on the Middle Way, and the Clear Words, and so on. _[324b]
Acarya Bhavaviveka's treatises are the Blaze of Reasoning: [Commentary] On "Essence of the Middle Way", the Lamp for "The Insight" [of Niigiirjuna], and others.
There are altogether eight commentaries on [Nagarjuna's] Basic Stanzas on the Middle Way: "Insight"- the No Fear from Anywhere by the Acarya himself, the Clear Words by Candraklrti, the Lamp for "Insight" of Bhavaviveka, Buddhapalita's commentary, and those composed by the Elder Sthiramati, and the Acaryas
Gul)amati, Gul)asx:l, and Gul)adatta.
In addition, [Bhavaviveka's] Lamp for "The Insight" has
two great sub-commentaries: one composed by Acarya Avalokitavrata, and Devasarma's White-Shining: On the Middle Way.
Besides these there are in India today men who have given serious reflection to this near ocean of presentations that the great interpreters ofNagarjuna's mind have made. And the reasoning in the texts they [in tum] wrote, also
? INSIGHT AND MEANS 141 EXPLAINS THE PROOF THAT ALL ENTITIES
ARE EMPTY OF INTRINSIC NA TURE. ~Stanza 51]
In each and every one [of all these texts] the Emptiness of all phenomena is conclusively proven. If I were to try [here] to clear up the wrong understanding others have, by using my Four Great Proofs, my own text would become altogether too big. Hence, I have said only a little bit about the subject, and have not elaborated. Here we are simply saying that the tenets of the great Middle Way are thus and so, but have not written about them extensively.
Contemplation
But for yogins who do desire to take these tenets to heart I give a brief synthesis, saying: [325a]
BUT WILL EXPLAIN ONLY PROVEN TENETS
IN ORDER TO FURTHER CONTEMPLATION. (Stanza 52]
I have not written here about cultivation of the Enlighten- ment Thought of Ultimate Truth28 as a means of assimilating the tenets. One must petition a Guru for that [instruction], after he has been won over.
Emptiness
THUS, NOT TO PERCEIVE INTRINSIC NATURE
IN ANY PHENOMENON WHATEVER
IS TO CONTEMPLATE ITS NON-SELF- WHICH
IS THE SAME AS CONTEMPLATING WITH INSIGHT. (Stanza 53]
I wrote this stanza in accordance with the gist of those tenets.
AND THIS INSIGHT WHICH DOES NOT SEE
INTRINSfC NATURE IN ANY PHENOMENA
IS THAT SAME INSIGHT EXPLAINED AS WISDOM.
CULTIVATE IT WITHOUT CONCEPTUAL THOUGHT. (Stanza 54]
My WOrds "DOES NOT SEE INTRINSIC NATURE IN ANY ? ? " mean that in whatever phenomenon you see, you see the
? 142 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
highest Thatness29 of its very non-existence. That is the expression used in many sutras. And for the meaning of it you should study Acarya [Arya-]deva's Destruction of Errors about the Middle Way, the Blaze of Reasoning, Supplementto"TheMiddleWay", and Avalokitavrataalso.
Wisdom
If this view of all other phenomena itself does not exist absolutely, you may ask, then does one's own mind [which sees) exist itself? To this I answer, "[IT] IS THAT SAME INSIGHT EXPLAINED AS WISDOM". That very investigative Insight by which the view exists, does not exist. And how is it non- existent, yoti ask? I say "[IT IS] EXPLAINED AS WISDOM". Insight itself is also explained by the Four Great Proofs, and if examined carefully it cannot be established. The Blessed One clearly teaches this meaning in the Sutra
Setting Forth the Two Truths:
("
"In the ultimate sense, when one analyses the Insight of all phenomena, even the examination does not truly exist and is without basis. Even that Insight, in the ultimate sense, does not truly exist and is without basis. Therefore, it is called 'Insight' [only] conventionally; but in the ultimate sense, that Insight has not truly arisen and is non-existent. "30
Arya Nagarjuna reflects on this [in his Essay on Enlighten- ment Thought]:
"The mind, which all the Buddhas
Have not seen is not a thing to be seen. [325b] For how could they see an entity
Which has no intrinsic;: nature? "31
And Acarya Aryadeva in his Heart of Wisdom Compendium:
"The scholars do not hold a consciousness either That [exists] in the ultimate sense;
It would be a very sky-lotus, because of
Its lack of identity or multiplicity. " 32
? INSIGHT AND MEANS 143 And Nagarjuna again [in his Essay]:
"To refute the grasping at a Self,
The Buddha taught the Aggregates, Elements, and so on. And the worthy ones destroyed even them
As being a species of the mind alone.
T o put down the fear of childish men, The Sage did preach the words that say 'All these things are only Mind';
But in truth, Mind itself is not! . . .
Although the Mahayanists' delights
Lie in [seeing] this Non-self of phenomena; Their own mind is non-arisen from the start, And in short, it is not! "33
Non-discursive Reasoning
And so now, if you have a clear understanding about the Self which outsiders impute [to be real], and about the Aggregates and so on, that [some of] our own sects impute [to be real], and about the [unreality of] mind and illusion- and if you are fixed in these meanings continually- then you must abandon discursive reasoning. As Arya Nagarjuna said:
"We hold that the Buddhas' Enlightenment Thought Has the pure characteristic of Emptiness, Unobscured by reasonings on the Self,
On the Aggregates and the rest, and even consciousness. "34
It is the elimination of this discursive reasoning I refer to when I said: [326a]
THE WORLD OF CHANGE SPRINGS FROM CONCEPTUAL THOUGHT, WHICH IS ITS VERY NATURE;
THE COMPLETE REMOVAL OF SUCH
THOUGHT IS THE HIGHEST NIRVAJ':! A. (Stanza 55)
Verses on the Middle Way
In giving the meaning of the texts I have quoted above, I want to follow in the steps of a Guru who reached spiritual
? 144 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
perfection through the counsel of Arya Nagarjuna, N a g a r j u n a h a v i n g t h e g i f t f r o m A r y a Mafijugho~a (himself]. This Guru acquired the superknowledges, and understands the intent of all the Tantras and Siitras and the entire Discipline teachings. He sees [all] truth shining simultaneously in his mind, and is, moreover, a Guru of the unbroken lineage [from Mafijugho~a]. The glorious
Bodhibhadra is that Guru, [and I follow him here]:35
[1] If one analyses reality correctly,
Then the entire examination of all apparent Phenomena made by various schools
Is in error, and we hold them false.
[2] For example, a diseased eye, because defective, Sees sewing-needles or comb-hairs [in its vision], Or sees a double moon, or [as through] honeycomb: In this there is a knowledge that grasps something.
[3] For example, when asleep, under the power of sleep And of one's dispositions, one experiences
Pleasure and pain, forms and the like:
In this there is a knowledge that grasps something.
[4] Just so, from the very beginning,
The diseased eye of Ignorance with its defects Experiences internal and external entities:
In this there is a knowledge that grasps something. [5] And also from the very beginning,
In the great deep sleep of Ignorance,
Comes that dream of the Four Dispositions:36
In this there is an experience of the mind grasping. [6] But if one analyses in the actual ultimate sense What the real nature of these phenomena is, Those false comprehensions are unable
To prove whether they exist or not.
[7] For example, when the diseased eye is unfit, One cannot say the comb-hair does not exist; And when the diseased eye becomes fit,
One cannot say the comb-hair [riow] exists.
[8] For example, when one wakes from the sleep Of Ignorance, one cannot say he sees the dream; And as long as he is not awakened from the sleep, He cannot say the dream does not exist.
[9] When one recovers from the blinding disease, And when one awakens from his sleep, [326b]
? The dream, the comb-hair and the rest, and
Even the knowledge that grasps them do not exist.
[10] Just so, if one recovers from the eye-disease
Of Ignorance, and from the deep sleep of Ignorance, Everything that appears and is examined, and
Even the knowledge of experiencing them do not exist. [11] The [very] man who is declaiming "Destruction And non-destruction" [views] is destructible!
In his real nature he does not [even] exist;
So swiftly does this fool's analysis perish!
[12] "Then," says he, "[your] Acarya Santideva Cannot assert this Destructionist [view either];
For his instruction does not [even] exist,
And his texts are destructible [then too]! "
(13] For this man nothing can be made clearer; Not [even] the least [principle] can be put down. Study correctly what truly exists, and
By really seeing that you will be saved.
[14] There are some of our own and others' schools Who have established that phenomena do exist,
And still others who say that they do not:
[15] But if one analyses reality correctly,
"Existence" and "Non-existence" as true extremes Themselves do not exist; and therefore
In no way can they ever be established.
[16] Although men outside the Guru-tradition
Have established things like Existence, Non-existence, Permanence and Destruction, with their inferring37 Insights, they will not touch their tiring goal.
[17] How many texts have been written
By Dharmakirti and Dharmottara and the rest- Texts of our own scholarly men to refute
These challenges of the heretics!
[18] Therefore I say, "There is no use in
Logic for cultivating the ultimate truth. "
If I put it any other way, then straightway
[My very] declaration on it is useless [too]!
[19] So throw out your texts on argumentation Which make inference supreme;
And cultivate the [Guru-] tradition's counsel, With the textual authority of Arya Nagarjuna. [20] The Middle Way follower knows the Thatness Which is freed from the Four Extremes: [327a]
INSIGHT AND MEANS 145
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No Existence, no Non-existence,
No both together, nor negated either. 38 [21] The Middle Way realises the Thatness Which is freed from the Four Extremes: No Permanence, no Destruction,
No both together, nor negated either.
[22] Transcending views of Existence and Non~existence, And rejecting Permanence and Destruction,
Be freed from knowing and knowledge:
This is the basic text ofthe great Middle Way.
[23] Those who have made inference supreme,
Talk of Existence and Non-existence, of Permanence And Destruction, but in not pursuing the real nature, Their affirmations and negations perish!
[24] For example, although [assertions that] intrinsic Natures do exist for gold, sky, water and the rest, Are accompanied apparently by a fallacy,
They do not follow up the fallacy in them.
[25] Abandon [these] affirmations and negations, And cultivate only the Thatness that frees
With certainty from [false] affirmations;
And do not rest in [any] set oftenets.
[26] Cultivate only the instruction of the lineage Of Arya Nagarjuna and Aryadeva,
Of Candraki:rti, Bhavya, and Santideva.
[27] And if there is no one of that tradition,
Then study the texts composed by them
Over and over again.
[28] For they are the door to the "A"39 of all Phenomena, which from the start do not arise nor cease; Their real nature is Nirvai}a;
Of intrinsic nature they are pure.
[29] Even if seen, they are not seen:
What is called the "Seer" and "Thing Seen" And the "Seeing" do not exist at all!
The Sage is ever in equipoise. 40
[30] If one abandons all discursive reasoning And remains in the realm of True Reality,
He does not want such starts and advances41 Toward the knowledge of the great Yoga.
[31] Hence, those who have attained equipoise Themselves do not desire Buddhahood-
? As explained in the Non-Conceptual Formula - 42 While remaining on the [Bodhisattva] Levels.
[32] I have not enlarged on this subject here; [327b] [So] one must beg [its explanation] again and again From a Guru who understands my text- after one Has [first] made offerings and given him attendance. [33] Following in the steps ofBodhibhadra,
Who belongs to the lineage of that Arya Nagarjuna Prophesied by the Omniscient One,43
I shall not hold any tenets whatever!
Proof from Scripture
And now, having proven from reason that all phenomena are non-arising, I [now] show from scripture that this is the case in these stanzas:
MOREOVER, THE BLESSED ONE DECLARED:
"CONCEPTUAL THINKING IS THE GREAT IGNORANCE,
AND CASTS ONE INTO SAMSARA'S OCEAN; BUT
CLEAR AS THE SKY IS HIS CONTEMPLATION WHO
REMAINS IN CONCENTRA TION WITHOUT CONCEPTS. " (Stanza 56)
AND HE ALSO SA YS IN THE NON-CONCEPTUAL PROGRESS FORMULA: "WHEN A SON OF THE VICTOR MEDITATES ON
THIS HOLY DOCTRINE WITHOUT CONCEPTUAL THOUGHT,
AND TRANSCENDS THE ARDUOUS TRAILS OF SUCH THOUGHT,
HE GRADUALL Y A TIAINS THE NON-CONCEPTUAL. "44 (Stanza 57)*
WHEN THROUGH SCRIPTURE AND REASON ONE HAS
PENETRATED THE NON-INTRINSIC
NATURE OF ALL NON-ARISING PHENOMENA,
THEN COI\'TEMPLATE WITHOUT CONCEPTUAL THOUGHT. (Stanza 58)
Quotations
My root stanzas should be examined [carefully] at this point. The Blessed One spoke on this subject not only in the above but in other siitras too. He is clearly talking about it in the Exposition of the Undifferentiated Nature of All Phenomena when he says:
? Atisa has apparently abbreviated the root text. Seep. 11.
INSIGHT AND MEANS 147
? 148 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
"If you are talking about the realm of True Reality in terms of valid reasonings, then there is neither ultimate nor conventional meaning to it. " 45
And in the Bodhisattva Section Sutra he says, "There is one Truth, and that is cessation . . . ",46 continuing at great length in that sermon. In the Ornament of the Wisdom Engaging the Sphere ofAll Buddhas; he says:
"The Tathagata [himself] is ever a non-arising phenomenon; And all phenomena are like the Tathagata;
So purify the phenomena that do not exist in the worlds; They are the false delusions of foolish minds. " 4 7
And the holy Moon-Lamp:
"This ultimate truth that everything is empty of an intrinsic nature means that a phenomenon is without basis and its very nature does not exist. You have not understood my explanation of [causal] conditions- that was to prevent attachment [to phenomena] - but [in reality] there are no words, no statements to be made
about the character of a phenomenon. "48 In the Ocean o f Discipline: [328a]
"The extreme of [something being] prior is empty [of reality); the extreme of [something being] posterior is empty likewise: all Becoming [on the wheel of life] is empty at all points, and empty are the points [of change posited) by the heretics too. " 49
And the Descent into Lanka:
"Conventionally, everything exists; but the ultimate Truth is: intrinsic nature does not exist.
What we explain as correct conventional truth
(In reality] is in error about the non-existence of intrinsic
nature. "50
In the [Questions of] Suvikriintavikriimf Perfection of Insight:
? "The Tathagata's wisdom does not see anything at all. And why is that? Because no object exists for his wisdom [to see]! "51
And the Deeds ofthe Conqueror as Mother Siitra:
"Because the Blessed One had described the unique paradise of the Tathagata Ak~obhya to them, the assembled [bodhisattvas] begged him. '0 Blessed One, please show us that paradise! ' And when he made that [eastern] realm of the world appear for them, and then disappear again, he said, 'Just as this paradise of the Tathagata Ak~obhya disappears from the range of sight;
so also Body disappears from the range of sight; so also Feeling . . . "52
And he continues at length to speak [of the rest of the Aggregates and phenomena]. The Chapter of Sadaprarudita and the Removal of Ajata? atru's Regrets both treat this subject clearly.
Bibliography ofSiltras
Of course, the entire Siitra Collection ought to be studied, but the following deserve special attention for their clarity in these matters:
the Meeting ofFather and Son Siltra,
the Finger-Garland Siltra,
the Seal o f Wisdom Sutra,
the Secret Tathagata Sutra, [328b]
the Tathagata Set Forth by Vimalakirti Siltra, the Mindfulness ofthe Buddha Siltra,
the Subduing by Akii. Savar1Ja Siltra,
the Tathagata Essence Siltra,
the Sutra o f the Thirty-three,
the Questions ofKii. Syapa Sutra, thelnstructiononNon-ProductionofAllPhenomenaSiltra, the Tathagata's Compassion Siltra,
INSIGHT AND MEANS 149
? 150 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
the King o f Meditations Sutra,
the Seated before the Present Buddha Sutra,
the Sutra Setting Forth the Three Bodies,
the Questions ofVimaladatta Sutra,
the Questions o f the Girl Sumati Sutra,
the Questions o f the Girl Viriwlasuddha Sutra,
the Unwavering Light Sutra on Reality's Own Emptiness of
Intrinsic Nature,
the Descent into Lanka,
the Sutra Setting Forth the Two Truths,
the Sutra ofAkasagarbha,
the Questions o f the Serpent King Anavatapta Sutra, the Questions ofthe Serpent King Siigara Sutra,
the Sutra Showing the Unthinkable Secrets,
and the entire set of the Perfection o f Insight Sutras.
If I set down all the [pertinent] quotes from these Siitras here, my text would be altogether too long; so you must be very diligent in your study of all the Mahayana Siitras without exception.
Biography of the Masters
Besides the Siitra Collection, there are the treatises composed by men who dedicated themselves to the precise and infallible meaning of the essence of the Perfection of Insight; men such as the Aryan Acaryas Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, [329a] Candrak1rti, Santideva, Bhavaviveka, Asvagho~a and Candramitra. 53 Study their texts diligently as well because they unlock in a clear way the sense of the Siitras. If I were to quote them all here, my text would be
too_ big.
Arya Nagarjuna, although widely known and proclaimed
to be a Bodhisattva of the First Level by the longer Siitras and wise men of India, I myself have seen [mentioned] as a Bodhisattva of the Eighth Level in [some] Siitras. Aryadeva likewise I have seen [referred to] as a Bodhisattva who gained the Eighth Level, because of his
? instruction by Nagarjuna. Candrakirti had his con- secration54 to the Truth through the counsel of Nagarjuna, and attained the realisation of all phenomena as illusory. He lived for four hun? red years in India, working solely for t~e good of others. Santideva too received Maiijugho~a's gift through Nagarjuna's instruction, and saw the Truth. Bhavya, through Nagarjuna's teaching, [became] a master of reasoning and passed on [to Nirvana] in his same lifetime. Asvagho~a, through Aryadeva's. instruction, saw
the Truth, [329b] and Candramitra also.
Cultivation of Higher Vision
When you have learned these extensive teachings from scripture and reason, and ascertained their purpose, then with all doubts aside cultivate that non-conceptual thinking called "Higher Vision". And how do you do this? First of all, [by remembering] that entities are twofold: those that have form, and those that do not. And when you have cleared them away with the [Four] Great Proofs, you can
contemplate [with Higher Vision]. Hence my Guru says in his Chapter on Concentration Equipment:
"All phenomena are contained in the mind, and the mind is contained in the body; so you must put the body to work for the realm of Reality also. That is my counsel. " 55
If you know how to do that, there will be no conceptualising anywhere, and no grasping [at objects]; and leaving memory and all reflecting behind, remain in that [s! ate] until that enemy, the [mental] Sign, rises [again]. As Arya Nagarjuna said:
"I pay homage to the mind that does not examine With imaginings, and takes no stand [on anything]; To the mind devoid of memory and reflecting
And of topics, I pay homage. "
INSIGHT AND MEANS 151
? 152 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY And again he says:
"The wise man will not view
Even Emptiness as Emptiness . . The mind devoid of topics,
Rests in the characteristic of space; To contemplate space
Is to contemplate Emptiness. "56
Acarya Santideva says:
"When neither Existence nor Non-Existence Stand present before the mind,
Then, since it has no other way [to go],
And is objectless, it is truly calmed. " 57 [330a]
And cultivating this becomes one's strength, as he goes on to say:
"Through the cultivation of Emptiness
One abandons the tendency toward things [as real]. "
Acarya Srigupta also:
"By the power of whatever contemplation
One cultivates, one takes on the nature
Of the non-real essence of ali phenomena,
In the same way that he sees [those] entities. "58
THIS COMPLETES THE TEACHING ON THE TRAINING IN HIGHER INSIGHT
Stages of the Path
AND WHEN HE HAS THUS CONTEMPLATED THATNESS,
AND BY STAGES HAS ATTAINED "WARMTH" AND THE REST, THEN HE WILL GAIN THE "JOYOUS" [LEVEL] AND ON UP: BUDDHA-ENLIGHTENMENT IS NOT FAR OFF. [Stanza 59]
So, when you have established yourself in the Practice Path
? with the yoga of equipoise, you will be well set in the Path of the Perfections in the sense of the ? Mahayana Sutras I explained earlier. These steps [towards Enlightenment] are given in the eight chapters of the Ornament for the Realisations,59 the text Maitreyanatha preached, and which Asailga spread widely in India. Vimuktisena60 and the glorious Haribhadra61 explained and commented on it, and it is their explanation you should learn. Unless you study them, the Path and its Results may become confused.
Hence, the yogin who has been in the Equipment Path and set in [its] Emptiness then advances to the Practice Path and develops the basic virtues [called] the Aids to Liberation. The words "BY STAGES HAS ATTAINED 'WARMTH'
AND THE REST" refer to those [four] aids to one's con- viction: that is, persevering through (1] the three degrees of Warmth, [21 the three degrees of Summits, (3] the three degrees of Patience, and [4] the three degrees of the
Highest [Mundane] Phenomena. 62 [330b]
"THEN HE WILL GAIN THE 'JOYOUS' (LEVEL] AND ON UP"
refers to the advance to the Path of Vision and its four Concentrations and so on. 63 "BUDDHA-ENLIGHTENMENT IS NOT FAR OFF" means that while perfecting the Ten Levels, the Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment is coming about from Moment to Moment [of the Vision Path],64 and in no time at all, and swiftly, you will gain the Three Bodies and
Five Wisdoms and so on.
I have not written here the details
Of the Practice Path and its start at "Warmth", Nor of the Ten Levels that begin in Vision Path, Nor of the Three Bodies and the rest, because I Fear too long a text. Study them in Siitra and Commentary; there they are well woven.
Another reason I said "BUDDHA-ENLIGHTENMENT IS NOT FAR OFF" w::s to give [some] encouragement to slothful bodhisattvas. The "three countless aeons"65 that scripture speaks of [for attaining Enlightenment] is not very long for Bodhisattvas who stay [in samsara] for the sake of all living beings. As Ambaraja's words have it:
INSIGHT AND MEANS 153
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" A s for me, I have no preference or wish
To be a Buddha in [some] distant Enlightenment; But I shall carry on to the very end of time,
For the sake of one single creature. " 66
And the Glorious Original [Aeon]:
"The wisest man remains in samsara
As long as he can; for then, by choosing Not to pass into Nirvaq. a, he can seek The unequalled good ofcreatures. "67
And from the Resolves of Nagarjuna:
"As long as there are any creatures here at all,
And one of them is still not saved,
I will carry on my investigations for them,
Even though I have reached the Highest Enlightenment. " 68
If you ask why [the saving of others takes so long], I answer from the Siitras:
"If all the realms of the world were changed into [331a] a single tank of water, and if for a thousand years one man worked at dipping the water from it with the tip of a single hair - that tank of water might lower somewhat. But with the realm of creatures there is no such lessening. "
And from the Good Practice:
"The extent of all creatures is as vast as the limits of
space. " 69
For instance, a bodhisattva is called slothful when he thinks, "After I have demolished [by analysis for Emptiness] all the atoms of Mount Meru, king of mountains, I will reach Enlightenment. "And that is why Ambaraja says:
? "Until the very last rebirth
In this beginningless samsara,
I will perform endless deeds
For the benefit and good of creatures. " 70
Hence, even I must not desire to be swiftly Enlightened, except to lessen those suffering in the realm of creatures, whether it is diminishing or increasing or not.
It necessarily follows that a bodhisattva of keen ability, endowed with a hero's great zeal and a mind controlled by compassion for all creatures, will- although he had not desired i t - swiftly be directly and perfectly Enlightened.
In his Lamp ofthe Three Methods, AcaryaTripi~akamala says:
2 3
4
5 6
7 8
"In the depth and in the breadth
Of its aspiration and execution,
The Great Vehicle is far superior,
For it achieves the changeless result . .
The Vehicle of the Perfections is far more exalted than the Vehicle of the Hearers- iinpress that on your mind. "71
THIS COMPLETES [THE TEACHING ON) THE VEHICLE OF THE PERFECTIONS
Notes to Chapter 6
See Glossary for technical Buddhist terms here.
Calmness pertains merely to yogic method? for concentrating one's mind; the actual removal of the hindrances to liberation is a matter of overcoming ignorance through the investigations of Higher Vision.
Ot. 84:3, Vol. 38:85. 3.
Instruction in the Steps ofContemplation ofthe Perfection Vehicle, Ot. 5456, Vol. 103:264. 2.
dbyer med-pa/asan;rbhinna: undifferentiated. All phenomena lose any basis for real dist~nction in their ultimate and true reality of Emptiness.
Ot. 761 (31).
This siitra title is not fou! Jd in the catalogues, but the title and the quotation here are excerpted from Santideva's SS: pp. 96-99.
Ot. 126, Vol. 5:241. 1.
mi-gnas-pa'i mya-ngan-las-'das/aprat~thita-nirvii~a: The "Deferred Nir- vli~a" is a third addition of Mahayana to the two earlier types of Nirval}a
understood by the Hinayana schools; viz. ,
INSIGHT AND MEANS 155
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1) Nirvana-with-remainder (phung-bo /hag-rna dang bcas-pa'i0 / sa-upadhise~a-0 ) ; and
2) Nirvana-without-remainder (phung-bo /hag-rna med-pa'i0 / nirupddhise$a-0 ) .
For the Hinayanist, the first type means the cessation of all obscuration caused by any afflicting activity (e. g. , any imperfection), b~t with the body and mind continuing to function - as with the Buddha Sakyamuni after his Enlightenment, continuing his non-afflicting activity of preaching the Doctrine and founding the Community. The second type means the total cessation not only of the obscuration caused by afflicting activity, but of all mental and physical activity as well, as exemplified by the Buddha's final departure into Nirvarya. the "Parinirvarya", at the age of eighty.
The Mahayanists add the third type, the Deferred Nirvarya, to describe the Bodhisattva who has earned Nirvarya by his having overcome not only the obscuration caused by afflicting activity but also that caused by ignorance of the true nature of Non-self; i. e. the all-embracing Emptiness of all apparent reality. This Bodhisattva then, by choice and out of compassion, remains in samsara to devote himself to the salvation of all beings. It is this type which Ji\anakirti proceeds to describe in this passage.
The Mahayanist view of a third type of Nirvana necessarily gives a slightly different interpretation to the Nirvaryas of the Buddha Sakyamuni, who for the Mahayanist is simply one of many Tathagatas or Bodhisattvas who have appeared in Form or Apparition Bodies to serve living beings. Consequently the first and second types of Nirvarya become but different kinds of final release won by those of the Hinayana paths: the Hearer with his goal of Arhatship (Nirvarya-with-remainder), meaning his afflicting activity has ceased, but a "remainder" of obscuration persists because of his partial ignorance of the true extent of Non-self; i. e. that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence. And the Solitary Buddha wins the goal of Buddhahood
(Nirvarya-without-remainder), completely released from all obscuration, whether caused by afflicting activity or by ignorance of the true extent of non-substantiality, yet less perfect in his Nirvarya because of his declining to return to the world of rebirth- as the Bodhisattva- for the sake of others.
See T. R. V. Murti, Central Philosophy of Buddhism, pp. 271ff. See Glossary.
9
10 The reference is to the long analytical lists of component phenomena
11 12
13
found in the Abhidharma texts of the Hinayana. By comprehending the component elements of any given thing, it was believed that the false view of that thing's real Self (or substantiality) could be eliminated; e. g. compre- hending that the apparent Self is composed of the five aggregates, and each of the five aggregates in tum composed of further phenomena. For the Mahayanist this type of analysis would not be adequate for liberating the mind from ignorance, since the very emptiness of substantiality of the component phenomena themselves is what must be seen and experienced. Bodhibhadra, op. cit. ? pp. 253. 4ff.
The three aspects (rnam-pa gsum) of a thing are the Subject-Action-Object involved.
kun-rdzob/sarrzvrtti: relative, as opposed to the ultimate absolute sense or aspect. These are the two aspects or levels of truth familiar in Buddhist terminology. The ordinary or conventional truths (relative) are valid at the mundane level in the conduct of everyday affairs; the ultimate truths are realities as they truly are in themselves, empty of any inherent existence. In terms of the Enlightenment Thought, Compassion is considered to be the
? 14 15
16
17
Thought on the relative level because it deals with creatures in ordinary everyday activity by means of the Perfections. The absolute Thought of Enlightenment is Emptiness itself.
Ot. 115, Vol. 5:73. 3ff and 76. 4ff.
The same list of five bodhisattvas at various stages of the Path is found in Chapter 2, p. 45.
The import here is that the Means are basically an exercise of Compassion whereby Enlightened Ones choose to continue their work of liberating all beings. Hence, the Means are the cause of the Apparition Body (which is necessary for working for others in the Desire and Form realms) and of the Enjoyment Body (which is necessary for preaching in the paradises of the Formless realms).
gtan-tshigs/upapatti: proof, demonstration. The Four Great Proofs, given with their popular names here, are summarised in the opening stanza of Nagarjuna's Basic Stanzas on the Middle Way [Ot. 5224, Vol. 95:1. 1 ]:
(A) /'gag pa med pa skye ba med pal [B) Ichad med pa rtag med pal
[C] /'ong med pa 'gro med pal
(D] /tha dad don min dol'! gcig min/.
The Tibetan translation reverses the sequence of the last two lines of the Sanskrit:
[A] anirodham-anutpadam- [B) anucchedam-llSiiSvatam/ (C) anekartham-ananartham- [D] anagamam-anirgamam/.
Actually all four proofs will employ Nagarjuna's famed tetralemma (mu- bzhi/catus-kotika: four-homed, of four extremes) dialectic in reducing to absurdity that entities exist, or do not exist, or both exist and not exist, or neither exist nor not exist. Hence, aside from the Diamond Particle (rdo-rje gzegs-ma/vajra-ka~Ja) Proof, Atisa's popular names for the proofs coincide with the above stanza:
[A) Non-cessation and Non-arising;
[B] Non-destruction and Non-permanence (called Diamond Particle
because this proof is the most basic enunciation of the tetralemma in
terms of existence, and represents the very heart of the gem);
[C) Non-identity and Non-multiplicity;
[DJ Non-goingandNon-coming(anotherwayofexpressingtheBuddhist
Dependent Origination causality).
nam-mkha'i me-tog/kha-pWjpam: sky-flower; a common example in Indian logic for a contradiction in terms; as also a hare's hom, son of a barren woman, etc.
BCA: IX:146-50.
The list covers the ultimate principles of all India's major philosophical traditions: ?
a) Atman (bdag): the Supreme Self of the Vedanta schools;
b) Fate (phya): both the scepticism of the Carvaka school and fatalism of
the Aji:vakas;
c) isvara (dbang-phyug): the Lord, or God, of later Nyaya-Vaise~ika;
d) Puru~a (skyes-bu): the free and independent self, Person, co-principle
18
19 20
with Prakrti in the Saf! lkhya system;
INSIGHT AND MEANS 157
? 158 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
21
22 23
24
e) Karma (/as): retributive action; held by all schools, including Buddhist; but as an ultimate principle stressed by the Mimarpsa and Jaina traditions;
f) Prakrti (rang-bzhin): ultimate unconscious Nature, co-principle with Puru~a in Sarpkhya;
g) Gu~as (yon-tan): the three Attributes of Prakrti in the Sarpkhya system (clarity, activity, darkness), whose disturbance starts the process of evolution of the world.
h) Brahman (tshangs-pa): the Supreme Spirit of the Vedanta schools; first of the triad with
i) Vi~I}U (khyab-'jug), and Siva (whom Atisa does not mention).
The reference is to the Hinayana schools which held the real production of phenomena (dharma) as ultimate constituents, while denying composite substances and a Self as real. Vasubandhu treats the six kinds of causes and
the four kinds of conditions in A K(LVP): II: pp. 245ff.
Ot. 5224, Vol. 95:3. 1.
{i-ka/{ikii: sub-commentary. 'grel-pa/vrtti: primary commentary, often by the author himself.
The quotation is from the great patron of Buddhism in Tibet, co-founder of Bsam-yas, and upadhyaya of the first ordained Tibetan monks. The passage here is not identified any further than the author's name, but is probably from his Ornament o fthe Middle Way and its auto-commentary JOt. 5284. 5]. It is curious that this quotation and the following one from Sri-gupta are given here for explanation of the Lack of Identity and Plurality Proof, yet
neither the names of the authors nor names of their works are mentioned in
the final bibliography in this chapter. 25 Unidentified.
26 Nagarjuna's investigation of the Twelvefold Chain of Dependent Origination is Chapter 26 of his Basic Stanzas [Ot. 5224]:
27
28
29 30 31 32 33
34 35
36
In the ~veda the goose is said to be able to separate Soma from water when the two are mixed. In later literature, as here, the ability is to strain milk from water. The final stanza here is also used in Atisa's Introduction to the Two Truths [Ot. 5380, Vol. 103:187. 3. ].
don dam-pa/paramiirtha: ultimate truth. See note 13 of this chapter. Training in the meditational practices on Emptiness requires the guidance of a Guru.
de-kho-na-myid/tattva: thatness=Emptiness (stong-pa-nyid/sunyatii).
Ot. 846, Vol. 34:110. 5.
Ot. 5470, Vol. 103:273. 3.
O t . 5251, V ol. 95:144. 3.
ibid. With these three stanzas excerpted from Nagarjuna, the Three Turnings of the Wheel are exemplified: 1) the Four Truths [Hinayana]; 2) Mind-Only [Yogacarii/Cittamatra]; and 3) Total Emptiness [Miidhyamika]. ibid.
Atisa's long "Hymn to the Middle Way" begins here, and is his own composition, thirty-two stanzas in length, and of equal quality with the root stanzas of the Lamp itself. As he states in the introduction to it, he is imitating Bodhibhadra - specifically his Composition [Ot. 5252] on Aryadeva's Heart of Wisdom Compendium [Ot. 5251]. Bodhibhadra's treatise is of much greater length; so there is no slavish imitation here, but a quite clear and original work which surprisingly is not found in the Tanjur elsewhere as a separate treatise.
bag-chags/viisanii: disposition, propensity. The four dispositions alluded to
? 37
38 39
here are not identified, but are related to the afflictions [see Glossary] and are of an obscuring nature.
~je-sudpag_/anumiina: infere_nce, one of the two main sources of knowledge m the Indi~n systems of epistemology; direct perception (mngon-sum-du/ pratyak! ja) IS the second. The Nyaya-Vaisesika schools of Brahmanism, as well as Buddhist schools, developed logic to? a high degree. Atisa decries the science both in this and the following stanzas; although he himself assisted in
the Tibetan translation of an immense treatise on logic of Acarya Jaya (or Jina) [Ot. 5720].
yod min med min yod med min/
gyni ga min pa'ang ma yin pal.
a-yi sgo-can: "the door of A". The letter and sound "A" is the seed syllable for mantric meditation c:in the Perfection of Insight, the "Great Mother of all bodhisattvas". It is also the smallest of all the variations on the great Perfection ofWisdom siitras, from the 100,000 line version down to the short Single-Syllable Perfection o f Insight Sutra:
"At that time, the Blessed One spoke these words to the Venerable Ananda, '0 Ananda, take hold of this Perfection of Insight called the One-Syllable, because it is of benefit and happiness for all beings. It is like this: A. ' Thus the Blessed One spoke, arid Venerable Ananda and all those monks and great Bodhisattvas realised that Perfection and rejoiced, and praised what had been been said by the Blessed One. " [Ot. 741, Vol. 21:741. 4].
mnyam-par bzhag-pa/samiihita: equipoise, or the composure of concentra- tion (ting-nge-' dzin/samiidhi), the culmination of Calmness when distraction has been eliminated.
'byung-ba dang 'jug-pa: starts and advances. The reference is to a yogin who has transcended distraction and discursive thinking, and in his direct intuitional experience does not wish to be going in and out of his state of concentration.
This is the same siitra quoted in the root stanza 57. The pertinent section referred to here is:
"Ifthat bodhisattva abandons those [earlier analyses ofphenomena], then the analysis for gaining the other Levels - as when the signs of discursive thinking are clearly perceived- happens and becomes direct experience. It is like. this: From the signs of discursive thinking in the analysis for gaining the First Level up to the signs of discursive thinking in the analysis for gaining the Tenth Level, and for gaining Patience in the Non-arising Phenomena . . . even these signs of discursive thinking in his analysis for gaining [the Levels], he completely abandons by not directing his mind to them. " [Ot. 810, Vol. 32:231. 3).
The prophecy occurs in the Manjrdri Basic Tantra [Ot. 162]. See Bu-ston's mention of it in his short life of Nagarjuna in his Chos-'byung (Obermiller): 11:111 and 122.
The quotation in Stanza 56 is unidentified. The quote in Stanza 57 from the Non-Con:eptual Progress Fonnula is Ot. 810, Vol. 32:232. 5.
Ot. 760(8), Vol. 22:192. 2. Ot. 760{12), Vol. 23:78. 2. Ot. 768, Vol. 28.
Ot. 795, Vol. 31. Unidentified.
Ot. 775, Vol. 29:73. 4.
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
INSIGHT AND MEANS 159
? 160 A LAMP FOR THE PATH AND COMMENTARY
51 52 53
Ot. 736, Vol. 21:195. 5.
Ot.