IS the bo phe is
classified
in the Tantra is compounded by the mmds of 0 ' .
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
II7 array also includes the great fields which extensively fill all the space In each ofVairocana's pores occupied by indivisible atomic particles ofthe elements, and which are absolutely beyond all objects of expreSSIOn such as shape, extent and altitude.
.
.
All these fields have distinct features; for the expanse of reahty IS filled with oceans offields and buddha-bodies which do not intermingle, take birth or change into other forms, alter or decline, and which are not even slightly covered by extraneous matter. As it is said in the Sutraofthe Arrayed Bouquet (Ga1Jejavyuhasutra, T 44, cf. Ch. 34, v. 28):
Even on a single hair-tip,
Is an unthinkable array of fields. Though they have various shapes, They do not differ,
And they do not become intermingled.
And in the Sutra of Inconceivable Secrets (Tathtigatacintyaguhyanir- desasutra, T 47):
Santamati, all that is pervaded by space
Is pervaded by the tathagatas' fields and bodies.
Similarly, these fields are arrayed in three dissimilar are respectively occupied by the buddhas' three bodies. In the dImensIOn of the buddha-body of reality they are called Fields of the ible Nucleus of Inner Radiance (,od-gsal rdo-rje snying-po). In the dImen- sion of the buddha-body of perfect rapture, manifest in and of itself, they are called the Fields ofBrahma's Drumbeat (tshangs-pa'i rnga-sgra). And in the dimension of the emanational body they are called the Aeon of Great Brahma (tshangs-chen-gyi bskal-pa). Oceans of buddhas who are emanations of the Primordial Lord [Samantabhadra] himself, appear in these dimensions throughout the three times, and there are also oceans of world systems of sentient beings which exist, but their extent, encompassed by the four elements and space, is confined wlthlll this Aeon of Great Brahma.
In . this aeon, diverse appearances of happiness and suffering are expenenced; for example, the impure sentient beings transfer conscious- ness at death and emerge at birth, buddhas pass into nirvana the endures and path is attained and so on.
lll. the ofeach atomIC partIcle, measureless fields containing moun- talllS, contInents and oceans appear, and in addition, each atomic par- ticle of the world on the surface of a single atom consists of measureless world systems of sentient beings well furnished with causes and condi- tions . . These emanations of the sugatas, the most powerful of
bodhIsattva aspIratIOns to purify lands [into buddha-fields], the accumu- latio. n of manifestly gathered by the bewildered perceptions of and excellent attainments which spring from reality. As It IS saId In the Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas:
Since the object of the buddhas' pristine cognition is unthinkable,
So are these emanations of their blessing.
Teaching in oceans of fields, without extreme or centre
Vairocana has totally purified them through the
In accord with enlightened mind, which is the thought ofall
He has purified unthinkable oceans of aspirations. '
Since the oceans of deeds of sentient beings are unthinkable,
All the oceans of fields in all directions emerge. The emanations of all the bodhisattvas and
The approach to all-knoWing reality
. Have. beenactuallyattainedbyalltheoceansofaspirations,
And III the expanse of space, infinite fields emerge.
By oceans of conduct, beings without extreme or centre practise,
And enter the range of measureless sugatas. Purifying all the oceans of fields in the directions They purify each field for infinite aeons. '
All the oceans of fields of deeds
Which the thoughts of sentient beings, InconceIVable in expanse, emerge.
And in th A . " if G T e spzratlOn 0
44 and T 1095, v. 29bcd):
p". ,
ractisIllg and manifesting for oceans of aeons.
these fields are radiant apparitions, not existing in reality
ood Conduct (Bhadracaryapranidhanaraja
The three times are measured in the space of a hair, By oceans of buddhas in oceans of fields
ecause III the ex f
ft " "panse 0 om the begInmng.
1" " ,
rea Ity relatIve appearances have not existed
Samantabhadra 119
. ,
2 Vajradhara, the Emanation of Samantabhadra
legs-par and thereafter, manifesting as the son of one Vidyut- prabha (glog-gz od), who was named the brahman youth Sudatta (bram- ze'i khye'u legs-byin), he studied the doctrine under the Buddha KalyaI)amati (dge-ba'i blo-gros) and abided in contemplation for seven years. Finally after seventy-five [years], on the summit of the mountain called Array of Gem Cluste. rs (rin-po-che'i phung-po mam-par bkod-pa), he revealed the way of mamfest, perfect buddhahood and continued to abide in the intention of the buddha-body of reality for one great aeon.
[45a. 4-46b. 4] Secondly, concerning the manner in which Vajradhara -attained buddhahood in this field [of the trichiliocosm]. For the sake of those requiring training in this field, the original buddha Saman- tabhadra gave teaching through his great emanation who is learned in
skilful means, illustrating the manner in which ordinary, indifferent persons would generate the enlightened mind, and so he sent forth a display of the modes and actions of buddhahood. Such modes [of emanation] are also known in the ordinary vehicle. As it is said in the Sutra ofthe Meeting ofFather and Son (Pitiiputrasamiigamanasiltra, T 60):
Great Warrior, learned in skilful means,
You have been the Conqueror in one billion aeons
In order to mature sentient beings,
And though you have revealed yourself as the Buddha,
Even today, my Guide,
You reveal yourself as manifold buddhas.
And in the Sublime Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas:
Though they have well attained oceans of enlightenment, In order to mature fully oceans of sentient beings,
They continually reveal their oceanic cultivation of
enlightened mind,
And at all times teach oceans of unobscured conduct. Such are the emanations of the sugatas.
Immeasureable aeons ago,118 in the field which is called Array of Natural Expression (rang-bzhin mam-par bkod-pa), the emanation of the Primordial Lord [i. e. Vajradhara, the emanation ofSamantabhadra] offered a golden vajra to the Buddha Maharoca (me-tog mdzes-pa chen-po), and so first aspired to supreme enlightenment. Then, after
two such lifetimes in which he became the son of a householder, Sudana (legs-sbyin), who was named MaI)imalya (nor-bu'i phreng-ba), he listened to the doctrine in the presence of the Buddha Sucaritacakra Ckhor-lo
V ajradhara
Then he naturally appeared as the buddha-body of perfect rapture in a cycle of ornaments and colours, and from its nature, self-manifesting mal). <;lalas of the Conquerors of the Five Enlightened Families emerged
their own accord beyond number. However, among these appari- tIonal forms h' . h b .
dow . '
f ed WIth the major and mmor marks,119 derived from that offering
IS eI? ergence t e ody of VaJradhara, perfectly en-
o the . vajra, which was the supporting basis of his aspiration.
hWhIle these [deities] also have mastery over the thirty-six actions of t wheel of the inexhaustible ornaments of buddha-body speech and
. '
a lty (snying-thig) ,120 in reality, as explained above, they are no different
mInd h' h C'
l' ,w IC lorm one aspect of the teachmg on the Innermost Spiritu-
Vajradhara 121
122 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
from that magical emanation of the Primordial Lord, who is. in skilful means. For there are numerous names which descnbe hIm, including: Vajradhara, who teaches most tantras of the way of s. ec. ret mantra; Samantabhadra, who is the teacher of the profound nature or indestructible reality of the utterly secret Innermost Spintu-
ality; and elsewhere he is referred to as Buddha, Vajrasattva and so on. So it is that the CollectlOn ofRealzsatlOn (Sarvakal- pasamuccayasarvabuddhasamayogottaratantra, T 367) says:
Supreme among all the purest, Primordially liberated tathagata, Samantabhadra, the lord of all,
Is certainly the enlightened mind itself.
And again:
Spiritual warrior without beginning or end, Vajrasattva, supreme delight,
Samantabhadra, the lord of all,
Indestructible nucleus, highest of the high - Since he is primordial and without end,
He is considered the first of the true [buddhas]. Since he is the centre of all ma1). Qalas,
He is the true lord of the true [buddhas].
3 The Two Buddha-bodies of Form
[46b. 4] Thirdly, there is the buddha-body of form (rapakaya) which has two apparitional modes - namely, the body of perfect rapture (sambhogakaya) and the emanational body (nirmalJakaya).
THE BUDDHA-BODY OF PERFECT RAPTURE
[46b. 4-50a. 5] As to the former, there is an explanation in Buddha- guhya's Sequence of the Path:
The fields and celestial palaces
With their thrones and ornaments, Which are the self-manifesting
And spontaneously perfect awareness Appear as manifold light rays.
Accordingly, the great buddha-body of reality which abides within the nature of inwardly radiant reality, in the manner of the five-coloured light radiated within a crystal prism by the sun's rays, has an apparitional aspect of pristine cognition, which extends outward radiance to an object manifest [only] in and of itself. In this way it is experienced as measureless buddha-bodies and fields of rapture.
Among them, in this emanational array which comprises twenty-five different fields situated one above the other on the petals and anthers of a lotus stem growing on the palms of Vairocana the Great Glacial Lake, and in the sixteen different fields within the streams of fragrant Water which flow beneath his crossed legs, uncountable [bodies of] rapture are projected in a constant cycle, endowed with oceans of major and minor marks. This natural expression of the Buddhas of the Five Enlightened Families, endowed with the five certainties, is the charac- teristic basis of the great body of rapture, the array of fields and buddha- bOdies present within Vairocana, the Great Glacial Lake of Pristine COgnitioI). (ye-shes gangs-chen mtsho).
124 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 12S
It should be known that the indestructible play of these magical emanations is inconceivably secret. For example, it is by no means contradictory that fields containing atoms of oceanic infinity exist on the surface of a single atom, bodies of oceanic infinity are gathered in a single body and each body also covers an oceanic infinity of fields. Such is said in the Tantra of the Secret Nucleus (Ch. 9, v. 13):
In the manner of the trichiliocosm
Absorbed in a mustard seed,
One should make offerings
After inviting the ma1)<;iala from the expanse. 121
And in the Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas: 122 On the surface of a single atom
Are as many buddhas as there are atoms.
This buddha-body of rapture, the teacher who holds sway over these fields, is also endowed with seven particular attributes of natural expres- sion. These are, namely: the natural expression which has fully matured in the nature of just what is; the natural expression which is spontane- ously present without seeking for enlightened attributes; the natural expression which is pristine cognition without extremes or centre; the natural expression which, even though the result be mastered, does not reveal its true essence [i. e. it manifests only in and of itself]; the natural expression which, even when sameness has been disclosed, remains free from the range ofobjective qualification; the natural expres- sion which is liberated from [concepts of] one and many; and the natural expression which is without conjunction and disjunction throughout the three times.
In the [buddhas] who greatly embody these seven [attributes of natural expression], spontaneous presence refers to the ordinary major and minor marks through which the diverse symbols of their body, speech and mind appear in accordance with the acumen of those requir- ing training. This transformation includes the thirty-two excellent major marks such as the wheel-marked hands and feet, and the eighty minor marks such as the copper-coloured nails which appear on their bodies, blazing with the major and minor marks. It also refers to the [major and minor marks], disclosed by the Teacher's mind through four kinds of pristine cognition, namely, the outer major and minor marks derived from his expressive power, the inner major and minor marks derived from the purity of his energy channels and centres, and the secret major and minor marks derived from the purified aspect of the seed that is the enlightened mind. Then, in the Great Perfection (rdzogs-pa chen- pO),123 the rapture of equal savour, experienced when the network of energy channels is naturally expressed as purified supreme bliss, is explained to be the supreme embellishment among the ornaments. The
Oceanic Magical Net (sgyu-'phrul rgya-mtsho, NGB Vol. IS) says:
Know that the twofold bliss of vowels and consonants Intermingles and becomes one;
The sixteen [delights] by their dual movement Possess the major marks.
One series of them is endowed with five pristine cognitions,
And becomes the eighty minor marks.
Superior are they to the feeling of receptiveness and other causal [teachings]. 124
The . five components - namely, the one [component] which perceives the lIberated uncorrupted pristine cognition, utterly transcending accumulated the component of moral discipline; the component of contemplatIon; the component of discriminative awareness· and the component of liberation - are also naturally expressed as Five [Conquerors] - Vairocana, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and
are embodiments of the tathagatas' body, speech, mInd, enhghtened attnbutes and activities.
The five elemental properties [of space, cohesion, solidity, warmth, and movement], too, are naturally expressed as [the divine consorts of those conquerors] - DhatvIsvarI, Locana, MamakI, Pa1)daravasinI and Purified as such, [the components and tIes] abIde III a coalescence of unchanging supreme bliss and emptiness endowed with all supreme aspects. 125
this. way, the pristine cognition which transcends subject and object . amazing ma1)<;iala arrays through its [rapturous] appreCIatIOn. of all. self-manifesting objects. These arrays include the ma1)<;ialas WIth theIr centre, periphery and clusters [of deities], their father consort and mother consort, body-colours, symbolic hand imple-
ments, passionate and passionless forms - male and female tathagatas male female bodhisattvas, and male and female wrathful deities. ' So It IS that the four sensations of seeing hearing smelling and
tas( fid .
In theIr natural expression respectively as the four
V a j r a p a 1 ) i , A k a s a g a r b h a a n d A v a - a knesvara, and the fou. r sense of form, sound, smell and taste four female bodhisattvas Lasya, Mala, GIta and NartI. Similarly
e Our organsofeye,ear,noseandtonguefindnaturalexpression as [the bodhisattvas] Maitreya, Nivaranaviskambhin Samantabhadra
andM _. ,-
a . a? d the four temporal of past, future, present
In? efimte tIme as Dhupa, Aloka and Gandha. 126
gaIn, the common savour of supreme delight experienced through
the subject ofcontact, object ofcontact and sensation ofcontact wIcht h '
. In eract w en the secret [sexual] sense objects organs and con- are united in meditative equipoise with Vajra Queen 127 IS naturally expressed as the Four Mahakrodha [or "most wrathful
. . ,
'"
126 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
male"] deities, "lords of death". The four [extremes] of permanence, decay, self and character are also naturally expressed as the Four krodhI [or "most wrathful female"] deities. Yet, the forms present m such infinite retinues are nothing but the display ofthe Teacher himself, the wheel of inexhaustible ornament which appears as the centre and periphery of the mal). Qala. So it is explained in the Tantra ofthe [Secret] Nucleus:
The centre without extremes or middle is intrinsic awareness.
The four pristine cognitions emanate around it in the manner of a wheel.
And in the Illuminating Lamp of the Fundamental Text (khog-gzhung gsal-sgron, P 4739):
Having reached the culmination of the result in Akanistha,
He as the centre and periphery of the mal). Qala.
The fields of these [mal). Qala deities] are present in every form bec. ause they are the pristine cognition of the buddhas manifest in and of ltself and the display of the magical net, which is the nature of all forms. Their thrones are everywhere, their celestial palaces are everywhere, they arise everywhere, their zenith is everywhere, their nadir is every- where, their spheres are everywhere, their squares are ever,Ywhere, their triangles are everywhere, their faces are everywhere, theIr hands are everywhere, their feet are everywhere, their eyes are everywhere, and they face in every direction. Each sense organ, too: the function of all sense organs, because the expanse of realIty IS mfimtely covered and enveloped by the unimpeded expressive power of pristine cognition. Accordingly, the Lion's Perfect Expressive Power (seng-ge rtsal-rdzogs chen-po'i rgyud, NGB Vo1. 9) says:
The face of Samantabhadra sees in all ten directions. The body of the all-seeing, all-positive [Samantabhadra] Has neither front nor back.
With an eye which fills the ten directions,
He sees form.
And also in the Kalacakra Tantra: With hands and feet everywhere,
With eyes, head and face everywhere,
Possessing ears everywhere,
He who remains pervading all the world's limits. . .
Since these perceptual objects of the buddhas are subsumed by the
minds of the buddhas alone, they are invisible even to the lords of the tenth level; for the latter are not liberated from all obscurations and have not attained the eye of pristine cognition, which, without even a mote [of obscuration], qualitatively knows [the view] and quantitatively
knows [phenomena]. So the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle (Ch. 2, v. 69) says:
Because it is not an object of speech, Is subsumed by ultimate reality,
Is not within reason's domain,
Is beyond exemplification,
Is unsurpassed and is subsumed neither by existence nor quiescence,
The objective range of the Conqueror is inconceivable, Even to sublime beings.
These perfect supramundane fields in which the cycle ofmyriad pure worlds and their contents arise, forming the apparitional aspect of the great inner radiance of the ground, manifest in and of itself, are equi- valent to the purest of dreams. For, in situations where the subject-ob- ject dichotomy and its propensities are purified, there are not thought
to be any material substances with independent attributes existing elsewhere apart from that apparition. As the Tantra of the Extensive
Magical Net says:
If there is no understanding of intrinsic awareness or
THE
genuine perception,
The field of SukhavatI is even seen as a state of evil existence.
If the truth which is equivalent to the supreme of vehicles is realised,
Even states of evil existence are and
EMANA TIONAL BODY
The Teacher who instructs [sentient beings] appears as the body (ninna'fJakaya) in response to the degrees of im- punty, s11ght purity and utter purity of the stains which obscure the of the sugata within the minds of those to be trained. Without
. '
his buddha-body of form sends forth a varied, unimpeded
of emanations of effortless, great spirituality. Among these, realIty reflect . .
s as many aSpIratIons as there are shapes of the moon in vessels of unsullied water, dependent on the ostensible dichotomy of
from the expanse of ultimate reality, for both samsara and
nIrvana ha
. ' ve one great common savour m the utterly pure body of
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 127
128 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies ,r
. t ted and the instruction itself. As Ajita [in the Supreme
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 129
Manifestly perfect buddhahood is to be attained in only a single realm of which is disclosed to bodhisattvas as far as the path of insight by this body explained to be the imputed body of perfect rapture that appears to them, and by aspiration, the residual force of the accumulations, or mere intention. Therefore, the buddha-body of perfect rap- ture endowed with a multitude of forms has extensively ap- peared only as the emanational body in the realms. 130
And on the same subject, the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka (Ch. IO, v. 774) says:
In the desire and formless realms
The Buddha does not become enlightened. In among the realms of form, Without desire, you will attain buddhahood.
Through such quotations, authoritative passages do explain that the supreme emanational body attains buddhahood in before becoming a buddha in the human world, and thus confirm the meaning expressed in this section.
Emanations who Train Living Beings
Secondly, concerning the emanations who train living beings: From the nature of this [Teacher], the emanational body who instructs living beings reveals inconceivable modes of display through skilful means in order to mature fully the mass of those to be trained in all world systems. The venerable Ajita [or Maitreya, in the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle, Ch. 4, v. 54] has said:
Diversified in all realms,
By measureless emanations beyond thought, He benefits all sentient beings.
Accordingly, the supreme emanational body simultaneously reveals the way of twelve deeds in myriad world systems of the ten directions, since it is skilled in remaining in the realm, in passing from that realm, in taking birth, renouncing the world, practising asceticism, reaching the point of enlightenment, vanquishing Mara's host, attaining perfect enlightenment, turning the doctrinal wheel, passing into final nirval). a, and teaching the duration and the decline of the doctrine. In each of these [world systems] it emanates as the Six Sages Embodying who act on behalf of the six classes of beings to be trained, Instructing them in accord with their differing sense perceptions and respective classes. So it is said in the Sutra which Resembles the Elephant's Expre,ssive Power T 207):
those to be ms ruc . 4 Continuum of the Greater Vehzcle, Ch.
29] h
said' .
128
And in a sutra:
Having comprehended that the reality of the
Conqueror d . hut Is without body, tranquil, not twO, an WIt 0
substantial existence, . .
The body of form adorned with dIgnified marks
continues to teach, .
Fulfilling the hopes of all living bemgs. .
Just as in the pure terrain of beryl
The reflection of Surendra's
So in the pure terrain of bemgs
. f Munlndra's body IS reflected.
The Image 0
. . 1bod When the emana. tIona h
natural expressIOn, emanatIons w 0 t emanations.
Emanations of Natural Expression
is of three types: of living beings and diversIfied
,v .
as
. h emanations of natural expression: Just as the Firstly, concerning t e b ddha body of perfect rapture who
teacher, appears to those lords of
is an appantIOn of the exp h t ure among those to be trained, he
the tenth level who are somew a flP ted l'mage in clear crystal within . themanner0fare ec 1
also appears m . 1 b dy of natural expression, name y,
the five of the Srlmat Padmakula and Karma- Akanistha m the centre, an Ira 1, . . ' .
Therein he appraIses an in the form of the
measureless peaceful and wrath f major and minor marks
Five Teachers, who are iden:ified by °ofform 129 As an antidote . ' . hT thagataValrocana,t e lng '. .
begmnIng WIt . a . . f those who require trammg, he turns to the five conflIctmg emotIOnS 0 d . 1 heel by means of his five
the inexpressible and. cognitions and so great fields, five bodIes, Ive oc ,
forth. . d f erfect rapture and its retinue, Since this Teacher, who.
IS the bo phe is classified in the Tantra is compounded by the mmds of 0 ' . ma dang zla-ba kha-sbyor-ba
ofthe Great Coalescence ofSun and Moon. (nyz- ·(. 'est pmanation of natural . d NGBV19)asaseml-manll' oJ- . '
rgyu , 0 . . hiloso her Dh2. rmamitra has, m un1- expreSSIOn. The Madhyamaka P . . d explanation [in the Clear formity with this, given the followmg UCl .
. '
h £ cardmal dIreCtIOns.
. .
prasiddhi m t de the doctrines through his body of
Word, Prasphurapada, T 37961:
130
Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
MafijusrI, at this, when a great bodhisattva has become evenly absorbed in the contemplation named Great Lotus (Mahiipadma), he has taken into his following or takes into his following the hellish domains of sentient beings, and causes all these beings to experience the bliss of the gods, however slight. These sentient beings also perceive him as a denizen of hell in the hells, and through that guise he teaches the doctrine to the sentient denizens of hell in order that they might become free from the hells.
And in the Great Bounteousness ofthe Buddhas:
Son of the enlightened family, the emanations of the tathagatas are immeasurable. They act on behalf of living beings by training each in accord with his needs, and by their forms, colours and names.
Now, if one were to ask just how these sages act on behalf of beings in this realm with its six classes of sentient creatures, the Superior Magical Net (sgyu-'phrul bla-ma, NGB Vol. 14, T 837) says:
In the realms of the gods he is Lord Sakra,
Among the antigods he is Vemacitra,
Among men he is the Lord of the Sakyas who subdues
Mara,
In the domain of tormented spirits he is Jvalamukha, To animals he is called Sirpha,
And in the hells he is Yama, lord of deeds.
Such a sixfold classification of realms applies in this world system of Patient Endurance (mi-mjed 'jig-rten-gyi khams, Skt. Sahalokadhiitu), the thirteenth among the series of twenty-five world which, as has already been explained, are situated one above the other upon the heart of a lotus on the palms of [Vairocana] the Great Glaciai Lake of Pristine Cognition, at the centre of his buddha-fields which are as infinite in extent as atomic particles. In this context, the [Tibetan] word mi-mjed ["endurable"] is explained to mean patient or intrepid. The sentient beings of this field endure desire, endure hatred, endure delusion and endure fetters of conflicting emotion. Thus, it is so called because the [Sanskrit] word saha conveys the sense of endurance or capability.
The living beings [inhabiting this world] appear also to have their own respective world-forming deeds. The Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas says:
The distinctions of deeds are inconceivable. The world of the hells slopes downwards. The world of Yama is topsy-turvy.
The animals and antigods move upwards and downwards.
Or the celestia! beings face upwards, the animal beings face honzontally, and the hellIsh and tormented beings face downwards.
These six [classes of beings] are complete within a single trichilio- cosmo As the Short Commentary on the Secret Nucleus (Srfguhyagar- bhapirJ4iirthatfkii, P 4755) says:
The six kinds of creatures in a single trichiliocosm Are said to be the field of a single emanational body.
The world system of the four continents comprises everything from the energy field [below the earth]132 upwards as far as Akanistha. The chiliocosm has a circumference which encloses one thousand world systems. The is encircled by a second perimeter enclosing tImes that m extent. The trichiliocosm is encircled by a
thIrd penmeter one thousand times the dichiliocosm in extent. The frontier limits of one myriad world systems are one billion times that in extent; a series of myriad world systems one billion times that· a myriad oceanic world systems one billion times that; and one of these equals a single Buddha-field whose Foundation and Centre are with Flowers (Kusumatalagarbhiilarrzkiirak$etra) , which is explamed to be the field of a supreme emanational body.
these. realms, [the supreme emanational body] projects the lamp of mstructlOn for those requiring training in as many ways as they have psychophysical bases, sense organs and modes of conduct, and acts on of sentient beings through four kinds of instruction. These four are mst:uction the great merit of the body, instruction by the direct mmd, instruction by inconceivable miraculous abilities,
and mstructlOn by knowledge conveyed in speech.
Concerning the first of these [which instructs by the great merit of the b d ] . . . .
o y , It IS ImpossIble to enumerate exactly, or otherwise to qualify,
131
the deeds of the Teacher's emanational body for it is a topic beyond con. I- '
u n the. sutras the greater vehicle, too, all manner of
q antItles are mentlOned whIch contradict one another and do not lend
themselves to summarisation; but here when his principle activities are SUbsumed . t . h
, ms ructlOn t rough the great merit of the body refers to
the deeds of t k b· h .
b. . a mg lrt ,renouncmg the world, practising asceticism
Mara, attaining buddhahood, turning the doctrinal wheel:
bISplaymg great miracles and passing into final nirvana. It is so called
ecause those requiring training who actually see them possess im- measurable merit.
Secondlyconc. . . b· .
the . - . ' mstructlOn y the dIrect perceptIon of mind,
hpnstme cogmtlOn [of the supreme emanational body] which is un It:ldered and unimpeded in respect of the three times: does not
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 131
132 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
discriminate between the three times while entering into all that is knowable. Accordingly, there are six supernormal cognitive powers which accompany his mind. These are the supernormal cognitive power which knows time totally without obscuration, the supernormal cogni- tive power which knows the minds of others totally unobscured, the supernormal cognitive power of clairvoyance which totally perceives everything, the supernormal cognitive power of clairaudience which totally hears everything, the supernormal cognitive power which mean- ingfully enacts rites of total benefit to sentient beings, and the supernor- mal cognitive power with respect to the cessation of corruption, in which obscurations have been purified. Since these directly perceive and overpower all that is knowable, they are instruction by the direct perception of his mind.
Thirdly, concerning instruction by miraculous abilities, the supreme emanational body acts on behalf of those who require training through the totally inconceivable [mystery] of his buddha-body, the totally in- conceivable [mystery] of his buddha-speech, and the totally inconceiv- able mystery of his buddha-mind. The mystery of buddha-body refers to his emanations who train living beings in accord with their class, such as Brahma and lsvara133 among the gods, a universal emperor among men, and Vemacitra among the antigods;134 and similarly as a woodpecker (shing-rta-mo) for the sake of birds, 135 Drdhasamadana, the king of lions, for the sake of wildlife,136 and so on. It refers, too, to the revelations of the maI). Qala of his visage which appropriately mani- fests in and of itself as the peaceful and wrathful deities, pisacf and so on, and to his revelations at various times, as when taking birth, trans- ferring realms, living, passing away, and residing [in other realms], which accord with the respective fortunes [of those requiring training].
The mystery of his bUddha-speech refers to the fact that the/revelation of the doctrine, which manifests according to those requiring training and their intelligence, is also understood by means ofdifferent languages and symbols. As the Great Bounteousness ofthe Buddhas [i. e. the Aspi- ration of Good Conduct, v. 18] says:
In the language ofgods, the languages ofnagas and In the languages of trolls and of humans,
In as many languages as there are among living beings, I teach the doctrine in the languages of all.
The mystery of his buddha-mind refers to the pristine cognition, free from all corruptions, which manifests appropriately for all by qual- itatively knowing the attitudes and minds of those requiring training. This threefold mystery is instruction through inconceivable miraculous abilities.
Fourth, concerning instruction by knowledge conveyed in speech, the supreme emanational body gives abbreviated teaching by means of
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 133 the five vehicles which correspond to the perception of th . .
. . h ose reqUInng trammg,. w 0 are . of five families or types (gotra). He gives detailed
teachIng eighty-four thousand doctrinal components as an antIdote for the eIghty-four thousand conflI·ctI·ng emot· d
h Idh· . IOns,an e conc u es corresponding to the degree of acumen [in
those reqUIre All these are instruction by knowledge conveyed In speech whIch conveys understanding beyond the attributes of mere. an. d. words, to the realms of sentient beings in an
appropnately IntellIgIble form through the tathagatas' bl . A - f d fi . . essIng.
sutra 0 e InItlVe meaning says: all these teachings,
I dId not teach a single syllable.
Diversified Emanations
s a
the eI? anations include all things basic to the greater of beIngs. As such, [the Teacher] reveals physical forms ongInate both naturally and through deliberate efforts _ emanatIons III the form of mansions verdant meadows ghandh l .
d . . . ' ,0 aspIres, an on the plaInS of suffering; as well as material objects such as
WIshmg Tree the Wish-fulfilling Gem (Cintama1}i), food, clothIng and medicine. It also includes other dIverse eman. atlOns. of artistry and birth such as a great fish which
appeared a of famine, a noble creature which appeared [to an epIdemIc, the horse Ajaneyabalaha in the island ofogres-
ses, and a golden bee in a swampy marsh. 140
descriptions [of these diversified emanations] are found dahs_ In _the Sutra of the Lamp of Precious Jewels
nama
ara1}zmahayanasutra, T 145):
EverYWhere I reveal many forms:
As kings among bards composing verses,
As dancers, drummers, athletes and musicians As dancers wearing beautiful ornaments
tadornments and garlands,
nd
bAnd merchants, captains and landlords.
become kings, priests and messengers, octors learned m the rites of worldly treatises And a vast oasis in a wilderness. '
I unending treasures of medicine and
precIOUS gems,
The Gem and the Tree which Brin s Forth WIshes; g
as masters ofmagical display.
become villagers, headmen and governors,
' '
134 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 135
And I reveal the path to those who deviate from the path.
Emanations According to the Great Perfection
According to one method of emanational the uncommon Great Perfection In partIcular, tebac dedrhs °b d
dfomtheappantIonal u a- 0 y emanational body have emanate r d b h If
of erfect ra ture in twelve different realms, and have acte on e a of by simultaneously manifesting great ema- national teachings of buddha-body, speech and mmd.
physical form, equal in size to the body of a living being, naturally produced from one hundred and one precious gems, which naturally arises through the blessing of the twelve teachers. Since these three [actualities] are uncompounded, they are subject neither to creation nor destruction, and since they arise naturally through blessing, they have immeasurable miraculous abilities and enlightened attributes. Therefore, no matter who encounters them, they are the support which causes the teaching of the body, speech and mind of the emanational bodies of past and future buddhas to multiply in the world systems. They also embody the enlightened activities [of those emanations] which are seen, heard and felt, and which subsequently cause corporeal reality to vanish of its own accord.
As for the realms in which [these actualities] reside, while they are
naturally expressed in a perpetual cycle, they reside in different realms
according to the times for instruction through the teachings of buddha-
body, speech and mind. The vajra, during the time for teaching through
buddha-body, remains on an island in the country of O<;i<;iiyana and
generates light, sound and countless emanational monks endowed with
miraculous abilities. During the time for teaching through buddha-
speech, the vajra is wielded by the kings on Mount Malaya, the
abode of Vajrapa1). i; and during the time for teaching through buddha-
142
mind, it abides in space above the Vajrasana.
The book, during the time for teaching through buddha-body, is
kept by the <;iakinls in the sublime space five hundred yojana above the Vajrasana; and during the time for teaching through buddha-speech, it remains with these same [<;iakinls]. Then during the time for teaching through buddha-mind, the book remains in the Cave ofthe Most Wrath- ful Sage (rab-tu khros-pa drang-srong-gi phug-pa).
The physical form, during the time for teaching through buddha- body, abides as the actual bodies of the buddhas, along with their emanations and further emanations through the blessing [of the aforementioned twelve teachers], and manifests the ma1). <;iala of their visage. During the time for teaching through buddha-speech, the phys- ical form roams indefinitely throughout Jambudvlpa and becomes a focus of worship for all extraordinary assemblies of gods and humans. On occasions when harm comes to the teaching, the physical form emits light from its bodies, the syllable HOM from their mouths and the fire of pristine cognition from their eyes. Then during the time for teaching which instructs through buddha-mind, it performs prostra- tions to the great glorious [Samantabhadra] whose natural expression remains the same, in the highest storey of Vajrapa1). i's palace in the celestial heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (Trayatrirrzsa), and it is the embodiment of oceanic miracles.
Simultaneously, the twelve teachers of the emanational body, too, appeared within their twelve realms. During the first aeon inhabited
Vajra on Lotus
In this world [Jambudvlpaj, the actuality of reality is a hand-sIzed vaJra produced fron: £ d by the Great which is naturally arisen through the. perfect rapture Perfection. The actuality of the teachIng 0 It nd of reality produced
'. from one hundred and one precIoUS fke an Only Son (rang-
. k 1· ingthenatura sou
is a four-mch boo ,proc a I m . hich is naturally ansen
through the blessing of the Naturally Present eac zng z . 1 body l·S the
. NYZ 1 7) The emanatlOna byung-ba bstan-pa bu-gczg-pa, vo . .
136 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 137
by those who require training, in the place called Pagoda of (dga'-ldan brtsegs-pa), the teacher Acintyaprabhasa [appeared] to a re- tinue of the Thousand Buddhas,143 and revealed the Penetration of Sound which is the basis of all teachings. It was compiled by the son
of the Gaje Wangcuk assisted by the son of the Nyima Nangje during the period when sentient beings had a hfe-span of Im-
measurable years.
In the world system of Patient Endurance (Sahalokadhatu), the
teacher [appeared to] a retinue of hundred thousand dakinls and revealed the teaching of the Fzve Tantras of Buddha-body, Sp;ech, Mind, Enlightened and Activ. ities (sku- gsung-thugs yon-tan phrin-las-kyi rgyud lnga) dUrIng the perIod when sentient beings had a life-span of ten million years.
In the realm of the Moisture Gathering Light Mass (drod-gsher 'od-kyis spungs-pa), the teacher Pel Jikpa Kyopei Yi [appeared a retinue of six hundred thousand bodhisattvas, and revealed the teachmg of the tantras Churner ofSarrzsara's Depths ('khor-ba dong-sprugs) , Crossing the Peacock's Neck (rma-bya mjing-bsnol, NGB Vol. 2), and the Glorious Tantra ofthe
Cessation of the Four Elements (dpal 'byung-bzhi zad-pa'i rgyud) during the period when the life-span was one hundred thousand years.
In the realm of Appearance in the W omb of Conception (chags-'byung mngal-du snang-ba), the teacher Zhonu Rolpa Nampali Tsewa [appeared to] a retinue of one thousand and and revealed the teaching of the Five Basic Tantras and Szx Branch Tantras of the
Mental Class (sems-sde rtsa-ba'i rgyud-lnga-dang yan-lag-gi rgyud-drug)
during the period when the life-span was eighty thousand years. . In the realm of the Garden of Sustaining Youth (,tsho-byed gzhon-nu'l ldum-ra), the sixth teacher Vajradhara144 appeared to a including the Seven Generations of Buddhas, and revealed teachmgs such as the
six transcendental perfections during the period when the life-span was
seventy thousand years.
In the realm of the Blazing Fire Mountain Charnel Ground of Most
Secret Display (gsang-chen rol-pa dur-khrod me-ri the. teacher Kumaravlrabalin appeared to a retinue of seven the bodhisattva Balahaka, and revealed the doctrine of many tantrapqaka, including those of the Father Tantra (pha-rgyud) and Mother Tantra (ma- rgyud) during the period when the life-span was sixty thousand years.
In the realm of the Ogre Cave endowed with the Sound of the Rulu Mantra (srin-phug ru-Iu'i sgra-dang-ldan-pa), the teacher Drangsong Trhopei Gyelpo [appeared to] a retinue often million ogres, and doctrines such as the Ten Tantras on the Discipline of Coarse Defilements
(rags-pa 'dul-ba'i rgyud-bcu) during the period when the life-span was ten thousand years. ,.
In the realm of Rajagrha near Vulture Peak phung-po 1 rgyaZ-po'i khab), the teacher Arhat SuvafJ)aprabhasa (gser- od dam-pa)
appeared to a retinue of immeasurable sublime pious attendants en- dowed with miraculous abilities and revealed immeasurable myriads of true doctrines on the Vinaya (,dul-ba) during the period when sentient beings had a life-span of five thousand years.
In the realm of the Turquoise Eyebrow in Mongolia (sog-po gYu'i smin-ma-can) near the victorious tree of enlightenment,145 the teacher Tsewe Rolpei Lodro [appeared to] a retinue of eighth level bodhi- sattvas146 and revealed the Seven Tantras ofSubtle Meaning (phra-rgyud bdun-pa) and so forth during the period when the life-span was one thousand years.
In the realm of Vulture Peak (Grdhrakara), the teacher, the elder Kasyapa, appeared to a retinue of seven long-living and revealed true doctrines which included the slUras, the Kriyatantra, and eighty thousand doctrines of the Anuyoga transmission during the period when the life-span was five hundred years.
In the realm of Vajrasana, near the forthcoming Tree of Enlighten- ment,147 the teacher Yab Ngondzok Gyelpo appeared to a retinue of the Lords of the Three Families and revealed only doctrines of definitive meaning during the period when the life-span was three hundred years.
Then in the realm of AnathapiQc;lada's Pleasure Grove (kun-dga' ra- ba), the teacher Sakyamuni [appeared to] a retinue of the four orders, and promulgated the doctrinal wheel of the four truths twelve times during the period when the life-span was one hundred years.
Since these events in the twelve realms are each connected with the five excellences [ofplace, teacher, retinue, doctrine and time], an enum- eration of sixty doctrines emerges.
Concerning the approach [of the Great Perfection] to enlightened activities also, many special attributes have been explained. The twelve deeds of the body are as follows: In the twelve different realms, the Teacher himself appeared, emanated in twelve forms endowed with different colours and symbolic implements. He came forth in order to propagate the teaching of the body, relying on the charisma of the buddha-body which is said to perform twelve different deeds of im- measurable benefit to different gatherings of those requiring training Who belong to twelve dissimilar classes or types (gotra).
Then, while [emanating] these bodies, he delivered twelve different doctrinal wheels of speech and so came forth in order to propagate the of speech, which is said to perform deeds which liberate living bemgs from the twelve different fetters of speech. During the time of that same speech, through the twelve different intentions of his mind, he came forth in order to propagate the teaching of mind which is said to perform deeds which liberate the different classes of living beings from their twelve thought patterns. So it is that a single emanational body who establishes the teaching in this way requires an enumeration of ninety-six doctrines. One who possesses these doctrines is said to be
138 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
a master of the teaching, and if one does not possess them it is said that the partial teaching of the Buddha has appeared, in the w? rld; for these doctrines have emerged from the perfect generatIon of enhghtened
mind in the past,
It is said in the Great Array:
Through nine aspects beginning with the outer, The details of his deeds must be distinguished,
Therefore, deeds are spoken of in many ways. For example, dee,ds of body, speech and mind are each classified into three outer and mner aspects and each of these is also classified into fo;ur. I shall not enlarge upon this here. They are all evident m area of
[the Teacher's] intention, and the Sugata, m skIlful means, manifests the buddha-body of form in ways whIch correspond to number of atoms in the myriad fields of those requiring training, whIch
are of oceanic extent.
Concerning the revelation of the buddhas' deeds, should not
think that there is a contradiction even if within one there differences. Since the emanational power of the buddhas IS an mconcelV- able object, it is not even within the range of the ? f sublime [bodhisattvas], let alone ordinary persons. Smce theIr tImes
and those who require to be trained by them and so be exactly enumerated, one should not, having seen one of aspects, disparage the others. For this it is in _the Sublzme which Genuinely Comprises the Entzre Doctrme (Aryadharmasan:zgztz,
T 238):
Sentient beings who will an aeon of dissolution to become an aeon of evolution can indeed transform an aeon of dissolu- tion into an aeon of evolution; and they experience an aeon of evolution. Sentient beings who will an aeon of evolution
to become an aeon of dissolution can indeed transform an aeon of evolution into an aeon of dissolution; and they experi- ence an aeon of dissolution. But really the evolution and the dissolution do not change into one another; for it is the will which changes in this way. Similarly, sentient beings. who
will one aeon to become just one morning may expenence one aeon in one morning. And sentient beings who will morning to become one aeon may experience j. ust is called the miraculous ability born ofthe bodhIsattva swIll.
4 TheFiveBuddha-bodiesand Five Pristine Cognitions
[60a. 3-63a. 5] When these three buddha-bodies [which have just been outlined] are classified according to the five buddha-bodies, there are
148
two exegetical traditions. Scholars of the Zur tradition
there are five buddha-bodies with the addition of the body of awakening (abhisambodhikaya), which derives from the distinct apparitional functions of the three bodies; and the body of indestructible reality (vajrakaya) which derives from the function of their indivisible essence. These scholars assert therefore that the three bodies of reality, perfect rapture and emanation are the characteristic nature of the buddha- body, while the other two are the conventional buddha-body because, among them, the former is determined by the function of the form of the three bodies and the latter by the function of their indivisible essence.
The Longcenpa claims that the three bodies of reality, awakenmg and indestructible reality are the characteristic nature of the that manifests in and of itself (rang-snang), while the bodIes of perfect rapture and emanation are conventional because they are c? mpounded by the external perception (gzhan-snang) of those who reqUlre training.
Though no contradiction is discerned whichever of these explanations one follows, none the less when the buddha-body is definitively ordered according to its characteristic nature, it is the original expanse, the naturally pure point of liberation, primordially pure, in which all bUddhas are of a single expanse, the reality in which all paths are traversed, that is called the unchanging buddha-body of Indestructible reality. This is because it is perpetual, stable, and without changing or turning into all manner offorms. bt al,so called "natural purity" because it is taintless from the
, egmnlng, and "the buddha endowed with two purities" because it
IS une,rly pure with respect to the two aspects of suddenly arisen ob-
SCUratIOn. As the Net ofPristine Cognition (ye-shes drva-ba, NGB Vol. IS) says: .
claim that
140 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Five Buddha-bodies and Five Pristine Cognitions 141
The pure expanse is the body of indestructible reality. It is unchanging, undecaying and beyond thought.
The buddha-body of awakening is so called because it possesses the attributes of knowledge, love and power such as the ten powers (dasatathagatabala, Mvt. 119-29), the four fearlessnesses (catur- vaisaradya, Mvt. 130-34), the eighteen distinct attributes ofthe buddhas (aHadasaverJikabuddhadharma, Mvt. 135-53) and great compassion (mahakarurJa, Mvt. 154-86). It abides as the basis for the arising of all distinct doctrines and its attributes are free from obscuration owing to the unimpeded expression of [all-]knowing pristine cognition which is the apparitional aspect [of the above-mentioned body of indestructible reality] endowed with the two purities. As the above-cited [Net of Pristine Cognition] says:
Because it is taintless, it is pure.
Vast in attributes, it is consummate. Permeated by non-duality, it is coalescent. Such is called the body of awakening.
Then, when the buddha-body is definitively ordered according to pristine cognition, it is explained that the pristine cognition of the expanse of reality (dharmadhatujiiana) is the pristine cognition which qualitatively knows [the view, ji-lta-ba mkhyen-pa'i ye-shes], and the four subsequent pristine cognitions through their functions of support- ing and depending on [the former] comprise the pristine cognition which quantitatively knows [phenomena, ji-snyed-pa mkhyen-pa'i ye- shes]. The great scholars who taught the definitive meaning during the later period of doctrinal propagation [in Tibet]149 meant the same when they explained the pristine cognition of the expanse of reality to refer to ultimate reality and the four subsequent pristine cognitions to be intermingled with various aspects of relative appearance.
All these fields have distinct features; for the expanse of reahty IS filled with oceans offields and buddha-bodies which do not intermingle, take birth or change into other forms, alter or decline, and which are not even slightly covered by extraneous matter. As it is said in the Sutraofthe Arrayed Bouquet (Ga1Jejavyuhasutra, T 44, cf. Ch. 34, v. 28):
Even on a single hair-tip,
Is an unthinkable array of fields. Though they have various shapes, They do not differ,
And they do not become intermingled.
And in the Sutra of Inconceivable Secrets (Tathtigatacintyaguhyanir- desasutra, T 47):
Santamati, all that is pervaded by space
Is pervaded by the tathagatas' fields and bodies.
Similarly, these fields are arrayed in three dissimilar are respectively occupied by the buddhas' three bodies. In the dImensIOn of the buddha-body of reality they are called Fields of the ible Nucleus of Inner Radiance (,od-gsal rdo-rje snying-po). In the dImen- sion of the buddha-body of perfect rapture, manifest in and of itself, they are called the Fields ofBrahma's Drumbeat (tshangs-pa'i rnga-sgra). And in the dimension of the emanational body they are called the Aeon of Great Brahma (tshangs-chen-gyi bskal-pa). Oceans of buddhas who are emanations of the Primordial Lord [Samantabhadra] himself, appear in these dimensions throughout the three times, and there are also oceans of world systems of sentient beings which exist, but their extent, encompassed by the four elements and space, is confined wlthlll this Aeon of Great Brahma.
In . this aeon, diverse appearances of happiness and suffering are expenenced; for example, the impure sentient beings transfer conscious- ness at death and emerge at birth, buddhas pass into nirvana the endures and path is attained and so on.
lll. the ofeach atomIC partIcle, measureless fields containing moun- talllS, contInents and oceans appear, and in addition, each atomic par- ticle of the world on the surface of a single atom consists of measureless world systems of sentient beings well furnished with causes and condi- tions . . These emanations of the sugatas, the most powerful of
bodhIsattva aspIratIOns to purify lands [into buddha-fields], the accumu- latio. n of manifestly gathered by the bewildered perceptions of and excellent attainments which spring from reality. As It IS saId In the Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas:
Since the object of the buddhas' pristine cognition is unthinkable,
So are these emanations of their blessing.
Teaching in oceans of fields, without extreme or centre
Vairocana has totally purified them through the
In accord with enlightened mind, which is the thought ofall
He has purified unthinkable oceans of aspirations. '
Since the oceans of deeds of sentient beings are unthinkable,
All the oceans of fields in all directions emerge. The emanations of all the bodhisattvas and
The approach to all-knoWing reality
. Have. beenactuallyattainedbyalltheoceansofaspirations,
And III the expanse of space, infinite fields emerge.
By oceans of conduct, beings without extreme or centre practise,
And enter the range of measureless sugatas. Purifying all the oceans of fields in the directions They purify each field for infinite aeons. '
All the oceans of fields of deeds
Which the thoughts of sentient beings, InconceIVable in expanse, emerge.
And in th A . " if G T e spzratlOn 0
44 and T 1095, v. 29bcd):
p". ,
ractisIllg and manifesting for oceans of aeons.
these fields are radiant apparitions, not existing in reality
ood Conduct (Bhadracaryapranidhanaraja
The three times are measured in the space of a hair, By oceans of buddhas in oceans of fields
ecause III the ex f
ft " "panse 0 om the begInmng.
1" " ,
rea Ity relatIve appearances have not existed
Samantabhadra 119
. ,
2 Vajradhara, the Emanation of Samantabhadra
legs-par and thereafter, manifesting as the son of one Vidyut- prabha (glog-gz od), who was named the brahman youth Sudatta (bram- ze'i khye'u legs-byin), he studied the doctrine under the Buddha KalyaI)amati (dge-ba'i blo-gros) and abided in contemplation for seven years. Finally after seventy-five [years], on the summit of the mountain called Array of Gem Cluste. rs (rin-po-che'i phung-po mam-par bkod-pa), he revealed the way of mamfest, perfect buddhahood and continued to abide in the intention of the buddha-body of reality for one great aeon.
[45a. 4-46b. 4] Secondly, concerning the manner in which Vajradhara -attained buddhahood in this field [of the trichiliocosm]. For the sake of those requiring training in this field, the original buddha Saman- tabhadra gave teaching through his great emanation who is learned in
skilful means, illustrating the manner in which ordinary, indifferent persons would generate the enlightened mind, and so he sent forth a display of the modes and actions of buddhahood. Such modes [of emanation] are also known in the ordinary vehicle. As it is said in the Sutra ofthe Meeting ofFather and Son (Pitiiputrasamiigamanasiltra, T 60):
Great Warrior, learned in skilful means,
You have been the Conqueror in one billion aeons
In order to mature sentient beings,
And though you have revealed yourself as the Buddha,
Even today, my Guide,
You reveal yourself as manifold buddhas.
And in the Sublime Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas:
Though they have well attained oceans of enlightenment, In order to mature fully oceans of sentient beings,
They continually reveal their oceanic cultivation of
enlightened mind,
And at all times teach oceans of unobscured conduct. Such are the emanations of the sugatas.
Immeasureable aeons ago,118 in the field which is called Array of Natural Expression (rang-bzhin mam-par bkod-pa), the emanation of the Primordial Lord [i. e. Vajradhara, the emanation ofSamantabhadra] offered a golden vajra to the Buddha Maharoca (me-tog mdzes-pa chen-po), and so first aspired to supreme enlightenment. Then, after
two such lifetimes in which he became the son of a householder, Sudana (legs-sbyin), who was named MaI)imalya (nor-bu'i phreng-ba), he listened to the doctrine in the presence of the Buddha Sucaritacakra Ckhor-lo
V ajradhara
Then he naturally appeared as the buddha-body of perfect rapture in a cycle of ornaments and colours, and from its nature, self-manifesting mal). <;lalas of the Conquerors of the Five Enlightened Families emerged
their own accord beyond number. However, among these appari- tIonal forms h' . h b .
dow . '
f ed WIth the major and mmor marks,119 derived from that offering
IS eI? ergence t e ody of VaJradhara, perfectly en-
o the . vajra, which was the supporting basis of his aspiration.
hWhIle these [deities] also have mastery over the thirty-six actions of t wheel of the inexhaustible ornaments of buddha-body speech and
. '
a lty (snying-thig) ,120 in reality, as explained above, they are no different
mInd h' h C'
l' ,w IC lorm one aspect of the teachmg on the Innermost Spiritu-
Vajradhara 121
122 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
from that magical emanation of the Primordial Lord, who is. in skilful means. For there are numerous names which descnbe hIm, including: Vajradhara, who teaches most tantras of the way of s. ec. ret mantra; Samantabhadra, who is the teacher of the profound nature or indestructible reality of the utterly secret Innermost Spintu-
ality; and elsewhere he is referred to as Buddha, Vajrasattva and so on. So it is that the CollectlOn ofRealzsatlOn (Sarvakal- pasamuccayasarvabuddhasamayogottaratantra, T 367) says:
Supreme among all the purest, Primordially liberated tathagata, Samantabhadra, the lord of all,
Is certainly the enlightened mind itself.
And again:
Spiritual warrior without beginning or end, Vajrasattva, supreme delight,
Samantabhadra, the lord of all,
Indestructible nucleus, highest of the high - Since he is primordial and without end,
He is considered the first of the true [buddhas]. Since he is the centre of all ma1). Qalas,
He is the true lord of the true [buddhas].
3 The Two Buddha-bodies of Form
[46b. 4] Thirdly, there is the buddha-body of form (rapakaya) which has two apparitional modes - namely, the body of perfect rapture (sambhogakaya) and the emanational body (nirmalJakaya).
THE BUDDHA-BODY OF PERFECT RAPTURE
[46b. 4-50a. 5] As to the former, there is an explanation in Buddha- guhya's Sequence of the Path:
The fields and celestial palaces
With their thrones and ornaments, Which are the self-manifesting
And spontaneously perfect awareness Appear as manifold light rays.
Accordingly, the great buddha-body of reality which abides within the nature of inwardly radiant reality, in the manner of the five-coloured light radiated within a crystal prism by the sun's rays, has an apparitional aspect of pristine cognition, which extends outward radiance to an object manifest [only] in and of itself. In this way it is experienced as measureless buddha-bodies and fields of rapture.
Among them, in this emanational array which comprises twenty-five different fields situated one above the other on the petals and anthers of a lotus stem growing on the palms of Vairocana the Great Glacial Lake, and in the sixteen different fields within the streams of fragrant Water which flow beneath his crossed legs, uncountable [bodies of] rapture are projected in a constant cycle, endowed with oceans of major and minor marks. This natural expression of the Buddhas of the Five Enlightened Families, endowed with the five certainties, is the charac- teristic basis of the great body of rapture, the array of fields and buddha- bOdies present within Vairocana, the Great Glacial Lake of Pristine COgnitioI). (ye-shes gangs-chen mtsho).
124 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 12S
It should be known that the indestructible play of these magical emanations is inconceivably secret. For example, it is by no means contradictory that fields containing atoms of oceanic infinity exist on the surface of a single atom, bodies of oceanic infinity are gathered in a single body and each body also covers an oceanic infinity of fields. Such is said in the Tantra of the Secret Nucleus (Ch. 9, v. 13):
In the manner of the trichiliocosm
Absorbed in a mustard seed,
One should make offerings
After inviting the ma1)<;iala from the expanse. 121
And in the Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas: 122 On the surface of a single atom
Are as many buddhas as there are atoms.
This buddha-body of rapture, the teacher who holds sway over these fields, is also endowed with seven particular attributes of natural expres- sion. These are, namely: the natural expression which has fully matured in the nature of just what is; the natural expression which is spontane- ously present without seeking for enlightened attributes; the natural expression which is pristine cognition without extremes or centre; the natural expression which, even though the result be mastered, does not reveal its true essence [i. e. it manifests only in and of itself]; the natural expression which, even when sameness has been disclosed, remains free from the range ofobjective qualification; the natural expres- sion which is liberated from [concepts of] one and many; and the natural expression which is without conjunction and disjunction throughout the three times.
In the [buddhas] who greatly embody these seven [attributes of natural expression], spontaneous presence refers to the ordinary major and minor marks through which the diverse symbols of their body, speech and mind appear in accordance with the acumen of those requir- ing training. This transformation includes the thirty-two excellent major marks such as the wheel-marked hands and feet, and the eighty minor marks such as the copper-coloured nails which appear on their bodies, blazing with the major and minor marks. It also refers to the [major and minor marks], disclosed by the Teacher's mind through four kinds of pristine cognition, namely, the outer major and minor marks derived from his expressive power, the inner major and minor marks derived from the purity of his energy channels and centres, and the secret major and minor marks derived from the purified aspect of the seed that is the enlightened mind. Then, in the Great Perfection (rdzogs-pa chen- pO),123 the rapture of equal savour, experienced when the network of energy channels is naturally expressed as purified supreme bliss, is explained to be the supreme embellishment among the ornaments. The
Oceanic Magical Net (sgyu-'phrul rgya-mtsho, NGB Vol. IS) says:
Know that the twofold bliss of vowels and consonants Intermingles and becomes one;
The sixteen [delights] by their dual movement Possess the major marks.
One series of them is endowed with five pristine cognitions,
And becomes the eighty minor marks.
Superior are they to the feeling of receptiveness and other causal [teachings]. 124
The . five components - namely, the one [component] which perceives the lIberated uncorrupted pristine cognition, utterly transcending accumulated the component of moral discipline; the component of contemplatIon; the component of discriminative awareness· and the component of liberation - are also naturally expressed as Five [Conquerors] - Vairocana, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and
are embodiments of the tathagatas' body, speech, mInd, enhghtened attnbutes and activities.
The five elemental properties [of space, cohesion, solidity, warmth, and movement], too, are naturally expressed as [the divine consorts of those conquerors] - DhatvIsvarI, Locana, MamakI, Pa1)daravasinI and Purified as such, [the components and tIes] abIde III a coalescence of unchanging supreme bliss and emptiness endowed with all supreme aspects. 125
this. way, the pristine cognition which transcends subject and object . amazing ma1)<;iala arrays through its [rapturous] appreCIatIOn. of all. self-manifesting objects. These arrays include the ma1)<;ialas WIth theIr centre, periphery and clusters [of deities], their father consort and mother consort, body-colours, symbolic hand imple-
ments, passionate and passionless forms - male and female tathagatas male female bodhisattvas, and male and female wrathful deities. ' So It IS that the four sensations of seeing hearing smelling and
tas( fid .
In theIr natural expression respectively as the four
V a j r a p a 1 ) i , A k a s a g a r b h a a n d A v a - a knesvara, and the fou. r sense of form, sound, smell and taste four female bodhisattvas Lasya, Mala, GIta and NartI. Similarly
e Our organsofeye,ear,noseandtonguefindnaturalexpression as [the bodhisattvas] Maitreya, Nivaranaviskambhin Samantabhadra
andM _. ,-
a . a? d the four temporal of past, future, present
In? efimte tIme as Dhupa, Aloka and Gandha. 126
gaIn, the common savour of supreme delight experienced through
the subject ofcontact, object ofcontact and sensation ofcontact wIcht h '
. In eract w en the secret [sexual] sense objects organs and con- are united in meditative equipoise with Vajra Queen 127 IS naturally expressed as the Four Mahakrodha [or "most wrathful
. . ,
'"
126 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
male"] deities, "lords of death". The four [extremes] of permanence, decay, self and character are also naturally expressed as the Four krodhI [or "most wrathful female"] deities. Yet, the forms present m such infinite retinues are nothing but the display ofthe Teacher himself, the wheel of inexhaustible ornament which appears as the centre and periphery of the mal). Qala. So it is explained in the Tantra ofthe [Secret] Nucleus:
The centre without extremes or middle is intrinsic awareness.
The four pristine cognitions emanate around it in the manner of a wheel.
And in the Illuminating Lamp of the Fundamental Text (khog-gzhung gsal-sgron, P 4739):
Having reached the culmination of the result in Akanistha,
He as the centre and periphery of the mal). Qala.
The fields of these [mal). Qala deities] are present in every form bec. ause they are the pristine cognition of the buddhas manifest in and of ltself and the display of the magical net, which is the nature of all forms. Their thrones are everywhere, their celestial palaces are everywhere, they arise everywhere, their zenith is everywhere, their nadir is every- where, their spheres are everywhere, their squares are ever,Ywhere, their triangles are everywhere, their faces are everywhere, theIr hands are everywhere, their feet are everywhere, their eyes are everywhere, and they face in every direction. Each sense organ, too: the function of all sense organs, because the expanse of realIty IS mfimtely covered and enveloped by the unimpeded expressive power of pristine cognition. Accordingly, the Lion's Perfect Expressive Power (seng-ge rtsal-rdzogs chen-po'i rgyud, NGB Vo1. 9) says:
The face of Samantabhadra sees in all ten directions. The body of the all-seeing, all-positive [Samantabhadra] Has neither front nor back.
With an eye which fills the ten directions,
He sees form.
And also in the Kalacakra Tantra: With hands and feet everywhere,
With eyes, head and face everywhere,
Possessing ears everywhere,
He who remains pervading all the world's limits. . .
Since these perceptual objects of the buddhas are subsumed by the
minds of the buddhas alone, they are invisible even to the lords of the tenth level; for the latter are not liberated from all obscurations and have not attained the eye of pristine cognition, which, without even a mote [of obscuration], qualitatively knows [the view] and quantitatively
knows [phenomena]. So the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle (Ch. 2, v. 69) says:
Because it is not an object of speech, Is subsumed by ultimate reality,
Is not within reason's domain,
Is beyond exemplification,
Is unsurpassed and is subsumed neither by existence nor quiescence,
The objective range of the Conqueror is inconceivable, Even to sublime beings.
These perfect supramundane fields in which the cycle ofmyriad pure worlds and their contents arise, forming the apparitional aspect of the great inner radiance of the ground, manifest in and of itself, are equi- valent to the purest of dreams. For, in situations where the subject-ob- ject dichotomy and its propensities are purified, there are not thought
to be any material substances with independent attributes existing elsewhere apart from that apparition. As the Tantra of the Extensive
Magical Net says:
If there is no understanding of intrinsic awareness or
THE
genuine perception,
The field of SukhavatI is even seen as a state of evil existence.
If the truth which is equivalent to the supreme of vehicles is realised,
Even states of evil existence are and
EMANA TIONAL BODY
The Teacher who instructs [sentient beings] appears as the body (ninna'fJakaya) in response to the degrees of im- punty, s11ght purity and utter purity of the stains which obscure the of the sugata within the minds of those to be trained. Without
. '
his buddha-body of form sends forth a varied, unimpeded
of emanations of effortless, great spirituality. Among these, realIty reflect . .
s as many aSpIratIons as there are shapes of the moon in vessels of unsullied water, dependent on the ostensible dichotomy of
from the expanse of ultimate reality, for both samsara and
nIrvana ha
. ' ve one great common savour m the utterly pure body of
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 127
128 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies ,r
. t ted and the instruction itself. As Ajita [in the Supreme
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 129
Manifestly perfect buddhahood is to be attained in only a single realm of which is disclosed to bodhisattvas as far as the path of insight by this body explained to be the imputed body of perfect rapture that appears to them, and by aspiration, the residual force of the accumulations, or mere intention. Therefore, the buddha-body of perfect rap- ture endowed with a multitude of forms has extensively ap- peared only as the emanational body in the realms. 130
And on the same subject, the Sutra of the Descent to Lanka (Ch. IO, v. 774) says:
In the desire and formless realms
The Buddha does not become enlightened. In among the realms of form, Without desire, you will attain buddhahood.
Through such quotations, authoritative passages do explain that the supreme emanational body attains buddhahood in before becoming a buddha in the human world, and thus confirm the meaning expressed in this section.
Emanations who Train Living Beings
Secondly, concerning the emanations who train living beings: From the nature of this [Teacher], the emanational body who instructs living beings reveals inconceivable modes of display through skilful means in order to mature fully the mass of those to be trained in all world systems. The venerable Ajita [or Maitreya, in the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle, Ch. 4, v. 54] has said:
Diversified in all realms,
By measureless emanations beyond thought, He benefits all sentient beings.
Accordingly, the supreme emanational body simultaneously reveals the way of twelve deeds in myriad world systems of the ten directions, since it is skilled in remaining in the realm, in passing from that realm, in taking birth, renouncing the world, practising asceticism, reaching the point of enlightenment, vanquishing Mara's host, attaining perfect enlightenment, turning the doctrinal wheel, passing into final nirval). a, and teaching the duration and the decline of the doctrine. In each of these [world systems] it emanates as the Six Sages Embodying who act on behalf of the six classes of beings to be trained, Instructing them in accord with their differing sense perceptions and respective classes. So it is said in the Sutra which Resembles the Elephant's Expre,ssive Power T 207):
those to be ms ruc . 4 Continuum of the Greater Vehzcle, Ch.
29] h
said' .
128
And in a sutra:
Having comprehended that the reality of the
Conqueror d . hut Is without body, tranquil, not twO, an WIt 0
substantial existence, . .
The body of form adorned with dIgnified marks
continues to teach, .
Fulfilling the hopes of all living bemgs. .
Just as in the pure terrain of beryl
The reflection of Surendra's
So in the pure terrain of bemgs
. f Munlndra's body IS reflected.
The Image 0
. . 1bod When the emana. tIona h
natural expressIOn, emanatIons w 0 t emanations.
Emanations of Natural Expression
is of three types: of living beings and diversIfied
,v .
as
. h emanations of natural expression: Just as the Firstly, concerning t e b ddha body of perfect rapture who
teacher, appears to those lords of
is an appantIOn of the exp h t ure among those to be trained, he
the tenth level who are somew a flP ted l'mage in clear crystal within . themanner0fare ec 1
also appears m . 1 b dy of natural expression, name y,
the five of the Srlmat Padmakula and Karma- Akanistha m the centre, an Ira 1, . . ' .
Therein he appraIses an in the form of the
measureless peaceful and wrath f major and minor marks
Five Teachers, who are iden:ified by °ofform 129 As an antidote . ' . hT thagataValrocana,t e lng '. .
begmnIng WIt . a . . f those who require trammg, he turns to the five conflIctmg emotIOnS 0 d . 1 heel by means of his five
the inexpressible and. cognitions and so great fields, five bodIes, Ive oc ,
forth. . d f erfect rapture and its retinue, Since this Teacher, who.
IS the bo phe is classified in the Tantra is compounded by the mmds of 0 ' . ma dang zla-ba kha-sbyor-ba
ofthe Great Coalescence ofSun and Moon. (nyz- ·(. 'est pmanation of natural . d NGBV19)asaseml-manll' oJ- . '
rgyu , 0 . . hiloso her Dh2. rmamitra has, m un1- expreSSIOn. The Madhyamaka P . . d explanation [in the Clear formity with this, given the followmg UCl .
. '
h £ cardmal dIreCtIOns.
. .
prasiddhi m t de the doctrines through his body of
Word, Prasphurapada, T 37961:
130
Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
MafijusrI, at this, when a great bodhisattva has become evenly absorbed in the contemplation named Great Lotus (Mahiipadma), he has taken into his following or takes into his following the hellish domains of sentient beings, and causes all these beings to experience the bliss of the gods, however slight. These sentient beings also perceive him as a denizen of hell in the hells, and through that guise he teaches the doctrine to the sentient denizens of hell in order that they might become free from the hells.
And in the Great Bounteousness ofthe Buddhas:
Son of the enlightened family, the emanations of the tathagatas are immeasurable. They act on behalf of living beings by training each in accord with his needs, and by their forms, colours and names.
Now, if one were to ask just how these sages act on behalf of beings in this realm with its six classes of sentient creatures, the Superior Magical Net (sgyu-'phrul bla-ma, NGB Vol. 14, T 837) says:
In the realms of the gods he is Lord Sakra,
Among the antigods he is Vemacitra,
Among men he is the Lord of the Sakyas who subdues
Mara,
In the domain of tormented spirits he is Jvalamukha, To animals he is called Sirpha,
And in the hells he is Yama, lord of deeds.
Such a sixfold classification of realms applies in this world system of Patient Endurance (mi-mjed 'jig-rten-gyi khams, Skt. Sahalokadhiitu), the thirteenth among the series of twenty-five world which, as has already been explained, are situated one above the other upon the heart of a lotus on the palms of [Vairocana] the Great Glaciai Lake of Pristine Cognition, at the centre of his buddha-fields which are as infinite in extent as atomic particles. In this context, the [Tibetan] word mi-mjed ["endurable"] is explained to mean patient or intrepid. The sentient beings of this field endure desire, endure hatred, endure delusion and endure fetters of conflicting emotion. Thus, it is so called because the [Sanskrit] word saha conveys the sense of endurance or capability.
The living beings [inhabiting this world] appear also to have their own respective world-forming deeds. The Great Bounteousness of the Buddhas says:
The distinctions of deeds are inconceivable. The world of the hells slopes downwards. The world of Yama is topsy-turvy.
The animals and antigods move upwards and downwards.
Or the celestia! beings face upwards, the animal beings face honzontally, and the hellIsh and tormented beings face downwards.
These six [classes of beings] are complete within a single trichilio- cosmo As the Short Commentary on the Secret Nucleus (Srfguhyagar- bhapirJ4iirthatfkii, P 4755) says:
The six kinds of creatures in a single trichiliocosm Are said to be the field of a single emanational body.
The world system of the four continents comprises everything from the energy field [below the earth]132 upwards as far as Akanistha. The chiliocosm has a circumference which encloses one thousand world systems. The is encircled by a second perimeter enclosing tImes that m extent. The trichiliocosm is encircled by a
thIrd penmeter one thousand times the dichiliocosm in extent. The frontier limits of one myriad world systems are one billion times that in extent; a series of myriad world systems one billion times that· a myriad oceanic world systems one billion times that; and one of these equals a single Buddha-field whose Foundation and Centre are with Flowers (Kusumatalagarbhiilarrzkiirak$etra) , which is explamed to be the field of a supreme emanational body.
these. realms, [the supreme emanational body] projects the lamp of mstructlOn for those requiring training in as many ways as they have psychophysical bases, sense organs and modes of conduct, and acts on of sentient beings through four kinds of instruction. These four are mst:uction the great merit of the body, instruction by the direct mmd, instruction by inconceivable miraculous abilities,
and mstructlOn by knowledge conveyed in speech.
Concerning the first of these [which instructs by the great merit of the b d ] . . . .
o y , It IS ImpossIble to enumerate exactly, or otherwise to qualify,
131
the deeds of the Teacher's emanational body for it is a topic beyond con. I- '
u n the. sutras the greater vehicle, too, all manner of
q antItles are mentlOned whIch contradict one another and do not lend
themselves to summarisation; but here when his principle activities are SUbsumed . t . h
, ms ructlOn t rough the great merit of the body refers to
the deeds of t k b· h .
b. . a mg lrt ,renouncmg the world, practising asceticism
Mara, attaining buddhahood, turning the doctrinal wheel:
bISplaymg great miracles and passing into final nirvana. It is so called
ecause those requiring training who actually see them possess im- measurable merit.
Secondlyconc. . . b· .
the . - . ' mstructlOn y the dIrect perceptIon of mind,
hpnstme cogmtlOn [of the supreme emanational body] which is un It:ldered and unimpeded in respect of the three times: does not
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 131
132 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
discriminate between the three times while entering into all that is knowable. Accordingly, there are six supernormal cognitive powers which accompany his mind. These are the supernormal cognitive power which knows time totally without obscuration, the supernormal cogni- tive power which knows the minds of others totally unobscured, the supernormal cognitive power of clairvoyance which totally perceives everything, the supernormal cognitive power of clairaudience which totally hears everything, the supernormal cognitive power which mean- ingfully enacts rites of total benefit to sentient beings, and the supernor- mal cognitive power with respect to the cessation of corruption, in which obscurations have been purified. Since these directly perceive and overpower all that is knowable, they are instruction by the direct perception of his mind.
Thirdly, concerning instruction by miraculous abilities, the supreme emanational body acts on behalf of those who require training through the totally inconceivable [mystery] of his buddha-body, the totally in- conceivable [mystery] of his buddha-speech, and the totally inconceiv- able mystery of his buddha-mind. The mystery of buddha-body refers to his emanations who train living beings in accord with their class, such as Brahma and lsvara133 among the gods, a universal emperor among men, and Vemacitra among the antigods;134 and similarly as a woodpecker (shing-rta-mo) for the sake of birds, 135 Drdhasamadana, the king of lions, for the sake of wildlife,136 and so on. It refers, too, to the revelations of the maI). Qala of his visage which appropriately mani- fests in and of itself as the peaceful and wrathful deities, pisacf and so on, and to his revelations at various times, as when taking birth, trans- ferring realms, living, passing away, and residing [in other realms], which accord with the respective fortunes [of those requiring training].
The mystery of his bUddha-speech refers to the fact that the/revelation of the doctrine, which manifests according to those requiring training and their intelligence, is also understood by means ofdifferent languages and symbols. As the Great Bounteousness ofthe Buddhas [i. e. the Aspi- ration of Good Conduct, v. 18] says:
In the language ofgods, the languages ofnagas and In the languages of trolls and of humans,
In as many languages as there are among living beings, I teach the doctrine in the languages of all.
The mystery of his buddha-mind refers to the pristine cognition, free from all corruptions, which manifests appropriately for all by qual- itatively knowing the attitudes and minds of those requiring training. This threefold mystery is instruction through inconceivable miraculous abilities.
Fourth, concerning instruction by knowledge conveyed in speech, the supreme emanational body gives abbreviated teaching by means of
Two Buddha-bodies ofFonn 133 the five vehicles which correspond to the perception of th . .
. . h ose reqUInng trammg,. w 0 are . of five families or types (gotra). He gives detailed
teachIng eighty-four thousand doctrinal components as an antIdote for the eIghty-four thousand conflI·ctI·ng emot· d
h Idh· . IOns,an e conc u es corresponding to the degree of acumen [in
those reqUIre All these are instruction by knowledge conveyed In speech whIch conveys understanding beyond the attributes of mere. an. d. words, to the realms of sentient beings in an
appropnately IntellIgIble form through the tathagatas' bl . A - f d fi . . essIng.
sutra 0 e InItlVe meaning says: all these teachings,
I dId not teach a single syllable.
Diversified Emanations
s a
the eI? anations include all things basic to the greater of beIngs. As such, [the Teacher] reveals physical forms ongInate both naturally and through deliberate efforts _ emanatIons III the form of mansions verdant meadows ghandh l .
d . . . ' ,0 aspIres, an on the plaInS of suffering; as well as material objects such as
WIshmg Tree the Wish-fulfilling Gem (Cintama1}i), food, clothIng and medicine. It also includes other dIverse eman. atlOns. of artistry and birth such as a great fish which
appeared a of famine, a noble creature which appeared [to an epIdemIc, the horse Ajaneyabalaha in the island ofogres-
ses, and a golden bee in a swampy marsh. 140
descriptions [of these diversified emanations] are found dahs_ In _the Sutra of the Lamp of Precious Jewels
nama
ara1}zmahayanasutra, T 145):
EverYWhere I reveal many forms:
As kings among bards composing verses,
As dancers, drummers, athletes and musicians As dancers wearing beautiful ornaments
tadornments and garlands,
nd
bAnd merchants, captains and landlords.
become kings, priests and messengers, octors learned m the rites of worldly treatises And a vast oasis in a wilderness. '
I unending treasures of medicine and
precIOUS gems,
The Gem and the Tree which Brin s Forth WIshes; g
as masters ofmagical display.
become villagers, headmen and governors,
' '
134 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 135
And I reveal the path to those who deviate from the path.
Emanations According to the Great Perfection
According to one method of emanational the uncommon Great Perfection In partIcular, tebac dedrhs °b d
dfomtheappantIonal u a- 0 y emanational body have emanate r d b h If
of erfect ra ture in twelve different realms, and have acte on e a of by simultaneously manifesting great ema- national teachings of buddha-body, speech and mmd.
physical form, equal in size to the body of a living being, naturally produced from one hundred and one precious gems, which naturally arises through the blessing of the twelve teachers. Since these three [actualities] are uncompounded, they are subject neither to creation nor destruction, and since they arise naturally through blessing, they have immeasurable miraculous abilities and enlightened attributes. Therefore, no matter who encounters them, they are the support which causes the teaching of the body, speech and mind of the emanational bodies of past and future buddhas to multiply in the world systems. They also embody the enlightened activities [of those emanations] which are seen, heard and felt, and which subsequently cause corporeal reality to vanish of its own accord.
As for the realms in which [these actualities] reside, while they are
naturally expressed in a perpetual cycle, they reside in different realms
according to the times for instruction through the teachings of buddha-
body, speech and mind. The vajra, during the time for teaching through
buddha-body, remains on an island in the country of O<;i<;iiyana and
generates light, sound and countless emanational monks endowed with
miraculous abilities. During the time for teaching through buddha-
speech, the vajra is wielded by the kings on Mount Malaya, the
abode of Vajrapa1). i; and during the time for teaching through buddha-
142
mind, it abides in space above the Vajrasana.
The book, during the time for teaching through buddha-body, is
kept by the <;iakinls in the sublime space five hundred yojana above the Vajrasana; and during the time for teaching through buddha-speech, it remains with these same [<;iakinls]. Then during the time for teaching through buddha-mind, the book remains in the Cave ofthe Most Wrath- ful Sage (rab-tu khros-pa drang-srong-gi phug-pa).
The physical form, during the time for teaching through buddha- body, abides as the actual bodies of the buddhas, along with their emanations and further emanations through the blessing [of the aforementioned twelve teachers], and manifests the ma1). <;iala of their visage. During the time for teaching through buddha-speech, the phys- ical form roams indefinitely throughout Jambudvlpa and becomes a focus of worship for all extraordinary assemblies of gods and humans. On occasions when harm comes to the teaching, the physical form emits light from its bodies, the syllable HOM from their mouths and the fire of pristine cognition from their eyes. Then during the time for teaching which instructs through buddha-mind, it performs prostra- tions to the great glorious [Samantabhadra] whose natural expression remains the same, in the highest storey of Vajrapa1). i's palace in the celestial heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (Trayatrirrzsa), and it is the embodiment of oceanic miracles.
Simultaneously, the twelve teachers of the emanational body, too, appeared within their twelve realms. During the first aeon inhabited
Vajra on Lotus
In this world [Jambudvlpaj, the actuality of reality is a hand-sIzed vaJra produced fron: £ d by the Great which is naturally arisen through the. perfect rapture Perfection. The actuality of the teachIng 0 It nd of reality produced
'. from one hundred and one precIoUS fke an Only Son (rang-
. k 1· ingthenatura sou
is a four-mch boo ,proc a I m . hich is naturally ansen
through the blessing of the Naturally Present eac zng z . 1 body l·S the
. NYZ 1 7) The emanatlOna byung-ba bstan-pa bu-gczg-pa, vo . .
136 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Two Buddha-bodies ofForm 137
by those who require training, in the place called Pagoda of (dga'-ldan brtsegs-pa), the teacher Acintyaprabhasa [appeared] to a re- tinue of the Thousand Buddhas,143 and revealed the Penetration of Sound which is the basis of all teachings. It was compiled by the son
of the Gaje Wangcuk assisted by the son of the Nyima Nangje during the period when sentient beings had a hfe-span of Im-
measurable years.
In the world system of Patient Endurance (Sahalokadhatu), the
teacher [appeared to] a retinue of hundred thousand dakinls and revealed the teaching of the Fzve Tantras of Buddha-body, Sp;ech, Mind, Enlightened and Activ. ities (sku- gsung-thugs yon-tan phrin-las-kyi rgyud lnga) dUrIng the perIod when sentient beings had a life-span of ten million years.
In the realm of the Moisture Gathering Light Mass (drod-gsher 'od-kyis spungs-pa), the teacher Pel Jikpa Kyopei Yi [appeared a retinue of six hundred thousand bodhisattvas, and revealed the teachmg of the tantras Churner ofSarrzsara's Depths ('khor-ba dong-sprugs) , Crossing the Peacock's Neck (rma-bya mjing-bsnol, NGB Vol. 2), and the Glorious Tantra ofthe
Cessation of the Four Elements (dpal 'byung-bzhi zad-pa'i rgyud) during the period when the life-span was one hundred thousand years.
In the realm of Appearance in the W omb of Conception (chags-'byung mngal-du snang-ba), the teacher Zhonu Rolpa Nampali Tsewa [appeared to] a retinue of one thousand and and revealed the teaching of the Five Basic Tantras and Szx Branch Tantras of the
Mental Class (sems-sde rtsa-ba'i rgyud-lnga-dang yan-lag-gi rgyud-drug)
during the period when the life-span was eighty thousand years. . In the realm of the Garden of Sustaining Youth (,tsho-byed gzhon-nu'l ldum-ra), the sixth teacher Vajradhara144 appeared to a including the Seven Generations of Buddhas, and revealed teachmgs such as the
six transcendental perfections during the period when the life-span was
seventy thousand years.
In the realm of the Blazing Fire Mountain Charnel Ground of Most
Secret Display (gsang-chen rol-pa dur-khrod me-ri the. teacher Kumaravlrabalin appeared to a retinue of seven the bodhisattva Balahaka, and revealed the doctrine of many tantrapqaka, including those of the Father Tantra (pha-rgyud) and Mother Tantra (ma- rgyud) during the period when the life-span was sixty thousand years.
In the realm of the Ogre Cave endowed with the Sound of the Rulu Mantra (srin-phug ru-Iu'i sgra-dang-ldan-pa), the teacher Drangsong Trhopei Gyelpo [appeared to] a retinue often million ogres, and doctrines such as the Ten Tantras on the Discipline of Coarse Defilements
(rags-pa 'dul-ba'i rgyud-bcu) during the period when the life-span was ten thousand years. ,.
In the realm of Rajagrha near Vulture Peak phung-po 1 rgyaZ-po'i khab), the teacher Arhat SuvafJ)aprabhasa (gser- od dam-pa)
appeared to a retinue of immeasurable sublime pious attendants en- dowed with miraculous abilities and revealed immeasurable myriads of true doctrines on the Vinaya (,dul-ba) during the period when sentient beings had a life-span of five thousand years.
In the realm of the Turquoise Eyebrow in Mongolia (sog-po gYu'i smin-ma-can) near the victorious tree of enlightenment,145 the teacher Tsewe Rolpei Lodro [appeared to] a retinue of eighth level bodhi- sattvas146 and revealed the Seven Tantras ofSubtle Meaning (phra-rgyud bdun-pa) and so forth during the period when the life-span was one thousand years.
In the realm of Vulture Peak (Grdhrakara), the teacher, the elder Kasyapa, appeared to a retinue of seven long-living and revealed true doctrines which included the slUras, the Kriyatantra, and eighty thousand doctrines of the Anuyoga transmission during the period when the life-span was five hundred years.
In the realm of Vajrasana, near the forthcoming Tree of Enlighten- ment,147 the teacher Yab Ngondzok Gyelpo appeared to a retinue of the Lords of the Three Families and revealed only doctrines of definitive meaning during the period when the life-span was three hundred years.
Then in the realm of AnathapiQc;lada's Pleasure Grove (kun-dga' ra- ba), the teacher Sakyamuni [appeared to] a retinue of the four orders, and promulgated the doctrinal wheel of the four truths twelve times during the period when the life-span was one hundred years.
Since these events in the twelve realms are each connected with the five excellences [ofplace, teacher, retinue, doctrine and time], an enum- eration of sixty doctrines emerges.
Concerning the approach [of the Great Perfection] to enlightened activities also, many special attributes have been explained. The twelve deeds of the body are as follows: In the twelve different realms, the Teacher himself appeared, emanated in twelve forms endowed with different colours and symbolic implements. He came forth in order to propagate the teaching of the body, relying on the charisma of the buddha-body which is said to perform twelve different deeds of im- measurable benefit to different gatherings of those requiring training Who belong to twelve dissimilar classes or types (gotra).
Then, while [emanating] these bodies, he delivered twelve different doctrinal wheels of speech and so came forth in order to propagate the of speech, which is said to perform deeds which liberate living bemgs from the twelve different fetters of speech. During the time of that same speech, through the twelve different intentions of his mind, he came forth in order to propagate the teaching of mind which is said to perform deeds which liberate the different classes of living beings from their twelve thought patterns. So it is that a single emanational body who establishes the teaching in this way requires an enumeration of ninety-six doctrines. One who possesses these doctrines is said to be
138 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
a master of the teaching, and if one does not possess them it is said that the partial teaching of the Buddha has appeared, in the w? rld; for these doctrines have emerged from the perfect generatIon of enhghtened
mind in the past,
It is said in the Great Array:
Through nine aspects beginning with the outer, The details of his deeds must be distinguished,
Therefore, deeds are spoken of in many ways. For example, dee,ds of body, speech and mind are each classified into three outer and mner aspects and each of these is also classified into fo;ur. I shall not enlarge upon this here. They are all evident m area of
[the Teacher's] intention, and the Sugata, m skIlful means, manifests the buddha-body of form in ways whIch correspond to number of atoms in the myriad fields of those requiring training, whIch
are of oceanic extent.
Concerning the revelation of the buddhas' deeds, should not
think that there is a contradiction even if within one there differences. Since the emanational power of the buddhas IS an mconcelV- able object, it is not even within the range of the ? f sublime [bodhisattvas], let alone ordinary persons. Smce theIr tImes
and those who require to be trained by them and so be exactly enumerated, one should not, having seen one of aspects, disparage the others. For this it is in _the Sublzme which Genuinely Comprises the Entzre Doctrme (Aryadharmasan:zgztz,
T 238):
Sentient beings who will an aeon of dissolution to become an aeon of evolution can indeed transform an aeon of dissolu- tion into an aeon of evolution; and they experience an aeon of evolution. Sentient beings who will an aeon of evolution
to become an aeon of dissolution can indeed transform an aeon of evolution into an aeon of dissolution; and they experi- ence an aeon of dissolution. But really the evolution and the dissolution do not change into one another; for it is the will which changes in this way. Similarly, sentient beings. who
will one aeon to become just one morning may expenence one aeon in one morning. And sentient beings who will morning to become one aeon may experience j. ust is called the miraculous ability born ofthe bodhIsattva swIll.
4 TheFiveBuddha-bodiesand Five Pristine Cognitions
[60a. 3-63a. 5] When these three buddha-bodies [which have just been outlined] are classified according to the five buddha-bodies, there are
148
two exegetical traditions. Scholars of the Zur tradition
there are five buddha-bodies with the addition of the body of awakening (abhisambodhikaya), which derives from the distinct apparitional functions of the three bodies; and the body of indestructible reality (vajrakaya) which derives from the function of their indivisible essence. These scholars assert therefore that the three bodies of reality, perfect rapture and emanation are the characteristic nature of the buddha- body, while the other two are the conventional buddha-body because, among them, the former is determined by the function of the form of the three bodies and the latter by the function of their indivisible essence.
The Longcenpa claims that the three bodies of reality, awakenmg and indestructible reality are the characteristic nature of the that manifests in and of itself (rang-snang), while the bodIes of perfect rapture and emanation are conventional because they are c? mpounded by the external perception (gzhan-snang) of those who reqUlre training.
Though no contradiction is discerned whichever of these explanations one follows, none the less when the buddha-body is definitively ordered according to its characteristic nature, it is the original expanse, the naturally pure point of liberation, primordially pure, in which all bUddhas are of a single expanse, the reality in which all paths are traversed, that is called the unchanging buddha-body of Indestructible reality. This is because it is perpetual, stable, and without changing or turning into all manner offorms. bt al,so called "natural purity" because it is taintless from the
, egmnlng, and "the buddha endowed with two purities" because it
IS une,rly pure with respect to the two aspects of suddenly arisen ob-
SCUratIOn. As the Net ofPristine Cognition (ye-shes drva-ba, NGB Vol. IS) says: .
claim that
140 Fundamentals: Nature ofthe Buddha-bodies
Five Buddha-bodies and Five Pristine Cognitions 141
The pure expanse is the body of indestructible reality. It is unchanging, undecaying and beyond thought.
The buddha-body of awakening is so called because it possesses the attributes of knowledge, love and power such as the ten powers (dasatathagatabala, Mvt. 119-29), the four fearlessnesses (catur- vaisaradya, Mvt. 130-34), the eighteen distinct attributes ofthe buddhas (aHadasaverJikabuddhadharma, Mvt. 135-53) and great compassion (mahakarurJa, Mvt. 154-86). It abides as the basis for the arising of all distinct doctrines and its attributes are free from obscuration owing to the unimpeded expression of [all-]knowing pristine cognition which is the apparitional aspect [of the above-mentioned body of indestructible reality] endowed with the two purities. As the above-cited [Net of Pristine Cognition] says:
Because it is taintless, it is pure.
Vast in attributes, it is consummate. Permeated by non-duality, it is coalescent. Such is called the body of awakening.
Then, when the buddha-body is definitively ordered according to pristine cognition, it is explained that the pristine cognition of the expanse of reality (dharmadhatujiiana) is the pristine cognition which qualitatively knows [the view, ji-lta-ba mkhyen-pa'i ye-shes], and the four subsequent pristine cognitions through their functions of support- ing and depending on [the former] comprise the pristine cognition which quantitatively knows [phenomena, ji-snyed-pa mkhyen-pa'i ye- shes]. The great scholars who taught the definitive meaning during the later period of doctrinal propagation [in Tibet]149 meant the same when they explained the pristine cognition of the expanse of reality to refer to ultimate reality and the four subsequent pristine cognitions to be intermingled with various aspects of relative appearance.
