and ritual
collections
concerning the stages of creatIOn and per
which were especially necessary, poured as the 0 IS
.
which were especially necessary, poured as the 0 IS
.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
ess For severa day .
f h 1 le
ofbhssandemptln. . d b theblesslng0 t at oca .
bliss He maintained that thlS seeme t. o. e ' n which a volume entitled . hh hadapureVislon1 .
On the road nort ell-Seeing Svarodaya dbyangs- the Crystal Mtrror of. the Great A e into his hands. How thlS took place
'char chen-mo shel-g)i2 me-long) cam k
is clearly stated at the end of that wor . "
'-
\. . . -
hTh for about one mont. en,
. . . ' fWh'teMan)uSn
according to the System of Matt signs of accomplishment
Lapkyapgon Wangcen Gyerap se during both the conferral
which are described in that text Yaro e 'of the subsequent "bean- d the penormanc M' h 's
of the empowermen;. an ) 1210 In this way the lotus of lP am sprout rites" 1 las-sbyor .
MiphamJamyangNamgyelGyamtso
.
On his return he received the
inltlatlOn 0 • '. I -dkar-gyi rjes-gnang) from
discernment blossomed.
MiphamJamyang Namgyel Gyamtso 871
872 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
Introduction to the Madhyamaka under Ngawang lungne, the spiritual benefactor of Bumsar, he requested only the exegetical transmission, so as not to trouble that master. On the very day the master completed the exegetical transmission, he ordered Mipham to sit for an examina- tion. Starting from the very beginning, Mipham explained the Introduc- tion to the Madhyamaka with the result that the spiritual benefactor praised him in the midst of the assembly, saying, "Though I have obtained the title 'spiritual benefactor', I do not even possess a fraction of his intellect! "
In the presence of Ponlop Loter Wangpo he studied the Treasury of Logical Reason (tshad-ma rigs-gter); and from Solpon Perna he received the exegetical transmissions of varied texts, including the Doctrines of Maitreya and the Bodhisattva Level, through their continuous lineages alone. Immediately afterwards, Mipham gave extensive discourses upon them. Illustrated in this way, all the meanings of the siitras, tantras, and the commentaries on their intention poured forth spontaneously from his mind. He roamed freely, like a fearless lion, in the midst of the multitudes who propounded myriad textual traditions. That he was unimpeded in teaching, discourse, composition of textual comment- aries, and so forth, was demonstrably visible to all. No one at all could deny it.
The master himself said:
During my childhood there were many excellent spiritual benefactors of the ancient and new traditions alive, so it was like an era in which the wheel of the doctrine was turned. None the less, I did not study much apart from, in Peltriil Rinpoche's presence, the discriminative awareness chapter of the Introduction to the Conduct ofa Bodhisattva. Later, by the kindness of my guru and that of my favoured deity, the hard points of texts would become unravelled without great difficulty when I merely read over them. Moreover, during the beginning of my studies I found it easier to learn the works of the new schools and the texts of the ancient schools seemed hard to understand. Still, this being solely due to my own lack of understanding, I thought that these profound texts of the lineage of awareness-holders certainly harboured great essential points of true understanding. Apart from that, I did not experience the arising of doubts even for a moment. In consequence, my own discriminative awareness came to be fully mature. Later, when I looked at them, I saw that all the profound essential points were only to be found in the doctrinal traditions which had been transmitted through the precious lineages of the Ancient Translation School; so especially great certainty was born within me.
MiPhamJamyan N,
During that same p . d g amgyel Gyamtso 873
of indestructible realiteyno , the lord of refuges and hold m ' Khyentse R' h er . e to compose some textbooks ac e, commanded
tlOn. . ToComplywiththe ur'cormgtoOUrowntradi- own mtellect, holding onlY:h u s and to enrich my
querors in my heart I e precIOUS teaching of the co S-t ' composed n- u ra cycles and so forth Wh'l I some textbOoks on the
thetent f . 1ewassodoi I
e s 0 OUr own traditi ng, emphasised
some extent. But [the adh on, and expounded them to systems took them to be of] the other philosophical and so forth arriVed from and later many critical a been motivated to . . a quarters. Yet in fact I
co wnte m orde fi
and with the ho e r to. u fil my guru's
I? unng the present day the there bemg some benefit. tlOn School has almost b of the Ancient Transla- no light], a painted butter lamp
and . 1? qUlre as to just what are few W? O even consider tradItIOn's philosophical the essentIal points of Our other traditions. Apart rather, most simply imitate
such motivations as I never felt, even in
nons, or self-congratulatory 1It? towards other tradi- Pn
those Who possess the eye of . e. [m my own] - if even me, I have nothing of wh' h pnstme cognition gaze upon
As for What I h . IC to be ashamed! tI ave wntten in
so orth: Since I have not ob . response to my critics and Who are sublime how c 1 tamed the attributes of those fundities of d I ever understand all the pro-
be proven, or less, if I state what may precepts of the lure ymg upon the immaculate theIr mtention, which are the the commentaries on
promulgators of India and T'b amp-lIke Words of the great selftoo h . 1et,andbyexa. .
. ' ,w at IS reasonable stIll be of some benefit to otb an
d mmmg for my-
what unreasonable, it may
can benefit Whom If I ers, though I have no idea who . . were to c
mItted precepts and the c the profound trans- of my own lack of on their intention s. tandmg, I would be closin erstandmg and wrong under-
lIberation' and b g the door to the path ofm
ld ' ,ecause many oth y own
only bring eternal ruin ers would be misled, I greater fault that that Th tI on . them. There can be no eye of the doctrine ore, If those Who POSsess the
and logic, I with correct scriptural uch persons must neve b Y upon them like dOctors t h e s e r e a s o n s , i t i s W i t h : £ o u t o f h o s t i l i t y . F o ;
wou
entered into debate. aIr mmd that I have sometimes
l',
874 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
Therefore, when those who are most sublime repudiate the wrong understandings of others and so forth, in order to preserve perfectly the treasury of the true doctrine, it is done in association with a great purpose. Just so, after the debate between the supreme scholar Lozang Rapsel and this master, in which they had alternately sent one another refined gifts of eloquence, their minds merged, and they scattered the
12l3
flowers of mutual praise.
When Mipham Rinpoche was looking over the Exposition of Valid
Cognition he had a dream in which one who was Sakya PaJ)gita in essence appeared to him in the guise of a learned and accomplished master from India, the tip of his nose slightly crooked, and said, "What is there that you do not understand in the Exposition ofValid Cognition? It has two parts, refutation and proof. " Then, he divided a volume of the Exposition ofValid Cognition into two parts and handed it to Mipham, saying, "Combine these two together! " No sooner had he combined them than they turned into a sword, and all things that may be known appeared before him. Swinging that sword once, it clearly appeared to Mipham that he cut through them all in an instant, without impediment. Consequently, he said, there was not a single word in the Exposition of Valid Cognition which he did not understand.
On perusing the Root Text of the Vinaya Sutra for the first time, Mipham found it a little hard to understand. Later, when he was reading once over the books of the Kangyur, he read the thirteen volumes of the Vinaya one time, owing to which, he said, there was nothing at all which he did not understand in the Root Text of the Vinaya Sutra.
Moreover, regarding such uncommon, profound points as the distinc- tions between the older and later [schools of] Tibet, without poring over books, and so forth, the channels of his awareness opened up when he was absorbed in the rites of service and attainment, and he was blessed by the guru and his favoured deity, owing to which [the knowledge of those topics] naturally arose in his mind. Therefore, he said that there was no way whatsoever for him not to write.
Once, on an auspicious day, the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche had volumes containing the fine texts of the sutras, mantras, and sciences, ofwhich the continuous transmissions were rare, and the subject-matter important, arranged on the altar; and then he made vast offerings. He had the venerable Mipham sit before them on top of a high throne covered with a kaptse I214 and empowered him as master of the doctrine, saying, "I am entrusting the transmitted precepts of these books to you. Hereafter, you must preserve them without decline by means of teaching, debate, and composition. You must clarify the precious teach- ing of the Conqueror in this world system for a long time! " Then, he was given valuable offerings representing the buddha-body, speech and mind, including a scroll-painting of White Tara and a handwritten
prayer for his continuing longevity, which was based on his various
MiPham]amyan N,
and, as a sign of thO g amgyel Gyamtso 875
hIm the 10 IS empowerment th
throned pa1). gita hat which he himself gave
speakin IS true regent and praised hi Y Wore, and so en- present voenerable while
Mlph If . am.
ne on the ea th ' t the one wrote of the r more learned than
a text the size of of his successive lives not tf
fromareI'bi
la e SOurce.
ISPeasedbyitnow"Th' 1 g could . IS ast story I heard
Peltrnl Rinpoche
Jamgon Yonten Gyamtso [ '"
t? e mahapa1J4ita Mipham G Kongtrul Rmpoche] also spoke of h'
SlOns of Ml'ph' yamtsoandreceivedth .
C amsown D 'l eexegetIcalt
ognition (tsh d- etaz ed Exegesis of th E " the Eight Tr, a n:a rnam-'grel-gyi rnam-bshad) e xpo:ltZon
1mas .
ransmlS-
o f V alid
o Precepts (bka'-b d none occaslO J rgya
' the Detazled Exegesis 01' rnam-bsh d) 'J
eXpressd napaDo-nga,agreatsh
MI' h e, the opinion that there P am s Co
a ,andsoforth olar ofthe new traditions 1215
'? ,mmentary on the D'
ntroductwn to the Cond ,I' ISCnmznatzve Awareness Ch In
c
were some' I' ,
" , mva Id arguments '
uctOJ aBodhisattva"( " apterofthe SPyod- Jug sher-le'i 'grel-
876 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
pa). The best of learned, dignified and accomplished masters, Peltriil Rinpoche, was secured as a witness and they debated for many days. Ordinary persons could not tell who was the victor and who the loser, except to say which arguments agreed with their own opinions. At that point one Lama Rikcok asked Peltrtil Rinpoche which of the two was victorious. He answered, "1 neither know how to decide it, nor how to conclude it. There is a worldly proverb which goes, 'A son is not praised by his father, but by his enemy. A daughter is not praised by her mother, but by the neighbourhood. ' Just so, during the early part of the dispute Do-nga's monks told me that they clearly saw a ray of light emanate from the heart of Lama Mipham's image of MafijusrI- which is the representation of his meditational deity, and vanish into the lama's heart. That sums it all up. "
At that time, too, Peltrul Rinpoche gave them this command, "Japa Do-nga has written a commentary on [the line]: Great Perfection is the matrix of all pristine cognition. 1216 It seems that some consider it to be refutable and others provable. Therefore, conduct a direct exchange on it. "
The venerable Mipham was victorious, whereupon Peltrul Rinpoche authorised him to compose exegetical commentaries on the tantras, transmissions, and esoteric instructions. 1actually heard this story from the lord of my own enlightened family, Ling Lama Chojor Gyamtso, who was the personal disciple of both these masters [Peltrul Rinpoche and Mipham Rinpoche].
Later, at the king among places of attainment, the "tiger den" of Karmo, Mipham Rinpoche planted the banner of attainment for a period ofthirteel} years. Above all, when he performed the ritual service of MafijusrI-Yamantaka, Lord of Life, the deity on whom, in accord with his fortune, his flower had alighted, it is said that there arose, without exception, all the signs which are described in the texts. Moreover, when he passed many years in retreat he never recited, he said, a single rosary mechanically, or with eyes distracted, but [remained absorbed] one-pointedly in the yogas of creation and perfection, as they are explained in the texts.
One time, Mipham went into Khyentse Rinpoche's presence. "How did you apply yourself to experiential cultivation when you stayed in retreat? " he was asked.
"While pursuing my studies", Mipham answered, "1 made conclusive investigations, and while performing the ritual service of the medita- tional deity in retreat 1 have taken care to see that 1 have reached the limits of the stage of creation. "
"Those are difficult. The great all-knowing Longcenpa said, 'Not doing anything, you must come to rest right where you are. ' 1 have done just that. By so resting I have not seen anything with white flesh and a ruddy complexion that can be called the 'face of mind'. None
. . Mipham Jamyang N amgyel Gyamtso 877 the If I w. ere . to dIe now it would be all ri
a gram of trepIdatIOn. " So saying Kh R? ht. I do not have even
Mipham[later]saidthatheunders;ood b aloud. a
By emphasising [the yogas of] th . d 0 e t. e guru s mstruction.
f · e m estructlble bod d . perfectIOn, the pulses of his ac . y, unng the
stage 0
and large, purified in the expanse ofth
· h
upon MIp am experienced th .
tlve e1nergy currents were, by e centra energy cha I Th
emergent, pristine cognition that' .
.
e true mner radIance
nne. ere- h
- e natural, co-
at its inception by the four d l' blIss - whIch is illustrated e
[in which] bliss and emptiness ts an I the four modes of emptiness
upon the yogas of the Great P five esced]. Most of all, by relying . er ectIOn [namel ] C .
ReSIstance in primordial purit (k -d kh y, unmg Through sing Realisation of spontaneouY a ag regs-chod) and the All-Surpas-
reached the limits of reality thod-rgal), he visibly
investigation Thereby he ' 1 ouht eavmg It to be an intellectual . cameto old
conduct as the play of buddha-b d d over and power of totally refining the y an pnstme co. gnItion. 1217 By the
into the "cloud-mass wheel of of hIS energy channels of meditation burst forth from th es t e121Isscernment that is born all that is profoundly significant expanse, 0ipham arrayed
form of treatises: the Cycle 0 EUlo i:treasures hIS mtention, in the
rtogs-bljod-kyi skor) which '! . g s Narratzves (bstod-tshogs dang
sing; the Gllcle ofCommon nsehto faIth, the entrance-way to bles- 'J czences(t un-mo' k .
removes doubts about knowl d ' ng rzg-gnas- yz skor), which ofInner Meaning (nang-don the. Cycle ofthe Sciences vast embarkation point on the or , IS the profound and Dedicatory Prayers and Bened' lIberatIOn; the Cycle of
which supports the prolonged shzs-bryod-kyi skor), ence, pervasiveness and e eac mg, and the perman-
The thirty-two presence of all that is good. many subdivisions, are four general with their of the excellent major marks h tel: number bemg equal to that
the teaching of the Con - . ave, as It were, granted vital force to . queror m general d h .
AnCIent Translation School . ' . I ,an to t e teachmg of the
So it was that Mipham ar, at ve:y point of death. experientially and bet '. e all, cultlvatmg the two stages
, , weenseSSIOnsofpra t' esoteric instructions in the fi f . c Ice,
b .
estowlng all sorts of
orm 0 treatIses Th
1912 (thirteenth day first h . en, on n ay 1 March
F 'd
Beginning on about '6 . ' ;;rater mouse year), he left his retreat.
grew weary owing to certain teenth of that same month), he
of Saturday 9 March (t fiollowing:
fiP asant VISItOrs, and, on the morning wenty- Irst day) h
' e spontaneously wrote the
Namo Maiijusrfsattvaya!
[HomagetoM -' /- h
anJusfl, t e spiritual warrior! ]
878
History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
Having mastered the oceanic conduct
Of the conquerors' sons
In Abhirati1219 and other pure lands ,
I vow to maintain a compassionate mmd For living beings throughout space,
Wh'l space itself endures,
1e d f doctrine in this degenerate age,
As a propoun er 0
oppressed for seventeen years,
without respite, h Is By a severe ailment of the inner energy c anne .
U to now I have dwelt in this world, relying on this basket,
The body of appantIon. , d' But now I perceive that it will be Joyful to Ie,
d' e down as a letter. . . So I will set my last 1SCours
actually taking rebirth. I f this were a past age, approximating that in which the brothers from Mindroling [Terdak Lingpa and Locen DharmasrI] were alive, I might well benefit the teaching and living creatures in all sorts of ways. But now, by dint of time, such things are difficult; so, after this, I have no reason to take birth in impure realms ever again. Remaining only in pure lands it is the nature of reality that, by the power of aspirations, sublime ones eternally and in- cessantly give rise to the dramatic play of emanation, which trains each in accord with his needs, . .
On about Wednesday 9 May (twenty-second day), he said, "Now that I have finally recovered from my nervous ailment I never have sensations of pain. Each day and night there only arise the visions of All-Surpassing Realisation - rainbows, light rays and points, and the manifestations of the bodies and realms [of the buddhas]. ,,1221
He gave audience to his faithful disciples and benefactors, who had gathered from all directions, and said prayers, They asked him to prolong his life for the sake of the teaching and living creatures, but he replied, "Now, I certainly shall not stay, and I will not be born again. I have reason to go to Shambhala in the north. ,,1222
On Friday 14 June 1912 (twenty-ninth day, fourth month, water mouse), during. his sixty-seventh year, Mipham Rinpoche assumed the posture of a bodhisattva, with his left hand evenly placed in his lap and his right in the gesture of teaching; and his mind became meditat- ively equipoised in the expanse of the original ground, free from corrup- tion. Afterwards, when his precious remains were offered up on the pyre, tents of rainbow light and other wonderful and excellent omens appeared to all those gathered, in common. Lama Osel earnestly strove to perform the funeral rites following the master's demise in such a way as to fulfil all of his intentions.
Among the personal disciples of this master the foremost were Dodrup Jikme Tenpei Nyima, the treasure-finder Sogyel [Lerap Lingpa], Dzok- cen Trtilku V and the Dzokcen Gemang, Zhecen Rapjam and Zhecen Gyeltsap,1223 Katok Situ,1224 Pelytil Gyatrtil, Andzom Drukpa,1225 Trup- wang SakyasrI,1226 and the Ngor Ponlop, et cetera. In short, there were countless sons of his speech who included the emanations and great personages of the Sakyapa, Gelukpa, Kagytipa, and Nyingmapa tradi- tions from [the monasteries of] Katok, Pelytil, Zhecen, Dzokcen, Pel- pung, Derge Goncen [and others] all the way up to Repkong;1227 as well as their scholars who propounded myriad textual traditions, pre- ceptors endowed with the three trainings, mantrins who were confident in the two stages, and ascetics who were free from activity, having
d left it in concealment. Then, , M hlMay 1912 (secon ' d' 1220
,
Thus, he wrote out hIS month same year), Mipham
dunng arc _ _ a about tWO hundred thousan recited the dharal)l of , his attendant, Lama Osel, and He imparted some oral to
,
h t th there is no one to lIsten. Nowadays, if one speaks t e e it to be true. Therefore,
Ifone speaks falsely before' I am no ordinary I have not disclosed ,thIS to ar;;o:e taken birth by the power person. I am a w 0 basdy I ought to have greatly
on one of these occasions Said:
f h' ' ation In thIS present
o IS asp1r " d livin creatures in genera, an
the teaChIng ,an
Tran;lation School of the secret the merits of the Nying-
the teachmg of the Anc1ent
, t' cular But because
. ,
d 'g to some cntIca ' , ,
have completed vanous c l'k d to ha;e written a clear and on. Though I would have, 1 e Madh amaka, I have
detailed, introductlO: no great differ-
not achIeved It. But, none t e , plete the Cycle of
ence. If it had been possible ever to com ) l't would have , ' 1 St t (an,\)ug-sems skor
Mind m Us Natura a e o·_. /' I' 'ng the entire teach- , l' 'fi nce en1ven1
been of great, 1ca ,h I thought I might achieve
ing, without partIalIty. h' final age the barbarians
mantra In par 1
mapa are feeble, as a rule" v:e larCe1,mrcumstances I have been
an , forth Under such condltlOnS, I ave greatly allmg, and so h' beneficial. None the less, I hardly thought to d,o expositions, and so
it, still it is not finished. Now, mdt IS ,l teaching. For
h 1 are close to un erm1ning , beyond tepa e h ' no point whatsoever In my this and other reasons, t ere IS
old
uch afflicted by obstacles, h
MiphamJamyang Namgyel Gyarntso 879
880 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
deliberately abandoned the cares of this life. The great personages among the guru's spiritual sons have to make great en-
deavours to to discover earth
Although thIS dented works including esoteric instructIons treasures many unprece . t .
and ritual collections concerning the stages of creatIOn and per
which were especially necessary, poured as the 0 IS
. ' d he propagated them as treatIses. Therelore, e was a
IntentIOn, an fi d ho held lished king among treasure- In ers, one w
Conclusion
accomP I'S dommIOn over what ,
in truth store of profound intention.
the king of all treasures, the expansive
,
So it is that the doctrinal collections of the close lineages of profound treasures preserve an inconceivable number [of teachings]. These are exemplified by the treasure troves, the foremost of which contain the Eight Transmitted Precepts, the Gathering of Intentions, and Vajrakfla (bka'-dgongs-phur-gsum), and each of which also includes [its own ver- sions of] the Trio ofthe Guru, Great Perfection and Great Compassionate One. Because the accounts of the descent of so many lineages are indeed limitless, it is not possible to describe them here. If the reader wishes to know of them in detail, they may be learned from the histories of each respective treasure, from the records of the teachings received by their respective [masters], and so forth.
This completes the brief exposition of the accounts of the exceedingly profound, close lineages of the treasures, the sixth part of this book, Thunder from the Great Conquering Battle-Drum of Devendra, which is a history of the precious teaching of the vehicle of indestructible reality according to the Ancient Translation School.
Part "Seven A Rectification ofMisconceptions Concerning the Nyingma School
Introduction
[719. 1-2] Now, the errors of those partisans who, in the past, have wrongly viewed the teaching of the vehicle of indestructible reality according to the Ancient Translation School must be refuted.
1 General Reply to Criticisms of the Nyingmapa Tantras
[719. 2-736. 1] There were a multitude of utterly profound tantrapitaka which arose in Tibet, in proportion to the authentic merits of those to be trained in that glacial land. They did so because of the extraordinary enlightened aspiration of Trhisong Detsen, the divine king of the Land of Snows who was an emanation of sublime and due to the blessings of the great accomplished master Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra and others. Among them were the unsurpassed secret mantra derived from the three lineages, including [those derived from] the Indestructible Nucleus of Inner Radiance,1228 which are the essence of the spirituality of many ejukinls and holders of awareness, and which are beyond the range of ordinary persons. Therefore, those [teachings] are worthy of approval, and the biographies of the ancient religious kings and of the great emanational translators and scholars ought to be respected.
So it was that [Trhisong Detsen], the emanational king, sought to kindle the lamp of the doctrine when Tibet was an abode of darkness, occupied by barbarians who did not possess even a reflection of the teaching, and who were miserable because, to their misfortune, they had to seek lasting refuge in those who preached a violent religion, granting only occasional, ephemeral happiness. Even then, the irresist- ible hurricane of strife's machinations, [instigated by] pernicious and unworthy beings, almost brought other forces into power. But at that time all the venomous deities and ogres were subdued by the compassion of the great master Padmasambhava who enabled the Tibetans to prac- tise the doctrine as they liked. Temples were built, doctrinal centres were established, and with great endeavour the ways of the doctrine were instituted amongst the Tibetans, who had little aptitude even for learning the doctrinal terminology, which previously had been un- known.
At the outset [these masters] began by examining whether or not [the Tibetans] could maintain monastic vows, and they laid a firm foundation for the Buddha's precious teaching, the path of omniscience.
888 They
History: A Rectification ofMisconceptions .
. cor us of doctrines belongmg to the translated an oceamc pThe collected fragments, corrected
masters from the domains of the gods, nagas, 4akinls and so on, as well as from various great places of pilgrimage including the Sahor and Shambhala regions ofJambudvlpa, Mount Malaya in Lanka, 044iyana, and the Dravi4a country; and later they were introduced to India. Therefore, tantras are not unauthentic by definition merely be- cause they did not exist in India. Even though some [of the ancient tantras] might have been found [in India], they would not have been seen by someone making just an occasional journey there [as the later translators did]. For, while the emanational translators and scholars of the past who were abiding on the sublime levels voyaged throughout the twenty-four lands1229 and elsewhere by means ofmiraculous abilities, ordinary persons could not travel to them. This is why the great scholar Rongzompa, with whom even the great lord Atisa had declared himself unable to discuss the doctrine, said that the ancient translations of the secret mantra were superior to the later translations in six ways: 1230
First, concerning the greatness of the benefactors who intro- duced them: Since the benefactors of the ancient translation period were the three ancestral religious kings, who were the sublime Lords of the Three Families in kingly guise, they were unlike the benefactors of the later translation period.
Second, concerning the locations in which they were trans- lated and established: Since the ancient translations were accomplished in such emanated temples as Samye and the other doctrinal centres of the past, high and low,1231 they are unlike those translated in the monastic grottoes oftoday.
Third, concerning the distinctions of the translators: Those doctrines were translated by emanational translators, the translators of the past such as Vairocana, Kawa Peltsek, Cokro Lui Gyeltsen, Zhang Yeshe De, Ma Rincen-chok, and Nyak Jfianakumara. Thus, they are unlike the made by the translators of today, who pass the summer in Mangytil and travel to India and Nepal for a short time during the winter.
Fourth, concerning the distinctions of the scholars [who supervised the ancient translations]: Those doctrines were introduced by buddhas and sublime bodhisattvas abiding on the great levels, [namely,] the scholars of the past such as the preceptor Buddhaguhya, the great mas- ter Padmakara and the great paIf4ita Vimalamitra. Thus, they were unlike the scholars of today who wander about in search of gold.
Fifth, concerning the distinctions ofthe blossoms [offered] as the basis for commissioning [the translations]: In the past the doctrines were requested with offerings of gold weighed
Tripilaka and to the mastered the path, defective texts, establIshed the g d h ughout the kingdom by means and caused [the ? octrine] opportunity to practise freely
of study, exegesIS, and me was due to the kindness of the
l·b f n and omnISCIence h
the path to 1 era 10 _ . a the master [Padmasambhava], t e re-
a n c i e n t p r e c e p t o r ] ] ' ligious king [Trhisong Detsen , an
d t h e e m a n a t i o n a l t r a n s l a t o r s a n d
scholars.
The Author, Dudjom Rinpoche
. . . wonder that the learned proponents of For thIS reason It IS no I f the later period also man-
. d the trans ators 0
philosophIcal systems an . h th whose tradition had
b
een aged to follow, without dIfficulty, tepa d to contribute to it by
established by those ones some jealouS pers. ons means of their own mtellects. I · that certain of the anCIent created discord by, for example, ebc anng they did not exist in India.
d· tantras had been compose m
Tibet ecause
h t tras l·n India did not prove
of t ose an d· d·d h· h did exist in In la I
. However the non-exIstenCe
, . E them to be unauthentic.
n the tantras w IC . h d rou ht forth by great accomplIs e
ve
not originate there: they were b g
The Nyingmapa Tantras 889
890
History: A Rectification ofMisconceptions
out in deerskin pouches, or by the measure. Thus, they were unlike the requests made [by disciples of] the present day with one or two gold bits drawn from under their own arms. 1232
Sixth, concerning the distinctions of the itself: The translations of the past were completed at a time when the doctrine of the Buddha had reached its zenith in India. Furthermore, there were tantras which did not even exist in India proper, which were retained by bodhisattvas, ac- complished masters, awareness-holders and Qakinls who had obtained their empowerments. They were taken from pure lands, and from regions of Jambudvlpa such as Siilghala and Oddiyana in the west, through the arrayed miraculous pow- 'of the great master Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra and others, and then translated [in Tibet]. Thus, many [doc- trines] which were completely unknown to the scholars and accomplished masters of India arrived to become the meritorious fortune of Tibet.
Furthermore, concerning the translations themselves: Since the translators of the past were emanations, theyestab- lished the meanings correctly. For this reason their works are easy to understand and, on plumbing their depths, the blessing is great. But the translators of the later period were unable to render the meaning and made lexical translations following [merely] the arrangement of the Sanskrit texts. Consequently, their forced terminology is hard to under- stand, and on plumbing the depths the blessing is slight. Therefore, they are dissimilar.
During the later expansion of the teaching in Tibet, . it became. the fashion for everyone who possessed the intellectual skIll and a httle gold to travel to India and Nepal. If they had gone exclusively the sake of the teaching and sentient beings it would have been admirable, but most of them were jealous men who set their feet in motion because they desired to become scholars, hankered after t. he of others, sought to win fame, or were jealously competmg WIth own gurus, or with spiritual benefactors of similar fortune. ThIS can. be ascertained from the incident during Marpa's travels, when a threw all his books into the river. 1233 For these reasons, the all-knOWing Rongzompa said:
When the doctrine of the Buddha was at its zenith, the emanational translators established [the texts of] the trans- mitted precepts without error. Then, they adorned those doctrines in many ways which served to complete them, and which established the actual condition of the knowable. But
the charlatan translators of the present day made various reforms in the ancient translations, saying, "I am the better translator. My sources are more venerable! " And so, mis- representing the transmitted precepts of the Buddha and the
teachings oftheir gurus, they all compose their own doctrines. They heap abuse upon one another for their faults. Their doctrines are such that those of the father do not suit the son. [In all of this] they are unlike [the ancient translations].
words of his are completely true. Orgyenpa Rincenpel,1234 who attamed accomplishment, also said:
Some Tibetan translators claim that the Nyingma translations had no origin in India. Among them Chak Lotsawa,1235 a guru from whom I personally received empowerment also said that the Nyingma tantras had no origin in India. 'Such
was his small-minded opinion! How could that translator who travelled for only a short time in East India, be of all the texts that existed in India? Above and beyond that, he could not even have been certain about which of them existed in Tibet! Moreover, because India is, in general, a
very hot country, many books decay, and so the extent of the Buddha's transmitted precepts cannot be ascertained. How, then, can the translators of Tibet be certain of [all] sources? Even though I journeyed to the land ofO<;i<;iiyana m the west, I could not ascertain even the size of that land. 1236 Furthermore, in later times original Sanskrit manuscripts
were mostly preserved in Nepal. Among them, an inconceiv- able number of different Nyingma tantras were preserved in one of the temples of a Newari bahal. I237 I said to the Nyingmapa of Tibet that I would bring the pal). Qitas here
a. long with the Sanskrit manuscripts of the Nyingmapa tradi- tlO. n, and that. they should come to Kyirong to translate, usmg my serVices as a translator, but this did not come to pass. Even now it would be well to translate those Nyingmapa texts. Again, some inquisitive Tibetans also say that the
Nyingmapa tradition's Sutra which Gathers All Intentions is
corrupt, having been composed by some old Tibetan man- . 1238 S h
tnns. uc words are unworthy! If you were so know-
ledgeable, then each one of you should also compose such
doctrines; the Buddha's transmitted precepts contain no- thing better.
Similarly,itsaysintheBiographyofLordAtisa(jo-bo'imam-thar):1239
Then, it occurred to the lord Atisa that no one was more learned than he in the traditions of the way of secret mantra
The Nyingmapa Tantras 891
892
History: A Rectification ofMisconceptions
, h human world; and this thought that were preserved m tl e h n he came to Tibet and
d h' proud But ater, w e h rna e 1m . Pehar Ling [at Samye], he saw t e
opened the of of which he had neither
Sanskrit was shattered and he heard of, nor seen e ore, ' I did not know in the
'd "I thought there was nothmg , h d-k - sal , d" of the greater vehIcle. T e ,a mlS
secret mantra tra lHon 1 celestial palaces and taught h d shown me count ess h
a even these texts were not among t em,
me many tantras, but d"
d th's secret mantra tra lHon
of the greater
bzhi) and other [Nyingmapa teachings]; and he had a vision of Guru Padmasambhava's eight emanations in which he received a prophetic declaration. It clearly follows from these and other actual reports that by advising equanimity towards the Nyingmapa tantras Puton intended to address the other partisan philosophers of that age. When Tshelpa Situ Monlam Dorje prepared a set of all the scriptures translated in the Land of Snows and invited Puton to correct it, he inserted the Nying- mapa trilogy of the Sutra which Gathers All Intentions) the Magical Net) and the Mental Class, along with the [main] cycles belonging to the class of means for attainment into the collected tantras of the Kangyur (bka'-'gyur). He allowed them to remain there because he had validly proven them to be original texts of the tantras, but he removed many new tantras, including the whole [collection of] Thirty-two Rali Cak- rasarrzvara Tantras (ra-li so-gnyis, T 383-414), and the Non-Dual Victor (Advayasamatavijayanamavajrasrfvaramahakalpadi, T 453), having con- tended that they were not the transmitted precepts of the Buddha. 1242
When Sakya Chokden, the great pa1)gita of Zilung, 1243 taught in his Golden Surgical Needle (gser-gyi thur-ma) that the explicit intention of the Analysis of the Three Vows was of provisional meaning, some indi- viduals with untrained intellects doubted him, and foolish bigots took [his work] as a support [for their own prejudices]. None the less, the great pa1)gita did make the following assertion:
In general, if you presume to consider the Nyingmapa doc- trine to be not authentic, it follows that you must consider everything translated before the time of the great translator Rincen Zangpo to be not authentic, including the texts of the Tripi! aka, and the Kriya, Carya, and Yoga tantras which were translated by Kawa Peltsek, Cokro Lui Gyeltsen, and Zhang Yeshe De. In particular, if you presume to consider the Nyingmapa Unsurpassed tantras of the way of secret mantra to be not authentic, you must also consider the glori- ous Guhyasamaja, the Hidden Point of the Moon, and the Buddhasamayoga to be not authentic, for those three are foremost among the so-called Eighteen Tantrapitaka of the Nyingmapa tradition, and because the great figures of the past taught that by relying on those three roots the so-called Nyingmapa tradition arose in Tibet. In particular, too, even if you consider [merely] the Yangdak and Vajrakrla tantras to be not authentic, those tantras have been proven genuine by [the existence of] Sanskrit texts, the fact that they were translated by proven translators, and so forth. 1244 Especially, the great men who included various others that are known as Nyingmapa tantras in the Catalogues ofthe Collected Tan-
tras (rgyud-'bum-gyi dkar-chag) have also proven that the
And [in the same biography it says]: d
Va' radhara
the master Pad-
By the kindness of that secon
J the dakinls which were f
to 1 ' t o the [ancient] kings of
There is no en
vehicle'" He offered many praIses, ro _
, . d 'd "It appears that the teachIng had been p P TIbetan sal, ' Id' "
" Tibetasithadnotbeenevenm n lao agated m
h many secret stores 0 , d masamb ava, , 1 d' and they were preserve unknown in IndIa were trans ate ,
in the treasury of Pehar at Samye. The venerable Taranatha said:
In the Dravida country the teaching was not
, £ er It was first established there y maSher
Dlpamkarabhadra also went there ,a ' eriod about one hundred years, It was vlslte
tblme, :alders of indestructible reality from Magadha,
y rna h They made the mantra Odd' - a Kashmir and elsew ere.
, ,lyan, , 'd d There are tantras such as those
vehicle WI esprea 'd' the past during the reign l
' h had been brought forth from
whlC
many such tantras in DravlQa t at are n
which, been India,' as well as those of Dharmapala, have ec '- There are
India. 1240
These well-stated arguments of falr,-mm
' h
, 'ded men expose at once all
f those who claim that the defects of the false rhetoric and lesdOdl'd not exist in India.
, 1 '] re not authenHc an
[the anClent trans aHons a b d the doctrine and con-
" they themselves a an on b
By speakmg manger f little merit to har our
sequently cause other dull-witted 0 hism to the teaching by
doubts. Therefore, they tend only Beyond that, their ideas , 'n the way of the monk Mahadeva,
'h
Moreover, the later scholar puton" w S h I practised the Four-
actmg 1
are not conducive to the ultImate . ho was disposed to maintain
the tradition of the Ancient ; phyag- anned Lord according to the Treasures OJ yan
I'
ot to be foun
d ' m
The Nyingmapa Tantras 893
894
History: A Rectification ofMisconceptions
Yangdak and Vajrakfla tantras are indubitable. This is claimed, for example, in the doctrinal histories of [Comden Rikpei] Reldri and PutOn Rinpoche. 1245
Having roughly stated the opinions of others, the essence of my own tenet is as follows. The master of this teaching, the Teacher and Lord of Sages [Sakyamuni Buddha], delivered [the doctrine], whether in the passionless form [of a monk], or in the guise of a universal monarch, for both are acceptable. By experientially cultivating the sequences of deities and mantras [taught by] that unique Teacher, master Padmasam- bhava obtained accomplishment, and with his disciples, who attained stability in the two stages and so reached the level of accomplishment, he subdued the venomous gods and demons who obstructed the growth of the true doctrine in Tibet. They taught the appropriate sequences of [practice associated with] the deities, mantras, and view in order that worthy recipients of the vehicle of indestructible reality might be secured on the level of the awareness-holders. Their disciples experien- tially cultivated the significance [of those teachings] correctly, and there appeared many awareness-holders who attained the level of accomplish- ment through them. They set down in writing the aural lineages and intentions that were in harmony with them, based on which this utterly pure doctrine renowned as the Nyingmapa developed. As for their authenticity: they do fulfil the definition of treatises which is stated in the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle, (Ch. 5, v. 19ab):
There are some which are taught by undistracted minds, Referring solely to the Conqueror, the Teacher. . .
Because they fulfil that definition, the treatises delivered by master Padmasambhava are no different from the transmitted precepts of the Buddha, for it says in the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 5, v. 19cd):
Conforming to the path which attains to liberation, Let them be reverently accepted in the manner of
the Sage's transmitted precepts.
Thus, they are similar to the Five Doctrines of Venerable Maitreya, the Abridged Tantra of Kalacakra, 1246 and its commentary, the Taintless Light.
Moreover, some reject the doctrinal terminology of the Anuyoga and Atiyoga for the reason that it is not found in the tantrapi1aka of the new translation schools. This is praise from those whose reproaches are unskilled, because, generally, it is the custom that the doctrinal terminology and exegeses of the higher scriptures do not occur in lower ones, the Conqueror having distinguished their superiority and inferior- ity for the sake of those to be trained. Thus, for example, the doctrinal
. The Nyingmapa Tantras 895
terml. nology of the vehicle of transcendental perfection . .
the of the pious attendants. that fth IS not found In . h . , 0 e outer mantra· . c
Int evehIcleof perfection;andthatofsuch notlound
tantras as the Guhllasamiba and C k . nsurpassed :. Y ". I , a rasamvaraISnotfo d· h
mantras. For this reason, the fact that th d . 1 un . In t e Outer exegeses of the Anuyoga and At" octnna termInology and Guhyasamaja and Cakrasamvar lyoga 0 n? t much occur in the
al
2 On the View of the Great Perfection
[736. 1-758. 2] Again, in the Great Perfection, a philosophy of freedom from deeds with respect to the disposition of reality, when the ultimate, definitive meaning of pristine cognition, which does not rest in the sphere of causal conditioning, is indicated directly, it is explained that there is no need to orient oneself to contrived doctrines that require efforts associated with the causes and effects of good and evil. Certain Tibetans have with some astonishment criticised [that view], saying that it implicitly agrees with Hoshang Mo-ho-yen's philosophy by its
1247
indifference to conduct.
None the less, the Sugata turned the doctrinal wheel three times. In
the first turning he taught the infallibility of cause and effect with regard to virtuous and unvirtuous deeds. That promulgation has been estab- lished to be of provisional meaning because it was taught with reference to worldly needs. Both the intermediate and final promulgations are truly in agreement with one another concerning the characteristics of the three approaches to liberation. They are merely distinguished in- somuch as they are [respectively] profound and exceedingly profound teachings of the abiding nature of reality, which is of profound, definit- ive meaning. It is well known amongst learned scholars, and has been proven, that the provisional and the definitive are distinguished with reference to the conditioned and the unconditioned, and that the expres- sed meanings [of the three promulgations] may be differentiated on the basis of the relative strength of those. 1248 For such reasons, the inter- mediate transmitted precepts temporarily assert that all things sub- sumed in consciousness are devoid of substantial existence, and, when the definitive significance is revealed, [it is maintained]:
. . . free from all referential activity with respect to anything, all discursive thought is abandoned. Nothing is referred to that is to be accepted, or rejected. . .
In short, because the characteristics of the three approaches to libera- tion are found in the abiding nature of reality, which is unconditioned
Acintyaprabhtisa
and genuinely transcends the heno .
adherent of the Great Perfectio P d ' of subject and object, the sarpsara and nirvana as the sa n, urmg t e phase? f the ground, views
effect. During the 'phase of thme, does not dIstinguish cause and
thoughts and so does not not engage in discursive of acceptance and rejection A d WIth reference to the extremes confidence that is free h n the phase of the result, with
the level on which all things ope ear about the goal, he reaches philosophy. As it says in th auste? the nUcleus of this
e ccomplzshzng Kzng: If one maint' h h .
FA' amst att ereIScauseandeffect or htIyoga, the yoga of the Great Perfection
The View ofthe Great Perfection 897
th'
1 mealllng of Perfection.
One as not realised If one maintains the o '
ne s statements exaggerate and o h ·
ne as realIsed that there are not two' The realIsatIOn of the buddhas of the th '.
,
u tImate and relatIve to be two
Is . d' ree tImes
game m the sole determination that two are not seen.
d' epreCIa t e '
'
898 History: A Rectification ofMisconceptions
This sort of great philosophical assertion is, in reality, also found to be the intention of the profound, definitively significant sutras of the Buddha, the Transcendent Lord, who speaks not of twofold divisions. It says in the Sutra of the Dialogue with Brahmavise$acinti:
What, one might ask, is it that is the nature of all things? The nature of all things is emptiness; they are without object- ive referent. The nature of all things is signlessness; they are free from idea and concept. The nature of all things is aspirationlessness; there is no acceptance, no rejection, no thought, no force, and total absence of substantial existence. It is naturally radiant. Whatever is the nature of sarpsara is the nature of nirvat:la. Whatever is the nature of nirvat:la is the nature ofall things. So it is that mind is naturally radiant.
Therefore, the view is free from assertions, meditation from delibera-
tions, conduct from acceptance and rejection, and the result from hope
and fear. But for those four, how else might one establish nakedly the
experiential cultivation which is characterised by the three approaches
to liberation? If you do not recognise this to be the "philosophy of the
indivisibility of sarpsara and nirvat:la" which is taught by means of the
esoteric instructions of the stage of perfection in many of the tantrapiraka . which you [adherents of the new translation schools] yourselves accept
to be valid, then there can be no occasion for bringing this [philosophy] together with the philosophy established by dialectical deliberations. 1249
None the less, one might object by saying that while the above may be true from the perspective Cldog-pa) of the view, [the Great Perfection is still at fault], for it rejects the area of conduct. But, having established the view on the basis of seeing the undeluded abiding nature of ultimate truth, one transcends the bondage and liberation of contrived doctrines, whether good or evil, concerning the conditioned fundamental virtues, such as those of the three trainings, which depend upon mind and mental events. Therefore, freedom from acceptance and rejection is proven; and that remains the characteristic of aspirationlessness. As it says in the Sutra ofthe Dialogue with Kasyapa, from the Sublime Pagoda ofPrecious Jewels:
That which is uncompounded is the enlightened family of the sublime ones. That which is the enlightened family of the sublime ones neither adheres to the training, nor trans- cends the training. That which neither adheres to the train- ing, nor transcends the training neither moves, nor rests, nor rushes. That which neither moves, nor rests, nor rushes has neither mind, nor the properties which emerge from mind. That which has neither mind, nor the properties which emerge from mind possesses neither deeds, nor the ripening
. In general, having realised discri means becomes merel an
. .
mmatlve without error,
of deeds That h' h The View ofthe Great Perfection 899 . . w IC possesses neither d d
mg of deeds knows neither leas ee s. ' nor the ripen-
knows neither pleasure no p .
ofbhssandemptln. . d b theblesslng0 t at oca .
bliss He maintained that thlS seeme t. o. e ' n which a volume entitled . hh hadapureVislon1 .
On the road nort ell-Seeing Svarodaya dbyangs- the Crystal Mtrror of. the Great A e into his hands. How thlS took place
'char chen-mo shel-g)i2 me-long) cam k
is clearly stated at the end of that wor . "
'-
\. . . -
hTh for about one mont. en,
. . . ' fWh'teMan)uSn
according to the System of Matt signs of accomplishment
Lapkyapgon Wangcen Gyerap se during both the conferral
which are described in that text Yaro e 'of the subsequent "bean- d the penormanc M' h 's
of the empowermen;. an ) 1210 In this way the lotus of lP am sprout rites" 1 las-sbyor .
MiphamJamyangNamgyelGyamtso
.
On his return he received the
inltlatlOn 0 • '. I -dkar-gyi rjes-gnang) from
discernment blossomed.
MiphamJamyang Namgyel Gyamtso 871
872 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
Introduction to the Madhyamaka under Ngawang lungne, the spiritual benefactor of Bumsar, he requested only the exegetical transmission, so as not to trouble that master. On the very day the master completed the exegetical transmission, he ordered Mipham to sit for an examina- tion. Starting from the very beginning, Mipham explained the Introduc- tion to the Madhyamaka with the result that the spiritual benefactor praised him in the midst of the assembly, saying, "Though I have obtained the title 'spiritual benefactor', I do not even possess a fraction of his intellect! "
In the presence of Ponlop Loter Wangpo he studied the Treasury of Logical Reason (tshad-ma rigs-gter); and from Solpon Perna he received the exegetical transmissions of varied texts, including the Doctrines of Maitreya and the Bodhisattva Level, through their continuous lineages alone. Immediately afterwards, Mipham gave extensive discourses upon them. Illustrated in this way, all the meanings of the siitras, tantras, and the commentaries on their intention poured forth spontaneously from his mind. He roamed freely, like a fearless lion, in the midst of the multitudes who propounded myriad textual traditions. That he was unimpeded in teaching, discourse, composition of textual comment- aries, and so forth, was demonstrably visible to all. No one at all could deny it.
The master himself said:
During my childhood there were many excellent spiritual benefactors of the ancient and new traditions alive, so it was like an era in which the wheel of the doctrine was turned. None the less, I did not study much apart from, in Peltriil Rinpoche's presence, the discriminative awareness chapter of the Introduction to the Conduct ofa Bodhisattva. Later, by the kindness of my guru and that of my favoured deity, the hard points of texts would become unravelled without great difficulty when I merely read over them. Moreover, during the beginning of my studies I found it easier to learn the works of the new schools and the texts of the ancient schools seemed hard to understand. Still, this being solely due to my own lack of understanding, I thought that these profound texts of the lineage of awareness-holders certainly harboured great essential points of true understanding. Apart from that, I did not experience the arising of doubts even for a moment. In consequence, my own discriminative awareness came to be fully mature. Later, when I looked at them, I saw that all the profound essential points were only to be found in the doctrinal traditions which had been transmitted through the precious lineages of the Ancient Translation School; so especially great certainty was born within me.
MiPhamJamyan N,
During that same p . d g amgyel Gyamtso 873
of indestructible realiteyno , the lord of refuges and hold m ' Khyentse R' h er . e to compose some textbooks ac e, commanded
tlOn. . ToComplywiththe ur'cormgtoOUrowntradi- own mtellect, holding onlY:h u s and to enrich my
querors in my heart I e precIOUS teaching of the co S-t ' composed n- u ra cycles and so forth Wh'l I some textbOoks on the
thetent f . 1ewassodoi I
e s 0 OUr own traditi ng, emphasised
some extent. But [the adh on, and expounded them to systems took them to be of] the other philosophical and so forth arriVed from and later many critical a been motivated to . . a quarters. Yet in fact I
co wnte m orde fi
and with the ho e r to. u fil my guru's
I? unng the present day the there bemg some benefit. tlOn School has almost b of the Ancient Transla- no light], a painted butter lamp
and . 1? qUlre as to just what are few W? O even consider tradItIOn's philosophical the essentIal points of Our other traditions. Apart rather, most simply imitate
such motivations as I never felt, even in
nons, or self-congratulatory 1It? towards other tradi- Pn
those Who possess the eye of . e. [m my own] - if even me, I have nothing of wh' h pnstme cognition gaze upon
As for What I h . IC to be ashamed! tI ave wntten in
so orth: Since I have not ob . response to my critics and Who are sublime how c 1 tamed the attributes of those fundities of d I ever understand all the pro-
be proven, or less, if I state what may precepts of the lure ymg upon the immaculate theIr mtention, which are the the commentaries on
promulgators of India and T'b amp-lIke Words of the great selftoo h . 1et,andbyexa. .
. ' ,w at IS reasonable stIll be of some benefit to otb an
d mmmg for my-
what unreasonable, it may
can benefit Whom If I ers, though I have no idea who . . were to c
mItted precepts and the c the profound trans- of my own lack of on their intention s. tandmg, I would be closin erstandmg and wrong under-
lIberation' and b g the door to the path ofm
ld ' ,ecause many oth y own
only bring eternal ruin ers would be misled, I greater fault that that Th tI on . them. There can be no eye of the doctrine ore, If those Who POSsess the
and logic, I with correct scriptural uch persons must neve b Y upon them like dOctors t h e s e r e a s o n s , i t i s W i t h : £ o u t o f h o s t i l i t y . F o ;
wou
entered into debate. aIr mmd that I have sometimes
l',
874 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
Therefore, when those who are most sublime repudiate the wrong understandings of others and so forth, in order to preserve perfectly the treasury of the true doctrine, it is done in association with a great purpose. Just so, after the debate between the supreme scholar Lozang Rapsel and this master, in which they had alternately sent one another refined gifts of eloquence, their minds merged, and they scattered the
12l3
flowers of mutual praise.
When Mipham Rinpoche was looking over the Exposition of Valid
Cognition he had a dream in which one who was Sakya PaJ)gita in essence appeared to him in the guise of a learned and accomplished master from India, the tip of his nose slightly crooked, and said, "What is there that you do not understand in the Exposition ofValid Cognition? It has two parts, refutation and proof. " Then, he divided a volume of the Exposition ofValid Cognition into two parts and handed it to Mipham, saying, "Combine these two together! " No sooner had he combined them than they turned into a sword, and all things that may be known appeared before him. Swinging that sword once, it clearly appeared to Mipham that he cut through them all in an instant, without impediment. Consequently, he said, there was not a single word in the Exposition of Valid Cognition which he did not understand.
On perusing the Root Text of the Vinaya Sutra for the first time, Mipham found it a little hard to understand. Later, when he was reading once over the books of the Kangyur, he read the thirteen volumes of the Vinaya one time, owing to which, he said, there was nothing at all which he did not understand in the Root Text of the Vinaya Sutra.
Moreover, regarding such uncommon, profound points as the distinc- tions between the older and later [schools of] Tibet, without poring over books, and so forth, the channels of his awareness opened up when he was absorbed in the rites of service and attainment, and he was blessed by the guru and his favoured deity, owing to which [the knowledge of those topics] naturally arose in his mind. Therefore, he said that there was no way whatsoever for him not to write.
Once, on an auspicious day, the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche had volumes containing the fine texts of the sutras, mantras, and sciences, ofwhich the continuous transmissions were rare, and the subject-matter important, arranged on the altar; and then he made vast offerings. He had the venerable Mipham sit before them on top of a high throne covered with a kaptse I214 and empowered him as master of the doctrine, saying, "I am entrusting the transmitted precepts of these books to you. Hereafter, you must preserve them without decline by means of teaching, debate, and composition. You must clarify the precious teach- ing of the Conqueror in this world system for a long time! " Then, he was given valuable offerings representing the buddha-body, speech and mind, including a scroll-painting of White Tara and a handwritten
prayer for his continuing longevity, which was based on his various
MiPham]amyan N,
and, as a sign of thO g amgyel Gyamtso 875
hIm the 10 IS empowerment th
throned pa1). gita hat which he himself gave
speakin IS true regent and praised hi Y Wore, and so en- present voenerable while
Mlph If . am.
ne on the ea th ' t the one wrote of the r more learned than
a text the size of of his successive lives not tf
fromareI'bi
la e SOurce.
ISPeasedbyitnow"Th' 1 g could . IS ast story I heard
Peltrnl Rinpoche
Jamgon Yonten Gyamtso [ '"
t? e mahapa1J4ita Mipham G Kongtrul Rmpoche] also spoke of h'
SlOns of Ml'ph' yamtsoandreceivedth .
C amsown D 'l eexegetIcalt
ognition (tsh d- etaz ed Exegesis of th E " the Eight Tr, a n:a rnam-'grel-gyi rnam-bshad) e xpo:ltZon
1mas .
ransmlS-
o f V alid
o Precepts (bka'-b d none occaslO J rgya
' the Detazled Exegesis 01' rnam-bsh d) 'J
eXpressd napaDo-nga,agreatsh
MI' h e, the opinion that there P am s Co
a ,andsoforth olar ofthe new traditions 1215
'? ,mmentary on the D'
ntroductwn to the Cond ,I' ISCnmznatzve Awareness Ch In
c
were some' I' ,
" , mva Id arguments '
uctOJ aBodhisattva"( " apterofthe SPyod- Jug sher-le'i 'grel-
876 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
pa). The best of learned, dignified and accomplished masters, Peltriil Rinpoche, was secured as a witness and they debated for many days. Ordinary persons could not tell who was the victor and who the loser, except to say which arguments agreed with their own opinions. At that point one Lama Rikcok asked Peltrtil Rinpoche which of the two was victorious. He answered, "1 neither know how to decide it, nor how to conclude it. There is a worldly proverb which goes, 'A son is not praised by his father, but by his enemy. A daughter is not praised by her mother, but by the neighbourhood. ' Just so, during the early part of the dispute Do-nga's monks told me that they clearly saw a ray of light emanate from the heart of Lama Mipham's image of MafijusrI- which is the representation of his meditational deity, and vanish into the lama's heart. That sums it all up. "
At that time, too, Peltrul Rinpoche gave them this command, "Japa Do-nga has written a commentary on [the line]: Great Perfection is the matrix of all pristine cognition. 1216 It seems that some consider it to be refutable and others provable. Therefore, conduct a direct exchange on it. "
The venerable Mipham was victorious, whereupon Peltrul Rinpoche authorised him to compose exegetical commentaries on the tantras, transmissions, and esoteric instructions. 1actually heard this story from the lord of my own enlightened family, Ling Lama Chojor Gyamtso, who was the personal disciple of both these masters [Peltrul Rinpoche and Mipham Rinpoche].
Later, at the king among places of attainment, the "tiger den" of Karmo, Mipham Rinpoche planted the banner of attainment for a period ofthirteel} years. Above all, when he performed the ritual service of MafijusrI-Yamantaka, Lord of Life, the deity on whom, in accord with his fortune, his flower had alighted, it is said that there arose, without exception, all the signs which are described in the texts. Moreover, when he passed many years in retreat he never recited, he said, a single rosary mechanically, or with eyes distracted, but [remained absorbed] one-pointedly in the yogas of creation and perfection, as they are explained in the texts.
One time, Mipham went into Khyentse Rinpoche's presence. "How did you apply yourself to experiential cultivation when you stayed in retreat? " he was asked.
"While pursuing my studies", Mipham answered, "1 made conclusive investigations, and while performing the ritual service of the medita- tional deity in retreat 1 have taken care to see that 1 have reached the limits of the stage of creation. "
"Those are difficult. The great all-knowing Longcenpa said, 'Not doing anything, you must come to rest right where you are. ' 1 have done just that. By so resting I have not seen anything with white flesh and a ruddy complexion that can be called the 'face of mind'. None
. . Mipham Jamyang N amgyel Gyamtso 877 the If I w. ere . to dIe now it would be all ri
a gram of trepIdatIOn. " So saying Kh R? ht. I do not have even
Mipham[later]saidthatheunders;ood b aloud. a
By emphasising [the yogas of] th . d 0 e t. e guru s mstruction.
f · e m estructlble bod d . perfectIOn, the pulses of his ac . y, unng the
stage 0
and large, purified in the expanse ofth
· h
upon MIp am experienced th .
tlve e1nergy currents were, by e centra energy cha I Th
emergent, pristine cognition that' .
.
e true mner radIance
nne. ere- h
- e natural, co-
at its inception by the four d l' blIss - whIch is illustrated e
[in which] bliss and emptiness ts an I the four modes of emptiness
upon the yogas of the Great P five esced]. Most of all, by relying . er ectIOn [namel ] C .
ReSIstance in primordial purit (k -d kh y, unmg Through sing Realisation of spontaneouY a ag regs-chod) and the All-Surpas-
reached the limits of reality thod-rgal), he visibly
investigation Thereby he ' 1 ouht eavmg It to be an intellectual . cameto old
conduct as the play of buddha-b d d over and power of totally refining the y an pnstme co. gnItion. 1217 By the
into the "cloud-mass wheel of of hIS energy channels of meditation burst forth from th es t e121Isscernment that is born all that is profoundly significant expanse, 0ipham arrayed
form of treatises: the Cycle 0 EUlo i:treasures hIS mtention, in the
rtogs-bljod-kyi skor) which '! . g s Narratzves (bstod-tshogs dang
sing; the Gllcle ofCommon nsehto faIth, the entrance-way to bles- 'J czences(t un-mo' k .
removes doubts about knowl d ' ng rzg-gnas- yz skor), which ofInner Meaning (nang-don the. Cycle ofthe Sciences vast embarkation point on the or , IS the profound and Dedicatory Prayers and Bened' lIberatIOn; the Cycle of
which supports the prolonged shzs-bryod-kyi skor), ence, pervasiveness and e eac mg, and the perman-
The thirty-two presence of all that is good. many subdivisions, are four general with their of the excellent major marks h tel: number bemg equal to that
the teaching of the Con - . ave, as It were, granted vital force to . queror m general d h .
AnCIent Translation School . ' . I ,an to t e teachmg of the
So it was that Mipham ar, at ve:y point of death. experientially and bet '. e all, cultlvatmg the two stages
, , weenseSSIOnsofpra t' esoteric instructions in the fi f . c Ice,
b .
estowlng all sorts of
orm 0 treatIses Th
1912 (thirteenth day first h . en, on n ay 1 March
F 'd
Beginning on about '6 . ' ;;rater mouse year), he left his retreat.
grew weary owing to certain teenth of that same month), he
of Saturday 9 March (t fiollowing:
fiP asant VISItOrs, and, on the morning wenty- Irst day) h
' e spontaneously wrote the
Namo Maiijusrfsattvaya!
[HomagetoM -' /- h
anJusfl, t e spiritual warrior! ]
878
History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
Having mastered the oceanic conduct
Of the conquerors' sons
In Abhirati1219 and other pure lands ,
I vow to maintain a compassionate mmd For living beings throughout space,
Wh'l space itself endures,
1e d f doctrine in this degenerate age,
As a propoun er 0
oppressed for seventeen years,
without respite, h Is By a severe ailment of the inner energy c anne .
U to now I have dwelt in this world, relying on this basket,
The body of appantIon. , d' But now I perceive that it will be Joyful to Ie,
d' e down as a letter. . . So I will set my last 1SCours
actually taking rebirth. I f this were a past age, approximating that in which the brothers from Mindroling [Terdak Lingpa and Locen DharmasrI] were alive, I might well benefit the teaching and living creatures in all sorts of ways. But now, by dint of time, such things are difficult; so, after this, I have no reason to take birth in impure realms ever again. Remaining only in pure lands it is the nature of reality that, by the power of aspirations, sublime ones eternally and in- cessantly give rise to the dramatic play of emanation, which trains each in accord with his needs, . .
On about Wednesday 9 May (twenty-second day), he said, "Now that I have finally recovered from my nervous ailment I never have sensations of pain. Each day and night there only arise the visions of All-Surpassing Realisation - rainbows, light rays and points, and the manifestations of the bodies and realms [of the buddhas]. ,,1221
He gave audience to his faithful disciples and benefactors, who had gathered from all directions, and said prayers, They asked him to prolong his life for the sake of the teaching and living creatures, but he replied, "Now, I certainly shall not stay, and I will not be born again. I have reason to go to Shambhala in the north. ,,1222
On Friday 14 June 1912 (twenty-ninth day, fourth month, water mouse), during. his sixty-seventh year, Mipham Rinpoche assumed the posture of a bodhisattva, with his left hand evenly placed in his lap and his right in the gesture of teaching; and his mind became meditat- ively equipoised in the expanse of the original ground, free from corrup- tion. Afterwards, when his precious remains were offered up on the pyre, tents of rainbow light and other wonderful and excellent omens appeared to all those gathered, in common. Lama Osel earnestly strove to perform the funeral rites following the master's demise in such a way as to fulfil all of his intentions.
Among the personal disciples of this master the foremost were Dodrup Jikme Tenpei Nyima, the treasure-finder Sogyel [Lerap Lingpa], Dzok- cen Trtilku V and the Dzokcen Gemang, Zhecen Rapjam and Zhecen Gyeltsap,1223 Katok Situ,1224 Pelytil Gyatrtil, Andzom Drukpa,1225 Trup- wang SakyasrI,1226 and the Ngor Ponlop, et cetera. In short, there were countless sons of his speech who included the emanations and great personages of the Sakyapa, Gelukpa, Kagytipa, and Nyingmapa tradi- tions from [the monasteries of] Katok, Pelytil, Zhecen, Dzokcen, Pel- pung, Derge Goncen [and others] all the way up to Repkong;1227 as well as their scholars who propounded myriad textual traditions, pre- ceptors endowed with the three trainings, mantrins who were confident in the two stages, and ascetics who were free from activity, having
d left it in concealment. Then, , M hlMay 1912 (secon ' d' 1220
,
Thus, he wrote out hIS month same year), Mipham
dunng arc _ _ a about tWO hundred thousan recited the dharal)l of , his attendant, Lama Osel, and He imparted some oral to
,
h t th there is no one to lIsten. Nowadays, if one speaks t e e it to be true. Therefore,
Ifone speaks falsely before' I am no ordinary I have not disclosed ,thIS to ar;;o:e taken birth by the power person. I am a w 0 basdy I ought to have greatly
on one of these occasions Said:
f h' ' ation In thIS present
o IS asp1r " d livin creatures in genera, an
the teaChIng ,an
Tran;lation School of the secret the merits of the Nying-
the teachmg of the Anc1ent
, t' cular But because
. ,
d 'g to some cntIca ' , ,
have completed vanous c l'k d to ha;e written a clear and on. Though I would have, 1 e Madh amaka, I have
detailed, introductlO: no great differ-
not achIeved It. But, none t e , plete the Cycle of
ence. If it had been possible ever to com ) l't would have , ' 1 St t (an,\)ug-sems skor
Mind m Us Natura a e o·_. /' I' 'ng the entire teach- , l' 'fi nce en1ven1
been of great, 1ca ,h I thought I might achieve
ing, without partIalIty. h' final age the barbarians
mantra In par 1
mapa are feeble, as a rule" v:e larCe1,mrcumstances I have been
an , forth Under such condltlOnS, I ave greatly allmg, and so h' beneficial. None the less, I hardly thought to d,o expositions, and so
it, still it is not finished. Now, mdt IS ,l teaching. For
h 1 are close to un erm1ning , beyond tepa e h ' no point whatsoever In my this and other reasons, t ere IS
old
uch afflicted by obstacles, h
MiphamJamyang Namgyel Gyarntso 879
880 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
deliberately abandoned the cares of this life. The great personages among the guru's spiritual sons have to make great en-
deavours to to discover earth
Although thIS dented works including esoteric instructIons treasures many unprece . t .
and ritual collections concerning the stages of creatIOn and per
which were especially necessary, poured as the 0 IS
. ' d he propagated them as treatIses. Therelore, e was a
IntentIOn, an fi d ho held lished king among treasure- In ers, one w
Conclusion
accomP I'S dommIOn over what ,
in truth store of profound intention.
the king of all treasures, the expansive
,
So it is that the doctrinal collections of the close lineages of profound treasures preserve an inconceivable number [of teachings]. These are exemplified by the treasure troves, the foremost of which contain the Eight Transmitted Precepts, the Gathering of Intentions, and Vajrakfla (bka'-dgongs-phur-gsum), and each of which also includes [its own ver- sions of] the Trio ofthe Guru, Great Perfection and Great Compassionate One. Because the accounts of the descent of so many lineages are indeed limitless, it is not possible to describe them here. If the reader wishes to know of them in detail, they may be learned from the histories of each respective treasure, from the records of the teachings received by their respective [masters], and so forth.
This completes the brief exposition of the accounts of the exceedingly profound, close lineages of the treasures, the sixth part of this book, Thunder from the Great Conquering Battle-Drum of Devendra, which is a history of the precious teaching of the vehicle of indestructible reality according to the Ancient Translation School.
Part "Seven A Rectification ofMisconceptions Concerning the Nyingma School
Introduction
[719. 1-2] Now, the errors of those partisans who, in the past, have wrongly viewed the teaching of the vehicle of indestructible reality according to the Ancient Translation School must be refuted.
1 General Reply to Criticisms of the Nyingmapa Tantras
[719. 2-736. 1] There were a multitude of utterly profound tantrapitaka which arose in Tibet, in proportion to the authentic merits of those to be trained in that glacial land. They did so because of the extraordinary enlightened aspiration of Trhisong Detsen, the divine king of the Land of Snows who was an emanation of sublime and due to the blessings of the great accomplished master Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra and others. Among them were the unsurpassed secret mantra derived from the three lineages, including [those derived from] the Indestructible Nucleus of Inner Radiance,1228 which are the essence of the spirituality of many ejukinls and holders of awareness, and which are beyond the range of ordinary persons. Therefore, those [teachings] are worthy of approval, and the biographies of the ancient religious kings and of the great emanational translators and scholars ought to be respected.
So it was that [Trhisong Detsen], the emanational king, sought to kindle the lamp of the doctrine when Tibet was an abode of darkness, occupied by barbarians who did not possess even a reflection of the teaching, and who were miserable because, to their misfortune, they had to seek lasting refuge in those who preached a violent religion, granting only occasional, ephemeral happiness. Even then, the irresist- ible hurricane of strife's machinations, [instigated by] pernicious and unworthy beings, almost brought other forces into power. But at that time all the venomous deities and ogres were subdued by the compassion of the great master Padmasambhava who enabled the Tibetans to prac- tise the doctrine as they liked. Temples were built, doctrinal centres were established, and with great endeavour the ways of the doctrine were instituted amongst the Tibetans, who had little aptitude even for learning the doctrinal terminology, which previously had been un- known.
At the outset [these masters] began by examining whether or not [the Tibetans] could maintain monastic vows, and they laid a firm foundation for the Buddha's precious teaching, the path of omniscience.
888 They
History: A Rectification ofMisconceptions .
. cor us of doctrines belongmg to the translated an oceamc pThe collected fragments, corrected
masters from the domains of the gods, nagas, 4akinls and so on, as well as from various great places of pilgrimage including the Sahor and Shambhala regions ofJambudvlpa, Mount Malaya in Lanka, 044iyana, and the Dravi4a country; and later they were introduced to India. Therefore, tantras are not unauthentic by definition merely be- cause they did not exist in India. Even though some [of the ancient tantras] might have been found [in India], they would not have been seen by someone making just an occasional journey there [as the later translators did]. For, while the emanational translators and scholars of the past who were abiding on the sublime levels voyaged throughout the twenty-four lands1229 and elsewhere by means ofmiraculous abilities, ordinary persons could not travel to them. This is why the great scholar Rongzompa, with whom even the great lord Atisa had declared himself unable to discuss the doctrine, said that the ancient translations of the secret mantra were superior to the later translations in six ways: 1230
First, concerning the greatness of the benefactors who intro- duced them: Since the benefactors of the ancient translation period were the three ancestral religious kings, who were the sublime Lords of the Three Families in kingly guise, they were unlike the benefactors of the later translation period.
Second, concerning the locations in which they were trans- lated and established: Since the ancient translations were accomplished in such emanated temples as Samye and the other doctrinal centres of the past, high and low,1231 they are unlike those translated in the monastic grottoes oftoday.
Third, concerning the distinctions of the translators: Those doctrines were translated by emanational translators, the translators of the past such as Vairocana, Kawa Peltsek, Cokro Lui Gyeltsen, Zhang Yeshe De, Ma Rincen-chok, and Nyak Jfianakumara. Thus, they are unlike the made by the translators of today, who pass the summer in Mangytil and travel to India and Nepal for a short time during the winter.
Fourth, concerning the distinctions of the scholars [who supervised the ancient translations]: Those doctrines were introduced by buddhas and sublime bodhisattvas abiding on the great levels, [namely,] the scholars of the past such as the preceptor Buddhaguhya, the great mas- ter Padmakara and the great paIf4ita Vimalamitra. Thus, they were unlike the scholars of today who wander about in search of gold.
Fifth, concerning the distinctions ofthe blossoms [offered] as the basis for commissioning [the translations]: In the past the doctrines were requested with offerings of gold weighed
Tripilaka and to the mastered the path, defective texts, establIshed the g d h ughout the kingdom by means and caused [the ? octrine] opportunity to practise freely
of study, exegesIS, and me was due to the kindness of the
l·b f n and omnISCIence h
the path to 1 era 10 _ . a the master [Padmasambhava], t e re-
a n c i e n t p r e c e p t o r ] ] ' ligious king [Trhisong Detsen , an
d t h e e m a n a t i o n a l t r a n s l a t o r s a n d
scholars.
The Author, Dudjom Rinpoche
. . . wonder that the learned proponents of For thIS reason It IS no I f the later period also man-
. d the trans ators 0
philosophIcal systems an . h th whose tradition had
b
een aged to follow, without dIfficulty, tepa d to contribute to it by
established by those ones some jealouS pers. ons means of their own mtellects. I · that certain of the anCIent created discord by, for example, ebc anng they did not exist in India.
d· tantras had been compose m
Tibet ecause
h t tras l·n India did not prove
of t ose an d· d·d h· h did exist in In la I
. However the non-exIstenCe
, . E them to be unauthentic.
n the tantras w IC . h d rou ht forth by great accomplIs e
ve
not originate there: they were b g
The Nyingmapa Tantras 889
890
History: A Rectification ofMisconceptions
out in deerskin pouches, or by the measure. Thus, they were unlike the requests made [by disciples of] the present day with one or two gold bits drawn from under their own arms. 1232
Sixth, concerning the distinctions of the itself: The translations of the past were completed at a time when the doctrine of the Buddha had reached its zenith in India. Furthermore, there were tantras which did not even exist in India proper, which were retained by bodhisattvas, ac- complished masters, awareness-holders and Qakinls who had obtained their empowerments. They were taken from pure lands, and from regions of Jambudvlpa such as Siilghala and Oddiyana in the west, through the arrayed miraculous pow- 'of the great master Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra and others, and then translated [in Tibet]. Thus, many [doc- trines] which were completely unknown to the scholars and accomplished masters of India arrived to become the meritorious fortune of Tibet.
Furthermore, concerning the translations themselves: Since the translators of the past were emanations, theyestab- lished the meanings correctly. For this reason their works are easy to understand and, on plumbing their depths, the blessing is great. But the translators of the later period were unable to render the meaning and made lexical translations following [merely] the arrangement of the Sanskrit texts. Consequently, their forced terminology is hard to under- stand, and on plumbing the depths the blessing is slight. Therefore, they are dissimilar.
During the later expansion of the teaching in Tibet, . it became. the fashion for everyone who possessed the intellectual skIll and a httle gold to travel to India and Nepal. If they had gone exclusively the sake of the teaching and sentient beings it would have been admirable, but most of them were jealous men who set their feet in motion because they desired to become scholars, hankered after t. he of others, sought to win fame, or were jealously competmg WIth own gurus, or with spiritual benefactors of similar fortune. ThIS can. be ascertained from the incident during Marpa's travels, when a threw all his books into the river. 1233 For these reasons, the all-knOWing Rongzompa said:
When the doctrine of the Buddha was at its zenith, the emanational translators established [the texts of] the trans- mitted precepts without error. Then, they adorned those doctrines in many ways which served to complete them, and which established the actual condition of the knowable. But
the charlatan translators of the present day made various reforms in the ancient translations, saying, "I am the better translator. My sources are more venerable! " And so, mis- representing the transmitted precepts of the Buddha and the
teachings oftheir gurus, they all compose their own doctrines. They heap abuse upon one another for their faults. Their doctrines are such that those of the father do not suit the son. [In all of this] they are unlike [the ancient translations].
words of his are completely true. Orgyenpa Rincenpel,1234 who attamed accomplishment, also said:
Some Tibetan translators claim that the Nyingma translations had no origin in India. Among them Chak Lotsawa,1235 a guru from whom I personally received empowerment also said that the Nyingma tantras had no origin in India. 'Such
was his small-minded opinion! How could that translator who travelled for only a short time in East India, be of all the texts that existed in India? Above and beyond that, he could not even have been certain about which of them existed in Tibet! Moreover, because India is, in general, a
very hot country, many books decay, and so the extent of the Buddha's transmitted precepts cannot be ascertained. How, then, can the translators of Tibet be certain of [all] sources? Even though I journeyed to the land ofO<;i<;iiyana m the west, I could not ascertain even the size of that land. 1236 Furthermore, in later times original Sanskrit manuscripts
were mostly preserved in Nepal. Among them, an inconceiv- able number of different Nyingma tantras were preserved in one of the temples of a Newari bahal. I237 I said to the Nyingmapa of Tibet that I would bring the pal). Qitas here
a. long with the Sanskrit manuscripts of the Nyingmapa tradi- tlO. n, and that. they should come to Kyirong to translate, usmg my serVices as a translator, but this did not come to pass. Even now it would be well to translate those Nyingmapa texts. Again, some inquisitive Tibetans also say that the
Nyingmapa tradition's Sutra which Gathers All Intentions is
corrupt, having been composed by some old Tibetan man- . 1238 S h
tnns. uc words are unworthy! If you were so know-
ledgeable, then each one of you should also compose such
doctrines; the Buddha's transmitted precepts contain no- thing better.
Similarly,itsaysintheBiographyofLordAtisa(jo-bo'imam-thar):1239
Then, it occurred to the lord Atisa that no one was more learned than he in the traditions of the way of secret mantra
The Nyingmapa Tantras 891
892
History: A Rectification ofMisconceptions
, h human world; and this thought that were preserved m tl e h n he came to Tibet and
d h' proud But ater, w e h rna e 1m . Pehar Ling [at Samye], he saw t e
opened the of of which he had neither
Sanskrit was shattered and he heard of, nor seen e ore, ' I did not know in the
'd "I thought there was nothmg , h d-k - sal , d" of the greater vehIcle. T e ,a mlS
secret mantra tra lHon 1 celestial palaces and taught h d shown me count ess h
a even these texts were not among t em,
me many tantras, but d"
d th's secret mantra tra lHon
of the greater
bzhi) and other [Nyingmapa teachings]; and he had a vision of Guru Padmasambhava's eight emanations in which he received a prophetic declaration. It clearly follows from these and other actual reports that by advising equanimity towards the Nyingmapa tantras Puton intended to address the other partisan philosophers of that age. When Tshelpa Situ Monlam Dorje prepared a set of all the scriptures translated in the Land of Snows and invited Puton to correct it, he inserted the Nying- mapa trilogy of the Sutra which Gathers All Intentions) the Magical Net) and the Mental Class, along with the [main] cycles belonging to the class of means for attainment into the collected tantras of the Kangyur (bka'-'gyur). He allowed them to remain there because he had validly proven them to be original texts of the tantras, but he removed many new tantras, including the whole [collection of] Thirty-two Rali Cak- rasarrzvara Tantras (ra-li so-gnyis, T 383-414), and the Non-Dual Victor (Advayasamatavijayanamavajrasrfvaramahakalpadi, T 453), having con- tended that they were not the transmitted precepts of the Buddha. 1242
When Sakya Chokden, the great pa1)gita of Zilung, 1243 taught in his Golden Surgical Needle (gser-gyi thur-ma) that the explicit intention of the Analysis of the Three Vows was of provisional meaning, some indi- viduals with untrained intellects doubted him, and foolish bigots took [his work] as a support [for their own prejudices]. None the less, the great pa1)gita did make the following assertion:
In general, if you presume to consider the Nyingmapa doc- trine to be not authentic, it follows that you must consider everything translated before the time of the great translator Rincen Zangpo to be not authentic, including the texts of the Tripi! aka, and the Kriya, Carya, and Yoga tantras which were translated by Kawa Peltsek, Cokro Lui Gyeltsen, and Zhang Yeshe De. In particular, if you presume to consider the Nyingmapa Unsurpassed tantras of the way of secret mantra to be not authentic, you must also consider the glori- ous Guhyasamaja, the Hidden Point of the Moon, and the Buddhasamayoga to be not authentic, for those three are foremost among the so-called Eighteen Tantrapitaka of the Nyingmapa tradition, and because the great figures of the past taught that by relying on those three roots the so-called Nyingmapa tradition arose in Tibet. In particular, too, even if you consider [merely] the Yangdak and Vajrakrla tantras to be not authentic, those tantras have been proven genuine by [the existence of] Sanskrit texts, the fact that they were translated by proven translators, and so forth. 1244 Especially, the great men who included various others that are known as Nyingmapa tantras in the Catalogues ofthe Collected Tan-
tras (rgyud-'bum-gyi dkar-chag) have also proven that the
And [in the same biography it says]: d
Va' radhara
the master Pad-
By the kindness of that secon
J the dakinls which were f
to 1 ' t o the [ancient] kings of
There is no en
vehicle'" He offered many praIses, ro _
, . d 'd "It appears that the teachIng had been p P TIbetan sal, ' Id' "
" Tibetasithadnotbeenevenm n lao agated m
h many secret stores 0 , d masamb ava, , 1 d' and they were preserve unknown in IndIa were trans ate ,
in the treasury of Pehar at Samye. The venerable Taranatha said:
In the Dravida country the teaching was not
, £ er It was first established there y maSher
Dlpamkarabhadra also went there ,a ' eriod about one hundred years, It was vlslte
tblme, :alders of indestructible reality from Magadha,
y rna h They made the mantra Odd' - a Kashmir and elsew ere.
, ,lyan, , 'd d There are tantras such as those
vehicle WI esprea 'd' the past during the reign l
' h had been brought forth from
whlC
many such tantras in DravlQa t at are n
which, been India,' as well as those of Dharmapala, have ec '- There are
India. 1240
These well-stated arguments of falr,-mm
' h
, 'ded men expose at once all
f those who claim that the defects of the false rhetoric and lesdOdl'd not exist in India.
, 1 '] re not authenHc an
[the anClent trans aHons a b d the doctrine and con-
" they themselves a an on b
By speakmg manger f little merit to har our
sequently cause other dull-witted 0 hism to the teaching by
doubts. Therefore, they tend only Beyond that, their ideas , 'n the way of the monk Mahadeva,
'h
Moreover, the later scholar puton" w S h I practised the Four-
actmg 1
are not conducive to the ultImate . ho was disposed to maintain
the tradition of the Ancient ; phyag- anned Lord according to the Treasures OJ yan
I'
ot to be foun
d ' m
The Nyingmapa Tantras 893
894
History: A Rectification ofMisconceptions
Yangdak and Vajrakfla tantras are indubitable. This is claimed, for example, in the doctrinal histories of [Comden Rikpei] Reldri and PutOn Rinpoche. 1245
Having roughly stated the opinions of others, the essence of my own tenet is as follows. The master of this teaching, the Teacher and Lord of Sages [Sakyamuni Buddha], delivered [the doctrine], whether in the passionless form [of a monk], or in the guise of a universal monarch, for both are acceptable. By experientially cultivating the sequences of deities and mantras [taught by] that unique Teacher, master Padmasam- bhava obtained accomplishment, and with his disciples, who attained stability in the two stages and so reached the level of accomplishment, he subdued the venomous gods and demons who obstructed the growth of the true doctrine in Tibet. They taught the appropriate sequences of [practice associated with] the deities, mantras, and view in order that worthy recipients of the vehicle of indestructible reality might be secured on the level of the awareness-holders. Their disciples experien- tially cultivated the significance [of those teachings] correctly, and there appeared many awareness-holders who attained the level of accomplish- ment through them. They set down in writing the aural lineages and intentions that were in harmony with them, based on which this utterly pure doctrine renowned as the Nyingmapa developed. As for their authenticity: they do fulfil the definition of treatises which is stated in the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle, (Ch. 5, v. 19ab):
There are some which are taught by undistracted minds, Referring solely to the Conqueror, the Teacher. . .
Because they fulfil that definition, the treatises delivered by master Padmasambhava are no different from the transmitted precepts of the Buddha, for it says in the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle (Ch. 5, v. 19cd):
Conforming to the path which attains to liberation, Let them be reverently accepted in the manner of
the Sage's transmitted precepts.
Thus, they are similar to the Five Doctrines of Venerable Maitreya, the Abridged Tantra of Kalacakra, 1246 and its commentary, the Taintless Light.
Moreover, some reject the doctrinal terminology of the Anuyoga and Atiyoga for the reason that it is not found in the tantrapi1aka of the new translation schools. This is praise from those whose reproaches are unskilled, because, generally, it is the custom that the doctrinal terminology and exegeses of the higher scriptures do not occur in lower ones, the Conqueror having distinguished their superiority and inferior- ity for the sake of those to be trained. Thus, for example, the doctrinal
. The Nyingmapa Tantras 895
terml. nology of the vehicle of transcendental perfection . .
the of the pious attendants. that fth IS not found In . h . , 0 e outer mantra· . c
Int evehIcleof perfection;andthatofsuch notlound
tantras as the Guhllasamiba and C k . nsurpassed :. Y ". I , a rasamvaraISnotfo d· h
mantras. For this reason, the fact that th d . 1 un . In t e Outer exegeses of the Anuyoga and At" octnna termInology and Guhyasamaja and Cakrasamvar lyoga 0 n? t much occur in the
al
2 On the View of the Great Perfection
[736. 1-758. 2] Again, in the Great Perfection, a philosophy of freedom from deeds with respect to the disposition of reality, when the ultimate, definitive meaning of pristine cognition, which does not rest in the sphere of causal conditioning, is indicated directly, it is explained that there is no need to orient oneself to contrived doctrines that require efforts associated with the causes and effects of good and evil. Certain Tibetans have with some astonishment criticised [that view], saying that it implicitly agrees with Hoshang Mo-ho-yen's philosophy by its
1247
indifference to conduct.
None the less, the Sugata turned the doctrinal wheel three times. In
the first turning he taught the infallibility of cause and effect with regard to virtuous and unvirtuous deeds. That promulgation has been estab- lished to be of provisional meaning because it was taught with reference to worldly needs. Both the intermediate and final promulgations are truly in agreement with one another concerning the characteristics of the three approaches to liberation. They are merely distinguished in- somuch as they are [respectively] profound and exceedingly profound teachings of the abiding nature of reality, which is of profound, definit- ive meaning. It is well known amongst learned scholars, and has been proven, that the provisional and the definitive are distinguished with reference to the conditioned and the unconditioned, and that the expres- sed meanings [of the three promulgations] may be differentiated on the basis of the relative strength of those. 1248 For such reasons, the inter- mediate transmitted precepts temporarily assert that all things sub- sumed in consciousness are devoid of substantial existence, and, when the definitive significance is revealed, [it is maintained]:
. . . free from all referential activity with respect to anything, all discursive thought is abandoned. Nothing is referred to that is to be accepted, or rejected. . .
In short, because the characteristics of the three approaches to libera- tion are found in the abiding nature of reality, which is unconditioned
Acintyaprabhtisa
and genuinely transcends the heno .
adherent of the Great Perfectio P d ' of subject and object, the sarpsara and nirvana as the sa n, urmg t e phase? f the ground, views
effect. During the 'phase of thme, does not dIstinguish cause and
thoughts and so does not not engage in discursive of acceptance and rejection A d WIth reference to the extremes confidence that is free h n the phase of the result, with
the level on which all things ope ear about the goal, he reaches philosophy. As it says in th auste? the nUcleus of this
e ccomplzshzng Kzng: If one maint' h h .
FA' amst att ereIScauseandeffect or htIyoga, the yoga of the Great Perfection
The View ofthe Great Perfection 897
th'
1 mealllng of Perfection.
One as not realised If one maintains the o '
ne s statements exaggerate and o h ·
ne as realIsed that there are not two' The realIsatIOn of the buddhas of the th '.
,
u tImate and relatIve to be two
Is . d' ree tImes
game m the sole determination that two are not seen.
d' epreCIa t e '
'
898 History: A Rectification ofMisconceptions
This sort of great philosophical assertion is, in reality, also found to be the intention of the profound, definitively significant sutras of the Buddha, the Transcendent Lord, who speaks not of twofold divisions. It says in the Sutra of the Dialogue with Brahmavise$acinti:
What, one might ask, is it that is the nature of all things? The nature of all things is emptiness; they are without object- ive referent. The nature of all things is signlessness; they are free from idea and concept. The nature of all things is aspirationlessness; there is no acceptance, no rejection, no thought, no force, and total absence of substantial existence. It is naturally radiant. Whatever is the nature of sarpsara is the nature of nirvat:la. Whatever is the nature of nirvat:la is the nature ofall things. So it is that mind is naturally radiant.
Therefore, the view is free from assertions, meditation from delibera-
tions, conduct from acceptance and rejection, and the result from hope
and fear. But for those four, how else might one establish nakedly the
experiential cultivation which is characterised by the three approaches
to liberation? If you do not recognise this to be the "philosophy of the
indivisibility of sarpsara and nirvat:la" which is taught by means of the
esoteric instructions of the stage of perfection in many of the tantrapiraka . which you [adherents of the new translation schools] yourselves accept
to be valid, then there can be no occasion for bringing this [philosophy] together with the philosophy established by dialectical deliberations. 1249
None the less, one might object by saying that while the above may be true from the perspective Cldog-pa) of the view, [the Great Perfection is still at fault], for it rejects the area of conduct. But, having established the view on the basis of seeing the undeluded abiding nature of ultimate truth, one transcends the bondage and liberation of contrived doctrines, whether good or evil, concerning the conditioned fundamental virtues, such as those of the three trainings, which depend upon mind and mental events. Therefore, freedom from acceptance and rejection is proven; and that remains the characteristic of aspirationlessness. As it says in the Sutra ofthe Dialogue with Kasyapa, from the Sublime Pagoda ofPrecious Jewels:
That which is uncompounded is the enlightened family of the sublime ones. That which is the enlightened family of the sublime ones neither adheres to the training, nor trans- cends the training. That which neither adheres to the train- ing, nor transcends the training neither moves, nor rests, nor rushes. That which neither moves, nor rests, nor rushes has neither mind, nor the properties which emerge from mind. That which has neither mind, nor the properties which emerge from mind possesses neither deeds, nor the ripening
. In general, having realised discri means becomes merel an
. .
mmatlve without error,
of deeds That h' h The View ofthe Great Perfection 899 . . w IC possesses neither d d
mg of deeds knows neither leas ee s. ' nor the ripen-
knows neither pleasure no p .
