Mahamudra: The Ocean of True Meaning

MAHAMUDRA

The Ocean of True Meaning

Karmapa Wangchug Dorje

Karmapa Wangchug Dorje

Mahamudra The Ocean of True Meaning The Profound Instructions on Coexistent Unity, the Essence of the Ocean of True Meaning, and Light Radiating Activity

Translated from the Tibetan by Henrik Havlat

EDITION OCTOPUS

Karmapa Wangchug Dorje, Mahamudra-The Ocean of True Meaning Translated from the Tibetan by Henrik Havlat First Edition © 2009 of the present edition by Edition Octopus The Edition Octopus is published at the Verlagshaus Monsenstein und Vannerdat OHG Munster www.edition-octopus.de © 2009 by Henrik Havlat All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Layout by Henrik Havlat, Ramona Schramm and Kerstin Papert Cover by Henrik Havlat, Ramona Schramm and Kerstin Papert Line drawings by Gerard Muguet Print and Binding by MV-Verlag ISBN 978-3-86582-901-6

CONTENTS

Foreword by Gendiin Rinpoche Preface

10

INTRODUCTION BY KARMAPA WANGCHUG DORJE

14

11

PART ONE

THE PRELIMINARY PRACTICES CHAPTER ONE - THE FouR CoMMON PRELIMINARIES

20

The Difficulty to Obtain the Freedoms and Riches Contemplating Death and Impermanence Reflecting on Karma, Cause and Effect of Actions Contemplating the Vicious Circle of Conditioned Existence

20

CHAPTER Two - THE FouR UNCOMMON PRELIMINARIES

The Instructions on Refuge and Bodhichitta, Making the Mind a Suitable Receptacle, and Walking the Path of Liberation in All Actions The Visualization and Recitation ofVajrasattva to Purify Unwholesome Actions and Veils The Mandala Offering to Complete the Two Accumulations The Guru Yoga to Be Swiftly Infused with Blessings

27

34 44

53

53 67 74 83

CHAPTER THREE - THE FOUR SPECIFIC PRELIMINARIES 101

The Causal Condition The Main Condition The Objective Condition The Immediate Condition

101 102 106 107

PART TWO THE MAIN PRACTICE

CHAPTER FouR - CALM ABIDING

112

General Instructions 112 The Essential Points for the Body 112 The Essential Points for the Mind 119 Specific Methods 132 Concentrating the Mind That Has Not Been 13 2 Concentrated Focusing the Mind on an Impure Outer Object 132 Focusing the Mind on a Pure Outer Object 138 Focusing the Mind on an Inner Object 139 Focusing the Mind without Object 139 Focusing the Mind on the Breath 140 Stabilizing the Concentration 144 Binding the Mind 144 Binding Above 144 Binding Below 145 Alternating 145 Nine Methods to Settle the Mind 145 Enhancing the Stability 151

CHAPTER FIVE - INTUITIVE INSIGHT Examining the Nature of Mind, As It Is In-Depth Investigation Gaining Certainty about the Unity of Awareness and Emptiness and Pointing Out the Nature of Mind Pointing-Out Instructions on the Active Mind Pointing-Out Instructions on Appearances Appearances Are Mind The Mind Is Empty Emptiness Is Spontaneous Presence Spontaneous Presence Is Self-Liberating

159 159 161

164 170 181 181 19 3 19 5 196

PART THREE

CONCLUDING INSTRUCTIONS CHAPTER Six - ENHANCING THE PRACTICE

206

Enhancing the Practice through Dispelling Five 206 Misconceptions Dispelling Misconceptions about the Object 206 Dispelling Misconceptions about Time 207 Dispelling Misconceptions about the Essence 208 Dispelling Misconceptions about the True Nature 209 Dispelling Misconceptions about Knowledge 211 Learning Three Skills 213 Enhancing the Practice by Eliminating Potential 218 Misunderstandings and Errors Misunderstanding Emptiness As an Object of Knowledge 218 Misunderstanding Emptiness As a Label 219 Misunderstanding Emptiness As a Remedy 221 Misunderstanding Emptiness As a Path 222

Enhancing the Practice by Eliminating Potential Errors in the Meditation Enhancing the Practice by Moving Out of Three Dangers Emptiness Arising As an Enemy Compassion Arising As an Enemy Cause and Effect Arising As an Enemy

224 227 227 228 229

CHAPTER SEVEN - OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

231

Overcoming the Obstacle of Illness Overcoming Demonic Obstacles Overcoming Obstacles to Concentration

231

CHAPTER EIGHT - TRAVERSING THE PATH

The Yoga of One-Pointedness Small One-Pointedness Medium One-Pointedness Great One-Pointedness The Yoga of Simplicity Small Simplicity Medium Simplicity Great Simplicity The Yoga of One Taste Small One Taste Medium One Taste Great One Taste The Yoga ofNonmeditation Small Nonmeditation Medium Nonmeditation Great Nonmeditation

233 234

236 237 238 239 239 241 242 242 243 245 246 247 248 250 252 252 253

Relating the Twelve Levels of the Four Yogas to the Spiritual Paths CHAPTER NINE - AcTUALIZING THE FRUIT

254 269

PART FOUR

SUPPLEMENTARY EXPLANATIONS CHAPTER TEN - RECOGNIZING THE ESSENCE

274

CHAPTER ELEVEN - CLASSIFICATIONS

279

Ground Mahamudra Path Mahamudra View, Meditation, Action Fruit Mahamudra CHAPTER TwELVE- ExPLANATION OF TERMS

279

281 284 291

294

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAHAMUDRA AND COEXISTENT UNITY

302

CHAPTER FouRTEEN - THE FRUIT OF THE PRACTICE

304

Epilog

305

Glossary Notes

309 329

FOREWORD

by Gendiin Rinpoche Homage to the true masters of Dharma. The timeless buddha mind Is the heart of the realization of the present buddhas, The source of future buddhas, The life vein of all yidam deities. It is the heart blood of the dakinis, The field of activities of all the Dharma protectors, The essence of the sutras and the new and old tantras. It is the meditative practice of all the teachers. It is the way, the ocean of true meaning. The ground is mahamudra, The path is the great middle, The fruit is the great completion. The union of ground, path and fruit Is the king of all Dharma teachings. One understood, all is liberated. This single all-sufficient king is mahamudra, The true nature of all and everything. A great name with profound meaning. Whoever understands it in the morning, Is awakened in the morning. Whoever understands it in the evening, Is awakened in the evening. In four terms everything is said about The path of mahamudra: True nature, definition, aspects and particularities. Whoever practices it, will be awakened without difficulties. Alalaho.

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PREFACE

This book contains the essence of the Buddhist path ofliberation that the Buddha Shakyamuni taught in the 5th century before Common Era. In the 11th century this teaching was brought to Tibet by the Tibetan translator Marpa, who had studied and practiced it in India during more than sixteen years. In Tibet this teaching has been transmitted orally up to the present. Nowadays it is also taught outside of Tibet. Mahamudra-Ihe Ocean of True Meaning was written by the 9th Karmapa Wangchug Dorje who lived in the 16th century. Up to the present day this text is used by teachers and students of the Karma Kagyii transmission lineage for guidance and inspiration in meditation. In 1975 the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (19241981) sent the realized Tibetan master Gendiin Rinpoche (1917-1997) to France in order to teach meditation to western practitioners. When I was practicing meditation in retreat under Gendiin Rinpoche's guidance, he requested me to translate The Ocean of True Meaning from the Tibetan into German. Once the German translation completed and published, he asked me to translate the text into English. Since I first started this translation almost twenty years have passed. Over the years it was gradually completed and revised several times. Up to now it has been in use in the form of photocopies. At the request of some practitioners I decided now to publish it, despite its shortcomings and poor English, with the aspiration of benefitting beings. I thank all those who helped me with this project. For any mistakes I beg forgiveness from the Dharma protectors. May all beings realize their potential of inner freedom and inner peace.

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l~~·~z:Tl·~~·J:..·~·sz:r~l·

~~·~~·~~~·~~·ar~~·~~·?.("·~~~~z:Tl~·~ THE PROFOUND INSTRUCTION ON COEXISTENT UNITY, THE ESSENCE OF THE OCEAN OF TRUE MEANING AND LIGHT RADIATING ACTIVITY

Known under the short title:

MAHAMUDRA THE OCEAN OF TRUE MEANING

INTRODUCTION BY KARMAPA WANGCHUG DORJE

I pray to mighty Vajradhara, the glorious teacher, to stay forever as my crown jewel. I shall write down the profound instructions, the essence of the ocean of true meaning, as taught in the precious Kagyii lineage. If there happen to be people who, urged by death and impermanence and perceiving the cycle of conditioned existence to be an ocean of suffering, have abandoned the projects of this present life and aroused deeply felt certainty that the six types of beings have in fact been their fathers and mothers, wishing to obtain unsurpassable, truly perfect buddhahood for their sake, that is to say, if people strive only for future lives, and wish to obtain buddhahood by means of the ultimate shortcut of the Secret Mantra Vajrayana in one lifetime and in one body, they should be addressed as follows: It is good that you wish to put into practice the essence of the profound instructions. Without knowing the individual inclinations, it is not possible to give any teachings. The benefit would be as uncertain as when shooting arrows without seeing the target. Since living beings have many different dispositions and capacities, they have to be taught in accordance with their individual mind streams. Your mere knowledge and theoretical understanding of the teachings you have requested and obtained up to now will not be sufficient. Each teacher has his own way of teaching the Dharma. The textual interpretations of the authoritative scriptures and their commentaries practiced by the scholars of the tantras and the vehicles of characteristics will not be

14

sufficient either. What is needed here, is the certainty of realization based on experience. There are many types of pointing-out instructions, but at present you should do without many other enumerations. Rather concentrate simply on the pointing-out instructions I give here. When you have really deeply applied the practice to your midstream, unmodified by philosophy and unaltered by remedies, then come and tell me which experiences and understanding have arisen in your perception. For the practice of the profound instructions of the precious Kagyii lineage, there are many ways of teaching, in accordance with the capacity, or the degree of intelligence of the persons. The master Dagpo Rinpoche guided capable students by means of the path of methods transmitted to him by Milarepa. He guided the great majority of people by means of the gradual path transmitted in the Kadam school, and all should follow this tradition. From the Kadam school come three transmissions: the lineage of vast action, the lineage of the profound view, and the practice-blessing-lineage. The last one has been transmitted by Tilopa and Naropa. Their essential issue is certainly the same. Individuals belonging to any one of the awakened potentials of the three spiritual vehicles should be guided according to their respective paths. These result in many different demarcations and enumerations. Here we will deal with the practice from the point of view of those individuals who do not in the least aspire for their own benefit in this life, but who are in a great hurry to achieve complete buddhahood for the sake of the six types of beings, whom they know to have been their parents. This is in fact the Mahayana potential with the highest capacities. But the capacities of individuals can evolve: weak capacities can become high capacities, a low and

15

unawakened potential can become an awakened supreme potential, and a vessel which is unsuitable for the instructions can become a suitable vessel. In order to bring about such a thorough purification, the preliminaries contained in all developmental instructions are practiced, which will enable you to bring forth the experience of the main practice in your mind. Concerning the preliminary practices, there is a distinction between the long transmitted approach, and the short direct approach. Master Atisha has explained the former as the path for beings of low and medium capacity, the latter as the path for beings of superior capacity. Accordingly the master Dagpo Rinpoche taught in his Dharma instructions in four stages, that each of them is necessary as preliminary for the next one. The teacher who is guiding should at best have completed the qualities of abandonment and realization himself, and know the level of development of the students. If such a teacher is not available, it should be someone who has not just requested, obtained, and practiced the Dharma in a superficial manner, and left it at that, but rather someone who has himself practiced with perseverance and brought forth faultless meditative experiences, and who can guide others in accordance with it. Other kinds of guidance, like the boisterous instructions of a charlatan, the invented instructions of a pretentious person, the textual explanations of someone with little knowledge, and the misleading instructions of a braggart should be avoided. The word explanations of a scholar, the practical instructions of a great meditator, the guidance based on experience of a yogi, the wisdom instructions of a realized master, and the pointing-out instructions for old woman are compatible in purpose.

16

Someone who puts these instructions into practice should never get carried away by distractions out of laziness. The mind being very easy to fool, and outer material things being very dazzling and seductive, there is a danger of falling under their power. In order not to get lost in them, the preliminaries, the main practice, and the concluding instructions should be taught one after the other.

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PART ONE

THE PRELIMINARY PRACTICES

Part one, the preliminary practices, consists of three chapters: the common preliminaries, the uncommon preliminaries, and the specific preliminaries.

CHAPTER ONE

THE FouR CoMMON PRELIMINARIES

The four common preliminaries consist of the four meditations on (1) the difficulty to obtain the freedoms and riches, (2) death and impermanence, (3) karma, cause and effect of actions, and (4) samsara, the vicious circle of conditioned existence.

THE DIFFICULTY TO OBTAIN THE FREEDOMS AND RICHES

Lesson 1

-

Exercise 1

First you must understand and become certain that it is difficult to obtain the freedoms and riches. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation says: "The base is the supremely precious human body:' A precious human body endowed with the freedoms and riches is called free, because it is free from bad actions, which prevent the achievement of higher existences and definite goodness. It is called rich, because it is rich with excellent actions, which lead to higher existences and definite good-

20

ness. Alternatively it is said that it is free, because there is interest in wholesome actions, and rich, because it carries out wholesome actions. Or it is free, because it is free from the eight unfree states of existence, and rich because it possesses the ten riches. The eight unfree states of existence according to the Abhidharma are: An existence as a hell-being, as a hungry ghost, as an animal, as a long-living god, or as a human in an uncivilized country, with wrong views, in an age without buddhas, or as mentally retarded. These are eight unfree states of existence. Of the ten riches five are personal: Existence as a human, being born in a central country, with his senses complete, not having entered wrong ways, and having confidence in the teaching of the Buddha. The five external riches are: A buddha has appeared, who teaches the Dharma, his teaching continues to exist and there are followers who practice it, and feel compassionate love for others. This is what is called a precious human body endowed with the eight freedoms and the ten riches. It is called precious because, similar to a precious stone, it is difficult to find and of great benefit. In particular, the achievement of enlightenment in one lifetime by means of the path of the Vajrayana is definitely only possible with the human body of the southern continent of Jambudvipa, the vajra body possessing six ele-

21

ments. Such a body is extremely rare, because it is the fruit of accumulated merits, of having practiced wholesome actions and avoided unwholesome actions in former lives. What can the difficulty in obtaining it be compared to? Among the eight unfree states of existence a precious human body capable of practicing the authentic Dharma is so exceedingly rare, that nowadays a human body with the freedoms and riches actually practicing the Dharma is like a star at daytime. What is so difficult to obtain? It is the precious human body endowed with the eight freedoms and the ten riches. How difficult is it to obtain? The living beings of the three lower realms are as numerous as the dust motes covering the earth. Ordinary human bodies are as numerous as the dust motes covering a fingernail, whereas having obtained a supreme human body is, "Like a turtle succeeding in putting its neck through a yoke that is being tossed about on a great ocean, this is how rare it is to obtain a human existence:' Chandragomi: Who would fruitlessly waste this human existence which, once obtained, allows one to reach the end of the ocean of existences by sowing wholesome deeds, the seeds of supreme enlightenment, and which has much greater value than a wish-fulfilling tree. Humans with mental power have obtained a path that neither gods nor nagas, neither asuras nor garudas, neither vidyadharas nor kinnaras nor uragas possess.

Bodhicharyavatara: The freedoms and riches are very difficult to obtain.

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Human beings can obtain the fulfillment of all purposes with them. Bodhisattvapitaka: It is difficult to become a human. It is difficult to obtain a

human life. It is difficult to obtain the genuine Dharma. It is difficult for a buddha to appear. Mahakarunapundarika Sutra:

A human existence is rarely met. The supreme freedoms are rarely met. A buddha appearing in the world is rarely met. Aspiration for virtuous qualities is rarely met. Pure aspirations are rarely met. Countless sutras and tantras agree on this point. You should entertain the idea that the body is a boat, which allows you to free yourself from the ocean of samsara, that it is a horse to escape from this dangerous path, and a servant to be employed for wholesome actions. By means of the human boat free yourself from the great stream of suffering. This boat will later be difficult to come by. Deluded one, do not fall asleep, as long as there is still time. And: Mount the horse of the pure human body and escape from the dangerous path of samsaric suffering. And: Our human body is there just to be employed. Someone who appears to have a faultless human body but has no confidence resembles an animal in human form which

23

merely seems to have the freedoms and riches. Someone who has confidence possesses the supreme base, utterly independent of whether his sense organs are complete or not. Avatamsaka Sutra:

A worldly being with little confidence cannot understand a buddha's enlightenment. From a sutra: No good qualities will develop in humans without confidence, just as little as green sprouts from burnt seeds. From a sutra: Ananda, apply yourself to confidence, this is the request of the Tathagata. The Abhidharma states about confidence: What is confidence? It means being convinced of the effect of actions; it means striving for the truth, and it means being inspired by the Three Jewels. Thus there are inspired confidence, convinced confidence, and striving confidence. The first kind of confidence is relying on the Three Jewels and to feel inspired by and have respect for the Three Jewels and the spiritual teachers. The second is to be convinced that happiness in the realm of desire results from wholesome actions and suffering from unwholesome actions, the bliss of the higher realms 1 results

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from unmoving karma, and the five impure aggregates linked to the truth of suffering are obtained as a result of actions and afflictions. In brief, it means to be convinced of the cause and effect of actions. The third kind means to be devoted to the training of the spiritual path in order to obtain unsurpassable enlightenment. Ratnavali:

Whoever does not abandon the Dharma out of craving, anger, fear, and confusion is called someone having confidence. He is a supreme receptacle for definite goodness. Not to abandon the Dharma under the influence of desire, anger, confusion and so forth is defined as confidence. Its benefits are limitless: the attitude of a superior being will be born, and the eight unfree states of existence will be avoided. To someone who has confidence the tathagatas will come and teach him the Dharma. Ratnolka:

When there is confidence in the victorious ones and the teaching of the victorious ones, when there is confidence in the conduct of the spiritual heirs of the victorious ones, when there is confidence in unsurpassable enlightenment, the attitude of a superior being will be born. Bodhisattvapitaka:

A bodhisattva who is established in confidence, will be recognized by the victorious buddhas as a receptacle for

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the teaching of the buddhas. They will appear in front of him in order to fully teach him the path of the bodhisattvas. Now that you have obtained a human body and possess confidence, you should not waste this opportunity with unwholesome and neutral actions, but rather apply yourself earnestly to virtuous practice. Otherwise, even without accumulating evident harmful deeds with body and speech, the karmic result of not mentally controlling the unwholesome mental states you experience constantly will lead to uncertain future existences: "Someone who does not act in a wholesome way, but accumulates harmful deeds, will for billions ofkalpas not even hear the name of a happy existence:' Once you have fallen into the unfree states of existence, what shall you do? Therefore you should meditate until comprehension and genuine certainty has arisen that these freedoms and riches are difficult to obtain and easily lost, and that they have many benefits. What is the use of obtaining what is difficult to obtain for someone who makes no efforts in virtuous practice, even though he knows that the freedoms and riches are difficult to obtain? When your head is on fire you extinguish it. Likewise you should exert yourself with great perseverance, day and night, in study, reflection, and meditation, protect the three types of discipline like your eyeballs, and earnestly apply yourself to bodhichitta. This is very important. In brief this meditation consists in deciding to constantly carry out wholesome actions, from today on, untiringly, since this precious human body endowed with the freedoms and riches is difficult to obtain and easily lost.

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CONTEMPLATING DEATH AND IMPERMANENCE

Lesson 2

-

Exercise 2

The teacher spoke: "Monks, everything compounded is impermanent." The Udanavarga explains how it is impermanent: Everything that has been accumulated will in the end be dispersed. What has been erected will finally crumble down. Every meeting will end in separation. What lives will finally die. And: Alas, all compounded things are impermanent, they have the nature of coming into being and perishing. Since all compounded things are impermanent and changing, our lives are impermanent as well. In the outer world there are the changes of the aeons of formation, destruction, and existence, the changes of the years, months, and days, the changes of the four times of the day, morning and afternoon, day and night. Everything is impermanent and changes from moment to moment.

Lalitavistara: The three worlds are as impermanent as the clouds in the

sky. The inner contents, the sentient beings, are also in a process of constant change. From their birth until their old age their three doors never stand still. In particular the life span of the inhabitants of the southern continent Jambudvipa is uncer-

27

tain. Since there are many causes of death, they can die at any moment.

Udanavarga: Some die in the womb, and some at their birth, some when they are just crawling, and some when they can run quickly, some when they are old, some when they are young, and some in the prime of life. Eventually they definitely have to go. When encountering death, the possessions, fame, and power of this life will not be of the slightest benefit, but they will be the cause of future harm. They are meaningless and worthless and will cause many problems at the moment of death: "When the time has come to die, your children will not be a refuge. Neither your father nor your friends will be any refuge for you." With regard to that: (1) it is certain, that I will die; (2) I will die soon, without knowing exactly when; (3) I will die without having had the time to purify my harmful actions; (4) I will die even though I do not want to, and without having finished my affairs; (5) I will die, without profiting from my possessions, my wealth and my power of this life in the least. 1. IT IS CERTAIN, THAT I WILL DIE, FOR THE FOLLOWING REA-

my parents, my neighbors, my relatives, friends, and acquaintances, living in the same region, in monasteries or in mountain hermitages, all of them made great efforts for the sake of this life. But no matter how much they tried to hold on to it and prepared to stay, they did not succeed. All that is left SONS:

28

of them, is the statement, "He died, she is dead:' There is not a single living being who stays alive without dying, there have never been any in the past, nor are there any at present, nor will there be in the future. If even the vajra form of a complete and perfect buddha perishes, what to say of ourselves. The teacher Ashvagosha also expressed this: "Have you ever seen or heard of someone, who, after being born on earth or in heavenly realms did not die? And yet you keep doubting:' And: "If even the forms of all the buddhas, the vajra forms adorned with the attributes and signs, are impermanent, what to say of the other embodied beings, whose bodies are as insubstantial as marsh plants." There are countless statements like this. 2.

I

WILL DIE SOON, NOT KNOWING EXACTLY WHEN.

Abhi-

dharmakosha: "The life span here is uncertain. At the end of the kalpa it is ten years, in the beginning it is immeasurable:' The life span of us inhabitants of Jambudvipa is uncertain, at present it averages about fifty years. But it is uncertain, because it can happen that through sudden causes such as poison or planetary influences, a person going to sleep alive in the evening is seen as a corpse the next morning. Death approaches imperceptibly. With every year, month, and day that goes by, death comes closer little by little. Death comes quickly, like an arrow shot by an athlete, like water rushing down from a cliff, or like a prisoner who is led to the place of execution. "Like an arrow without delay quickly reaches its aim, once an athlete has launched it, it is the same with the life span of humans:' Mahasannipataratnaketudharani: "Friends, this life goes by quickly. It goes as fast as a waterfall from a cliff. Immature 29

beings do not perceive it, lacking discernment, they are arrogantly intoxicated with pleasures:' The Sutra of the Tree ofParadise: "Like a prisoner being led to the place of execution, death approaches with every step:' Udanavarga: ''Like a death sentenced person approaches his execution with every step he takes, such is the life of humans." 3· I WILL DIE WITHOUT HAVING HAD THE TIME TO PURIFY MY HARMFUL ACTIONS, because my life span is uncertain, and the causes of death are numerous, and because life-sustaining causes can become causes of death. Suhrllekha: "The threats to our lives are so abundant that this life is more impermanent than bubbles in water struck by the wind. It is a miracle that an exhalation is followed by an inhalation, and that we wake up after having gone to sleep:' Ratnavali: "The causes of death are abundant, but the life-sustaining causes are not. They themselves can become causes of death. Therefore practice the Dharma continually:' Bodhicharyavatara: "Before my harmful actions have been purified, I will be dead:' And: "It does not make sense to take it easy, thinking, 1\.t least I will not die today: The time when I will disappear will come without a doubt:' 4· THE LORD OF DEATH WILL POP UP AGAINST MY WILL,

while I am thinking of getting my unfinished worldly affairs done little by little. Therefore I should not try to achieve my worldly aims concerning this life, but rather pursue the aims of future lives. "Since we do not know whether tomorrow or the next life will come first, we should not concentrate on tomorrow but rather on the next life:'

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Bodhicharyavatara: "Without a standstill, day and night, this life is getting constantly shorter. Having declined, it will not increase. Why should someone like me not die:' 5· NOBODY CAN PREVENT DEATH, no matter how much property, power, or wealth he has amassed, no matter how brave and strong he is, how fast he can run, or how eloquent he may be. At the time of death I have to leave everything behind, except the fruits of my actions. I will go naked and emptyhanded, like a hair that is pulled out of butter. Now this body cannot stand illness, it cannot bear hunger, it cannot endure cold, it cannot tolerate thirst. It is afraid of being beaten, it is afraid of being killed, it is afraid of being enchained, it is afraid of being captured. When this body, for which I have endured so many sufferings and difficulties just to keep it alive, has died, everybody will look at it with disgust and turn their backs on it, and take possession of the property left behind. The body will be tied up and carried to the charnel ground, it will be eaten by birds and carnivorous beasts, and nothing but bones will be left over. Or it will be burnt and reduced to a handful of ashes, or thrown into water, where it will be eaten by fish and frogs, or hidden under the earth for the maggots. Since I cannot get around this state of affairs, and since there will be no other refuge and escort at that time apart from virtuous karma and the Three Jewels, it is essential to have the provision of a mind that is at ease and without regret at that time. The Bodhicharyavatara states: "When I will be lying on my deathbed, surrounded by all my relatives and friends, I alone will experience the sensation of having my life-force cut. When the messengers of the lord of death will seize me, what help can be my relatives, what help are my friends? At

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that time meritorious karma will be my sole protection, but I never cultivated any:' And: "The body, obtained with so many difficulties, and sustained with food and clothes will not accompany you. It will be eaten by birds and dogs, or it will be consumed by fire, or else it will decay in water, or hidden in a hole in the earth:'

Lesson 3 - Exercise 3

Some die suddenly, through fire, water, poison, weapons or planetary influences. Others are struck by a long illness. Healing ceremonies and medical treatments fail. Body and mind are oppressed by unbearable suffering. The force to speak fades. Food would be beneficial but cannot go into the mouth. They feel thirsty and would like to drink something, but the doctor stops them. They feel pain and cold. In the evening no sleep comes. The daylight grows dimmer irresistibly. They are lying on the last bed. The last food is fed. They stammer their last words. Sweat comes to their faces. They clutch at their clothes. They feel like sinking into the earth. Their breath pours out of their mouths, and it does not come back in. Their eyes roll inward, they die. Their bodies are brought to the charnel ground. Their minds, separated from the bodies, roam powerlessly in the bardo, following the karma they have accumulated, and through the power of their karma they will take hold of their future birthplace. A sutra describes how it will be: THE ACTUAL WAY OF DYING.

You leave this world behind and go to the world beyond, the great change of place comes to pass, and you enter a great darkness. Your father, mother, elder brothers,

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younger brothers, sisters, sons and daughters surround you. Your breath stops. They say, "Let's divide the possessions:' They cry, "Oh father! Oh my mother! Oh my child!" Your hair remains unbraided. At that time there will be no other refuge, place of rest, friend and helper apart from the Dharma. At that time the Dharma will be your island, your protector, your place of rest, and your teacher. All the holy beings of the past have accomplished the twofold aim by turning their attention away from temporal aims, and concentrating solely on spiritual practice, their hearts having been urged on by impermanence. Atisha, the great translator Rinchen Zangpo, Chagtri Chog, Arne Jangchub Sherab Dorje, Dzenggom Wangchug Gyaltsen, Potowa, Kharakpa, 2 and many other learned and realized masters have achieved accomplishment because they practiced the Dharma without wasting time, their minds being urged on by impermanence. For us the food and clothes we possess are never enough, we always need something better. The possessions we have at our disposal are never enough, we want always more than we need. But no matter what we do, death is on our mind causing us heartache. Therefore it is important to emulate the examples of former teachers, aspiring to experience the natural state of mind at all events. A spiritual friend who teaches us a single word of Dharma is a better friend than a universal monarch. A hut made of earth and stones, in which you sit with a mind free from the unwholesome actions of the three doors is a better dwelling than a palace in a park embellished with the seven royal treasures of a universal monarch. Contentment with few desires is a greater wealth than any amount of material goods. It is important to put this into practice.

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Therefore reflect about the uncertainty of the moment of death, make short term plans, develop weariness with worldly things and, with an intense feeling of urgency, spend your time with spiritual practice day and night. It is important to contemplate death and impermanence until this short term way of thinking with the notion of futility has been kindled. If you do not bring forth an understanding and certainty of death and impermanence in your mind stream, the notion of the futility of temporal things will not arise. Without this you will not make any efforts in spiritual practice but rather get lost in laziness. Whether your spiritual practice develops or not depends on this. A SUMMARY OF THIS CONTEMPLATION. Reflect that birth cannot have any other end than death, but the time of death is uncertain. At the time of death nothing whatsoever will be of any use except the Dharma. Sometimes you should imagine, how you are struck by an illness and die, how your corpse is carried to the charnel ground and becomes a skeleton, and how your consciousness roams powerlessly like a feather blown by the wind. This is how you should kindle a short term way of thinking with a sense of weariness and urgency.

REFLECTING ON KARMA, CAUSE AND EFFECT OF ACTIONS

Lesson 4 - Exercise 4

Next you must reflect on karma, cause and effects of actions. Generally speaking, all happiness and suffering arises due to actions.

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Karmasataka Sutra: The diversity of actions has created the diversity ofliving beings.

Mahakarunapundarika Sutra: The world has been created by actions, it is a manifestation of actions. The living beings have been created by actions, actions are the cause of their arising, and on account of actions they are different from each other.

Abhidharmakosha: From actions the manifold worlds have arisen. Actions are of two kinds: the action of intending, and the action of doing the intended. They again are included in actions of body, speech, and mind. "The intention and its implementation. Intending is a mental action, from this develop the actions of body and speech:' The experiences of happiness and suffering of this present life are the effect of wholesome or unwholesome actions accomplished in previous lives. Every action you accomplish in this present life will lead to a ripened effect in future lives. The ripened effect of unwholesome actions will be a birth in the three lower realms. The effects similar to the causes are as follows: Killing leads to a short life. Causing harm leads to being harmed a lot. Stealing leads to poverty. Committing adultery leads to hostility. Telling lies leads to being abused.

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Divisive talk leads to being separated from friends. Speaking harsh words leads to getting to hear unpleasant things. Speaking meaninglessly leads to disrespect of your words. Greediness leads to having your hopes ruined. Ill-will leads to fear. Wrong views lead to harmful beliefs. The dominant effects are explained as follows: The environment is very unpleasant, with much damage, dense dust, foul smells, scraggy landscape, infertile land, untimely seasons, bitter fruits, small fruits, and no fruits. 3 These are the effects of accomplishing the ten unwholesome actions. If one accomplishes the ten wholesome actions, one will obtain a body in the pleasant forms of existence having happiness, and one will be born in a pleasant country. One will be born as a hell being, as a hungry ghost, or as an animal, depending on whether the unwholesome actions accomplished are great, medium or small, and depending on whether the karma accumulated is motivated by hatred, desire, or stupidity. Accomplishing small wholesome actions leads to a human body, medium ones to the desire gods, and accomplishing big ones leads to a birth as a samadhi god and a formless god. This is also stated in the Ratnavali: Desire, hatred, and stupidity, and actions produced out of them are unwholesome actions. Unwholesome actions lead to suffering and to all lower realms of existence. Absence of desire, hatred, and stupidity and actions produced out of them are wholesome actions. Wholesome actions lead to the happy forms of existence, and to happiness in all existences. And:

Because of desire you will become a hungry ghost. Hatred will fling you into the hells. Stupidity will lead to an animal existence. Smrtyupasthana:

Through wholesome actions you will obtain happiness. From unwholesome actions suffering will come. In this way the effect of wholesome and unwholesome actions is clearly shown. Ratnavali:

Through the limitless concentrations of the formless states you will attain the bliss of Brahma. All unwholesome actions, the three of the body, the four of speech, and the three of mind, you have to give up, and strive to practice their opposite, the ten wholesome actions. Karmasataka Sutra:

The karma of embodied beings can never be lost even in a hundred kalpas. At the time when the conditions come together it will ripen into effects. Whatever wholesome or unwholesome actions have been committed will leave a seed in the mind, which will inevitably ripen to its corresponding fruit of happiness or suffering, whenever circumstances unite to activate it. If apparently wholesome actions such as keeping an ethic discipline, listening, reflecting and meditating, are carried out with a defiled

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motivation, they are a feigned imitation of the Dharma, not the genuine Dharma. The effects of your actions you will exclusively experience yourself alone, they will not be shared collectively with others. The seeds of your actions will never be lost, but will remain latent for countless kalpas, and infallibly bring forth their corresponding fruits, unless they are destroyed by the application of antidotes. A sutra states: The actions of Devadatta will not ripen in the earth, in the water, or elsewhere, but they will ripen exclusively in his aggregates and the sense faculties that he will obtain. In whom else should they ripen?

Abhidharmasamuccaya: What is the meaning of getting one's karmic share? It means that you will experience the consequences of the actions you have committed, because wholesome and unwholesome actions have their corresponding results.

Suratapariprccha Sutra: From hot seeds, hot fruits will grow. From sweet seeds, sweet fruits will grow. From these examples the wise will understand, that the ripening of unwholesome actions is hot, and the ripening of white actions is sweet.

Smrtyupasthana: Fire can become cold, the wind can be caught with a net, the sun and the moon can fall on the flatlands, but the ripening of karma cannot fail.

Lesson 5 - Exercise 5

Generally speaking there are four ways to experience the karmic effect of actions. It will be experienced in a visible way, it will be experienced as a birthplace, it will be experienced in another life, or the karmic effect is not certain to be experienced. 1. Experience in a visible way means that the karmic effect of an action will be experienced during the same lifetime owing to a specific object or intention. 2. Experience as a birthplace is related to the five misdeeds with immediate effect and the five nearly as bad misdeeds. Their karmic effect will be experienced in the next life. 3· Experience in another life. 4 Karmasataka Sutra: "The karma of embodied beings can never be lost even in a hundred kalpas. At the time when the conditions come together it will ripen into effects:' 4· The karmic effect is not certain to be experienced refers to the karma in the mind stream of arhats. Another classification ofkarma distinguishes between meritorious action, nonmeritorious action, and unmoving action. 1. Meritorious action refers to wholesome actions in the desire realm. 2. Nonmeritorious action refers to unwholesome actions.

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3· Unmoving action refers to the wholesome actions of the two higher realms. Another classification distinguishes between utterly white action, utterly black action, mixed action, and action which exhausts the ripening karma. 1. Utterly white action refers to wholesome actions in the higher realms. 2. Utterly black action refers to unwholesome actions in the desire realm. 3· Mixed action refers to wholesome actions in the desire realm. 4· Action which exhausts the ripening karma refers to unconditioned actions. 5 The ripening karma can be pleasant, unpleasant, or mixed, and the unconditioned action causes this previous karma to become exhausted. Another classification consists of four combinations of intention and action. 1. White intention and black action is like the captain who kills the deceitful merchants out of great compassion. 2. Black intention and white action is like being generous in order to kill. 3· White intention and white action is like giving with pure intention. 4. Black intention and black action is like killing in order to eat meat. Another classification distinguishes between action leading to the experience of happiness, action leading to the experience of suffering, and action leading to the experience of equanimity.

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Action leading to the experience of happiness refers to wholesome actions in the desire realm up to the third concentration. 6 2. Action leading to the experience of suffering refers to wholesome actions in the desire realm. 3· Action leading to the experience of equanimity refers to wholesome actions from the forth concentration realm on upwards. 1.

Another classification consists of four combinations of propelling action and completing action: 7 1. A propelling wholesome action, and a completing wholesome action refers to the happiness of a living being in the pleasant states of existence. 2. A propelling unwholesome action, and a completing unwholesome action refers to the suffering of the beings in the lower states of existence. 3· A propelling wholesome action, and a completing unwholesome action refers to the suffering of the beings in the pleasant states of existence. 4· A propelling unwholesome action, and a completing wholesome action refers to the happiness of beings in the lower states of existence. Another classification distinguishes between wholesome action, unwholesome action, and neutral action: 1. Wholesome action is either conditioned wholesome action, or unconditioned wholesome action. Conditioned wholesome action refers to abstaining from killing and so on and accomplishing the ten karmic paths of wholesome actions. Unconditioned wholesome action refers to liberation, the state beyond suffering.

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Unwholesome action refers to the ten karmic paths of unwholesome actions. 3· Neutral action is either obscured or unobscured. Obscured neutral action refers to actions with defiled mental factors in the higher realms. Unobscured neutral action refers to actions like handcraft. The difference between obscured and unobscured neutral action results from the presence or absence of defiled mental factors on the base of this neutral action. Unobscured neutral action has a fourfold classification: the ripening of karma, the daily activities, arts and crafts, the activity of a magician. 2.

Another classification distinguishes between common action and specific action. 1. Common action refers to action that creates the vessel of the world. 2. Specific action refers to action that creates the contents of living beings. A more detailed exposition of these topics and the elucidation of the scriptural words can be found in the chapter on karma of the Abhidharmakosha, in the Karmasataka Sutra, and in the Ratnavali. You should put it into practice as it is explained there. You must not confuse wholesome actions one should accomplish with harmful actions one should refrain from. Earnestly apply yourself to spiritual practice, never leaving the three doors neutral, and continually examine your three doors. Your wholesome actions will become inexhaustible by rejoicing. Your harmful actions you should properly confess and promise to refrain from them by means of the four forces. Just like a whole forest can be burnt down by a small

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spark, in the same way the mass of harmful actions can be destroyed by wholesome actions. You should rejoice about that and apply it.

Udanavarga: Even small meritorious actions will lead you to great wellbeing in the next world. They will cause great benefits, just like grains ripening into an excellent crop. If you refrain even from the smallest harmful action, carry out even the smallest wholesome action, and persistently train your mind in love, compassion and bodhichitta, you will accomplish the purpose of the Buddha's teachings. Do not commit any harmful actions, accomplish plenty of wholesome actions, and completely tame your mind, this is the teaching of the Buddha. A SUMMARY OF THIS CONTEMPLATION. Think about the following: if I had control over my next birth after dying, this in itself would be sufficient. But since my next birth will depend on the actions I have committed, I will practice according to the law of cause and effect, not confusing what I should do and what I should not do. I shall examine my mind and strive to refrain from harmful actions and accomplish wholesome actions.

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CONTEMPLATING THE VICIOUS CIRCLE OF CONDITIONED EXISTENCE

Lesson 6 - Exercise 6

Next you must contemplate the vicious circle of conditioned existence. Because of unawareness you have been attached since beginningless time to an I where there is no I, and to a self where there is no self. From this arises the illusory perception of samsara, and you are tormented by the three types of suffering: the suffering of conditioned existence, which is accompanied by a neutral sensation, the suffering of change, which is accompanied by a pleasant sensation, and the suffering of pain, which is accompanied by a painful sensation. Examples for them are in order, the putting down of embers, a person falling asleep on the grass covering the embers, and the wind blowing on it and setting it on fire resulting in harm for the person. pervades all forms of existence, from the top of the world down to the incessant hell. Once the karmic force, which led to an existence as a formless god without conception, has been exhausted, it will cause them to fall. As soon as they have taken on the perpetuating aggregates, they will experience suffering again. Ordinary persons do not understand this, but spiritually developed persons perceive it as it is. For example: if you put a single hair on the palm of your hand, it is not unpleasant. But if the same hair gets into the eye, it is unpleasant. THE SUFFERING OF CONDITIONED EXISTENCE

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Abhidharmakoshabhasya:

If a single hair on the palm of the hand gets into the eye, it creates unpleasant and painful sensations. Spiritually undeveloped persons are like the palm of the hand, they do not feel the hair, the suffering of conditioned existence. Spiritually developed persons are like the eye, they perceive the suffering of conditioned existence. THE SUFFERING OF CHANGE is experienced because of craving for the sense pleasures of forms, sounds, odors, tastes, and tactile sensations. Like the mara's arrow8 or its messenger maid, like honey on a razor blade, like saltwater, and like scratching an itchy skin disease, the enjoyment ends in unbearable pain. Thus all samsaric pleasure finally changes into pain, it never goes beyond pain. Even if you were to attain the state of those most famous in the world, a universal monarch, or Indra or Brahma, it would still change into pain in the end. Suhrllekha:

Even if you have become a universal monarch, you will come back and become a slave again. Even if you have become Indra, who is worthy of offerings, you will fall back to earth by the force of your actions again. Even if you have attained the desireless bliss of Brahma, you will become firewood for the incessant hell again. Thus I want to show you that there is no end to suffering. Because you do not see samsara as suffering, but are attached to it as pleasant, you do not give up attachment and aversion

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to the eight worldly concerns, and thus you are separated from the opportunity to practice the authentic dharma. Rather than being unable to bear any difficulty concerning food and clothing, or even a single unpleasant word, it is important to cut as best you can through samsaric attachment. THE SUFFERING OF PAIN is abundant in each of the six realms of living beings. The suffering you have to endure once you have been born in the hells because of heavy harmful actions is as follows: twenty thousand yojanas below our continent, on an exceedingly hot, glowing iron base, many yojanas in size, which has been created by harmful actions and which is red like fresh meat, you will encounter the sufferings of the eight hot hells: the reviving hell, the black line hell, the rounding up and crushing hell, the howling hell, the great howling hell, the heating hell, the intense heating hell, and the incessant hell. In each of the four directions are the neighboring hells: the pit of embers, the swamp of putrescent corpses, the grove of razors, the forest of swords with the shalmali trees, and the river Rabme of hot ashes.

Abhidharmakosha: Twenty thousand yojanas below the earth is the incessant hell. Above there are seven more hells. All eight have sixteen neighboring hells. On each of the four sides there are the pit of hot embers, the swamp of putrescent corpses, the road of swords, and so on, and the river. Furthermore there are eight cold hells, the blister hell and so on. The eight cold hells are below our continent, on the shores of a huge ocean, in pitch-black caves of ice, where snowstorms

rage: the blister hell, the hell of burst blisters, the hell of shivering, the hell oflamentations, the hell of chattering teeth, the hell ofutpala-like cracks, the hell oflotus-like cracks, and the hell of big lotus-like cracks. In the ephemeral hells, which are not situated in definite places, many different sorts of suffering have to be endured. While staying in those hells, the only experience is that of suffering, without even an instant of well-being. If the body of a person here on earth would be tortured uninterruptedly with three hundred weapons, his suffering would not represent even a fraction of those suffering in the hells. The life span of beings in the hot hells: one day in the life of the four great kings, which lasts five hundred of their years, corresponds to fifty human years. The beings in the reviving hell live five hundred of their own years, one of their days corresponding to the life span of the four great kings. One day in the life of the paranirmitavasavartin gods,9 which lasts sixty million years, corresponds to six hundred thousand human years. The beings in the heating hell live sixty million of their own years, one of their days corresponding to the life span of the paranirmitavasavartin gods. The beings of the intense heating hell live half an intermediate kalpa, 10 the beings of the incessant hell endure unbearable suffering during a whole intermediate kalpa. The life span of a being in the cold blister hell is complete, when a sesame granary with a capacity of eighty bushels filled to the brim will be emptied, removing one single sesame grain every hundred years. The life span in the other cold hells increases by multiples of twenty for each one. In the Abhidharma this is summarized in a clear way: In the first six, the reviving hell and so on, one day cor-

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responds to the life span of the desire gods, while their own life span is like that of the desire gods. In the intense heating hell the life span is half an intermediate kalpa, in the incessant hell it is one intermediate kalpa. And: If every hundred years a single sesame seed is removed from a sesame granary, it will be emptied during the life span of a being in the blister hell. The life span of each of the others is multiplied by twenty. THE PLACE OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS is the world of Yama 11 fathoming five hundred yojanas below the earth, and spreading out from there, they pervade the human domain and space. Their specific sufferings are immeasurable. Those with the external obscuration cannot eat anything, because they perceive everything they see as weapons, or as pus and blood. Those with the inner obscuration cannot get any food or drink swallowed through their throats, and those with the food and drink obscuration get burnt by whatever they eat. Their life span is five hundred years of their own time, where one human month counts one of their days. "The hungry ghosts live five hundred years, one of our months being one of their days:' THE ANIMALS live in no specific place. The largest are as big as mount Meru, the smallest as small as the tip of a hair. Their sufferings consist of eating each other, being killed, being used as pack animals or for ploughing the earth and being beaten with clubs. The nagas suffer from rains of hot sand separating their flesh from the bones. The life span of animals is indefinite, some live an instant, and some nagas live for a kalpa. "For animals the longest life span is a kalpa:'

Lesson 7 - Exercise 7

THE PLEASANT STATES OF EXISTENCE. WE HUMANS experience the suffering of birth, old age, illness, and death, being separated from pleasant things, encountering unpleasant things, being confronted with enemies who detest us, being separated from loving friends. We suffer from the difficulty protecting what we have, and from not getting what we are trying to get. We have experienced this in the past, and we will experience it again in the future. THE ANTI-GODS suffer from being wounded and killed in their battles. WHILE THE GODS OF THE DESIRE REALM are indulging in and intoxicating themselves with sense pleasures they do not notice that their lives run out. When their flower garlands wither, they dislike their seats, they are abandoned by the other gods and goddesses, and their bodies start to smell bad, they know that they will fall down to a lower existence and will feel fear, despair, panic, nauseated and helpless as to what to do. When the five signs of death arise, their mental agony is a hundred thousand times greater than the suffering of the hell beings. Even in the four realms of concentration and the four formless realms of infinite perception the suffering of conditioned existence has not been overcome. The veils of the afflictions remain dormantly present, and intoxicated by their state of concentration, they feel no wish to get liberated. Although they temporarily experience no suffering, not being free from birth and death, they will have to leave this state as soon as the effect of their wholesome actions from previous lives is exhausted. Once they have been born in lower realms, they will experience suffering again. Therefore it is said:

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The hell beings are hurt by the hell fires. The hungry ghosts are hurt by hunger and thirst. The animals are hurt from eating each other. The humans are hurt by a short life. The gods are hurt by their carelessness. In the cycle of conditioned existence there is never even the tiniest speck of happiness. Pitaputramagamana Sutra:

When you see the vicious circle of conditioned existence, you will develop an acute sense of disgust. When you are horrified by the prison of the three worlds, you will strive to get out of it. Nagarjuna explained: Since samsara is like this, there is no good existence as gods, humans, hell beings, hungry ghosts, or animals. You must understand that life is the receptacle of many sorrows. Therefore it is imperative to develop a sense of futility regarding the vicious circle of conditioned existence, the frustrations of a household, entertainment and distractions, and the temporal projects of this life. Wishing to liberate yourself, you should flee quickly, like deer alarmed by a forest fire. You have to overcome your longing and flee like waterfowl, when their lake freezes. Overcoming your attachment, you should be frightened and flee like the captain from an island of ogresses. You should escape from samsara to the other shore, without tainting your three vows with any wrongdoing, like a swimmer getting out of a river through vigorous swimming. You should flee from samsara with delight, having as provi-

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sions the wealth of the two accumulations and wholesome actions, like a tradesman who has made his provisions for a journey. If they do not do so, the deer will get burnt by the fire, the waterfowl will get stuck in the ice, the captain will get eaten by the ogresses, the swimmer will drown in the water, and the tradesman will waste his time. Likewise, if you do not escape, you will be consumed by the fire of samsara, you will get stuck in the frozen cavity of a household, you will be eaten up by the ogresses of this life, you will drown in the water of the bad forms of existence, and you will waste the freedoms and riches. Abandon temporal projects of this life, give up the craving for sense pleasures, cast far away the eight worldly concerns, keep the certainty of death in your heart, and perceive the round of conditioned existence as painful. Since the peaceful existence as shravaka or pratyekabuddha will be of no benefit to all the living beings, your past mothers, you should develop a pure motivation, thinking, "For the benefit of all living beings, my former mothers, filling the whole universe, I must by all means accomplish the state of unsurpassable, genuine, complete buddhahood:' Thinking that, if you possess bodhichitta, you will be able to actualize unsurpassable enlightenment before long, you should completely remember its benefits, and strive to always keep it, never letting it degenerate. This was a somewhat extensive presentation. A SUMMARY OF THIS CONTEMPLATION. There is no place in this round of conditioned existence, from the top of the world on down to the incessant hell, which is beyond suffering. Having seen that everything in samsara-places, friends, possessions, fame-is like the banquet served by the execu-

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tioner who will lead you to the place of your execution, and perceiving this samsara to be like a fire pit or a dungeon, being aware of its futility, you should have a strong determination, thinking, "I will by all means cut the attachment to samsara and achieve the state of liberation and omniscience:' These are called the practices of the four common preliminaries.

If the extensive explanation

is condensed into four sessions, this is

the fourth session.

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CHAPTER

Two

THE FouR UNCOMMON PRELIMINARIES

The uncommon preliminaries comprise four topics: (1) the instructions on refuge and bodhichitta, making the mind a suitable receptacle, and walking the path of liberation in all actions; (2) the visualization and recitation of Vajrasattva to purify unwholesome actions and veils; (3) the mandala offering to complete the two accumulations; (4) the instructions on the guru yoga to be swiftly infused with blessings. THE INSTRUCTIONS ON REFUGE AND BODHICHITTA, MAKING THE MIND A SUITABLE RECEPTACLE, AND WALKING THE PATH OF LIBERATION IN ALL ACTIONS

Lesson 8 - Exercise 8 Are the mighty ones of this world, Brahma, Vishnu and the others, or are your parents and relatives an object of refuge? No, they are no refuge because, in order to be able to protect others one must be liberated from fear and free from suffering oneself, but they are not. The Three Jewels are a temporary refuge, but ultimately only the Buddha is a permanent refuge, and in him all Three Jewels are complete.

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Uttaratantra:

The genuine refuge of living beings is the Buddha alone, because the sage is the dharmakaya, and because this is the assembly's ultimate goal. Sagaramatipariprccha Sutra:

There is no teacher like the Buddha. There is no protection like the Dharma. There is no supreme field of merit like the Sangha. Mahaparinirvana Sutra:

Someone who has taken refuge in the Three Jewels will obtain fearlessness. Only a buddha, who is free from all suffering and capable to provide a permanent refuge, enables you to achieve liberation and omniscience. Apart from the Dharma, there is no way to achieve buddhahood. Except for the Sangha, there are no helpers in the practice of Dharma. It is not possible to achieve enlightenment without relying on the Three Jewels. Therefore it is important to take refuge, because for non buddhists there will be many shortcomings, such as hindrances and obstacles, when practicing the Dharma. 'fHE REASONS, WHY YOU MUST TAKE REFUGE.

It leads you to buddhahood and constitutes the basis for all vows. Previously committed harmful actions will be exhausted. You will be protected from harm by humans and non-humans. All THE BENEFITS AND FUNCTION OF TAKING REFUGE.

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things wished for will be accomplished. You will obtain great merit and you will not fall into the lower forms of existence. You will become a genuine, complete buddha quickly. You will be protected from all kinds of harm, as is explained in the Sutralamkara: "Because it protects from all harm, from the lower forms of existence, from helplessness, from all fears, and from inferior spiritual paths, it is considered to be a genuine refuge:' Therefore you must study the general precepts, the specific precepts, and the common precepts, you must abandon, what has to be abandoned and not mix up, what you should do and what you should not do. Thus you should take refuge being aware of the numerous benefits and disadvantages. THE PRACTICE OF TAKING REFUGE, VISUALIZING THE OBJECTS OF REFUGE. The whole space in front of you is filled by a mighty wish-fulfilling tree with his single trunk, his top, his branches and leaves. Five branches reach out into the four directions. In its center eight lions support a throne of gold and jewels. On top of it, the syllable Pam becomes a lotus, the syllable A a moon disc, and the syllable Ram a sun disc. On this seat is your kind root teacher, the embodiment of all the buddhas of the three times, from whom you have received empowerments and spiritual instructions, and in whom you place your hope and trust for future lives. The teacher is visualized either in his actual form or in the form of the all pervading lord Vajradhara. He is blue like pure sapphire, he has one face and two arms, his legs are in the vajra posture. He is decked with silk and all the jewel and bone ornaments. He is holding a vajra and a bell in his hands, which are crossed at his heart. His radiating form is adorned

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with the attributes and signs, he is smiling joyfully and blazing with splendor. Above his head the Kagyii teachers are sitting one above the other. The teachers of the practice lineages are like billowing clouds around them, and all the viras and dakinis are present like fog, with no spaces between them. At the foot of the throne visualize the Dharma protectors and guardians, their wrathful countenances facing outward, in order to remove all hindering circumstances and obstacles to your Dharma practice. On the branch in front, on a throne as before with a lotus, sun and a corpse, visualize the yidam Vajrayogini, or Guhyasamaja from the father tantra, Mahamaya from the mother tantra, Hevajra from the essence tantra, Kalachakra from the non dual tantra, or any other yidam of your choice, surrounded by the assemblies of deities of the four classes of tantra. On the right branch, on thrones exactly as before except for the corpses, visualize the bhagavan Shakyamuni, surrounded by the 1002 buddhas of the present bhadrakalpa and all the buddhas of the ten directions and the three times. On the rear branch, visualize the rare and supreme Mahayana Dharma, in the form of big and small volumes of scripture, like a rocky mountain, with their golden sparkling frontsides facing you. On the left branch, visualize the enlightened Sangha, the bodhisattva Sangha with the eight close disciples and the others, the shravaka Sangha with the supreme pair, Ananda and Kashyapa, and the others, all in saffron robes, with shaved heads and barefoot. Visualize all the empty spaces between filled with viras, dakinis, Dharma protectors, and guardians, swirling like fog, or like a snowstorm.

On the meadow around the tree, visualize all the living beings of the whole universe surging like a market crowd, including the enemies who hate you, the obstructing spirits who harm you, and your friends. Imagine that all of them recite together with you in a humming sound the refuge: All living beings as boundless as space, with my kind parents as their leader, take refuge in the glorious, sublime spiritual teachers, my kind root teacher and the lineage teachers. They are the essence of body, speech, mind, qualities, and activity of all the tathagatas of the ten directions and the three times. They are the source of the 84000 teachings of the Dharma, they are the lords of the entire enlightened Sangha. We take refuge in the assembly of deities of the yidam mandala. We take refuge in the victorious buddhas. We take refuge in the sublime Dharma. We take refuge in the enlightened Sangha. We take refuge in the assembly of viras and dakinis, the Dharma protectors and guardians, all those possessing the eye of wisdom. Until enlightenment we take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the supreme assembly. By my merit of having practiced generosity and so forth may we achieve buddhahood in order to benefit living beings. While continuously reciting in a meditative way these words, keep in mind their meaning and direct your attention on the objects of refuge, and stay one-pointedly in your practice without straying away from it. Then follows the development of bodhichitta: Until the heart of enlightenment is reached, I take refuge in the Buddha. In the same way I take refuge in the Dharma

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and the assembly of bodhisattvas. As the tathagatas of the past developed the bodhichitta and engaged step by step in the training of the bodhisattvas, in the same way, for the benefit of beings, I will develop bodhichitta, and in the same way engage step by step in the training. 12 Then contemplate the four immeasurables: May all beings possess happiness and the cause of happiness. May they be free from suffering and the cause of suffering. May they never be separated from true happiness, which is free from suffering. May they abide in great impartiality, free from attachment to near ones and aversion for distant ones. In the end the objects of refuge together with their thrones melt into light and dissolve into you. Thinking that your body, speech, and mind have become inseparable from the body, speech, and mind of the objects of refuge, relax the mind in its natural state without altering it. Remain evenly in the state of utter clarity free from reference point, without the mind moving anywhere. When conceptual thoughts start to move, seal your practice by dedicating the roots of virtue: Through this wholesome action, may I quickly accomplish mahamudra and establish all living beings without exception on this level. Then get into your daily activities.

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Lesson 9 Generally speaking there are two ways of developing bodhichitta: that of the Hinayana and that of the Mahayana. The first way to develop the bodhichitta is a slow path, because one wishes peace and happiness for oneself: "The shravakas and pratyekabuddhas have a permanent hindrance for obtaining enlightenment:' And: "Without method and devoid of wisdom one falls into the state of a shravaka:' Since with this aspiration one can only obtain the enlightenment of a shravaka or pratyekabuddha, but not the ultimate enlightenment, it is in this context necessary to exert oneself in developing the bodhichitta of the Mahayana. The explanation of the Mahayana bodhichitta comprises many aspects, such as classification by essence, characteristic, causes and conditions, divisions, demarcations and others. CLASSIFICATION BY ESSENCE. In the Mahayana there is the relative bodhichitta and the ultimate bodhichitta. Samdhinirmocana Sutra: "There are two types of bodhichitta. The ultimate bodhichitta, and the relative bodhichitta:' CHARACTERISTIC. The characteristic of the relative bodhichitta in the Mahayana is knowledge focussing on complete enlightenment for the benefit of others. Abhisamayalamkara: "Developing bodhichitta consists in wishing true, complete enlightenment for the benefit of others." CAUSES AND CONDITIONS. They are said to be numerous, but in brief they are confidence in the victorious ones and their spiritual heirs, affection for living beings, and to be taken care of by a spiritual friend. "Compassion is considered to be its

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root, to permanently have the intention of benefiting living beings:' Ratnolka Sutra: "When there is confidence in the victorious ones and the teaching of the victorious ones, when there is confidence in the conduct of the spiritual heirs of the victorious ones, when there is confidence in unsurpassable enlightenment, the attitude of a superior being will be born:' Prajnaparamitasamcayagatha: "The Buddhadharma depends on spiritual friends. Thus spoke the Victorious One, the supreme lord of all qualities." There are twenty-two divisions, beginning with the earth -like up to the cloud -like bodhichitta, as is explained in the Abhisamayalamkara: "There are twenty-two stages of bodhichitta: they are like earth, gold, moon, fire, and so forth:' 13 Another division of bodhichitta comprises four aspects: engaged conduct, pure altruism, full maturity, and free from veils. Sutralamkara: "The bodhichitta on the spiritual levels is engaged conduct and pure altruism, full maturity and free from veils:' DIVISIONS.

The first three of the twenty-two similes, the earth-like bodhichitta and so forth, refer to the three beginner levels. The following refers to the path of junction. The following ten refer to the ten bodhisattva levels. The following five refer to the five special paths of the tenth bodhisattva level. The last three refer to the buddha level. In the second fourfold division, engaged conduct refers to the beginner levels, pure altruism refers to the first seven impure bodhisattva levels, full maturity refers to the three pure bodhisattva levels, and freedom from veils refers to the buddha level. DEMARCATIONS.

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There is yet another, threefold division: developing bodhichitta with an attitude like a king, like a shepherd, or like a ferryman. There are also the two aspects of the bodhichitta of intention and application. Bodhicharyavatara: "In short the bodhichitta should be known to have two aspects: the bodhichitta of intention and application:' The difference between these two is like wishing to go to complete enlightenment and the actual act of going. Bodhicharyavatara: "Like understanding the difference between wishing to go and actually going, in the same way discerning people should understand the difference between these two." The intention is a promise focusing on the result, the application is a promise focusing on the cause. Their focus is on enlightenment and the benefit of living beings. Enlightenment means to focus on the search for the wisdom of the Mahayana. Sutralamkara: "The focus is the search for wisdom:' Focusing on living beings means focusing on all living beings filling the universe, and to develop bodhichitta in order to eliminate their suffering. Bhadracaryapranidhana: "Whatever the limits of the universe are, are also the limits of living beings. Only when their karma and their afflictions will have ended, will the end my aspiration have been reached." The relative bodhichitta arises from ordinary communication, while the ultimate bodhichitta is born from the force of the ultimate dharmata. Concerning the first, the Sutralamkara states: "Through a spiritual friend, through the cause, through the root, through study, and from getting used to wholesome actions arises an unstable and a stable aspiration. This is the

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explanation of the bodhichitta, which is shown by others." 14 Concerning the cause for the arising of the ultimate bodhichitta, it is said: "Having highly pleased the perfect buddhas, having gathered the accumulations of merit and wisdom, there arises wisdom, which does not conceptualize phenomena. It is asserted to be the ultimate." It is developed through practice in accordance with the scriptures and particular realizations. The nature of ultimate bodhichitta is emptiness whose essence is compassion, luminous and motionless, free from all conceptualization. This is expressed in the Samdhinirmocana Sutra: "The ultimate bodhichitta is beyond worldliness, free from conceptuallimitations, it is utter luminosity, the ultimate subject, 15 immaculate, motionless, utter luminosity, like a continuous flame not moved by wind." Concerning the demarcation, it is present from the first bodhisattva level up to the level ofbuddhahood. In the commentary to the Sutralamkara it says: "The ultimate bodhichitta is present on the first bodhisattva level supremely joyful, and the others:' From whom you receive the relative bodhichitta is explained in the Bodhipathapradipa: "You receive the vow from a good teacher, who possesses the proper characteristics. Recognize a good teacher as someone, who knows the vow ceremony well, who keeps the vow himself, and who has the patience and compassion to confer the vow:' As stated you receive the vow from a qualified teacher. If this is not possible, you will also receive the vows of intention and application by repeating the words for adopting the bodhichitta sincerely in front of an image of the Tathagata. Bodhisattvabhumi: "If a person with such qualities is not accessible, a bodhisattva should say in front of an image of

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the Tathagata: I am truly taking the vow of the ethic discipline of the bodhisattvas:' If such an image is not available, the vow will also be received by visualizing the Buddha in front of oneself. Shikshasamuccaya: "If such a spiritual friend is not accessible, visualize the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions actually in front of you and take the vow by your own force:'

THE CEREMONY FOR RECEIVING THE Vows There are numerous ceremonies, but here we follow the tradition of the master Shantideva, which has been transmitted by Arya Manjushri to the master Nagarjuna. There are three parts: the preliminary part, the main part, and the conclusion. THE PRELIMINARY PART. As the main cause for the bodhichitta of intention and application you must rely on the accumulation of merit. Since this merit originates from the power of the Three Jewels, you should prepare in front of the Three Jewels and the buddhas and bodhisattvas unimaginable clouds of offerings, and recite, as preliminary, three times the appropriate seven branch practice, either extensive or short. A short version would be: Whatever small wholesome action I have accumulated through prostrating, making offerings, confessing, rejoicing, urging, and requesting, I dedicate it all to great complete enlightenment THE MAIN PART. The vows ofbodhichitta should be preceded by taking the threefold refuge. Imagine in the sky in front

of you, on a throne made of precious substances supported by lions, the teacher, the true and perfect Buddha. His form is in the color of pure gold, his two hands are in the earthtouching and meditation gesture. Adorned with the attributes and signs, he is wearing the three Dharma robes, sitting cross-legged. The Sangha ofbodhisattvas with the eight close spiritual heirs, and the Sangha of shravakas and pratyekas fill all the space around him. Regard the Buddha as the teacher, the Dharma as the path, and the Sangha as the helpers in the practice. Thinking, ''As the previous bodhisattvas have developed the bodhichitta of intention and application, in the same way I also will develop bodhichitta, for the sake of all living beings who have truly been my parents;' repeat the following words: Until the heart of enlightenment is reached, I take refuge in the Buddha. In the same way I take refuge in the Dharma and the assembly of bodhisattvas. As the tathagatas of the past developed the bodhichitta and engaged step by step in the training of the bodhisattvas, in the same way, for the benefit of beings, I will develop the bodhichitta, and in the same way engage step by step in the training. By repeating this three times, you have formed the bodhichitta, both of intention and application. THE coNCLUSION. Contemplating the joy for yourself, recite once: At present my life is bearing fruit, I have perfectly obtained a human existence. Today I have been born into

the family of the buddhas, I have now become a spiritual heir of the buddhas. From now on I will in every way act in accordance with this family. I will act in such a way, that this flawless, noble family will not become sullied. Contemplating your joy for others, recite once: Today, in the presence of all protectors, I invite all living beings, to rejoice with me, until buddhahood is reached. Gods and anti-gods and all others, rejoice! THE PRECEPTS are twofold, the precepts linked to the refuge and the precepts linked to bodhichitta. Concerning the precepts linked to the refuge, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra states: "Someone who has taken refuge in the Buddha is a true lay Buddhist, he should never bow down to other gods. Having taken refuge in the sacred Dharma, he should never harm or kill. Having taken refuge in the Sangha, he should not associate with adherents of extreme views. Concerning the precepts ofbodhichitta it is said: "There is no discipline in which bodhisattvas do not train themselves:' The precepts are numerous when divided in detail, in short they comprise respect for the Mahayana teachers, giving up the four black deeds, engaging in the four white deeds, and not excluding any living beings from one's aspiration. The precepts of the intention comprise the aspiration to attain buddhahood for the sake of living beings. The precepts of the application comprise not committing any meaningless unwholesome actions, and accomplishing as many wholesome actions as possible. A more detailed explanation in the Jewel Ornament of Liberation has this summary of the precepts of the bodhi-

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chitta of intention: "Not excluding any living beings from one's concern, remembering the benefits of bodhichitta, gathering the two accumulations, training again and again in bodhichitta, giving up the four black, and engaging in the four white deeds, these five summarize the precepts of the bodhichitta of intention:' The precepts of the application mainly consist of the three trainings, which in turn are contained in the six paramitas. The summary is: "Generosity, ethic discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom, these six summarize the precepts of the bodhichitta of application:' You should act in the sense of the true Dharma, without mistaking what you have to give up, and what you have to engage in, what you have to get into, and what you have to turn away from. In the Viradattagrhapatipariprccha Sutra it says: "If the merit of bodhichitta had a form, it would be much bigger than would fit into the whole sky:' Bodhicharyavatara: "The moment someone, who is fettered in the prison of samsara, has formed the bodhichitta, he is called a son of the Buddha, deserving honour from gods and humans of this world:' And: "From the moment bodhichitta has really been adopted, the force of merit will multiply without interruption, even during sleep or in a state of carelessness it will become excellent and as vast as the skY:' THE BENEFIT.

THE DAMAGE of abandoning the bodhichitta: You will go to the lower forms of existence, the benefit of others will decline, it will cause hindrances for the attainment of spiritual levels, and you will be held up for a long time.

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Bodhicharyavatara: "If, having made such a promise, I do not accomplish the actions to fulfil it, and thus deceive all living beings, what will be my destiny?" Countless are the statements similar to this. If you fully understand the benefits and the damage, taking to heart and not confusing what has to be adopted, and what has to be abandoned, you will achieve manifest complete buddhahood before too long. Keep this in mind. Conclude with the dedication of merit and prayers of aspiration.

THE VISUALIZATION AND RECITATION OF VAJRASATTVA TO PURIFY UNWHOLESOME ACTIONS AND VEILS

Lesson 10 -Exercise 9

Generally speaking it depends on your motivation, whether an action is wholesome or harmful. Ratnavali: ''All phenomena are preceded by the mind, that is why the mind is known as the chief." The Abhidharma states: "Intending is a mental action, from this develop the actions of body and speech." Therefore not only the ten unwholesome actions, the five deeds with immediate result, the five deeds with nearly immediate result, the damaging of vows and vajra commitments-whether you commit them yourself, cause others to do them, or rejoice in them being committed-motivated by mind poisons such as attachment or aversion, are harmful and unwholesome actions, but also the study of and reflec-

tion on the Dharma, if they are motivated by mind poisons such as attachment or aversion. There are two types of veils: the veil of the afflictions preventing liberation, and the veil relating to knowledge preventing omniscience. The veil of the afflictions: according to the lower Abhidharma16 there are ninety eight mind poisons, 17 according to the higher Abhidharma there are one hundred and twenty-eight. When grouped, there are six primary mind poisons: desire, anger, pride, ignorance, doubt, and view, 18 and twenty associated mind poisons, anger and so on. In summary they are included in attachment, aversion, and stupidity. The veil relating to knowledge refers to the concepts of a grasping subject and grasped objects. It comprises the grasping at characteristics in everything that can be known. In summary it is included in the grasping at characteristics of basis, path, and fruit. The effect of all of this is suffering. Bodhicharyavatara: "Suffering arises from unwholesome actions. How can I definitely free myself from this. To think about this day and night is the only thing that makes sense:' By confessing all your harmful actions, they will be purified. The confession should be done by means of four forces: (1) the force of remorse, regretting the harmful actions committed in the past, (2) the force of applying antidotes, (3) the force of turning away from wrongdoing, (4) the force of support. 1. THE FORCE OF REMORSE

You should develop regret by considering, how meaningless harmful actions are, how frightening their consequences are, and how necessary it is, to get rid of them quickly.

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You should reflect about the following: all the unwholesome actions I have committed, such as annihilating enemies, or protecting friends, or for the sake of wealth, have been exclusively for the sake of this present life. But at the time of death they will not accompany me. Only my karma will follow me like a shadow. Even if I were to accomplish those projects, the immense difficulties and hardships will be good for nothing. Viradattagrhapatipariprccha Sutra: "Your parents, brothers and sisters, children, your wife, your servants, wealth, and your gathering of friends will not follow you after your death. But all your karma will follow you." Bodhicharyavatara: "Not understanding that I will have to go, leaving everything behind, I have committed all kinds of harmful actions for the sake of friends and enemies:' THEIR CONSEQUENCES ARE FRIGHTENING. The effects of harmful actions are very frightening: the interruption of life at the time of death, the messengers of the lord of death immediately after that, and after having died taking birth in the lower realms, the hells or the others. IT IS NECESSARY, TO GET RID OF THEM QUICKLY. Frightened by the consequences of your harmful actions, you must purify them immediately, because if you die suddenly, without having purified them, you take a great risk of falling into a hole, from which there is no liberation. Bodhicharyavatara: "I may die before my harmful actions have been purified. Please protect me quickly, so that I am definitely freed from them:' And: "The lord of death is not trustworthy. Whether I have finished my work or not, he will not wait. Whether ill or not, nobody can trust this fleeting life." For these three reasons, you should develop regret and UNWHOLESOME ACTIONS ARE MEANINGLESS.

confess in front of a sacred object. This is like requesting a powerful person to cancel your debts. 2. THE FORCE OF APPLYING ANTIDOTES

The second force consists of carrying out wholesome actions as an antidote for harmful actions. Many harmful actions can be destroyed by just a single wholesome action. Mahaparinirvana Sutra: "Even performing a single wholesome action will destroy many harmful actions:' The Sutra of the Pure Golden Light: "Someone who has committed during thousands of kalpas extremely terrifying harmful actions, can purify all of them by thoroughly confessing them once:' This is like washing something dirty and sprinkling it with perfume. 3· THE FORCE OF TURNING AWAY FROM WRONGDOING

The third force is the promise to refrain from harmful actions from now on, being terrified by their consequences. "Spiritual guides, please pay heed to me. I know that my unwholesome actions are faults. They are no good, from now on I will never do them again:' This is like deviating water pipes. 4· THE FORCE OF SUPPORT

The forth force is to take refuge in the Three Jewels and develop bodhichitta. Sukarikavadana: "Those who have taken refuge in the Buddha will not go to the lower realms. Having left behind this human body, they will obtain the bodies of gods:' Bodhicharyavatara: "Why do conscientious people not rely on bodhichitta, which will free them instantly, even if

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they have done extreme harmful deeds, like being freed from great fear by relying on a hero?" This is like a weak person seizing the hand of a very powerful person, or like poison being neutralized by mantras. In former times, Angulimala, who had killed 999 humans, Udayana, who had killed his mother, Nanda, who was attached to woman, and Ajatasatru, who had killed his father, purified their harmful deeds through one of the four forces, and reached the states of arhats or stream enterers: 19 "Someone who has been careless in the past, and later becomes conscientious, will become as beautiful as the moon in the cloudless sky. Just like Nanda, Angulimala, Ajatasatru, and Udayana."

Lesson 11 -Exercise 10

From among the four forces, the supreme force of applying antidotes is relying on the visualization and recitation of Vajrasattva. Begin by visualizing above yourself in your ordinary form, from the syllable Pam a white lotus, from the syllable A a moon disc, and on top of this from the syllable Hum a white five-spoked vajra, with a Hum in its center. From this emanate light rays making offerings to the enlightened ones, and accomplishing the benefit of living beings. When the light rays have gathered back, the vajra transforms into the form of the bhagavan Vajrasattva, who in essence is your root teacher. He is white and has one face and two arms. In his right hand he holds a five-spoked vajra upright in front of his heart. In his left hand he proudly holds a bell with a vajra handle against his hip. His legs are

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in the sattva posture. His upper and lower garments are of multicolored divine silk. His hair is tied in a topknot, which is crowned by master Akshobhya, the lord of the family. He is adorned with all the ornaments, made from diverse precious substances: a crown, earrings, a short necklace, armlets, bracelets, anklets, a belt, and a long necklace. He is adorned with the attributes and signs and emanates boundless light rays. He appears clearly like a reflection in a mirror, perceivable, yet not really existing. In his heart, on a moon disc is a white Hum, and around it the syllables Om vajrasattva hum, and around these the hundred syllables Om vajrasattva samaya ... up to sattva ah. All the syllables are white, like strings of pearls, going clockwise around in a circle. The light rays emanating from them invite the whole assembly of teachers, yidams, buddhas, bodhisattvas, viras, dakinis, Dharma protectors and guardians of the ten directions, and the three times. Having dissolved into Vajrasattva on top of your head, perceive him as the form containing all the objects of refuge and recite: Guru Vajrasattva, please cleanse away and purify the whole accumulation of harmful actions, veils, faults, and downfalls of myself and all other living beings in the vastness of space. Having prayed to him like this, there flows from the seed syllable, the mantra strings, and the moon in the heart of guru Vajnlsattva a stream of wisdom nectar, filling his form completely with whiteness. The excess flows continuously from the big toe of his right foot, like from a beer mug foaming over, and enters your body through the brahma opening. It washes out all the unwholesome actions, veils, illnesses,

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demonic forces, damaged and broken commitments, harmful things, and impurities, which you have accumulated in all your existences since beginningless samsara, in the form of pus, blood, or smoky broth, or liquid charcoal, like chaff being carried away by a river. This blackness pours out of your two lower doors, the openings of your senses, the pores of your skin, and your fingertips, and dissolves into the mighty golden base below you. Your whole body, white and purified, has become filled to the brim with white wisdom nectar. The excess overflows and touches the foot of Vajrasattva. Imagining all of this, recite the one hundred syllables, and the six syllables as much as you can. In the end join the palms of your hands at your heart and pray: Protector, out of ignorance and delusion, I have transgressed and damaged my vajra commitments. Guru protector, grant me your protection. Oh lord, holder of the vajra, you are the embodiment of compassion, lord of living beings, I take refuge in you. I confess all the breaches and violations of the main and branch commitments of body, speech and mind. Please grant your blessing to cleanse away and purify the whole accumulation of harmful actions, veils, faults, and downfalls. The guru Vajrasattva on top of your head is pleased and confirms with a smile, "Child of the family, all your harmful actions, veils, faults, and downfalls are cleansed and purified:' At the same time he melts into light and dissolves into you. Think that the body, speech, and mind of the guru Vajrasattva and your own body, speech and mind become inseparable like water poured into water, and remain without reference point. When thinking starts again, seal your session with dedica-

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tions and aspirations. Having thus dedicated the wholesome roots to enlightenment, get into your daily activities. SIGNS OF PURIFICATION of unwholesome actions and veils through this meditation: your body feels light, you sleep little and feel healthy and joyful. Dreams of washing, stripping yourself naked, of pus and blood dripping from your body, of having diarrhoea, of vomiting, of putting on white clothing. Furthermore, to dream of vomiting bad food, drinking curd and milk, seeing the sun and moon, flying in the sky, of burning fires, of subduing a bull or a black man, of seeing the Sangha, monks and nuns, of a tree from which milk flows, of elephants and bulls, of climbing on a mountain, a lion throne, or a palace, of listening to the Dharma, are signs of having purified harmful actions and veils. However, it would be pointless to abandon your practice as soon as some signs appear. You must continue to make efforts and practice continuously.

THE MANDALA OFFERING TO COMPLETE THE Two ACCUMULATIONS

Lesson 12 - Exercise 11

Generally speaking, performing wholesome actions with an altruistic intention is the cause of the two accumulations. The supreme means to complete the two accumulations is the training in the six perfections. According to the Madhyamikavatara, the first three perfections serve to accumulate merit, and the last three to accumulate wisdom: "The Tathagata has, for the most part, recommended the first

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three practices, generosity and so on, to householders. They are also called the accumulation of merit." According to the doctrines of Maitreya, the first two are the accumulation of merit, the paramita of wisdom is the accumulation of wisdom, and patience, diligence and concentration belong to both accumulations equally: "Generosity and ethic discipline are the accumulation of merit, wisdom is the accumulation of wisdom, the other three are both." Otherwise the paramita of generosity is merit, and the other five are the accumulation of wisdom, as it is taught: "And all five are the accumulation of wisdom:' In particular, in this context, pleasing the teacher is the most excellent accumulation, because the greatest accumulation is to please a buddha, and there is no buddha superior to the teacher. Therefore you must accomplish what is pleasing to the teacher by making offerings to him with body, speech, and mind: "Having highly pleased the perfect buddhas, having gathered the accumulations of merit and wisdom, there arises wisdom, which does not conceptualize phenomena. It is asserted to be the ultimate:'

Pancakrama: Someone who abandons all offerings and begins to make offerings to the teacher in the right way, will obtain the supreme all-knowing wisdom by pleasing him.

Shrisambhava's life story: All the merits of the bodhisattvas are protected by spiritual friends.

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Astasahasrikaprajnaparamita:

A bodhisattva mahasattva wishing to attain manifest complete buddhahood in unsurpassable, truly complete enlightenment, must from the very beginning render services to a spiritual friend, rely on him, and respect him. And: A bodhisattva mahasattva, who is completely taken care of by a spiritual friend, will quickly attain unsurpassable, truly complete buddhahood. GATHERING THE ACCUMULATIONS IN THE WAY OF THE KUSALI 20

Imagine that with a Phat your mind shoots out from the center of your heart and appears in the sky in front of you as Vajrayogini. Her body is red, she has one face and two arms. In her right hand she brandishes a curved knife into the sky, in her left she holds a skull cup filled with nectar at her heart. She is adorned with pale white bone ornaments. She plants three human heads as big as Mount Meru as hearth stones in front of you. With her curved knife she strikes off your skull entirely and places it on top of them. This skull cup is wide and large, white on the outside and red inside, the front that faces you is marked with the syllable Ah. Then Vajrayogini chops off the right half of your upper body, places it inside the skull cup, and stirs it with her curved knife. With the mantras Om vajra amrita kundali hana hana hum phat and Om svabhava ... everything is purified in emptiness. In the state of emptiness arises a vast ocean of wisdom nectar. Having blessed it with a triple Om ah hum, it is offered with the words:

I offer this vast ocean of wisdom nectar to the Kagyii teachers, who are the source of blessings, Om ah hum. I offer it to the assembly of yidam deities, who are the source of accomplishments, Om ah hum. Om vajra argham ... " and so on. 21 Imagine that they taste it with their tongue, which is a vajra pipe, and are delighted. In the end they dissolve like a rainbow, and you go into the nonconceptual state. Then Vajrayogini chops off the upper left half of your body and places it inside the skull cup, and you purify and bless it as before. Having invited in the sky in front of you the wisdom protectors with their retinue and all the Dharma protectors, who have vowed to protect the teachings of the Buddha like billowing clouds, think that they are tasting it with their vajra pipe tongue and are pleased, and that their minds are filled with unconditioned joy, and practice the nonconceptual state. Then she places the lower right half of your body in the skull cup, and you recite: Om vajra amrita kundali hana hana hum phat. Nama sarva tathagata avalokite om sambhara sambhara hum. I bow down to the tathagata Rinchen Mang. I bow down to the tathagata Zug Dampa. I bow down to the tathagata Ku JamHi. I bow down to the tathagata Jigpa Tamche Dangdralwa. I give this to all living beings in the six realms, headed by my kind parents, on the five worldly paths, and the four birth places. May you be satisfied with whatever food or clothing you desire, and may your mind stream be filled with unconditioned happiness.

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Then she places the lower left half of your body in the skull cup, and you recite the amrita mantra, the sambhara mantra, and the names of the four tathagatas as before and then: I give this ocean of wisdom nectar to all the hungry ghosts, who are tormented by hunger, thirst, and poverty, and who are more numerous than the grains of sand in hundreds of thousands of billions of Ganges rivers, with the queen of the hungry spirits, Khalamebarma at their head. Think that they are satisfied with whatever food or clothing they desire, that their mind streams are filled with unconditioned happiness, and that they attain the state ofbuddhahood. Then remain in the nonconceptual state. Conclude with: May the victors be pleased by this offering. May the wishes of the oath-bound guardians be fulfilled. May the desires of the six kinds of beings be satisfied. May the kindness of the parents be repaid. Spirits who are assembled here... Dedicate the roots of merit to enlightenment, and seal the practice with prayers of aspiration. This is the gathering of the accumulations in the way of a kusali.

Lesson 13 - Exercise 12 The best of the many ways of gathering the accumulations is the mandala offering, which is present in the preliminaries of all the developmental instructions. There are two types of mandala, the mandala of accomplishment, and the offering mandala.

THE MANDALA OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

If you possess two mandala bases made of precious materials, you should use the bigger and better one as a support for the mandala of accomplishment, and the slightly inferior one as a support for the offering mandala. If you only have one mandala base, you should use it for the mandala of accomplishment. For the offering mandala, you should use a base made of wood or stone, and so on as a support. If you do not have any mandala base, you can practice by just visualizing. The more you invest into the practice, the greater the merit. If the mandala base is made of precious metals, it should be more than four finger-widths in diameter. If it is made out of clay, stone, wood, and so on, it should have more than a handspan in diameter, bases smaller than this should not be used. The mandala base is circular, its surface is smooth and even, the center is bulged slightly higher, but not so much, so that the heaps cannot be formed anymore. A beautiful and pleasant ring about one sixth of the plate's diameter in width runs below around the circular mountain. If you have acquired a base without cracks, scratches and rust, sprinkle it with perfumed water to remove any drawings on it. If the base has defects in the center, it will harm the teachers, if in front it will harm oneself, on the right it will harm parents and relatives, on the left it will harm fellow vajra practitioners, and on the back it will harm your entourage and possessions. For the heaps, the best are of jewels, second best are of shells and small shells, the least excellent are of good grain, like barley or rice. The commitment is to never leave the mandala empty. Now visualize that all the impurities, like diseases, demonic forces, harmful deeds, and veils of the world and its inhabitants, yourself and others, are purified, while holding

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the mandala base in your hand and rubbing it with your right fist, in which you hold flowers. In the Kriya Tantra tradition one rubs clockwise with the right hand, sets up the mandala protection, and places the heaps. In the tradition of the inner tantras, one rubs counterclockwise, sets up the mandala protection, and places the heaps. Examine which of these outer methods is preferable for you and rub three times. When placing the heaps you should avoid the flaws of the four outer heaps being too close to the central heap, being crooked, scattered, or not the same size. Purify the actual mandala of accomplishment. In the state of emptiness this mandala becomes a precious immeasurable palace, having all its characteristics complete: it has four sides, with four gates, ornaments, and arched gateways. Place inside of it the five heaps in the center and so forth, just like the objects of refuge. Visualize like in the practice of taking refuge, in the center, on a throne which is lifted up by eight athletes and lions, on a lotus, sun, and moon, your root teacher, surrounded by the lineage teachers, and the other Kagyii teachers, and in the four directions, in front the yidams and so on. The divinities of this assembly have the syllable Om in their heads, the syllable Ah in their throats, and the syllable Hum in their hearts. From the Hum radiates light, inviting the wisdom beings from their natural places, surrounded by buddhas and bodhisattvas. They look like the ones you visualize and melt into them becoming inseparable. Request them to stay in the space in front of you, and place this mandala of accomplishment in the center of your altar or, if you do not have one, on a high and spacious place, worthy to serve as a residence for the receivers of offerings, such as a beautiful, clean shelf.

So

THE OFFERING MANDALA

In front of this mandala of accomplishment sit down on a slightly lower seat. Hold the mandala base in your left hand and place the heaps with your right hand. While reciting the one hundred syllable mantra once, wipe the mandala base clean from dust as before, and at the same time imagine, that all the unwholesome deeds and veils in yourself and others, which are epitomized by the grasping subject and the grasped objects, becomes purified. Then recite the following words, clearly having their sense in mind, while at the same time placing the heaps: Om vajra bhumi ah hum, the utterly pure base is the vajra ground ... having accepted it, please grant your blessing. Sprinkling the base with scented water... having offered this excellent mandala to please you ... To the assembly of teachers, complete with the three kayas, I make the outer, inner, secret, and ultimate offerings. Having accepted my body, my possessions, and everything that appears and exists, please grant me the unsurpassable, supreme accomplishment. Please grant me the accomplishment of mahamudra. If you like, you can recite: To the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions and the three times ... I offer the body and possessions, with their wholesome causes, of myself and all the countless living beings, to the teachers and the precious Three Jewels ... You divine, omniscient beings, please listen ...

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You should also persevere in other methods of accumulation and purification, which you know, such as general confessions, sevenfold practices, offerings and praises. In the end the deities of the mandala of accomplishment dissolve into you and you become inseparable. Dedicate these wholesome roots to enlightenment. SIGNS OF COMPLETING THE ACCUMULATIONS. You will not feel hungry, even if you do not eat much. Wisdom will unfold, so you understand many teachings, you did not understand before, and you will remember many teachings you had forgotten. You will feel joyous, and the mind will become workable. There may be dreams of being given food and drink by many women, of the sun and moon shining, of moving upward, of walking on a meadow with flowers, picking flowers, of putting on new clothes and jewelry, of crossing a river and reaching the other shore, of crossing water on a ship or on a bridge, of wiping and looking into a mandala or a mirror, of blowing a conch, beating a big drum, playing music, visiting a temple, and so on. It is not the aim to have this kind of dream just once. If these signs appear again and again, either in reality, as meditative experience, or in dreams, they are true signs of having completed the accumulations to a small degree.

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THE GURU YOGA

TO BE SWIFTLY INFUSED WITH BLESSINGS

Lesson

14 -

Exercise 13

The source of all meditative experiences and realizations is the guru yoga. If a receptive student prays sincerely and one-pointedly to a qualified teacher, offering his irreversible devotion, he will in one life and in one body actualize the primordial awareness of mahamudra. This is unfailing. Since our lineage in particular is a blessing lineage, it is impossible for meditative experiences and realizations to arise, without having received the blessing of the teachers. But when you have received the blessing, all the realizations of true empowerment will instantly arise in your mind stream. For this to happen, it needs a karmic connection between teacher and student, and certain qualifications on both sides. According to the Vinaya, there are two kinds of preceptor, 22 for novices and for fully ordained monks, 23 and five kinds of teacher: the teacher for the ritual, the teacher of discipline, the reading teacher, the teacher for private matters, and the teacher of novices. Sutramula: "There are novices and fully ordained monks, some monks are preceptors:' And: "These are the teachers: for private matters, for the ritual, for the rules, and for reading:' Preceptors must have four qualities: they must have the four factors of discipline, stability, competence, and usefulness. The factors of usefulness means: "He has compassion, patience, a pure inner retinue, diligence in the twofold usefulness and is in accord with the title and the view; he can speak clearly and understand the meaning; he has a stable mind

and a normal body and is holding his usual rank:' Furthermore: "He has compassion, a pure inner retinue, is diligent in the twofold usefulness, in the spiritual and the material sense, and teaches at the right time; this is the description of a teacher." Concerning the teachers, the teacher of novices has the six qualities of a fully ordained monk, and as the seventh the competence to give the novice vows. The six qualities are: he possesses the vows of a fully ordained monk completely pure, he is in accord with his title and the view, he has the three requisites, 24 he has a normal human body and a stable motivation. The teacher for private matters has the six qualities and in addition is competent in inquiring about hindrances to the ordination. The teacher of ritual has the additional qualities for his task, which is to recite the ordination ritual by heart without mistaking even half a syllable. The teacher of the rules, in addition to possessing the four characteristics of a preceptor, is able to confer the vinaya precepts of what to abandon and what to adopt and to accomplish the purification of the student's mind stream. The reading teacher possesses the respective ordination vows completely pure, he holds his usual rank and is in accord with the title and the view, he knows the Dharma well, which he has to teach, and he is capable of developing the treasure of the threefold training in the mind stream of the students by means of intelligent expositions, debate and compositions concerning the Tripitaka. Within the Mahayana there are the teachers of the Paramitayana tradition, and the teachers of the secret mantra

tradition, and many others. Concerning the teacher of the Paramitayana the Bodhicharyavatara says: Never, even at the cost of your life, forsake your spiritual friend, who is well versed in the sense of the Mahayana and excellent in the discipline of the bodhisattvas. Sutralamkara:

You should rely on a spiritual friend who is calm, controlled, and appeased, who has superior qualities, is diligent, and rich with scriptural transmission, who has completely realized suchness and is eloquent, who has a loving nature, and is free of weariness. According to another explanation, he needs four particular qualities and nine attributes: He has a vast learning, is free from doubts, is worthy of appreciation, and teaches the two meanings; 25 this is what is called an excellent teacher of bodhisattvas. And: The supreme qualities of a bodhisattva are: he is gentle, not haughty, untiring, he can clearly explain many different topics; he is understanding, disinterested and omnipresent. Acharya Chandrakirti: When the teacher has understood the student's aspirations, he will guide him accordingly. A skillful teacher will gather disciples, a foolish one will never have disciples.

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A teacher of the secret mantra is: "A practitioner who is inseparable from his deity and who has complete realization of the Mantrayana."

Kalachakra Tantra: In the first place you should rely on teachers who have the vajra commitments and are completely established in the Vajrayana. Having practiced it, they have no attachment, and are free from distortions, pursuing the path with patience. On students they transmit the path, rob them the fear of the hells, and have a pure behavior towards them. This basis holding the vajra club against the maras, is highly renowned as Vajrasattva. With regard to that, it is taught in the Paramarthasevan: In the degenerate age the teachers have a combination of faults and qualities. Someone without any fault does not exist. Students should examine them well and rely on those in whom the qualities prevail.

Abhisamayalamkara: A spiritual teacher in every respect is one whose mind does not get discouraged. He shows the nonexistence of entities and abandons everything not in accord with that. Even if a teacher possessing all those characteristics does not exist, he must have some of them. In particular he should be utterly uninvolved in selfish attachment. At best he should

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possess the qualities of the three upward evolving vows, 26 but at least he should not be stained with the defeats. He should connect students relying on him exclusively with the authentic Dharma, and not employ them as servants to defeat his enemies, or protect his friends. It is not appropriate to rely on a teacher who engages himself and others in unwholesome actions, amassing possessions dishonestly through calculated generosity and acquiring other's property through deceit and cunning. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A STUDENT are

said to be numerous, but in brief they are as follows: a student needs unshakable faith in and intense devotion to the teacher, and the conviction that he is the embodiment of the buddhas of the three times. He needs a mind saturated with irresistible compassion for the six types of beings, knowing them to have been his parents, without the least ambition for this present life. He needs the wish to obtain buddhahood in this life and in this body, and he needs to have his aspiration directed on future lives. Someone who does not have these characteristics, but who only relies on the teacher to get food and clothing, or to become famous in this life, or just as a way to pass his human life, is just a servant of the teacher receiving food and drink, but he is not in a real teacher student relationship, as Gonpo Yeshe said: Servants of a teacher receiving food and drink and students of a teacher have in common that they belong to the entourage, but they differ in their aspiration, which they are working for.

The relationship of a receptive student to a qualified teacher must be based on pure confidence and devotion. From the vajra words of Jigten Sumgon: The only certain method to develop realization is devotion. And: When on the snow mountain of the teacher's four kayas ... 27 Dagpo Rinpoche: For the realization of mahamudra there is no other method besides devotion.

Uttaratantra: The self-existing ultimate reality will be understood by those with confidence. The dazzling light of the sun cannot be seen by those who are blind. A sutra: Having developed confidence as preparation, it will protect and increase all your qualities like a mother. Lorepa: First you have to create devotion deliberately, then arises uncontrived devotion, and finally the teacher melts into you.

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Kalachakra Tantra: Even if you have made offerings to the Three Jewels during all the kalpas of the three times and protected the lives of millions of living beings, you will not attain buddhahood in this life. But if you please the teacher, who is an ocean of qualities, with your confidence, the supreme and the ordinary siddhis will certainly be yours in this very life.

Shikshasamuccaya: Having stabilized the foundation of confidence, you should make enlightenment your stable aspiration. A sutra: Confidence makes you pass beyond mara's activities, and bestows the supreme way of liberation on you. Confidence is the cause of all qualities. It is like an unspoiled seed, from which the tree of enlightenment will grow. From the Sutra of the Salty River: In the last five hundred year era F8 will appear in the form of teachers. Keep in mind that it is me, and show them respect at that time. In many sutras, tantras, and pith instructions it is set forth that realizations will arise quickly, if you have confidence and devotion. If you practice the guru yoga combined with confident devotion, the benefits will be immeasurable.

Hevajra Tantra: The coexistent cannot be described by others, it cannot be found anywhere. It can only be understood by relying on a teacher and his skillful means at the right time, and through one's own merit.

Prajnaparamitasamcayagatha: Good students with respect for their teachers should always rely on wise teachers. Why? Because the qualities of wisdom come from them. And: A boat without oarsman will not reach the other shore. Without a teacher there will be no end to conditioned existence, even if you have completed all the qualities.

Trisamayavyuharaja: To meditate on a deity with the attributes and marks for a hundred thousand kalpas, does not equal a hundredthousandth part of thinking of the teacher for one instant. It is better to pray to the teacher once, than to recite a million yidam recitations.

Paramarthasevan: The true way for excellent disciples comes from the mouth of excellent teachers.

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Pancakrama: Someone falling from the peak of a mighty mountain will continue to fall, even if he thinks, he should not fall. Someone who has found the beneficial way through the kindness of a teacher, will become free, even if he thinks, he will not become free. Naropa: The teacher is the treasure trove of all the qualities. The teacher is the source of all Dharma.

Atikopa:29 Someone who meditates on the kind teacher, be it on top of his head, in his heart, or on the palm of his hand, will possess the qualities of a thousand buddhas. Gotsangpa: If you practice the guru yoga, your faults will become purified, and your qualities perfected. And: There are many meditations on the stage of development, but nothing surpasses the practice of the guru yoga. There are many mantra recitations, but nothing surpasses praying to the teacher. There are many meditations on the stage of completion, but nothing surpasses confident total surrender.

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From the songs of Yakde Panchen: As stage of development, one's body as deity is excellent. As a crown, the victors of the five families are excellent. As stage of completion, Yakde Panchen is excellent. On top of the head, Rangjung Dorje is excellent. Master Sakyapa: The supreme accomplishment you will only attain by praying to your root teacher, not to anyone else. Ordinary accomplishments you can also attain by praying to other teachers. In Shrisambhava's life story it is written: Child of the family. A bodhisattva who is taken care of by a spiritual friend will not fall into the lower realms. A bodhisattva who is protected by a spiritual friend will not fall into the hands of bad friends. A bodhisattva who is protected by a spiritual friend will not turn away from the Mahayanadharma. A bodhisattva who is supported by a spiritual friend will go well beyond the level of ordinary beings. There are infinite statements like this, in which the immeasurable benefits of practicing the guru yoga are explained: "The teacher is the embodiment of all the buddhas ..." And: "The teacher is the glorious Vajradhara ..." And: "The teacher is the Buddha, the teacher is the Dharma ..." And: "Never consider the teacher and the holder of the vajra to be separate:' And: "The one, whose kindness bestows the

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ultimate ease ..." And: "In the past, when there were no teachers ..." If you pray to your root teacher, perceiving him as the embodiment of the Three Jewels and of all the objects of refuge, and as the actual Vajradhara, it is easy to receive blessings. If you make this your practice and rely on it, it is certain that all supreme and common accomplishments will appear instantly. How TO FOLLOW A SPIRITUAL TEACHER. "You should rely on a spiritual teacher by offering material things, honouring and serving him and by means of spiritual practice." In particular do not give rise to wrong views, no matter what good or bad actions the teacher may display, but rather increase your inspiration ever more. You should see everything he does positively, thinking, the venerable teacher is acting like this in the interest of the character and the inclination of beings; his methods of guiding those to be tamed are inconceivable. Take everything he says to be the truth, whatever order he gives, and even advise, which is given jokingly or while laughing. In brief, if he says about fire that it is water, or about a hat that it is a boot, you should think that it is unfailingly just like that. You should dedicate your life to carrying out whatever the teacher desires, if you have the possibility to do so with your body, speech, and mind. If you really are not capable of doing it, make sincere wishes to be able to accomplish it. In the end you need to develop such natural devotion, that the teacher's mind and your mind mingle inseparably. Once a teacher has accepted you, you should not waste the instructions he has given you, but rather put them into practice energetically. Seized by impermanence, you must make it your essential

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endeavour to practice disgust with samsara, contentment, renunciation, pure vision, devotion, love, compassion, bodhichitta, and settling the question of the abiding nature. If a student does not put this into practice, he will only say, "Precious teacher, whatever you do and whatever you say is excellent;' as long as it corresponds to his own selfish wishes. But when the teacher gives an order in connection with the Dharma, which does not correspond to his ideas even slightly, he will make all kinds of resentful remarks. In the worst case he will leave because of his wrong views. In the intermediate case he will shirk from it, not really accepting it. The least serious would be asking to be excused and just becoming immersed in projects of this life. Even if he says that he is staying in solitary places, he will end up having more desires than others, because his mind has not turned to the Dharma, and he has not abandoned the eight worldly concerns. Having many faults, he is not a suitable recipient for the Dharma teachings and cannot be considered to be a student. A teacher must have some of the characteristics mentioned earlier. He should not be involved in lying and deceit and never engage those connected to him in unwholesome actions, but rather guide them in the genuine practice of Dharma and sow the seed of liberation in them. A teacher who does not have these characteristics, but who is inflated with pride, boasting with his learning, discipline and goodness, having contempt for all others, who is self-opinionated and is quickly euphoric or despairing at the slightest up and down, is not beneficial for the teaching of the Buddha and should be treated with indifference. Sakya Pandita: "Stay indifferent toward someone, even if it is a teacher, who does not act in accord with the teaching of the Buddha:' However, it is taught in the tradition of the precious

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Kagyii lineage, that even a teacher who is an ordinary person in bondage, can display the acts of a buddha, if a student offers the devotion to him as a real buddha. Because, in order to take care of this faithful student, all the buddhas will bestow on this teacher the blessing of their body, speech, and mind. Also, if you have devotion and confidence to any of the former Kagyii teachers, he will become your root teacher, and you can certainly receive his blessing. The masters Gampopa, Diisum Khyenpa, Karma Pakshi, Shang Yudragpa, Gotsangpa and others have said: "You do not need the word transmission, for the real transmission you can directly follow me:' Considering the teacher in whom you have confidence your root teacher and praying to him, it is certain that through the force of blessing, the primordial awareness of mahamudra, which is like a clear, cloudless sky, will quickly arise in your mind stream. Therefore you should practice the guru yoga, fully aware of the benefits of practicing it, and the disadvantages of not practicing it.

Lesson

15 -

Exercise 14

Arouse the bodhichitta, thinking, "I shall obtain the state of unsurpassable buddhahood for the sake of all living beings, my former mothers. For this purpose I meditate and practice the guru yoga:' With Om svabhava ... everything is purified. In the state of emptiness visualize yourself in the form of any yidam you wish, complete with its palace and seat, like a cloud appearing in the sky, or visualize it complete in an instant. If this form does not appear clearly, stay in your ordinary form.

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Visualize either above your head or in front of you in the sky your kind root teacher, in whom you have confidence and from whom you have requested instructions, seated on a precious throne, supported by lions, with a lotus, sun and moon disc. He is in the form of the bhagavan Vajradhara. His radiating pale blue form is blazing with splendor. He has one face and two arms. His legs are in the vajra posture. In his two crossed hands he holds a vajra and a bell. He is smiling joyfully. He is adorned with the thirty-two excellent attributes and eighty excellent signs and with many kinds of silk and jewelry. He appears without having an inherent existence. All the buddha fields are complete in his form, his form pervades all buddha fields. Above his head the Kagyi.i teachers are lined up one above the other until Vajradhara is reached, 30 and the teachers of the practice lineages are assembled like clouds. All of them are surrounded by an immeasurable assembly of yidams, buddhas, bodhisattvas, viras, dakinis, Dharma protectors, and guardians. Then recite a long or short version of the seven branch practice, or the following one, which the master Diisum Khyenpa offered to Dagpo Rinpoche: I bow down to the glorious, sublime master, in his palace of the dharmadhatu, the realm, which has nothing above. You are the quintessence of all the buddhas of the three times and clearly show to me that my mind is the dharmakaya. I offer actual possessions and mentally created offerings and do praises. I confess all harmful actions done in the past without exception and will, from now on, never again commit any harmful actions. I rejoice in the wholesome actions of all living beings and dedicate them to the cause of supreme enlightenment. I pray you

to remain and not to pass into nirvana, and request you to turn the wheel of the unsurpassable supreme vehicle. Please grant your blessing, that I become perfected in impartial love and compassion, and that I directly realize the ultimate, coexistent primordial awareness, just like the victorious ones and their spiritual heirs have realized it. Grant your blessing, so I realize that this illusory body is the nirmanakaya. Grant your blessing, so I realize that the life force is the sambhogakaya. Grant your blessing, so I realize that my mind is the dharmakaya. Grant your blessing, so that the three kayas appear in their inseparability. Then offer mandalas and other suitable offerings, and supplicate him with limitless devotion: To you precious teacher I address my supplication. Grant your blessing, that my intellect lets go of ego-clinging. Grant your blessing, that renunciation arises in my mind stream. Grant your blessing, so I realize that my mind is unborn. Grant your blessing, that delusion is naturally purified. Grant your blessing, that I perceive all that appears and exists as dharmakaya. Having supplicated, all the teachers surrounding your root teacher melt into light and dissolve into him. Regarding your root teacher as being the embodiment of all the teachers, yidams, buddhas and bodhisattvas, supplicate him: Sublime teacher, please completely bestow the four empowerments on me.

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Having supplicated him, visualize while reciting meditatively the following: From the forehead center of the sublime teacher emanates a boundless stream of nectar in the form of white light rays. They dissolve into my forehead and purify the veils of my body. I am empowered to practice the path of the development stage, making me apt to attain the fruit of the nirmanakaya. From the throat center of the teacher emanates a boundless stream of nectar in the form of red light rays. They dissolve into my throat and purify the veils of my speech. I am empowered to practice the path of the completion stage, with the channels, energies, and essences, making me apt to attain the fruit of the sambhogakaya. From the heart center of the teacher emanates a boundless stream of nectar in the form of blue light rays. They dissolve into my heart and purify the veils of my mind. I am empowered to practice the path ofbliss of the four joys, making me apt to attain the fruit of the dharmakaya. From the three centers of body, speech, and mind of the teacher emanate white, red, and blue light rays like rainbows. They dissolve into my body, speech, and mind, and purify all the veils of my three doors. I am empowered to practice mahamudra, the inseparability of awareness and emptiness, making me apt to attain the fruit of the svabhavikakaya. Then remain in meditation as long as you can. Again supplicate: "Glorious, precious root teacher..." After this, your root teacher melts into light and dissolves

into you. Thinking that the body, speech, and mind of your root teacher have become inseparable from your own body, speech, and mind, remain in mahamudra meditation. When thinking starts again, dedicate the virtuous roots to great enlightenment and seal your practice with pure aspirations. Then enter your daily activities. Through the practice of the guru yoga, all the faults of the two veils will become purified, and the two accumulations will be completed. All the sixty four qualities of freedom and maturation will be completed, and the essence of the three kayas of perfect buddhahood will be actualized on a single seat. Full of joy and inspiration about this, you should develop energetic perseverance. As OUTER SIGNS immeasurable devotion and longing for the teacher will arise. Being near the teacher one utters his name. Coming into his presence, one is incapable of separating from him. The mind is captivated by the teacher, one cannot think about anything else, and this incites one to supplicate him continuously, day and night, insatiably. When as inner signs experiences will blaze up just by thinking of the teacher, the outer appearances become insubstantial like mist, the inner awareness becomes bare luminosity, inseparable from emptiness, and the stream of thoughts becomes interrupted, it is all right to give the pointing-out instructions also during the preliminaries. Secret signs: one dreams of meeting the teacher, receiving empowerment and Dharma teachings and that he emanates and reabsorbs light rays. If these signs occur, meditation will certainly arise. If during these preliminaries one does not begin to experience some meditation, experiences and realizations will not arise. Therefore it is important to continue with these

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practices. When those with prior training get the pointingout instructions during the preliminaries, they will develop calm abiding. In this case the teacher should examine their experiences. These practices are called preliminaries, but in fact they are the main practice, because it depends on them, whether meditation will develop or not. If these practices remain ineffective, the main practice you have pursued obsessively will be just as weak. Therefore you should continue with the practice of these preliminaries until you have reached stability and gained certainty, and until the signs have appeared. Then you should gradually get into the main practice.

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CHAPTER THREE

THE FouR SPECIFIC PRELIMINARIES

The four specific preliminaries comprise the causal condition, the main condition, the objective condition, and the immediate condition

THE CAUSAL CONDITION

Lesson 16- Exercise 15

As causal condition you need to be a renunciate, free from taking things as real and without attachment to anything whatsoever. Through the previously taught common preliminaries you understand that this precious human body with the freedoms and riches is difficult to obtain. Contemplating impermanence, you should reflect, "My life is as impermanent as dew on tips of grass. It will quickly perish, and nothing whatsoever can prevent it. I do not know when I will die, and at the time of death nothing except the Dharma will be of any benefit. The possessions of this life, the defeating of enemies, the protection of friends are meaningless. I will look after the aims of future lives without getting distracted even for a moment:' By this the mind becomes tamed and you recognize cor-

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reedy the characteristics of sarnsaric phenomena. Feeling disenchanted and repulsed by them, and wishing to obtain liberation from them, you will not have the slightest desire and attachment for this life, not to mention ordinary worldly occupations. Then you should abandon all dharmic study, reflection, analysis, recitations, and stay in a completely secluded place in the manner of a renunciate, giving up all outer and inner distractions. The need for this is that mahamudra means penetrating the crucial point of the mind. If the mind is chasing after entertainment and distractions, concentration will not develop. Therefore you should practice in a secluded place.

THE MAIN CONDITION

Lesson 17 - Exercise 16

The path leading to the realization of maharnudra depends entirely on the teacher. Therefore you need the support of a genuine spiritual friend. The teacher appears in four different forms: (1) the human teacher with a transmission, (2) the Buddha's words as teacher, (3) the appearances as teacher, (4) the ultimate reality as teacher. 1. THE HUMAN TEACHER WITH A TRANSMISSION

You should look for a spiritual friend with the following qualities and rely on him with one-pointed respectful confidence: his meditative tradition of pith instructions has come from Vajradhara down to his root teacher without corruption, and he is able to bring about in the mind stream of the students special experiences and understanding. He is able to open the

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door of wisdom in others in accordance with his own understanding of the view. Knowing thoughts to be beneficial, he fosters the transformation of everything arising into aides of wisdom. He is able to transform unfavorable conditions and difficulties into favorable conditions and qualities. He is able to open the door of wisdom, the understanding that all delusions are delusions because of not recognizing the nature of thoughts. Once it is understood that thoughts are mind and are used for the path, there will be no more delusion. And recognizing the nature of thoughts, it will be understood that all phenomena are unobstructed, like spears circling in the sky. This is in accordance with Naropa's statement: "A qualified teacher has a lineage of transmission:' 2. THE BuDDHA's WoRDS AS TEACHER

Having received the pointing-out instructions from a teacher, you will gain certainty concerning the mind. If you then examine the teachings of the Victorious One respectfully, in order to find out whether they accord with our meditation instructions or not, you will experience that there is no contradiction to the instructions of the Mahayana and the Hinayana whatsoever. Experiencing in this way the Buddha's teachings as instructions, they are called teacher. Not possessing this key, and deciding what is and what is not, what is true and what is false, by just tightly clinging to the words and letters of the partial philosophies of the Mahayana and the Hinayana is incorrect and should be abstained from. This shows the correct way to rely on the words of the Buddha as teacher. 3· THE

APPEARANCES AS TEACHER

The earth is a spiritual friend because it illustrates the

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dharmadhatu, the ground of unchanging confidence bringing forth all qualities. Water is a spiritual friend because it illustrates the uninterrupted flow of diligence, or the mind stream being saturated with the water of compassion. Fire is a spiritual friend because it illustrates the fire of wisdom burning the firewood of the afflictions, and the flames of primordial awareness dispelling the darkness of unawareness. Wind is a spiritual friend because it illustrates the power of the wind of experiential understanding tearing up the veils. Space is a spiritual friend because it illustrates that which is without any limit and pervades everything. There is nothing in the outer and inner matter, the elements and what is composed of them, which is not a teacher. Therefore, to see appearances in this way-whether you analyze them or not-is the correct method to rely on appearances as teacher. 4· THE ULTIMATE REALITY AS TEACHER

When, with the help of the unmistaken pointing-out instructions of an authentic teacher, the nature of the mind has been really seen, understood and become unequivocal, this realization of the suchness of all phenomena is also a teacher. Of all these teachers, the most important is the human teacher with a transmission, because it is through his pointing-out instructions on the abiding nature that later generations will successively understand it, and because experiential understanding will arise by meditating on him. Thus to be taken care of by a true spiritual friend is the main condition, the second condition of practice. The way to practice this has been explained in the chapter on the guru yoga. If you wish to practice right now, visualize the teachers lined up one above the other. Visualize yourself

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as any suitable yidam, and on top of your head your root teacher, on top of him again his teacher, and so forth, up to Vajradhara. Recite a seven branch prayer, the four Manam, 31 and supplications with a loud voice and for a long time, until you are certain that your perception has changed. If you wish to take the four .empowerments from the teachers, supplicate him with intense yearning and confidence: Venerable teachers, please bestow the four empowerments on me, purify the four veils, and complete the four joys. Having actualized the four kayas, grant me the accomplishment of the four activities. After this the teachers, beginning from the top, dissolve one by one into each other, and finally into your root teacher. Regarding him as the union of all the teachers, receive from him the four empowerments. From the forehead, the throat, the heart, and the navel of your root teacher emanate white, red, blue, and yellow light rays, which dissolve into your four centers and purify the three veils of body, speech, and mind, and the veil of latent tendencies. The wisdom of the four joys-joy, highest joy, special joy, and coexistent joy-arises in your mind stream and you receive the four empowerments. Consider that you have actualized the nirmanakaya being the vajra body, the sambhogakaya being the vajra speech, the dharmakaya being the vajra mind, and the mahasukhakaya. In the end the teacher melts into light and dissolves into you, and you think that you have become indistinguishable from him. This is the empowerment of the vajracharya. Conclude with the dedication of the roots of virtue. You should make this guru yoga the foundation of your spiritual practice.

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THE OBJECTIVE CONDITION

Lesson 18- Exercise 17

Clinging to the respective biased positions about what is and what is not of the various nonbuddhist and Buddhist philosophies-those of the Shravaka, the Chittamatra, the Madhyamika, the Kriya, Charya, Yoga, and Anuttarayoga Tantras-as solid truth, rather than considering them as mere conceptual imputations, will create veils preventing you from seeing the abiding nature. This text is about the practice of the all-pervading mahamudra, which by nature is not only not in contradiction to all those views, but is superior to them. It is about the abiding nature, the nature of mind, in which everything is complete and everything is transcended, the space of phenomena, the natural state, abiding free from all limiting conceptual elaborations. This is what you should gain certainty about. In brief, the objective condition is to make no mistake about what has to be practiced. This means to understand that the mind has the nature of the three kayas. To be convinced that the intellect understanding this, is itself intangible, is itself not an object of cognition. To know that all the thoughts have the nature of the mind and are not to be rejected, but rather to be brought into the practice as the four kayas, and to consider also the one doing this to be nonexistent like a phantom.

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THE IMMEDIATE CONDITION

Lesson 19 -Exercise 18

During the actual practice of meditation do not think, "Now I meditate on this, I should meditate, I will meditate, I have meditated:' You should not create any hope or fear by thinking that it is good if your meditation is happening, or terrible if it is not happening. You should simply nurture the uncontrived normal awareness, unaffected by good thoughts or bad thoughts. Being free from hope and fear is the immediate condition. The necessity of these four conditions as preliminaries can be illustrated by the arising of the eye consciousness. The eyes perceive a form if the following four conditions meet: the causal condition is the eye consciousness, the main condition is the organ of the eye, the objective condition is that among the different objects of the senses there is a visual object, and the immediate condition is that the immediately preceding sense impression has ceased. The causal condition is to have a perfect attitude of renunciation, with no attachment and craving for any projects of this life and any worldly concerns whatsoever. The main condition are the four types of teacher explained previously and to be taken care of by genuine spiritual teachers. The objective condition is to have a faultless intellectual grasp of what meditation is about: "This is how I should meditate:' The immediate condition is to leave the mind naturally in the great nonconceptual primordial awareness, free from characteristics, such as hope and fear, a meditator and an SuMMARY.

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object of meditation. The instant these four conditions meet, meditation and the special experiences and understanding of the main practice will arise. Therefore you should practice accordingly. These are the specific preliminaries, called the four conditions of spiritual practice.

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PART

Two

THE MAIN PRACTICE

The main practice consists of two chapters: calm abiding and intuitive insight. The chapter on calm abiding has two sections: general instructions and specific methods. The general instructions are twofold: the essential points for the body and the essential points for the mind.

CHAPTER FouR

CALM ABIDING GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS THE ESSENTIAL POINTS FOR THE BODY

Lesson 20 -Exercise 19

Place your body according to the following seven points of Vairochana: (1) the legs are crossed; (2) the hands are in the meditation gesture four fingerbreadths below the navel, and the elbows are fully straightened; (3) the shoulders are raised like the wings of a vulture; (4) the neck with the chin is bent like an iron-hook, with the throat pressing on the Adam's apple; (5) the spine is straight like an arrow; (6) the eyes are directed straight ahead into space, four fingerbreadths in front of the tip of the nose, without moving to and fro and without blinking of the eyelashes; (7) the lips are touching lightly with a slight gap between the teeth, and the tongue touches the palate. Sit on a comfortable seat. It is said in the Vajramala Tantra:

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The practitioner sits on a comfortable seat, his gaze directed along the tip of the nose, so that he can still see his nose. His shoulders are even, the tongue touches the palate. Teeth and lips are at ease, the breathing relaxed. Without the slightest effort, he is seated in the vajra posture. This is the posture to adopt. And: The sitting posture of the body, composed of the four elements should be free from three faults: being too comfortable, slack and relaxed. The Hevajra Tantra explains the purpose of sitting like this: In the body resides the great primordial awareness, completely free from all concepts. Pervading all matter, it exists in the body, but it has not arisen from the body. Lord Diisum Khyenpa says: In order to look at the mountain over there, show it from the mountain over here. If you aspire to emptiness, reach a definitive conclusion on appearances. If you wish a calm mind, discipline the body with the body posture. There are countless similar statements like these. While you are disciplining the body-the support-with the help of the body posture, all the restless conceptual movements in the mind-the supported-cease by themselves. For example: if you lock the door of a house-the support-the person inhabiting it cannot go anywhere. Similarly, once the mind has dissolved into nonconceptuality, intuitive insight into coexisting primordial awareness will be realized. In order to see that, the mind has to be calm. In order to calm the

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mind, the body has to be disciplined by means of the body posture. Since adherents of the path of characteristics will not reach a decisive understanding concerning the coexisting primordial awareness in their mind stream, they will not attain buddhahood in this life and in this body, but will be delayed for a long time. Sambuti: "The practices of the 84000 Dharma teachings will all remain fruitless, if the essential nature of the body is not known." In the Vinaya scriptures there is a story of a monkey who had been watching a pratyekabuddha. After showing the sitting posture to five hundred nonbuddhist rishis, they obtained the five extrasensory perceptions and the state of pratyekabuddhas. In many pith instructions it is explained that when the body is straight, the energy channels are straight, when the energy channels are straight, the energy moves straight. By focalizing on the crucial points of the energy channels and the energies, the mind will be concentrated. If you meditate in a crooked posture, the mind will not be concentrated, no matter how much you may try. The subtle energy is the horse of the thoughts. When the subtle energy is under control and moves properly, the mind will be concentrated. The great Brahmin 32 and Naropa have explained that, generally speaking, either the subtle energy can be controlled by the mind, or the mind can be controlled by the subtle energy. Controlling the subtle energy by the mind: by leaving the mind uncontrived, all conceptual deception subsides on its own. Controlling the mind by the subtle energy: visualize the teacher on top of your head and pray to him, "Please grant

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your blessing so that concentration arises in my mind:' Then he dissolves into you. Expel completely all the bad, stale breath through your nostrils and meditate that with the breath all the diseases, negative forces and concepts are driven out. Holding the upper breath firmly and leaving the lower breath relaxed, direct your attention in front of you and leave the mind as it is. There is no way that the mind will not be concentrated. This is the meaning of the statement: "If the right circumstances coincide in the body, realization will arise in the mind:' In an extensive manner, this is lesson 20 and exercise manner, it is not necessary to interrupt here.

Lesson

19.

In a short

21

THE PURPOSE OF CORRECTLY PLACING THE BODY ACCORD-

Sitting cross-legged, the downward clearing energy enters the central channel, the mind poison of jealousy subsides and you stay free from hindrances. Placing your hands four fingerbreadths below the navel in the gesture of meditation, the water energy enters the central channel and the mind poison of anger subsides. Having the spine straight like an arrow and the shoulders raised like the wings of a vulture, the earth energy enters the central channel and dullness subsides. Bending your chin toward the chest, the fire energy enters the central channel and passion subsides. Looking with open eyes straight ahead four fingerbreadths in front of the tip of your nose with your tongue touching the palate, the wind energy enters the central channel and pride subsides, and the mind becomes clear. ING TO THE KEY POINTS.

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The key point of the mind is in the subtle energy. The key point of the subtle energy is in the energy channels. The key point of the energy channels is in the eyes, therefore the correct way of gazing is important. By placing the body in the seven-point or five-point meditation posture the five mind poisons subside by themselves. When the subtle energies and the mind have naturally entered the central channel, all conceptual activity will cease by itself, the mind will become calm and clear and realization will arise quickly. This is why the body posture is so important. If these key points are not kept and the body is reclined or crooked, conceptual activity will spread and the mind will not settle. If the body is leaning to the right, there may at first arise an experience of clarity, but then anger will arise for no reason, and there is a risk to be harmed by the king-demons. If you lean to the left, there may be at first an experience of pleasure, but then strong passion will arise, and you can be harmed by demons of the naga and the female type. If the body is bending forward, there may at first effortlessly arise nonconceptuality, but afterward it turns into dullness, and harm from landowner demons 33 will come. Especially many harmful effects due to a disorder of the lifesustaining energy may arise. When you see two people conversing you may think, "Those two are talking badly about me:' or you may feel sorrowful and so forth. If the body is leaning backward, there may at first effortlessly arise an experience of emptiness, but then pride and other mind poisons will appear, and the thoughts linked to the demons mentioned above will manifest. Especially the mind will not settle, the conceptualizing will spread, and disturbances will occur, like the body becoming meager and vital forces leaking out.

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The body posture is the key point so that no harm or disadvantage whatsoever is interfering and that all qualities or advantages are complete. Therefore it is important to keep a faultless meditation posture. Concerning the five-point meditation posture Lama Shang says: There are five key points of the body: (1) straight like an arrow, (2) bent like an iron hook, (3) crossed like latticework, (4) bound like with an iron chain, (5) tight like li ri. 1. Straight like an arrow means that the spine is straight like an arrow. In order to straighten an arrow for example, it will not become straight by just holding it straight. It has to be straightened forcefully on the crooked part. In the same way stretch the waist forward, so that the three wrinkles on the belly are straightened. The purpose is to bring the three channels into their natural position. When the central channel has become straight, the knots in the channels are loosened and the energy enters easily into the central channel. 2. Bent like an iron hook means that the throat is bent slightly in a natural way. The purpose is to block the right and left energy channels that are gaping like the mouth of fish and from which energies and concepts spread. By this nonconceptuality is born. 3· Crossed like latticework means to cross the ankles of the feet. The purpose is not to be harmed by obstacles, because this represents the vajra posture. 4· Bound like with iron chains means to be firmly embraced by a vajra knot or meditation belt around the knees. The purpose is to keep a faultless body posture. 5· Tight like li ri means to close the anus firmly by putting a cushion under the buttocks. The purpose is the

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close concurrence of energy channels and energies, which causes pleasure and warmth to arise quickly. Concerning these five key points of the body posture, the venerable Marpa Lhodrakpa has said: "Compared to all the precepts of Tibet put together, my precepts of these five key points of the body posture are superior. If you ask how is that? Because of assuming my five key points of the body posture the subtle energies enter naturally the central channel. Because of this the tummo starts to glow naturally from the navel center. Because of this the bodhichitta essence flows down naturally from the head center. Through that bliss arises spontaneously; through that nonconceptuality arises naturally, without need to stop conceptual activity deliberately; through that the realization of the primordial awareness will arise spontaneously:' Therefore, in the beginning, the method of placing the body is important. Having become accustomed to it over a long time, the inner elements will become balanced and long life, the healing of previous illnesses and the nonarising of future ones will result. And because the luminous essence of the subtle energies and energy channels becomes stronger, the lower part of the body is not harmed by the weight of the upper part of the body. Since subtle energy, energy channels and vital force are well harmonized, one can sit for months and years without any discomfort. When the refined state of the luminous essence is completely matured, the realization of the self-luminous awareness will arise effortlessly.

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THE EssENTIAL POINTS FOR THE MIND

Lesson 22 - Exercise 20

Do not pursue the past, do not anticipate the future, settle in the cognizant yet nonconceptual state of the present consciousness. The past is finished, over and gone, there is nothing to think about. The future has not come yet, it does not exist, it is not an object, so it is pointless to investigate it. If you investigate the present, it is impossible to discern past and future moments in terms of many little fragments, because such entities do not really exist. The present is beyond the reach of the objectifying intellect and can neither be thought of nor expressed in words. This is why you should not involve yourself in the least with the distortions of grasping at characteristics such as "is or is not, it has or it has not, good and bad;' but rather leave the mind, as it is, in its luminous and empty state, free from conceptual grasping, without trying to settle it. The practice of mahamudra, the abiding nature, does not depend on cutting or not cutting the conceptual preoccupation with the three times. However, if beginners who are just starting to meditate do not stop their conceptualizations about the three times, concentration will not arise in them. Therefore it is important to guide practitioners in this way, when they are applying the practice instructions.

Lesson 23

If you get too tense in the attempt to bring the mind to rest, because you want the experience to be extremely stable, the

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conceptual activity will increase. Therefore, except for the initial impulse of thinking, "I am going to meditate;' you should not produce any further thoughts during your session such as wishing to meditate, not even the thought, "I am practicing the preliminaries:' You should set the mind at ease, being totally uninvolved, in a loose state without grasping. Having become accustomed to this, you should also during the four daily activities not lose this state of clarity and emptiness, free from grasping. At first you should try to maintain your undistractedness as long as you can-the time of a bite of food, a gulp of tea, the recitation of one Mani, or getting up and doing three steps. Having become habituated to that, train yourself to remain undistracted in a state of clarity and emptiness, free from conceptual grasping, whether the circumstances are good or bad, or whether there are many people or few people around you. Concerning this point Gampopa said: Do not pursue the past, do not anticipate the future, let the uncontrived, present mind settle in its natural state. When I say, do not pursue the past, it means that our intellect should not follow the previous thought. When I say, do not anticipate the future, it means that our intellect should not invite the next thought. When I say, let the present mind settle in its natural state, it means that we should not focus on the present as any object. It is said: "If you do not fabricate anything in the mind, it is clear, if you do not stir up the water, it is transparent:' Simply let the mind settle in its unaltered state. By staying like this, you will experience a clarity without concepts, pure and limpid, which will last just for a finger's snap, or the time of milking a cow. Meditate

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without considering it a quality if it lasts a long time, or a fault if it lasts a short time. When afterwards a thought arises, relax into it. It is said: "The mind is tied up by busyness. It will be untied, if you relax, no doubt:' This is why you should relax. Meditating in a relaxed way like this, the experience of clarity without any concepts will last longer and longer, and eventually you will immerse completely in the essence of mind. This is what is called the river-flow samadhi. Dagpo Rinpoche expressed an insight of Dombhi Heruka: If you do not stir up the water, it is transparent. Similarly you should leave the mind unaltered. Like the sun unveiled by clouds, let the six senses unobstructed, as they are. Stay at all times and during all activities undistracted. The venerable Gotsangpa: It is said: "Relax in the ineffable state. Be totally open and loose without any grasping:' The mind cannot be found by searching for it. It cannot be seen by looking at it. If you examine it, it does not exist. If you try to get hold of it, you cannot get hold of. If you let it go, it does not go away. If you try to place it, it does not stay. If you want to mix it, it cannot be mixed up with. If you want to split it up, it cannot be split up. It cannot be separated by separation, it cannot be known by investigating it, and it cannot be understood by explaining it. It cannot be illustrated by any example whatsoever. You cannot track it down. Whatever name you give to it, it is no contradiction.

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How you should practice? Do not deliberately disperse your mind. Do not deliberately collect your mind. Do not be indifferent. Do not leave the thoughts to themselves. Do not pursue your perceptions. Do not get into any deceptive analysis. Outer objects do not exist, they are empty, do not take them to be real. There is no self inside, but do not regard the emptiness in a nihilistic way. Mental movements are without origin, do not consider them to be a fault. Do not give in to the extremes of grasping at appearances and grasping at emptiness. Do not pursue the past, do not anticipate the future, and do not regard the present as real. Let the mind be spacious without fabrication, loose in effortlessness, free without reference point, relaxed in nongrasping, clear in the unborn, totally open and unhindered, unobscured and bright. Stay balanced in equality without objects being cut off as something outside and the mind being cut off as something inside. Saraha said: "The mind is tied up by busyness. It will be untied, if you relax, no doubt." And: "Leave the mind untouched, unaltered. With a contrived mind you will never reach the path of enlightened beings:' By letting the mind uncontrived, in its natural state, the gross concepts will cease. The experience of luminous emptiness will arise. You will remember the kindness of the teacher. You will feel happy. The intellect will turn away from samsara. This is called calm abiding. Calm means that the mind poisons have calmed down, and abiding means to abide in that state. It is also called concentration, tingedzin. Tinge means unmoving, and dzin means not letting go.

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Kyeme Shang: It is said that you should cut through the elaborations concerning the three times. Do not create the concept of past. Do not create the concept of future. Do not create the concept of present. Let your awareness be completely relaxed in its natural state, without any fabrication or contrivance. If you do not know how to relax, the mind will not arrive at its natural state and primordial awareness will not be experienced. For example, a person who has been locked in, will only have thoughts of escape. If he were not locked in, he would have no thoughts of escape. It is the same with the mind. If you try to get hold of it, the mental activity will spread. If you do not hold on to it, it is not possible for the mental activity to spread. So let your mind relax. In the immediacy of this relaxed state it is impossible not to experience a clear and unobstructed awareness, vividly awake, totally open and loose, empty and clear. And: In brief, do not think about previous thought, do not think about the next thought. Think, what thought is right now going on in my mind. By looking directly at this instant present thought, the wandering mind is cut through instantly, and as long as you are undistracted, no thoughts will arise. But as soon as you become distracted, thoughts will immediately arise again. By considering the arising of thoughts as desirable and looking at them directly, the thoughts will be self-liberating, and you will go straight into nonconceptuality. In this way take the arising of whatever thoughts appear as desirable and look at them directly. Do not make long practice sessions, but

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interrupt them while there is still clarity. Do short and frequent sessions. And again Kyeme Shang: Sit on a comfortable seat in the vajra posture or another posture. Do not meditate on mahamudra. In the same way, do not meditate deliberately on the unborn, on simplicity, on that which is beyond the conceptual mind, on that which is without characteristics, on that which is without reference point, or on some reference point, or on characteristics. But how should I practice then? Do not move your body, do not close your eyes. With your thoughts do not pursue the past, do not anticipate the future. The essential point is to recognize immediately the instant present thought. In this very instant, when you look directly at the present thought, there is the dharmata, where cause and effect are simultaneous and characteristics are self-liberating. By looking again and again at all arising thoughts, eventually the thoughts will be immediately recognized, and in the same instant they will be liberated. The instant of immediately recognizing a thought is called understanding mahamudra, it is called experience of concentration, or born of meditation. The very instant a thought is recognized, all the unwholesome actions accumulated since beginningless samsara are overcome and purified. 34 And: A yogi lets his mind go wherever it pleases, like a fool the cows he is tending. Let it be without attachment, like for a dog's carcass. Let it be without desire, like for a leper. Yogi,

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let your mind be loose like the cord of a Brahmin. Let it be without grasping like for a human corpse. Be thoughtless like a madman. Let it be unobstructed like the sky. Let it be transparent like a crystal. Let it be natural like a little child. Sit in a relaxed manner. This shows the methods for setting the mind. When the mind is left like this, it will settle. It means that the mind stays calm, since there is only awareness left, or there are no movements in the mind. Experiencing this, you will recognize that you have got hold of the mind and will think, "In the past I was only involved in thoughts:' Practice this abiding mind at first for short but frequent sessions; then prolong them for longer and longer periods. Later, when you have become accustomed to it, the mind will stay where it is, and it will be the same also during the four daily activities. The signs of the abiding mind: when experiences arise and you direct you attention toward them, they immediately subside. You are satisfied with yourself and feel happy and the mind is completely at ease. You do not feel like doing anything, you feel like meditating again and again, or you do not feel like it. The mind is very limpid and again and again there comes joy. You feel like staying alone in solitary places. Certainty about the instructions is born, and devotion to the teachers arises again and again. Disgust for samsara is born and you think, "I must meditate, nothing else will be of any benefit when I die. I am so glad that I had enough merit to meet such a teaching:' These and similar signs will keep coming without end. This is called control through calm abiding, or the concentrated mind. This is also called the abiding mind or the mind not moving toward objects.

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The Siddha Orgyenpa: It is said that the practice of mahamudra is the main method for purifying the superficial impurities. When the end of the path is reached, those so-called superficial impurities have been removed. At the request to grant instructions on this mahamudra, I was told that I had to concentrate on putting into practice the six doctrines of Tilopa, that there were no instructions besides that. At the request to grant instructions on how to put them into practice, I received the following instructions: Do not ponder, do not think, do not reflect, do not meditate, do not analyze, leave the mind as it is. Do NOT PONDER about the past. Pursuing the past causes the concepts of grasper and grasped to arise. But since the practice does not depend on the past, it is said, "do not pursue the past:' Do NOT THINK about the present. If you fabricate anything on top of the present, you make a fundamental mistake about the practice, and your meditation becomes a victim of circumstances. This is like letting a stranger into your house. Therefore it is said, "do not spoil with corrections:' Do NOT REFLECT means not to anticipate the future. If you anticipate and make plans for the future, you betray your practice, and you miss a chance to recognize the main practice. Therefore it is said, "do not betray to the enemy:' Do NOT MEDITATE on emptiness. If you meditate on this world and its inhabitants as being empty in a limited way, like a vase empty of water, you will not understand the meaning of the abiding nature. Therefore it is said, "leave appearances as they are:'

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Do NOT ANALYZE objects of thought. If you analyze objects of thought, however well and brilliantly you may do it, it does not go beyond characteristics, conceptual mind and mental objects. Therefore it is said, "do not analyze objects of desire:' LEAVE THE MIND AS IT IS in its natural state. If, because of wanting to do well, you fabricate and alter things, you will only exhaust yourself, no matter how you do it. The nature of the mind is clear, vivid, naked, transparent, pure, wide open; it is free from any label, and yet no label is in contradiction to it. This is the dharmata transcending verbal expression. Leave it, as it is, in its self-luminous, self-knowing relaxed nature and never get yourself tight up. These six doctrines contain all the instructions for practicing mahamudra. If your practice embraces these key points, the superficial impurities will have no place to stay. And: The main method in seeking mental calm is first of all devotion to the spiritual teachers. Then it is important to keep the body posture and the gaze correctly. In addition to that you should apply the following method of settling the mind according to Saraha: "If I let the mind free, it stays firm and unmoving. I have realized it to be like a camel mother doing always the opposite:' If you think that you must hold on to the mind, not letting it escape anywhere, this thought form itself will cause mental activity. For example a newcomer to a town is told by the local chief of that place to not go anywhere else, to stay there for today. Through this request he will find it difficult to do so, even if he had originally come to this place with the

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intention to stay there. He will think, "This is not a good idea, I had better get out of here" and make preparations to escape. If the chief had not said anything, the newcomer would have stayed happily as long as he had come to stay for. Relax completely without laying any work on the mind, and just be undistracted without meditating on anything whatsoever. Remain relaxed, loose and at ease without fabricating or altering anything whatsoever. Stay spaciously in a state that is unconcerned and free from hope and fear. In this state do not pursue the past, do not anticipate the future, remain in the present without fabricating or altering anything and without hope or fear. Cut completely all mental elaborations concerning the outer world, and do not mistake the appearances of the mind as being external. Even a thought such as, "If the meditation arises, I will be glad, if it does not arise, it is bad" will cause the thoughts to spread. By letting the mind be as it is, open and relaxed, in a state free from an object of meditation and meditator, at last it will settle naturally. Saraha said: "The mind is tied up by busyness. It will be untied, if you relax, no doubt." To stop all mental elaborations about the three times and to stay without contrivance is the best way of seeking a calm mind. Otherwise, if you are motivated by excessive craving, agitated by a meditator and a meditation of sending out and gathering in, getting habituated neither to the body posture nor to the gaze, nor surrendering the mind with intensive devotion, then no matter how long you sit motionlessly, the mind does not want to settle. In general the mind has the characteristic that if you want to hold it,

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it cannot be held, and if you let it free, it cannot go anywhere. Since all the signs of hope and fear rest on this fact, meditation will not arise, unless you know how to relax the mind in itself. Tilopa: Give up all physical activities and stay at ease in the natural state. Do not speak, sounds are empty like echoes. Do not think about anything, but look at the transcendent reality. The body is hollow like a bamboo stalk. The mind is like the middle of space, transcending thought. Relax into this state without discarding or adopting anything. And: If you do not conceptualize and are free from all craving, everything will be self-arising and self-subsiding like drawings on water. If you do not transgress the principle of nondwelling and nonfocusing, you do not transgress your commitment, you are a torch dispelling the darkness. If you are free from all craving and do not dwell in extreme views, you will understand all the Dharma scriptures without exception. If you exert yourself in this approach, you will be liberated from the prison of samsara. Remaining consistently in this attitude, all the veils of harmful actions will be burnt and you will be a torch of the teaching. And: Cut all attachment and aversion relationships with your country and people. Meditate alone in forests, mountain retreats and in solitary places. Stay in a state free from intentional meditation. When you attain the unattainable, mahamudra is attained.

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From the text Resting in the nature of mind: At first stay completely relaxed. Then look at the mind, directly and steadily, in order to clear up the stains of concentration. Finally give up all grasping, in order to mix meditation and postmeditation. Do not analyze past actions, do not anticipate future ones. Remain in a spacious state without grasping at the present. Cut the coming and going of thoughts concerning the three times. Like this abide in nonconceptual concentration. The Amulet Box of Mahamudra:

Pray fervently to the teacher on top of your head. Relax the muscles in the four extremities and the four energy channels in them and stay in a state of effortlessness. This is the natural disposition of the body. Make no effort to open or close your lips and do not speak. This is the natural disposition of speech. Remain thought-free and open, free from the thought of wishing to practice the gaze and without even thinking to practice the preliminary phase. This is the natural disposition of the mind. Remaining in this thought-free state, like sensual gods, is the measure of the first preliminary, it is called normal mind or first mind. It appears to all sentient beings, for example when they rest from fatigue and so on. But because they do not recognize it, they keep wandering in samsara. Now you should recognize it at all times. Whether you are eating or holding a rosary in your hands, whatever comes, remain thought-free by means of the elephant gaze. In the same way, whether you look to the right, to the left, into the sky or wherever, first go

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completely into luminous emptiness without grasping, as when the eyes have become numb. Thinking, "this is my self-arisen preliminary;' you should stay thought-free in this recognition. Moreover, when you go for a walk to fulfill nature's call in this thought-free and open state, you will not be embarrassed or in panic, even when you are surrounded by a hundred women. At all times during the four daily activities, lying, standing, sitting, walking, you should not stray away from this experience of luminous emptiness without grasping. From the Shikshasamuccaya: "While moving, sitting, lying and standing be completely attentive. When walking, gaze at the distance of a wooden yoke and your mind will stay without delusion:' In brief, when talking, reciting sutras, muttering mantras, listening to or teaching the Dharma, at all times stay undistracted from this thought-free state of luminous emptiness without grasping. Make it your essential endeavor to put into practice the immaculate teachings of the venerable, accomplished Kagyii masters of the past. This is important.

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SPECIFIC METHODS

There are three sections: (1) concentrating the mind that has not been concentrated, (2) stabilizing the concentration, (3) enhancing the stability. The first section comprises three methods: focusing the mind on an object, focusing the mind without an object, and focusing the mind on the breathing. The first method is twofold: focusing the mind on an object which is outside, and focusing the mind on an object which is inside. The first of these is again twofold: focusing the mind on a pure object, and focusing the mind on an impure object.

CONCENTRATING THE MIND THAT HAs NoT BEEN CoNCENTRATED

FOCUSING THE MIND ON AN IMPURE OUTER OBJECT

Lesson 24 -Exercise 21

Focusing the mind on a large object: correctly adopt the key points of the body posture and the gaze, and direct your attention and your gaze one-pointedly to any clear visual object, which happens to be in front of you, such as a pillar, a wall or a mountain. Stay steadily on it without getting distracted by anything else. Focusing on a small object: hold the mind either on a small four inch piece of wood or a small pebble in front of you, whichever is suitable.

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Leave the mind natural, because if your focus on the object is very tense, it will cause more mental activity. Not allowing any wandering off to other objects, stay one-pointedly with your object, completely relaxed but undistracted. Without thinking about its size, length, or color, stay naturally relaxed and undistracted, but do not allow the rope of mindfulness to be cut. Since this object is just a reminder to support undistracted mindfulness, simply direct your gaze undistractedly to the object and stay relaxed. There is nothing to meditate about the object. When during your session the object starts to flicker and move or becomes invisible, or when your eyes become numb, stop immediately looking at the object. Look straight ahead into space at eye-level, and keep the mind relaxed in its natural state. Just be undistracted, not directing your meditation in any way and, unaffected by drowsiness and fogginess, stay unwaveringly in transparent awareness. This is the meaning of Tilopa's words: "When the mind has no reference point, this is mahamudra. Once habituated and well acquainted with this, you will attain unsurpassable enlightenment."

Lesson 25

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Exercise 22

If you get too tense in the attempt to settle the mind, hoping to achieve thereby a really calm, exceedingly clear and very easy going state of mind, and being afraid of mental activity, this will cause an unsettled mind. This is why it is important to remain loose, without any hope and fear.

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Kyeme Shang: In the practice of mahamudra there will be no realization through any fabrication, or concentratic;m on an object, or craving, or effort. It is said: "If there are desire and effort, there will be no buddhahood:' And: "If you do not alter the mind, it is clear. If you do not stir up the water, it is transparent. And: "This mind is tied up by busyness. It will be untied, if you relax, no doubt:' Abandon all efforts of body and mind and remain without doing anything deliberately. Remain uncontrived, be without aim, stay relaxed, stay loose, stay without projecting or gathering of thought, stay without imagining anything, stay without reference point, be natural, let it be as it is, do not hanker after anything. An utterly nonconceptual experience which cannot be achieved by effort will arise. And: In mahamudra meditation there is no object to focus on. Without hankering for something, relax the mind completely, without any purpose. If you can relax like that, you will experience clarity without concepts, which is like pure space. Do not consider it to be a quality if it lasts a long time or a fault if it lasts a short time. Carrying on your practice from moment to moment, you will at some point recognize the nature of thought. Having experienced the thoughts as luminosity once, there is no doubt that you will experience them as such again and again. At the same time you have arrived at the genuine buddha mind.

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Master Gotsangpa: Summing up the practice of mahamudra, it is nothing other than this: first supplicate the teacher. Then the teacher dissolves into you and the mind of the teacher and your own mind merge like water mixed with water. In that state leave the mind untouched. Do not have any expectation for meditation to happen, nor fear that it might not happen, leave the mind just as it is. Neither meditate on it as being empty nor take it for something really existing. Be without reference point, stay without any hankering after a great ease and clarity. Be completely without imagining anything. Open up wide without trying to collect the mind inside, do not lay any task on the mind. Again, remain natural without clinging. Dagpo Rinpoche: When looking at your mind do not consider it to be an achievement, when the mind stays calm and a blissful concentration arises, and do not consider it to be a failure, when this state does not arise, just stay undistracted. When the mind is not distracted, no conceptualization at all will come up. When discursive thoughts do come up and you look at them, they have neither a beginning when they arise, nor a middle when they stay, nor an end when they stop. They are without any substance or inherent reality or anything graspable whatsoever.

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The venerable Tilopa: Without fabrication, stay relaxed in the natural state. By relaxing, your entanglement will be released, no doubt. And: Go to the depth of the mind and stay in bare awareness. Allow the muddy water of conceptual thought to clear up by itself. Leave appearances as they are, neither negating nor affirming them. If there is neither rejection nor grasping, what appears and exists is freed in mahamudra. Since the ground of everything is unborn, it is free from veils and habitual tendencies. Do not evaluate deluded appearances, stay in the unborn essence. Appearances are your own projections, let all conceptualizing exhaust itself. Gotsangpa: When another thought arises, recognize its true nature and relax into it. It dissolves by itself, no doubt. Siddha Orgyenpa: To leave the mind uncontrived, untouched means to remain relaxed like a loosely spun Brahmanic cord, to be loose like a bundle of straw whose string has been cut, to remain yielding like wool which is being pressed. Otherwise, even if you were to tie yourself like a silkworm wrapping itself round with its threads, or if you were to tense your body and mind like a wood cutter on a rock face, the mind still would not want to stay. In a state that is free from meditator and object of meditation, just place the watcher of undistractedness without interfering to the

point of irritating the mind. Letting it go freely wherever it wants, like letting free a mother camel whose young one is kept back, it will return by itself. Thus the only profound key point for concentrating the mind is to be able to relax while remaining undistracted without meditating on anything. This is what you have to put into practice during all the exercises. The only important thing is to look at the true nature of any arising thought without any alteration, and to remain completely relaxed, not fettering yourself through accepting and rejecting, hope and fear.

Lesson 26 - Exercise 23

Focus the mind on a two-finger high candle flame as explained by Dagpo Rinpoche: "Place a burning candle, whose flame is unmoved by wind on either side of you and allow its reflection to appear in a polished mirror and direct you attention to that clear motionless form:' Or else hold the mind on empty space as big as the palm of your hand, or a shield, or the space inside a room, or a valley, or as much as the eyes can embrace, or the whole universe. Or else hold the mind on a white sphere the size of a pea in the triangular space between the eyebrows, since this is the place where the consciousness gathers. Stay naturally with these supports without analyzing their size, shape, color and so forth. Although these three objects-flame, empty space and dot-are presented here together, you should concentrate the mind insistently on the one which is clearest.

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FocusiNG THE MIND ON A PuRE OuTER OBJECT

Lesson 27 - Exercise 24

It is said in the Samadhiraja Sutra: "Someone who places his mind on the support of the profoundly beautiful protector of the world, the color of whose bodily form is like gold, is called a bodhisattva in meditation:' Focusing your mind on the form of the Tathagata will increase your qualities immeasurably. Therefore, focus on him by visualizing clearly in front of you on a lion's throne, lotus, moon and sun seat the true, perfect Buddha Shakyamuni with a complexion like refined gold. He has one face. His two hands are in the earth-touching gesture and in the meditation gesture. He is adorned with the thirty-two excellent attributes and the eighty excellent signs, and beautified with the three Dharma robes, red like clouds at dawn. His legs are in the vajra posture. He is radiating light and many light rays. In this supreme form he is teaching with great delight the Dharma to you. It is certain that, "Whoever forms the mental image of the Buddha, has the actual Buddha sitting in front of him:' Therefore you should develop this conviction that the teacher in person is sitting in front of you, nurturing intense faith and devotion by thinking, "How fortunate I am to be looking at and to contemplate the form of the Victorious One." You should direct and concentrate the mind onepointedly only on his form without your thoughts wandering off elsewhere. If dullness, sluggishness and drowsiness manifest, focus your mind on the protuberance on his head, or on the hair between his eyebrows, or on his face. If strong mental agita-

tion comes up, focus your mind on the navel of his body, or on the soles of his feet, or on his seat. When there is neither dullness nor agitation, focus on the entire form, or on the endless knot in his heart. If the mind does not stay on that, enumerate mentally all the excellent attributes from the top downward and from below upward, and focus on that.

FOCUSING THE MIND ON AN INNER OBJECT

Lesson 28 - Exercise 25

Visualize in the middle of an eight-petalled lotus in your heart any yidam deity you like, either in the procedure of the five aspects of manifest enlightenment or in the threefold procedure, or all at once, complete the moment you think of it. 35 If you prefer, you can meditate on your teacher. When the mind does not stay on the face, the arms and so on, hold the mind on their essence, a dazzling white, bright and luminous light sphere. The meaning of this is to tie the elephant mind with the rope of mindfulness to the pillar of the object. From the Sutralamkara: "With the support of an object the nonobjectifiable is fully brought forth."

FOCUSING THE MIND WITHOUT OBJECT

Lesson 29 - Exercise 26

Focus the mind on the great emptiness of all outer and inner matter all at once, or proceed in steps, by dissolving the elements one by one into each other, and settle into the incon-

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ceivable state ofluminous great emptiness. When doing this, it is possible that specific signs arise, such as visions, visual experiences, or hearing pleasant sounds and others. But it is important not to be attached to them and to consider them to be like illusions, because it is said: "Even excellent meditation experiences are deceptions, if you do not thoroughly turn away from attachment."

FOCUSING THE MIND ON THE BREATH

Lesson 30 -Exercise 27

Hold either the vase breath and focus on that or, if you cannot do the vase breathing, count your breaths building up from twenty-one, to eighty-nine or one hundred and so on, counting exhalation and inhalation and the time it stays as one. Keep the mind one-pointedly only on the nostrils, not letting it stray elsewhere.

Lesson 31 -Exercise 28

Do not regard it as a disturbance if continuously many thoughts arise. Cultivate joy while thinking, "Let the thoughts move as much as they can:' By recognizing all the movements and leaving them in their groundlessness without letting your mindfulness slacken, the thoughts themselves become a support for concentrating the mind. When the thoughts free themselves in their groundlessness, mental calm is born. During your practice do not be absentminded even for an instant, like someone threading a needle or like a warrior

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entering a battlefield. Do not move from the nature of mind and let it go freely, like letting birds fly off from a ship, 36 or like an ocean without waves. Be effortless like an eagle soaring in the sky, or like an experienced elephant driver. These examples should be applied whenever you practice calm abiding. During your practice give yourself impulses, "I will focus my mind:' During the main practice place the watcher of mindfulness and examine your mind very closely, "Is my mind settled or not, is it dull or agitated:' If you see that the mind is settled in its natural state, you should leave it like that without agitating it. If it is unsettled and when the defects of dullness or agitation are present, you should exert yourself in the methods of clearing away the respective faults. The methods you have to get from oral instructions. When first starting to meditate, a session will last just as long as a breath, and only gradually should it be prolonged. If you make the sessions too long right from the beginning, there is a risk that your meditation objects become mixed up and unclear, and that you become discouraged. For beginners it is therefore important to make short and frequent sessions, to take a rest while the mind is lucid and sharp and to start over and over again without ever losing your interest in meditation, and to strive with gentle balance to give rise to a joyful mind.

Lesson 32

By practicing the instructions on concentrating the mind that has not been concentrated, you will gradually experience three stages of abiding. In the beginning the mind will not

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stay firmly with the object but just a little bit. Later, when the awareness has become slightly clearer, it may seem as if the thoughts had increased, but actually they have not increased. Because up to now you were not meditating, you simply were not aware of thoughts even though they have arisen. Now your awareness is becoming clearer through meditation, so you are aware of the thoughts. If you recognize all arising thoughts without blocking them or following them and without getting lost in subconscious gossip, and if, without the need to make short sessions your active awareness seems to be transparent and your meditation is uninterrupted, this is the first stage of abiding, which is called like a waterfall rushing down a mountain cliff. If the experience is like being trapped in the turbulence of the falling water and being carried away by it-this is not what is meant here. What is meant here is that you look at it without being involved in it. Applying the previously explained method of gazing, the thoughts will diminish and you will experience a state of nonconceptuality. When now and then suddenly a thought pops up, it will not entail a train of thoughts but it will dissolve like a snowflake on a hot stone. When you can count each thought that moves and stay in the continuity of your meditation, this is the second stage of abiding which is called like a gently flowing river. This experience is not like sitting far away from the river so that you cannot see its flow, but it is like sitting close by and seeing it well. By practicing as explained previously, the flow of subtle and gross thoughts will cease and you will stay completely in a nonconceptual state. The body feels comfortable or is not noticed, the coming and going of the breath stops or is not noticed, and the mind is completely immersed in bliss, clarity,

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and nonconceptuality. During the postmeditation the distinction of objects is not grasped unless you examine them well. The mind does not get involved in distractions, yet you seem to have become more forgetful. Even without meditating you are immersed in meditation. When the experience of all-embracing clarity, like the middle of a clear, cloudless sky is uninterrupted, this is the final stage of abiding, which is called like a motionless ocean. This experience is not like an ocean in the dark, but like an ocean in the daytime. This is the actual state of concentration and prolonging it will lead to extrasensory perceptions and will provide a support for insight into the ultimate truth. If the nature of mind is pointed out to someone, who has experienced the three stages of abiding, he will recognize it, experience joy and clear away misconceptions. If it is pointed out without the experiences having arisen, the hankering for it will lead to a faulty practice. The first stage of abiding is somewhat unreliable. 37 Once someone has received these instructions, there is no way for him not to experience at least the medium stage of abiding. When the first two stages have been experienced but not the third and last one, the instructions on stabilizing the concentration should be practiced. Having first of all interrogated the student about his meditative experiences, the teacher should teach the removal of obstacles, and the way to enhance the practice exclusively in accordance with his replies and signs. If he were to tell him from the beginning what kind of experiences will arise, there is a risk that he will pretend to have had experiences which he has not had, and of theoretical speculation. This is why this lesson should be taught step by step in accordance with the theoretical understanding and experience of the student. Unless the signs and experiences of the three stages of abid-

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ing have arisen, the teacher should let the disciple persevere in the above meditation exercises and not teach this lesson. The same applies for all the subsequent lessons dealing with removing obstacles, enhancing the practice and interrogating the student.

STABILIZING THE CONCENTRATION

Binding the mind and the nine methods to settle the mind. The three practices of binding are binding above, binding below, and alternating.

BINDING THE MIND

BINDING ABOVE

Lesson 33 - Exercise 29 Visualize in the middle of a four-petalled lotus in your heart a white sphere like quicksilver, the size of a pea, radiating white, round and shiny. Hold back your breath, and then think that together with the exhalation this sphere is ejected through the Brahma opening, and that it stays high above you in the sky. Guarding the body posture and the gaze in an upward direction, you should uplift the mind and meditate for a long time with attentive awareness. This is called the concentration on mahabrahma's crown ornament. It is an excellent application of the concentration holding the mind on Akanishta.

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BINDING BELOW

Lesson 34 - Exercise 30

Visualize in your heart center a black lotus, which opens downwards. In its middle is a black sphere the size of a pea, or whatever size is suitable. Like attached to a spider's thread it descends through the secret center, and little by little, slowly moves downward many miles and finally stays as heaviness. Place the mind one-pointedly on that. Close the anus firmly and direct the body posture and the gaze together downward. This is called the concentration employed underground.

ALTERNATING

By alternating between these two practices according to the situation, bringing the mind down when it is elated, and uplifting it when it is down, a one-pointed concentration arises and faults are cleared away.

NINE METHODS TO SETTLE THE MIND

Lesson 35- Exercise 31

What are the nine methods to settle the mind? The Buddha taught in the precious Sutra Pitaka these nine methods to settle the mind: (1) placing, (2) continual placing, (3) firmly placing, (4) fully placing, (5) taming, (6) calming, (7) fully calming, (8) continuity, (9) meditative balance.

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1. Placing means to direct one's mind one-pointedly on any suitable object. 2. Continual placing means prolonging the continuity of this and bringing the mind to rest for a long time. 3. Firmly placing means keeping a meditative balance by recognizing any arising thoughts instantly with mindfulness. 4. Fully placing: your practice consists in always coming back to your meditative balance, mixing with the previous abiding and to remain in that. 38 s. Taming means recalling clearly the qualities of the abiding mind, developing joy about it, and staying in that state. 6. Calming means to settle the mind by identifying precisely the causes of mental wandering and reversing the attachment to them. 7. Fully calming: whatever the causes of distraction, like covetousness and so on, and the results of distraction, like feeling unhappy and so on may be, by recognizing the true nature of all of these mental states, they will dissolve by themselves. 8. Continuity: by the power of meditating like that, the mind will stay naturally with the object, and settle independently of any great effort. 9. Meditative balance: finally you will remain undistracted whether you meditate or not. These are the nine methods to settle the mind.

Lesson 36

Whenever you practice concentration, place the watcher of mindfulness and examine, whether dullness, sluggishness or other faults are present or not. If they are not present remain

just like that, but if they are present, you must clear them away. GENERAL FAULTS. If the mind does not settle and meditation does not arise, it is due to not remembering impermanence and death, not being indifferent toward the eight worldly concerns, not giving rise to genuine devotion, and due to not having abandoned self-clinging out of laziness and indolence. As remedies for this it is essential to develop weariness with samsara, to energetically cut your preoccupation with this life, to overcome your addiction to samsaric existence, to be indifferent toward the eight worldly concerns, to pray with devotion to the teacher from the bottom of your heart, to develop endurance in meditation and to cultivate bodhichitta, by cherishing others more than yourself. SPECIFIC METHODS to clear away the faults in the meditation: "There are three faults in meditation: dullness, sluggishness, and agitation. If there is dullness, you should revive your spirit on your seat, sprinkle yourself with sparkling water, or visualize washing yourself. If the mind is sluggish breathe in cold air:' If the mind is dull, you should sit at a high place, that is very bright and spacious, stretch your body, straighten the spine, and with a sharp awareness look at the opposite mountain peak, and actually sprinkle yourself with sparkling water, or visualize doing so. Especially visualize the teacher in the sky in front of you, and pray fervently to him with a sharp awareness. Stay in a cool place, and wear light clothing. Meditate for short sessions. Develop disgust and renunciation. Do not eat and drink great quantities. Do not sit in the sun or close to fire. Make forceful yogic exercises. Sometimes take a walk or rest, but do not abandon your mindfulness. You should also practice the concentration of Brahma's

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crown ornament, that has been explained above. Doing this, dullness and sluggishness are cleared away, and the mind is brought to its natural state. If the mind is agitated, you should relax, eat nourishing food, massage yourself, wear warm clothing, let the mind settle as best as you can on any suitable object and take a rest from time to time. If the mind wanders uncontrollably, investigate whether it wanders off to worldly or dharmic topics. Having found out that the mind wanders to worldly topics, such as enemies, relatives or material possessions, you should cultivate this contemplation: "Whichever of these topics occupies the mind, all of them are meaningless. Because the subduing of outer enemies will never end, if I do not tame my own mind inside; because it is meaningless to protect outer friends, if I do not protect my own experiential understanding; and because wealth is completely impermanent and momentary like a rainbow in the sky, it is meaningless to think about it. Our following the teachings of the Buddha is not just about changing our physical appearance, but necessitates not getting involved in any distractions and nondharmic activities:' If your mind wanders off to dharmic topics, such as thinking about study and reflection, or about becoming learned, disciplined and virtuous or about projects you have achieved or want to achieve-it is also meaningless. Tilopa explained: The teaching of the perfect Buddha will not be accomplished just by listening to it. And: Through the particular scriptures and the philosophical systems of the Mantrayana, the Paramitayana, the Vinaya, the Sutra, or the Abhidharma, the luminosity of mahamudra will not be realized. By hankering the luminosity is

not seen, but veiled. Through keeping your vows by means of concepts, your tantric commitments will deteriorate. Remind yourself: "If I am fettered by the eight worldly concerns without thinking about death and impermanence and without turning my mind away from samsara, I will not enter the circle of the learned, disciplined and virtuous. Therefore I should make efforts to abandon the conceptual occupation with this topic and follow the pith instructions of my teacher by leaving the mind in its natural state:' You should exclusively practice one-pointed concentration, being convinced that all conceptual elaborations are meaningless. You also should practice the visualization of the concentration applied underground which has been explained above. Dullness means that the mind is without clarity but not feeling sleepy. Sluggishness means to be clouded by a sleepy daze, so that one does not perceive the conceptual movements and one cannot distinguish between good and bad experiences. As remedies for these faults apply the above described visualizations and actions and open the window next to your sitting place so that the circulating air can touch your body. Dullness and sluggishness are caused by having slandered the teachers and the Three Jewels in previous lives. They will be cleared away by confessing in front of a special representation, by exerting yourself in the meditation of Vajrasattva, the recitation of the hundred syllables, the confession of unwholesome actions, by cleaning stupas, and by making offerings and prostrations in front of a stupa. Or else look at their essence, without seeking any separate remedy for dullness or agitation. By recognizing them to be your own mind, or understanding the mind to be a nonconcep-

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tual emptiness, the dull or agitated mind-without rejecting it-will appear itself as primordial awareness. By this there is no way for the mind not to be concentrated. When the three experiences of bliss, clarity and nonconceptuality arise you might think, that you experience meditation and that you have attained realization. But it is said that, "If you do not pray to the teacher, and do not thoroughly turn away from attachment, even good meditation experiences are deceptions:' In order to maintain your meditation practice it is important to pray with devotion, to renounce all attachment to worldly projects for this life, and to stay in mountain retreats. Meditation without devotion is without head. Meditation without detachment has no feet. A body without head and feet is good for nothing. By the force of the experiences of bliss, clarity and nonconceptuality the craving for sense pleasures recedes, there is not even the need to eat food, the movements ofbreathing are not felt, and a feeling of great joy arises at the thought, "This is the buddha mind:' There comes a deep certainty that the teacher is a buddha. Conditioned extrasensory perceptions and miraculous powers and so on may arise, but you should not be attached to them. If you cultivate these experiences of one-pointedness for one year and then attain realization it will be stable. The degrees of stability of calm abiding: the highest degree is, when you neither feel the coming and going of the breath nor the existence of your body. At the medium degree you can feel them, when you look for them. At the lesser degree you are not bothered by the weight of the body or by the coming and going of the breath.

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ENHANCING THE STABILITY

Lesson 37 - Exercise 32

First, direct your attention one-pointedly to any-good or bad-clear visual object. When this has become clear, direct it to all visible forms. When this is stable, be one-pointedly with sound, perceived as the object of the ears, smell as the object of the nose, taste as the object of the tongue, touch as the object of the body, and mental objects of the mind, using whatever arises as support of meditation. In particular pay one-pointed attention to any thoughts that arise in the mind, whether they are thoughts implying the five mind poisons to be abandoned, like desire, aversion, and so on, or virtuous thoughts to be adopted such as generosity, or neutral thoughts. Some people say one should absolutely stop those thoughts to be abandoned. But if you do so the thoughts will increase, and it will be difficult to develop concentration. Therefore, whatever thoughts arise, relax into them without regarding them as faults. Allow all the conceptual movements to move without letting the rope of mindfulness be cut. Recognize one thought after another without getting lost for a moment in carelessness. Then rest a little. By meditating repeatedly like this, thoughts will become the support for concentration, the stream of thoughts will be cut and the mind will settle. If this is not happening, but the thoughts increase even more, remain undistracted without regarding them as a faults. There is no difference between looking at a visual object as described previously, and presently looking at thoughts, which is a supreme method for concentration.

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From the Sutralamkara: By properly going into attachment and so on, you will be liberated, and likewise you will have renounced them. From the Hevajra Tantra: Because of desire you are bound to the world, and by that very desire you become liberated. Gyalwa Yangonpa: Do not regard thoughts as something to be abandoned and do not deliberately create nonconceptuality. Place the watcher of mindfulness and you will arrive at the practice of calm abiding. It is important to continuously keep doing short sessions and to alternate between tightening and relaxation. Tightening means to completely concentrate the mind on any suitable object without getting absentminded even for an instant. The mouth, the eyes and the ears become alert and the muscles in the body become tense. This meditation with the proper tension is compared to the concentrated attention you need to identify a thief in the middle of a crowded marketplace, or when counting horses and cows from a distance, or when walking on a one-trunk-bridge, or when moving a trough that is filled to the brim with molten butter. Relaxation means to act as if you were completely abandoning any endeavor to meditate, without really abandoning it. Let go continuously into an unfabricated selflessness and just be undistracted and mindful for moments. Prolong your

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sessions slightly and relax body and mind. This relaxation feels like the ease after a finished work, it feels like the release after having recovered from illness, it is like a bundle of straw, whose rope has been cut, it feels like a baby with a full belly, it is like the sun and the moon without clouds, like a flame unmoved by wind. With these two methods of tightening and relaxation the faults of dullness and agitation are removed respectively.

Lesson38 The following points from A to L need not be taught in the same order as they appear in the text. The appropriate method of removing obstacles or enhancing the practice should be taught in accordance with the experience, realization or theoretical understanding of the practitioner. Having questioned the students as explained above, the teacher should evaluate their development by means of the signs of their experience and teach each one of them what is appropriate for him. To those who just want to get the teachings without following the course of practice one need not explain anything. If they insist in getting explanations, just teach in a simplified way in the form of a reading transmission, whether they understand anything or not. If you were to explain from the beginning in detail what kind of experiences are going to arise, those having knowledge of the Dharma may become unreceptivel9 which would harm them also, if they later receive teachings from others. Therefore you must know the capacity of the students and the right time, and teach accordingly.

A. Some people, out of their desire for particularly good experiences in their meditation, will meditate on an especially sublime clear emptiness which they have fabricated with the intellect. This is called rainbow meditation. This will happen if the pointing-out instructions were given too

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early and it is useless for meditation. Someone, who considers himself to be a teacher or an expert in the Dharma, will become displeased, as soon as anything is not in accordance with his own well-expressed explanations, and he will go on creating an artificial meditation. This is a big obstacle. Like this, he will not get anywhere, just like he will not reach the top of a ladder if he does not start from the bottom. In order to remove this hindrance he should be told, "Put aside your hankering. Do not meditate deliberately on anything. Do not mentally fabricate anything. Loosely maintain the normal mind. Going on like this you will only get worse, do not go on like this by any means:' B. Some people who have prematurely received the pointing-out instructions that the mind is buddha and should be left uncontrived, think that their unrestrained conceptualizing mind is itself the enlightened state. They rely on their foolish thoughts, they rely on alcohol for experiences and become worse than before. Someone like this should be told: "Meditate with diligence and perseverance without being distracted even for an instant. Do not talk high-flown Dharma language, exert yourself in the practice:' C. If someone has given rise to good meditation but then lets it decline instead of fostering it, one speaks of ownerless meditation. Someone like this will be told to meditate with more perseverance, in order to maintain a continuity. D. When practitioners experiences at times great joy which then fades away, they will become sad and fabricate a meditation trying to imitate that previous experience. Since this does not work they will get depressed. If they strongly persevere in this, their life force will be concentrated there, if they persevere less, they will get stuck in their hope for an enjoyable Dharma practice. Someone like this will be told:

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"In those bad times do not hanker after good times. Practice by looking right at the difficult experience, and you will gain confidence that it is easier to practice with difficult experiences than with good ones. They have a greater potential:' E. Some practitioners feel uneasy as soon as they begin to meditate and think they should change it. If they get lost in trying to change it or in subconscious gossip, they will feel even worse. They will be told: "If you look precisely at that feeling of unease without altering it, you will experience utter ease and relaxation as if a knot had been untied. F. Some practitioners do not notice when the thoughts are moving. They think that their mind is undistracted. After a while they think, "Now there have apparently been some conceptual movements which I have not noticed, this is not good:' They claim that they rest in meditation by pursuing and catching those previous thoughts. They are told: "The catcher is not a separate entity, the catcher is also a thought. Recognize this iron hook meditation to be a double delusion:' G. Some practitioners, when they notice the conceptual movements, think that they are empty and try to get rid of them by shouting some phat. This is even worse. They should be told: "The best thing is to just look at the mind, that thinks, I have been absent, the moment you notice it. If you cannot do that, do not pursue regretfully past thoughts. As soon as you become mindful remain completely relaxed. Then the thoughts will dissolve like knots being untied:' H. Some practitioners, when they interrupt their practice of undistractedness and relax, will have wild mental activity like fish waiting in the water which is called not noticing the little thief of the thoughts. The mistake here is too much relaxation. They should be told: "It is important to tighten your awareness:'

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I. If, when exerting themselves in tightening their awareness, they get caught up in something, or their body and speech get tense they should be told: "It is important to alter this with relaxation:' J. Some practitioners, when they remember any place or person in their thoughts, feel that their mind has arrived there. When they look at it without contrivance thinking, "Here is my object of meditation" it vanishes. When at that moment a noise or a bodily sensation arises, their mind goes there. Then a meaningless thought suddenly arises and they think, "I just stay with this as my meditation object:' Concerning all of this they are told: "The best is to look directly at whatever comes to your mind, in this way it will be selfliberated. If that does not work, make short sessions, relax again and again and stay loose:' K. The consciousness is like a monkey. If a monkey is locked up in an empty house, he will pop his head out of all the windows imitating people. Thoughts are like that. When the eyes see a form, the thoughts run after it repeating it. It is the same with sounds, smells, tastes and sensations, whatever is perceived, the thoughts run after it and repeat it. If you recognize this and stay directly with it, your mastery will quickly become perfected. For that, your awareness has to be as subtle, as if perceiving a moving hair tip. But, saying that you cannot do that, you let yourself go without restraint for a long time, occasionally fabricating some meditation on some meditation object. This is called mentally fabricated meditation, holding remembering to be supreme. Most of present day's great meditators do that. The comment here should be: "Practice one-pointedly without making up any mentally fabricated, artificial meditation:' L. There is no harm, if all arising thoughts are noticed and

vanish without a trace, which is called wild thought activity like water dripping into water, and if through mindfulness you are immediately aware of the slightest movement like the tip of a bird's feather being moved by a breeze. These are the points for removing obstacles to and enhancing the calm abiding.

If required, this is lesson 38.

Lesson 39

The supreme way of removing obstacles and enhancing the practice is to rely on devotion. With superior devotion the meditation is superior, with average devotion the meditation is average, and with poor devotion the meditation is poor as well. If there is no devotion at all, meditation will also not arise. Since here the quality of meditation depends on the force of devotion, it is important to focus one-pointedly only on devotion and heartfelt supplication. For beginners starting to meditate, it is important to make short sessions. In the beginning each coming and going of the breath is a session. Later, when they become longer and longer, it is important to part in good terms from your practice. With good experiences at the end of your last retreat, you will have good experiences as soon as you start your next retreat. It works the same way in the bad sense, and it applies for sessions as well. Moreover, if you stray into laziness at the beginning of your retreat or your session, it will get worse and more difficult, and later it will be hard to correct. If in the beginning you make short practice sessions, it will be easy to meditate until the end of the session or the retreat,

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and the continuation will be smooth. If the mind is clearly and one-pointedly focused on whatever meditation you are doing, you will be able to stay with it for a long time. If it is not clear, make your visualization bright and vivid, and stay relaxed and uncontrived while keeping in mind, "Like this I shall meditate:' Settling the mind completely by means of the instructions on concentration is called calm abiding. However, not encountering any distracting conditions, it will remain only an ordinary experience and cannot be counted as concentration. Because even those who are as dull as sheep experience it, it is not the authentic calm abiding. When one obtains by means of meditation practice a one-pointed mind for just a moment, or a day, a month, a year or a kalpa, it is appropriate to speak of the various divisions of small, medium or great calm abiding in meditative concentration. Calm abiding is called like that because the characteristics of mind poisons or conceptualization in the mind have been calmed, and there is one-pointed abiding in the nature of virtue. The cause of calm abiding: it is based on ethic discipline. Its essence is the absence of thoughts nourished by mind poisons. Its condition: it arises from an exceptionally settled mind. Its benefit is the subduing of the mind poisons and of gross suffering.

CHAPTER FIVE

INTUITIVE INSIGHT

The chapter on intuitive insight has three parts: (1) examining the nature of mind, as it is, (2) in-depth investigation,40 (3) gaining certainty about the unity of awareness and emptiness, and pointing out the nature of mind.

EXAMINING THE NATURE OF MIND, As IT Is

Lesson 40 - Exercise 33

Briefly carry out the preliminary practices without forgetting the exercises of calm abiding. First relax the mind loosely in its natural state and let it rest in this manner: leave the mind clear and radiant like the sun free from clouds. Leave it like water and waves, knowing all arising perceptions to be mind. Be like a child seeing paintings in a temple, clear perception without grasping. While in this state, investigate minutely your calm mind. What is its essence? What color does it have? What form does it have, what kind of shape, what appearance? Is it something material or not? Where has it first come from, where does it stay now, where does it finally cease? Is it in the body? Does it exist in any form in the names, the inner and outer matter

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and in the six kinds of living beings? If you do find that it has such and such a color, shape and essence, very good. If you cannot find anything, do not get discouraged. Inquire into it again and again with great perseverance.

Lesson 41 -Exercise 34

Later the teacher will ask the practitioner, "What is the essence of mind like when it is calm?" If he answers, '~part from the mind being calm, I do not know what the essence of mind is like," the teacher should ask him, "Well, is this consciousness something dull, rather obscure and dark, or is it something clear, vividly alert and naked?" If he answers that it is like the latter, he has seen the essence of mind. If he answers that it is like the former, he should practice some more. Again the teacher will ask the practitioner, "What difference is there between the calm mind as you have experienced it previously and now?" If the student replies, "Previously mental calm was an experience of an easy, loose consciousness with the appearances becoming dim and hazy, into which I relaxed and made no more effort as I used to do previously. I did not recognize each thought and did not see the essence of mind. There was a dense calm, as if the consciousness had fallen into a pit. Or like a fly stuck wherever it lands, there was a settling in a state of unclear awareness. Nowadays the calm mind is clear and bright and ungraspable;' he has seen the essence of mind only a little bit. If his answer is that it is the same as before, the teacher should instruct him as follows: "With this kind of experience you can only suppress the mind poisons. To attain enlightenment you have to experience in

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addition to it the insight of primordial awareness. Therefore persevere in your practice until this insight arises:' If you cannot find anything when investigating the calm mind, allow the mind to be active. Examine minutely this restless activity of all kinds of thoughts and mental movements called mind. What is the color, the shape, the essence of this active mind? Is it in the forms that are the objects of the eye, is it in the objects of the five sense organs, the sounds, smells, odors, tastes and tactile sensations? Is the active mind between head and foot, in the sense organs, the inner organs, the extremities, the body, the hair and the skin. Does it move in the five outer elements and the five kinds of sentient beings? Investigate minutely what exactly is the essence of the active and the calm mind. Is it something existent or nonexistent? Or is it both at the same time or neither of them?

IN- DEPTH INVESTIGATION

Lesson 42 - Exercise 35

When during you search you cannot find anything, look for the mind again even more insistently as you did before. If again you cannot find anything while thus investigating, examine who is doing the investigation? What is the difference between the mind, which previously has been naturally relaxed, and the mind which is presently doing all these examinations? Investigate thoroughly how the mind is arising, abiding, and going. The teacher asks the student, '1\.llow the mind to move, and recognize how one thought after another arises. Are the calm one and the moving one the same mind or not?" If the student

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replies that both are the same, the teacher points out to him that they are indeed the same mind. If for example the single child of a couple is with the mother, it is not with the father. If it is with the father, it is not with the mother. The child commutes back and forth between them. Similarly, while the mind is tranquil, it is not active, and while it is active, it is not tranquil. And yet it is just that single mind which is the doer of both mental calm and activity. Thus mental calm and mental activity are pointed out to be one mind. Some practitioners may have seen the mind essence, but lacking the Dharma vocabulary, they do not know how to express themselves. Therefore the teacher must find out the extent of the student's experiences through questioning. Others may not have had any personal experiences, but know how to express themselves faultlessly using the Dharma vocabulary. By challenging them skillfully with straightforward Dharma language, they will not be able to hold on to their theoretical Dharma language and they will lose the thread. The teacher will have to guide all those different disciples very skillfully by relying on his own experience.

Lesson 43 -Exercise 36

Furthermore it is necessary to investigate thoroughly by means of eleven exercises: (1) thorough inquiry, (2) examination of each aspect, (3) subtle investigation, (4) calm abiding, (5) intuitive insight, (6) unity, (7) clarity, (8) nonconceptuality, (9) even-mindedness, (10) continuity, (11) nondistraction. 1. Thorough inquiry: inquire with perseverance into your mind. What is the essence of the mind, is it something existent or nonexistent?

Examination of each aspect: explore the basic nature of the mind, particularly its color, shape and so forth, and where it comes from, where it abides, and where it goes. 3. Subtle investigation: investigate thoroughly one by one the seeker and the sought. 4. Calm abiding: through this inquiry, examination and investigation you will first arrive at the conviction that the mind has no existence of its own, and having become convinced that all phenomena as well are just names, the mind settles in the profound meaning. 5· Intuitive insight: by investigating the essence of this calm mind as before, you will completely understand its essence. 6. Unity: Calm abiding and intuitive insight are not distinct, do not separate them. 7· Clarity: if the mind becomes dull or foggy, you should apply means of mental stimulation and uplift the mind. 8. Nonconceptuality: if the mind becomes wildly active, apply the methods of calming the mind. 9. Even-mindedness: when there is neither dullness nor wildness, stay in the nature of mind itself that you have been examining and investigating. 10. Continuity: you should never abandon this practice. 11. Nondistraction: on this practice you should concentrate the mind, not giving distractions any opportunity to affect you. 2.

Theoretical knowledge and mere fascination with the general meaning will not serve any purpose. You must give rise to correct experiences. For this you should turn your attention inside and concentrate without distraction on the question, "What is the nature of the mind while it is active

and calm:' Never abandon your inquiry into the mind, neither during your meditation sessions nor between them.

GAINING CERTAINTY ABOUT THE UNITY OF AWARENESS AND EMPTINESS AND POINTING OUT THE NATURE OF MIND

Lesson 44 - Exercise 37

Because of the different capacities of individuals, their ways of experience vary. Those experiencing all at once will experience, because of their devotion to the teacher, their great accumulation from previous lifetimes and their minimal obscurations, simply after having prayed to the teachers, or just after having heard a Dharma discourse, or after having been shown various symbols and received meditation instructions, at once the realization of any one-which one is uncertain-of the three upper levels of Mahamudra, complete with all the experiences of the preceding levels. The erratic type is experienced in meditation from previous lifetimes, and his present state of mind knows great highs and lows. He will have the experiences and realization of intuitive insight without having had experiences of calm abiding. Sometimes he will experience calm abiding, and sometimes neither calm abiding nor insight. The gradual type has feeble capacities for practice and his basic way of practicing is slow. Step by step he will first have the experiences and understanding of calm abiding, then those of intuitive insight, and then those of the unity of both. This is the way of the majority of practitioners and it is the

most reliable. Therefore the pointing-out instructions in this text are given according to this approach. When the teacher is going to give the pointing-out instructions, he puts up a blessed object. In front of it he will arrange offerings, tormas, and appropriate ganachakra substances. Then both teacher and students pray to the teachers and the Three Jewels. Persons with broken Vajrayana commitments, or negative behavior and defilements are not permitted to enter. In order to remove distractions and obstacles, the students are asked to sit in the essential body posture and to carry out the preliminary practices explained previously. Then the teacher addresses the students: "Let your mind relax naturally. Look without wavering straight into the true nature of this relaxed mind, keep up a continuous mindfulness, so you do not get absentminded. Whatever thoughts arise, just inquire into their nature, without fabricating or altering anything, neither rejecting nor cherishing them. Concerning this point Saraha states, 'Just leave the water and the burning flame in their natural clarity. I neither grasp nor reject the coming and going of thoughts: In short, what I am pointing out to you is the so-called normal mind or the present mind, this naked and clear, ungraspable luminous emptiness. Meditation is neither something unknown to you, nor something you have to seek elsewhere. Rather it is continuously maintaining the present awareness with undistracted mindfulness, sometimes concentrated, sometimes relaxed. If you practice the self-liberation of thoughts by not grasping onto whatever arises in the mind-relaxed during meditation sessions, and concentrated between sessions-intuitive insight into

primordial awareness will arise. Gyalwa Yangonpa has said: 'The mind is ungraspable empty space. This luminous and empty consciousness beyond intellectual grasping-let it rest naturally and inquire into itself. You will see its natural face, which is intuitive insight into the nature of mind: Now practice in this way:' With these words the teacher sends the students to practice.

Lesson 45

Later the teacher will ask, "What is the mind like?" If the student's reply consists in unnecessary talk about emptiness, the teacher should question him more insistently about his actual experience. If the student talks meaninglessly and keeps his experiences to himself, worrying about not pleasing the teacher, he must be guided through very careful questioning. Some students do have real experiences but do not know how to express themselves. Here the teacher will question them while teaching them. If the replies of the student are fabrications based on theoretical knowledge, they will change, because he will not be able to hold on to the words. If he had real experiences, whatever they may have been, he will say, "This is what I experienced:' The teacher must give the pointing-out instructions only after having closely examined through thorough questioning what the student has actually experienced. If he were to give all explanations without being sure of the student's actual experience, the student will turn into someone who knows the Dharma but is unreceptive. This would be harmful for him if he were later to receive meditation instructions from others. The teacher will send the students away with the instruction,

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"The vital point here is the way things actually are, so inquire into your mind and bring me your experiences."

Lesson 46

If the student says that when he is examining the nonconceptual state of mind, there is nothing besides just that abiding, he has not experienced intuitive insight and should be told to continue his inquiry for some more days. If the student states that there is an utter nothingness, which cannot be grasped in the least, he has only seen a partial aspect but not all of it. Therefore he should inquire again without distraction in order to become certain whether it is really just an utter nothingness or what exactly the emptiness is like. If the student explains that there is a vividly clear, bare consciousness that is ungraspable, but without a thought that this is the seeing of the invisible; that there is a certainty, even though he could not put his finger on it by saying that this is it; and if he says that the calm mind dwells in a state of emptiness, but that he experiences a pure clarity that is ungraspable and impossible to express in words-then, if it turns out on probing interrogation that it is only theoretical knowledge, he will not be able to progress. But if he speaks from personal experience, he will have an unshakable certainty, and he has experienced intuitive insight while in the state of mental calm. If the student comes up with nonsensical talk when he is supposed to investigate in order to find out where the mind arises and where it vanishes, it is a sign that he has not understood anything.

If the student declares that the mind is not at all something that is arising and vanishing, the teacher should ask him whether he is thinking at that moment that it is like this. If the student affirms, he should be told to examine the thinking itself. If he replies that there is no thinking that it is like this, but that there is a consciousness which is without arising and vanishing, he has experienced intuitive insight while in a nonconceptual state. This is pointed out to him to be the meaning of dharmakaya, the unity of awareness and emptiness. If at the time the student is told to examine thoughts, he utters the well-sounding phrase that thoughts are empty, neither arising nor vanishing, he is telling lies. If he says that by examining them, the thoughts are vanishing not leaving a trace, he has had a little experience. If he says that he experiences all arising thoughts as ungraspable, he should be asked whether he thinks at that time that they are ungraspable or not. If so, it is theoretical knowledge. If he maintains that no such thought arises, but that in the state of nongrasping the simultaneous arising and dissolution of thoughts is ungraspable, he has experienced intuitive insight through thoughts. This is pointed out to him to be the dharmakaya, the unity of luminosity and emptiness. If at the time the student is told to investigate visual forms and the other objects of the five sense doors, he says that the object is clearly over there, the teacher will inquire whether he has a thought that it is clearly over there or not. If the student affirms, he is told to investigate the nature of that thought. If the student explains that there is no such thought, that the object is unobstructed and utterly clear, and the inquiring mind is utterly loose, without conceptual grasping, as if the

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two were not separate and there is no thinking of that fact either, he has experienced intuitive insight through appearances. This unity of appearances and emptiness is pointed out to him to be the dharmakaya. All those methods of seeking intuitive insight into primordial awareness on the base of calm abiding are called inquiry into the essence of meditation. Self-knowing means that through this inquiry the mind sees its own nature and thus is self-knowing. The great ease of the self-knowing primordial awareness itself is mahamudra. Thus if one does not inquire into the nature of meditation, the nature of mind is not seen. If that is not seen the self-knowing primordial awareness is not recognized. Not recognizing that, it is impossible to realize the great ease of intuitive insight into primordial awareness. Therefore it is essential to inquire into the nature of mind. Then the student is sent to meditate with the words, "How do you see the mind? Bring me your definite personal experience of it and not just theories:' If on being questioned the student replies, "The mind is something blissful and clear, or transparent and clear, or a clarity in which there is a deep confidence that I cannot express in words; examining it, it is nothing graspable at an:· he has recognized the nature of mind. If he replies that he cannot bring it to one point, he is theorizing. In this case he should be told, "You must come to a personal experiential recognition of it, which is not mere theoretical knowledge. So just practice in the way I have explained to you, without involving yourself in a lot of other analyzing:' He is sent to practice until the experiences and understanding arise in the way shown previously. Once they have arisen, he should get the pointing-out instructions.

It is certainly not necessary to give all the enumerated pointing-out instructions. The nature of mind should be pointed out in any one of the ways shown previously, which corresponds to the student's experience and his signs of recognition. Now follow two more pointing-out instructions: pointing-out instructions on the active mind and pointing-out instructions on appearances.

POINTING-OUT INSTRUCTIONS ON THE ACTIVE MIND

Lesson 47 -Exercise 38

It is good not to forget to practice the earlier meditations briefly: the preliminaries, the essential seven-point body posture and the exercises of calm abiding and intuitive insight. To start with, let the mind relax in its natural state. In that state observe its nature directly. Then allow the mind to be active by visualizing for example the Jowo statue in Lhasa or the Lhachen statue in Tsurphu,41 until you experience a completely clear visual image of them. Now examine again what difference there is between that active mind and the calm mind. Observe what difference there is between the active mind and the mind that examines it. Inquiring in this manner, the mental movements will become self-liberating. Now examine whether the statue of the Lhachen which is experienced as a mental image, and the mind in which it arises, are the same. If they are one, examine whether the mind has gone to the Lhachen statue, or whether the

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Lhachen statue has come to the mind. If they are not one, examine whether the Lhachen seen in the mind is the real Lhachen, or whether it is something else which is seen as Lhachen. Likewise examine whether all the visual forms seen by the eyes, and the eye-consciousness which is seeing them are the same or not. Inquire also into the sounds heard by the ears, the odors smelled by the nose, the flavors tasted by the tongue, and the physical sensations felt by the body in the same way as before. When you realize through such inquiry that they are free from all mental elaborations such as same or different and you understand that they are all the magical play of mind, and when the movements have become selfliberating, the nature of mind has been recognized. Remain evenly in this state.

Lesson 48 - Exercise 39

Now imagine clearly something pleasant. Think of it until it becomes a boundless delight. Then imagine clearly something unpleasant and think of it until it becomes utter displeasure. What is the difference between the two with regard to their true nature? Examine how the displeased mind, the pleased mind, and the originally calm mind differ from each other. Now activate the mind as much as you can, let it run in all eight cardinal and intermediate directions at once and examine how that differs from the previously calm mind. Through such inquiry you understand that there are never several activities happening at the same time in the mind, as is said, "Two thoughts do not arise at the same time;' and that

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all of it is the play of one single mind, which is either calm or active. Recognizing transparency as the true nature of mental activity, you will come to understand that the manifoldness has one single taste, like water poured into water.

Lesson 49 - Exercise 40

Look directly at the nature of whatever thoughts arise. When the thoughts themselves are experienced as an ungraspable luminous emptiness, there is no need to reject a bad thought or to seek a remedy apart from it. As is said: "Whatever it may be that is binding you, once you become aware of it, it will become liberated. If you understand this extraordinary way, you will go to the place of the buddhas in this life. Think of an attractive object of passion, so that you completely lose control over your passion. Then develop aggression toward something unpleasant and examine both of them. When you feel like going to sleep, observe the nature of the mind that desires to sleep. Likewise inspect the nature of pride, jealousy and miserliness and examine them intently with undistracted attention. Do not follow previous thoughts, so you do not create trains of thoughts. Do not let other thoughts interrupt you. If you examine these mind poisons only briefly, you will not be able to recognize their true nature. You should make for each mind poison at least ten sessions and inquire with fully sharpened attention. Whatever mind poisons arise, particularly passionate desire and so on, do not follow them, but look directly at their true nature. When, by maintaining this practice undistractedly, you experience the five mind poisons as groundless and rootless, passionate desire

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is purified without rejecting it. This is called self-liberation. Precisely this is what is meant by discriminating primordial awareness among the five aspects of primordial awareness and by Amitabha among the five kinds ofbuddhas. Likewise, by looking directly at all arising thoughts, they are naturally liberated, being without any real existence. This is called the pith-instruction for taking the five poisons on the path. As is said: "Just as there are mantras to neutralize poison, there is the pith-instruction for taking the five mind poisons on the path:'

Lesson so In short, from the innate creative power of mind arises a multitude of experiences, some wholesome, some unwholesome and some neutral. Bring these experiences to the realm of equal taste, neither denying nor affirming them, and look directly into the true nature of everything that arises without seeking a remedy for it apart from that. By practicing undistractedly like this during the four daily activities, those manifestations are experienced nakedly as groundless and rootless, being ungraspable and nothing really existing. Once the self-knowing primordial awareness has become actualized, the delusion of dualistic grasping will dissolve by itself. Avalokitesvara: Whatever arises is the innate state. Whoever is mindful and leaves whatever arises, as it is, in the state of emptiness, is a king of yogis, no doubt about it.

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Jnanadakini: Once you have found this self-knowing primordial awareness, you are a blazing torch in an age of darkness. You totally defeat the karmic delusion. You are like a person who has woken up from sleep. The incomparable Dagpo Rinpoche: Thoughts are the dharmakaya. There is nothing to alter with remedies. Awareness is a state of clarity. Lord Maitreya: In this there is nothing to remove, and not the least to establish. Look truly into what truly is. If you see the true, you are liberated. Gyalwa Gotsangpa: When thoughts arise, do not consider them to be a fault. Knowing them to be empty, leave them as they are. Then the thoughts will be experienced as dharmakaya. This has been explained abundantly. Having fostered such an understanding through this pointing-out instruction, the practice will become easy. Previously you did not know how to meditate on nonconceptuality, now you can use thoughts in your meditation. Until now the thoughts were obscuring themselves. Like the eyes which cannot see themselves, you did not see their transparency. Now that the thoughts have become transparent, and you see their true nature, you are

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making thoughts the base of your meditation. Recognizing all arising thoughts and leaving them in their luminous and empty nature by remaining uncontrived and free from hope and fear, they dissolve by themselves. Thus you understand that this luminous and empty freedom from conceptualization itself is the true nature of thoughts. The master Gampopa said: Consider thoughts to be necessary. Consider them to be greatly beneficial. Consider them to be pleasing. Consider them to be indispensable. Thus considering their appearance to be meaningful, they are the abiding nature. Consider thoughts to be necessary, since without thoughts the ultimate nature of phenomena could not be experienced. Previously you wandered around in samsara, since you did not know the nature of thoughts, whereas now the thoughts reveal the dharmakaya, therefore consider them to be greatly beneficial. If you can stay with all arising thoughts in a state of effortlessness, they are themselves dharmakaya. Therefore consider them to be pleasing. When you experience thouglits to be pleasing, there is no reason to be contracted. You are becoming contracted to the extent you consider thoughts to be a fault. When Gampopa had come from the province of Gampo to the region of Upper Dagpo, he addressed the assembly of monks as follows: All the meditators want to be without thoughts. But the thoughts keep coming, they cannot be stopped. So the meditators grow weary. However, the more wood, the

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bigger the fire. The more thoughts there are, the more the nondual primordial awareness increases. Therefore it is all right to just let the five poisons and the thoughts arise. This uncontrived state, where there is nothing to prevent or produce, is the primordial awareness, the very heart of all the buddhas of the three times. We may not recognize the buddha, but it is precisely that. Apart from that there is no buddha. Phamodrupa: Thoughts are awareness. Wise persons know that awareness has three doors of liberation. With great joy think of them as particularly beneficial. Thoughts are mind itself. If you want to get rid of them they increase. But since they are unborn, there is no need to get rid of them. And: When thoughts are arising I clearly know them to be my teacher. I understand that thoughts are greatly beneficial. There is not the slightest difference between the dharmakaya and thoughts. Unshakable certainty of that is my unerring teacher. Knowing thoughts to be mind and knowing mind itself to be unborn, I do not need to abandon thoughts. Nor do I need to fabricate the nonconceptual primordial awareness. The appearance of a multitude of thoughts is like salt put into water. The teacher who shows that thoughts and emptiness are inseparable is the teacher who opens the door of wisdom. Siddha Orgyenpa: There is no need to deliberately seek a nonconceptual state. There is no need either to consider thoughts to be a

fault. Do not let your practice suffer from starvation, seize the opportunity of an abundance of mental states. Take whatever comes as your practice, neither rejecting nor cherishing anything, and without seeking a particularly calm, clear and joyous state of mind. It is important to leave the mind in a natural, loose condition,

without conceptual grasping, utterly thought-free and open, simply observing the true nature of whatever thoughts arise with undistracted mindfulness, without modification, neither denying nor affirming them. The moon is reflected on water, not outside of it. Likewise are all the thoughts only in the mind. Mind is luminous and empty, similar to a reflection. Look directly into it: that groundless and rootless distinct clarity, unceasingly giving rise to thoughts is pointed out to be the dharmakaya. For example there are no waves apart from water. Likewise there arises a multitude of thoughts in the luminous, empty space of the innate nature, but actually they are inseparable. In the Hevajra Tantra it says: This so-called samsara is nirvana. Apart from samsara, by renouncing it, you will not realize nirvana. So you must persevere in your practice until you recognize that thoughts are mind and experience them as groundless and rootless.

Lesson 51

The teacher will send the student to examine for a few days the following: "Look at your mind. What is it like, is it wan-

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dering or standing still, or busy doing something? Bring me your observations about it?" If the student on being questioned says that the mind is just standing still, not doing anything, he should be asked, "Since you left the other day until now, did you never have any thoughts about eating, putting on clothes, or going to sleep, and so on? Was your mind just standing still, without ever thinking that you have to come here now, or that I am your teacher?" If he answers, that it was not like that, the teacher tells him, "Well, this is in contradiction with your saying that the mind was just resting. Go and examine this once more very carefully:' An old meditator might come up with empty talk such as, "The mind stays uncontrived in its natural state" or "It is free from mental elaborations:' He is told, "The other day I only asked you to bring me your experience of the normal mind, unprejudiced by doctrine and unmodified by remedies, I never asked for any phrases about meditation. Come back when you have investigated some more into this:' A scholar might quote a lot from the sutras and tantras and speak in accordance with them, but without having had any personal experience. He will be told, "The other day I told you that there is no need to come up with any dry book language, but to come back when you had observed your mind unprejudiced by doctrine. Your quotes are of no use, go and investigate once more:' If the student on being questioned repeatedly says that the normal mind, just as it is, without being modified by remedies and unbiased by doctrine never stands still for a moment, that it is constantly busy producing all kinds of thoughts, the teacher will confirm him, "Now you have observed it a little bit, that is right, the mind does not stand still:'

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The teacher lets the student investigate, "Now go on and examine minutely all the different appearances of the world and its inhabitants, and the discriminations between attachment and aversion, joy and sorrow, enemy and friend. Do they have a separate creator, or are they created by the mind, or are they themselves mind?" If the student says that the world and its inhabitants have been created by Cha, Ishvara or the ancestor of the world, 42 the teacher will ask him, "Cha and the others, where do they exist, when did they make the world, where did take the material from, and how did they make it?" If he replies, that he does not know, the teacher will tell him, "Well, what is the point of saying it was created by Cha and the others? Do not tell lies in the Dharma, you should only.speak of things you are really certain about. The false legends of the world and the heretics that you have heard of are useless, you must investigate this once more:' Later on being questioned again the student may say, "The mind is the creator of everything. When the mind stands still, there is nothing at all, when the mind is active, it creates everything:' The teacher will then ask, "The creating mind and the things created by it, are they the same or are they separate?" If the reply is that they are .separate, the teacher will ask, "When you are thinking of a pillar, the thought of a pillar is mind. Is there at the same time another pillar apart from that?" If the student replies that there are not two pillars, he has gotten the point. In this way he should be led skillfully to recognize his erroneous perception. Now follow some pointing-out instructions on the questions above: "Your saying that your mind is doing all kinds of things showed your having become aware of thoughts at that

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time. You should understand that the erroneous perception arises and vanishes instantly, and that through the habitual patterns of this erroneous perception the illusory appearances of the six kinds of sentient beings with their diversity of colors, forms and shapes, sounds, odors, tastes, tactile sensations and mental events manifest. Once you have begun to understand this instant arising and vanishing, you are getting the pointing-out instruction that the instant arising and vanishing of all phenomena takes place in the mind, apart from which there are no phenomena. If the erroneous perception is impermanent how could its illusory appearances be anything else but impermanent. Understand this. It is precisely like you were saying: the mind is the creator of everything and there is no one else doing anything. When the mind is standing still, there is nothing whatsoever, and when the mind is active, it is creating everything. Moreover, the creating mind and the things created are not two separate entities. It is like you were saying: your thinking of a pillar is mind, and except for that there is no pillar. All appearances are mind. In the Vajrapanjara Tantra it says: 'Outside the jewel-like mind there exist neither buddhas nor sentient beings. The places and the contents of consciousness do not exist outside at all: The great Brahmin Saraha stated: 'Mind alone is the seed of everything. It manifests samsara as well as nirvana. It grants all desired results. I bow down to the mind, which is like a wish fulfilling gem: So you should make up your mind, that whatever appearances you experience, impure ones or pure ones, are solely in your mind and they do not exist in the least anywhere outside of it:'

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POINTING-OUT INSTRUCTIONS ON APPEARANCES

This points out that appearances are mind, that mind is empty, that emptiness is spontaneous presence, and that spontaneous presence is self-liberating.

APPEARANCES ARE MIND

Lesson 52 - Exercise 41

Do not forget to carry out the preliminaries and so on as before. Now direct your eyes and your mind on a clear visual form in front of you and look at it without ·distraction. At first that visual form is perceived clearly, later on you do not want to look at it anymore, and then the eyes become numb. At that time examine whether the form appearing in front of your eyes is there apart from the mind. The student may reply that, when he is examining this, the object of meditation is indeed the object looked at, whereas the mind, the subject looking at it, is inside and stays with the object. In this case he should be asked to examine where the mind actually is: is it outside, inside, or in between. How far does the visual form extend and where does the mind begin. Since he has not grasped that the object of meditation is in the mind, he should once more examine how the form, its color and its shape are perceived by the mind. If the student says that the appearances are in the mind, the teacher has to keep questioning him, in order to find out whether he has really made up his mind or not. He will tell the student to examine whether the mind has gone to the visual form, or whether the form has come to the mind. And

furthermore to investigate labels such as "the four elements" in order to see whether the four elements think or report back, "We are the four elements;' or whether the mind labels them as four elements and then just thinks "Those are the four elements:' Likewise he should focus his mind one by one on sounds, odors, tastes, and tactile sensations and thoroughly investigate them in the same way he did before with the visual forms. If the student says, "When I am looking, there is just the meditation object, apart from it there is no mind as a subject looking at it with any color or shape whatsoever:' this is exactly what is meant by the nonduality of appearances and mind. If a student reaches through his one-pointed meditation a decisive personal experience, and if through the pith instruction and the blessing of an authentic teacher he reaches an understanding of this, he should be considered to be extremely fortunate. The meditation object and all other objects are just deluded perceptions of the mind, they do not exist anywhere else outside of it. Lankavatara Sutra:

To the mind stirred by habitual patterns all the forms appear to be real. But they are not real, they are mind. It is wrong to see them as an external reality. Avatamsaka Sutra:

Listen, you sons of the Victorious One: the three realms of existence are mind only.

Birwapa: All phenomena are mind itself, because appearances are reflections.

Bodhicharyavatara: Who made the foundation of burning iron? Where do all those female demons come from? The Buddha has taught that all of those are perceptions of a negative mind. Go and practice as it is taught in all the countless authentic teachings of the Buddha.

Lesson 53 - Exercise 42

Now the teacher will ask the student, "Collect your mind inside. Are the body and the mind distinct or identical?" If the student replies that they are distinct, the teacher will instruct him as follows: "Are body and mind like a house with its inhabitant, or are they like a body with clothes on? Whichever of the two it may be like, when the body is pricked with a thorn anywhere between head and'feet, is it the body or the mind that is feeling the sensation of pain? If the body is feeling it, a corpse also would have to feel it, but it does not feel anything. If it is the mind that feels it, then body and mind would have to be separate. Because if it is the mind which feels the pain happening to the body, the mind would also have to feel ill or suffer when a tree outside is cut or when the earth is ploughed. Furthermore, did you not say that the appearances are mind? If appearances that are at a great dis-

tance are mind, how is it possible that the body which is so near is not mind? Either both the body and the appearances are mind or neither of them, anything else does not make sense. You must investigate this once more. If body and mind were identical, would it not lead to the wrong conclusion, that when the body is born and dies, the mind is also born and dies. When the body changes, the mind changes as well and when the mind changes the body also changes. When the body is burned by fire, the mind is also burned, and so forth? Meditate with perseverance and investigate this thoroughly. When you have become certain, having removed your misconceptions about it on the base of personal experience rather than mere theory, then come and give me your reply:' On later questioning the student may explain, "The pain in the body when it is pricked by a thorn, and the perception of birth and death of the body, all of these certainly do manifest in that way because of not realizing the inseparability of appearances and mind and because the knot of the grasper and the grasped has not been undone. But actually they only manifest in my own mind, they do not have any true existence. A body in the process of dying is also just an appearance in the mind of the persons witnessing it, it does not exist apart from that." This time the teacher will confirm him, "Now you have recognized it. Having determined that all notions of a grasper and something grasped are in your own mind, and having recognized all concepts, be they wholesome, unwholesome or neutral as delusory, leave them in their groundless and rootless nature:'

Lesson 54 When you have really understood through your practice that all objects, bodies and mental events arise only as the self-appearances of one single mind, and that they are actually beyond the reach of intellectual labels such as identical or distinct, that they are beyond word, thought and description, and free from all conceptual limitations and intellectual fabrication, and when all the characteristics of something to meditate on and someone meditating have dissolved naturally, this is called truly seeing the natural face of the dharmakaya, the coexistent nature of mind or manifest buddhahood. On the other hand, if you hold things to be existing that actually are not really existing at all except as mere selfmanifestations of mind, you have perverted the meaning of the abiding nature, no matter what words you use to express it: identical or distinct, existent or nonexistent, material or nonmaterial, matter or mind, being or not being, empty or not empty, object or subject, permanent or impermanent, the grasped and the grasper, beginning and end, going and coming. Identical and distinct are mutually dependent, so, if distinct does not exist, it is not appropriate to claim identical to be existing. However, considering that appearances, awareness and emptiness are inseparable and have the same taste, it is not a contradiction to say that they are identical. It is like the inseparability of fire and heat or of water and the reflection of the moon on it. When teaching beginners and logicians, the teacher must interrogate them in order to find out whether they have investigated the question of the "one or many" and whether they are convinced that appearances are mind. But when cultivating your own practice, you should not get into such elaborate and

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extended investigations. By simply relaxing naturally, without fabricating or modifying anything on whatever appearances arise, you come to understand that appearances are mind, and excellent experiences and realizations will arise. On the other hand, to meditate on an intellectually fabricated emptiness that has been arrived at by the logical deduction that one or many do not exist, is not acceptable here, because it is the mistake of misunderstanding emptiness a mere subject of knowledge. Now it is important not to get into an intellectually fabricated meditation, but to completely relax in a state free from desire and hope and fear, and to preserve the unaltered state, not grasping at anything that is arising. The siddha Orgyenpa said: Mind and appearances are indeed like fire and heat. And: All these appearances are indeed the self-radiance of the mind or the light of the mind. Dagpo Rinpoche: Appearances and mind are one. Apart from mind there are no appearances. All these appearances are the light of the mind, or the nature of the mind. When the mind is understood, it encompasses automatically the appearances that are linked with it. The nature of mind and the nature of phenomena are one. The light of the nature of mind is the nature of phenomena. By understanding the nature of mind, the nature of phenomena linked with it is automatically encompassed. To give an example: when the sun has set, 186

it is impossible for its light to remain behind. It is certain, that the light comes and goes together with the sun. Likewise, solely by understanding the nature of mind, the understanding of the nature of phenomena will come automatically. By purifying the mind, appearances will be automatically purified. Therefore, it is sufficient to leave appearances and the nature of mind as they are, and just cultivate the nature of mind. When meditating, let go of the concepts of phenomena and the nature of phenomena, and cultivate immediately the nature of mind, in the way of a finger pointing for old woman. Or else, having arrived at a clear conclusion that everything, the outer worlds and their inhabitants, are the nature of mind, cultivate immediately the nature of mind. These two approaches are the same. If you meditate on the dharmata ground, without discovering the essence, you will not attain buddhahood, no matter how much you meditate. The vital energies and mind are one. Through the movements of the vital energies all kinds of thoughts arise in the mind. These two cannot be said to be the same or different. When mind is understood, they are purified in their own place. This is the non dual coexistence of emptiness and awareness. And: The coexistent nature of mind is the dharmakaya. The coexistent appearances are the light of the dharmakaya. These two are as inseparable as sandalwood and the fragrance of sandalwood. Drogon Shang: The phrase "appearances do not exist apart from mind" is

just a way of saying that all appearances are mind. Appearances are conditional arisings, since it is due to conditions that the nature of mind manifests as a variety of white and red appearances, just like bubbles in water. Memories and thoughts have no root, since they have, just like clouds in the sky, neither a place where they originate from, nor a place where they stay, nor a place where they dissolve. All the experiences ofhappiness, sorrow, and indifference are without a base, just like experiences of happiness and sorrow in dreams. Samsara and nirvana have a single flavor, since all experiences of samsara and nirvana become indistinguishable, just like the various rivers-Ganges, Pakshu and others-become indistinguishable, of the same flavor in the outer ocean. And: All the thoughts are the spontaneously present dharmata, since they have neither color nor shape. All the appearances are already the spontaneously present dharmakaya, since they are from the very beginning utterly beyond the notions of one and many. So do not cherish any hope for any result whatsoever. Master Gotsangpa: All these appearances are in one's own mind. Although they appear, they do not actually exist, like reflections in a mirror, or like the moon reflected in water. Just stay open, without conceptual grasping. There is no need to obstruct appearances. If you stay in nongrasping, this is mahamudra. Just practice this without distraction, that will do. And: Generally speaking, the experience of all kinds of appearances is in your own mind. Since there has never

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existed a duality between appearances and emptiness, there is no need to hold on to the consciousness inside. When a visual form appears as an object of the eyes, that appearance of a visual form itself is in your own mind. The appearance and the emptiness of that visual form are inseparable. By being directly in a state of nongrasping with the visual form, the grasper and the grasped will be liberated in their own place. Likewise, when perceptions of sounds, odors, tastes, tactile sensations, and mental states move in the mind, if you stay in the immediacy of these movements, they will be self-liberating. Hence, by practicing directly with the outer objects of the six senses in a state of nongrasping, without meditating on consciousness, you experience the six sense perceptions as meditation practice and thus progress. There is no need to bind yourself with the concept that you are doing retreat. Even if others look at you, if you do not look at them and do not conceptualize about it, that will do. Again, practice with whatever it is that troubles your mind. When ill, practice with that illness, when hungry, practice with that, when cold with the cold. When unhappy, practice with the unhappiness. Thus all circumstances will be experienced as practice. How is that? Well, because the circumstances themselves are in your own mind. Because there is no dharmakaya apart from the mind. When you practice like that, it is impossible not to progress. Mind itself, empty by its very nature, is nothing you can deliberately meditate on. Thus it is indispensable to remain undistracted in the state of nonmedi tation.

Siddha Orgyenpa: Concerning appearance and awareness: appearance refers to that which is perceived through the five sense doors on the ground of all, being itself beyond expression, thought, knowledge, and description. The objects of the eyes are visual forms, the objects of the ears are sounds, the objects of the nose are odors, the objects of the tongue are tastes, the objects of the body are tactile sensations, all of these are nonconceptual and neutral. The mental faculty latching on to the five sense doors distorts them, causing an inconceivable multitude of high and low appearances. This is what is called appearances. By getting involved in conceptual grasping you wander in samsara. Getting into this conceptual grasping is caused by succumbing to the full-blown deluded habit patterns, to which the mind has been accustomed since beginningless time. As a result there is this diversity of appearances, but there is not even a sesame grain worth of real existence to it. For example in dreams your habit patterns manifest as all kinds of pleasurable and painful experiences, but they do not have any real existence. On waking up you understand that they were not real. Or take the example of the appearance of magical horses and elephants. They are not appearing, because they really exist, but they are deceptive appearances, conjured up by the power of illusory substance and magic spells. Likewise, the appearances that manifest from the delusive habit patterns of the mind seem to be real and permanent, but they do not exist apart from the mind in which they appear. Awareness refers to the subject that apprehends through the consciousnesses of the five sense doors, but an

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awareness apart from appearances does not exist even for an instant. Thus appearance is awareness, and awareness is appearance. The sutras state: "Form is empty, emptiness is form. There is no emptiness apart from form. There is no form apart from emptiness:' And: By not meditating at all on appearances as they arise, but simply staying relaxed and undistracted without fabricating and modifying anything, you will get an understanding of the unity through the appearances, and you will be totally at ease. Then you do not need to block appearances, and you do not need to produce emptiness. Although myriad appearances appear, they have one taste in the essence of the single mind. Diversity has one taste. By not cutting off appearances as something outside, and not cutting off awareness as something inside, the unity is actualized. By maintaining this, the one taste manifests as diversity. It manifests through interdependence like brocade spread out in the sun at noon. From the collected mahamudra writings of the venerable Mikyo Dorje: The Dharma teaching that "thoughts are dharmakaya and appearances are one's own mind" is held in highest esteem in this Kagyii school, and is declared to be unsurpassable, authentic Dharma teaching. Fortunate persons should therefore strive as much as they can to put this Dharma teaching into practice, those of high capacity with the wisdom of realization, those of average with the wisdom of personal experience, and those oflow with the wisdom of theoretical knowledge.

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Kyobpa Drigungpa: All phenomena of samsara and nirvana are in one's own mind. Since mind is unborn from the beginning, it is like the middle of the sky. Phagmodrupa: It is said that there is nothing to block or produce in body and mind. The objects grasped outside and the mind grasping inside will be absolutely inseparable. It is said that whatever appears, arises in one's nature. This refers to the fact that all visible and audible phenomena arise in the nature of one's own mind and do not go beyond it.

Drstisamksepta: Self-knowing awareness, free from elaborations, is appearance yet is empty, it is empty yet is appearance. Thus appearance and emptiness are inseparable, just like water and the moon reflected in it. Thus the conclusion of nonduality is reached.

]nanasagara Tantra: Body and mind are inseparable. The arising and reversal of the support and the supported43 should be known to be the vital point of everything. It should be known that this applies to all mutual dependent phenomena, like existence and nonexistence and so on.

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THE MIND

Is

EMPTY

Lesson 55 - Exercise 43

Although the nature of the mind is described as naturally luminous, yet, being like the sky, it is not an object that can be imagined or described as having such and such a form, color and shape, or being inside or outside the body, or having such and such a constitution. Before, when you received the instructions on inquiry into the mind, you were asked to investigate how you see the mind, whether it is outside the body, or inside or in between, what color and shape it has, whether it comes, goes and abides by its true nature. You were saying that there is a seeing, which is not seeing anything at all. It is like that, it is nothing that can be pointed at in the least, nothing that exists. Wherever you look for it, inside, outside, in the ten directions, you will not find anything. This is because mind is emptiness, because it has no existence of its own. It is not, that it is something existing, but cannot be found anywhere. Thus this seeing that mind has no essence that exists in any way is the supreme seeing. You may think that it would be more reasonable to teach right from the beginning that the mind is nothing one can look at and nothing to see, what is the use of searching for its color and so on. Mind is not really existent, but because sentient beings do not realize this nonexistence, they have been clinging since beginningless time to the I and me as real. Because of that they experience attachment, aversion and delusion, and thus keep roaming around in the ocean of samsaric suffering. In order to reverse this process, they have to inquire, investigate and examine their mind, because it is

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the chief responsible for the origin of samsara. Exploring the mind to its depth, they become convinced that it is empty and without a self and thus will see with certainty the abiding nature without distortion. With this certainty that the mind is not really existent, they realize that the self that they cling to and which is the base of samsara is a delusion and does not really exist. This leads automatically to the certainty that all phenomena are empty. On account of that, they renounce all attachment to worldly activities. Thus taking things as real, which is the cause of samsara, is cut at the root. Therefore, it is reasonable to inquire into the mind. The great emptiness cannot be found by seeking, it is beyond all limiting concepts, and beyond the reach of verbalization, thought and description. It is not emptiness as negation, or emptiness as belief that it is like that, or a limited emptiness, nor is it a mere conceptual label of the ultimate dimension of dharmata. The great emptiness should be understood to be the primordial space of the genuine ultimate nature. Previously you were lost in samsara because you did not see emptiness as emptiness, and selflessness as selflessness. Now, through the key instructions of the glorious teachers, you have come to see directly, without seeing anything, your own primordial nature, the undistorted abiding nature of emptiness. Thus you should stay in this state without modifying anything.

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EMPTINESS

Is SPONTANEOUS

PRESENCE

Lesson 56 - Exercise 44

While mind never moves out of its utterly empty ultimate nature, which is like the sky, its dynamic radiance manifests without obstruction as all kinds of appearances. But no matter how great the diversity of appearances is, even at the very moment of their manifestation they remain great emptiness. Therefore one speaks of the inseparability of appearances and emptiness, awareness and emptiness, clarity and emptiness, happiness and emptiness. You may object, that appearances and emptiness cannot be inseparable, that they have to be separate, because something nonexistent cannot appear, and something existing cannot nonexist at the same time. Now, concerning all of the knowable phenomena, there is no emptiness apart from appearances, and no appearances apart from emptiness. All phenomena of samsara and nirvana are at the very moment of their manifestation great emptiness, utterly nonexistent. While never moving out of emptiness, the dynamic energy of mind manifests as an unobstructed diversity. The spontaneously present inseparability of appearances and emptiness is called the emptiness possessing the excellence of all aspects. It is not proper to hold only the emptiness aspect as the most important, you must understand the abiding nature of this spontaneously present unity. You may object, that it is permissible to speak of spontaneous presence in the case of pure appearances, but not in the case of impure appearances. Well, what constitutes the impurity in this case, is your falling into the intellectual discrimination between good and bad, high and low. Therefore

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you should put into practice the ultimate quintessence and the single intention of all the sutras and tantras explaining spontaneous presence, which states that all phenomena comprised by samsara and nirvana, while never moving out of emptiness, are an unobstructed manifestation of the dynamic radiance of mind. For this reason, everything being spontaneously present is ultimate purity, called great liberation.

SPONTANEOUS PRESENCE

Is SELF-LIBERATING

Lesson 57 -Exercise 45

In the abiding nature, where appearances, awareness and emptiness are from the beginning a spontaneously present unity of radiance and emptiness, all phenomena comprised by samsara and nirvana have one taste. In this basic nature of things lies the primordial great awakening, always free from the need to remove any faults, or to achieve any qualities. It is necessary to directly understand this undistorted abiding nature, being the ultimate dimension, where there is nothing at all to diminish or augment, to reject or accept. Because of the fact that there is nothing to reject or accept, nothing to remove or establish, one speaks of self-liberation. The great self-liberation does not depend on any other antidotes. Realize this ultimate quintessence and all signs of hope and fear will be liberated by themselves. It is said: "Whatever causes bondage is the path of liberation. Here no bondage at all exists. Whatever is bound is liberated:' The methods for bringing about the discovery of unsurpassable buddhahood in one's own mind are the authentic pointing-out instructions. Once there has been unmistaken

recognition, the genuine wisdom of intuitive insight will be attained. Realizing the essence of intuitive insight means to see, understand, and actualize the ultimate undistorted abiding nature. Merely understanding theoretically that all phenomena are mind, or merely considering them to be empty, or seeing the abiding nature of unity just a little bit is failing to really see the genuine abiding nature. Therefore, the teacher will explain the nature of the mind by means of different signs, methods and examples when he perceives that the time is ripe for some fortunate disciple. Otherwise one should be aware that, like the sky, the true nature is beyond the realm of words, thought and description. It cannot be illustrated by examples saying, "It is like this:' It is nothing at all, yet everything, self-sameness, free from all limitations, experienced exclusively by the individual self-knowing primordial awareness.

Lesson 58

Now follows a series of clarifying quotations from the sutras, tantras, pith instructions and from the teachings of authentic teachers. Tilopa: Take the sky as an example: its nature is beyond color and form, unchanging and untainted by white and black. In the same way, the essence of mind is beyond color and form, untainted by the white and black of wholesome and harmful actions. And: Take the sky as an example: it may be designated as

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empty, but the sky cannot really be described. Likewise, the mind may be described as translucent, but the description does not imply the existence of such a thing. From the beginning, the nature of mind is like the sky, there are no phenomena that are not comprised by it. And: When there is no reference point in the mind, this is mahamudra. If you get fully habituated to that, unsurpassable enlightenment is reached. Saraha: Mind is the source of everything in samsara and nirvana. Once this is understood, remain loose in the state of nonmeditation. What an error to seek elsewhere for what has always been with you. Everything is in the natural state, it is not that this is, and that is not. Shantarakshita: Never stirring from the space of equality, a variety of magic spectacles is displayed. All rivers are one in the ocean: of salty flavor. In this single taste of diversity there is no distinction. I am at ease since all and everything is pervaded by the taste of the natural state. NyimeTsal: Diversity is the magical display of mind. Mind cannot be pointed at saying, "This is it:' Therefore samsara and nirvana are without foundation. Know that this is the dharmakaya.

Dhombhipa: In the absence of conceptual elaboration, conditioned existence and nirvanic peace are equal. How exhausting to strive for achievement. In unobstructedness body and mind are inseparable. How afflicting to hold them to be separate. In the dharmakaya self and other are inseparable. How pitiable to cling to good and bad. Nyima Bapa: Observing the body: it is unborn. Observing the mind: it is free from conceptual elaborations. The meaning of nonduality is beyond intellect. I know nothing at all. Maitripa: All phenomena are empty in essence. The intellect clinging to emptiness is pure in itself. Free from conceptual mind and without mental occupation, this is the path of all the buddhas. Master Gotsangpa: Look straight into your own mind. When looked at, there is nothing to see, it is immaterial. Lingje Repa: There is nothing else to do than to leave the mind as it is. Since there is nothing to correct with remedies, the doubts about being or not being have all but vanished.

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Tsangpa Gyare: The mind left as it is, is dharmakaya. Concepts fabricated by the intellect dissolve by themselves. Practice that which is inconceivable. Orgyenpa: Without mind there are no appearances. The habitual deceptive perceptions do not have any real substantial existence and are all in a state of equality in the dharmakaya. They are empty in essence and unborn like the sky. And: Phenomena are like reflections. If you consider them to have any true existence, you are fooled by your own projections. What appears and exists is the play of mind. If you cling to them as objects, you are mislead by your own projections. All and everything is an illusory magical play. If you cling to it as real and substantial, you are deceived by your own projections. And: Orgyenpa, the beggar of the snow land of Tibet, practices the innate state of primordial awareness. Through the blessing of the glorious masters, the deception of habitual tendencies has spontaneously gone, samsara and nirvana have been purified in nonduality, everything is experienced as the play of dharmakaya, and dualistic clinging has become exhausted. There is no suffering, there is happiness. Kyeme Shang: The instant of immediately recognizing a thought is called mahamudra understanding, it is called experience of con-

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centration, or born of meditation. The very instant when a thought is recognized, all the unwholesome actions accumulated since beginningless samsara are overcome and purified. Recognizing thoughts refers to a distinct certainty that thoughts are like the sky, that they are unborn, unceasing, not abiding anywhere, without substance, and ungraspable. This is called the simultaneous arising of experience and understanding, the mixing of experience and understanding into one, also the inseparability of calm abiding and intuitive insight, the realization of the nature of phenomena, or the self-liberation of characteristics. This is not understood through great learning. It is not understood through great intelligence. It is not understood by gross conceptual analysis. It is not understood through mere knowledge of the pith instructions. It is not realized through obsessive and eager striving. It is not realized through explanatory words or skillful means. It is not understood through any kind of hasty impatience. As it is said in the tantras: "It cannot be found at all:' If it cannot be understood by any of these means, what is to be done? Well, realization depends exclusively on blessing, because only through the blessing of a realized teacher the self-knowing awareness will be experienced personally from inside. As a tantra says: "Because the self-knowing primordial awareness is beyond the possibility of verbal communication, it is within the scope of blessing. It is like that with the all-knowing primordial awareness."

Dagpo Rinpoche: Get used to looking into your own mind. When you have become habituated to looking into your mind, and objects

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and mind do not fall apart into a duality, you experience the nondual primordial awareness. This shows the special method and the time when it is attained. And: A meditation that is not free from dualistic clinging may lead to meditative experiences, but not to seeing the true meaning. A view that has not been realized remains a mental fabrication, also if you call it free of limitations. Prajnaparamitasamcayagatha:

People speak much of "seeing the skY:' Examine what seeing the sky means. The Buddha has taught that it is the same with the seeing of phenomena. Such seeing cannot be conveyed by any other example. Samvarodaya:

When mental events are shown to be mind, the same applies to the nature of living beings. It abides similar to space, completely as space. It is clear like a mirror or like a jewel, it is formless without beginning and end, it is free from conceptual elaboration, not within the scope of the senses, it is unchanging and no appearance, it is totally empty and without defilements. Mulanadhyamikakarika:

Existence is the view of eternalism, nonexistence is the view of nihilism. Hence the wise should neither stay with the theory of existence nor with that of nonexistence. And: Whatever arises from interdependence... And: Existence and nonexistence are extremes. Empty and

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not empty are also extremes. While thus avoiding these two extremes, the wise should also not dwell in the middle. When looking into the sky, all seeing of something ceases. Likewise, when looking with the mind at the mind, the concepts cease and unsurpassable enlightenment is reached. Nowhere in the outside world will you ever find buddhahood. The mind is the perfect buddha. It has been taught like this in all sutras, tantras and pithinstructions.

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PART THREE

CONCLUDING INSTRUCTIONS

Having experienced the nature of mind pointed out by the teacher, there follow instructions on: (1) strengthening and enhancing the practice, (2) overcoming obstacles, (3) traversing the path, (4) realizing the fruit.

CHAPTER SIX

ENHANCING THE PRACTICE

Among the many methods to enhance the practice, the first is:

ENHANCING THE PRACTICE THROUGH DISPELLING FIVE MISCONCEPTIONS

DISPELLING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE OBJECT

Lesson 59

In fact it is not correct to cling to the idea that everything unwholesome, such as the three mind poisons, should be rejected, and everything wholesome, such as generosity, should be adopted and acquired. In this present approach, the five mind poisons must be brought on the path. Furthermore, from the point of view of the abiding nature of mahamudra, things to be rejected or adopted do not exist in the least. Those applying themselves earnestly to putting the profound meaning into practice, must give up clinging to the idea that

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there are any phenomena to reject or adopt and that there is something concrete to be accomplished, because it is said: "What is the use of making tens of thousands of offerings to divinities, if I bind myself by if' As it is said in countless sources, it is inappropriate to cling to anything out of attachment. Yet this nonclinging must never lead you to despise the law of cause and effect of your actions. In short, wrong conceptions about the object will be dispelled by letting all dualistic concepts, like samsara and nirvana, wholesome and unwholesome, rejecting and adopting become of equal taste in the nondual primordial awareness.

DISPELLING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT TIME

Lesson 6o It is not correct to believe that you will traverse the path dur-

ing three incalculable eons, with the idea that you will reach true enlightenment after a certain lapse of time. Practitioners, who apply the essential points of mahamudra, must realize the sameness of the three times. The division into three times-past, present and future-is merely a labeling of deluded immature persons. The past does not exist as past, because it has been the present and the future before, and the same holds true for the present and the future. Furthermore, according to this Dharma tradition, realization is obtained right now, on this very seat. Therefore it is necessary to realize that the three times are identical and do not exist separately. A practitioner who has realized this, can bless an eon into an instant and an instant into an eon. This is possible because

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of the sameness of the three times. If they were distinct from one another, such a thing would be unreasonable. It is said: "The one who realizes that the three times are timeless ..." By recognizing this certainty of the abiding nature, you will be freed from the misconception of holding time to really exist as such, thinking that you will reach buddhahood after a certain lapse of time.

DISPELLING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE ESSENCE

Lesson 61

Other traditions maintain that, after having abandoned the present bad mind, one will attain the good primordial awareness. But according to this Dharma tradition mind is the base of all phenomena. It cannot be abandoned nor is it correct to assume that there exists another primordial awareness apart from ones own mind. Because it is the undistorted certainty of the profound secret mantra that the five aspects of primordial awareness are naturally and spontaneously present in our mind from the beginning. Shang Rinpoche explains: The fire blazes, if there is firewood. The lotus grows in the mud. Rich harvest comes from well fertilized fields. Before, when the mind poisons were absent, not even the name of primordial awareness existed. You must understand that your mind has the essence or the nature of all aspects of primordial awareness of the victorious ones. The mirror-like aspect of primordial awareness mani-

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fests as the unhindered creative energy of the clear, aware and empty essence of mind. The equality aspect of primordial awareness is the equal taste of all phenomena in their empty essence. The differentiating aspect of primordial awareness is the multiplicity of phenomena, which do not really exist as such. The space of phenomena aspect of primordial awareness is the inexpressible suchness, which is inseparable from the primordial space of all phenomena in samsara and nirvana. The all-accomplishing activity aspect of primordial awareness is the accomplishment of all one's intended aims by understanding the mind and through that understanding the nature of all phenomena. With this method impure clinging is uprooted and wrong conceptions regarding the essence are dispelled.

DISPELLING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE TRUE NATURE

Lesson 62

The aggregates, the elements and the sense factors 44 of beings have all from the beginning the true nature of awakened male and female buddhas and deities. As it is taught in all sutras and tantras, they are themselves buddha mind. If, on the contrary, you assume that there is another superior buddha mind to be attained outside of your mind and believe that it is impossible that the extremely pure buddha mind exists within the mind stream of impure beings, that this is nothing but glossing things over and misinterpreting the vajra words of the secret mantra, you have distorted the meaning of the abiding nature and this

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is improper. To misconceive the teaching of the Buddha, which is like pure nectar giving happiness or like a wishfulfilling jewel, and to perceive it as poison or an abyss causing fear and anguish would be utterly absurd. This would resemble the conduct of a beggar who has a treasure in his house or the athlete who has his jewel with him and who search for it elsewhere, because they are not aware of it. Since it is an undistorted certainty of the secret mantra that all the attributes of a buddha, such as the sixty-four qualities of freedom and maturation of a buddha, are spontaneously present in your vajra body and mind, you should not search for buddhahood anywhere else than in the mind. It is said: "Outside the jewel-like mind there are neither buddhas nor ordinary beings:'

Sambuti: Buddhahood is in one's own body. Nowhere else does buddhahood exist. Those wrapped in the darkness of ignorance, believe buddhahood to be somewhere outside the body. And: Nowhere in the outer world will you ever find buddhahood. The mind is the perfect buddha.

Atyayajnana Sutra: When you understand the mind, you are a buddha. You should thoroughly cultivate the idea of not seeking buddhahood elsewhere. There are countless teachings like this. The difference between buddhas and ordinary beings is not that the former are good

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and the latter are bad, but simply that the former have understood the mind and the latter have not.

DISPELLING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT KNOWLEDGE

Lesson 63

The final ultimate meaning, the nature of mind, you will understand through the power of meditation, by concentrating only on the practice of the individual self-knowing primordial awareness, through the power of training in the pith instructions with the blessing of a true teacher, and through the power of altruism endowed with perseverance and trusting devotion. On the other hand you cannot understand this meaning by being a good teacher and an intellectual with great knowledge and analytical power who merely listens to the Dharma teachings, reflects on them, and explains them with great comprehension and talent. Gandavyuha Sutra:

The true teaching of the buddhas is not realized by mere listening. One who does not practice the Dharma teachings resembles somebody dying of thirst, while powerlessly being carried away by a river. And: One who does not practice the Dharma teachings resembles somebody who never reaches the crossroads of which everybody says that it is exceptional.

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Shang Rinpoche: The realization of primordial awareness you will not experience by strongly wishing for it to come. It will not appear through skillful analysis. Through extensive studies you will not understand it. It is not within the range of experience of intellectuals. And: You will experience the spontaneous realization of primordial awareness neither by strongly wishing nor by relaxing, neither being skilled nor unskilled in analysis, neither through extensive nor small studies, neither with intelligence nor stupidity, neither through good nor bad meditative experiences, neither through strong nor weak efforts. Only by relying on a teacher, his timely skillful means, and through your own merit can it be understood. "By relying on a teacher, his timely skillful means" means that you experience it through the power of blessing of a realized teacher whom you please. "Through your own merit" means that those experience it who have practiced continually. Since the realization of primordial awareness is transmitted through the path of blessing, it is within the field of experience of the faithful, it is the devoted ones who experience it, it is the trained ones who understand it. Perseverance is the supportive element of all. Those favored with highest capacities realize it, while experts of words cannot accommodate it in their intellect. Individuals with such capacities experience the realization of nonduality. Through the blessing of a true teacher, the dharmakaya unfolds from the middle of realization, nonduality shines from the middle of mind's nature, primordial awareness shines from the middle of afflic-

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tions, realization shines from the middle of meditative experience. This is expressed in all the sutras, tantras and in the Kagyii teachings.

If in this concluding section you continue as usual and use one lesson for each of the five misconceptions to be dispelled, then this was lesson 63. In an abbreviated manner, all five can be explained together in one lesson. LEARNING THREE SKILLS

Lesson 64

FIRST BEGINNING THE MEDITATION SKILLFULLY. Place yourself faultlessly in the essential body posture described earlier and apply the methods for setting the mind as explained above. If the mind is active, look at the true nature of that, if it is settled, look at the true nature of that. From the oral instructions: Yogi, let your mind be as loose as the thread spun by a Brahmin. 45 Let it be clear, free from conceptual thinking, and undistracted, like a flame unmoved by wind. Do not hold back the mind which wanders to objects, like letting ravens fly from a ship. Leave whatever appears in mahamudra, like flames spreading in the forest. Leave what appears and exists in mahamudra, like stars reflected in a lake. Yogi, let your mind go wherever it wants, like an experienced cow herd tending his cows. 46 Leave the nature of mind always in the dharmakaya, like the continuous

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flow of a waterfall. A yogi relies on sense pleasures, like the fields rely on water and manure. In this way keep your undistracted mind without reference point, in its uncontrived, untouched, loose, natural state. This is called first beginning the meditation skillfully. IN BETWEEN INTERRUPTING THE MEDITATION SKILLFULLY.

Practicing like this, you should not make the duration of sessions your main concern, but rather put aside both the meditation and the body posture and alternate. You should meditate with clarity for short and frequent periods, and without becoming disinterested, consistently continue your meditation with joy, clarity and vigor. fiNALLY MAINTAINING THE EXPERIENCE SKILLFULLY. You should not have any attachment to and craving for whatever experiences of bliss, clarity or nonconceptuality may arise. By never getting involved in the impurities of good thoughts, bad thoughts or neutral thoughts, experiences are brought forth through the force of realization. This is called gaining experience through realization; for this you must be free from attachment to experiences. Since the opposite is called losing realization because of experiences, you must have the skill of maintaining experiences without being attached to them. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXPERIENCE AND REALIZATION.

Experiences are unstable because they do not go beyond the conceptual mind. They are like the sun between clouds: sometimes all three experiences of bliss, clarity and nonconceptuality are present. Sometimes one of them is dominant.

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Sometimes none of them appears. By maintaining them without attachment, the distortions of the conceptual mind will clear up and the realization that was present from the beginning will appear. Furthermore, if experiences are experienced in a dualistic way as objects of a subject, it is experience. If they do not arise as objects, it is realization. If they are experienced by the mind, it is experience. If the mind itself appears as their essence, it is realization. If they are experienced in the form of references, it is experience. If there is an understanding of the particulars of the reference, knowing directly their characteristics, it is realization. If the mind exists as a meditator and the meditation on bliss, clarity, nonconceptuality and emptiness exists as an object of meditation or experience, it is experience. If the meditator and the meditation are directly recognized as inseparable, without it being just a fabricated, intellectual understanding, it is realization. One can end the lesson here or continue.

bliss, clarity, and nonconceptuality. The bodily bliss is mixed with afflictions in the beginning. Later on the whole body is filled with bliss, which is free from afflictions. And finally there appears a complete bliss, not influenced by outer heat or cold. Mental bliss means joy, being content, being free from any kind of mental strain, a very clear, pure joy in the mind, a pure nongraspable joy. One may think, "I have absolutely no more afflictions, now I am a spiritually advanced person" and laughs without reason. Many wild thoughts may arise, such as, "Through the blessing of the teacher, there is no happier person than me, I renounce all worldly activities, THERE ARE THREE KINDS OF MEDITATIVE EXPERIENCES:

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they are completely useless, the Dharma is the only thing to do:' One feels like dancing and uttering meaningless sounds. Sometimes one does not feel like meditating or doing anything and thinks that one cannot meditate at all. One feels so lost, that everything seems meaningless, and thinks, "The mind poisons have apparently become even stronger. The mind is either agitated or drowsy, nothing else. I would like to think about nothing anymore. Now I cannot even meditate anymore:' As a sign that the mind is concentrated there appear in the clarity aspect of the five sense doors certain experiences: visual objects like smoke, fireflies, mirages, candle flames, moon light, sun light, fire light or light drops, light spheres and rainbows. Furthermore it can happen that one is able to see with closed eyes, or one perceives different beings, forms, sounds, smells, tastes and bodily sensations. In the clarity aspect of mind all kinds of thoughts of rejecting and remedying arise and, although the awareness is extremely active, one is aware that it is in accordance with interdependence. The consciousness is transparent, radiating and clear, without drowsiness and dullness, and one thinks that one understands all phenomena and similar things. THE EXPERIENCE OF CLARITY.

THE EXPERIENCE OF NONCONCEPTUALITY. At first the mind is concentrated by directing it towards an object. Then the gross conceptual thoughts stop and the mind remains where it is directed to. Finally there comes the feeling that all conceptual formations have calmed down. If these experiences lead to craving, attachment and pride, realization is lost because of the experiences. Therefore one has to give up desire for

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and clinging to them. It is said: "On a summer meadow all sorts of plants grow. In the experience of a yogi all sorts of experiences appear:' As experiences are unpredictable, it is unreasonable to cling to them. As it is said: "You have to let go of precisely what you cling to:' Thus you must give up craving and attachment, conceit, and overestimation in relation to experiences. In this state you should recognize the nature of the four kayas in the present mind: dharmakaya is the nature of mind without origin, sambhogakaya is its not dwelling anywhere, nirmanakaya is the multiplicity of appearances that are without beginning and end, and svabhavikakaya is the inseparability of the three. Or to put it in another way: the unobstructed manifestations of the mind are the nirmanakaya, awareness and clarity are the sambhogakaya, emptiness is the svabhavikakaya and their inseparability is the dharmakaya. In short, all phenomena that appear and exist in samsara and nirvana are completely contained within the five kayas, or in the dharmakaya that unites in itself sambhogakaya, nirmanakaya and svabhavikakaya. As it is said: "Because it is the body of phenomena, because its highest qualities are unimaginable, and because it is the true nature of awareness, it is considered to be the dharmakaya of the protectors:' Therefore you should reach a definite certainty about the nature of the so-called dharmakaya endowed with the two purities. Besides this you should reach a definitive conclusion about the fact that all phenomena are by nature free from arising, ceasing and abiding, that they do not truly exist in the least, and that they are free from all conceptual limitations such as existence and nonexistence. You must abandon all hope and fear, the hope to attain buddhahood and to give rise to exceptional experiences and realizations, and the fear

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to wander around in samsara and not to develop any experiences and realizations. One can bring together the Dispelling Five Misconceptions to one lesson, and the Learning Three Skills to one lesson.

ENHANCING THE PRACTICE BY ELIMINATING POTENTIAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND ERRORS

There are four potential misunderstandings of emptiness: misunderstanding it as an object of knowledge, misunderstanding it as a label, misunderstanding it as a remedy, misunderstanding it as a path.

MISUNDERSTANDING EMPTINESS

As

AN OBJECT OF KNowLEDGE

Lesson 65

Someone who has abundantly studied the scriptures and logical analysis, like for instance the logical deduction that one and many do not exist, will meditate that all phenomena are empty, in the sense of nonexistent, and will believe this to be what the designations "the ultimate," "mahamudra," and "the abiding nature of things" refer to. When he then receives pith instructions from a teacher and is supposed to meditate, he tells himself that this is not different from what he has already understood. He will get lost in deceptive, destructive talk pretending that there are no wholesome and unwhole-

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some actions, 47 settling with conceptual constructs such as, "Everything is dharmakaya;' or ''Apart from emptiness there are no phenomena, what is there to meditate on?" His mind will follow the patterns of his previous studies of the scriptures and logical analysis, and he will not bring forth meditative experiences. This is called misunderstanding emptiness as an object of knowledge. For what reason emptiness is misunderstood as an object of knowledge? With logical reasonings like the nonexistence of one and many, the main subject matter is emptiness as an object of knowledge. Emptiness is indeed present from the beginning, but the conceptual fixation on its existence constitutes the distortion of intellectual fabrication. This does not correspond to the true path and must not be misunderstood. When emptiness is misunderstood as an object of knowledge, the basic error is to equate emptiness with nonbeing or nonexistence, and the immediate error48 is dry theorizing about an abstract emptiness. These two errors are eliminated through understanding the law of interdependent origination which is unobstructed on the relative level, and through sincere efforts in the practice.

MISUNDERSTANDING EMPTINESS

As

A LABEL

Lesson 66

Having performed all kinds of conditioned wholesome actions with body and speech, the practitioner thinks, "By meditating on the unconditioned subtle emptiness I will enter into the space of the threefold complete purity of

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actions:' By using scriptural knowledge and logic as remedies against the clinging to the reality of virtuous actions, he settles through analytic reasoning that they do not truly exist. Or he meditates on a partial idea of emptiness by making matter, which he thinks is not empty through the use of the shunyata and svabhava mantras nonexistent, and then meditates that they have become empty. Or he makes matter by means of the knowledge of the threefold complete purity of actions nonexistent. First he considers matter as having characteristics, and then he puts the label of emptiness on it, considering it to be nonexistent. Having thus labeled appearances as empty he practices the development stage. Then he labels this as emptiness and thinks that it has become empty. All these ways of meditating are called misunderstanding emptiness as a label. Without insistently demarcating appearances from emptiness, appearances are empty appearances even while they appear vividly without any obstruction. This is why the term inseparability of appearances and emptiness, a unity without inherent existence is used. When misunderstanding emptiness as a label, the basic error is to mark wholesome actions that have characteristics with the label of emptiness, being without reference point. The immediate error is dilettante labeling, a wishful thinking lacking personal experience. Narrow minded persons stick the term dharmakaya on the mind and appearances like a patch. These three errors are eliminated by looking at the true nature of the remedy, developing a practice that is based on renunciation, and by maintaining the essence of the normal mind.

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MISUNDERSTANDING EMPTINESS

As

A REMEDY

Lesson 67

When impure thoughts like the three poisons arise, the practitioner imagines that they are impure and are killers of liberation and should be defeated with emptiness. After having intellectually made a separation between emptiness and the afflictions, he meditates about the afflictions as nonexistent. Or, if he has received pith instructions from a teacher, he thinks, "When I have understood emptiness a little bit, I will use it as a remedy in order to get rid of the afflictions and thoughts; then I will reach the highest goal, like the absolute, or buddhahood:' To practice nonconceptuality as a remedy for thoughts, is called misunderstanding emptiness as a remedy. You should not consider buddhahood as something apart, to be reached after you have got rid of the afflictions and thoughts, but leave the appearances unaltered, just as they arise, not separating between good and bad, between the subject being harmed and the object causing harm. When emptiness is misunderstood as a remedy, the basic error is wanting to conquer with emptiness on the one hand, afflictions as separate from it on the other hand. The immediate error is to use the meditation on emptiness as a remedy for thoughts, in order to catch them like with a hook. These two errors are eliminated by looking at the true nature of what is rejected, and by effortlessly observing whatever appears in the mind.

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MISUNDERSTANDING EMPTINESS

As A PATH

Lesson 68

The practitioner wants to understand the whole path only through the aspect of emptiness and neglects the aspect of method. Even though path and fruit are inseparable in the emptiness, he thinks, "Ifl now use the meditation on emptiness as the path, I will obtain the fruit of buddhahood later, with the three kayas and the five aspects of primordial awareness." He believes that through his meditation on emptiness he will attain the ten bodhisattva levels, the five paths and the four yogas as a fruit. This mistake is called misunderstanding emptiness as a path and should be avoided. When you understand your own mind, it is itself dharmakaya. Since the four kayas and the five aspects of primordial awareness are spontaneously present in all phenomena, you should rest in the state of great equality without searching buddhahood as something new. If emptiness is misunderstood as a path, the basic error lies in assuming one could attain the dharmakaya later through meditating on emptiness. The immediate error consists in painting intellectual fabrications in the meditation, failing to use for the practice whatever arises. These two errors are eliminateq by being aware of the equality of samsara and nirvana and by stopping fabrications born from desire. You should rest in the self-existing and spontaneously present great bliss of equality, without misunderstanding emptiness as an object of knowledge, as a remedy, as a label, or as a path.

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If you are wondering whether it is unsuitable under all circumstances to fabricate a meditation on emptiness as in these four cases, the answer is no. Because if beginners do not meditate on the intellectual formula that all phenomena are intrinsically empty and peaceful, those immature people will be so extremely frightened by emptiness that they will not engage in it. Therefore it is not contradictory if they approach it gradually in their meditation, using different guiding methods like texts and logic. To accustom themselves to it, it is also acceptable to practice emptiness first as a remedy against karma and afflictions, to use it as a path and as a label to meditate on the elaborate as being nonelaborate. But finally they have to abandon it. Thus the manner to meditate for beginners and practitioners of highest capacity is at first not comparable, in the same way as food for grown-ups is not suitable for infants. In short, it is really important that everyone practices according to his capacities. Finally, the best enhancement consists in the unmistaken realization of the view of the abiding nature without getting lost in the four potential misunderstandings. Enhancing the practice through clearing away four potential misunderstandings in relation to the view leads to the enhancement of intuitive insight. In a detailed proceeding there is a lesson for each of the four misunderstandings which leads to lesson 68. In a condensed proceeding the four misunderstandings can be summarized in one.

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ENHANCING THE PRACTICE BY ELIMINATING POTENTIAL ERRORS IN THE MEDITATION

Lesson 69

If among the three experiences of bliss, clarity and nonconceptuality, bliss is predominant, analyze with intelligence this bliss in general, without differentiating between impure and pure bliss. 2. If you completely cling to this during meditation, you will stray into the desire realm, because you are bound in yearning desire. But even if, out of attachment, you stray into the desire realm, you will not be born in the ten lower forms of the altogether twenty forms of existence in the desire realm. 3· Likewise you will stray into the seventeen levels of the subtle form realm, if you are only clinging to the experience of clarity. 4. Through clinging to the experience of nonconceptuality, you will stray into the four formless realms of perception. 5· "Phenomena are like space, since they do not have any color and form, neither limit nor center." If you have analyzed by means of discriminating knowledge that all things are like space and you cling to the reality of this, you stray into the sphere of perception of limitless space. 49 6. It has been taught: "Listen, sons of the victorious ones, all three realms of existence are just mind:' If you now think that all phenomena are just consciousness or mind and you cling solely to this as true, you will be reborn in the sphere of perception of limitless consciousness. 7. Equally, if you cling to the idea that nothing whatsoever exists, you stray into the sphere of perception of absolute nothingness. 1.

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8. If you believe that there is neither existence nor nonexistence and you cling to that as being the highest, you will be reborn in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception. 9. Whether one of the three experiences of bliss, clarity or nonconceptuality is predominant or whether they are equal, by experiencing their taste without clinging to it and seeing their true nature, these errors will be eliminated. 10. If you cling one-sidedly only to emptiness without developing skillful means like great compassion and so on, you will stray into inferior spiritual paths. This should be avoided, as it is said: "Even an existence in the hells is not a permanent hindrance to enlightenment. But the attitude of the shravakas and pratyekas is a permanent hindrance for attaining enlightenment:' Through the skillful means of meditating on love, great compassion, and bodhichitta this error will be eliminated. 11. On the other hand, the skillful means will be enhanced through wisdom. Good actions like generosity and so on have to be completed by wisdom, which does not objectify the three components of action. Otherwise it will not be an immaculate action. 12. Likewise, one speaks of enhancing wisdom with the help of skillful means, if the transcendental wisdom is completed through skillful means. 13. Through one-sided clinging to emptiness one strays into inferior spiritual paths, from which no vast benefit for beings arises. But compassion alone will also not produce great benefit for others. Emptiness and compassion form a unity. Therefore they have to be enhanced mutually. 14. The practice of calm abiding alone without intuitive insight is a purely mundane path. But when intuitive insight

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arises, one enters the path of liberation. Therefore one should develop intuitive insight of primordial awareness and thus deepen calm abiding with the help of intuitive insight. 15. On the other hand, without calm abiding one cannot fully develop the power of intuitive insight and cannot bring forth the abilities of clairvoyance and miraculous powers. The better the calm abiding, the greater the power of intuitive insight will become progressively, and the more qualities will develop. Therefore one should deepen intuitive insight with the help of calm abiding. 16. For each of the four yogas there exist many methods for removing obstacles and for enhancing the practice. But being afraid of too many words, they will not be treated here. They are explained separately. In older instruction manuals the following explanations in relation to calm abiding and intuitive insight are found: at the level of one-pointedness experiences are enhanced with the help of experiences. At the level of simplicity one understands emptiness. By developing skill in dealing with appearances this realization is enhanced by experiences. At the level of one taste one understands equality. By training in compassion the realization is enhanced by realization. If one trains this skill during all occupations, and if all one does is virtuous without ever leaving the three doors ordinary, abilities are developed through ordinary activity. 17. If you look without aversion or attachment at the true nature of all negative circumstances-be it afflictions, suffering, or hindrances-your practice will progress so that qualities will develop with the help of unfavorable situations and blessing will come through bad omens. As long as the practice is weak, you cannot experience afflictions or grave diseases at once as practice by merely looking at them. By developing

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the ability to bear these difficulties and to remain in them for longer periods of time, you will gradually become more relaxed and then even in those with poor meditation practice they will dissolve into emptiness without leaving a trace. In those with highly developed practice they will appear clearly and unobstructed in their natural emptiness. In this state, the mind should be left uncontrived in its untouched, loose, natural state as it was described before. In an extensive way one can enhance the practice with each of these seventeen points, like Eliminating Three Errors etc. and eliminate errors and remove the faults that need to be removed. If no errors arise, it is not absolutely necessary to explain these seventeen points one by one. It is sufficient to identify the error at hand and to show the respective remedy to remove it. When the methods to enhance the practice and to eliminate errors and hope and fear are combined, this is lesson 69.

ENHANCING THE PRACTICE BY MOVING OuT OF THREE DANGERS

EMPTINESS ARISING As AN ENEMY Lesson 70

When you look at the mind in order to investigate its true nature and thereby discover that it does not really exist, you might think, "Since all phenomena are nothing but emptiness, what is the use of acting wholesomely with body, speech and mind. Wholesome and harmful actions, as well as cause and effect of actions, all this does not exist in the least:'

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This grasping that there is nothing to reject or counteract is called destructive talk. Since this is wrong view and action, one speaks of the error of emptiness arising as enemy. In the Mulamadhyamakakarika it says: "Unintelligent beings destroy themselves with a wrong view of emptiness. It is like wrongly holding a poisonous snake or wrongly practicing a magic formula." Intelligent beings understand that nothing really exists, without being contaminated by the fault of viewing emptiness as nothingness. They are aware of the unfailing pnnciple of the relative level, where the law of cause and effect of wholesome and harmful actions and interdependent origination is effective in the unhindered dynamic expression of appearances. Even if their realization is as vast as space, they are extremely conscientious in their conduct and train to unite the two levels, being concerned about auspicious coincidence. They train themselves on the path of union of view and conduct without ever moving out of emptiness. One may argue, "But was it not explained before that one should be without rejection and acceptance?" Yes, that was explained to dissolve the grasping at rejection and counteracting. This present explanation takes into consideration the relative aspect and is supposed to prevent beginners who take these concepts too literally, to get into destructive talk.

COMPASSION ARISING As AN ENEMY

Lesson 71

When you have experienced the bliss of concentration to some extent and feel compassion for all sentient beings who

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do not know this bliss, you may think, "Oh dear, if I do not liberate all sentient beings but only myself, I will not attain unsurpassable enlightenment. Therefore I must work for the benefit of beings:' Abandoning your practice of concentration, you get into carrying out all kinds of conditioned wholesome actions with great effort and get exhausted by it, because you take yourself and all other beings to be real. This is called compassion arising as an enemy. Even if you feel irresistible compassion, you must-without separating yourself from this feeling-fully concentrate on maintaining your stainless realization, by renouncing all dispersing distractions and solely continuing your practice persistently in a secluded place.

CAUSE AND EFFECT ARISING As AN ENEMY

Lesson 72

When you have gained certainty about the view, but have not gained certainty through the practice of the pith instructions, or when you have seen that everything is created by concepts, you may think, "Now, in order to see the real meaning, I should be learned in all the sciences. Then the meaning of the abiding nature will become clear. Therefore I should acquire all the available knowledge." Pursuing such minor occupations as linguistics, logic, handicrafts and others, you drop the practice of calm abiding and intuitive insight. This is called the error, where ideas of cause and effect have arisen as an enemy. Having thoroughly investigated and abandoned all of this, and having meditated one-pointedly on the deep meaning of

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the union of emptiness and compassion, a stainless knowledge which knows without delusion all phenomena appearing and existing in samsara and nirvana will arise effortlessly. This is called by understanding one, all is liberated. Having understood the equality of emptiness and compassion, you should not allow that any clinging to cause and effect as the highest becomes solid. Not clinging to anything, you should enjoy freely and without contrivance the luminous clarity of equality of your mind and persevere in it single-mindedly. These were the methods to strengthen and enhance the practice. In an extensive way one lesson is used for each of the ideas which have become enemies. Then this was lesson 72. In a short proceeding one summarizes all three in one lesson.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES There are three obstacles to be overcome: illness, demons and obstacles to concentration.

OVERCOMING THE OBSTACLE OF ILLNESS

Lesson 73

All illnesses can be summarized in three groups: wind, bile and phlegm. 50 Wind illnesses are overcome by practicing mainly calm abiding in concentration, while the illnesses of bile and phlegm are dispelled by striving mainly for intuitive insight. Or the power of the wind of intuitive insight in which awareness and energy are inseparable, chases away the earthlike phlegm illnesses, and the mountain of calm abiding crushes the mobile illnesses of bile and wind. Moreover, as all illnesses come from heat and cold, the cooling water of calm abiding can soothe the heat of fire, whereas the sunlight of intuitive insight will dry up and consume the coldness of water. Or else, by examining minutely the essence, the form, the color of the illness and exploring where it comes from, where it abides and where it goes to, one realizes that it does not exist. In this way one comes to the definite decision that its

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nature is emptiness, that it is not the least existent but merely a conceptual fallacy. If you cannot overcome the illness by this due to the force of your habitual tendencies, contemplate the following: "Countless beings are tormented by such illnesses. May all their illnesses and sufferings ripen in me, may this be of benefit to beings, so that they become free from suffering:' Like this cultivate a joyful attitude towards having become ill and persistently practice the visualization of giving and taking. Taking illnesses as the four kayas, practice as follows: take the manifold appearances as nirmanakaya, awareness as sambhogakaya, emptiness as svabhavikakaya and the same taste of all three of them as dharmakaya. Or take the fact that the illness is unborn as the dharmakaya, the nonabiding as the sambhogakaya, the unobstructedness as the nirmanakaya and their empty nature as the svabhavikakaya. Thus you can overcome illnesses by means of three methods. Investigating the illness thoroughly and realizing that it has no material, real existence, overpowering the illness by practicing the reversal meditation of giving and taking, and taking the illness as the play of the four kayas and of primordial awareness through the yoga of looking at its nature. Gyalwa Gotsangpa summarized it like this: When the body gets ill, it is the present karmic effect of formerly having beaten others. If you want to exhaust bad karma, you should not call a doctor to cure the illness, nor perform rituals against demons. Rather you must utilize the illness itself. According to the instructions of the Dharma masters you should not regard illness as a misfortune, because veils will be purified, qualities brought forth, and your realization will be enhanced. Be

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extremely happy when you get ill and practice with it, by contemplating over and over the thought, "How worthy of compassion all those living beings are, who are tortured by the same illness as myself' Again and again repeat the wishing prayer: "May all the innumerable beings through my own illness be released from their illnesses and sufferings:' Then look directly at the illness. It has neither form nor color. The illness is not something materially existing. It is spontaneously present in emptiness. Recognizing this, it is liberated in its own place. Should you fall ill again, pray fervently to the master: "Grant your blessing that it becomes part of the path. Grant your blessing that I am free from denying or asserting. Grant your blessing that I experience it as a friend:' Make this prayer with all your strength and again look directly at the illness. This illness which did not exist before, how could it exist afterwards. Remain relaxed in its nonexistence and you will experience the illness itself as dharmakaya. You should practice like this. If the illness is not overcome by this, you should apply relative methods like medicine, the five pith instructions to dispel hindrances, healing through subtle energies and other orally transmitted healing methods.

OVERCOMING DEMONIC OBSTACLES

Lesson 74

It has been said: "My own mind is the obstacle. My own mind is called mara. All obstacles come from conceptual thinking. Therefore conceptual thinking must be cut through."

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Demonic appearances arise out of conceptual thinking, out of the magical play of the mind. It is certain that they are in your own mind. Take the mind as clarity and emptiness, free from grasping or as the four kayas, and meditate that the demons themselves are the four kayas. By this they are overcome. One can make this into one lesson or teach the overcoming of illnesses and demons together.

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES TO CONCENTRATION

Lesson 75

It is pointless to describe many faults in the meditation, all faults in meditation can be summarized as dullness and agitation. In order to dispel these two faults, one follows the previously described key points for concentration, conduct, nutrition, subtle energies, body posture, and so forth. In the case of dullness one exerts oneself to stimulate the mind, and in the case of agitation one applies techniques in order to relax it. If the mind is neither dull nor agitated, one leaves it as it is. The practice of guru yoga is another possibility to dispel dullness and agitation. When there is dullness, pray with devotion, from the depth of your heart to Amitabha on the top of your head, in whose red form all lineage teachers, buddhas and bodhisattvas have dissolved. From the teacher Amitabha radiates boundless light that melts into you and thus purifies all four causes of dullness, those due to time, behavior, veils and karmic fruition. Then the teacher melts

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into light and dissolves into you. Meditate that you become a sphere of light that illuminates all the worlds. Then this light dissolves into space and you let the sharpened awareness in its own clarity. Through this dullness will be dispelled. In the case of agitation visualize the teacher in the form of a blue Vajrasattva in your heart, in the center of a fourpetalled lotus. On the four petals visualize Vairochana and the others having the same body color. Each of them is surrounded by viras, dakinis, buddhas and bodhisattvas of their own families. Emanating blue light form their hearts into the teacher, imagine that the light beams spread into all directions like tent ropes made from yak hair, and rest in the state of mahamudra. Generally speaking, dullness and agitation are conditioned by the key points of body and mind. Therefore it is important to assume the correct body posture. You can also dispel dullness and agitation effectively by looking directly into their true nature and resting naturally in it. If the physical bliss is weak, visualize the teacher as Amitabha, if the clarity is weak as Akshobhya, if nonconceptuality is weak as Vairochana. By praying for the fulfillment of your wishes, all obstacles will be removed and qualities will increase. At the time of death, use death itself as an aid on the path. If you unify with luminous emptiness without clinging to anything and without being caught in hope and fear, dying itself will become an aid on the spiritual path. When taught in detail, the overcoming of the obstacles of illness, demons and obstacles to concentration are each taught in one lesson. When proceeding in a condensed way, all three can be combined in one lesson.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

TRAVERSING THE PATH Lesson 76

Generally speaking, mahamudra does not depend on the arduous traversing of a gradual path. As Shang Rinpoche explains: "Mahamudra is one level. Fools deceive themselves by counting levels and paths:' Nevertheless, in order to guide students in their practice, it is not a contradiction to describe the progression on the spiritual path temporarily in accordance with the gradual development, even though, owing to the various capacities of beings, there are many different manners to traverse the path, such as all at once, erratic, or gradual. Concerning the gradual progression through the four yo gas, the frontiers between the different levels and the completion of the path, it is possible to relate each of the four yo gas to the ground, the path and the fruit, if one differentiates them in a detailed way. Here they will be explained in relation to the path. It is said in the teachings of the early Kagyii masters that experience and realization can be confounded easily. First concerning the experience of one-pointedness, the lucid consciousness is the true nature. If there are fluctuations, it is still experience, which is unstable. If the fluctuations are small, it is already quite good. Generally speaking, the level of one-pointedness is about experience, not realization.

Simplicity: understanding the unborn a little bit from within, thinking, "This must be what the teacher has been explaining:' and recognizing one's mind, this is experience. When the awareness clearly realizes itself to be not inherently existent, it is realization. One taste: to think, "My body, the outer appearances and my mind are all three not inherently existent," is experience. To realize directly and without contrivance that all outer appearances appear separately like images in a mirror but are nevertheless one, this is realization. To think repeatedly, "There is no object of meditation and no meditator" is experience. When the mind realizes without contrivance that there is no object of meditation and no meditator, it is realization. It is said that it is crucial not to confound experience and realization.

THE YOGA OF ONE-POINTEDNESS

A practitioner who clearly sees the nature of mind and whose mind stays one-pointedly, experiences his consciousness as radiating, clear, and pure. From that arise the experiences of bliss, clarity and nonconceptuality. Depending on whether he is untrained, trained or well trained in it-that means depending on whether he can stay in it for a short or a long time, or as long as he wishes-one calls this one-pointedness small, medium or great.

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SMALL ONE- POINTEDNESS

When there is nothing fabricated and modified in the mind, the obvious movements of thought ceases. When the mind has gone into bliss, clarity and nonconceptuality, it will remain one-pointed. As the practitioner has not mastered his concentration at this level, these experiences will not always appear when he meditates. At other times they will appear even when he is not meditating. Sometimes they are clear, then again they are not clear. At this time he has not reached realization and does not feel a great certainty. But it can uplift him, it is just the beginning of primordial awareness and just the first step on the path. Experiences at this level of one-pointedness can be compared to seeing the crescent moon on the first day of the lunar month. When the practitioner lets his mind uncontrived and rests in pure bliss, he will not want to disrupt this experience. But if he does not disrupt it, true meditation will not be born in him. He should gain certainty that he will only recognize the nature of arising thoughts as having no inherent existence, if he disrupts this experience and lets thoughts arise unhindered. At the time of small one-pointedness he has determined that the mind is clear and empty, linked with an experience of bliss. In this state the arising thoughts become naturally transparent and there arises an intellectual certainty that this is meditation. Since in the postperception the so-called solidifying mindfulness51 appears, the joyful experiences are mostly experienced as being solid. When he is mindful having experiences, he has the mental habit of thinking, "They are empty and appear in the mind:' Dreams are not much different from before, only a little more vivid and lucid. Some-

times his practice is difficult and full of fluctuations and he thinks that his meditation is not going well, while devotion, pure perception and compassion increase.

MEDIUM ONE- POINTEDNESS

Lesson 77

Sometimes the meditator experiences concentration even when not meditating, and while meditating this experience becomes stable. In the transparency of well-trained concentration, which is characterized by bliss, clarity and nonconceptuality, he can display different abilities, such as conditioned clairvoyance and miraculous powers. During this experience less thoughts than before arise, and whatever appears becomes naturally transparent. During the postperception the appearances are experienced as clear and empty. Whenever he remembers spaciousness he experiences them as meditation but otherwise as being solid. He dreams less than before. Sometimes those experiences appear, then again they do not appear. He feels very joyful while meditating.

GREAT ONE- POINTEDNESS

Lesson 78

The practitioner is completely immersed in a state of clarity and emptiness, day and night, without interruption, during meditation as well as during postmeditation and during all four daily activities. He lives without interruption in this

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blissful experience of clarity and emptiness, and all thoughts, the postperception, and dreams have gone into that state. He has mainly experiences of emptiness: the nature of the mind is experienced as unity of bliss and emptiness, awareness and emptiness, appearance and emptiness, clarity and emptiness. He has many experiences during which everything is like a dream or an illusion. Having many conditioned qualities he will think, "This is the great nonmeditation, since a better meditation than this cannot exist:' Without clinging to these experiences and understandings, he realizes that thoughts are clear and empty and that appearances are appearing yet empty. He attains a mindfulness with the confident certainty that everything is mind, and that the mind is unborn and selfliberating. The evident movements of thoughts cease, and he perceives the teacher as a buddha. The practitioner has mastered one-pointedness, given rise to its qualities, and has understood its essential meaning, if he is staying day and night in this experience of clarity and emptiness, has turned away from any attachment to the cycle of conditioned existence and, seeing the true nature of the mind in a state of non conceptuality, has reached a point where there is nothing to meditate on. Therefore he should practice with perseverance until these signs appear. On this level the five sense pleasures have to be abandoned. The practitioner should give up the attachment to this present life, the attachment to possessions and the attachment to concentration, and live in purity in an isolated place. The difference between meditation and postmeditation on this level is defined as to whether the mind is abiding or not. Abiding in the experiences of bliss, clarity and nonconceptuality is meditation, not abiding in them is postmeditation.

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THE YOGA OF SIMPLICITY

Lesson 79

One-pointedness means that it is easy to abide. By cultivating this experience of one-pointedness without attachment, the practitioner will realize eventually, independent of meditation involving the effort of grasping mindfulness, that the calm and the active mind, the essence of mind, coexistent primordial awareness, and thoughts are all by nature without beginning, ending, or abiding. There will be an uncontrived understanding that all phenomena are free from conceptual elaboration. 52 All experiences will dissolve into emptiness, nonexistent as an object. He will understand clearly and directly-as if a husk had been removed, or a treasure found-the true nature of awareness to be free from conceptual elaborations and he will think, "Now I have gained mastery over the mind. I should have recognized from the very beginning that it could only be like that:' There will be no marked fluctuations in his experiences, but even if they do occur, he will neither feel happy nor sad. If the mind is directed towards outer appearances, they will appear like magical illusions. Even if they do not dissolve into emptiness, there is no contradiction. This is unascertained appearance. 53 A certainty free from misinterpretation arises with an understanding that it is like that. As calm abiding and intuitive insight have become one and conceptual thinking is self-liberating, he experiences thoughts as dharmakaya. He understands appearances to be in his own mind and he knows the nature of mind to be dharmakaya. Since the view of emptiness is predominant, the nature of the appearances is viewed as empty, as an absence and nonexistence and with

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emptiness he feels at ease. This predominant understanding of emptiness and of cause and effect is called the yoga of simplicity, which has a small, a medium and a great level.

SMALL SIMPLICITY

Here the practitioner understands that the true nature of appearances, mind, and awareness is without beginning and end. But he is involved in an attachment, grasping at the certainty of the emptiness aspect, and since he is not free from that, he cannot clearly distinguish between experience and realization. When he is not mindful during the postawareness, the grasping at friend and enemy does not cease, and the grasping at objects is not cut through. There is attachment when the appearances of the six senses are held to be good, aversion when they are held to be no good, and stupidity, being in a state of dullness. There is grasping at wholesome and unwholesome actions; to be separated from the mahamudra practice is unwholesome action, and not to be separated from it is wholesome action. It is said that neutral states do not occur very much in the context of seeing the truth. While sleeping and dreaming, delusion will be predominant and in the practice there are slight ups and downs.

MEDIUM SIMPLICITY

Lesson 8o

When the former gross way of experiencing the mind as being without arising, ceasing and abiding, and the gross

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impurities of grasping at emptiness have been purified, the practitioner is free from joy or attachment and is immersed in the normal mind that is not an object. Now it is sufficient to recognize the grasping at the emptiness of appearances, the afflictions, and all discursive thoughts to be in essence without ground and root. As the practitioner is still not completely sure about the nature of outer objects, he feels slightly uneasy with appearances. He experiences some slight hope and fear when he has thoughts like, "Where do these appearances come from. Even though they are empty, the appearances do not cease and stay away permanently:' During postawareness and in dreams various experiences of delusion and nondelusion arise. The so-called recognition during postawareness means to remain effortlessly in the state of recognition, which one had during the meditation session.

GREAT SIMPLICITY

Lesson 81

The practitioner clears his misconceptions about all inner and outer phenomena and knows that appearances are in his own mind. With great relief he realizes that the mind perceives without existing as such, and that-like the middle of the sky-it is not something that can be held as an object. Previously he felt uneasy with appearances, but he felt at ease with awareness, so his practice was based on awareness. Now he understands that appearances are mind, he understands that mind is empty, and that appearances are equivalent to emptiness. He makes emptiness the basis of his meditation,

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and with emptiness he clears his misconceptions. Concerning this absence of reality, or the nonexistence of all phenomena, he feels slightly uneasy with the unimpaired freshness of present appearances. He considers these appearances as delusory perceptions without ground. At this time his meditation is without interruption during the day, but during dreams at night there is grasping. During the postawareness various delusions and conceptual thinking are experienced; this is due to the fact that during sleep there is less impetus to be mindful. When he is shaken by intense circumstances, some slight conceptualizing will occur during the postawareness. From now on he will never be separated from meditation, if he does not leave it ownerless. Until his mindfulness becomes uninterrupted, he is slightly dependent on grasping mindfulness. 54 Mindfulness is very important. At the level of simplicity, meditation and postmeditation are differentiated by mindfulness. The only difference between simplicity and samsara and nirvana is being mindful or not being mindful. Mindfulness is the most important instruction here. If the practitioner does not get into grasping at whatever arises in his mind, even the strongest anger is empty in itself. If there is no recognition, and he starts to grasp, he is in a state of unawareness, even if there are seemingly no afflictions and thoughts. When he is not separated from recognition, there is nothing to deny or affirm, even if afflictions arise continually. As a sign of this, the idea does not arise to search for emptiness elsewhere or apart from what he experiences. As he cannot stay continuously in the transparent experience of a postawareness without conceptual thought, and as long as he is dependent on grasping mindfulness, it is difficult to be aware of every single thought. Therefore he must practice

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mindfulness continually. If he is no longer affected by the circumstances of daily life one speaks of the realization of great simplicity. The practitioner has seen the essence of simplicity, has mastered it and given rise to its qualities if he shows the following signs: he has realized the true nature of mind to be without origin or cessation and has seen that it is beyond the reach of the intellect. He has abandoned worldliness. He does not feel jealous of others and many qualities like clairvoyance manifest in him. During the postperception he experiences appearances as illusion. He understands the nature of enlightened mind, is free from hope and fear and has cut clinging at the root. He has given up the eighty two factors to be given up on the path of seeing and cannot fall back into the cycle of existence. He cannot be reborn in the world by the force of karma but only by wishing prayers. The difference between the levels of one-pointedness and simplicity is whether or not one has understood that thoughts are dharmakaya. At this level one should give up the three attachments, live in seclusion, in solitary strict retreat 55 and keep silence.

THE YOGA OF ONE TASTE

Lesson 82

Before, on the level of simplicity, the practitioner was at ease with the fact that phenomena have no self-nature, or that they are empty. When the slight uneasiness toward the freshness of thoughts and appearances has dissolved, the mixing of samsara and nirvana occurs. This means that he neither takes

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things as real, grasping at the unhindered, fresh appearances as appearances, nor does he take things as empty, grasping at them as empty. An intellectual meditation that outer appearances are inherently nonexistent, or phenomena appearing in a dualistic way, do not exist. Without it being a mere intellectual consideration, the practitioner recognizes that all pairs of opposites such as appearing and nonappearing, empty and not empty, meditating on appearances and emptiness, development and completion phase, relative and ultimate, samsara and nirvana, happiness and suffering are not different, but an inseparable unity, of one taste, which is experienced as coexistent primordial awareness. Concerning the freshness of appearances and thoughts, he is free from negation or affirmation. In pure mindfulness 56 -self-aware, self-luminous and effortless-mind, mindfulness, and appearances are as inseparable as fire and heat. The interdependence between cause and effect is apparent. The practitioner is at ease with appearances. This is the yoga of one-taste, which has a small, a medium, and a great level.

SMALL ONE TASTE

Appearances and emptiness have mixed inseparably, everything is understood in its innate nature. Empty or not empty is not an issue, the fresh awareness of whatever arises is sufficient. The Dharma is understood. Even though the practitioner has completely understood all dharmas of the path concerning appearances and emptiness, there sometimes comes to mind the certainty that body, appearances and mind are inseparable. There is a slight grasping certainty and something that is experienced.

During the postmeditation, earth and the other elements appear as solid. When faced with strong impressions, the practice with the appearances of the six senses becomes uneasy, and there are various appearances involving a grasper and things grasped, and he cannot help a slight insincerity in his Dharma practice. These are called illusory postappearances. In his dreams there appear various illusions and graspings. Sometimes he has experiences of the inseparability of body, appearances and mind. It is possible that his consideration of cause and effect and his devotion and compassion diminish. He should not allow this to happen.

MEDIUM ONE TASTE

Lesson 83

When the grasping at certainty has been purified, with which the prior way of experiencing was mixed, matter is no longer cut off outside and awareness is no longer cut off inside. Appearances and mind are simply one, and the root of dualistic perception has been cut through completely. Grasping arises because of objects. Here all grasped objects appear in their self-luminous, innate nature. Since they do not exist, there is no grasping consciousness. Everything arises with the help of one grasping consciousness which arises due to objects. Since visual and other objects appear free from conceptualization, the grasper and the grasped arise through objects. The essence of the unity of appearances and mind here is not different from the one on small one-taste, but the experience has become stable. There arise experiences, in which

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body, experiences, and mind have become mixed into one. During the postmeditation and in dreams, delusion becomes even less than before and the grasping at solidity will not be experienced that much anymore. But still, in dreams and at other times there arise in the pure mindfulness brief illusory dualistic appearances of grasping at being attentive or absentminded. The difference between grasping mindfulness and pure mindfulness: grasping mindfulness is, when you get back to the practice, after having become aware of your absentmindedness, "I was absentminded:' This is a sign, that just before you were involved in grasping. Pure mindfulness based on realization is, when simply through mindfulness, without any conceptual grasping, you are directly back in the practice. It is a sign that you are not reassuring yourself with certainty as previously and are not involved in grasping.

GREAT ONE TASTE

Lesson 84

Here the practitioner understands the state of equality of all phenomena appearing and existing in samsara and nirvana as unborn. Having become certain that appearances and mind are one, and the previous experience of it having become stable, the grasping at the reality of unhindered appearances has become purified and the realization of nonduality is present continuously day and night. Sometimes he experiences some undetermined appearances in his clear, nonconceptual perception. The experiences of clarity are free from grasping and unhindered. Sometimes all the phenomena of samsara

and nirvana arise as the essence of that realization, and the thoughts of dualistic grasping are interrupted. The postappearances are ungraspable like an illusion. They resemble the appearances of a magician: even though he knows that they do not really exist, the subtle dualistic appearances do not cease. There are only light dreams free from grasping, and sometimes he does not dream at all. Dualistic appearances here are subtle experiences of pure transparency or luminous appearances or empty appearances, which arise briefly in the stream of his practice. This is called the emptiness appearing in the postmeditation of one taste. In fact these are the last remains, which have to be overcome. As long as there are meditative experiences, other experiences will come automatically in relation to them. Although these subtle dualistic perceptions are impure, they are occasional nonconceptual perceptions, undetermined appearances, or such which are not experienced as the natural expression of the mind, or they are perceptions, where one differentiates with mindfulness between being undistracted and absentminded, or some slight feelings of uneasiness. But these different experiences are the last remains to be purified. As long as they arise, other subtle experiences will naturally arise. They are called subtle illusions on great one-taste. The practitioner has seen the essential meaning of onetaste, has mastered it, and has developed its qualities, if he shows the following signs: he is free of rejection or acceptance, negation or affirmation towards appearances, and recognizes their nature as being clarity and emptiness, which is not an object, as unchanging equality. He understands that all dualistic opposites in samsara and nirvana are of one taste, that the eight worldly concerns are equal. Countless auspicious circumstances occur, and he is at ease with appearances.

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The difference between simplicity and one-taste: on the level of one-taste one experiences appearances as meditation, on the level of simplicity not. On the level of simplicity one is dependent on the mindfulness that recognizes emptiness, on one-taste one is not. On the level of simplicity one knows that appearances are in one's own mind, on one-taste one experiences appearances as meditation. Even though one speaks of effortlessness here, in comparison to the level of nonmeditation there is still a slight effort. On the level of simplicity the grasper and the grasped dissolve in the unborn state, here they also dissolve during the postmeditation. Meditation and postmeditation are differentiated by nongrasping and grasping and in dreams. On the three levels of one-taste the practitioner should live mainly in retreat and only occasionally among many people to enhance his practice. Although he may think that it is the same whether he meditates or not, it is important to meditate with pure mindfulness.

THE YOGA OF NONMEDITATION

Lesson Bs

When one has become accustomed to this, the illusory dualistic appearances present in the postmeditation until the level of great one-taste are purified. There is the Dharma of realization, just undistracted pure mindfulness. The slight stain of grasping at emptiness, the light effort in pure mindfulness, the subtle dualistic appearances, are all purified. The practitioner has reached the spontaneously present natural state and has understood that it is free from meditation and meditator. He is happy, whatever he does. He experiences

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uninterrupted meditation, even when he is not meditating. He experiences everything as practice, independent of whether he is meditating or not, whether he is mindful or not, whether he is distracted or not. The conceptual mind has been purified in its unconditioned nature. The luminosity of meditation and the luminosity of death-mother and child-have mixed together. Like a cloudless sky or like water without waves, the two luminosities mingle into one, there is only dharmakaya. The practitioner thinks that there is nothing to abandon and nothing to achieve, nothing to be done, no dying and no not dying, and he has the clear certainty that there is no difference between meditation and postmeditation. Others perceive that the dakinis pay homage to him; they see many bodies of him; devoted persons perceive him as a buddha. Whatever he speaks is Dharma, whatever he does physically gives rise to confidence in other beings. Wherever he lives there arises blessing. If he lives alone, he does not feel sad. Wherever he goes, there arise happiness and well-being. To others it may seem that sometimes he behaves like a child and that he seems to experience thoughts of joy and sadness in relation to the world. His bodhichitta is stable. Cause and effect of actions become obvious. He understands everything as being unborn, has no attachment to anything, no concepts of clean and dirty or of shame. All viras and dakinis make offerings to him and help him in benefiting beings. He has become a wish-fulfilling jewel for all beings. Nonmeditation is divided into three levels: small, medium and great.

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SMALL NONMEDITATION

Whatever the practitioner does is experienced as meditation without having to keep up the mindfulness. Free from a meditation to be done and a meditator, he experiences meditation independently of formally meditating. The illusory appearances of postmeditation, which he experienced on the level of great one-taste, have become even more subtle and purify themselves without him having to keep up pure mindfulness. "In the postappearance unrecognized nonconceptuality" refers to the remainder of unawareness that still exists in the alaya consciousness as a neutral, nonconceptual experience, after the mind poisons and all conceptual thinking up to the level of one-taste have been purified. This unrecognized nonconceptuality, a powerless, barren discard to be given up, which could not yet be transformed into primordial awareness, is in its unconscious aspect illusory and of short duration; it appears for instants at a time, is in its nature nonconceptual and does not need any antidotes. In sleep there appear sometimes slight stains of grasping. Because conditioned existence is not experienced as self-luminosity, there is a veil with regard to knowledge.

MEDIUM NONMEDITATION

Lesson 86

The practitioner has completely reached the spontaneously present natural state. The experience has become even more stable than before. The fact becomes clear that samsara and nirvana are spontaneously present since beginningless time.

He has taken hold of the place of the innate nature free of all grasping, he is the sovereign settled in primordial awareness day and night. Carried along by the strength of his meditation or the primordial awareness, the subtle aspect of the unrecognized nonconceptuality in postmeditation becomes even more subtle than before. There is no time to experience it as object because it appears illusory, only for a finger snap, and dissolves in self-luminosity. Because he does not at all times experience the self-luminosity of the nonconceptual essence, there still exist very subtle traces of the stain of low rebirths. His meditation is unconditioned. The practice during the postmeditation, consisting of the eightfold path of noble ones and so on is conditioned.

GREAT NONMEDITATION

Lesson 87

All forms of dualistic consciousness have been transformed into primordial awareness. The sword of primordial awareness has cut completely through the veil relating to knowledge together with the stain of low rebirths. The mother luminosity of the completely pure dharmadhatu and the child luminosity of the mirror-like primordial awareness have mixed. Unsurpassable awakening, the union beyond learning has been realized. There is no meditation and no postmeditation. The practitioner has reached the unmodified primordial state, the dharmakaya for his own benefit. Since the inherent energy of the primordial state is mastered without limitations, the two form bodies for the benefit of others will carry out the benefit of beings until samsara is

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emptied. The path of fulfilment has been realized. On the level of nonmeditation there is hardly any difference between meditation and postmeditation; one hardly ever moves out of meditation. The practitioner has seen the essence of nonmeditation, has mastered it and has developed its qualities, if he shows the following signs: experience is pure without him having to be mindful and without having to meditate. He is free from the effort of holding on to his certainty with mindfulness; he has come to the dharmata, the place of exhaustion. He does not cling to the reality of appearances anymore. From the medium nonmeditation on he is able to demonstrate extraordinary, stainless miraculous powers. The difference between one-taste and nonmeditation is the illusion-like postawareness and the need to rely on pure mindfulness or not. From the level of simplicity onwards, there is nothing to be added to the true nature.

RELATING THE TwELVE LEVELS OF THE FOUR YOGAS TO THE SPIRITUAL PATHS

Lesson 88

ONE-POINTEDNESS. The level of small one-pointedness corresponds to the path of accumulation. Medium one-pointedness: when an experience, which is like luminous emptiness, occurs continuously when being mindful, and occasionally when not being mindful, this is called warmth and peak of the path of junction. This is a precursory sign that the fire of primordial awareness associated with the path of seeing or simplicity will appear. The clarity of the dharmata appears

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to some extent here, whereas before there was none, and the experiences having been purified the disclosure of realization is near. On great one-pointedness this experience is continuously present, all thoughts dissolve in this state, space-like luminous emptiness is experienced day and night, and the practitioner believes to have reached the level of nonmeditation. This corresponds to the levels of patience and highest phenomenon of the path of junction. When the clarity of the dharmata has become stable and one has become consistently accustomed to it, this is the highest understanding that can be reached on the worldly path. It precedes the realization of the path of seeing or simplicity. Through this 57 the twelve levels of the path of accumulation and the four levels conducive to definite discernment of the path of junction are reached. By disrupting the previous experiences while practicing, by praying to the teacher full of longing, and by leaving everything that arises free from grasping in its unfabricated state, the experiences of one-pointedness will be purified, and simplicity will be experienced. At the same time the path of seeing will be reached. The realization that all things are without arising, ceasing and abiding is the ground of all qualities, and because one experiences an extraordinary joy about this, the first bodhisattva level is called supremely joyful. Therefore it is said that immediately with attaining small simplicity, the path of seeing is attained. When the practitioner has realized that all phenomena are free from conceptual elaboration and the afflictions, the stains to be given up on the path of meditation have been purified, he has reached the path of meditation and the second bodhisattva level stainless. SIMPLICITY.

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When through the light of blessing of the teacher it has become obvious that the mind has always been without beginning and end, the third bodhisattva level illuminating is reached. When, based on the realization of the groundlessness all buddha qualities arise, and he acts for the benefit of beings, he has reached the fourth bodhisattva level radiating. When through the realization of the unity of emptiness and compassion all the stains of habitual tendencies that are difficult to purify have been purified, he has reached the fifth bodhisattva level difficult to purify. When the realization of great simplicity reaches maturity and the nonarising of samsara and nirvana has become actualized, the sixth bodhisattva level actualization has been reached. The small one-taste has arisen in the mind stream, when everything, oneself and others, samsara and nirvana, mingles into one taste. Through this realization of unity, the practitioner has distanced, or has gone further than the level of the shravakas and pratyekas, who are attached to the aspect of emptiness. Because in this way the link to the eighth level of the path has been formed, the seventh bodhisattva level is called gone far. Medium one-taste: when the practitioner experiences that the root of the grasper and the grasped has been cut, all dualistic phenomena arise as self-luminous innate nature and he is no longer moved by any notion of separation, he has reached the eighth bodhisattva level unshakable. Great one-taste: when the postappearances appear in the mind like illusions and the realization of unity has become familiar, there develops the full range of extraordinary qualiONE-TASTE.

ties like the four kinds of discriminating perceptions and other highest qualities arising from meditation, and the ninth bodhisattva level excellent intelligence is reached. NoN-MEDITATION. When the practitioner, on the level of small nonmeditation, realizes that there is nothing to meditate on and no meditator, all the great buddha qualities unfold like accumulations of clouds; with this the beginning of the tenth bodhisattva level cloud of dharma is reached. Medium nonmeditation: the practitioner has reached the spontaneously present natural state, and the veil of knowledge is completely purified. With this the so-called particular path, the far end of the stream within the tenth bodhisattva level is reached. When the stain of low rebirths, the instantaneous nonrecognition of the nonconceptual true nature, as well as everything which has to be abandoned, has been removed, and everything, which had to be realized, is realized, and the luminosities of mother and child have become mixed into one, the great nonmeditation has arisen in the mind stream. The end of the path, the eleventh level universal illumination, complete buddhahood has been reached. THE GENERAL CORRELATION OF THE SPIRITUAL LEVELS. The three levels of one-pointedness correspond to the paths of accumulation and junction. The three levels of simplicity correspond to the seven factors of awakening, the path of seeing, and the first bodhisattva level supremely joyful. One-taste corresponds to the path of meditation, the eightfold path of the noble ones and the ninth bodhisattva level. Nonmeditation corresponds to the path of completion, and the eleventh spiritual level universal illumination.

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Logicians could object, "If reaching the path of seeing and realizing simplicity are simultaneous, why the twelve hundred qualities cannot be displayed?" There is nothing wrong with it. The qualities will appear gradually with increasing familiarization. Shang Rinpoche explained: Even if with the seeing of the nature of mind, suffering will not be overcome immediately and the power of the qualities will not arise, who could say, that it is not authentic. Even if the rising sun cannot immediately melt the ice and heat up earth and rock, who would claim, that the sun is not shining. The classification of the levels and paths and their corresponding signs of warmth, the Buddha taught with indirect intention, as provisional meaning for disciples on the gradual path. Fools are attached to these limited partial aspects. The capacities of disciples are inconceivable. The Buddha's teachings are inconceivable. Even if they do not correspond to your understanding, you should not despise or reject them. Make wishes, that one day you will understand them. Gotsangpa: Besides this there exists in this world of appearances and possibilities a paradox that does not fit into the heads of you dialecticians. The twelve hundred qualities exist only in the personal perception of realized beings. Except for persons who have a common perception because of a karmic connection, they are not openly visible. It is the same with the inconceivable ability to manifest emanations.

Orgyenpa: Some persons argue, that it is a contradiction to equate the level of simplicity with the path of seeing, because the twelve hundred qualities are not present in the former. This is not at all definite. Because also the scriptures of the way of characteristics affirm that the twelve hundred qualities of the path of seeing cannot be shown to all disciples, the pure ones as well as the impure ones. According to the Paramitayana, at the time of the path of seeing many qualities as signs of progress are obtained through the power of purification on the worldly paths. 58 The path of mahamudra is traversed with great force, because of the profound pith instructions and through devotion to the teacher. Even if the signs of progress do not manifest openly, it does not mean that someone is not successful on the path. But it is also not excluded that the signs of progress can be shown to pure disciples. Therefore the spiritual path cannot be measured by the presence or absence of signs of progress and the extent of capacities. If this were the case, a practitioner of the Paramitayana would not possess a fraction of the qualities of someone on the path of the Anuttaratantra, and the path of characteristics would be useless for reaching the levels and paths. I request you to reconcile the contradictions between the graded path of the four yogas and the paths and levels of the Paramitayana through these explanations. You should put this into practice as it is taught here and in countless other texts. Otherwise, spending your time only with doubting and sceptical analysis, you will never get to

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the essential point of the practice, as it happens to intellectuals and dialecticians who sit around playing with logical conclusions. One should also know the relation between the four yogas and the ten paramitas. When reaching the level of small simplicity, the first bodhisattva level supremely joyful, one should practice and train the paramita of generosity, and so forth, up until the medium nonmeditation, where one should practice and train the paramita of primordial awareness.

Lesson 89

Although I have not completely understood the depth of Gotsangpa's explanations on the relation between the twelve levels of the four yogas and the bodhisattva levels and paths, just evaluating it with devotion, I assume that it is probably like this. Here follow notes of his teachings that some of his best disciples made: The qualities and the practice of the small one-pointedness are ascribed to the twelve levels of the path of accumulation. On medium one-pointedness the experience has become stable. When the experience of sky-like luminous emptiness appears with mindfulness continuously, and even without mindfulness occasionally, one speaks of warmth and peak. On great one-pointedness the experience is uninterrupted. All conceptual thinking has dissolved in this experience. Day and night there shines a luminous emptiness, like the middle of the sky. One believes to have reached

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the level of nonmeditation, and one perceives the teacher as a true buddha. When conditioned miraculous powers and all other worldly siddhis appear, this is called patience and highest phenomenon. The path of seeing begins the very moment simplicity appears for the first time. Starting from here, up through the level of the medium nonmeditation goes the path of meditation. The first realization of simplicity consists in understanding that all phenomena are without arising, ceasing and abiding. This is the foundation of all qualities. Because an extraordinary joy arises here, the first bodhisattva level is called supremely joyful. Through the realization, that all phenomena are free from conceptual elaboration, the mind poisons, the stains to be abandoned on the path of meditation, are purified. Therefore the second bodhisattva level is called stainless. When, through the blessing of the teacher, it becomes evident that the mind is primordially without beginning and end, this corresponds to the third bodhisattva level illuminating. From understanding the rootlessness all the supreme buddha qualities arise and the benefit of beings is accomplished. Therefore the fourth bodhisattva level is called radiating. Because here all the stains of the habitual tendencies which are difficult to purify have been purified, the fifth bodhisattva level is called difficult to purify. Because on the level of great simplicity the groundlessness of samsara and nirvana has become actualized through continual realization, the sixth bodhisattva level is called actualization.

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The dividing line between the impure and the pure bodhisattva levels on the path of meditation is the medium simplicity. In relation to the bodhisattva levels it is the seventh level gone far. According to the bodhisattva levels, the eighth level is called unshakable. The Dharma master said: "One-taste is the eighth bodhisattva level:' Assuming that the so-called subtle illusions are on great one-taste, this would correspond to the completion of the ninth bodhisattva level and the immediate beginning of the tenth. Even though it is said that the one taste of multiplicity is the realization of the tenth level, it is in reality the ninth, just being named the tenth. Because from the first moment of the realization of nonmeditation all supreme buddha qualities are gathering like clouds, the tenth bodhisattva level is called cloud of dharma. When the spontaneously present natural state on the medium nonmeditation has been reached, the experience from before is stabilized. The liberation of everything arising in self-luminosity is called the particular path, the far end of the stream within the tenth bodhisattva level. On great nonmeditation, the luminosities of mother and child have mixed and there is no more difference between meditation and postmeditation. The uncontrived innate state has been reached, the dharmakaya for one's own benefit is attained. Since the inherent energy of the primordial state is mastered without limitations, the two form bodies for the benefit of others will carry out the benefit of beings until samsara is emptied. This is the eleventh spiritual level, called universal illumination. The Dharma master explained: "Nonmeditation is

the eleventh spiritual level and the path of completion:' It corresponds to the path of completion in the system of the five paths. This is how he explained the correlations. However it is difficult to reach complete concordance with the path of the Paramitayana without any omission or addition. But it does not matter if they do not concord, because there is also a difference between them in that here, with the right connection, buddhahood is reached in one life and in one body, whereas in the Paramitayana three incalculable kalpas are needed. Gotsangpa has given several explanations, one of them being the following: the accumulation of merit corresponds to the path of accumulation and the beginner's level. Onepointedness corresponds to the path of junction and the level of engaged conduct. Simplicity corresponds to the path of seeing, and the first bodhisattva level. One-taste corresponds to the bodhisattva levels two to seven. The small and medium nonmeditation correspond to the remaining three bodhisattva levels, and all together correspond to the path of meditation. The great nonmeditation corresponds to the path of completion, the level of buddhahood. Some differentiate within the twelve yogas between experience and realization, so they distinguish twenty-four levels. The twelve yogas of experience correspond to the path of junction. Of the twelve yogas of realization, the three levels of one-pointedness correspond to the first three bodhisattva levels. The three levels of simplicity correspond to the fourth, fifth and sixth bodhisattva level. The three levels of one-taste correspond to the seventh, eighth and ninth bodhisattva levels. The three levels of nonmeditation correspond to the levels ten to twelve.

Others equate the time from first entering of the path including the three levels of one-pointedness with the path of accumulation and the beginner's level. The three levels of simplicity correspond here to the path of junction and the level of engaged conduct. The three levels of one-taste and the small and medium levels of nonmeditation correspond to the path of seeing and the path of meditation up to the tenth bodhisattva level, and the great nonmeditation corresponds to the path of completion and the level of buddhahood. This also is fine, because they explain that at the time of great simplicity one has not yet completely reached the realization of unity, the equal taste, and without this one has not yet understood the true sense of the dharmata. So it is not quite satisfactory to equate simplicity with the first bodhisattva level and the path of seeing. They think that those who explained it like this in the past had in mind someone who has completed simplicity, and thus has purified all clinging to meditative experiences like emptiness and so on, and who experiences the realization of unity, the equal taste, and that in the present-day presentation, in which the small and medium simplicity are related to the path of seeing, it is difficult to get a concordance between the experiences on those levels and the bodhisattva levels. Wise persons should examine this and understand it in accordance with their own experiences and understanding. Nevertheless, mostly one-pointedness is equated to the paths of accumulation and junction, simplicity to the path of seeing, one-taste through the medium nonmeditation to the path of meditation, and great nonmeditation to the level of buddhahood.

Shang Rinpoche: The clear manifestation of realization is the path of seeing, the level supremely joyful. To become familiar with the realization of equal taste is the path of meditation. When there is no longer anything to meditate, this is the path of completion. From Gotsangpa's Table: The assessment of the five paths and the ten bodhisattva levels is as follows: one-pointedness corresponds to the twelve levels of the path of accumulation and the four factors conducive to insight of the path of junction. On simplicity the path of seeing, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the first bodhisattva level supremely joyful are reached. On one-taste the path of meditation, the eightfold path of noble beings, and the nine bodhisattva levels are reached. On nonmeditation one is firmly established on the path of completion, the eleventh level universal illumination. Siddha Ling: One-pointedness is the path of junction. A little certainty is warmth. The increase of this is peak. Not to be scared by the nonexistence of mind is patience. One-pointedness is highest worldly phenomenon. Simplicity is the path of seeing. The one taste of multiplicity appears with the realization of the tenth bodhisattva level. Nonmeditation is the eleventh level, the path of completion.

Gyarepa explains: Levels are not really necessary for the path. But if they are explained, they are regarded to be as follows: the offering of mandalas corresponds to the path of accumulation. The arising of experiences corresponds to the path of junction. The birth of realization corresponds to the path of meditation. One taste corresponds to the eighth bodhisattva level. Nonmeditation corresponds to the eleventh level, the path of completion. There are many such descriptions. The ancient authentic teaching manuals deal extensively with the essence of each of the four yo gas, the procedures of meditation, postconsciousness, postperception and postmeditation, the objects of renunciation, the exposition of the mastery and the realization of the essential meaning of each level. They deal with the enhancement of the practice and the dispelling of obstacles, the differences between the small, medium and great levels of the four yogas, the removal of the two veils and the traversing of the levels and paths. These topics are therefore not treated here. Read those texts and follow the instructions of what to accept and what to reject. Epitomizing the yogas in relation to the personal experience of the practitioner, they are as follows: when the mind remains one-pointed in pure clarity without going anywhere else, free from conceptual thoughts, or when it remains in the flow of unified calm abiding and intuitive insight, this is onepointedness. When the mind experiences its own true nature clearly as groundless and the true nature of that as free from elaborations of the three constituents of actions, this corre-

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sponds to simplicity. When appearances manifest manifold and yet, in the true nature of mind, have a single taste, and when all dualistic phenomena like self and others, samsara and nirvana have one taste, this is one-taste. When the nature of one's own mind-having been examined thoroughly as to whether it exists or not-is experienced as pervasive luminosity, in which an object of meditation or a meditator do not exist at all, this is called the yoga of nonmeditation. Furthermore, we should examine our mind and see whether our present practice is on the level of one-pointedness or on another level, and whether within one-pointedness, it is on the small, or the medium, and so forth. If it is on a lower level, we should make every effort in order to make it evolve progressively to higher and higher levels. The most important methods to further develop experiences and realizations are detachment, renunciation, love and compassion, and especially the force of continuous, sincere prayer to the teacher, with the certainty that he is a buddha, since this is the only way for experiences and realizations to arise. When you have understood this, you should tirelessly supplicate him. Furthermore it is necessary to exert yourself in the methods of enhancing the practice, of removing obstacles and also the methods of visualization and elaborate ritual. Thus I have described how the spiritual path is traversed through the twelve levels of the four yogas. I have concentrated on the essential, and have refrained from extensive quotations and background teachings. You should study properly the teachings of former Kagyi.ipas and other scriptures where it is elucidated in detail, how realized teachers mastered their minds and taught destined disciples.

In an extensive manner, one can make one lesson for each of the small, medium, and great levels of the four yogas. In this case this is lesson 89. One can also abbreviate by summarizing all the four yogas in one lesson.

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CHAPTER NINE

ACTUALIZING THE FRUIT Lesson 90

When the practitioner has experienced the twelve levels of the four yogas correctly in his own mind and has gone to the end of nonmeditation, complete buddhahood is attained. Through the accomplishment of the union of calm abiding and intuitive insight concerning the ground, which is the same taste of space and primordial awareness, the twofold fruit-the dharmakaya and the two form kayas-is accomplished. Dharmakaya means the realization of the essence of intuitive insight, or the fruit of reaching the end of the nonconceptual nature. The two form kayas arise from the actualization of the illusion-like concentration, or from that aspect of wisdom, which understands all things in their relative multiplicity. The dharmakaya is free from conceptual elaboration. The benefit of sentient beings-in pure or impure forms, whatever is useful for them-is achieved through the form kayas. In this way it is possible to differentiate three or four kayas. Without moving from the dharmakaya benefitting oneself, the two form kayas benefitting others accomplish the benefit of sentient beings. The immensely vast, all-pervading benefit of sentient beings comes by means of the four enlightened activities.

Moreover, the enlightened activity pertaining to the acting subject completes the ultimate personal benefit. The enlightened activity pertaining to the acted on objects accomplishes the benefit of sentient beings uninterruptedly, until samsara is emptied, guiding individuals step by step, according to their capacities, by teaching the extraordinary methods to realize in one life and in one body, on one and the same meditation seat, the unchanging nature of mahamudra, the coexistent primordial awareness with the qualities of the three kayas and the five aspects of primordial awareness. Through this the highest and the ordinary siddhis are brought fourth effortlessly in the mind stream of students, the primordial awareness of mahamudra is realized, and the level of complete buddhahood is accomplished. Thus they obtain the highest power, which enables them to establish all sentient beings on the path of spiritual maturity and liberation by means of their vast enlightened activity. Since the detailed exposition of the kayas and the activities is found in earlier literature and elsewhere, I will not write it down in this present text. Thus this meditation manual, dealing with the instructions and practice methods of mahamudra, the coexistent unity, by means of the preliminaries, the main practice and the concluding instructions has been excellently accomplished.

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PART FOUR

SUPPLEMENTARY EXPLANATIONS

The explanations of the meaning of mahamudra, the coexistent unity, comprise five topics: (1) recognizing the essence, (2) classifications, (3) explanation of terms, (4) the difference between mahamudra and coexistent unity, (5) the benefit of practice.

CHAPTER 10

RECOGNIZING THE ESSENCE Lesson 91

Generally speaking, the terms mahamudra, the great middle way, the great completion, the perfection of wisdom are all relating to one and the same essence, even though the names are different. The essence of mahamudra is inexpressible and completely ungraspable. Nevertheless, like fingers pointing to the moon, words can help to come to some understanding of its meaning. In the same way it is possible to realize the wisdom of the ultimate by means of relative methods, as it is said: "Without relying on the relative, you will not understand the ultimate:' Mahamudra is the inconceivable ground, spontaneously present from the beginning, beyond arising, ceasing or abiding. It has not arisen out of analysis and is not an object that can be described or imagined. It is beyond the four extremes of existence or nonexistence, emptiness or nonemptiness. It is free from all limitations and any hope and fear. It is at all times unchanging and neither good nor bad. All-pervading

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and transcending everything, it has never existed and never not existed. It is beyond appearance and emptiness, eternalism and nihilism, confusion and liberation. It is not created by buddhas, not fabricated by ordinary beings. It is not restricted and not localized, it is unchanged by color, not mixed with form. It is natural meditation. It is by nature free from faults, complete with all qualities. Primordially free from limitations, it is the inherent presence of the three kayas. It is supreme renunciation and realization, clarity endowed with the two wisdoms. It is the abiding nature in which things abide, where samsara and nirvana are not split in two. It cannot be fabricated with the intellect, nor found with designations. As nondual primordial awareness it is uninterrupted, pervading all phenomena of what appears and exists in samsara and nirvana, manifesting in many forms, and yet not existing in the least: manifesting yet empty, empty yet manifesting. It is the nature of phenomena, luminous and empty like the sky, free from elaborations. It is the inseparability of bliss and emptiness, it is emptiness possessing the excellence of all aspects. It is the primordial abiding nature, the ultimate dimension of all phenomena. This is called mahamudra. Many passages in the Tripitaka and the tantras, as well as in the pith instructions of the masters affirm this, but fearing too many words, I will not quote them here. "But if one does not understand mahamudra, one cannot practice it. Is there no hint pointing to the essence?" Condensed to the essence, it is your mind, that thinks all sorts of things, aware and clear, not altered by anything else. It is simply the so-called original mind, the normal mind. There is nothing else to look for. Dagpo Rinpoche expressed it like this:

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This normal mind itself is the ultimate nondual primordial awareness, the genuine buddha mind. Apart from that, there are no qualities like nonconceptuality and so forth to meditate on. And: It is easy. You do not need to look for it elsewhere, it is with you. It is what you call "my mind, my mind:' It has nothing to do with various characteristics. This vivid clarity itself, just simple self-luminosity, is the essence. Shang Rinpoche: The famous term dharmakaya mahamudra refers to one's own mind. If you do not recognize the mind: it is this clear awareness itself, that thinks all kinds of things, and which you call "my mind, my mind:' All phenomena of samsara and nirvana do not go beyond that. This is the essence of all the Buddhist scriptures of the pitakas and tantras. Gotsangpa: What it is? The present normal mind, which has always been free from clinging to solidity and free from clinging to emptiness. This is the finger pointing to mahamudra. Although there are innumerable perceptions in that, none of them go beyond this single, original, uncontrived awareness. Orgyenpa: Elsewhere than in the present nature of mind there is no excellent buddha to look for. He is from the beginning in

the abiding nature of mind spontaneously present as the dharmakaya. Sambuti:

All outer and inner phenomena are designations of the mind. Except in the mind, they exist nowhere else. Gyalwa Yangonpa: Concerning the term chag gya chen po, 59 some say that chag stands for appearances, gya for emptiness and chen po for their union. This is the terminology of dharmamudra, not of mahamudra. All terms of clarity and emptiness are the terminology of samayamudra. All terms of bliss and emptiness are the terminology of karmamudra. Mahamudra, as it was explained by the great brahmin Saraha, is free from the three conditions, is beyond the four joys, and is superior to luminosity. Following his explanations, mahamudra is not dependent on the condition of bliss, it is not dependent on the condition of clarity, and it is not dependent on the condition of nonconceptuality. Thus it is free from the three conditions. And: Mahamudra can neither be shown by the teacher, nor understood by the student. It is undefiled by experiences, untainted by certainty. It is neither divided into view, meditation and conduct, nor is it split up into ground, path and fruit. Concerning the phenomena appearing and existing in samsara and nirvana, there is nothing to remove or to add, nothing bound or free, nothing to modify by antidotes. Recognizing them to be self-liberating in their own place is called mahamudra.

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Ritro Wangchug: All phenomena are in one's own mind. Elsewhere than in the mind there are no phenomena, not even a speck of dust.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CLASSIFICATIONS

All the different ways of classifying mahamudra cannot be expressed in words, but in brief there are three aspects: ground mahamudra, path mahamudra, and fruit mahamudra.

GROUND MAHAMUDRA

Lesson 92

The previously explained nondual buddha mind that is realized and actualized by awakened beings, the basic nature of the three samsaric realms, the primordial unchanging nature of all phenomena, the coexistent primordial awareness, the all-pervading ground, is this pure nature beyond good and evil, great or small, present in the mind stream of all sentient beings, from the tiniest insect up to the buddhas. Samsara and nirvana emerge from the nonrecognition or recognition respectively, of this presence of the dharmakaya, the abiding nature. Once realized, it is appropriate to label it mahamudra: mudra, because there is no creator of what appears and exists in sam sara and nirvana besides this ground dharmata, free from elaborations. And maha

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because there is no better dharmakaya to look for beyond that. This ground exists in the mind stream of all sentient beings. It is spontaneously present within their mind as the three kayas, as the inseparability of appearance and emptiness, of awareness and emptiness, of bliss and emptiness and as the five aspects of primordial awareness. It is free from all limiting concepts such as arising, ceasing and abiding, existence or nonexistence. But because of the power of coexistent unawareness you do not recognize it. It is as if someone were to show you a form in the darkness. This abiding nature is beyond description, imagination, knowledge, or expression, it is ungraspable. This resembles the impossibility to create a drawing in the fire or in the sky. You do not recognize it, because it is not an object of perception that is perceived by a subject. It is like the eyes which cannot see themselves. You do not recognize it, if the teacher does not point it out to you. It is like a prince who wanders among the common folk. You do not recognize it, because it is one single continuum. It is like the medicine camphor that has become a poison. You do not recognize the fact that its nature is awareness, because you immediately perceive it incorrectly and therefore label it falsely. This is like mistaking a rope for a snake. Because of imputing unawareness60 you do not recognize the self-awareness and cling to an I where there is no I, to a self where there is no self, to conceptual elaborations where there are no conceptual elaborations. Driven by attachment, aversion and blindness you accumulate actions, as an inevitable result of which you will keep roaming in the cycle of conditioned existence. You do not recognize it because it is too close to you.

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Although it is within you and constantly in your company, you are not convinced about it. Like your own face you do not perceive it, so you keep wandering in samsara. You do not trust it because it is too simple. Small-minded folks believe that only a buddha is ornamented with the attributes and signs or endowed with the dharmakaya, but not this normal mind. Judging it to be meaningless and not trusting it, they do not recognize it. You do not perceive it because it is too subtle. Being caught up in the net of concepts, you are not undistracted and mindful; that is why you do not recognize it. You do not recognize it because it is too good. In the state where the mind is relaxed naturally, there is an ungraspable awareness, a self-cognizing vividness which is not an object- this is the dharmakaya. But not comprehending that this the dharmakaya, you do not recognize it. It is therefore necessary to overcome these types of unawareness. The methods for doing so are the pith instructions of the teacher, and the path mahamudra with its succession of practices. If you train yourself in them persistently, unawareness will be eliminated.

PATH MAHAMUDRA

Lesson 93

The methods to actualize the ground that is primordially present as dharmakaya are the key instructions mentioned above and the experiences and realizations when applying them. Once the superficial impurities have been purified for the most part by practicing according to the key instructions

of the teacher, you will understand and recognize yourself that the mind is without inherent self-nature, and this serves to become familiar with it. To bring forth this realization there are numerous methods explained in the Tripitaka and in the four classes of tantras. However, in the precious Kagyii tradition it is taught that all of them are included in the profound path of devotion to the teacher. Gotsangpa explains: The whole Vinaya Pitaka is included in the higher training of ethic discipline, which is included in devotion. The affliction of aggression will not arise when you pray with devotion to the teacher. Thus devotion acts as an antidote against aggression. The same applies to all the afflictions. And: The whole Sutra Pitaka is included in the higher training of concentration, which is included in this profound path of devotion. Through dharmakaya devotion 61 your own mind mixes inseparably with the mind of the teacher. The concentration in which you realize that the true nature of the mind is without beginning and end, is the vajra like concentration, which is not mixed with afflictions and conceptuality. All the Drigung masters assert that this samadhi contains a hundred other samadhis. And: The Abhidharma Pitaka is included in the higher training of wisdom, which is included in the profound path of devotion. Through the blessing of the master, high, low or intermediate experiences appear as dharmakaya teacher. By realizing that body, appearances and mind have all one taste in the simplicity of the natural state of mind, misconceptions concerning all knowledge are eliminated in the mind and mastery is obtained. And:

It is said that the four Tantra Sections are also included in devotion. Offering your body and all your belongings to the teacher and joyfully giving your life or letting a thousand nails be driven into your bodf2 to be at his service, like Jetsiin Milarepa, this is the practice of the Kriya Tantra. To pray to the teacher continually and to proclaim the banner of his renown in the ten directions is Charya Tantra. It is said: "The second emphasizes conduct of speech:' To meditate and to experience with uninterrupted longing devotion that all thoughts are the mind of the teacher, is Yoga Tantra. It is said: "The third emphasizes mental sensations:' When through the blessing of the master everything is experienced as coexistent primordial awareness, this is the experience of the Anuttaratantra. It is said: "In the fourth one, the only concern is the coexistent:' You should know that also the four empowerments and the two stages are said to be complete in devotion alone. There is yet another differentiation between the mahamudra of mind itself and the mahamudra of appearance-existence. The primordial abiding nature, the primordial awareness of mahamudra that is present in your mind stream free from all limitations is called mahamudra of mind itself. The full realization or experience that all phenomena appearing and existing in samsara and nirvana are one in the great wave of primordial awareness is called mahamudra of appearance-existence. The methods to put these two into practice are the above instructions of this text and all the meditation techniques.

VIEW, MEDITATION, ACTION

Lesson 94

Furthermore it is possible to practice by means of view, meditation and action. Jetsiin Milarepa on view, meditation, action and fruit: Look at your mind-this is the true view. If you seek the view outside of your mind, oh physician teacher, you are like the athlete searching his jewel. Do not clear away the faults of dullness and agitationthis is true meditation. If you clear away the faults of dullness and agitation, scatteredness and sluggishness,63 oh physician teacher, you are like somebody holding up a lamp in the daytime. Do not in turns accept and reject-this is true action. If you accept or reject in your action out of hope and fear, oh physician teacher, you are like a fly getting caught in a net. Arouse certainty in the nature of your mind-this is the true fruit. If you seek elsewhere for the fruit that cannot be obtained, 64 oh physician teacher, you are like a frog trying to leap into the sky. Dagpo Rinpoche formulates it like this: When the mind, clear and ungraspable like the sky, does not fall into partiality-this is the view. When the mind, self-aware and self-luminous like a mirror, is free from bright and dim-this is meditation. When the mind, uncontrived and natural like a child, is without negation or assertion-this is action. And:

To look at one's own mind is the view. To recognize all phenomena to be mind is realization. To habituate oneself to that is meditation. To experience the essence is experience. To continuously remain in that is action. To actualize the essence is the fruit. To show this to others is enlightened activity. On account of the view realization arises. On account of meditation experiences arise. From the fruit arises the enlightened activity for the benefit of others. Gotsangpa: To realize the nonduality of samsara and nirvana is the view. Not to cling to the manifold perceptions of the six senses as being real is meditation. The experience of the equal taste of joy and sorrow is action. When during meditation as well as during the postmeditation the grasped and the grasper have become as pure as the sky, this is the fruit. This is the essence of view, meditation, action and fruit, there is nothing more to be said about it. The venerable Shang Rinpoche: When there is nothing to be seen when looking-this itself is the view. When thinking and seeing are not realthis itself is meditation. When bliss and emptiness mix into one-this itself is experience. When there is neither before nor after-this itself is action. When the conceptual elaborations ofhope and fear have been cut through-this itself is the fruit. These are the oral instructions of my teacher, please take them to heart. And: In your view do not be biased. In your action do not be hypocritical. In your compassion do not be partial. In

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your meditation do not be absentminded. Qualities will then manifest inexhaustibly. And: If your view is not perverted and you are a capable recipient of the teachings without distorting them, if your meditation is faultless, not too tight and not to loose, if your action is without grasping, unstained by mistakes, and if you keep your samayas, not offending the yidam, you will receive without doubt any fruit you need and desire. This resembles a medicinal tree. And: Nonattachment is the royal view, because the viewer and the viewed are inseparable. Nonattachment is the royal meditation, because there is no attachment to meditator and meditation. Nonattachment is the royal action, because there is no attachment to actor and action. Nonattachment is the royal fruit, because there is no attachment to obtainer and obtained. The venerable Rangjung Dorje: When your awareness looks at itself, it is called the view. When there is nothing to act out, it is called action. Such an action is called union. Being undistracted is called meditation. And: In fact, the view is to look at one's own mind. Meditation is not to stray from that. Action is not to be separated from that. The fruit is to actualize that. When looking there is nothing to be looked atappearances are mind itself. When meditating there is nothing to meditate on-awareness is self-luminous. When acting there is nothing to act out-action is spontaneous. There is no fruit to accomplish-one's own mind is the buddha. 286

Tilopa: The royal view is to be beyond grasper and grasped. The royal meditation is to be undistracted. The royal action is to be without deliberate effort. The royal fruit is to be without hope and fear. Jigten Sumgon: To see the unmistaken nature of mind itself is the view. Never to stray from it is meditation. To act in this state is action. All phenomena of samsara and nirvana arise solely owing to interdependence-without cause no result. All interdependence happens momentarily. In these moments interdependence is emptiness, therefore the result is the dharmakaya. Master Barawa clarifies how the earlier Kagyiipas taught: To look directly is the view. Not to be distracted from it is meditation. To act in that continuously is action. The view is free from philosophy. Meditation is free from mental fixation. Action is free from acceptance or rejection. The venerable Phamodrupa: Generally speaking, a person practicing meditation should have assurance in the view like an eagle soaring in the sky. His meditation should be uninterrupted like the provisions of a wise woman. His way of acting should be natural like that of an old ox letting water.

When things are difficult or easy, when you are happy or sad, you forget the view. When you are hit by a severe illness, you forget the view. At the time of your death you will also forget the view. When you are well, you take it easy. When, sitting in the penumbra on a large, soft cushion, you are drunk on beer and stuffed with meat, you raise your arms to the sky and say, "When I die, I will be enlightened. I can leave behind my skull. 65 Everything is empty:' But it is said that having the view only in the mouth is not really beneficial. Therefore you need assurance in the view. When difficulties and illnesses happen to you, you need the ability to appease pain and suffering by remembering the view of the abiding nature. It is said that it is not enough that the view of the abiding nature exists, you have to understand it, realize it. In order to understand and realize it, you have to meet an authentic teacher and rely with total devotion on his precious instructions. It is said that this resembles an eagle. When the eagle takes off into the sky, it has to direct its tail feathers to the earth. Once it is flying, it does not need to flap its wings anymore and reaches its nest simply by directing its attention there. Meditation should be uninterrupted. Even if you act busily in the presence of teachers and other people and do many meditation sessions, but after the session you are not able to even slightly control the three mind poisons, and if thoughts become more and more rampant so that your mind becomes even less disciplined, you are not different from ordinary people. Therefore it is important to constantly look at your mind, even when it seems that you are not meditating. You must not be overpowered by the mind poisons like attraction and aversion, but rather should exert yourself in directing your mindful-

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ness undistractedly toward the positive. In the Paramitayana mindfulness and vigilance are regarded to be the basis and prerequisite of the threefold training. If you move constantly in this direction, the meditation will be uninterrupted. This is like a wise woman who always has enough to partake of, even when it seems as if her provisions are consumed. 66 Action should be natural. Devotion toward the teacher is the best action. To speak of practicing action and to do all kinds of things in secret is not quite what is meant. It is important that whatever you do, whether you walk, lie down, stand or sit, is for the benefit of sentient beings. To say natural action and to act badly in a natural way leads to actually becoming bad people. You should exert yourself on the path of the wholesome by making offerings to the Three Jewels and by acting in whatever you do with body, speech and mind, as much as you can in accordance with the Dharma by dedicating these wholesome deeds for the benefit of your mothers, who are as limitless as space, and by not doing the slightest evil even in secret. To speak of effort in the presence of other people and wipe the mandala plate and make many prostrations similar to a pig's tail, is not really effort. You should exert yourself without ups and downs at all times. You should be like an old ox letting water: not forcing in the beginning and then not weakening until the end. There are countless similar statements. In brief, looking at the abiding nature is the view. Resting one-pointedly in the inseparability of calm abiding and intuitive insight is meditation. Enhancing the virtuous practice during the four daily activities is action. Having realized the ultimate abiding

nature, being free from hope and fear and from all notions of a grasper and things grasped, and having reached the state of the four kayas and protecting all disciples by means of the four enlightened activities is the fruit. The practice of view and meditation has already been treated thoroughly in this complete instruction manual. The practice of action has five aspects: the Kiintusangpo action, the secret action, the yogic awareness discipline, 67 the crowd action and the action of victory in all directions. The first consists of not being separated from the experience of intuitive insight during the four daily activities and letting all conceptual thinking dissolve naturally in the expanse of the dharmata like snow on a hot stone without having to apply antidotes. In order to enhance this, one trains the secret action in cemeteries, near a single tree and in similar places, in the company of a consort. For the yogic awareness discipline one stays-accompanied by a consort-in villages, the naked body only decorated with the six bone ornaments. The crowd action consists of singing and dancing in bazaars, on market places and in the homes of low caste people. When praised, laughed at, insulted or beaten as a result of that, the virtuous practice and the concentration will be supported and will spread like a fire in the forest. When this has become a support, unawareness will be cleared by the action of victory in all directions. Even if one takes poison, it will be transformed into nectar; thus one is victorious over food. The impure subtle energies will stop, thus one is victorious over the subtle energies. Being without bias for or against samsara and nirvana, one is victorious over

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bias. Being without acceptance or rejection, the practice of action has become perfect. These are the five kinds of action. 68 In all these ways of action nothing goes beyond the radiance of the primordially present empty nature of phenomena, therefore it is called mudra. Since beyond this there is no awakened primordial awareness to look for, it is called maha. These were the aspects of path mahamudra.

FRUIT MAHAMUDRA

Lesson 95

By traversing all the levels of the path, the faults 69 of the ground are exhausted and the ground is realized. The faults of the path are exhausted and its end is reached. With the ground the fruit is reached. While all conditioned phenomena manifest unceasingly, their true nature is emptiness. The mode of this emptiness is freedom from dualistic grasping and the cycle of hope and fear, since all the conditioned phenomena that manifest do not exist apart from this emptiness and are inseparable from it. The final realization means the realization of mahamudra with its many qualities such as the powers, the fearlessnesses 70 and others, the realization of the ultimate level of nonmeditation, having the true characteristic of the three kayas, the five aspects of primordial awareness with their qualities and enlightened activity. It is freedom from all veils, the realization of all that can be realized, the actualization of all qualities of freedom and maturation. 71 This is called fruit mahamudra. Generally speaking all outer and inner phenomena do not

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go beyond the trinity of appearance, awareness and emptiness and therefore have the nature of the three kayas. These can be related to ground, path and fruit. When related to the ground they are as follows: one's mind that does not exist anywhere and is free from all conceptual elaborations and is experienced as empty space is the dharmakaya. Yet this emptiness is not like nothing whatsoever or like inanimate matter, rather this emptiness is self-cognizing, self-luminous awareness with the characteristic of manifold cognition, this is the sambhogakaya. The unobstructed radiance of this emptiness manifesting its own forms as manifold objects is the nirmanakaya. The manner in which the three kayas are complete in oneself can be illustrated by the examples of oil in sesame seeds and by lapis lazuli, and they are naturally innate. Rangjung Dorje explains it like this: The empty essence is the dharmakaya. The luminous nature is the sambhogakaya. The unobstructed manifold appearances are the nirmanakaya. Emptiness is the dharmadhatu primordial awareness. Luminosity is the mirror-like primordial awareness. The simultaneous presence of the two is the primordial awareness of equality. The unmingled separate presence of the two is the discriminating primordial awareness. Their unfabricated spontaneous presence is the all-accomplishing primordial awareness. Emptiness is the enlightened body. Luminosity is enlightened speech. The inseparable simultaneous presence of the two is enlightened mind. Furthermore one distinguishes between ground mahamudra, path mahamudra and fruit mahamudra, depending on whether ground, path, or fruit is taught predominantly.

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Then there is the mahamudra of bliss and emptiness, which is mainly taught in the Yoginitantra, the mahamudra ofluminosity and emptiness, which is mainly taught in the tantras of method, and the mahamudra of awareness and emptiness, which is mainly taught in the nondual tantras. Furthermore there is the twofold distinction between the mahamudra of the abiding nature, which takes into consideration the nature of the abiding nature, and as a method to realize this, the mahamudra of bliss and emptiness, which refers to the realization of the union of bliss and emptiness. Then there are the three divisions of coexistence: the naturally coexistent refers to the abiding nature. The coexistent melting and bliss refers to the gradual path of the third empowerment that is supposed to bring forth the realization of the former through illustrative examples. The coexistent bliss and emptiness refers to the path of the fourth empowerment, the actual realization of this abiding nature. The last one is called mahamudra. Furthermore there are three examples for ground, path, and fruit mahamudra: ground mahamudra is like silver ore, path mahamudra is like the silver gained from it, and fruit mahamudra is like a statue or a similar object manufactured from it. About the commitment Shang Rinpoche explains: There are four commitments ofmahamudra: not to abandon the afflictions, since they are themselves mind. Not to rely on primordial awareness as an antidote for them, since both are inseparable. Not to meditate on suchness, since it is not conceivable. Not to hope for a fruit, since it consists in the realization of the nature of one's own mind. These were the classifications.

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CHAPTER TwELVE

ExPLANATION OF TERMS Lesson 96

The Mahamudratilaka Tantra states: Chag" 2 stands for empty primordial awareness. Gya signifies freedom from samsaric phenomena. Chen po stands for unity. This is the explanation chag gya chen po. Yige zhipa:73 Chag stands for empty primordial awareness. Gya signifies being without division. Chen po means beyond limitations. Therefore they are renowned as the four syllables. Gom mamo chenmo:74 Chag stands for the inseparability of bliss and emptiness. It is gya because nothing goes beyond that.

Dagpo Rinpoche: The meaning of chagis to understand that nothing appearing and existing in samsara and nirvana goes beyond the state of the unborn dharmata. Since in general everything

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appearing and existing does not go beyond the primordial state, it is named gya. To understand the self-liberation of dharmata is the meaning of chen po. Shang Rinpoche: Chag gya because there is nothing beyond it, and chen po because it is vast and big-thus chag gya chen po. An example: whatever order the universal monarch has sealed, the minor kings of the border lands cannot transgress. Similarly it is impossible that the phenomena of samsara and nirvana go beyond the state of the unborn chag gya chen po. As they have themselves the nature of the unborn chag gya chen po, which is vast and big, it is named chen po.

Orgyenpa: Because the creator of all phenomena appearing and existing in samsara and nirvana does not go beyond it, it is called chag gya. And since above it there is no better dharmakaya to search for, it is called chen po. The glorious Kachopa: Chag means the unity of space and primordial awareness. Gya means the self-liberation of samsara. Chen po refers to the unsurpassable primordial awareness of unity.

Gyalwa Mikyopa: Chag gya signifies that all phenomena in samsara and

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nirvana do not go beyond it. An example: whatever order the universal monarch has sealed, the minor kings and ministers cannot transgress. Chen po signifies that it is beyond karmamudra, dharmamudra and samayamudra, or that there is nothing more powerful than it. From the writings of my glorious teacher: Chag is the honorific word for the hands of the victorious ones. Gya means unity and that there is nothing beyond it. Chen po means that all the other mudras are temporary and thus one can go beyond them. This is final and thus nobody can go beyond it, it is the highest.

These and similar statements can be found in numerous sutras, tantras and pith instructions. Concerning the term coexistent unity75 Kachopa explains: Co76 means: "The simultaneous presence in whatever is present is called coexistence. In this nature of coexistence all the myriad things are unified in one:' Existenf7 means: "From the unborn everything arises; that which is present is not inherently existent:' Unity78 means union: 79 union is neither just method, nor exclusively wisdom. It is the union of method and wisdom. Therefore the Tathagata spoke of union:' In brief, this is the essential meaning of mahamudra, coexistent unity. Simply through these explanations, highly fortunate beings with superior capacities can attain liberation, without depending on numerous detailed explanations.

Dagpo Rinpoche explains: If one asks what actually exists as a unity in this coexistent unity the answer is: awareness and emptiness exist together. It does not mean that they are distinct from one another. Since awareness, luminosity and bliss are a unity in emptiness, it is called coexistent unity. Barawa Gyaltsen Palsang: According to the definition, chag means emptiness, and gya means not going beyond. Since the innate nature or abiding nature of whatever appears is completely nonexistent emptiness and all phenomena appearing and existing are unfabricated, unaltered, unspoiled, untouched, unimpaired and undamaged, it is called chag. As the Buddhasamayoga Tantra states: "How wonderful, the secret of all buddhas is that perfect buddhahood is unborn. Everything arises from the unborn, that which is present itself is unborn:' Since the whole diversity of good or bad dualistic appearances does not go beyond emptiness, it is called gya. The birds flying in the sky, for example, never leave the sky, or the fish swimming in the oceans never leave the water. As the Glorious Secret Action Tantra states: '1\.ll phenomena have the nature of mind. Mind has the nature of emptiness. Since everything has the same taste in emptiness, it is the space where there is no acceptance or rejection:' Since everything that appears does not go beyond emptiness, it is primordially free from the net of samsaric phenomena to be abandoned. Since that which is to be

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abandoned does not exist on its own, there is no net that could bind. Since an I and a self do not inherently exist, there is no self which could be bound. Since there is neither anything that is bound nor anything that binds, there is freedom from samsaric phenomena. Since all appearances that manifest do not have any inherent existence, they are empty. They appear nakedly and unhindered in the luminous clarity of emptiness. Everything appears as this unity that has not been fabricated by anybody. As nothing exists beyond this, it is called chen po. It is like reflections in a mirror: the reflections appearing in a mirror do not inherently exist, they are empty. But even though they do not exist inherently, their forms appear clearly. This is stated in the Mahamudratilaka Tantra: "Listen, goddess mahamudra. Mahamudra is a great mystery, it is inexpressible, inexhaustible and unborn. It is without form, and all forms are present in it. The formless is the supreme owner of forms. It is free from gross and subtle, its nature is unfathomable:' Coexistent unity: coexistence does not imply the coming together of two separate things. It is rather like a substance with a single identity which has three simultaneously present properties. In the single identity of gold there are three properties complete: the yellow color, the high weight, and the nondeterioration of its quality through melting. Its yellow color does not exist apart from its high weight and its nondeterioration through melting. Its high weight does not exist separately from the other two properties. All three properties are coexistent-as long as it is really gold and not something else. With the yellow color the high weight and its nondeterioration through melting are completely present. In the same way,

with each of the other two the remaining ones are present as well, so that all three are always complete. Likewise in the ground, the awakened mind, there are three aspects simultaneously present: its essence being awareness, its nature being emptiness and its characteristic being luminosity. There is no awareness and luminosity apart from emptiness. There is no emptiness and awareness apart from luminosity. There is no luminosity and emptiness apart from awareness. The single identity of the mind has three aspects: emptiness, awareness and luminosity. But all three aspects are inseparably coexistent. With emptiness, awareness and luminosity are present. With awareness, emptiness and luminosity are present. With luminosity, emptiness and awareness are present. With each one-luminosity, awareness and emptinessall three are completely present, this is called coexistence. The Hevajra Tantra explains: "The simultaneous presence in whatever is present is called the nature of coexistence. All the myriad things are unified in one:' This unity in the mind stream is called coexistent unity. It exists in all beings without difference of quality and size, from the buddha down to the smallest insect. When it is recognized, it is called coexistent primordial awareness. At the time of its nonrecognition, it is called alaya consciousness. Its recognition is called coexistent primordial awareness and its nonrecognition coexistent unawareness. Which of them existed first? In terms of time, there is no before and after. Concerning their essence, there is no better or worse, because they have the same essence.

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Gyalwa Yangonpa: Concerning the meaning of the term chag gya chen po: chag gya chen po is derived from the Sanskrit word mahamudra and means "not going beyond" or "indestructible" or "not empty:' All phenomena appearing and existing in samsara and nirvana-without moving from their place, without changing their color-do not go beyond the coexistent primordial awareness in which the three times do not exist, thus it is called chag gya. And since nothing exists apart from or beyond it, it is called chen po. Relating this to the instant consciousness it means: when suddenly a thought arises, do not do anything with this thought, neither denying nor affirming it. This clear thought itself is the actual coexistent primordial awareness. Whether you understand it or not, it does not go beyond that, therefore it is called chag gya. And since there is no primordial awareness, or no buddha mind to look for apart from that thought, it is called chen po. This was the explanation of the terms mahamudra and coexistent unity. Furthermore there is no contradiction between the terms great seal, great middle or great perfection, and so forth, as Phamodrupa explained: Since all thoughts and afflictions are tamed by it, it is the Vinaya. 80 Since by means of it one can develop the certainty that thoughts are dharmakaya and eliminate misconceptions from within, they are the key instructions of the teacher. Since it is free from extremes like eternal or empty, assertion or negation, it is the middle way. Since they transcend speech, thought and descrip-

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tion, they are the key instructions of the paramitas. Since the phenomena of samsara and nirvana are complete in the mind, it is the great perfection. Not to have second thoughts about good and bad thoughts is mahamudra. Since it pacifies suffering, it is the pacifier. 81 Since all afflictions and thoughts become part of the path, it is the secret mantra. Mind, thoughts and dharmakaya are coexistent from the beginning. Since they are unified through these key instructions one speaks of coexistent unity. It is said that it is recommended in case of obstacles by demons and maras and so on.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAHAMUDRA AND COEXISTENT UNITY Lesson 97

To Phamodrupa's question whether there is a difference between mahamudra and coexistent unity, Dagpo Rinpoche answered: In mahamudra all phenomena of samsara and nirvana are from the beginning spontaneously present and at all times one with the nondual primordial awareness in the sky-like dharmata. In coexistent unity all arising thoughts are united with the four kayas-this is not the case at all times but with interruptions. Shang Rinpoche: This true nature cannot be seen through words or analysis. Those with modest capacities should exert themselves on the transmitted path. Those with medium capacities should make efforts in the methods of the channels and energies. Those with highest capacities should practice the coexistent unity and mahamudra. And: With the primordial awareness of the coexistent unity, thoughts are scrutinized and then experienced as dharma-

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kaya. According to the pith instructions of mahamudra, thoughts are relaxed and then experienced as dharmakaya. There are many statements like this. In short mahamudra can be explained in four points that summarize all the topics. According to the teachings of Gotsangpa they are as follows: Mahamudra in four points: true nature, definition, classification and particularities. The true nature is all-encompassing, everything is contained in it. It is unimaginable and cannot be described. The definition: chag is emptiness, gya is freedom from samsaric phenomena, chen po is the realization of the unity. The classification is threefold: the ground is all-encompassing mahamudra, the path is the mahamudra practice, the fruit is the spontaneously present mahamudra. Mahamudra has three characteristics: in essence it is completely nonexistent, its expression is completely unobstructed, and these two are inseparable. The five particularities: the particularity of the view is that it is understood from within, independent of scriptures and reasoning. The particularity of meditation is that dullness and agitation liberate themselves, independent of mental focusing. The particularity of the commitment is that the immaculate vow is intact uninterruptedly, independent of maintaining it with discipline. The particularity of action is that the knot of acceptance and rejection loosens by itself, independent of antidotes. The particularity of the fruit is that it is spontaneously present as inherent quality, independent of time and signs.

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CHAPTER FouRTEEN

THE FRUIT OF THE PRACTICE Lesson 98

The actualization of the fruit is as described previously. The experiences and realizations of the inseparability of calm abiding and intuitive insight arise in the mind stream and the realizations of one-pointedness, simplicity, one taste, and nonmeditation are actualized. The spiritual levels and paths are traversed either all at once or gradually and the authentic state of perfect buddhahood is realized. In order to bring certainty about the teachings of the early Kagyiipas, and thinking of their great blessing, I have quoted their words literally without refraining from the great amount of words. Practitioners may learn these words by heart as they are full of blessing. But even without learning the words by heart, focusing clearly on their meaning and meditating by mixing them with their minds as best as they can, they will fulfill their purpose. This is the same path all the buddhas of the three times have traveled. These are the pith instructions through which, by understanding one thing, everything is liberated. They have been transmitted orally and were not interrupted by other transmissions or other words. They are the heart essence of all realized teachers that all the previous Kagyiipas

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have practiced and realized, and through which they establish all beings in spiritual maturity and liberation. By merely reading this sublime, essential instruction manual on mahamudra, the coexistent unity, the peak of all spiritual paths and the essence of all spiritual instructions, understanding, experiences and realizations will arise in the mind. It is the essence of the ocean of true meaning, light-radiating activity, a feast for those wishing liberation, a source of everything desirable, the highest gift of liberation. I have discarded any distortion through my own fabrications and have not deviated form the oral transmission of the authentic Kagyii teachers that has come down from the early teachers Gam pop a and Diisum Khyenpa to my glorious teacher, the all-knowing Konchog Yenlag. 82 I have compiled their words faithfully and I make this offering of Dharma with the intention of benefitting others. If nevertheless personal fabrications, additions or omissions have crept in, I beg the teachers and the assembly of dakinis for forgiveness. May through whatever merit this may be, the coexistent primordial awareness of mahamudra arise without obstacles in the mind stream of all sentient beings.

EPILOG

I am of little learning and lacking practice. I am not even convinced that the moment of death is uncertain. Distracted by this present life and carried away by pompous busyness, meditative experiences are nothing but wishful thinking for me. Therefore it is difficult for me to speak from my own experience. But since this precious Kagyii lineage is so powerful, I have developed confidence and esteem for it, on the

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basis of which I have written a few words about the essence of the true meaning. As the teachings of the Buddha nowadays have come close to the last period of five hundred years, most of the monks are distracted by the occupations of householders. They have cast study, reflection and meditation far behind them, not to mention devoting themselves to virtuous deeds day and night. Defeating enemies, protecting friends, they show off with hollow arrogance. They do anything for food, take ordination for its status, and for the sake of material goods they pretend to study. Praising themselves and disparaging others, they are garbed in pride and avarice. If one looks closely, their minds are full of mind poisons. They imagine to be incomparable siddhas and venerable scholars. They mislead their retinue to many negative actions. They keep the words of their teachers hidden, pretending to have their knowledge from their own realization. There are many who deceive themselves with the pretension to teach and guide others. Far from pretending to be learned, I have written this for the sake of sentient beings, my former mothers. I have spoken straightforwardly, not hiding anything, according to the teachings of the Kagyii tradition, discarding distortions through my own fabrications. Should there nevertheless be additions, omissions, contradictions, or mistakes, I beg forgiveness from the assembly of teachers and dakinis. By whatever merit this may represent, may all beings filling the universe see the natural face of the supreme abiding nature. To fulfill the expectations of those who desire liberation, I have expounded clearly, as it came spontaneously to my mind, this nectar of excellent explanations on the essence of the profound meaning. May all beings reach the vajra level of immortality through this. Whoever sees, hears, recollects

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and puts into practice this essence of the true meaning, lightradiating activity, may his experiences and realizations overflow like a river in the rainy season, and may he be liberated effortlessly and accomplish all enlightened activities. I have written down this essence of many profound instructions for the practice of mahamudra, the coexistent unity, because of the urging of Tulku Karma Dragpa Namgyal, and others. May through this merit the light of coexistent primordial awareness greatly expand in all beings. May the vast lotus garden of teachings be excellently explained into a hundred directions, and may all beings, including the gods, quickly reach the stage of the great bliss of unity. Urged by Karma Dragpa Namgyal Palsangpo, an embodiment of the lineage of incarnations of the glorious Riwochepa Perna Gyalpo Tulku who possesses the wealth of many qualities of scriptures and realization from prior training and a few other dedicated and sharp-witted persons, I, the traveler Palden Mipham Chokyi Wangchug, 83 started this at the great seat of Tsurphu and wrote the manuscript together with the exercises at Drigung Tashi Tsal. May it be auspicious. May the teachings of the practice lineage spread widely and may they become the ornament through which all sentient beings in the universe experience the splendor of happiness and virtue. This is lesson 98. This text contains 45 exercises. In the third part the lessons become exercises as the situation requires; they are practiced when it is necessary. You should know that the exercises have to be practiced and the lessons have to be understood. Awareness protector Bernagpochen with consort and retinue, guard these teachings. If people without respect or capacity and those who develop only book knowledge and deceive themselves and others

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through spiritual imposture see or spread these teachings, let hard punishment strike them. Support those who esteem and practice these teachings correctly, so that through mere reading their experiences and realizations increase more and more. Help them to accomplish the level of Vajradhara in one life and in one body and grant them accomplishments. Other instruction manuals include only exercises and theoretical explanations while questions and more detailed pointing-out instructions are received orally and written down separately. But here all of these aspects are clearly seen in one and the same text, so that also less intelligent people can read it. Whoever has received the text reading transmission from a teacher and practices sincerely and brings forth a practice that is in accordance with the explanations of this manual, will reach his goal and give rise to experiences and realizations, this is certain. Whoever does not have personal inner experiences but has merely given rise to a dry theoretical knowledge because of the clarity of this manual and considers this to be sufficient, commits spiritual imposture. This is self-deception and has to be abandoned. Dharma protector Bernagchen, guard these Dharma teachings. If those who are not suitable vessels, who do not possess my transmission, who are without samaya and who have wrong views, see and spread these teachings, punish them. Protect all those who rejoice in these teachings and who are suitable vessels, who have the highest devotion for them and put them into practice one-pointedly. Help them to dissolve obstacles in their Dharma practice and to obtain the highest and the common accomplishments in this present life. Sarva Mangalam.

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GLOSSARY

ABHIDHARMAKOSHA (mngon pa mdzod): a commentary on the Abhidharma by Vasubandhu. ABIDING NATURE (gnas lugs) means the way things are as opposed to the way things appear (snang lugs). AKANISHTA (og min): the highest buddha field. AssERTING AND DENYING (sgro skur): to assert that something exists, that does not exist, and to negate something that exists as nonexistent ( med pa la yod par sgro 'dogs pa dang yod pa lamed par skur ba 'debs pa). (Bogya) ATTRIBUTES AND SIGNS (mtshan dpe) refers to the thirty-two excellent attributes and the eighty excellent signs (mtshan

bzang po gsum cu rtsa gnyis dang dpe byad bzang po brgyad cu) of a buddha. BAsis (gzhi): the enlightened mind inherent in all living beings without distinction. BHAGAVAN (bcom ldan 'das) is another name for a buddha and signifies: bcom being victorious over the opposing forces, called maras, ldan possessing all the qualities of enlightenment, and 'das to be beyond suffering. BoDHICHITTA (byang chub kyi sems): the aspiration for enlightenment. In the Mahayana it is the aspiration for the enlightenment of all beings. BODHISATTVA (byang chub sems dpa'): someone who has the aim to liberate all sentient beings from the cycle of samsara.

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BORN IN A CENTRAL COUNTRY (dbus skyes) means to be born in a place where the Dharma is taught and practiced. BuDDHA (sangs rgyas): (1) the historical Buddha, the founder of Buddhism; (2) a completely enlightened being having purified all mental veils (sangs) and manifested all good qualities inherent in the enlightened mind (rgyas); (3) the buddha mind inherent in all sentient beings; (4) the state of buddhahood. COEXISTENT (lhan cig skyes pa): something that has been there together with me or is naturally present in me from the beginning (dngos po gang zhig rang dang lhan cig tu thog rna nas byung baarn ngang ngarn shugs Ia gnas pa) (Bogya). It refers among others to the simultaneously present primordial awareness (lhan cig skyes pa'i ye shes) and the simultaneously present unawareness (lhan cig skyes pa'i rna rig pa). Being in the primordial awareness one experiences freedom from conditioned existence, being in unawareness one experiences conditioned existence. COEXISTENT PRIMORDIAL AWARENESS (lhan cig skyes pa'i ye shes): the buddha mind present in all beings together with unawareness (lhan cig skyes pa'i rna rig pa). COEXISTENT UNAWARENESS (lhan cig skyes pa'i rna rig pa): the nonrecognition of enlightened awareness leading to the delusion of samsaric perception. CoEXISTENT UNITY (lhan cig skyes sbyor): an inseparable unity of several aspects that are present at the same time. CoNSCIOUSNESS (rnarn shes): the dualistic consciousness operates through the five senses and the mental conscious-

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ness. It is always dualistic, in contradistinction to the primordial consciousness (ye shes) that is nondualistic. CYCLE OF CONDITIONED EXISTENCE ('khor ba): conditioned perception created by actions (las) that implies always suffering. DAGPO RINPOCHE (dwags po rin po che) (1079-1153): master of mahamudra predicted by the Buddha Shakyamuni. Main disciple and lineage holder of Milarepa. He is also known as Gampopa. DEFEATS (pham pa): four downfalls leading to immediate and definitive expulsion from the monastic sangha: fornication, murder, theft, and pretending to have siddhis which one does not have. DEFINITE GOODNESS (nges legs) refers to liberation. DESTRUCTIVE TALK (nag po kha 'byams) refers to a nihilistic view of emptiness denying the truth of karmic cause and effect that is in contradiction to the Dharma and therefore destructive for oneself and others. DHARMA ( chos): the teaching of the Buddha showing the way out of the suffering of conditioned existence. DHARMADHATU (chos dbyings): the basic space of phenomena, the ultimate mind space. DHARMAKAYA ( chos sku): the body of ultimate reality, one of the three kayas. DHARMAKAYA WITH THE TWO PURITIES (dag pa gnyis [dan gyi chos sku) refers to the fact that the dharmakaya is by nature free from the two veils.

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DHARMATA (chos nyid): the true nature of phenomena, emptiness. DoMINANT EFFECTS (dbang 'bras) manifest as the environmental conditions. The environment is very unpleasant as a result of killing. There is much damage through frost and hail as a result of stealing. It is dusty as a result of adultery. There are foul smells as a result of lying. The landscape is scraggy and cannot be used for anything as a result of divisive talk. The soil is infertile as a result of harsh speech. The seasons are mixed up as a result of meaningless speech. The fruits are bitter as a result of ill-will. The fruits are small as a result of greed. There are no fruits as a result of wrong views. EIGHT WORLDLY CONCERNS (chos brgyad): the concern to avoid loss, blame, pain, and disgrace, and to obtain gain, praise, pleasure, and fame. EMPTINESS WITH THE EXCELLENCE OF ALL ASPECTS (rnam kun mchog ldan gyi stong nyid) refers to the inseparability of appearances and emptiness. ENERGY CHANNELS (rtsa): channels in which the energy moves in the body. ENGAGED CONDUCT (mos pas spyod pa): the way the Dharma is practiced on the beginner's level, when it is not based on realization yet. "Since emptiness has not really been realized on the levels of the path of accumulation and the path of junction, the Dharma is practiced just by means of engagement or by means of the general terms and the general meaning" (tshogs sbyor gyi skabs su stong nyid mngon sum du rna rtogs pas mos pa tsam mam sgra spyi dang don spyi'i sgo nas chos nyams su len pa'o). (Bogya)

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(nyon mongs dug lnga): desire, hatred, jealousy, pride, and stupidity. FIVE AFFLICTIONS

FIVE ASPECTS OF PRIMORDIAL AWARENESS or FIVE WISDOMS (ye shes lnga): the mirror-like primordial awareness (me long lta bu ye shes), the primordial awareness of equality (mnyam nyid ye shes), the discriminating primordial awareness (sor rtog ye shes), the primordial awareness of the space of phenomena (chos dbyings ye shes), and the accomplishing primordial awareness (bya ba grub pa'i ye shes). FIVE DEEDS WITH IMMEDIATE RETRIBUTION (mtshams med lnga): injuring a buddha, killing one's father or mother or an arhat, and destroying stupas and statues. FIVE ELEMENTS

('byung ba lnga): earth, water, fire, wind, and

space. FIVE IMPURE AGGREGATES (phung po lnga): form, feeling, perception, conceptuality, and consciousness. FIVE KAYAS (sku lnga): dharmakaya, sambhokakaya, nirmanakaya, svabhavikakaya, vajrakaya. In order to describe the qualities of buddhas, the Buddhist texts speak of three, four, or five kayas that are one in essence however. FIVE MIND POISONS

(dug lnga): desire, hatred, jealousy, pride,

and stupidity. FIVE SKANDHAS

(phung po lnga): see

FIVE IMPURE AGGRE-

GATES.

(lam lnga): the path of accumulation (tshogs lam), the path of junction (sbyor lam), the path of seeing (mthong lam), the path of meditation (sgom lam), and the path of no more learning (mi slob pa'i lam). FIVE SPIRITUAL PATHS

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(lam rgyud lnga) refer to the forms of existence of hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, gods, and humans. FIVE WORLDLY PATHS

FoRCE OF ALTRUISM (lhag pa'i bsam pa'i stobs): it consists in taking oneself less important and concentrating instead on being useful to others.

(phrin las bzhi): depending on circumstances the activities to benefit beings can be pacifying (zhi ba), enriching (rgyas pa), controlling (dbang ba), or wrathful (dragpo). FouR ACTIVITIES

FouR BLACK DEEDS (nag po'i chos bzhi): (1) to deceive spiritual teachers and those worthy of respect; (2) to cause regret in others about things that should not be regretted; (3) to speak inappropriate words about a bodhisattva possessing bodhichitta out of aversion; (4) to be dishonest with living beings. FOUR DAILY ACTIVITIES

(spyod lam rnam bzhi): sitting, walk-

ing, standing and lying (nges 'byed cha mthun bzhi) refer to the four levels of the path of junction: warmth, peak, patience, and highest phenomenon. FOUR LEVELS CONDUCIVE TO DEFINITE DISCERNMENT

(tshad med bzhi): love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and impartiality. FouR IMMEASURABLES

(sku bzhi): dharmakaya (chos sku), sambhogakaya (longs sku), nirmanakaya (sprul sku) and svabhavikakaya (ngo bo nyid sku). FouR KAYAS

(bdud bzhi): the maras of the lord of death (shi bdag gi bdud), skandhas (phung po'i bdud), afflictions (nyon mongs pa'i bdud), and the son of the gods (lha'i bu'i bdud). The FouR MARAS

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maras detain one from spiritual practice and liberation and keep one roaming in the round of conditioned existence. FouR MODES OF BIRTH (skye gnas rnam pa bzhi): birth from the womb (mngal skyes), from the egg (sgong skyes), by miracle (rdzus skyes), and from warmth and moisture (drod gsher las skyes pa) FouR MUDRAS (phyag rgya bzhi): dharmamudra, samayamudra, karmamudra and mahamudra. FOUR CLASSES OF TANTRA (rgyud sde bzhi): kriyatantra, charyatantra, yogatantra und annutarayogatantra. FouR WHITE DEEDS (dkar po'i chos bzhi): (1) not to lie knowingly, not even at the cost of one's life; (2) to encourage all living beings to carry out wholesome actions, in particular wholesome actions from the point of view of the Mahayana; (3) to regard bodhisattvas possessing bodhichitta as buddhas, and to proclaim their qualities in the ten directions; (4) to sincerely maintain an altruistic attitude towards all living beings. FouR YOGAS (rna[ 'byor bzhi): one-pointedness (rtse gcig), simplicity (spros bra/), one-taste (ro gcig) and nonmeditation (sgom med). HIGHER ABHIDHARMA (mngon pa gong rna) refers to the Abhidharmasamuccaya by Asanga, which is the Abhidharma according to the Mahayana Chittamatra view. HIGHER EXISTENCES (mngon mtho) refer to those as a god or a human. HIGHEST AND ORDINARY SIDDHIS (mchog dang thun mongs kyi dngos drub): the highest siddhi is the realization of maha-

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mudra, the complete understanding of the nature of mind, which is equivalent to enlightenment. The ordinary siddhis are special abilities such as clairvoyance. They are called ordinary because they can be attained without realizing the nature of mind, without having overcome the basic deception of dualistic perception. HIGHER REALMS (khams gong rna): the realm of subtle form and the formless realm. HoPE AND FEAR (re dogs) are an expression of attachment. IMPUTING UNAWARENESS (kun brtags pa'i rna rig pa): the nonrecognition of primordial awareness because of conceptual imputations. JAMBUDVIPA ('dzam bu'i gling): the name of our world in Tibetan cosmology. KAGYU (bka' brgyud): oral transmission. The school of Tibetan Buddhism, that originates with the Indian masters Tilopa and Naropa. Their teaching was introduced in Tibet by Marpa the translator and was transmitted by his main disciple Milarepa to Gampopa, who in turn transmitted it to the first Karmapa Diisum Khyenpa. KARMA (las): karma means action; the teaching on cause and effect of actions. The Buddha taught that every action of body, speech, and mind has an effect on one's experience, that is experienced in this or in a future life. Wholesome actions lead to an experience of happiness, unwholesome actions lead to an experience of suffering. KARMIC PATH (las lam): a karmic path is complete (rdzogs) if it fulfils five conditions (yan lag lnga): (1) the base (gzhi), the

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object of the action; (2) the intention (bsam pa); (3) the execution (sbyor ba); (4) the mental factor implied, the defilement (nyon mongs) in the case of an unwholesome act, and (5) the successful completion of the act (mthar thug). LAMA SHANG (bla ma zhang, zhang g.yu brag pa brtson grus grags pa) (1123-1193) was a student of Gampopa's nephew Gomtsul and the founder of the Tsalpa Kagyii lineage. LOGICAL DEDUCTION THAT ONE OR MANY DO NOT EXIST (gcig du bral gyi rigs pa): logical deduction, that a smallest indivisible entity cannot exist, and therefore nothing that is composed of such entities. LOWER ABHIDHARMA (mngon pa og ma) refers to the Abhidharmakosha of Vasubandhu, which is the Abhidharma according to the Hinayana Vaibhashika view. LOWER REALMS (ngan song): the realms of the animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings. LUMINOSITY OF DEATH (shi ba'i 'od gsa/): the nature of mind appearing in the process of dying. MAHAYANA (theg pa chen po): the great vehicle. Buddhist approach emphasizing the ideal of the bodhisattva and the teaching of emptiness. MAIN PRACTICE (dngos gzhi): in the context of mahamudra it is the recognition of the nature of mind and the maintenance of the recognition. MANI refers to the mantra of Avalokiteshvara: Om mani padmehum.

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MANTRA (sngags): the recitation of mantras is a method of the Vajrayana, mostly used in combination with visualization, that is practiced to help disentangle the mind from attachment. MARA (bdud): inner resistance, difficulties and temptations that have to be overcome in order to attain liberation. MEDITATION (mnyam gzhag), literally meditative balance, refers in general to a formal meditation session. In particular beginning from the yoga of simplicity, meditative balance means to leave the mind naturally in its previously recognized, simultaneously present or coexistent true nature without distraction. NATURE OF PHENOMENA (chos nyid): the nature of phenomena is emptiness. Phenomena (chos) are in their true nature (chos nyid) emptiness (stong pa nyid). NIRMANAKAYA (sprul sku): emanation body. It is one of the three kayas and refers to the form aspect of appearances. In Tibet this term is also used for incarnated teachers. NIRVANA (mya ngan las 'das pa): liberation from the suffering of conditioned existence. NoRMAL MIND (tha mal shes pa) means the natural, uncontrived mind or the nature of mind. "Normal has the sense of natural; 'normal mind' means the natural state of awareness, unchanged and unperverted by anything, by its very nature luminous and clear... When it is recognized, it is synonymous with self-knowing primordial awareness (rangrigye shes), rigpa (rig pa), true nature (ngo bo), coexistent primordial awareness (lhan cig skyes pa'i ye shes), abiding nature (gnas lugs), simplicity (spros bral), and luminosity ('od gsal)." (Daser)

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ORDINARY SIDDHIS (thun mongs kyi dngos drub): special abilities such as clairvoyance. They are called ordinary because they can be attained without realizing the nature of mind, without having overcome the basic deception of dualistic perception. PARAMITAYANA (phar phyin theg pa) refers to the Mahayana, the great vehicle in which the six paramitas are practiced. PERFECTION OF WISDOM (shes rab pha rol du phyin pa): prajnaparamita, the realization of the emptiness of all phenomena. PATH OF CHARACTERISTICS (mtsan nyid theg pa or mtshan nyid kyi lam) refers to the sutra teachings found in the Vinaya, Sutra and Abhidharma Pi taka that are the base of the Hinayana and the nontantric Mahayana. PATH OF JUNCTION (sbyor lam): one of the five spiritual paths of the Paramitayana. It has four levels: warmth (drod), peak (rtse mo), patience (bzod pa), and highest phenomenon (chos mchog). PATH OF COMPLETION (mthar phyin pa'i lam) is equivalent to the path of no more learning (mi slob pa'i lam), the last of the five paths in the Paramitayana; it is equivalent to buddhahood. PATH OF METHODS (thabs lam) refers to the special tantric methods such as the six yogas of Naropa taught in the Vajrayana. PERFECTION OF WISDOM (shes rab pha rol du phyin pa): prajnaparamita, the realization of the emptiness of all phenomena.

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PLEASANT STATES OF EXISTENCE (bde gro): the states of the gods, anti-gods, and humans. POINTING-OUT INSTRUCTIONS FOR OLD WOMAN (rgan mo'i mdzub khrid): these are practice instructions expressed in very few and simple words. In the collected works of Padmasambhava there is a story (rgan mo mdzub btsugs kyi gdams pa) of an old woman with great devotion for Guru Rinpoche. At her request to grant an instruction that is easy to understand and to practice, Guru Rinpoche put his finger on her chest and explained to her in a few simple words the essence of meditation. PosTAWARENESS (rjes shes) refers to the manner of experiencing outside of formal meditation sessions. PosTMEDITATION (rjes thob) refers in general to the practice outside of formal meditation sessions. It is the attempt to maintain the meditative experience in between the formal meditation sessions. PosTPERCEPTION (rjes snang) refers to the perception of objects outside of formal meditation sessions. PRIMORDIAL AWARENESS (ye shes): the fundamental nondual awareness present in all beings. In the sutra context it is translated as wisdom. "From time immemorial (ye nas in the sense of timelessly or primordially) present awareness (shes pa), awareness (rig pa), luminous and empty that is naturally present in the minds of all beings." (Bogya) PROVISIONAL MEANING (drang don): teachings of the Buddha that do not represent the ultimate true meaning, but are supposed to lead the student to the understanding of the true meaning.

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(yon tan) refers to the properties inherent in the enlightened mind. They appear to the extent the veils of conceptual grasping are being dissolved through the practice of meditation. QuALITIES

RATNAVALI

(rin chen phreng ba): a text written by Nagar-

juna. (nges 'byung) is the wish to liberate oneself from the cycle of existences. RENUNCIATION

('dod khams): it comprises all forms of existence except the gods in the realm of subtle form (gzugs khams) and the formless realm (gzugs med khams). REALM OF DESIRE

(gzugs khams) comprises seventeen samsaric god realms (gzugs khams kyi gnas ris bcu bdun): four realms of meditative concentration (bsam gtan bzhi), each of which is threefold, and five pure abodes (gnas gtsang ma'i lha lnga). REALM OF SUBTLE FORM

RooT TEACHER (rtsa ba'i bla rna): the teacher with whom a student of the Vajrayana has the closest connection; through his pointing out instructions and blessing the student recognizes and understands the nature of mind.

('khor ba): conditioned perception created by actions that always yields suffering. ROUND OF CONDITIONED EXISTENCE

(longs sku): the body of pure enjoyment, one of the three kayas. SAMBHOGAKAYA

('khor ba): a compulsive cycle that is nourished and maintained through ignorance, dualistic perception, mental poisons and actions carried out under their influence. SAMSARA

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SANGHA (dge 'dun): Buddhist spiritual community. SECRET MANTRA (gsang sngags): the vajra vehicle, a branch of the Mahayana. It is characterized by the application of special methods taught in the tantras that accelerate the process of spiritual maturation. SECRET MANTRA VAJRAYANA (gsang sngags rdo rje theg pa): see SECRET MANTRA. SEVEN NOBLE RICHES ('phags pa'i nor bdun): faith (dad pa), ethic discipline (tshul khrims), generosity (gtong ba), learning (thos pa), decorum (ngo tsha shes pa), modesty (khrel yod pa), and wisdom (shes rab). SHIKSHASAMUCCAYA (bslab pa kun btus) is a text written by Shantideva. SIX TYPES OF BEINGS (gro ba rigs drug): the gods, anti-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings. SIDDHA (grub thob): someone who has attained all realizations of the spiritual path, the ordinary and the highest siddhis. SIDDHI (dngos grub): attainment. The highest siddhi is the realization of mahamudra, the complete understanding of the nature of mind, which is equivalent to enlightenment. The ordinary siddhis are special abilities such as clairvoyance. They are called ordinary because they can be attained without realizing the nature of mind, without having overcome the basic deception of dualistic perception. SIGNS OF WARMTH (drod rtags) are signs of progress in the meditation.

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Six PARAMITAS (pha rol du phyin pa drug): generosity, ethic discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom. SKANDHAS (phung po lnga): five impure aggregates: form, feeling, perception, conceptuality, and consciousness. SOUTHERN CONTINENT OF JAMBUDVIPA (lho dzam bu ling): in Tibetan cosmology this is the name of our world. SPIRITUAL IMPOSTURE (mi chos bJa ma'i brdzun): pretending to possess spiritual qualities and realizations that one does not possess in reality. SPIRITUAL PATHS (lam) refer to the five spiritual paths (lam lnga) as they are explained in the Paramitayana. SHRAVAKAS AND PRATYEKAS (nyan thos dang rang sangs rgyas): listeners and solitary buddhas; levels of accomplishment of the small vehicle. SucHNESS (de nyid, short for de kho na nyid): the ultimate true nature of mind and phenomena, emptiness. SUPERIOR BEING (skyes bu mchog) is another designation for a bodhisattva. According to Jamgon Kongtrul in his Infinite Ocean of Knowledge someone possessing the following ten qualities is called a superior being: (1) he has disciplined the wild horse of the mind with the excellent bridle of training in ethic discipline; (2) he has mental stability through training in concentration with mindfulness and vigilance; (3) relying on the workability of a stable mind, he has brought forth insight through examining the true nature and thus appeased delusion; (4) he has superior qualities, neither inferior nor equal to students; (5) he is diligent, with constant delight in helping others; (6) he is rich in scriptural transmis-

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sion, having extensively studied the three baskets; (7) he has completely realized the ultimate nature of all phenomena through the force of listening, reflecting, and meditating; (8) he is eloquent in teaching, explaining the stages of the path in accordance with the intellectual capacity of the students; (9) he has a loving nature, teaching with a pure motivation of compassion, without regard for honor or gain; (10) he is free of weariness, never tiring to explain things again and again and being patient with anger etc ... SUPERFICIAL IMPURITIES (glo bur gyi dri rna): this refers to the veils covering the nature of mind preventing us from seeing it. These veils are not inherent to the nature of mind, but are a result of being caught up in the programmed aspect of mind that covers its true nature like a veil. SuTRA

(mdo): the oral teachings ofthe Buddha.

(mdo sde'i sde snod): collection of scriptures containing the oral teachings of the Buddha.

SuTRA PITAKA

TANTRAS ( rgyud): texts

dealing with the original purity of the nature of the mind and showing methods to realize it. The tantras are the basis of the Vajrayana. (de bzhin gshegs pa): designation for a buddha. He has achieved the great awakening on the path of ultimate reality that is beyond the extremes of samsara and nirvana.

TATHAGATA

(zhen pa gsum): attachment to this present life, to possessions, and to concentration. THREE ATTACHMENTS

THREE CONSTITUENTS OF ACTIONS

object and interaction.

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('khor gsum): subject,

THREE DOORS

(sgo gsum): body, speech, and mind.

(bs[ab pa gsum): ethic discipline (tshul khrims), concentration (ting nge 'dzin), and wisdom (shes rab).

THREEFOLD TRAINING

(dkon mchog gsum): Buddha (sangs rgyas), Dharma (chos), and Sangha (dge 'dun), the threefold refuge of the Buddhists. The Buddha is a true refuge because he is free from suffering, the Dharma because it explains the way out of suffering, and the Sangha because it can assist on the way. THREE JEWELS

THREE KAYAS

(sku gsum): dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and

nirmanakaya. THREE LOWER REALMS (ngan song gsum): the realms of the animals, the hungry ghosts, and the hell beings.

(dug gsum): desire ('dod chags), hatred (zhe sdang), and ignorance or blindness (gti mug).

THREE MIND POISONS

(khams gsum): the realm of desire ('dod khams), the realm of subtle form (gzugs khams), and the formless realm (gzugs med khams). THREE REALMS OF EXISTENCE

THREE SPIRITUAL VEHICLES ( theg pa gsum ): the three spiritual vehicles within Buddhism are the vehicle of the shravakas (nyan thos kyi theg pa ), the pratyekabuddhas (rang sangs rgyas kyi theg pa), and the bodhisattvas (byang sems kyi theg pa). TRANSCENDENTAL WISDOM

(shes rab pha ro[ du phyin pa): see

PERFECTION OF WISDOM. TRIP ITAKA (sde snod gsum): the Buddhist collections of scriptures of the Vinaya, the Sutras and the Abhidharma.

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Two ACCUMULATIONS (tshogs gnyis): the accumulation of merit (gsod nams kyi tshogs) and the accumulation of wisdom (ye shes kyi tshogs). Two BENEFITS (don gnyis): the benefit of others (gzhan don) and one's own benefit (rang don). Two PHASES OF MEDITATION (rimgnyis): two phases of meditation in the Vajrayana: the developing phase (bskyed rim) and the completing phase (rdzogs rim). Two PURITIES (dag pa gnyis ldan): the freedom from the two veils, the veil of the afflictions and the veil relating to knowledge. Two TYPES OF UNAWARENESS (ma rig pa gnyis): the coexistent unawareness (lhan cig skyes pa'i ma rig pa) and the imputing unawareness (kun tu brtags pa'i ma rig pa). Two VEILS (sgrib gnyis): the veil of the afflictions (nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) preventing liberation, and the veil relating to knowledge (shes bya'i sgrib pa) preventing omniscience. UNAWARENESS (ma rigpa): the nonrecognition of the enlightened mind or the nature of awareness (rig pa). UNMOVING KARMA (mi g.yo ba'i las): this kind of karma is created in the realms of concentration. The karmic force of concentration does not result in or move to another form of existence. Only when this unmoving karma is exhausted, there will be rebirth in another realm by the force of other karma. VAJRADHARA (rdo rje chang): symbolic embodiment of ultimate reality, the dharmakaya. VAJRAYANA (rdo rje thegpa): thevajra vehicle, a branch of the

Mahayana. It is characterized by the application of special methods taught in the tantras that accelerate the process of spiritual maturation. VEIL OF AFFLICTIONS

(nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa): this veil

prevents liberation. VEIL RELATING TO KNOWLEDGE

(shes bya'i sgrib pa): this veil

prevents omniscience. ('khor ba'i nyes dmigs): the inescapable round of conditioned existence created by the endless chain of actions and their results.

VICIOUS CIRCLE OF CONDITIONED EXISTENCE

(Ita ba): to look at one's mind and recognize its true nature.

VIEW

VINAYA PITAKA (dul ba'i sde snod): one of the three Buddhist collections of scriptures; it deals with the rules of ethic conduct.

bo): the male counterparts of the Dakinis. They are spiritual beings protecting and supporting the Dharma, its teachers and practitioners.

VIRAS ( dpa'

or ENERGY (rlung): the energy taking care of the bodily functions and sustaining life. It is connected to the breath. VITAL ENERGY

YIDAM DEITY (yi dam): tantric deity for meditation representing the qualities of enlightened mind present in all beings.

(rnal 'byor): spiritual practice involving body, speech and mind, and spiritual level of development. In the system of mahamudra the evolution of practice and understanding is described by means of twelve yogas and levels: three yogas YoGA

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of one-pointedness, three yogas of simplicity, three yogas of one-taste, and three yogas of nonmeditation. (dpag tsad): according to the Abhidharma, one yojana corresponds to about eight kilometers. YOJANA

Abbreviations: Bogya: The great Tibetan-Chinese Dictionary (bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo ). Daser: The Moonrays of Mahamudra by Dagpo Tashi Namgyal (nges don phyag rgya chen po'i sgom rim gsal bar byed pa'i legs bshad zla ba'i 'od zer); short title: phyag chen zla ba'i 'od zer.

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NOTES

1

The higher realms here refer to the realm of subtle form and the formless realm.

2

All of them are early Kadam teachers.

3 The dominant effects (dbang 'bras) manifest as environmental conditions. The environment is very unpleasant as a result of killing. There is much damage through frost and hail as a result of stealing. It is dusty as a result of adultery. There are foul smells as a result of lying. The landscape is scraggy and cannot be used for anything as a result of divisive talk. The soil is infertile as a result of harsh speech. The seasons are mixed up as a result of meaningless speech. The fruits are bitter as a result of ill-will. The fruits are small as a result of greed. There are no fruits as a result of wrong views. 4 The result will be experienced in the following or another life

than the present. 5 Unconditioned actions or stainless actions (zag med kyi las)

refers to actions that are not committed under the influence of the mind poisons. 6 The realm of the third concentration is one of four realms of concentration (bsam gtan bzhi), which are part of the realm of subtle form (gzugs khams). 7 The propelling action ('phen byed kyi las) determines the realm

ofbirth. The completing action (rdzogs byed kyi las) determines the condition within the realm of birth. 8 Mara's arrow (bdud kyi mda') stands for passion and desire. 9 A class of desire gods. 10

An intermediate kalpa (bar bskal) consists of four smaller kalpas: those of coming into being, existence, destruction, and nonexistence. Eighty intermediate kalpas make one great kalpa.

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11

Yama is the king of hungry ghosts.

12

These words are from the Bodhicharyavatara ofShantideva.

13 The similes for the twenty-two stages ofbodhichitta are: earth,

gold, moon, fire, treasure, jewel mine, ocean, diamond, mountain, medicine, spiritual friend, wish-fulfilling jewel, sun, song, king, treasury, road, wagon, vessel, echo, river, and cloud. 14 Through the influence of a spiritual friend arises an unstable,

through the other four causes arises a stable bodhichitta. The cause is an awakened Mahayana potential, the root is compassion. Study refers to the Mahayanadharma and getting used to wholesome actions refers to the accumulation of merit. 15 The ultimate subject (don dam pa'i yul can) means the mind

free from extremes. 16 Lower Abhidharma (mngon pa og rna) refers to the Abhidharmakosha ofVasubandhu, which is the Abhidharma according to the Hinayana Vaibhashika view. Higher Abhidharma ( mngon pa gong rna) refers to the Abhidharmasamuccaya by Asanga, which

is the Abhidharma according to the Mahayana Chittamatra view. 17 Literally "subtle increaser" (phra rgyas ), it is a synonym for mind

poison (nyon mongs pa). 18 View (Ita ba) means here afflicted view (Ita ba nyon mongs can),

the basis for all bad views. 19 The states of arhats (dgra beam pa) or stream enterers (rgyun zhugs) are the fourth and the first level of enlightenment in the

Therevada system. 20

A kusali, also called kusulu is a yogi without any material possessions.

21

Offer washing water, drinking water, flowers, incense, light, scented water, food, and music.

22

Preceptor ( mkhan po) is here the leader of the ordination committee.

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23 There are three degrees of ordination: ordination of a renunci-

ate with lay vows (rab sbyung), novice (dge tshul), and fully ordained monk (bsnyen rdzogs). 24 The three requisites (tha snyad gsum): being a human, having a

stable mind, and living in the desire realm. 25 The two meanings (de nyid gnyis) refer to the conventional meaning (drang don) and the true meaning (nges don). It can

also refer to the two natures, the one of being afflicted by mind poisons (kun nyon), and the one of being completely purified of them (rnam byang). 26 The three vows (sdom gsum) refer here to the vows of individual

liberation, the bodhisattva vows, and the Vajrayana vows. 27 In this example the teacher is compared to a snow mountain

and devotion to the sun that makes the snow melt, which is an example for blessings. 28 Since all the sutras were spoken by the Buddha, the "I" refers to

Buddha Shakyamuni. 29 A ti bkod pa chen po rgyud 30 Another Vajradhara is visualized at the very top, signifying the

origin of the lineage of transmission. 31

'~llliving

beings, my mothers, as limitless as the sky... "

3 2 The great Brahmin is Saraha, an Indian mahasiddha.

33 Landowner demons (gdon sa bdag) are spirits considering themselves to be the owners of a particular piece of land. 34 In this moment one is no longer under the influence of the karmic tendencies accumulated since beginningless samsara, and in this way they are purified. 3 5 The five aspects of manifest enlightenment (mngon byang lnga) refer to the visualization of a deity in five steps: moon disc, sun disc, seed syllable, symbolic attribute and the complete form of the deity. The threefold procedure (cho ga gsum) refers to the visualization of a deity in three steps: seat with seed syllable,

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attribute, and deity. Complete the moment you think of it (skad cig dran rdzogs) is a nongradual, instant way of visualizing a deity. 36 The birds will always return to the ship, if there is no land in sight. 37 The experience is not stable and is not sufficient to recognize the

nature of mind. 38 It means not to look for any remedy when thoughts arise. 39 Unreceptive (dred po): this refers to someone who cannot apply his theoretical knowledge of the Dharma to his own mind. 40 In-depth investigation (gzhi rtsa gcad pa) can also be translated

as "cutting (through) the root:' 41 These are two huge statues of the Buddha. 42 Cha, Ishvara and the ancestor of the world (phywa dang dbang

phyug dang 'jig rten gyi mes po) are gods or creator principles of the Bon and the Hindus. 43 The arising refers to the coming into being of samsara through

the twelve links of interdependent arising, and reversal refers to the achievement of nirvana through the reversal of this process. 44 phung po (skt. skandha), khams (skt. dhatu), skye mched (skt.

ayatana) 45 This means not too tight and not too loose. 46 This means, without restraining their movements and without running after them, he never loses sight of them. 47 This represents a nihilistic view that is in contradiction to the Dharma. 48 The basic error (ye shor) is related to theoretical understanding, the immediate error ('phral shor) is related to practice. 49 The experiences described in point 5 through 8 refer to those of the realms with the same name.

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so

The three vital principles of the body according to Tibetan medicine: wind (rlung), bile (mkhris pa), and phlegm (bad kan).

51 Solidifying mindfulness (a 'thas kyi dran pa): "The mind must

be kept with tense mindfulness on experiences and certainty:' (Daser) 52 Free from conceptual elaboration (spros bral): the mahamudra

level with the same name is termed here "simplicity:' 53 Unascertained appearance (snang lama nges pa): Appearances

are perceived without being labeled, like a child seeing paintings in a temple. 54 Grasping mindfulness (bzung dran) means "to recognize everything that arises as empty and to keep up the continuity of this certainty free from doubts:' (Daser) 55 Strict retreat ('dag sbyar), literally "sealed with clay;' refers to

caves that were sealed with clay during the period of retreat. 56 Pure awareness (yang dag gi dran pa) means: "When the effort and even the subtle grasping at certainty has freed itself in primordial awareness, the realization of the unity will be experienced independently of keeping up mindfulness:' (Daser) 57 This means through the three levels of one-pointedness. 58 Worldly paths refer to the path of accumulation and junction. 59 Chag'gya chen po (phyag rgya chen po) is the Tibetan for mahamudra. 6o Imputing unawareness (kun brtags pa'i ma rig pa) is the nonrecognition of primordial awareness owing to conceptual imputation. 61 Dharmakaya devotion (chos kyi sku'i mos gus) means the confi-

dence that the teacher embodies the dharmakaya. 62 Both these expressions signify that one should not spare any

effort to be at the teacher's service. 63 For beginners these are faults that should be removed.

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64 Since the fruit consists in understanding egolessness, there is

nobody obtaining a fruit. 65 This is an expression to say, I am ready to die. 66 This means, even if it seems as if you are acting like an ordinary

person, your mindfulness remains always uninterrupted. 67 The yogic awareness discipline (rig pa brtul zhugs spyod pa)

means to be without accepting and rejecting in one's action. 68 The five kinds of action are advanced tantric practices that are practiced on the base of realization. 69 The faults of the ground (gzhi'i nyes pa) are the superficial impurities (glo bur gyi dri rna) that prevent its recognition. 70 The powers and the fearlessnesses

(stobs dang rni 'jigs pa) are

qualities that appear when reaching buddhahood. 71 The qualities offreedom (bral ba)from the mind poisons and the

maturation (rnarn par srnin pa) of the kayas and the aspects of primordial awareness describe the state ofbuddhahood. 72 Mahamudra is in Tibetan phyag rgya chen po, which is pro-

nounced chag gya chen po. The explanations here refer mostly to these Tibetan syllables. 73

Yi ge bzhi pa

7 4 Sgorn rna rno chen rno

75 lhan cig skyes sbyor, in Sanskrit sahaja 76 lhan cig

77 skyes 78 sbyor 79

rnal 'byor corresponds to the Sanskrit yoga.

So Vinaya ('dul ba): 'dul ba means to tame and it is also the word for Vinaya, the texts dealing with the rules of ethic discipline.

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81 Pacifier (zhi byed) is the spiritual practice system ofPhadampa

Sangye. 82

The

5th

Shamarpa

83 Another name of the 9th Karmapa, not to be confounded with the 6th Shamarpa of the same name.

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