Royal Song of Saraha: Study in the History of Buddhist Thought

Saraha, arrowsmith , songster, and sage

THE ROYAL SONG OF SARAHA A Study in the History of Buddhist Thought TRANSLATED AND ANNOTATED BY

HERBERT V. GUENTHER

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SHAMBALA Berkeley and London

SHAMBALA PUBLICATIONS, INC. 1409 Fifth Street Berkeley, California 94710 and Barn Cottage, Stert Devizes, Wiltshire

Distributed in the Commonwealth and Europe by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. London and Henley-on-Thames First paperback edition 1973

Copyright © 1968 by the University of Washington Press Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress 68-8512 ISBN 0-87773-042-3

Preface

The richness of Eastern thought and its influence in moulding the life of the peoples in the Far East are still relatively little known and appreciated. The vast field of Tibetan thought and civilization is virtually unexplored. Too often, also, thought and action have been presented as unrelated to each other. The theme of this study of Saraha is the interrelation between thought and action. It is not exhaustive, rather exploratory, and attempts to show the significance of Saraha's work for the development ofTibetan Buddhist thought and ways oflife in the manner in which it was understood by the Tibetans themselves, as illustrated by the two commentaries translated here, one by the Nepalese scholar, sKye-med bdechen (eleventh century), and the other by the famous bKa'brgyud-pa Lama Karma Phrin-las-pa (fifteenth century). In this respect, it is hoped, this study will destroy the longcherished myth that the Tibetans merely translated mechanically from Indian sources and thus were little more than the custodians of works unfortunately lost in India. There is nothing to support this myth and it is about time to realize that Indian Buddhist thought acted merely as a powerful stimulus to an otherwise profound indigenous thinking which could absorb and remodel new ideas. v

In searching for expressions suitable for conveying the meaning of the many technical terms, I have tried to remain as close as possible to the associations these terms evoke in spoken Tibetan and to the ideas they convey to the Tibetan listener. It should be constantly borne in mind that in the field of philosophical thinking the Tibetans made use of symbolic etymologies distinct from the linguistic ones. In attempting to convey what the Tibetans understood and what they lived by, it is best to follow their example. Therefore, the translation offered here is not a "crib" which, pretending to deal with ideas, actually confuses irrelevant linguistic etymologies with significant philosophical statements. Eastern philosophical texts, which in most cases are also psychologically informative, must be dealt with from the viewpoint of philosophy and psychology, not from that of exercises in grammar and syntax. No one can know better than I do that such a task is beset with difficulties, so much more so because philosophy is not something reducible to one or another" ism," but a perpetual questioning. I am not thinking of this translation as a substitute for the original, because a translation worth the name is more a commentary on the original than a cheap substitute for it. Therefore, my aim has qeen not to give a complete and unchallengeable answer to any problem that arises in the texts, which would be impossible, but to give pointers in what I believe to be the right direction and to arouse interest, curiosity, and the desire to explore further. I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness and gratitude to Mr. K. Angrup, Lecturer at Panjab University, Chandighar, India, who assisted me in procuring the rare blockprint of Karma Phrin-las-pa's commentary on Saraha's Dohiis and in having it copied; to Geshe Nagwang Nima (dge-bshes Ngag-dbang Nyi-ma), formerly of Drepung monastery, Vl

Tibet, and Research Fellow at the Sanskrit University in Varanasi, India, now at Kern Institute in Leiden, Holland; to Naynang Rinpoche (Gnas-nang dpa' -bo rin-po-che) of Darjeeling, India; and to the Incarnate Lama TarthangTulku (Dar-thang sprul-sku) at the Sanskrit University in Varanasi, for their untiring help in deciphering the often illegible blockprint and making the necessary corrections in the copied text. All of them were always ready to discuss and elucidate difficult passages. My thanks are also due to Professors L. Miller, T. Y. Henderson, and R. W. Krutzen of the University of Saskatchewan, who read part of the typescript and made valuable suggestions concerning the rendering of philosophical terms. To G.J. Yorke, I owe much for style and presentation. I am especially grateful to the University of Saskatchewan for making available a substantial fmancial contribution for the publication of this book. My wife has given unstinted help in proofreading and indexing; and even more in the patience and understanding she has shown when all my spare time was devoted to the writing of this book. H. V. G.

PREFACE

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Contents

PART I: TRADITION AND PHILOSOPHY

The Tradition about Saraha and His Works 3 The Teaching of the Dohas 21 Existence versus Essence 42 PART II: THE ROYAL SONG OF SARAHA

The Song on Human Action-the Treasure ·of Dohiis 63 PART III: COMMENT ARIES

Commentaries by sKye-med bde-chen and Karma Phrin:..las-pa 75 Selected Bibliography Index

209

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PART I

TRADITION AND PHILOSOPHY

The Tradition about Saraha and His Works

"King Dohas" is the name given by tradition to one of three works composed in a number of melodious verse forms, summarized under the term "Doha." The particular composition bearing the name "King Do has" is said to have been sung to a certain king on a certain occasion by its author Saraha, the "Great Brahmin" as he is usually referred to in Tibetan texts. As in almost all cases in the history of Indian thought practically nothing is known about him and yet, to judge by the many quotations from his compositions, his importance for the mystic philosophers ofTibet and for some in India cannot be overestimated, even if he is not counted as one of the spiritual teachers in succession. This latter circumstance may be the reason that his name is hardly ever mentioned in works dealing with Indian thought. The few indigenous "biographies" differ about his birthplace and the name of the ruler at that time, but are· unanimous in their assertion that a decisive turn in his life occurred through a woman. By far the most interesting account ofhis life is given by Karma Phrin-las-pa, who writes: 1 1 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor gsum-gyi {i-kii sems-kyi rnam-thar ston-pa'i me-long (hereafter cited as Do-hii skor-gsum ... ), fol. za.

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Although many different opinions prevail concerning his time Rang-byung rdo-rje's [A.D. 1284-1 339] statement that he was born three hundred and thirty-six years after the demise of the Buddha is most plausible. The Great Brahmin Saraha was the youngest offive sons born to the Brahmin sPangs-pa phun-sum-tshogs and his wife, the Brahmini sPangs-ma phun-sum-tshogs, in the South, in India, in the country of Be-ta [Vidarbha]. The five brothers were well versed in many subjects, but excelled in the knowledge of the Vedas. Therefore King Mahapila was pleased to honor them as worthy persons. At this time Hayagriva2 had assumed the form of the Bodhisattva Sukhanatha in order to provide spiritual tr:lining for those capable of becoming instantly enlightened. Thinking that the Great Brahmin might accomplish his purpose he appeared in the guise of four Brahmin girls and one female arrowsmith, all of them beings of the spiritual world (mkha'-'gro-ma). Four· of them took up their place in a park, while one remained behind in a market place. When the five brothers came to the park the four Brahmin girls approached them and asked them where they had come from, where they were going, and what they were doing. Being answered that they had not come from any particular place, were not going anywhere and also were not doing anything special, the girls inquired about their caste. The brothers declared themselves to be Brahmins and recited the four Vedas on the spot. Four of them asked the girls whether they would like to have them as their consorts and when the girls had consented theywentaway together. The youngest brother thought of becoming a monk and asked the king for permission. Having obtained it he entered the order under Mahayana Srikirti, a disciple ofBuddha's son Rahulabhadra. Through intense studies he became a noted scholar in countless subjects. Not only did he become famous as the Brahmin Rahula, 2 Hayagriva {rTa-mgrin) is one of the protecting deities (choi-skyong) ofTibet. For a description see Alice Getty, The Gods tifNorthern Buddhism (Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1962), pp. 162 ff., and Pl. xliv, fig. c.; Antoinette K. Gordon, The Iconography of Tibetan Lamaism (rev. ed.; Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1960), p. go and plates; Raghu Vira an.d Lokesh Chandra, A New Tibetan-Mongol Pantheon (Vol. XXI in the Sata-pi!aka Series oflndo-Asian ,Literatures; New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1961), Part I, Pl. 64; Part II, Pis. 137-41; Part VIII, Pl. 55·

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he also became the spiritual master of the teacher Nagarjuna and other illustrious persons. . Once when this Brahmin Rahula was roaming in his district and had come to a garden, the four Brahmin girls approached him with cups ofbeer and begged him to drink them. Although he protested he succumbed to their entreaties and drank the four cups of beer in large gulps. He had four particularly pleasant sensations3 and, as had been prophesied about him, he met the Bodhisattva Sukhanatha face to face. Blessed by him he was exhorted: "In this city there lives a mysterious arrowsmith woman who is making a four-piece .arrow. Go to her and many beings will profit by it." With these words the vision disappeared. Through the sustaining power of this vision the mystic awareness of the coemergence of both transcendence and immanence was born in him. Thinking that he would have to act after this instantaneous realization of spiritual freedom, he went to the big market place and thete he saw a young woman cutting an arrow-shaft, looking neither to the right nor to the left, wholly concentrated on making an a,rrow. Coming closer he saw her carefully straightening a reed with three joints, cutting it both at the bottom and at the top, inserting a pointed arrowhead where she had cut the bottom into four sections and tying it with a tendon, putting four feathers where she had split the top into two pieces and then, closing one eye and opening the other, assuming the posture of aiming at a target. When he asked her whether she was a professional arrowsmith she said: "My dear young man, the Buddha's meaning can be known through symbols and actions, not through words and books." Then and there the spiritual significance of what she was doing dawned upon him. The reed is the symbol for the uncreated; the three joints, that of the necessity to realize the three existential norms ;4 the straightening of the shaft, that ofstraightening the path ofspiritual growth; 3 This is an allusion to the four kinds of delight sensed during the process of spiritual development and integration. See Herbert V. Guenther, The Life and Teaching of Niiropa (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963), p. 78, note 2. 4 They are those of noetic (chos-sku, dharmakiiya), communicative (longs-spyod rdzogs-pa'i sku, sambhogakiiya), and authentic being (sprulpa'i sku, nirmiipakiiya). The Tibetan term sku always implies the dynamic character of being and existing; the static aspect of~' body" is termed Ius.

THE TRADITION ABOUT SARAHA AND HIS WORKS

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cutting the shaft at the bottom, that of the necessity to uproot Sal!lsara, and at the top, that of eradicating the belief in a self or an essence; the splitting of the bottom into four sections, that of "memory," "nonmemory," "unorigination," and "transcendence" ;5 inserting the arrowhead, that of the necessity to use one's intelligence; tying it with a tendon, that ofbeing fixed by the seal of unity; splitting the upper end into two, that ofaction and intelligence; inserting four feathers, that oflooking, attending to the seen, ·acting on the basis of what has been seen and attended to, and their combination of fruition; opening one eye and closing the other, that of shutting the eye of discursiveness and opening that of the a priori awareness; the posture of aiming at a target, that of the necessity to shoot the arrow of nonduality into the heart of the belief in duality. Because of this understanding his name was to become" Saraha" (he who has shot the arrow). In India, sara means "arrow" and ha(n) "to have shot," and so he became known as "He who has shot the arrow" (mda'-bsnun) because he had sent the arrow of nonduality into the heart of duality [which is the belief in subject and object as ultimate entities]. Then he said: "You are not an ordinary arrowsmith woman; you are a teacher ofsymbols."6 He lived with her and engaged in yogic activities. "Till yesterday I was not a real Brahmin, from today I am "7-with these and similar words he departed with her .to the cremation grounds. When on the occasion of some people celebrating a Tantric feast he sang some songs and when, singing many songs, he feasted in company with the arrowsmith woman in the cremation grounds, 5 These are the key·terms used in the elucidation of the progressive deepening of mystic insight and the felt knowledge of existence. As symbol terms they must not be confused with the connotations these words have in ordinary language. 6 There is here a word-play between mda'-mkhan-ma (female arrowsmith) and brda-mkhan-ma (a woman well versed in symbols), the pronunciation of the two words being the same. 7 The same words are quoted in dPa-bb gtsug-lag, mKhas-pa'i dga'ston, ed. by Lokesh Chandra (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1959), Part II, pp. 349 ff. In the account of Saraha's life in this work these words were spoken after his vision and before his meeting with the arrowsmith woman.

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a great number of people who had gathered to watch in faith, gained an understanding of the meaning of reality by merely hearing the word "Reality" and went into ecstasy.s At this time, many dirty-minded Indians vilified and slandered him: "The Brahmin Rahula does not perform the time-honored rites and has given up celibacy. He indulges in shameful practices with a low-caste woman and runs around like a dog in all directions." When the king heard these slanders he issued orders to his subjects headed by Saraha's four Brahmin brothers that they should try to persuade the Great Brahmin to give up his scandalous behavior and by acting decently to help the people in the realm. It was then that on behalf of the people he sang the one hundred and sixty verses [constituting the" People Dohas "],thereby setting them on the right path. When the king's queens entreated him in like manner he sang the eighty verses [forming the "Queen Do has"], making them understand the meaning of Reality. Finally, the king himself came to beg the Great Brahmin to revert to his earlier behavior, and it was for the sake of the king that Saraha sang the forty verses [known as the "King Dohas"]. As Saraha led the king and his entourage on the path of Reality the country·ofBe-ta [Vidarbha] became empty instantly [that is, the inhabitants lost interest in the common preoccupations in life]. There is little historical value in this delightful biographical sketch with its poking fun at the puritanical tenor of Indian society. The reference to King Mahapala is worthless for at least two reasons. One is that other texts give the king' s name as Ratnapala or Candanapala, 9 and since these names are as common in the Indian setting as are Jones and Smith in English it is very unlikely that any one of them was a member of the Pala dynasty, which ruled for about three centuries (from the ninth to the eleventh) in the eastern part of India. The other reason is that "king" is an administrative title whose use is not restricted to persons who have become so Literally, "attained the faculty of walking in the sky." M. Shahidullah, Les Chants Mystiques de Kii~;~ha et de Saraha (Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1928), p. 31. 8

9

THE TRADITION ABOUT SARAHA AND HIS WORKS

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famous in one way or another that they have gone down in history. This Mahapala may well have been a city magistrate, and it can be noted in passing that there is also no unanimity concerning the city where Saraha was born. 10 It has been argued that the language in which Saraha expressed his ideas is a late Apabhrarpsa form pointing to Bengal, and that for this reason he must belong to a late period of Buddhist thought. This argument from language might have carried. conviction ifSaraha had not been quoted by Naropa [A.D. IOI6-IIoo], and hence must have been an authority before Naropa's time. Moreover, it remains a strange fact, reflecting rather unfavorably on the scholarliness of those who have dealt with the "People Dohas," that none of them noted that the Tibetan translation, apart from being larger than the alleged original, does not tally with the Apabhrarpsa version. 11 The latter studiously avoids all the 10 According to the source used by M. Shahidullah, ibid., Saraha was born at Roli in Rajfii in the Eastern part of India. But according to Padma dkar-po, Phyag-rgya chen-po'i man-ngag-gi bshad-sbyar rgyal-ba'i gan-mdzod (hereafter cited as Phyag-chen gan-mdzod . .. ), fol. 9b, he was born in Varanasi (Benares). Padma dkar-po lets him be a direct disciple of Buddha's son Rahula and claims that he was born only thirty years after the Buddha's death, and that his early name was Rahulabhadra according to the custom of the disciple taking part of the teacher's name in forming his own name. Padma dkar-po then attempts to explain away the period between Saraha's and Nagarjuna's birth. The assumption that Mahapala is a misspelling for Mahipala, the name of the ninth king of the dynasty (circa A.D. 978-1030), also does not help because the popular memory has attached itself to this ruler more than to any other so that he is more like a peg on which to hang any tradition about important persons. 11 A translation, not always correct, of the "People Dohas" in French has been given by M. Shahidullah, Les Chants Mystiques de KatJha et de Saraha, and one in English by D. L. Snellgrove, "Saraha's Treasury of Songs," pp. 224-39 in E. Conze (ed.), Buddhist Texts through the Ages (Oxford: Cassirer, 1954). The English translation closely follows the French one but omits all verses not found in Apabhramsa and destroys the logical-context by removing two verses {16 and 17 in Shahidullah's

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technical terms characteristic ofSaraha's line of thought. For instance, the Apabhramsa version reads:1 2 It arises as a thing and into no thing fades, Having no essence when will it arise again? Without end or beginning, that which links both is not found. Stay! The gracious master speaks. Look and listen, touch and eat, Smell and wander, sit and stand, Pass your time in easy talk, Let mind go, move not from singleness. The Tibetan "translation" has If that born as a [thing or] substance becomes quiet like the sky What then is there to be born when that substance has been destroyed? That which from the beginning has no origination Is now understood when taught by the gracious Guru. If to see, hear, touch, and remember, To eat, drink, wander, go, and stand, Empty talk and answers are but mind, Then from the One one never moves. Karma Phrin-las-pa who, of course, bases his explanations on the Tibetan translation, comments on these lines as follows: 13 If whatever has come as substance and quality, such as color-form, has subsided in the realm of spontaneity,14like clouds disappearing version) from where they belong and placing them outside the body of the text. 12 Verses 56 and 57 in M. Shahidullah's edition. 13 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum . .. , fol. 35ab. 14 The literal translation of the Tibetan term lhan-cig skyes-pa (Sanskrit sahaja) would be "coemergence," and as such it iS explained by Padma dkar-po, Phyag-chen gan-mdzod . .. , fols. 29a ff. Essentially it refers to the spontaneity and totality of the experience in which the opposites such as transcendence and immanence, subject and object, the THE TRADITION ABOUT SARAHA AND HIS WORKS

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in the sky, what kind of belief in subject and object [as ultimates] can arise when the idea of substance which is the content of a mind believing in determinables, has been abolished? The objects of the six senses [then] partake of the nature of unorigination. When does [the feeling of] unoriginatedness in which the idea of substance has been abolished, arise? As long as one has not appreciated that that which has been without origination from the very beginning has been so before, it is understood the moment it is taught by the Guru, and this understanding is but incidental. Therefore it has to be safeguarded as the foundation of the path of spiritual development. Then, when through an absorption in which everything is experienced as being of an apparitional nature, a yogi who understands the meaning of being knows as mind whatever he may see with his eyes, hear with his ears, feel with his body, think in his mind, whatever also he may eat and smell, whatever he may do in the way of walking, going, standing, and giving appropriate answers to the chatter in everyday life, and then by being aware that all ideas due to the six senses are transformations of the sole reality, Mind, he does not lose a state of composure. On the other hand, gNyis-med Avadhiitipa, whose work is available only in its Tibetan translation but who as an Indian dealt with the Indian version, has also commented on a text from which the present Tibetan translation has been made and which cannot be identified with the available Apabhraq1sa version.15 He says: noumenal and the phenomenal indivisibly blend. The translation of this term by" I' !nne" (M. Shahidullah) and" the Innate" (D. L. Snellgrove) is wrong. 1 5 Do-ha mdzod-kyi snying-po-don-gyi glu'i 'grel-pa (Dohiiko~a-hrdaya­ artha-giti-tikii) ; Derge ed.: rgyud-' grel, Vol. zhi, fols. 82b ff.; Peking ed.: rgyud-' grel, Vol. rtsi, fols. 97a ff.; (hereafter cited as Do-hii mdzodkyi snying-po .. .). If the author's name, gNyis-med Avadhiitipa, is a

contraction of gN yis-med rdo-rje and A vadhiitipa, which according to Sog-po Khal-kha chos-rje Ngag-dbang dpal-ldan, Grub-mtha' chen-mo'i mchan-'grel dka'-gnad mdud-grol blo-gsal gees-nor zhes-bya-ba-las dngossmra-ba'i skabs, fol. 2a, were other names of Maitripa, then the work

represents the famous" Commentary by Maitripa." IO

The existentiality of Mind is comparable with the sky while "memory," an outcome of mind, is like mist and passes away; hence, "If that born as a [thing or] substance has become quiet like the sky." The origination of things [substances] is not something that happens apart from mind; it comes out of" memory" and [this in turn] out of"nonmemory." But what is there to arise in what is beyond these two? Hence, "what then is there to be born when that substance has been destroyed?" If anything originates from that which has had no origin from its very beginning, even a sky-flower can be said to come into existence. In this way everything that appears is known [to be like] a sky-flower. Why? Because the sky gradually takes shape and appears as a variety of things. Therefore appearance is like a sky-flower. Inasmuch as mind as such can be compared with the sky and "memory," which is the outcome of mind, with a sky-flower, neither hope nor fear should prevail in a meditation moving in the realm of" memory." Therefore that which is not vitiated by "memory" and "nonmemory" [is spoken of as] "That which from the beginning has no origination." When appearance is pointed out by the symbols of body, speech, and mind, and nothingness by [those ofnonmemory and] unorigination, [the concluding wor~s apply]: "Is now understood when taught by the gracious Guru." As to the value of the felt knowledge of reality, when there is no longer any deliberation about anything, color-form, sound, flavor, fragrance, and touch are referred to by the symbol-term "memory," and hence [Saraha begins] "If to see, hear, touch, and remember." The pure and impure, going and coming are referred to by the symbol-term [" nonmemory "], [and the verse continues] "to eat, drink, wander, go, and stand." Question and answer is referred to by the symbol-term [" unorigination "], hence "Empty talk and answers are but mind." And since the actuality of mind does not part from its "transcendence" [Saraha concludes] "Then from the One one never moves."

Even if we were to accept the thesis that the Tibetan commentators read into the text what is not, or is supposed to have been, the original meaning, the fact remains that this "reading something into something" relates to words that are found in the Tibetan translation and that also must have been THE TRADITION ABOUT SARAHA AND HIS WORKS

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in the version from which the Tibetan translation was made, although they are not in the available ApabhraJ!lS'a text. It is from the outset rather unlikely that the Tibetan translators failed to understand this particular text while in all their other translations they thoroughly understood the Indian versions. Since, moreover, the Tibetan version contains more verses than the Apabhrarp.sa text and since also the grouping of the individual lines into a coherent verse differs from the available text,· there is no other alternative but to consider the Apabhramsa text as a "bowdlerized" and fragmentary version of an earlier work that unfortunately has been lost. We are thus left with the tradition that Saraha was the teacher ofNagarjuna, whom he met when he was already an old man. Unfortunately the time ofNagarjuna is unknown, too. The hypothesis that he lived in the second century A.D. is highly plausible, but no exact proof can be adduced. Nagarjuna certainly is one of the greatest mystic philosophers; so is Saraha, and for this reason a pupil-teacher relationship may well have existed. The attempt, however, to duplicate Nagarjuna, claiming the one to be a philosopher and the other a Tantric, is not worth a moment's consideration as it merely reflects· ignorance about the relationship between theory (philosophy) and practice (Tantra) and prejudges both. Although the historicity of Saraha cannot be doubted, the elusiveness of the man is matched by that of his teaching. This is not so much because what he has to say is so abstruse as to be incomprehensible; rather it is the internal structure of his teaching that has baffled those who have referred to him. This is partly because the song form in which Saraha's thought is expressed renders the whole representation into little fragmentary pictures which seem to stand independent! y by themselves. The progression of thought goes from image to image, from emotion to emotion, and therefore seems to lack the logical clarity of a didactic treatise. The failure to 12

detect a progression of thought is certainly because most philosophers have lost all vital contact with poetic modes of expression and instead substitute, ifever they aspire to poetry, an intellectual activity that consists of giving reflective thought a metrical form. Ifit is already difficult to detect a systematic progression of thought in one work, how much more difficult it is to relate three different works to one single strand of thought! Traditionally, the work of Saraha is mentioned by the name The Three Cycles of Do has (do-ha skor gsum) consisting of what is otherwise known as "King Dohas," "Queen Dohas," and "People Dohas," each of them dealing with a specific existential problem. It seems that this particular triple division has sometimes been doubted as having been the intention of Saraha. Karma Phrin-las-pa 16 states that some people were of opinion that The Three Cycles of Dohas were indeed sung by Saraha, but were not divided into larger and smaller poems as they all were merely expressive of his mystic experience. At a later time they were written down by Saraha's disciple Nagarjuna and for the sake of instruction discussed in the form of three treatises varying in size. Others, however, claimed that Nagarjuna cannot be held to have arranged the songs into treatises; they were put so by Saraha for the benefit ofMaitripa, Saraha having realized spiritual freedom when the songs were recited to him as an instructive injunction.

Karma Phrin-las-pa rejects these views in favor of the tradition by Rang-byung rdo-rje for whom The Three Cycles of Dohiis were the authentic works of Saraha. When reading the kind of texts which are likely to contain quotations from Saraha, what strikes us immediately is the fact that almost all quotations are taken from his so-called "People Dohas." 17 This also seems to have been noted by the Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum . .. , fol. 3b. An exception is kLong-chen rab-'byams-pa, Chos-dbyings rin-poche'i mdzod-kyi 'grel-pa lung-gi gter-mdzod (hereafter cited as Chos16 17

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Tibetans, who then by way of"higher" criticism proceeded to claim that the " Queen Do has" and "King Dohas" were not the works of Saraha. Karma Phrin-las-pa rejects this claim, and his objection against the arbitrariness of any "higher criticism" is well taken. 18 He calls its followers "ignoble persons" who declare that19 both the "King Dohas" and "Queen Do has" are not genuine works by Saraha and that the term" Three Cycles ofDohas" does not mean three different works. Rather, "Three Cycles ofDohas" means the cycle ofinitiation as the prerequisite for spiritual maturation, the cycle of explanation of the basic work, and the cycle of guidance in making a living experience of that which has been explained and taught. The first cycle is the initiation into the spiritual meaning of Vajravarahi or the initiation by the four symbol-terms20 used in the Dohiis. The second is the explanation of the "People Dohas" in connection with Maitripa's commentary on it, and the third is the guidance by means of the four symbolterms used in the Dohiis or the instruction by means of pebbles. Since this is the meaning of" Three Cycles ofDohas" the two other works ["King Do has" and "Queen Do has"] are a forgery. In order to substantiate this criticism the same people state that the index to the bsTan-'gyur by Bu-ston [A.D. 1219-1364] only lists the "People Dohas"; that there is no Indian commentary on the other two works; and that Ras-chung-pa [A.D. 1083-II61] saw only the "People Dohas" in India where he had gone because gLing-ras-pa [A.D. II28-88], an expert in mysticism, had written a commentary on the "People Dohas" but not on the other two "Dohas," but on his return to Tibet found three works with Bal-po A-su. For this dbyings rin-po-che'i mdzod . ..), fol. 54b, where the first line of stanza 8 of the" King Dohas" is quoted. Stanza 17 is quoted in full by Thub-bstan 'bar-ba in his Nges-don phyag-rgya-chen-po'i sgom-rim gsal-bar byed-pa'i legs-bshad zla-ba'i 'od-zer, fol. 5ab. 18 On the unsound methods of "higher criticism" in general, see Walter Kaufmann, Critique of Religion and Philosophy (London: Faber and Faber, 1958), pp. 265 ff. 19 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum .. ., fol. 3b ff. 2° That is, "memory," "nonmemory," "unorigination," and "transcendence."

reason the two works may well have been composed by Lama Bal-po himself. This is all subversive talk and reflects on the ignorance [of those who hold such views] because though the verses do not occur in gLing's commentary, they can be seen in other works after the main body of the text. Moreover, in the index to the bsTan-' gyur many works have not been listed; if this is to mean that they have not been written and that in the absence· of an Indian commentary works are not genuine, the number ofspurious works would increase greatly. Therefore, the works are oflndian origin; and since such wise persons as Rang-byung rdo-rje and others have written commentaries on them on the basis of other commentaries being existent, taking these works as genuine, and written by former scholars such as Par-phu-ba and Tsang nag-po, and since also many later scholars like Mati paQ.-chen [circa A.D. 1334] and Yidbzang rtse-pa continued writing commentaries on them, they must be considered as genuine. The tradition of the Dohiis in Tibet goes back to Mar-pa [A.D. 1012-97], who had studied them in India under Maitripa

and who transmitted his knowledge to his favorite disciple Mi-la ras-pa [A.D. 1040-II23]. It seems, however, that he merely referred to them rather than giving a detailed explanation. Karma Phrin-las-pa says in this connection that "from among the four special and famous disciples of Maitripa, Lord Mar-pa studied the subject matter of the Dohiis well, and after having experienced for himself what the teaching was about, he handed it down to Mi-la ras-pa and others, but he did not translate or teach the subject matter of the three works.'' 21 AtiSa [A.D. 982-1054], too, had studied the Dohiis and was about to teach them when he was requested by 'Brom-ston not to do so because he was of opinion that the Tibetans might take them too literally and that as a consequence their morals might suffer. Although Maitripa's commentary was translated into Tibetan, the Dohiis were not 21

Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum ... , fol. 7a.

THE TRADITION ABOUT SARAHA AND HIS WORKS

15

specifically taught. Similarly the Zhi-byed system, 2 2 which goes back to Pha dam-pa Sangs-rgyas and which accepts the Dohiis, was more concerned with the realization of what the Dohiis taught than with teaching and promulgating them. The actual continuity of the teaching of their subject mai:ter derives from the Indian Vajrapal).i, who was the teacher of several Tibetans. Karma Phrin-las-pa informs us :23 Atisa had studied under Maitripa and when he arrived in mNga'ris he began teaching the Dohiis. When he gave a literal interpretation of statements such as "What is the use of sacrificial lamps and cakes?" he was asked not to continue with the teaching as it was feared that the morals of the Tibetans, slight as they were, might suffer. Although AtiSa was not happy about it, he is reported to have henceforward desisted from mentioning the Dohiis. He and Ba-ri lotsava translated Maitripa's commentary, but its contents were not taught. The followers of the Zhi-byed system, which derives from Pha dam-pa Sangs-rgyas, emphasized the inner experience of what the Dohiis suggested rather than the dissemination of the teaching itself, although they wrote notes on the translation of the "People Dohas" by rMa chos-'bar. The actual transmission of this teaching, the essence of Buddhism, is due to the Indian VajrapaQi.

The exploits ofVajrapaq.i are merely hinted at by Karma Phrin-las-pa, and a more detailed and intelligible account is found in 'Gos lotsava's sDeb-ther sngon-po. 24 Without the latter's version much of what Karma Phrin-las-pa writes remains unintelligible. · 22 A short account of this system, which aims at the total annihilation of suffering, is given in Thu'u-kvan bLo-bzang cho-kyi nyi-ma dpal bzang-po, Grub-mtha' thams-cad-kyi khungs dang 'dod-tshul ston-pa legs-

bshad shel-gyi me-long, Part V. 23 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum. . . . See also George N. Roerich, The Blue Annals (Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1949, 1953), II, 843 ff. 24 George N. Roerich, ibid., p. 858.

16

Vajrapal]i's influence centered on three persons who were to acquire great fame and contributed much to the development of Buddhist thought in Tibet. They were the Nepalese A-su (commonly known as Lama Bal-po), Ras-chung-pa, and mNga'-ris-pa, through whom the continuation of the teaching as well as the practice of realization was established. Karma Phrin-las-pa again informs us :2 5 The tradition which originated with Bal-po A-su became known as the Bal method about the Dohiis; the one which derived from Ras-chung-pa, who had studied the subject under Ti-phu-ba, was known as the Ras-chung method; and the one which spread through Gru-shul-ba, who had studied under mNga'-ris-pa, became known as the Par method because it was Par-phu-ba [a direct disciple of Gru-shul-ba] who had arranged the Three Cycles of Dohiis into treatises including the manuals about them. In course of the development of these three methods it happened that mNga'ris-pa and Ras-chung-pa also studied under LamaBal-po. Although in this way the two traditions [ofmNga'-ris-pa and Ras-chung-pa] go back to Bal-po who had studied under Vajrapal}i, the methods of teaching seem to have had individual traits, although both accepted the interpretation by Bal-po. For this reason our own tradition came to be known as consisting of three methods. My teacher, 'Khrul-zhig chen-po, explained solely the Par method and followed the text as embodied in the commentary written by the latter.

mNga'-ris-pa, whose full name was mNga'-ris Jo-stan Chos-kyi tshul-khrims-mNga'-ris after the name of his birth-place; Jo-bo stan-gcig-pa in recognition of the quality ofhis studies; and Chos-kyi tshul-khrims, his monastic name -had studied in India but, as advised by Vajrapal]i, went for further studies to Lama Bal-po. At ftrst he was aware of a difference between Vajrapal)i's and Bal-po A-su's teaching, but searching deeper he found that neither differed essentially, and so he accepted Bal-po A-su' s interpretation. Reading 25

Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fols. 7b ff.

THE TRADITION ABOUT SARAHA AND HIS WORKS 17

between the lines this means that Bal-po, a native Nepalese of, probably, Tibetan stock had interpreted the teaching of Vajrapat].i in the light of his Tibetan background, for every translation is an interpretation and no interpretation occurs in a vacuum. mNga'-ris-pa saw the difference but proceeded to reconcile it by the assumption that both the Indian and the Tibetan scholars dealt with Buddhism as their common ground and ultimate aim (nges-don), and he accepted the Nepalese-Tibetan way as more suited to his Tibetan character.26 The fact that mNga'-ris-pa noted the difference between the Indian and Nepalese-Tibetan conceptions cannot and must not be underestimated. It certainly destroys the long-cherished myth that the Tibetans translated mechanically from Indian texts, assuming ideas and concepts conveyed by the words in use to be separately movable and examinable counters (which is the fervent belief of modern dictionarytranslators). They were well aware of the fact that concepts are functionings of words which interlock with the functioning of other terms in a specific realm of discourse and, although" one word may have two or more functions, one of its functions cannot change places with another. " 27 mNga'-ris-pa's direct disciple was Gru-shul-ba, about whom little is known. His disciple was Par-phu-ba, who was born in g Yor-po and belonged to the ancient family ofrNga. His proper name was bLo-gros seng-ge, but he became known as Par-phu-ba because he had founded a monastery at ParIbid., fol. Sa. Gilbert Ryle, Dilemmas (Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, r960), p. 32. It seems that many of the pseudoscholarly translations of Buddhist philosophical texts, by linguists who deliberately close their eyes to the fact that an etymological dissection of an isolated word is not a meaningful proposition, mask an attempt to bring into ridicule and contempt civilizations different from our own, because their so-called "objective" approach is but a euphemism for their self-centered feeling of superiority. 26

27

18

phu. Under Bu lotsava he had studied logic and epistemology and then met Phag-mo gru-pa ('Gro-mgon Phag-mo gru-pa rDo-rje rgyal-po, A.D. I I ro-70), who was a follower of one of the idealistic-mentalis* schools ofBuddhisni (sems-tsam). It was this idealistic-mentalistic interpretation which was . accepted by Par-phu-ba in his writings about the Dohiis. As Karma Phrin-las-pa's teacher also taught the Par method, idealistic-mentalistic trends are easily detected. Here again it must be noted that the Tibetans developed this line of thinking in their own way, and several distinct variations from the Indian prototype can be observed. Par-phu-ba became a disciple ofGru-shul-ba, who introduced him to the teaching of mysticism. A number of commentaries and explanatory works on the Dohiis testify to his interest in these works. From Par-phu-ba the tradition of the Dohiis continued through his direct disciple dGyer-sgom of sNye-phu shugsgseb, a monastery dGyer-sgom had founded and where he stayed for twenty-six years. His disciple was Sangs-rgyas dbon, alias Rin-chen snying-po, who acted as abbot for many years. He was succeeded by his disciple Brag-'bur-ba, the latter by Ri-la gzhon-rin, better known as Shugs-gseb ri-rab because he acted as abbot of Shugs-gseb monastery. Afterwards the tradition passed through Bla-ma dKon-mchog rdo-rje, Chos-sgo-ba dPal shes-rab, rDza-khol-ba Jo-stan, Bla-ma sMon-lam-pa, sTag-lung Chos-rje Ngag-gi dbangpo, rJe Sha-ra rab-'byams-pa bSod-nams seng-ge, and 'Khrul-zhig Sangs-rgyas bsam-grub, who was Karma Phrinlas-pa's teacher.2s Although Karma Phrin-las-pa follows the tradition ofhis teacher Sangs-rgyas bsam-grub, he also incorporated the teaching of Chos-grags rgya-mtsho (A.D. 1454-1505), who was the seventh Karma-pa hierarch and who followed the 28

Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fols. Sa 1f.

THE TRADITION ABOUT SARAHA AND HIS WORKS

19

Kar method which began with Ras-chung-pa and continued through Dus-gsum mkhyen-pa, 'Gro-mgon Ras-chen (the First Karma-pa hierarch), and his successors.2 9 Since Karma Phrin-las-pa expresses his indebtedness to the seventh Karmapa, whose instruction he says he frequently obtained, the commentary on the "King Dohas" translated in the following section of this book belongs to the second half of the fifteenth century. From Karma Phrin-las-pa's works it also becomes evident that Bal-po Asu and sK ye-med bde-chen are one and the same person. In two places Karma Phrin-las-pa refers to the "previous commentary" and there he quotes the exact words of sK ye-med bde-chen whose commentary has been translated here, as well. 30 29 Ibid. Another tradition als<;> derived from Ras-chung-pa. It was developed by rGyal-ba Lo (A.D. II87-1250), Sum-pa, and, in particular, gLing-ras-pa (born A.D. I 128). In this tradition special attention was given to the "People Dohas." 3 0 See below, the commentaries on stanzas 1 and 29.

20

The Teaching of the Dohas

Every teaching aims, with more or less success, at fitting a person to develop his potentialities and to become a valuable member of the society in which he lives. The latter itselfhas organized its existence, its activities, and its mental conceptions and procedures on the basis of a certain value system which consequently determines how man sees what he does see of the world and in the world. However, within each concrete society, man's mind in becoming attuned to that society's cultural tradition is increasingly narrowed down from an almost unlimited potentiality to a very limited and definite actuality. Nevertheless, beyond this narrow mentality there always remain the wider possibilities of actualization that either have been discarded or which the individual is made to abandon. Whereas the majority of the members of any society remain within the limited confines of their traditional culture and, like the respectable Philistines, also resent being stirred out of their stagnation and self-deception, there are some who, dissatisfied with the growing staleness of the prevailing way oflife, look at reality through a different value system. They naturally tend to select other attributes and aspects of the seen and experienced and for this reason are 2!

seldom much appreciated, although they alone are capable of pointing to and enacting new ways oflife and often have done so. If they have been persons of genius they have introduced new concepts and beliefs (ethical, religious, scientific) which have won wide acceptance. Saraha's appearance on the scene well illustrates this point. There are, of course, various value systems by which an individual and even a society may order its life. One such system, aiming at the development of man rather 'than at controlling nature, has given Buddhism its specific humanistic character. Technically it is )mown as "Buddha-intentionality" (sangs-rgyas-kyi dgongs-pa). Here, "intentionality" (dgongs-pa) is to be understood as the evaluative cognition of the factual realm as well as the organization of the vision of reality; "Buddha" (sangs-rgyas) is used in the purely philosophical sense of" felt knowledge" in which a subject as such and not as this or that specific (empirical) subject knows itself as subject in its act of being aware. It does not refer to the person known by the title" Buddha." A term coming closest to what is understood by "Buddha" in Tibetan would be "Buddhahood." It points to the fact that what is designated by it is beyond any empirical subject and does not necessarily imply some ontological subjectivism. "Buddha-intentionality" is an e~stential category, not a set of properties and traits. Since we cannot live well without a decisive insight into the order of the world in which we happen to live, awareness also of our own role in establishing this order, and a clear distinction between a person who possesses this cognitive power and those who live in an impersonal routine fashion', Buddhahood is appropriately called "the procedure [path] by which we see what is not [otherwise] seen."l 1 sGam-po-pa, Collected Works, Vol. Ja, fol. sa. In Vol. Tha, fols. rSb ff., he enlarges on the meaning of"intentionality" in the following manner: "The turning of the process of logical constructions into the

22

The whole aim of teaching in Buddhism as a practical discipline rather than an intellectual pastime is to bring about a change in outlook and to introduce a person to certain experiences which, though not very frequent in a high degree of inten~ity, have occurred in a high degree among a few men at all times and places. They are introduced to a certain objective aspect of reality that is not revealed to ordinary persons in their everyday experiences and is difficult to state clearly in ordinary language. The point to note is that the decisive factor in teaching is to bring about certain experiences that are felt to be valuable in their own right rather than to discuss the contents in propositions and to assign them a purely speculative value. This purpose of the teaching is clearly brought out by Karma Phrin-las-pa's Guru, who states :2 When the Dohas are taught, a threefold procedure is employed: objectively with reference to the outer world .by similes, subjeca priori awareness is like a forest fire; predication becoming freein itself is like the melting ofice on a lake; the indivisibility of appearance and nothingness is like meeting a former acquaintance; the intensity of the a priori awareness is like the sun; and the presence of meditative concentration is like having arrived at the island of gold and jewels." The term "a priori" as used by me here and in the body of the text differs from the Kantian use as it does not refer to judgments but to that event which is prior to juqgments. Padma dkar-po in his sNying-po-don-gyi man-ngag sems-kyi me-long, fol. 7a, explains "Buddha" (sangs-rgyas) as follows: "Since everything belonging to error ('khrul-pa) has passed away, there is the state of something having gone (sangs); since everything observable is known in aesthetic immediacy, there is the state of a broadened horizon (rgyas)." Similarly kLong-chen rab-'byams-pa in his bLa-ma yang-tig I 4, fol. 30a, interprets this a priori awareness of Buddhahood as that from which all impurity has gone forever (dri-ma ye sangs) and in which all positive qualities have expanded (yon,tan ye-nas rgyas-pa). It is important to note that 'khrul-pa (Sanskrit bhriinti) "error" does not imply culpability. It refers to the straying away from the immediacy of a peak experience into the shallowness of "judged" experiences. 2 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fols. roa ff. THE TEACHING OF THE DOHAS

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tively by experiencing for himself what it is about, and mystically by the symbol-language of the :Oakas. 3 The first makes use of the thirty-five similes such as the sky and a jewel, the second outlines the division into insight, contemplation, action, and goal-realization, and the third resorts to the terms " memory," "nonmemory," "unorigination," and "transcendence." And this is very appropriate. Although reference is made to the thirty-five similes in the "People Dohas," 4 it applies to the twenty-three in the" King Dohas" as well. It is easy to see that this triple division refers to what we would call the pictorial, emotional, and cognitive meanings, all of which are present in poetry or a song which rna y be said to bring into the open all that we then discuss and deal with in everyday language. Hence poetry never takes language as a raw material ready to hand; rather it is poetry which first makes language possible. Here poetry is seen as having a dynamic continuity with all the other activities in life, and the words it creates and uses have the power to suggest the other activities and to produce an accompaniment of images, feelings, and dispositions. The poem (or song) then is the realization in its medium oflilnguage (or music) of a content that expressively portrays a subject matter well beyond visual (and auditory) data as" fixed" images. The words which, on the part of the poet, express what is of deepest concern for him, and which also may serve as a reminder .of the experience, equally become the point of departure into fancy and 3 I retain the ordinary word "simile" in order to avoid the possibility of confusing "analogy," which in Buddhist philosophy means only resemblance or basis of comparison, with an argument from analogy, which because of its inherent fallacy of imperfect analogy is always invalid as a deductive argument. For an explanation of:J;:>akas see note 9 on p. 79· 4 Their list is given in gNyis-med Avadhiitipa's Do-hii mdzod-kyi snying-po ... , (Derge ed.), fol. 69a.

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reflection on the part of the audience. Through the words the poet speaks his audience may pass through that particular experience, or a similar one, which prompted the poet to formulate it in that particular imagery. 5 Although a poet, like any other artist, expresses the nature of human feeling, his ·expression is not symptomatic of a private sensation of pain or joy as is claimed by modern positivists who fail to distinguish between expression and description. Rather the poet's expression is the formulation ofhis knowledge of sensuous, mental, and emotional life, and it is this knowledge that he presents for our contemplation. This at once determines the direction ofour thought: the outward image becomes the symbol for an inward process, not its explanation. Viewed outwardly, the image exists in its own right and in its presentational immediacy as an indissoluble expressive formula, not as an extension oflogical discourse or the conclusion in a syllogism. The image is received and felt, but it is not used for arriving at postulationally prescribed beliefs about things in nature or about man himself. The image in its immediacy is a moment of original vision full of suggestions rather than comprehension. From this it follows that the use of emotionally moving imagery as embodied in the various similes employed in the teaching of the Dohiis has nothing to do with what is known as an argument by analogy. The imagery taken in its own right gives us a sense of the inexhaustible depth of our own being; it does not explain by being conceived as a symbol for something otherwise inexpressible. It invites us to explore the depth. Thereby a s Seealso R. G. Collingwood, The Principles ofArt (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963), p. 267: "Thus, when one person expounds his thought in words to another, what he is direcdy and immediately doing is to express to his hearer the peculiar emotion with which he thinks it, and persuades him to think out this emotion for himself, that is, to rediscover for himself a thought which, when he has discovered it, he recognizes as the thought whose peculiar emotional tone the speaker has expressed." THE TEACHING OF THE DOHAS

25

transition from sensuous concretizations to an inner feeling of spirituality is effected. The spiritual is discovered as a "path" stretched out before our eyes to a distant goal and yet grounded in ourselves; it is not a spurious addition. But even here, the words used to describe the inner processes rna y mislead us into concretizing the momentary events of experience into permanent externalized facts and into believing that they have a fictitious duplicate beyond themselves. These duplicates, however, do not necessarily refer to an external world as distinct from the mental one; the latter is as much an abstraction as is the material or physical. Perhaps, since abstraction may be understood in the sense of an intellectually abstracted essence out of reals existing apart from it, which is not meant by it, it is better to say a logical construction. In order to break the tendency ofh ypostatizing a fiction into an actuality and of constructing barren systems of thought (realist, idealist, positivist, and so on), another kind of "language" has to be used, which makes it clear that its "words" do not stand for "things" and cannot really mean "things" as such, because this "language" is no longer the common one of everyday life. Nor is this new language a kind of" meta-language" whose creation is the desperate and self-defeating attempt to improve on language by using each symbol in a single invariable sense and defining it with precision. After all, a person has to be told what these symbols mean before he can use them, and this would imply the creation of a "meta-meta-language" ad infinitum. The "language of the I)akas" is both expressive and meaningful in the sense that it expresses a feeling or an emotion and that it refers beyond that emotion to the thought whoseemotionalchargeitis. These !)aka-terms," memory," "nonmemory," and the rest, are correct enough symbols of the experience of him who has had it and used the terms, and of him who is introduced to the experience and would under-

26

stand the terms well enough as symbols for the peculiar experience that brought forth the peculiar verbal response. Instead of abstracting the meaning away from reality and then projecting it on an alleged independently objective world to which it does not belong, the "])aka language" helps to develop the personality as a dynamic self-creation that cannot be fathomed by the mechanical thought-patterns of a philosophical atomism. Awareness seems to be basic to man, and mind as we know it is largely characterized by what we may call" referential" cognition. 6 In the most common form of a perceptual situation it is sensuous, intuitive, has an objective constituent of a characteristic kind and an epistemological object. By" objective constituent" we understand something that displays certain qualities that we believe to be a part of a larger whole of a certain characteristic kind, as, for instance, a physical object. By "epistemological object" we understand whatever may be expressed by a substantive-word in a phrase describing the situation, as, for instance, in the sentence " I see a conchshell," where "conch-shell" would be the epistemological object and the whitish oblong patch the objective constituent. The situation is furthermore called "sensuous" because sensation plays a part in perceptual situations which it does not play in others such as those caused by thought. Lastly, it is said to be "intuitive" in contradistinction to though t-situations, which are largely "discursive." We may sum up by saying that a situation as described above is" objective" and "referential." As referential it involves nonreferential situations which have an objective constituent but no external reference. The latter, as we have seen, is the conviction we have about the particular objective constituent as pointing beyond the situation and what is contained and sensuously 6 The analysis follows C. D. Broad, The Mind and Its Place in Nature (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1951), pp. 141 ff.

THE TEACHING OF THE DOHAS

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manifested in it. An objective nonreferential situation can be illustrated by the mere awareness of an image or a mere sensation. Lastly there are nonobjective nonreferential situations. These would be the mental event itself. However, it would be wrong to label the latter as "purely subjective" because here subject and object, self and other, imperceptibly fuse; and it is equally wrong to identify it with a" universal spirit," which is merely a reintroduction ofsubjectivity and self-aggrandizement. Possibly the best way to speak of the mental event is to call it a "presential awareness," out of which by creative imagination (sgom) we may build a world of aesthetic appreciation (which may lend itself to fulfilling man's metaphysical need), and by acting out of this awareness (spyod-pa) may order a world of values. Or, by losing the presential awareness, we may glide off into a world oflifeless things for observation (rather than insight and appreciation), where values become ephemeral fictions. 7 The mind as a potential for this or that kind of perception is a presupposition in which mental and material things, subjects and objects become determinables rather than being defmite realizations of this or that kind of subject and object. The presential awareness is not so much the awareness of man's possibilities as it is the possibilities themselves as a functional unit pervading and sustaining all human traits, values, and experiences. The transition from the closed world of ordinary thought and action with their frustrating limits to the open dimension of potentiality and unlimited possibilities is made through disciplined contemplation and insight, which reinforce each other and culminate in an indissoluble unity. In the course of the practical instruction, the various perceptual situations are analyzed in view of a presuppositionless cognition (stong-pa) 7 That this particular cognitive event is the starting point for all interpretations in philosophical discourses is discussed by Karma Phrinlas-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fol. 45b.

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and a feeling of intense bliss (bde-ba), both ofwhich equate with each other. Karma Phrin-las-pa discusses this specific technique from three angles :B (1) An objective nonreferential situation (dmigs-med), (2) an objective referential situation (dmigs-can), and (3) a nonobjective nonreferential event (chos-nyid-kyi ngang). 1. The first is indicated by the verse: "When I no longer thought of bliss and mystery as separate / Meditation and no meditating became for me the same." Discussing this problem objectively the following is implied. There is bliss because there is no longer the frustratingly painful str$ ofdiscursive reasoning, and we speak of the mystery ofBeing because it is so difficult to understand. When the notions had been discarded that bliss and mystery ofBeing can be held apart or added up because the very meaning ofnothingness (stong-pa-nyid) or unity (zung-du 'jug-pa) is indivisibility, then meditation and nonmeditation were left to themselves in their indivisibility within the spontaneity ofbliss and nothingness unsullied by ideas of substance and quality. [And therefore Saraha could say]; "I have seen the meaning ofexistence'' [when meditation and not meditating became for · me the same]. In this connection Par-phu-ba says: "When through the understanding of what spontaneity of bliss and mystery of Being mean, discursive reasoning, productive of the separate entities of the world, is given up, and discursiveness itself becomes the selfeffulgent, irradiative, and illuminating light ('od-gsa~, then meditation and nonmeditation, good and evil become indivisible, and so do discursiveness and nondiscursiveness in this inner light." However, it is necessary to consider whether his statement represents the intention of the verse or not. From the viewpoint of subjective experience the verse may be interpreted as follows: "The presential feeling ofgreat bliss [which] in itself[is] the mystery of Being implies that the effort involved in fmding the diverse and separate means of understanding it has been completely abandoned. In this state of genuineness, by understanding meditation and nonmeditation as indivisible I have seen existence." Here, gLing-ras-pa says: "When the objective 8

Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum .. ., fols. 43b ff. THE TEACHING OF THE DOHAS

29

reference, that is, the four or six focal points of experience9 as the foundation of the felt knowledge of existence as the unity of bliss and mystery of Being, together with their ramifications, has been completely given up [it is possible to say]: I have seen reality, the indivisibility of meditation and nonmeditation, the genuine nature from which I have never been separate." Although such an interpretation seems possible, I am afraid that gLing was taken in by the next verse [in Saraha's song]. In a mystic sense the verse means that through the significant communication 10 [consisting in the use of the term] "memory," the pleasurable feeling accompanying the involvement in the objects of sensuous experience is eradicated; by that of "nonmemory" the craving for nothingness [deemed to be] the mystery of Being is dismissed; by that of "unorigination" we no longer believe in the unity of the two aspects [ofbliss and mystery ofBeing as a concrete entity]; and by that of "transcendence" all [ideas] about substance and quality are finally abolished so that by feeling translated into the sphere of self-effulgent irradiative light where no fictions enter [Saraha can say] : " I have seen the real [the purest particular of the moment] as indivisible into meditation and nonmeditation." 2. The objective referential situation is expressed in the verse Others think about the epistemic referent; by remembering that there is no duplicate Apart from what is known, the logical fictions of discursive thought by themselvest 1 come to an end. 9 The four focal points of experience are "located" in the forehead, the throat, the heart, and the navel; when six are counted the same arrangement is preserved with one added in the crown of the head and the sex region, respectively. On the meaning of" focal point of experience" see Guenther, The Life and Teaching of Niiropa, p. 164. 10 man-ngag, upadefa. According to Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skorgsum .. ., fol. sSb: "man-ngag means to point out an important topic in a few words, or to elucidate the meaning of existence by having singled out the means of its understanding." 11 rnam-rtog, vikalpa. On the precise meaning of this term see Hemanta Kumar Ganguli, Philosophy of Logical Construction (Calcutta: Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, 1963), pp. 58 ff.

30

This means that certain people who emphasize the objective reference in the perceptual situation fix their mind on it and think of existence by means of the epistemic referent in the perceptual situation. It is by fixing mind on the psychic event itself (which is the particular determined by the point instant) that logical constructions come to an end by themselves. The literal interpretation is as follows: "Others," that is, people who are not yogis but realist scholars, think about the problem of existence by means of the epistemic referent in the perceptual situation; yogis or idealists (and mystics) look at and think about the psychic event which is the owner of the objective perceptual situation; thereby the logical construct of an epistemic referent on the one hand and of a subjective owner of the perceptual situation on the other comes to an end by itself. ' Speaking in a general way, those who believe that there is something left after it has been shown that what is stated to be a certain object is not bodily a constituent of the situation (bden-med), think in a similar way [as discussed before]; it is by thinking that subject and object form an indivisible psychic event that the fiction expressing itself in the belief that subject and object are independently separate entities comes to an end by itself. In the sense of mystic experience, the above proposition implies the following : While [some] imagine as bliss-nothingness the spontaneous feeling of bliss which as the real value differs from what is revealed by the epistemic referent in the situation, [technically known as] "the messenger's path," it is by thinking of this very bliss-nothingness that all logical constructions submerge in what is the mere particular point-instant (chos-nyid) 12 and come to an end by themselves. 12 In Tibetan the particle nyid points to the particular of the moment. chos-nyid, which appears as the translation of Sanskrit dharmatii does not mean "the essence or nature of things" but "the real thing at hand." When the real thing becomes an object of discourse it is referred to by the word chos-can (which corresponds to Sanskrit dharmin). This shows that the Tibetans, in translating from Sanskrit, interpreted the texts .irt the light of their phenomenalistic thinking, which sees the absolute in the phenomenal, not beyond it. The particular of the moment is the total event, not an abstraction from it which then is contrasted with the universal. A lucid distinction between chos-nyid and chos-can is found in kLong-chen rab-'byams-pa's bLa-ma yang-tig I 4, fol. 30a.

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In the fmal analysis the statement means: [Some] think about Nirvai.J.a as different from what is manifested by Sarpsara (the epistemic referent of the situation); it is by thinking ofSarpsara and Nirvai.J.a as each being identical in the immediate psychic event that the logical constructions [of Sarpsara and Nirvai.J.a] are resolved in noetic Being (chos-sku) as such and that expectations and fears [which accompany all fictions] come to an end by themselves. These are the possible interpretations of (Saraha's verse). In some translations we read:" By keeping in mind that there is no duplicate entity external to knowledge, nonunderstanding comes to an end by itsel£" In this version, nonunderstanding has been explained as synonymous with logical construction. J. The nonobjective nonreferential situation is indicated by the verse: When mind becomes the target of the mind, discursiveness And (its cause) no longer stir so that (the mind) stays stable; As salt dissolves in water Mind submerges in itself. This statement may be explained with reference to the ground and starting point [of all spiritual development] as follows: When, by the ever-active mind, mind as possibility (kun-gzht) 13 is made the object of inspection, there is no epistemic referent since neither subject nor object can be the referent. The question then arises, how does this come about? The logical constructions of the ordinary thought processes and what leads to them, by which is meant the mental activity (yid) which makes mind turn to an object 13 Sanskrit iilaya. This is usually translated by "store-house," and since it is said to contain or "store" the experientially initiated potentialities of experience (bag-chags, viisana), the notion of it being a permanent substratum has been created. The dGe-lugs-pa understand by it an "indeterminate cognition" (see Tsong-kha-pa, Collected Works, XVIII 3, fol. 7b); the bKa'-brgyud-pas a pervasive potentiality; and the rNying-ma-pas distinguish between the kun-gzhi (iilaya) as the ground exhausting itself in being the ground and not being behind or over the rest of reality, and the kun-gzhi rnam-shes (iilaya-vijiiiina) which is the first step in the direction of conceptualization and logical construction. See Herbert V. Guenther,Indian Buddhist Thought in Tibetan Perspective: Infinite Transcendence versus Finiteness (History of Religions, Vol. III, No. r), pp. 88 ff.

32

[which it assumes to be external to itself] and which consists in the process of subject and object creation, do not .stir and [mind] remains stable in the in~tantaneous particular event. This stability is illustrated by tqe simile of salt dissolving in water and yielding a wiiform flavor. Interpreted with reference to the path of spiritual deveiopment it relates to · I. The basic insight. When mind becomes its own target it passes beyond what can be said to the referent and the referring agent: because it is not seen when introspected, no qualities are revealed when thought about, and no extra-logical reality is found when investigated. When in this way the process of logical construction with its defining activity and the habit-forzriing activity has become stabilized in the self-luminous psychic event which is nothing in and beyond itself, there being no stirring [of these forces], according to the simile of salt dissolving in water, mmd projecting its referent, comparable with salt, is dissolved in the mind being itselfas such comparable with water, and becomes nonobjective and nonreferential. 2. The development of the basic insight. Even when mind about which no predications are possible is psychologically objectified by a mind moving in the duality of a meditating agent and an object to be meditated upon, [it remains a nonobjective nonreferential event] as it does not contain any referent. By practicing a meditation which is not vitiated by [the postulates of] something to be meditated upon and [someone who] meditates, because motility14 becoming a set of logical constructions and mind appropriating [them] do not move but stay firm, the mind that is engaged in [this kind of] meditation submerges in its very being, the point-instant, without losing the flavor of what appears like meditation, like salt dissolving in water. . 3. The behavior [in view ofinsight and its cultivation]. There is no epistemic referent when the self-effulgent irradiative mind becomes psychologically objectified by mind engaged in what is positive, after a distinction between negative and positive conduct has been made. It is then, out of a situation in which the logical fictions of something to be accepted and something to be rejected 14 rlung, vayu. On motility as the cradle of mind as we understand it, see Guenther, The Life and Teaching of Naropa, pp. 165 ff.

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as well as the impulse to an outward show [of ethical behavior] do not move and stay firm in the self-same cognitive event of the moment, that there is spontaneous ethical behavior without any concretization of what ought to be done and of someone who should do so. Thereby mind as the creator of good and evil and of acceptance and rejection as two distinct abstractions submerges in the nothingness [of its] being [and remains what it really is], in the same way as salt dissolves in water. 4· The goal [which is the unity of insight, the cultivation of insight, and the action born from it]. There is no epistemic referent when noetic Being, or the a priori awareness which is mind endowed with the double purity, 15 is psychologically objectified by the mind desirous ofattaining Buddhahood. As a result, the fictions consisting in the belief in a goal [attained] as well as the impulse which is the desire to attain the goal do not stir and stay firm in the act of nonmentation, devoid of expectations and fears. In the same way as salt dissolves in water, mind [ordinarily] torn between hopes and fears submerges in itself and becomes what it really is, noetic Being, whereby the three existential norms are realized in a manner of nonrealization. 5· The use of the symbol language. When mind as the projecting and apprehending agent becomes psychologically objectified by the mind which is involved in its apprehendable projects as external objects, and when the projecting mind and the project are claimed to be separate entities, the mental basis is made clear by the significant communication of "memory." When the projecting and apprehending mind is then imagined as ultimate awareness and luminosity, after the naive belief in an external reality has been abolished, it is through the significant communication of "nonmemory" that this very mind is known as nothingness and as having no essence, similar to dreams and apparitions. The words "and [its cause]" are connecting the preceding statement with the following one. When this self-sensible and self-luminous cognition, in which neither the construct of a subject nor that of an object obtains after the refutation of the coarse subjectivism [of the previous phase], is unshakabl y held to be the ultimate reality [imp! ying a subtle form of subjective idealism], through "unorigination" this awareness as awareness as such is set free in an [indivisible unit 15

See note 49 on p. 139.

34

of cognition] by being determined as truly unoriginated. As a warning against becoming fettered by the experience of staticness in clinging to this felt unit of cognition, by "transcendence" the radiance and nothingness, devoid of the operations of the intellect, are indicated as Mahamudra. When by these four expressive symbols an ultimate understanding has come about, the simile applies as follows: In the same way as salt dissolves in water, the self-luminous irradiative light becomes the path of seeing when mind concerned with the fictions of :i subject and an object and other constructs [built on these fictions} submerges in the pure particular of the moment.

This analysis of perceptual situations, which is the main concern of the practical teaching, clearly shows that the only reality is the instantaneous particular which is of a cognitive nature and out of which the notion of" a mind'' as a stream of evanescent events can be constructed. Therefore, as a rule, the texts distinguish between "mind" (sems) as a successive series of specially interconnected total events and these events themselves (sems-nyid), which are cognitive because to cognize is characteristic of rninds.16 But insofar as such a series is already a configured constituent of a logical construction, it 16 This distinction is most clearly elaborated by the rNying-ma-pas. For them, sems corresponds to what we usually understand by the word "mind." kLong-chen rab-'byams-pa defines it in his Chos-dbyings rinpo-che'i mdzod . .. , fol. 48a, as "the awareness which clings to objects," and in fol. 132b says, "mind-is so called because it is concerned with objects." As the totality of cognitive being sems-nyid has an existential significance and rna y be viewed from various angles. Ibid., fol. 30a: " In so far as it is nothing as such, sems-nyid is noetic being (chos-sku), in so far as it is illuminingness it is communicative being (longs-spyod rdzogs-pa'i sku), and in so far as it becomes a presencia! value it is authentic being (sprul-pa'i sku). Although it is spoken of by such designations it is not found as a substance that can be apprehended. This existential category of intentionality is immanently present without change or variation throughout time. Since it pervades the whole of Sa111sara and NirViii]a in the manner of being its very reality, it has been said that all sentient beings are permeated by the potentiality ofBuddhahood."

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35

is not the real; but as the logical it can be communicated in intelligible language. The real itself is beyond logic and language. Consequently it is unjustified to speak of either idealism or realism iri.this ~onnection, since both are nothing more than a set of propositions. The analysis proceeds from realism to idealism (both subjective and objective) and beyond but does not set up a new metaphysics, at least not in the traditional essentialist way. Much confusion has been created by linguist translators who singularly failed to note the specific uses of technical terms in such different disciplines as Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta, and under the influence of the latter confused the Buddhist "particular of the point-instant" with the permanent, absolute "universal" of the Advaita-Vedantins. In Buddhism the particular (chos-nyid, dharmata) has no duplicate over and above itself, that is, the particular event on the one hand and "the nature of the event" on the other. If a particular event has a "nature" it is a logical fiction or a construct and accordingly is termed a postulate (chos-can, dharmin) .17 While linguists have been guilty of an unabashed obscurantism whenever they tried to deal with philosophical problems, in the field of philosophical thought a similar confusion has prevailed, especially in the realm of epistemology, when it was claimed that there is an (unknown and forever unknowable) object in itself over and above the objectcontent of knowledge, and a perennial universal consciousness behind the subject-factor of the total cognitive event. Here again the teaching of the Dohiis attempts to break the inveterate tendency of externalizing thought into things and to bring about that spontaneity that is considered the ultimate goal. In realizing the particularity of the instantaneous event Buddhahood is" placed in your hand." The analysis which 17

See note

12,

above in this chap.

Karma Phrin-las-pa offers again starts from a description of a perceptual (cognitive) situation and is based on the consideration that an object of knowledge must be a content ofknowl_; edge and that every content of knowledge is a content in knowledge and not outside it and therefore can never be known. The simile used in the teaching is that of a dreamexperience in which no external reality is found and which clearly is an instant of the externalization of thought. Saraha had said: 1 B The mind that falls asleep and dreams ofhaving met a dancing Girl not known before does not rest on a concrete. Do not see this mind as different from its manifest Content. Buddhahood is then placed in your very hand. And Karma Phrin-las-pa explains: 1 9 When someone dreams that he has met a woman, a dancing girl, sleeps with her and that a child is born, the dreaming mind starts 18 This verse is another instance where the Tibetan translation and arrangement of the verse lines differ completely from the Apabhra~p.sa text. While the French translation of some of the lines is correct, the English version of the ApabhraiJlsa text is certainly wrong. 19 Do-ha skor-gsum .. . , fol. 46b. gNyis-med Avadhiitipa, Do-hii mdzod-kyi snying-po . .. , fols. 96b ff., comments on this verse as follows: "That of which it has never been possible to say that it exists or does not exist transcends the range of conceptualizing mind. It is bliss supreme which as the ground [of all that is] is capable of captivating the mind, thoughts, ideas, perceptions, and ' memory' of all yogis. Since this is taught by a competent Guru [Saraha says]: 'Having met a dancing girl not known before. 'When someone then sleeps with this charming girl [whom he has not known before and who has not existed as either this or that] it so happens that, since mind having no foundation or root in anything rests on what cannot offer a foundation and is like a bird in the sky not falling on the earth below, the yogis do not trust 'memory' which is a surface phenomenon. [Hence Saraha continues] : 'The sleeping mind rests on what has no basis' [or,' the mind of him who sleeps']. Even so, it is not apart from the variety [of the phenomenal]. When one wakes up from a dream in which one has enjoyed the pleasure of having cohabited with a charming dancing girl, there is nothing besides onesel£

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from the experientially initiated potentialities of experience without there being any real dancing girl, and since this [dream] woman is the formulated content of the experience, potentialities of mind do not view this [content] as different from the potentiality itself. According to this simile, when you travel the paths and scale the spiritual levels in a state of composure which is like falling asleep, when you have met the a priori awareness which intuitively comprehends the nature of existence, [this a priori awareness being comparable with] a dancing girl not met before, this understanding and comprehending mind proceeds from the dynamics of interdependent and correlated function patterns, there being no understanding subject as such and no object as such to be understood, and travels the paths and scales the spiritual levels. As this understanding is the very form of the a priori awareness of mind itself, do not view it as different from itself. By relating the simile and the actuality in the above manner, Buddhahood is placed in your hand. Speaking in terms of the inner experience : "not before" is said because the nature of existence has not been understood before; (this understanding] is encountered in the particular of the point instant, the dancing girl adorned in the unreality of the phenomenal world. In this encounter or understanding, appearance and nothingness are known to have the same flavor, and mind coming to rest in a manner of submerging in the particular of the point instant has nothing in it of a thing-in-itself (chos-nyid) and of its replica (choscan); it has passed beyond substance and quality. "Starting from [this point instant]" means that it stays without moving from the evidence ofbeing, and since this understanding of the evidence of being is to see the very form of the a priori awareness of mind itself, do not see a difference between mind and evidence of being. Since by this experience brought to life within 'yourself, enlightenment as a unitary experience in which evidence of being and a priori awareness are no longer two (independent] factors comes about, the goal has been placed in your hand. Since in the same way nothing else is found but mind as such, being 'nonmemory' [Saraha declares] : 'Do not see this mind as different from its manifest content.'When it is thus felt and known, one has not moved from the existential norms [of noetic, communicative, and authentic being] as they are the immanently present Buddhahood. [Therefore Saraha concludes]: 'Buddhahood is then placed in your very hand.'"

In terms of the symbol language: When the dancing girl, that is, nothingness which previously had never been an object before the mind, has been met because through the significant communication of "memory" the logical constructions of a subject and an object have been uprooted, through that of "nonmemory" all judgments concerning subject and object are transferred into nonmentation [which is] like falling asleep. Through understanding appearance and mind as having the same value and flavor in their having no origin as such, by "unorigination" mind which appears in the form of an objective situation and of its owner, although these two have no basis in themselves, can be known as mere appearance due to conditions like water and waves. Therefore, since by "transcendence" the [utter] ineffability is asserted, the conceptualizations of an objective situation and its owner and of the apprehendable project and the apprehending agent become clarified. Then when the whole of the phenomenal world has become free in [the point-instant of] a self-cognitive [event], do not see a difference between [the content] and this event because there does not appear so much as an atom of difference from the formulated self-cognitive event. [The latter part of this sentence] is an injunction. When in such a way a vivid experience has been effected, Buddhahood is placed in your hand. In one way or another the various analyses of perceptual cognitive situations emphasize the "unity" of the experience. It is singularly important to note that this unity does not mean a feeling of oneness with some· reality or other. The unity refers to the particular of the moment, the t:ognitive event itself, and not to its interpretation. Unity is not union, 20 but another term for "interdependence" and "nothingness." That is to say, while in ordinary perception the knowing subject and the known object seem to stand in an asymmetrical relation in which something depends on something which is itself independent, in the unity of the cognitive event this split between subject and object, which actually '

Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum ... , fol. 17b: "Unity means nonduality, not union of two entities." 2o

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belongs to an interpretation, is resolved in the mutual dependence of subject and object, which are seen to be on a par, and which for reasons of their mutual dependence are nothing as such (or ontologically nonexistent). In resolving the tension between subject and object the conflicting feelings accompanying the subject-object tension are also resolved, as is indicated by the title of the aim of the teaching, the "realization of bliss-nothingness," where nothingness relates to the nonobjective nonreferential event and bliss to its feeling tone of pure intensity, and not to that of the instable differentiations associated with the epistemic referents. This "nothingness/' however, is not a new "independent" category on which subject and object and the various feelings depend. If it were so it would plainly contradict the axiom of interdependence and, as Karma Phrin-las-pa points out, become another kind ofbondage. In order to exclude this po~sibility the symbol term "transcendence" is applied, which is synonymous with "ineffability," by which "something" is not posited which is " other than" the point-instant of the momentary event.21 Another point to note is that no event can outlive itself and become a subsistent fact. If it did so it would contradict the axiom of momentariness. An event can only be described as a point-instant of energy in the sense that the event is itself energy22 and not a substance having the specific quality "its energy," and as serving as an occasion for later events in a 21 This distinguishes Buddhism from Advaita Vedanta, where "ineffability" (anirvacaniya) means something beyond existence and nonexistence. See Hemanta Kumar Ganguli, Philosophy ofLogical Construction (Calcutta: Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, 1963), pp. 62 ff. 22 So Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum .. ., fol. 4sb: "The particular of the moment (chos-nyid), or the ultimately real and true (dondam-pa'i bden-pa),. is the single point-instant (de-kho-na-nyid gdg-pu) devoid of all judgments. The actuality (gdangs) of this point-instant, or its ceaseless creativity (rtsal), is the origin of all things."

40

recurrent pattern. To interpret an event in this way is already a judgment involving conceptualization and the very pointinstant of the event is lost in a logical construction. Both the unity of the cognitive event and its momentariness directly entail the Buddhist doctrine of instantaneous enlightenment, ~hich figures pre-eminently in Zen and which is frequently alluded to in Tibetan texts: "In one moment variety unfolds, f In one moment Buddhahood is complete." 23 The analysis of cognitive situations which occupies the central position in the teaching enables us to train ourselves not to think of an "I" distinct from a "that" but as interdependent and, consequently, as never having come into an existence of its own. Thereby we can rid ourselves of the tendency to conceptualize, which is the cause of bondage. Thus the teaching serves to make us free, free from what the Buddhist text~ call intellectual fog. It must not be supposed that this gradual freeing leaves us with nothing. This negative aspect is countered by the positive presupposition of momentariness implying that we are free, free to remain free or to renounce freedom. Here we encounter the idea of freedom as self-determination or spontaneity. 2 4 23 I mention only kLong-chen rab-'byams-pa, bLa-ma yang-tig I I, fol. 99b. 24 Valuable contributions to this conception of complete freedom in Indian and Buddhist thought are found in Karl H. Potter, Presuppositions of India's Philosophies (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1963). Still, the problem needs special investigation.

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Existence Versus Essence

One ofthe basic assumptions ofEastern thought, to which the Tibetan interpretation ofTantric Buddhism is no exception, is the perfectibility of man. This idea places no ceiling on man's capacities, and therefore does not stop short with the mere control of the passions by the intellect. 1 It frankly recognizes that there are other values, not only besides, but even beyond the intellect's postulates of good and evil, and thatin the hierarchy of values beauty, happiness, and freedom are the only worthwhile ways of being. Not only is freedom as such not subject to limitations whether of common customs or traditional morality, but it is also at the opposite end oflibertinism, with which the negators of freedom unfortu1 Failure to recognize the presuppositions of Eastern thought is responsible for the unwarranted statements that have been made and continue to be made about the nature ofTantrism.With few exceptions these categorical misrepresentations derive from the naive assumption that Eastern cultures are either underdeveloped or degenerate Western ways of thinking. Those who hold these beliefs usually denounce as unintelligibility and obscurantism what actually is their own lack of understanding. A challenge to these antiquated views (which still seem to die hard) is Agehananda Bharati, The Tantric Tradition (London: Rider and Company, 1965).

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nately confuse freedom, and which is total bondage to the passions, the intellect not controlling but justifying them. Freedom as such logically entails beauty and happiness, for ugliness is a negation of freedom inasmuch as subjectivism has reasserted itself with its restricting postulations and judgments which aim at beautification rather than at the aesthetic appreciation of beauty. Similarly the shrinking offreedom is frustration that may assume many forms: discontent, unhappiness, pain, suffering. Where freedom is considered to be the highest value the idea of a determinate structure or essence is excluded, and man's existence, his peculiar mode of being which is always active and at every moment involves an awareness of being, is emphasized. Human existence, which must be of primary concern for human beings, can never be properly conceived as being enclosed within itself; it is not something that man has or possesses. It is what he is. It certainly is not found in any kind of absorption in an absolute (which would be tantamount to a total loss ofhuman existence), nor is it some part of a stream of evolution proceeding toward cosmic goals. Existence has no parts, and yet it is always a being-to-another. Such a relation, which can only be made clear by hyphenated phrasing and not by the atomistic thought patterns of traditional logic, is not to be thought of as an inert rod lying between two already existent terms. As Dharmakirti pointed out long ago, such a relation is a self-contradiction. 2 If the two terms that are to be related are self-established reals they have no need of accepting a bond of dependence; and if it is claimed that the relation establishes the terms it is itself a preestablished term. There is still another difficulty: an intrinsic independence must be granted exactly when the terms are held in mutual' dependence. Real existence is not made up of 2

Sambandha-parik$a V

s.

EXISTENCE VERSUS ESSENCE

43

discrete units juxtaposed together, but of vectors each of which exists by virtue of the other. This vectorial character of Being is the key to an understanding of what is meant by the existential norms with which Saraha is concerned and which rna y be logically isolated but which are really integrated together in a unity. This, according to Karma Phrin-las-pa, is the meaning ofSaraha's words in his "Queen Dohas": Nondual and devoid of affirmation and negation it is [noetic] being; It is the very fact ofbeing and [its] bliss, significant communication; Though appearing to all beings according to their interests The indivisible awareness embraces all and everything. Karma Phrin-las-pa comments on this verse as follows :3 Noetic being (chos-kyi-sku) is a priori awareness, the aesthetic perception of everything perceptible, nondual and devoid of the extremes of eternalism and nihilism which are the formulated fictions of affirmation postulating existence and of negation postulating nonexistence. The truth of the stopping of frustration, which has become revealed in its entirety because the evidence of being (dbyings) pure as such is devoid of the incidental impurity that has to be removed, is the very fact ofbeing (ngo-bo-nyid-kyi sku). [Its] bliss endowed with double purity4 and not afflicted by the frustration of discursive thought is blissful being (bde-ba chen-po'i sku). Perfect communication [and communion] in governing the whole of the Mahayana way oflife, in company with the Bodhisattvas on earth through discussion, te<1ching, and action is communicative being (longs-spyod rdzogs-pa'i sku). Moreover, this presence to the Bodhisattvas on the tenth level of spirituality is [what is meant by] significant communication. Even the appearance of the infinite variations of existing-in-the-world, as it occurs anywhere for all sentient beings having varied interests, is authentic being in the world. Here the word "even" implies that regardless of whether Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum .. ., fol. Srb. On the meaning of" double purity" see below stanza 18 and note 49 on p. 139· 3

4

44

the appearance of these variations is good or evil, it is Buddhaexistence-in-the-world. 5 The very fact of the a priori awareness which experiences the five eXistential norms,6 as indivisible constitutes the horizon of the phenomenal world. The five norms are always present in the existential phases of starting point, path and goal. Although the texts repeatedly state that awareness is the core of human being and that it pervades every phase of existence, there is nothing to show that this implies either solipsism or any other form of traditional idealism with its presupposition of a mind-substance, mistaking mental being for real being. On the contrary, the texts leave no doubt that goal realization is only possible when every form ofsubjecti vism and every kind of idealism and its counterpart realism have been overcome. Not only is subjectivism the negation of the basic assumption of freedom as a mode of existing which is realizable, it also curtails man's total being, which cannot be construed out of disjunct entities, but is always a spontaneous "coemergent" presence through which the staleness of stereotyped perception, experience, and action is transcended. It is at this moment of transcendence as a movement and not as an ontologized absolute that there is aesthetic immediacy ofappreciation rather than aestheticaljudgments, and sensuous participation rather than sensual utilization. 5 sangs-rgyas-kyi sprul-pa'i sku. This is to say, everything is a manifestation ofBuddhahood. This way of thinking sees the absolute in the phenomenal, not as something over and above it. Although this thought is characteristic of the Japanese and has been effective in assimilating the various Buddhist lines of thought, it seems to have been characteristic of Tibetan thinking as well. It gives Eastern mysticism a strong this-worldly flavor. On the acceptance of the phenomenal see Hajime Nakamura, Ways of Thinking ofEastern Peoples: India-China- Tibet-Japan (Honolulu, Hawaii: East~est Center Press, 1964), pp. 350 ff. 6 They are noetic (chos-sku), communicative (longs-sku), authentic (sprul-sku), blissful (bde-ba chen-po'i sku), and absolute being (ngo-bonyid-kyi sku).

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45

Such is the interpretation Karma Phrin-las-pa puts on Saraha's verses: " When body, speech, and mind become indivisible and one I Spontaneity's actuality is there and beautiful." And, " When the master of the house has been devoured the mistress I Is enjoyed. Whatever you may see you may then enjoy." 7 His own words are: "When in the process of attaining composure the triad of body, speech, and mind, which is a manifestation out of genuine mind, becomes indivisibly one, and the single reality of coemergence is present, the actuality of this unity is the most beautiful immediate experience where the phenomenal world has become an ornament of utter nothingness." 8 Further, ... when subsequently to such composure the variety of the phenomenal worlds makes itselffelt, the mistress of the house which is the nonessentiality of the real is to be enjoyed after the master has been devoured by nothingness which is the evidence of being, the master being the belief in reality having an essence and his house the sensuous objects. Therefore, since whatever is aesthetically apprehended cannot be.concretized, it is to be enjoyed as the very nonessentiality [of the real] without rejection or acceptance, negation or affirmation. In brief, in the state of composure the phenomenal is not to be deliberately negated, and in the postcomposure state nothingness is not to be deliberately affirmed. By persevering unswervingly in the mood of the coemergence of appearance and nothingness, composure and the postcomposure state become 7 This stanza forms part of stanza no. 85 in M. Shahidullah's edition, where the arrangement of the verse lines into units completely differs from the Tibetan one. gNyis-med Avadhiitipa, Do-hii mdzod-kyi snying-po ... , fols. 97a ff., has the following commentary: "When 'memory' or (egocentric] apprehension has been devoured, 'nonmemory' enjoys the three worlds. Hence: 'When the master of the house has been devoured the mistress is enjoyed.' Since mind as such, when present in this way, is comparable with unbounded celestial space, there is no reason to become alarmed by whatever there may arise as 'memory.' Hence: 'Whatever you may see you may then enjoy."' 8 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fol. 47a.

identical in value because the phenomenal is met by an inspection which is not ego-centered.9 This passage clearly shows that the subjective correlate to the objective "reality," which through a previous analysis of perceptual situations had been shown to be a content in mind rather than outside it, has been resolved in nothingness. Another term for this nothingness is "evidence of being," by which is implied that no explanation is needed, while nothingness indicates that it is not a thing of some kind having determinate characteristics. to Similarly, the "mistress of the house" is not some object of a determinate kind having an essence of its own, as the mind enjoying her would have if it were a mind-substance. Since neither the subject nor the object is this or that kind and therefore marked off from each other by an inseparable gulf, enjoyment or total communion is possible. In other words, in the sensuous enjoyment of the object, symbolized as the "mistress of the house," formal identification with it is achieved, but there is no existential identification as necessitated by idealistic premises. The subject and the object are nothing as such, both being abstractions from the evidence of being which is known in its immediate presence but of which nothing can be predicated. The overcoming of subjectivism is not only essential for goal realization, it is itself an integrating process illustrated by. the symbol of the yogini, who is a constant source of inspiration and thus counteracts the tendency to glide off into the stifling narrowness of any kind of subjectivism. No wonder that it is She who opens man's eyes to noetic being. According to Karma Phrin-las-pa this is implied by Saraha's words: 9 'dzin-med-kyi dran-pa. Here dran-pa relates to .the psychic process of inspection rather than being a "symbol term." 10 This is the explanation offered by Mi-pham 'Jam-dbyangs rgyamtsho in his gNyug-sems 'od-gsal-gyi don rgyal-ba rig-'dzin brgyud-pa'i lung-bzhin brjod-pa rdo-rje-snying-po, fol. 3ab.

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Mind, though naturally beautiful when it devours The master but filled with the olljects of its desires, Enters its natural state when it is neither with nor without passion. I have seen the yogini [who is] the cessation of [subjective] mind. 11 Karma Phrin-las-pa offers several interpretations that are relevant for the way in which Saraha's words could be explained. He says:12 gLing-ra~pa, following Ras-chung-pa, explains this verse by refer-

ence to the "passion-path" [that is, the path of spiritual growth. where the emotions are made instruments of development]. While the mind is in the process of attaining composure it is to be held firmly on to its beauty because there is no longer any apprehending agent nor any apprehendable content concerning blissu Verse no. 86. gNyis-med Avadhutipa, Do-hii mdzod-kyi snyingpo .. ., fols. 97b ff., gives the following interpretation: "In the country of the Amazons husbands are taken from other countries. Similarly, the experiences of yogis start from certain extraneous conditions and therefore are not experiences in the absolute sense. When the cognitive processes operating against the background of 'memory' have been devoured, reality as such is present in its wondrousness and in its own right by being beyond the confmes of conceptualizing thought. Hence [l)araha says]: 'Mind, though naturally beautiful when it devours the master.' Although mind as such and beyond the reach of conceptualization may be filled with the desires of'memory,' [ultimately] it does not part from what it actually is. And so (Saraha continues]: 'But fllled with the objects of its desires.' Desire and excitement are the motives behind' memory,' passionlessness and disinterestedness those behind 'nonmemory,' [their] renun~ia­ tion is the real of the moment which has had no origin. Therefore (Saraha declares]: 'Enters its natural state when it is neither with nor without passion.' This reality, pure in itself and beyond all predication, does not even have the name' mind.' Since the birthplace of all that is, the yogini, is that to which the name mind does not apply, [Saraha concludes]:' I have seen the yogini [who is] the cessation of(subjective] mind.'" 12 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fols. 47b ff.

nothingness. The master, who is the beliefin the essence [and thingness] of things has been devoured in the experience of the nonduality ofbliss and nothingness. The mind which is [otherwise] full of the pleasures offered by the objects, be they the body or the mind, gives up the idea of passion and passionlessness because all its ideas gather in the [feeling of] bliss and becomes a pure feeling increasing bliss and happiness. It is in between the feeling of passion and passionlessness that mind enters its natural and spontaneously coemergentjoyfulness.13 When thereby the restlessness of the mental processes has subsided and when there is no concretization whatsoever, the yogini, the real a priori awareness, is seen. Par-phu-ba explains this verse by reference to the "freedom path" [that is, freedom as the path of spiritual growth]: When we become composed in the genuine reality of mind, otherwise known as "nonmemory" and nonmentation since the "master", who is dichotomic, discursive thought or "memory," has been devoured by the awareness ofhis being mind, the [mind] is left in its actual beauty, not disfigured by discursiveness. When this mind, which is [usually] filled with the objects of its desir.es, gives up passion, passionlessness, and aversion, it enters its natural genuineness and dissolves in it. When it has completely dissolved there noetic Being [is realized] referred to by the words "I have seen the yogini." It is seeing noetic Being without seeing it as something. Rang-byung rdo-rje explains this verse by mere nonsubjectivity: Beauty is the intuitive understanding and feeling of pure being when the belief in subjectivism has been devoured by nothingness. Our mind is ordinarily fllled with ideas tainted by the will to believe that the objects ofits desire are multiple, because as long as reality is not understood the objective situation and the owner of this situation are held to be distinct and separate. But when this mind is understood not to exist as it seems to do, passion is renounced and we do not stay in Sa111sara. Passionlessness also is renounced and we do not rest in Nirvlit].a, but enter and continue in primal originality. When mind thus has lost its subjectivity there is revealed the appreciative-discriminative capacity through which reality as such and as peace is united with its description as not existing in truth (as something]. 13

See Guenther, The Life and Teaching of Niiropa, p. 78, n. EXISTENCE VERSUS ESSENCE

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2.

The explanation of my Guru 'Khrul-zhig chen-po seems to tally with these three interpretations. Going beyond subjectivism and its attendant frustrations is tantamount to entering a realm ofbliss and freedom which is spiritually satisfying as it keeps alive aesthetic and emotional responsiveness to everything that is immediate! y apprehended. Here is enjoyment without reference to a theoretically conceived object. The yogini who effects the integration of man is not an "object" but a participant in the drama of man's development that is enacted within and portrays itself as taking place without, so that it is often difficult to decide which is the within and which the without. No wonder that this experience is spoken of as magical. To keep this magic vivid is the next and fmal step in goal realization, which does not mean to have reached the end of one's road but to be and to act. This Saraha is said to have indicated by the following verse: There is no deliberation when we eat and drink; For this, my friend, is but an appearance to the mind: I have seen the outer world as not beyond the mind, The yogini and her magic are beyond compare. 14 Karma Phrin-las-pa offers the following comments : 15 In view of the Dharmamudra 16 this verse means the following. The objective and subjective poles are not to be taught ofas being different when the one is eaten as food and the other drunk as beverage. By the word "friend," noetic being is addressed. Since the differStanza no. 88. Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fols. 48a ff. 16 According to Karma Phrin-las-pa, Zab-mo nang-don-gyi rnambshad snying-po gsal-bar byed-pa'i nyin-byed 'od-kyi phreng-ba (hereafter cited as Zab-mo nang-don ...), fol. 132b, this technical term refers to a specific instruction when appearance is made the "path" of spiritual development. It means "to let things be in their naturalness and nakedness by remaining in a mood which is not ego-centered and not covetous by thinking of something as this or that when the various objects such as color-form and others have appeared." 14

15

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ence between the two poles is merely the manifestations of the potentialities of experience in mind while it is in a state of error, it is by .leaving the very fact of the objects in its mere facticity, because an external object is nowhere else than in mind, that I have seen spontaneous a priori awareness. This is the self-awakening awareness that has never been separate from noetic being. By way of Jiianamudra: 1 7 Since the objective [world] appears like an apparition and cannot be compared [with anything], while eating the belief in mere appearance as food, and drinking nothingness as a beverage, no concretizing thought is to be harbored. Therefore this friend of nothingness or the object cannot be shown to be mind by fixing mind on an external object which is not understood to be an appearance of mind which itself does not exist in truth. Having come to know that appearance is the self-luminosity of mind, mind is unswervingly held in the sphere of nothingness and [this is meant by the statement] "I have seen existence." According to the Samayamudra: 18 In the process of attaining composure, having experienced the four joy-intensities one after the other when the red and white forces 19 have been eaten as food and great bliss drunk as a beverage, complete concentration is achieved by not harboring any thought and by not pondering over the spontaneity of joy. This very bliss-nothingness is beyond thought and deliberation and no object of meditation. The word "friend" is used because bliss-nothingness associates with spontaneous a priori awareness in an inseparable way for all times and gives birth to all the Buddhas. How does this spontaneous blissnothingness make itself felt in the mind of him who has this experience? Although this spontaneous joy cannot be pointed out by similes of the outer world because it is beyond thought and words, I see it as being individually experienced and felt. According to the Mahamudra: 2 o Through "memory" appearance is eaten as [constituting] the unity of knowledge and nothing17 This, too, is a specific mood in which things are seen as mere apparitions and as having only a nominal existence. See Zab-mo nangdon ... , foJ.,rub. 18 This is a term for" commitment." 19 Seenote73 onp. rSr. 2o This is the name for the central and overarching experience among the bKa'-brgyud-pas and the recurring theme of instruction.

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ness; through "nonmemory" nothingness is drunk as [being] the unity of nothingness and luminosity; through" unorigination" no ideas are formed as to the origin or the end of the self-evident awareness that is the unity of the profound and the openness [of the spiritual horizon] ; and through " transcendence,'' [which is] the unity of spontaneous a priori awareness and [subjective] mind, pointed out by the word "friend," it is asserted that, although the self-luminosity of the a priori awareness, which is the tirelessly presential actuality (gdangs) of appearance in the tirelessly potential energy of mind (gshis), appears externalized, it cannot be demonstrated as something by any such means as simile, syllogism, and skill in gestures. Thereby I have directly seen even this self-evident awareness as noetic being devoid of any prediction. But enough of further elaborations. In brief, noetic being, this magic-working yogini, is beyond all compare. It cannot be demonstrated by similes, syllogisms, skill in gestures, by men and books. The equation of noetic being with the magic-working yogini is of particular significance. It indicates that however abstract noetic being may sound, when it is actualized and lived, it is far from being a cool abstraction that can be contemplated in detachment. Noetic being is linked with and permeated by aesthetic immediacy, vibrant with life, from which the intellect moves into a world of mere postulates and fictions. The emotional aesthetic character, symbolized by the yogini, is co present with every thought; hence noetic being is to be emotionally moved and aesthetically appreciative of everything around us, to be in communion and communication with others. This communion is often expressed in sexual symbolism, which contains nothing of the sexiness that Westerners (and unfortunately also Easterners who have come under the moralizing influence of the West and try to outdo it} see in Eastern works of art. Thus noetic being is the source out of which come the transitory manifestations of "concrete existence" in the world and the communication with it; and each "concrete existence" is a magical mani-

52

festation because it participates in the miracle of creativity. It is for this reason that such concrete existence is authentic. It remains spontaneous and does not become a mere routine. It rieed hardly be emphasized that noeticness, communication, and authenticity are not determinate traits or properties, but ways of being, "existential norms" that must be maintained throughout life. They are not invented or constructed by man, but are grounded in existence itself, each forming a vector, as it were, within the whole. Unlike essential categories, which are fixed traits and structured properties, existential norms are modes of acting. No wonder that Saraha's song is called the "Song on Human Action." The relational structure of being becomes evident when we consider Karma Phrin-las-pa's discussion of the various existential norms. None of them is a self-enclosed entity but reaches out to another. Noetic being (chos-sku), which is the primary factor in man's existence, passes out of itself vectorially and acts on the other norms as a magnet holds iron filings to its surface. Particularly marked is this vectorial character between noetic and communicative being (longssku). Noetic being is active-on, communicative being is susceptible-to. Noetic being, like the magic-working yogini, the maternal source of all around her, is active or, more precisely, ever ready to act even if there is nothing to receive action. Noetic being is said to have been indicated by Saraha in his verse As long as I played The c4ildren grew tired: From another mother these children were not born. The mystic way oflife is quite without compare. 2 1

Karma Phrin-las-pa declares :2 2 21 This passage forms part of stanza no. 86 in the Tibetan translation, but is not found in the Apabhra~p.sa version. 22 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum ... , fol. 47b.

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I have made noetic ·being the primary factor and have made the two sensuous norms appear to the aspirants as a mere play. The fools who do not understand this, the people preoccupied with philosophical axioms, have taken the two sensuous norms as concrete entities and have exhausted themselves and come to nought by quarreling over the various irreconcilable postulates concerning Buddhahood. Yet, since the children, the two sensuous norms, are not born from a mother other than the norm of noetic being, a yogi must know them to be beyond compare because their source, noetic being, is beyond comparison. He continues, saying, In the same way as noetic being as the primary factor is without compare, so also communicative being cannot be demonstrated by similes. For [as Saraha says] It never abides in nor derives from the three worlds; Fire only lights from tinder under good conditions. The moon-stone must drip water [when touched by the moon's rays]. 23 Noetic being is pure in [not being determined by an] essence, is not confined to the world of either desire, form, or formlessness, and although it neither abides in nor is derived from any of the three worlds, it makes itself felt as communicative being to the fortunate when all conditions combine. For instance, when a clean and unbroken burning-glass, the sun when not hidden behind the clouds, and tinder that is not wet combine without any obstacle coming in between, fire springs up in the tinder, and the burningglass has no preconceived ideas [about lighting the fire]. Or, when the moon is not hidden by clouds or eclipsed, a clean and unbroken moon-stone, and a pitcher that does not leak combine without anything interfering as an obstacle, the moon-stone must drip water. The application of this simile to the nature of being is found in [the last line of the verse]: "Its able means rule all the worlds." As has been indicated by the above simile, it is from the jewel of purest noetic being that communicative being with five determinate traits derives, holding sway over all realms of reality by the power of its able means, such as compassion and devotion. Since 23

Ibid., fol. 49a. This verse is not in the Apabhrarpsa version.

54

Buddhahood as an existential category has existed in its own right in mind from beginningless time and renews [itself] under suitable conditions, and since as the goal it is mind, this mind is called the "real ycigini." Since none of us has ever been without her, every aspect of Buddhahood is to be known as intimately tied up with mind [in its empirical phase]. Rephrasing the words ofKarma Phrin-las-pa we may say that noetic being is a constant becoming aware, and as living existence it communicates itself to others not by a ceaseless stream of empty words rushing from one topic to another, but by arousing us to our own being. Existence which vibrates through communication and to which we may be awakened by communication, with all its noeticness, is not a mind or a self in which everything becomes absorbed. So Saraha and Karma Phrin-las-pa24 continue referring to existence as such: Friends! [Existence] is profound and vast, But not a self without another. The spontaneous joy [arises] at the fourth moment. I know it is the experience of the genui~e. 25 It is profound since it is difficult to understand; it is vast since it constitutes the horizon of everything. Since it cannot be established as either self or other, either as object or subject, how can this coemergent joy that is not a self without another, this spontaneous a priori awareness Mahamudra, be expressed in words? Since it cannot be demonstrated by the third initiatory confirmation, it is at the time of the fourth initiatory confirmation26 or of the fourth joy or of the brilliant light of utter nothingness among the four feelings of nothingness that it arises. It is known when all propositions about it have been removed and there is the experience of the genuine. Therefore, what is called "being as such" ["the fact of being"] is ultimately nothing that can be demonstrated except by using a word or a p~oposition. 24

Ibid., fol. 52b.

25

Stanza 98. See Guenther, The Life and Teaching of Niiropa, pp. 143 ff.

26

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Existence as such is commensurate with bliss, a feeling of freedom and oflight having dispelled darkness. Just as in blackest darkness The sun and moon bring light, In a single moment bliss supreme Conquers all the ills ofthought.27 When in the blackest darkness where no light shines and which has been accumulated for aeons, the moon or the sun, the jewel of the sky, shed their light, simultaneously as this light comes darkness is no more. In the same way when the felt knowledge of Mahamudra, bliss supreme, becomes a presence, simultaneously with its appearance in a single moment it conquers all the ills of thought that have been accumulated since beginningless Sa111sara and eradicates the infinite variety of karmic consequences and emotive instability. "The ills of thought" here means that thought itself is an evil, the direct presence of darkness. By the word "all" the possibility of darkness as well as the latent tendencies to it are included. Therefore, in the same way as bliss is spoken of in the absence of suffering, the a priori awareness from which all darkness and its potentiality has disappeared, and which in Vajrayana is called "bliss-existence," is indicated in the above verse. 28 Just as the bliss of existing is irreducible to some kind of feeling, and just as communication cannot be created but must spring up, so to speak, on the spur of the moment, so also authentic existence, being-in-the-world, is not a thing narrowly circumscribed. Rather is it something that issues forth from a vast and mysterious context that really engulfs it, and in this way it is nothing fixed and unalterable. Authentic being, therefore, is the awareness that there are broader horizons beyond the finite and transient being with which the ultimate world ofreality is not confused. Authentic existence, wherever it occurs, is a true center of total reality. So Saraha says 27

28

Stanza 99. Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fols. 52b ff.

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When the creator of suffering has set The Lord of the stars rises with the planets. [That which] is ever-present brings forth wondrous creations: These are the real centers of the maQdala. 2 9 And Karma Phrin-las-pa explains :30 The "creator of suffering" is the sun because it makes those who are afflicted by the heat, when the sunlight strikes them, suffer, and dispelling darkness it engulfs everything in a brilliant light. The "Lord of the stars" is the moon because the stars are counted by the moon. Therefore, in the same way as when the sun sets and the moon rises with the planets, as also when discursive thought, moving in the postulates of subject and object representing the karmic and emotive consequences and giving rise to frustration, has set, noetic being, which is like celestial space and the lord of all that is, comparable to the array of the stars, by its presence brings forth wondrous creations of authentic existence that are like the sun, moon, and stars. These wondrous creations of authentic existence are the real centers of the matJqala, because they are not limited. The mystery and miracle ofbeing are summed up by what the texts call "the two aims" when literally translated, but which mean absoluteness and relativity. The apparent contradiction is resolved by reminding ourselves of the vectorial character of being in Saraha's thinking. Here to exist means to be-for-another, and this is the relativity of being. But this relativity of being is of itself relative to something, and this is the absoluteness of Being. According to Karma Phrin-laspa, this is the meaning ofSaraha's words Though no creator and no creation can be found, When through habituation all fear is overcome, The goal, aQsoluteness and relativity, is present in perfection. Though called cause and effect, the facticity of the real cannot be divided.3 1 Stanza 100. Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum . .. , fol. 53 a. 31 From the" Queen Dohas" (Mi-zad-pa'i gter-mdzod man-ngag-gi g/u [Dohiiko~a-upade5a-giti}); Derge ed.: rgyud-'grel, vol. zhi, fols. 28b ff.; Peking ed.: rgyud-'grel, vol. tsi, fols. 34-:1 ff. 29

30

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According to Karma Phrin-las-pa3 2 the first three lines constitute the explanation of the double nature of reality or existence, while the last line sums up its wholeness. Existence here may be viewed from various angles, be it from the "starting point" of unauthentic being where reality is confused with the fictions about reality, or from the" path" to real being, or even from the ultimateness of being. Discussing the problem in terms of the starting point: Not even so much as an atom of a self-established difference between something being the creator and something being the creation is observed concerning the tirelessly potential energy (gshis) of mind as mind being itself (sems-nyid), which is unborn; its tirelessly presential actuality (gdangs), which is unceasing; and its existential dynamics (rtsaQ, which is the manifestation of the variety of the phenomenal. Yet it is through the power of the habitual working ofthe egocentric aspect of the mind that has been active in this way since beginningless Sarp.sara, that simultaneously with its stirring the error of and involvement in the variety of dual appearance has come about. Since this error makes fear and expectation grow, we should compose ourselves in the self-settledness and spontaneity of that which is uncreated. The outcome then is twofold: absoluteness or freedom from the three determiners, and relativity or energy, actuality, and dynamics which have turned into three existential norms. Discussing the problem in terms of the symbols of the path: The various contents of" memory" arise in "nonmemory," having no choice but to do. so. Although nothing like something being a creator and something being the creation can be observed in "memory" and "nonmemory," there is the appearance of duality through the power of having been habituated to it due to coemergent unknowing. Since this nourishes fear and expectation, it is through " memory" which is not ego-centered that appearance is recognized for what it is and restored to" nonmemory." By recognizing the latter as being "unoriginated" it turns into a self-revealing awareness in "transcendence." The outcome, purified by the overcoming of fear and expectation as well as of all appearance of duality, is twofold: absoluteness, or the felt knowledge of the 32

Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum ... , fols. 82a ff.

radiant light that is not an essence, as noetic being; and relativity, or the felt knowledge of nothingness that is a self-revealing awareness a~d not a mere negation, as the two sensuous norms [of communication and authentic being-in-the-world]. Discussing the problem from the ultimateness of being or the goal: No difference between the cause producing the two aspects of Buddhahood as an existential category, the freedom from all evils, and the effect that has been brought about is observed as an entity or a fact. However, the goal that is experienced when all fear and expectation have been overcome, these being due to the power of the consciousness operating during the period of the path of learning and expecting to attain Buddhahood and fearing to fall into Sal!lsara, is twofold: absoluteness or noetic being and relativity or the two sensuous norms. 33 In certain translations we read the "very facticity of reality." Here the word "very" is a plural sign and the meaning is the same as explained above. Although at the time of the starting point the light-nothingness aspect, the person who may develop spiritually, the person who is naturally inclined to do so, or the accumulation ofmerits and knowledge is called "cause" and the two aspects of Buddhahood that constitute the presence of absoluteness and relativity in their ultimateness are referred to as "effect," the two are indivisible in view of the facti city of reality, because all causes and effects coincide in the Evidence of Being. 33

Communicative and authentic being.

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PART II

THE ROYAL SONG OF SARAHA

The Song on Human Action The Treasure ofDohas I bow down to noble Maiijusri. I bow down to Him who has conquered the finite. I

As calm water lashed by wind

Turns.into waves and rollers, So the king thinks of Saraha In many ways, although one man. 2

To afool who squints One lamp is as two; Where seen and seer are not two, ah! the mind Works on the thingness of them both. 3

Though the house-lamps have been lit, The blind live on in the dark. Though spontaneity is all-encompassing and close, To the deluded it remains always far away.

4

Though there may be many rivers, they are one in the sea, Though there may be many lies, one truth will conquer all. When one sun appears, the dark However deep will vanish. 5

As a cloud that rises from the sea Absorbing rain the earth embraces, So, like the sky, the sea remains Without increasing or decreasing. 6

So from spontaneity that's unique, Replete with the Buddha's perfections, Are all sentient beings born and in. it come To rest. But it is neither concrete nor abstract. 7

They walk other paths and so forsake true bliss, Seeking the delights that stimulants produce. The honey in their mouths and to them so near Will vanish if at once they do not drink it. 8

Beasts do not understand the world To be a sorry place. Not so the wise Who the heavenly nectar drink While beasts hunger for the sensual.

9

To a fly that likes the smell of putrid Meat the fragrance of sandalwood is foul. Beings who discard Nirva~;~a Covet coarse Sal?lsara' s realm. IO

An ox's footprints filled with water Will soon dry up; so with a mind that's firm But full of qualities that are not perfect; These imperfections will in time dry up. II

Like salt sea water that turns Sweet when drunk up by the clouds, So a firm mind that works for others turns The poison of sense-objects into nectar. 12

If ineffable, never is one unsatiljied, If unimaginable, it must be bliss itself. Though from a cloud one fears the thunderclap, The crops ripen when from it pours the rain. 13

It is in the beginning, in the middle, and The end; yet end and beginning are nowhere else. All.those with minds deluded by interpretative thoughts are in Two minds and so discuss nothingness and compassion as two things. THE ROYAL SONG OF SARAHA

6S

14

Bees know that in flowers Honey can be found. That Sa111siira and Nirviit;za are not two How will the deluded ever understand? 15

When the deluded in a mirror look They see aface, not a reflection. So the mind that has truth denied Relies on that which is not true. 16

Though the fragrance of aflower.cannot be touched, 'Tis all pervasive and at once perceptible. So by unpatterned being-in-itself Recognize the round of mystic circles. 17

.When [in winter1 still water by the wind is stirred, It takes [as ice1 the shape and texture of a rock. When the deluded are disturbed by interpretative thoughts, That which is as yet unpatterned turns very hard and solid. 18

Mind immaculate in its very being can never be Polluted by Sa111siira' s or NirviiiJ.a' s impurities. A precious jewel deep in mud Will not shine, though it has luster. 66

19

Knowledge shines not in the dark, but when the darkness Is illumined, su_ffering disappears [at once]. Shoots grow from the seed And leaves from the shoots. 20

He who thinks of the mind in terms of one Or many casts away the light and enters the world. Into a [raging] fire he walks with open eyesWho could be more deserving of compassion ? 21

For the delights of kissing the deluded crave Declaring it to be the ultimately realLike a man who leaves his house and standing at the door Asks [a woman] for reports of sensual delights. 22

The stirring of biotic forces in the house of nothingness Has given artificial rise to pleasures in so. many ways. Such yogis from a.ffliction faint for they have fallen From celestial space, inveigled into vice. 23

As a Brahmin, who with rice and butter Makes a burnt ~ffering in blazing.fire Creating a vessel for nectar from celestial space, Takes this through wishful thinking as the ultimate. THE ROYAL SONG OF SARAHA

67

24

Some people who have kindled the inner heat and raised it to the fontanelle Stroke the uvula with the tongue in a sort of coition and confuse That which fetters with what gives release, In pride will call themselves yogis.

25 As higher awareness they teach what they experience Within. What fetters them they will call liberation. A glass trinket colored green to them is a [priceless] emerald; Deluded, they know not a gem from what they think it should be. 26

They take copper to be gold. Bound by discursive thought They think these thoughts to be ultimate reality. They long for the pleasures experienced in dreams. They call The perishable body-mind eternal bliss supreme.

27 By the symbol EVA]\1 [they think] self-clearness is achieved, By the d!fferent situations that demand Jour seals They call what they have fancied spontaneity, But this is looking at reflections in a mirror.

28 As under delusion's power a herd of deer will rush For the water in a mirage which is not recognized, So also the deluded quench not their thirst, are bound by chains And find pleasure in them, saying that all is ultimately real. 68

29 Nonmemory is convention's truth And mind which has become no-mind [is ultimate truth]. This is fulfillment, this the highest good. Friends, of this highest good become aware. 30

In nonmemory is mind absorbed; just this Is emotionality perfect and pure. It is unpolluted by the good or bad of worldliness Like a lotus unaffected by the mud from which it grows. 31

Yet with certainty must all things be viewed as if they were a magic spell. If without distinction you can accept or reject Satr~sara Or Nirviit;za, steadfast is your mind,Jreefrom the shroud of darkness. In you will be self-being, beyond thought and self-originated. 32

This world of appearance has from its radiant beginning Never come to be; unpatterned it has discarded patterning. As such it is continuous and unique meditation; It is nonmentation, stainless contemplation, and nonmind. 33

Mind, intellect, and the formed contents of that mind are It, So too are the world and all that seems from It to differ, All things that can be sensed and the perceiver, Also dullness, aversion, desire, and enlightenment. THE ROYAL SONG OF SARAHA.

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34

Like a lamp that shines in the darkness of spiritual Unknowing, It removes obscurations of a mind As Jar as the fragmentations of intellect obtain. Who can imagine the self-being of desirelessness? 35

There's nothing to be negated, nothing to be Affirmed or grasped; for It can never be conceived. By the fragmentations of the intellect are the deluded Fettered; undivided and pure remains spontaneity.

If you question ultimacy with the postulate~ ofthe many and the one, Oneness is notgiven,for by {transcending] knowledge are sentient beings freed. The radiant is potency latent in the intellect, and this Is shown to be meditation; unswerving mind is our true essence. 37

Once in the realm that'sfull ofjoy The seeing mind becomes enriched And thereby for this and that most useful; even· when it runs After objects it is not alienated from itself.

The buds ofjoy and pleasure And the leaves ofglory grow. If nothing flows out anywhere The bliss unspeakable willfruit. 70

39

What has been done and where and what in itself it will become Is nothing: yet thereby it has been useful for this and that. Whether passionate or not The pattern is nothingness.

40

If I am like a pig that covets worldly mire You must tell me what fault lies in a stainless mind. By what does not qtfect one How can one now be fettered?

THE ROYAL SONG OF SARAHA

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PART III

COMMENT ARIES

Commentaries by sKye-med bde-chen and Karma Phrin-las-pa

INTRODUCTION, TITLE, AND DEDICATION THE LAMP REVEALING THE MEANING OF "THE SoNG oN HuMAN AcTION-THE TREASURE OF DoH.As," BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Homage to the noble Mafijusri Kumarabhiita! . I salute the Gurus of the past who have revealed the true transcendentiniDlanence Of the three norms, with facets three, but of detern1iners free, 1 1 Introductory verses of indigenous Tibetan texts always present a difficult. problem for the translator. As a poet's words they appeal to the free imagination of the listener or reader and refuse to be restricted to one single, clearly defined meaning. The intuitive character of Buddhist philosophy in its Tibetan garb entails the aesthetic evaluation of the words chosen. The concept that is aroused by the word is seen, as it were, as an image. Therefore, a sequence of related images as well as of aesthetically evaluated words can have much meaning for the Tibetan reader; while a translation hardly seems to transmit any progress in thought and often turns out either to be clumsy or tautological.

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One other point concerning the nature of knowledge has to be noted. For those who composed the original treatises, Buddhism was a living practice based on the desire to cultivate and refine the personality rather than to amass bits of theoretical and hypothetical knowledge. The knowledge they strove for was" existential," and from such "felt" knowledge there sprang assurance and relaxation of man's being. This existential or felt character ofknowledge is indicated by what I have translated by the paradoxical term "transcendent immanence" (!hun-grub). It refers to the revelation of the essence ofBeing in our own existence. This is to say that transcendence is nothing apart from immanence. Inasmuch as the ground of our being is not identical with our being it is transcendent, and inasmuch as it is only in and with our being it is immanent; transcendence and immanence cannot be separated. sGam-po.:.pa says (Ca, fol. 27b): "Transcendent immanence is the felt knowledge (rtogs) of everything that may be seen or heard as being of the essence of ultimate noeticness, which is not something that turns into concrete existence; it is the realization ofSarpsara and Nirva~J.a as not being two." Ultimate noeticness or, more precisely, noetic being (chos-sku, dharmakiiya) is one of the three existential norms and of primary importance. It functions and expresses itself through the more "concrete" and sensuous norms of communication with its richness of possible meanings (longs-sku, sambhogakiiya) and of existing in a world of various phenomena as the outward form of pure reality (sprul-sku, nirmiivakiiya). In the discussion of these norms the Tibetan mystics are not concerned with the concrete and actual properties of what is under consideration, but with the ways in which we act and exist and thus let the norms emerge. As ways of being, the existential norms are active and dynamic and should be maintained throughout life. This, according to Karma Phrin-las-pa, is the intention of one ofSaraha's verses in the "People Dohas": As long as I played The children grew tired; From another mother these children were not born. The mystic way oflife is quite without compare. Karma Phrin-las-pa explains this verse as follows (Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fol. 47b): "I have made noetic being the primary factor and have made the two sensuous norms appear to the aspirants as a mere play. The fools who do not understand this, the people preoccupied with philosophical postulates, have taken the two sensuous norms to be concrete entities and have exhausted themselves and come to nought by quarreling over the various irreconcilable postulates concerning Buddhahood. Yet, as the children, the two sensuous norms, are not born from a mother other than the norm of noetic being, a yogi must know them to be beyond comparison because their source, noetic being, is beyond comparison."

The realm of Mahamudra which is nonmentation, the sphere of Bliss Supreme Without interpretative thoughts and free from all restriction to a single meaning.z I must now confess that I am not competent to comment On the Dohas which reveal the real meaning of the four Boundary situations that have been overcome by the four ultimately real norms It is in the felt knowledge of noetic being informing every phase of our being with others, and in a world of various phenomena, that man's developmental growth is achieved, that he passes beyond the limitations of the determiners (rkyen) of body, speech, and mind. So Karma Phrinlas-pa, ibid., fol. Sib, says: "Apparitionalness is the determiner of the body, talk that ofspeech, and interpretative thought that of mind. When we know that reality is free from these three determiners we know what is meant by unorigination [symbolized by] the letter A, the only genuine letter. Further, body in its pristine purity [before it is corrupted into organismic being] is nothing as such, speech is ineffable, and mind unborn. In the midst of this triad, inseparable from each other, is found the evidence of being (chos-dbyings, dharmadhiitu) shining in its own light. Since this is the really divine (lha, deva), the ultimate noetic being of man (chos-sku, dharmakiiya), by understanding this true spirituality the spiritual levels and paths have fully been scaled and traversed." To the extent that the determiners are ineffective, reality is there in its own right and valuableness (rang-don phun-sum-tshogs), but even so reality is not something static. It is active through and through. In this sense it has three facets (mam-pa). Viewed from being the ground it means that its tirelessly potential energy (gshis) is unborn and that from it springs tirelessly presential actuality (gdangs), which is unceasing, and its existential dynamics (rtsaQ, which is the manifestation of the variety of the phenomenal. Viewed from being the goal, in its freedom from the three determiners it is reality in its own right, while it is the self-encounter of reality in the other, also real and valuable (gzhan-don phun-sum-tshogs), when its potential energy, presential actuality, and existential dynamics have expressed themselves in the norms of noetic, communicative, and authentic being. See Karma Phrin-las-pa, ibid., fol. 82a. 2 spros-bral. This term refers to a way of being in which all postulates due to the belief in subject and object as separate entities, such as the origin and end of things, have been quietened. In particular see Padma dkar-po's Phyag-rgya-chen-po mal-'byor bzhi'i bshad-pa nges-don lta-ba'i mig, fols. 4a ff. COMMENTARIES

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OfBeing,3 and which explain three norms through three creative potencies4 And systematize two truthsS by memory and its opposite. (I am not competent] since only the Gurus of old, free from the three conditions,6 3 In addition to the" regular" three existential norms a fourth one is often mentioned, summing up the triad of norms and so being merely a name for the totality of the existential norms, not an entity apart. It is due to the peculiar character of language, which is unable to express a total situation and only can name the various features that make up the situation in separation from the rest, that the impression is created that ultimacy is something in addition. Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skorgsum ... , fol. 52b, expressly states: "Ultimate being (ngo-bo-nyid-kyi sku) is merely a name, an index; actually it is not some entity that can be pointed to." 4 thig-le (Sanskrit tilaka). This term has been explained in different ways by different authors. Like most. technical terms it does not refer to some thing as does, for instance, the word "dog" to the animal designated by this label, but is essentially evocative. An explanation relevant to the context here is given by Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fol. 7Ia: "The tirelessly potential energy (gshis) of the creative potency to which no definite designation can be assigned (spros-bral-gyi thig-le), or the unoriginated, is noetic being (chos-sku), spirituality as such. Its presential actuality (gdangs) or unceasingness is communicative being (longs-sku), communication as such. Its existential dynamics (rtsal), or the phenomenality of all and everything, is meaningful authentic being (sprul-sku), existence as such." 5 Conventional and ultimate. See the commentary on stanza 28. 6 Each Guru is the visible form of man's spirituality which is not subject to any limiting determination. By closing one's eyes to the fact of man's basic spirituality and by thinking of him in terms of postulates, one glides off into the misery ofSa111sara, while by remaining aware of one's source of being, one is beyond suffering (i.e., one lives in and through Nirva!].a). It is one of the qualifications of a real Guru to be constantly aware of his source of being. This also is the interpretation given by gNyis-med Avadhiltipa in his Do-hii mdzod-kyi snying-po .. ., fol. 77b: "By not understanding noetic being we wander about in Sal11sara, while by understanding it we pass beyond suffering. Therefore this sphere of non origination (of either Sa111sara or NirvaT.J.a] [is referred to by Saraha in the line] 'Mind is the one source of everything.' Since its facticity is changeless (Saraha can say]' From it come Sa111sara and Nirval).a.' As the realm [evidence] of mind as such is pure and not sullied by

And their spiritual successors can understand the deepest meaning of the Real. And yet I begin this work to benefit all those who like me are poor in spirit. Others comment when they have read the basic text; But I waited for the teachings of my Guru.' No one can write in full things taught by word of mouth, So I record only what my Guru teaches and permits. This Great Brahmin was the ruler's favoriteS and blessed by J)akas9 As a vessel worthy for the knowledge of spiritual things; Through conduct the significance of symbols was impressed upon his mind. For his wife He chose the arrowmaker's daughter as he understood her role for him. Upbraided by the king who failed to understand the Real, he enacted The four norms of existence which the "Kingly Dohas" teach By similes suggestive to stress noetic being And sung in forty verses in answer to the king's request. the impurity of incidental thought-constructions it is due to the conditions of appearance, inveterate tendencies of experience, and symbols that it may manifest itself as anything [and therefore Saraha states] 'It offers the desired goal.'" 7 Literally, "I, after the instruction in our doctrine, have bound myself to the basic text."· s The printed text has rgyal-ba'i mchod-gnas, which is obviously a misspelling for the common form rgyal-po'i mchod-gnas. 9 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-g:Sum ... , fol. sSb, gives the following explanation of the term :t;)aka, which in its Tibetan form would have to be literally translated as "sky-walker": "Heroes [i.e., spiritual giants] and yogis walk over the sky by their magic powers and so are called 'sky-walkers.' Their mystic language, which ·expresses itself in such symbol-terms as 'memory,' 'nonmemory,' and so on, is difficult to understand by ordinary people. The real meaning is that the a priori awareness which intuits the evidence of being, which is like celestial space, is-a kind of" going over it." Since this mystery is difficult to understand it is itself a mystery." On the ideas of magical flight see also Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, trans. by Willard R. Trask (New York: Pantheon Books, 1964), p. 410. COMMENTARIES

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By three and twenty similes with meaning Fraught he made concise and clear the purpose And meaning of this message In forty four-lined stanzas.

These forty stanzas which on a certain occasion were sung for the benefit of the king cover two subjects: homage to the ultimate spirituality of the Great Brahmin and the explanation ofhis message. The ultimate spirituality of the Great Brahmin is the four existential norms and ways ofbe'ing by which the four finitudes or boundary situations have been overcome. The four boundary situations are organismic being, emotionality, death, and overevaluated ideas. 1o The boundary situation of organismic being signifies that our organism is actualized by the white and red structuralizing forces set up by father and mother after consciousness in the symbol-shape A 11 has united with them. The boundary situation causes this organism to experience much that is not satisfactory, and this in turn reveals its great power. To overcome this means freedom from any pride in the apparitional nature of our organism. The lat.ter, while not existing as such, displays its activities when consciousness in the symbol-shape 10 Their technical Sanskrit terms are Skandhamara, Klesamara, Mrtyumara, and Devaputramara. . 11 According to Karma Phrin-las-pa, Zab-mo nang-don ... , fol. 6gb, the symbol A can be explained and understood in different ways. As a letter-sound it is the source of all other letter-sounds. This idea of A being the source ofletters and speech can be transferred to the source of being. Inasmuch as motility is the cradle of conscious life the first stirring of it can be designated by A. It is in this frame of reference called and equated with "unorigination" by Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skorgsum ... , fol. sob. "Unorigination" is a key .term in Saraha's thinking and refers to the fact that transcendence is always with immanence. In this way spirituality as the source of man's being is in and with consciousness, not something over or behind it and controlling the conscious processes.

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A unites with the white and red structuralizing forces of father and mother, and appears as an organism out of a maternal sphere which in itself has no origin as such. That in which no pride obtains is our real body,12 which is unchanging and undistorted by interpretative thoughts, and is the sphere of nonmemory. This indeed is authentic being in the world. Since the joys and sorrows and other sentiments that arise in such authentic being in the world will vanish like clouds, the realization of our real body overcomes the boundary situation of organismic being. The boundary situation of emotionality indicates that emotivity depends on an organism and is generated in and through the five senses. The emotional reactions which come about after the five senses have seized their inner and outer objects are called a boundary situation, and the fact that one comes under their sway reveals the great power of this situation. Its conquest consists in the realization that both memory and nonmemory have to be overcome because they are the 12 "Real body" (don-gyi Ius) is a term for the mystery of existing as lived individually. Existence is not this or that particular existence distorted by subjective aims and biases or by" memory" in the language of Saraha. See, for instance, Saraha's words," Whoever knows the mystery of being, of communication f And spirituality is not poisonously inarticulate," which Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum . .. , fol. 84b, interprets in the following way: "The mystery ofbeing is the sphere of nonmemory, authentic being as such; the mystery of communication is the sphere ofunorigination, communicative being; and the mystery of spirituality is the sphere of transcendence, noetic being. For him who correctly understands these three mysteries, the poisonous inarticulateness ofmemory does not exist. Another explanation is that the real body is not subject to birth and death and [thus] is the mystery of being; real speech is what cannot be put into words and [thus] is the mystery of communication; and real mind is unfathomable by thought and [thus] is the mystery of spirituality. In the immediate vision and felt knowledge of these three mysteries the poisonous inarticulateness which creates error concerning what is merely appearance in the common way, does not obtain."

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root ofemotively toned reactions resulting from the memory which produces such emotions as desire and aversion and is born from nonmemory. Since both memory and nonmemory owe their existence to certain conditions, nonmemory is also something relational. 13 That which does not come into concrete existence when neither memory nor nonmemory obtains is what is meant by real communication. Since it cannot be stated in words and is beyond language using inflected forms and conventionally assigned meanings, it is the sphere of that which is without origin. This is communicative being because it is all-encompassing and can be enjoyed thoroughly. Whatever there ma.y appear of emotions in authentic communication remains enjoyment, and since that which is without origin cannot be defiled by the impurities of emotions [which have a determinate origin], it is like a lotus flower which is not defiled by the dirt and mud in which it has grown. Therefore this realization is the overcoming of the boundary situation of emotionality. The boundary situation of death means that memory,· which depends for its existence on an organism, is the Lord of Death, and the fact that by this memory one has procured many and various forms of organismic life and has not become free from this misery of birth, old age, and death, is called a boundary situation. Subjection to birth and death at all times reveals the great power of the Lord of Death. To overcome this boundary situation entails the realization that conscious life operating against the background of memory as a power, which accidentally depends on an organism which 13 "Memory" is the potentiality of Saq1siira and "nonmemory" that ofNirviiQa. The emotional quality that attaches to them is that we hope for NirviiQa and fear to fall into Saq1siira. See also Karma Phrin-Ias-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fols. 7ra and 83b. This passage clearly illustrates the dynamic character of the Buddhist terms. Saq1siira is not the object of our fears-it is our fears, just as NirviiQa is not something we hope for as a fulfillment of our desires but is these desires and hopes.

has come about under certain conditions, rests on something which has no foundation. Moreover, an organism breaks up because it has been produced under certain conditions, and since memory is an accidental phenomenon it disappears when the organism breaks up. Real mind is the sphere which is free from the contents which are connected with hearing, . thinking, and pondering over them, and which has transcended the confmes of ordinary thought. In this sphere of transcendence the variety created by the intellect disappears. By knowing this variety to have no being of its own just like snow that has fallen into the ocean, one remains free from the concretization by judgment, and this is authentic noetic being. By understanding this noetic being the boundary situation of death is overcome. The boundary situation of overevaluated ideas refers to a feeling of divineness which is but the feeling of an impure pleasure caused by imagining a quietistic state of nothingness with the help of concentration on the pathways of the biotic forces, the mystic sound, 14 and the structuralizing processes. Since this experience marks an attainment by strain it implies that it has been caused by the intensification of memory. Memory, to be sure, is the directionality of mental processes, which is the work of interpretative thoughts. Since this constitutes Sa111sara, it is a boundary situation. Its great power is revealed by coming under the sway of the fanciful notion of having attained an incorruptible existential mode, while all that has been done is to have expected some tainted pleasure. Overc~ming it consists in realizing that pleasure which has a determinate character arises from the combined working of a body and a mind which is memory as a power. When there 14 Thi$ is the last stage of a progressive concentration from which a return into the phenomenal world due to the latent potentialities of experience is possible. See in particular Padma dkar-po, Nii-ro lugs-kyi bde-mchog bcu-gsum-gyi 'khor-lo'i khrid, fol. 4b.

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is no body there is no place for pleasure, and also when there is no memory there is no one to concern himself with the body. Therefore, the pleasure which depends on the combined working of a body and a mind is merely accidental and has come into existence under certain conditions. This means that its cause, duration, and localization are ephemeral, for when the body breaks up, pleasure which depends on the body also disappears. Bliss supreme, however, is the unitary reality, that is pure by nature, of the three existential norms. In this sphere beyond the eig_ht forms ofjudgment15 neither cause nor effect can be established, and so there is neither fear ofSarp.sara nor expectation ofNirvaQ.a. This is the ultimately real pattern of existence for it is unpolluted by ideational impurities and is as such the ultimate horizon ofmeaning,16 being the indivisibility and unitariness of the triad of real body, real speech, and real mind. Since it does not turn into an object of thought about which pride may be felt, it is the overcoming of.overevaluated ideas. For this reason homage is paid to the ultimate spirituality of the Great Brahmin, who completely overcamethe power of the boundary situations. THE CoMMENTARY ON "THE KING DoHA.s" BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

Having bowed to ultimate noeticness that never can Be divided from the awareness which intuits the real, The reality of mind unborn from time without Beginning, the "King Dohas" will I now explain. The forty stanzas containing the instruction of Saraha to the king will now be explained. Their subject matter is 15 Origination, annihilation, beginning, end, identity, difference, coming, and going. See MUlamadhyamakakiirikii I r. 16 Literally, "spreading far and wide." This term is explained by Karma Phrin-las-pa by "all-encompassing" (~un-khyab), which indi-

primarily noetic being, and they were addressed to King Mahapala. In order to hold his interest they were sung, hence the title Dohiiko~a-niima-caryiigiti. This commentary contains three sections: the introduction, the body of the text, and the summing up. INTRODUCTION

The introduction deals with two topics: {I) the meaning of the title and (II) the homage of the translator .1'

Meaning of the Title Here two points have to be noted: (A) the translation and (B) the explanation. A. The translation. In India there were four languages; in the South, in the country of Be-ta [Vidarbha], Prakrit was used. There the title was Dvahako~a-niima caryiigiti, which translated into Tibetan became Dohii-mdzod ces-bya-ba spyodpa'iglu. The reason for making a mixed Indo-Tibetan translation was that Dvaha had many meanings and so was left untranslated in its Sanskrit form Doha. Ko~a means treasure (mdzod), nama names the composition (ces-bya-ba), carya means human action (spyod-pa), andgiti, song (glu). B. The explanation. Dohiiko~a (the Treasure ofDohas) is to be understood as explained above in the commentary on the "People Dohas."18 Nama names the work. Caryagiti means 1.

cates the ultimate horizon of meaning. Although Buddhism can be characterized as an existential philosophy, it is singularly free from the aberraticms of modem existentialism, which has never been able to pass beyond the subjectivism of traditional idealism. "Meaning" is not some spurious adumbration of something meaningless in itself; it is the very essence of being. 17 The subdivisions used here in the translation of Karma Phrin-laspa's commentary correspond to his own subdivisions. 18 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fols. zob ff.: "In India there were four languages, Sanskrit, or the language of the gods; COMMENTARIES

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that a song is composed to mark the beginning of a mystic's way oflife. Prakrit, or the natural speech [of the people]; A pabhrarp.sa, or the language of the outcasts; and Paisaci, that of the demons. In the south, in Be-ta [Vidarbha] where the natural speech prevailed, the title of this work was Dvaha-ko$a-giti. When it was translated into Tibetan it became Doha-mdzod-kyi glu. Now, what is the meaning of Doha, mdzod, and glu, respectively? As Doha had many meanings it was not translated by a single one of them but was left in its Indian form. From among the Prakrit form Dvaha and the Sanskrit form Doha the former is to be understood as follows: Dva-ha means to give up the two extremes [of eternalism and nihilism], to be nondual, to laugh at duality, to unite, to conquer duality, to overcome the mental construct of the belief in duality by nonduality. Further, from the viewpoint of the ground it means that by not understanding that Sarp.sara and Nirvai].a are coterminous, form a unity, and reside in an original [as yet undifferentiated] sphere, the appearance of the duality of subject and object is an improper construct of the mind and makes itself felt as the concrete belief in duality. Then, when on the path which is the experience of the spontaneous and unitive Mahamudra, the concrete belief in such duality is overcome, the result is the fulfillment of the sentient beings' needs by the [unity of the] two norms [of noetic being and communicative-authentic being]. Lama A-su's contention is that Dvaha means the overcoming of two by one. For instance, if someone sees a man and a woman getting ready to sleep with each other he interrupts their union. Similarly, subject and object induce sleep in Sarp.sara, while the intuitive awareness of reality, the king of action, who is pointed out to us by the grace of the Guru, overcomes those who are about to wander off into Sarp.sara and lets them reside in original reality. As for the Sanskrit term some scholars say that Doha means 'to fill' because duh (from which Doha is supposed to be a derivative) means' to milk' and when the milking has been done then there is Doha, and it is through milking [a cow] that a pitcher gets filled. Similarly, the teacher, having filled himself with the intuition of the Real, sings a song. Others say that Lama A-su's translation of this word by' inexhaustible' (mi-zadpa) is correct because what has been filled by milking is inexhaustible. mdzod is the name for the place where we put many valuables such as precious jewels and so on; here it means that it is the place for all values such as the a priori original and spontaneous awareness. glu is the composition of a song in order to give expression to the feeling of victory when the sudden understanding of the Real is experienced without any mystification."

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II. Homage

of the Translator

"Noble" refers to the fact that he is a person living on a high plane of spirituality, far removed from that of ordinary people. And "homage to Mafijusri" means the same as has been explained before. 19 BODY OF THE TEXT

The body of the text deals with four subjects: (I) homage to the divine form to which Saraha felt especially drawn; (II) the concise statement concerning the nature ofthe ground, the path, and the goal (stanzas I-6); (III) their detailed explanation (stanzas 7-39); and (IV) the summing up of the exposition of the meaning of purity (stanza 40). I. Homage to the Divine Form

A. The outer explanation. The divine form to which Saraha pays homage is the real Guru. Since he is the master of the The term "inexhaustible" is used in the translation of the title of the "Queen Dohas": Mi-zad-pa'i gter-mdzod man..:.ngag-gi glu (Dohako~aupadeia-gitt). . 19 Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum .. ., fol. r2a: "Previously when the sacred texts were being translated, the translators by order of the king at the beginning of the Vinaya wrote 'Homage to the Omniscient One,' at that of the Siitrapitaka 'Homage to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,' and at that of the Abhidharma 'Homage to Maiijusri Kumarabhiita' so as to indicate to which group their translations belonged. So also in order to indicate that this treatise, too, belongs to the Abhidharma because it gives instruction in the higher discriminativeappreciative knowledge, the translator at the beginning ofhis translation in order to remove any obstacles puts himself into a joyous mood affecting his body, speech, and mind, and pays homage to Him whose virtues are of youthful freshness because He lives on a high spiritual plane having command over the richness of gentle and pleasing speech. Ultimately the formula [of homage] means to bow to the a priori awareness spontaneously present with mind [and therefore the name Mafijusri Kumarabhiita means] gentleness (maiiju) because the edges of dichotomy do not obtain, and richness (sri) because both Sal]lsara and Nirval}a [come from it], and youth (kumarabhiita) because of its freshness." COMMENTARIES

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four existential norms he has conquered the four boundary situations. That is, he has realized authentic being in the world by overcoming the boundary situation of organismic being; he has established authentic communication by conquering emotionality; he has reached the point of pure noetic being by v.anquishing death; and he has actualized ultimateness by subduing overevaluated ideas. He pays homage to him because in the attainment ofenlightenment as the realization of the four existential norms he has broken the might and power ofthe four boundary situations as they exist for sentient beings, together with their latent potentialities. The meaning of" homage to" tallies with the one given above. B. The inner explanation. The four boundary situations are not outer entities but the mental constructs of the belief in an "I" and a Self. By virtue of their presence they seem to be agents that do outward harm. Their strength is their power. Under the influence of these thoughts one falls a prey to emotions, known as the three poisons, 20 and thereby engages in karmic activities and so has to suffer sundry forms of misery. "Having completely conquered" means that he has subdued them thorough! y and removed their latent potentialities. And who has done so? The awareness which directly intuits and understands reality as it is, or [in other words] the Guru who makes us understand it is actually so. "Homage to" means the same as explained above. C. The mystic explanation. Through understanding the symbolic expression "memory," the power of the boundary situation of organismic being is broken; through that of "nonmemory," that of emotionality; through that of " unorigination," that of death; and through that of" transcendence," that of overevaluated ideas. That which completely overcomes the power of the boundary situations is the 20

Passion-lust, aversion-hatred, and bewilderment-erring.

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awareness which intuits reality as it is, and since it conquers these situations as they exist for sentient beings, Saraha pays homage to this awareness or the Guru who exhibits it.

STANZA r

As calm water lashed by wind ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

.Saraha used twenty-three similes to explain his message; thirteen contain a contradiction, seven are noncontradictory, and two are of a mixed character. In the first answer to the k.ing's question, a simile which contains a contradiction is used. As the king did not understand the meaning of immobility, the image of water and waves was taken to illustrate how something may have mobility. The meaning of immobility is that Iionmemory cannot be shaken by the perceptual processes working against the background of memory, and that the sphere of that which cannot be turned into a content of thought remains unmoved and unshaken by the directivity of thought and imagination and other functions of memory. It means further that the sphere in which there is no origination cannot be shaken by birth, old age, and death, and that the v~riety of particular existents rises in birth out of that which has no origin into which it .returns at death. F~nally, it means that the sphere of transcendence cannot be shaken by the variety of the constructs of a mind, and that the three processes of conscious.activity, to hear something, to think about it, and to develop it in imagination, dissolve in the sphere of transcendence. In this way there are three aspects of immobility: COMMENTARIES

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absorption resembling the depth of the ocean, the unshakability of a mountain, and the indestructibility of a Vajra.21 The three aspects of the mobility of mind, on the other hand, are: mobility resembling the wind, a magic show, and the surface of the ocean. Therefore our author, Saraha, says: "As calm water lashed by wind." Whatever benefit or harm should arise by the directivity of thought or by imagination through the workings ofbody, speech, and mind, it does so out of noetic being into which it also dissolves. In the same way as many waves arise on the surface of water when it is lashed by the wind, the depth itself remaining unmoved and unshaken, so memory, like waves, floats and moves on the surface ofnonmemory, while the depths ofnonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence remain unmoved and unshaken. Therefore the waves of memory are the three types of SaQlsara. 22 One should not hanker after them but recognize them as bubbles. Further, out of memory, which is like the surging water of the ocean, the variety of appearances rises under the influence of conditions resembling ocean waves. Only by understanding reality in this way can one illustrate the fact that out of Mahamudra, which is never a content of thought, the patterns of authentic communication and authentic being in the world rise as waves. Therefore Saraha sings: "Turns into waves and rollers." Appearance thus rises in different forms according to whether one does or does not understand the ·unity of Reality. According to the way sentient beings think, apart from the one and only pattern of noetic being, three, four, 21 The last-mentioned aspect is not in the printed text, the blocks of which seem to have been cut out in a rather slipshod way, but was given me by my learned friends Ka-thog dbon Tulku and Tar-thang Tulku. 22 The world of sensuousness and sensual desires, the world of patterned forms, and the world of no-patterns (Ki!imadhatu, Rupadhi!itu, and Arupadhi!itu). ·

and even five .existential patterns are postulated.23 This is what is meant by the differentiation into a manifold of the one sphere which is irp.maculate and not vitiated by any conditions. So it was with Saraha: although the king viewed him under various aspects, as a Brahmin, a scholar, a yogi, and a man oflow caste, Saraha never passed beyond the oneness of his being. Therefore the verse continues: "So the king thinks of Saraha." This simile illustrates the point that out of the one and only sphere which is not a content of thought, the antithesis of Sa111sara and Nirva:t].a rises. However, since Sa111sara rises out of that which is not a content of thought, will the latter not exhaust itself in Sa111sara? No, it will not, just as the sky will not exhaust itself in its clouds. On the contrary, the clouds come out of the sky into which they disappear. In the same way, this Sa111sara is all memory, and since memory starts from nonmemory it also dissolves into nonmemory. Therefore the verse concludes: "In many ways, although one man." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

II. The Concise Statement (stanzas 1-6)

The concise statement (stanzas r-6) deals with three topics: ·(A) by three similes the distorted appearance of the ground, although it is pure in itself, is pointed out (stanzas 1-3); (B) by the similes of water and oflight and darkness the purification 23 The more common four norms of e~stence are iri their Sanskri,t terminology nirmar,akaya, sambhogakaya, ilharmakaya, and svabhavikakaya, to which as a fifth a mflhasukhakaya (existence in great bliss) is added. However, they are not separate entities, but form a unity and may be considered as a process-product phenomenon, where the former three act like a causal situation and the latter two represent the final state of real being. See in particular Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum ... , fols. 8xa ff.

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of unknowing through the awareness which realizes the path, is shown (stanza 4); and (C) by the simile of the ocean the goal as being without increase and decrease is pointed out (stanzas s-6). A. Three similes. There are three points to be noted here: (I) the distorted appearance of the ground as illustrated by the simile of waves and rollers; (2) the appearance of the differentiation into subject and object because of distortion, illustrated by the simile of one lamp appearing as two; and (3) the failure to understand the all-encompassing nature of awareness, illustrated by the simile of the lamp and darkness. I. Lama Bal-po contends that the first two lines are a simile and that the last two refer to the real thing. His words are: "As the king did not understand the meaning of immobility, the image of water and waves was taken to illustrate how something can have mobility." According to Par-phu-ba, however, the whole verse must be understood as implying two topics because two similes are used. They are: in the same way as the water of the great ocean, still unstirred by any conditions, turns into waves when it is lashed by the wind from all sides and turns into rollers when struck from one direction, so the unmoved ocean of primordial mind turns into waves and rollers of observable qualities and interpretative thoughts when it is lashed by the wind of belief in the essences of things and selves. The following is the application of the simile of the manifold having but one flavor, as illustrated by the oneness of the waves and rollers with the water out of which they have surged,· and by · the oneness of the interpretative thoughts with the mind out of which they have come forth. According to status and appearance King Mahapala understood the man who appeared as Saraha, and who was but one individual, to be one such person, whether it be that by reciting Vedic verses he was a Brahmin, or by being well versed

in the five branches of learning a scholar, or an ascetic by following a certain moral code; yet he believed him to be something different suchas a yogi, because he slept with a woman. Similarly, reality, unsullied by the belief in its concreteness and being a unity, is believed to be a variety of appearances in the realm of distorted vision.

STANZA

2

To afool who squints ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

The simile of the squinter who sees two lamps where there is only one is used to make clear what is meant when one does not yet understand that mind and mental events are not a: duality. "Proper view" means transcendence in which there are neither a mind nor mental events. A person who does not understand transcendence is involved in memory and the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory. Investigating these processes by themselves, he concludes that their character is nothing, and this negativism he calls a philosophical outlook. Such a man, verily, can be called a fool; for a fool is a man who takes what is not real for real and vice versa, so that he gets involved in erroneous imaginations. The simile of the squinter is therefore used to show that one does not see properly when one eyeball is pressed up. And so Saraha says: "To a fool who squints." Just as the one lamp is seen as two by the eyes when one of them is pressed up, so after having turned away from the proper view which is transcendence, one concludes that the COMMENTARIES

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view conditioned by interpretative thoughts [operating as the subject-object dichotomy in the wake of perceptual processes against the background of memory] is the spiritual openness of a Buddha. Since, however, the antithesis of appearance and nothingness is accidental [and relational] it is an artifact. That which is not is like a person seeing one lamp just as it is and not as two lamps. It is by understanding the meaning of transcendence that appearance is realized to be accidental because it owes its existence to certain conditions, and also nothingness is realized to be accidental because a created nothingness is bound to collapse. For this reason, and because appearance and nothingness do not go beyond the sphere of transcendence but are taken as two separate entities, Saraha says: "One lamp is as two." Therefore, since the object seen and the seeing subject are both accidental, and since in the ultimately real noetic act there is neither the duality of memory and nonmemory, nor of Sarp.sara and Nirval).a, nor of Buddha and sentient being, it is said: "Where seen and seer are not two." A man who does not understand this creates by the fragmentizing activity of the intellect such dualities as the five vitiated psychophysical constituents and the five. non vitiated ones, 24 memory and rionmemory, Sarp.sara and Nirval}a, virtue and vice, and so on and so on. Therefore Saraha concludes: "Ah! the mind works on the thingness of them both." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN.-LAS-PA 2. The first half of this verse is a simile; the second half refers to the very thing. Some foolish person may press his 24 The former are those that are usually subsumed under the groups ofform (referring both to the objective as well as the subjective), feeling, sensation, motivation, and conscious processes; the latter are ethics and manners, meditative concentration, discriminative actimen, freedom, and man's vision of reality in freedom through his a priori awareness.

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eyeball and turn it up, and by such distorted vision one lamp will appear as two. Similarly, while the existential mode of reality is not differentiated into the duality of an object to be seen and a subject which is seeing, through unknowing the .one mind appears as the thingness of the differentiation into subject and object or objective situation and owner of the objective situation. " Ah! " is the exclamation ofwonder that two things should appear when there are not two.

STANZA 3

Though the house-lamps have been lit ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, although spontaneity encompasses the whole of Sa111sara and Nirval).a, it is not so understood. This is shown by the simile of the blind man who does not see the lamplight, although it surrounds him. The outer house constitutes the sensual objects, and even when one is drawn to them it is encompassed by the light of the lamp of knowledge which is nonmemory. This is not understood by anyone not in the spiritual lineage. The inner house is equivalent to the five psychophysical constituents. It is not understood, however, that beyond these there is know~edge into which no interpretative thoughts enter and which is like a lamp. The mystic or secret house means that the sphere of nonmemory is sealed by the radiance of the lamp of that which has no origin, and this also is not understood. Therefore Saraha sings: "Though the house-lamps have been lit." COMMENTARIES

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Just as a lamp does not act contrary to its nature but illumines everything, so also he who is in the spiritual lineage bums all the darkness of memory and of emotionality with the light from the eye of knowledge or nonmemory. Those who are not in the spiritual lineage are involved in perceptual processes operating against the background of memory, and since they have not opened the eye of knowledge or nonmemory, they remain within the confines of memory and like blind men have no chance to do away with the darkness ofSa111sara. Though they are surrounded by the light from a lamp, they do not see this light and cannot abolish the state of darkness. Therefore Saraha continues: "The blind live on in the dark." Similarly, the spontaneity with and in appearance, or the pattern of authentic being; and the spontaneity with and in nothingness, or the pattern of authentic communication; and the spontaneity with and in what has no origin, or the pattern ofnoeticness, encompass the whole ofSa111sara and NirvaJ::la. Hence Saraha says: "Though spontaneity is all-encompassing." Since these three existential norms have never been absent, they have been our friends for all time. Just as honey and its flavor are blended, so memory is impregnated with nonmemory. Since one does not understand its presence, Saraha exclaims: "A~d close, to the deluded it remains always far away." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

3. The division into a first and second half of the verse is the same as in the one preceding. Although the existential mode of mind, spontaneous awareness, encompasses all that is without and within, deluded people do not see this awareness, as it seems to be far

away; yet this awareness is very close because it is within them. This is illustrated by the simile of the blind who have no means of understanding light and live in darkness, although their house has been brightly lit by many lamps.

STANZA 4

Though there be many rivers, they are one in the sea . .. COMMENTARY BY .SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a noncontradictory simile: although there may be many conventional truths, a single ultimate one will defeat them all. This is shown by the similes of rivers and darkness. All rivers such as the Ganges, the Jumna, the Sitanara, and others rise from the ocean and also dissolve in it. This simile thus shows that all the entities known as Sarp.sara or as Nirval).a rise from and dissolve in the sphere of transcendence. And just as all the rivers have only one flavor in the ocean, so all en~ties known as Sarp.sara and Nirval).a, however multiple they may appear, have only one flavor in the sphere that is inaccessible to the [common] mind. As Saraha says: "Though there may be many rivers, they are one in the sea." Memory is the realm of external references. However manifold the various meditative attainments by the developing and fulfillment stages may be, all have perishable properties because they are produced by memory. Ultimately the ineffable and inconceivable sphere, into which no deception enters and which is not a content of thought for it is inaccessible to the common mind, will defeat memory, perception, and all that has been created by thought, all that which is not true in the ultimate sense. COMMENTARIES

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Similarly, although a great liar may tell many lies, a knowledgeable person will understand all of this as not being true, and so Saraha says: "Though there may be many lies, one truth will conquer all." If someone were to ask how the defeat will be brought about, the answer is: by the instruction of the Guru who by nature is immaculate like the sun and devoid of prejudgments, not vitiated by the three conditions,25 radiant like the sun and all-encompassing. This Saraha expresses by the words: "When one sun appears." The pathways of the biotic forces, their motility, structuralizing creativity, and many other topics are all like darkness. Since they have been created by the intellect they prevent us from seeing the ultimate which is beyond the operational field of the common mind. Seeing the ultimately real means that the instruction of the Guru, who is free from the three conditions, purifies the twofold mire by seeing the three existential norms, and overcomes the whole of memory by turning it over to nonmemory. Therefore Saraha says: "The d~rk however deep will vanish." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

B. Similes of water and of light and darkness. The purification of unknowing by the awareness which intuits the path is illustrated by the similes of water and of light and darkness. The first line, the second, and the last two together, each point to three topics by way of three similes: the variety of appearance is of one flavor with nothingness, the nature of everything conventional is of one flavor with the ultimately real, and one single intuition conquers all obscurations. As, for instance, the many rivers that come from many countries 25

See note r, above in this section.

become of one salty flavor in the sea, and the manifold delusive appearances such as subject and object, although they are there as appearances,can be overcome by the intuition of the single existential mode of nothingness, of that which is ultimately true. The rising of one sun conquers all darkness, which otherwise must be dispelled by the light of a lamp, the flash of a jewel, or the rays of the moon. Similarly the single vision of the existential mode [of all that is] dispels everything, whether this is to be done by seeing or by meditating. 2 6

STANZA 5

As a cloud that rises from the sea ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Here is another noncontradictory simile. The fact that in ultimate reality there is neither increase nor decrease is shown 'by the comparison with the sea. Out of the sea comes vapor which is condensed into clouds, and out of them the rain falls on the earth and makes the crops grow. This simile is to be understood as follows: out of the noetic act, which is like the sea, there rises the pattern of communication, which is like vapor, and out of this pattern of being, which is like a cloud, the multitude of wondrous manifestations, which are like rain, fall on earth and constitute appearance. Therefore Saraha begins: "As a cloud that rises from the sea." This rain, however, according to what it falls in, assumes distinct qualities such as bitterness, sweetness, and sourness, but the rain itself does not think: "I have been acting so." 26 Certain flaws in man's nature can be removed by "seeing" reality as it is, while others need "attention to what has been seen."

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This simile is meant to illustrate that out of the noetic act which is transcendence, both communication, which has no origin, and authentic being, which is nonmemory, arise, and that they have no idea about having risen from the noetic act. By virtue of the particular interpretative thoughts, which each of us employs, they are conceived of separately in a judgment that postulates that this is Saip.sara and that is Nirvfu}.a. Just as the rain fills the whole earth and produces fruit and forest trees and thus acts for the benefit of all sentient beings, so this simile indicates that when the Guru's instruction, resembling the moisture of the rain of nonmemory, has soaked the whole furnace of emotionality in unorigination, it rains down varied and many wondrous manifestations for the benefit of sentient beings out of the sphere of transcendence. These wondrous manifestations assume whatever form in which they may be conceived according to the particular interpretations employed by sentient beings. And so Saraha continues: "Absorbing rain the earth embraces." Just as rain comes out of the sea, the sea not suffering harm nor loss, so out of the sphere ofnonmemory many forms o( memory arise and yet nonmemory remains unimpaired. Although memory has come into existence it has done so in a free-rising manner out of nonmemory. Even in its presence as having the distinct character of memor·y it remains in nonmemory in which it dissolves. Therefore this nonmemory is like celestial space, and because it remains an uninterrupted continuity for all time, Saraha says: "So, like the sky, the sea remains without increasing or decreasing." Therefore, the noetic act which is transcendence cannot profit from the two pursuits oflife27 because they do not add 27

Accumulation of merits and the deepening of knowledge. See

Mahiiyiinasutriilankiira XVIII 38; Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum

. . , fols. 1 7a ; 83lr-84ll.

IOO

to it. Nor can it be damaged by the pursuit of evil because it does not detract from it. Although out of the noetic norm the two other patterns [of communication and authentic being] arise, the noetic norm itself is not decreased nor increased by them. Because it is a realm that has never decreased, does not and is not going to decrease, Saraha declares: "Remains without increasing or decreasing."

COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

C. Simile ofthe ocean. The indication of the goal as neither increasing nor deqeasing, illustrated by the simile of the sea, contains two points: (I) the elaboration of the simile and (2) the indication of the thing. I. In summer, when from the great ocean water vapors rise, they are absorbed by a dark cloud which then becomes heavy and full of rain. The torrents that pour from the cloud fill vast countries so that streamlets become rivers and flow into the great ocean. When the water of the sea is absorbed by the cloud and carried over the sky the sea does not suffer any loss. While in no way becoming less it remains like the sky ever full. When the rain falls from the cloud· and fills the earth it means that streams become rivers, while the latter become bigger and bigger and flow into the ocean after flooding the countryside. But the ocean is not increased; it cannot pass beyond its fullness. For this reason it is stated in the Vaipulyasutra that there are two costly jewels in the ocean. The one prevents it from becoming less when water is drawn from it and the other from becoming too large when water flows into it. Hence the water in the great ocean does not increase nor decrease.

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STANZA 6

So from spontaneity that's unique .. COMMENTARY BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now it will be shown that the qualities of the Buddha adorned with the major and minor auspicious marks are of the very nature of spontaneity. The qualities of a Buddha are of a double nature: worldly and transworldly. The former are the thirty-two principal auspicious marks and the eighty minor auspicious ones, 28 the four intrepidities, 29 the light that is emitted from his body for a distance of six feet, and certain other marks. These are not his transworldly perfections, but are only accidental. So Saraha says: "Replete with the Buddha's perfections." The transworldly qualities of the Buddha are the real spontaneity. This will be understood from the following: memory rises from nonmemory, remains and dissolves therein, hence spontaneity with and in appearance is through and with nothingness.30 Nonmemory rises from that which has no They have been enumerated in Abhisamayiilankiira VIII 12-32. Abhidharmako/a VII 75· The text is incomplete here, and the translation has been based on the version of similar texts in which the same problem has been dealt with. See Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hiiskor-gsum ... , fol. 27a, commenting on Saraha's dictum: The source of mind cannot be pointed out Because of triple spontaneity. From where it rises and where it disappears And also where it stays is not clearly known. To understand that which has no foundation The instruction by a Guru will suffice. Karma Phrin-las-pa says: "The source of mind or the primordial reality is not pointed out, for it cannot be exhibited [like any object]. Why? Because of the three kinds of spontaneity. That is· to say, body is the 28

29 30

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spontaneity of appearance with and in nothingness, speech that of sound with and in nothingness, and mind that of cognition with and in nothingness. Or, since appearance and nothingness are spontaneously coterminous, as are nothingness and unorigination, and unorigination and transcendence, tJ:lese three kinds of spontaneity are found nowhere as an entity when we examine the source and foundation of these three as to where they are and from where they come, and the same is true of the foundation of fire and heat or of water and moistness. Therefore, even if we scrutinize the matter where spontaneity first comes from and where in the end it will disappear to and where for the time being it is present, it will not be known as a concrete substance with observable qualities. Therefore we shall l?e able to understand that all the entities of reality have neither foundation nor source. If someone wants to understand reality as it is, having no foundation, it will suffice that he does away with all imputations from within and becomes free from doubts by relying on the instruction of a Guru who makes him understand that the fact of there being no foundation and basis to the interpretative constructs of a mind is mind as such." gNyis-med Avadhiitipa, Do-ha mdzod-kyi snying-po . .. , fols. 76a ff., gives the following commentary: "That which stems from the mind, i.e., appearance, is born from nonmemory, stays in it, and fades back into it. The spontaneity of appearance [with and in nothingness] is to be experienced as nonmemory. Mind, as long as the [distorting] conditions do not obtain, is this nonmemory or nothingness. This again comes out, stays in, and fades back into unorigination. Therefore the spontaneity of nothingness [with and in unorigination] is to be experienced as unorigination. Mind, as long as memory and nonmemory do not obtain, is without beginning and end. Since this is beyond the confines of the common mind and since the very thingness of all things comes out of, stays in, and fades back into that which is the essence of the three aspects of time, one can understand the inconceivable through the spontaneity of unorigination (with and in transcendence]. (As Saraha puts it:] 'Because of the triple spontaneity.' When one understands mind, then appearance, nothingness, and unorigination cease the very moment they are born (and therefore Saraha says:] "From where it rises and where it disappears.'' Since one does not find the thingness of the things [apart from them] when one searches for it [Saraha continues:] 'And also where it stays is not clearly known.' Inasmuch as that which is the foundation of [the nature of] sentient beings has no 'foundation as such, the foundation of the Buddha awareness [also] has no foundation as such, and this precisely is the foundation of the enlightenment mind. As it has no objective reference (Saraha declares:] 'To understand that which has no foundation.' When one understands what the enlightenment mind COMMENTARIES

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origin, remains and dissolves therein, hence spontaneity with and in nothingness is [through and with] that which has no origin. That which has no origin comes from transcendence; it remains and dissolves therein; hence spontaneity with and in that which has no origin is [through and with] transcendence. Out of transcendence, according to the predilection of sentient beings, two existential norms may appear, but since they are intrinsically the transworldl y qualities of the Buddha, Saraha declares: "So from spontaneity that's unique." Inasmuch as this actuality of spontaneity encompasses all being, whether stationary or movable, the entirety of being comes to rest in the sphere of spontaneity. Since memory is born from nonmemory and rests again in nonmemory, Saraha says:" Are all sentient beings born and in it come to rest." However, it may be asked whether this spontaneity can be called the sum total of appearance or memory and nothingness or nonmemory. The answer is No. Spontaneity is neither the intensification by imagination of the circle of thingness or memory, nor is it the intentional production of a quietistic state of nothingness or nonmemory. Since it is not deft.led by either aspect, unorigination is spontaneity, and therefore Saraha declares: "But it is neither concrete nor abstract." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA 2. The preceding simile indicates that it is the reality field, reality as such or the primordial indestructible great creativity, that is spontaneous with Sa~sara and Nirvax;ta. The goal or the awareness-endowed pattern of Buddhahood has over-

really is, then immediately after the instruction by the Guru in the topic of spontaneity there is neither memory nor forgetting. [Hence Saraha continues:] 'The instruction of a Guru will suffice.~ 104

come the four boundary situations. Its supreme qualities, such as the Buddha-powers and others, are subsumed under the headings of rid,dance and maturation. They are complete inasmuch as they are numerous as the sand in the river Ganges, amounting to sixty-four billions of grains. They are absolute and yet immanent, and are continuous, being graded into a starting-point, a path, and a goal. Therefore they all are from the very beginning spontaneously present with both Saxp.sara and Nirval).a and constitute the evidence of being, reality as such, the primordial and indestructible creativity. In the self-activity of this unceasingly lustrous presence of primordial creativity, all the beings of the within and the without seem to come into and fade out of existence. Ultimately, however, there is no reifi.cation as birth of the six kinds ofbeing, 31 nor is there a cessation by dereification or death in this unceasingly lustrous presence of primordial creativity. Therefore within the play ofthe single reality, with its three facets of potentiality, actuality, and self-activity, all the entities of the phenomenal world appear merely in interrelations. This meaning is also implied by the "People Dohas." Spontaneity-is revealed in many scriptures; According to one's axioms it is explained and seen; I, the Lord, alone am there, for all else is a contradiction.32 Men, gods, demons, animals, spirits, denizens ofhell. Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ..• , fols. 45b ff., gives the following interpretation: "Ultimate truth or the really real is the sole reality before any judgments are made about it. For this reason the word 'spontaneity' is used. [The absolutely real, spontaneously present, is not something beyond or behind the phenomena we observe, but with and in them.] Because in the self-activity of the tirelessly present actuality of this sole reality all the entities [of our world] made up of the eighty-four tho~sand constituents of reality are seen [to have been dealt with] in many scriptures, but by not understanding or wrongly understanding or being doubtful about them, according to one's wishful thinking they 31 32

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have been elaborately discussed in many mutually contradictory philosophical treatises by both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. It is like what happens when many blind people want to describe an elephant. In consonance with this the Guhyasiddhi writes: 'The naked-goers call it jiva, f To Buddhists it is enlightenment.' Then it may be asked with what philosophical axiom does Saraha's saying tally? [With none] because by understanding the real meaning of existence Saraha, Lord over Sarp.sara and NirvaJ:].a, is alone and consequently [what he has to say] contradicts all that the other philosophers postulate. Why should that be so? Because Saraha has understood reality in its genuineness which is beyond all [predetermined] viewpoints and philosophical postulates. As he sees reality in its singleness and univocality revealed through this a priori awareness, every other statement about reality appears to him as false, due to the fact that it has been construed by the ordinary mind [indulging in its own fictions). With him it is as with a man who has recovered from jaundice and no longer sees a white conch as yellow. Further, in the house of a mind which does not understand [reality] or understands it wrongly, as well as in the house of a mind that has only a partial understanding of reality, philosophical axioms seem to have absolute validity, and therefore these people are addicted to their viewpoints and axioms." A rather different interpretation of this verse is given by gNyis-med Avadhiitipa, Do-hii mdzod-kyi snying-po ... , fol. 96a, who seems to have read lha instead of !han: 'The starting-point of everything is non-· memory, the path unorigination, and the goal transcendence. Therefore original mind is that which cannot be named in any way as a thing in itself, or celestial space, and not being vitiated by causes and conditions is just referred to as the divine (lha). According to the writings of the beings in. the three worlds it appears as many gods. Some who thus understand it claim two truths: conventional truth which is [essentially] untruth, and ultimate truth which is nothing observable, and since it cannot be caught by logical arguments and doctrinal treatises it is referred to as the divine [or as Saraha says:)' Spontaneity is revealed in many scriptures' [the printed text has !han, not lha]. By such views as eternalism and nihilism and by one's specific theses one does not understand what' divine' means. Just as the idea held by people who touch an elephant in the dark is untrue for those who have seen an elephant before, [Saraha says:]' According to one's axioms it is explained and seen.' Just as an elephant turns out to be different when the darkness has been lifted, so also it is when a competent Guru has shown [truth] which is not understood by the disciplines of grammar, epistemology, revelation, and doctrinal treatises, [and so Saraha continues:]' I, the Lord, alone am here, for all else is contradiction.' Then, is there something axiomatic apart from the outer and inner realities? No, the topics of the outer 106

STANZA 7

They walk other paths and so forsake true bliss .. COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a contradictory simile· ofa man climbing a mountain in order to taste some honey. It is used to illustrate the hankering after and the expectations of pleasures produced by certain conditions. The bliss which is not produced by certain conditions is the essence of that which is without origin, the realm that cannot be converted into a content of thought, that which transcends ordinary mind, the ultimately real, the Buddha-intentionality.33 This is the bliss that does not fade. Those who do not understand this bliss, which is unpolluted by the mire of Sarp.sara and Nirval).a, forsake it and, hankering after thf. passing ecstasy provided by the Karmamudra, they move in a world of sensuality. Coveting the mystic circles of gods and goddesses, the bliss provided by the Samayamudra, they move in a world of images. By coveting the quietist state of nothingness, as provided by the Dharmamudra, they move .realities such as visible forms and so on, and of the inner ones such as . memory, need not be searched for apart from axioms. [Therefore Saraha concludes:] 'In both these houses axioms are found."' 33 sangs-rgyas-kyi dgongs-pa. We usually associate with the term "Buddha" the idea of the person who became the Buddha, and overlook the fact that it was a peak experience which prompted the description of him who had had it as "having become enlightened" (buddha). Failure to grasp the difference between a description of an experience and a metaphysical 'postulate in. personalistic terms has produced rather peculiar conclusions concerning the nature of Mahayana Buddhism, as can be seen from A. L. Basham's statements in The Wonder that was India (rev. ed.; New York: Hawthorn Books, 1963), p. 279, which unfortunately have been perpetuated in William De Barry and others, Sources of COMMENTARIES

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in a world of no-patterning.34 That is why Saraha says: "They walk other paths and so forsake true bliss." Also, the bliss depending on the inspiration of a woman has been produced by certain conditions, and so is the imagination of the structuralizing forces and of the mystic sound. Further, to imagine the circles of gods and goddesses is but bliss produced by certain conditions. If one covets any of them one does not become free from the three types of Sa~sara and does not find liberation; one only attains the dignity of a god in paradise. Therefore Saraha sings: "Seeking the delights that stimulants produce." The simile that illustrates the attitude and situation of those who, not understanding real bliss, term the bliss produced by certain conditions as that of spontaneity is as follows: on a high mountain there is a beehive,. abo~e it two bulls, and below it a deep lake. Between the bulls and the lake, on a Indian Tradition (New York: Columbia University Press, 1958), p. I 57· In Tibetan the term sangs-rgyas oscillates between what we call "the Buddha" (the historical person) and what is more appropriately called "Buddhahood" or a new and changed vision of the world with which we are familiar. Statistically speaking, it is the latter meaning that preponderates when the term is used. Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skorgsum ... , fol. 24a, explains sangs-rgyas by rtogs, which is the intuitive understanding and felt knowledge of reality as such. Such an intuition directly determines the value and meaning of life, though not in the sense of a prejudged value, demanding in advance that the world shall conform to its claims. Every knowledge, be it real or assumed, determines our life. What we think about the things (and persons) with which we have to do while alive, determines our conduct to them. This I indicate by the term" intentionality," which is not merely" determination" as to what something is but also "evaluation." "Buddha-intentionality" therefore is a name for an attitude towards life based on appreciative knowledge. A similar interpretation is given by sGam-po-pa, Ca, fol. 4b. 34 These topics have been discussed in detail by Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fols. 21b ff., and by gNyis-med Avadhiitipa, Do-hii mdzod-kyi snying-po ... , fols. 72b ff. 108

patch of grass, a man, yearning for mountain honey, drinks the honey with cupped hands. Two rats, one white and the other black, nibble the grass. If the man runs from them uphill, he will meet the two bulls; if downhill, he will fall into the lake. In any case he will suffer. In other words the flavor of the three existential norms which are the Buddha-intentionality is within us, but this is not understood. Expecting pleasures that are produced under certain conditions is like yearning for the mountain honey. The patch of grass is our lifetime. The rats are day and night, stealing our life. The two bulls are the two worlds ofpatterning and no-patterning. The lake below is the world of sensuality. Wherever we run, we will not become free of these three worlds. So Saraha declares: "The honey in their mouths and to them so near." Not drinking to one's heart's content the triad of the existential norms, which for all time are one's friends and resemble an uninterrupted stream, but coveting the things created by the intellect, the mirage of water which owes its appearance to certain conditions, will make the bliss recede farther and farther away. Hence Saraha says: ''Will vanish ifat once they do not drink it."

CoMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

III. The Detailed Explanation (stanzas 7-39)

The interpretation contains three sections: (A) the detailed explanation ofthat which relates to the ground (stanzas 7-20); (B) the method of experiencing the Mahamudra as path (stanzas 21-36); and (C) the indication of the goal (stanzas 37-39). A. Explanation ofthat which relates to the ground. This section has (our subsections (1) the injunction to renounce covetousness, illustrated by four contradictory similes (stanzas 7-10); COMMENTARIES

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(2) [the necessity] to understand that which is pointed to by four noncontradictory similes (stanzas r r-r4); (3) the method of pointing to factualness by using four mixed similes (stanzas 15-18); and (4) [the importance] of showing the relation between cause and effect by two contradictory similes (stanzas 19-20). I. This subsection deals with four topics: (a) the renunciation of the desire for conditioned pleasures, illustrated by the simile of bees hoarding honey on a mountain (stanza 7); (b) the renunciation of the desire to reject the one while accepting the other, illustrated by the simile of the fool and the wise man (stanza 8); (c) the renunciation of the desire for passing pleasures, illustrated by the simile of the fly (stanza 9); and (d) the renunciation of the desire to [believe in the validity of] constitutive conditions and absolute properties, illustrated by the simile of the water in an ox's footprint (~tanza 10). a. Some people forsake the genuine path of experiencing the real bliss in spontaneous awareness3 5 and set out on one or the other of the ephemeral artificial ways, such as the path of action.36 By traversing it they hope that the feeling of pleasantness generated by the path of action, which is the working of the mind, will become the path to deliverance. Thereby 35 Literally, "bliss-spontaneity-awareness." It implies that bliss is commensurate with knowledge. 36 According to sGam-po-pa, Ca, fol. I Sa, "path of action" means to make the three kinds of feeling towards sentient beings and the three kinds of altering one's outlook the "way" of one's spiritual growth. The three kinds of feeling are, according to sGam-po-pa, ibid., to feel towards sentient beings as one's parents by practicing loving-kindness, compassion, and an enlightened attitude, while the three kinds of altering one's outlook are (ibid., fol. 30a) the paths of dismissing, of changing, and of being firmly rooted in the real. The path of dismissing is to abolish the emotionally disturbing forces of passion-lust as taught in the Paramita Siitras. The path of changing means to see the outer world as a divine mansion and the beings in it as gods and goddesses. This is the teaching contained in the Tantras. The last path is self-explanatory.

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the realization of the noetic norm, spontaneity, will recede farther and farther away. This is like bees gathering honey from flowers. Although the honey is so close to them they do not taste it but collect it in a hive on a mountain; virhile others will carry it away, they themselves will not enjoy it, and it will vanish from them.

STANZA 8

Beasts do not understand the world .. COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, another contradictory simile: while those who are wise about reality do not hanker after worldly and transworldly things, those who are not wise yearn for them. Just as animals do not realize their lot of carrying burdens as misery, but find pleasure in ample feeding only, so ordinary people find pleasure in the experience of such emotions as covetous attachment, anger, and spiritual darkness, which they thoroughly enjoy. They see in good deeds and the ultimately real nothing but misery and therefore studiously avoid them. Although ·the ultimate reality of nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence is infallible, these persons avoid it. Not realizing that the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory are Sarp.sara, a· heap of unsatisfactoriness, they view it as pleasure. Therefore Saraha opens the verse with the words: "Beasts do not understand the world to be a sorry place." But when one has received the instruction handed down by Gurus in the spiritual lineage, the man who is wise about the meaning of nonmemory and unorigination sees that the COMMENTARIES

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imagination of the pathways of the biotic forces and of these forces themselves, the structuralizing creativity and the meditative attainments of the developing stage and other techniques, are all nothing but unsatisfcrctoriness for a mind. And therefore Saraha continues: "Not so the wise." The wise who understand reality are never separated from the Buddha-intentionality that transcends the realm of ordinary mind and that cannot be expressed in words, spoken of in conventional language, or given a definite name. A meditation that is not the product of mentation has the character of continuity. It is beyond the limits of birth and death, of eternalisin and nihilism, and [as infinite] as celestial space. Hence Saraha says:" Who the heavenly nectar drink." But he who does not understand it in this way yearns with all his memory and perceptual powers after external objects in the five sensual realms; he longs for internal objects such as the pathways of the biotic forces, the sensation of their moving along the pathways, and the quietist state of nothingness; he hankers after the mystic experiences of nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence. He searches for the cause of this hankering and ofhis coveting as something apart from ultimate truth. Therefore Saraha concludes: "While beasts hunger for the sensual." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

b. One speaks ofanimals as beings who forsake the happier forms of life for miserable ones. Although animals do not understand the deplorable state of the world as being one of the three kinds of unsatisfactoriness, 3 7 they will not, as far as they can, commit any good or evil deeds. However, since human beings, who are slightly more intelligent, see chances 37

On these see Guenther, The jewel Ornament of Liberation, pp. 55 ff. 112

for acceptance and rejection and yet lead a sordid life, and use their human existence for indulging in countless evils which are the cause of mi,sery, wisdom and folly are reversed. Some wise people, practising Ku-su-lu yoga, 38 drink the nectar of spontaneous awareness which is as rich as celestial space, while others are addicted to analyzing by various means the outer world and thus are far from experiencing spontaneous awareness. Therefore, one should renounce hankering for that which rna y tend toward distinguishing between acceptance and rejection, and reside instead in the sphere of genuine self-composure.

STANZA 9

To a.fly that likes the smell ofputrid ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, the rejection ofNirvai].a for the sake of desires and the hunting for the pleasures ofSarp.sara will be·illustrated by the simile of the fl. y. Just as a fly is attracted by foul and fetid odors, so the sentient beings in Sarp.sara covet the five sensual objects. Since these who do not understand reality hanker after passing pleasures, Saraha says: "To a fly that likes the smell of putrid meat." Moreover, this fly, the very moment it smells sandalwood, camphor, or musk, holds it to be foul and so is drawn to it. So the yogis who rely on that which has a determinate character develop wrong views about that which has no 38

See Guenther, The Life and Teaching ofNiiropa, p. 34 and note. COMMENT ARIES

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determinate character and get confused about it as if in a daze. Therefore Saraha develops this simile: "The fragrance of sandalwood is foul." If one understands that whatever has no determinate characteristics is that which transcends the ordinary mind, one casts away this heap of unsatisfactoriness, the world created by the ordinary mind, and instead reaches the three kinds of real Nirvat;ta. 39 Since he who does not understand this holds that which is created by a mind as the ultimately real, Saraha declares: "Beings who discard Nirvat;ta." By coveting the pleasure of the indivisibility of appearance and nothingness in the experience of the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory, one moves about in the three spheres of Sarp.sara. 40 Since from memory only unsatisfactoriness can spring, memory is the cause of the origination and also the ground for the continuance ofSarp.sara. Since there is then no chance to become free from Sarp.sara, Saraha declares: "Covet coarse Sarp.sara's realm." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

c. To hanker after the world is like the behavior of a swarm of flies fond of foul odors. Flies through their perverted habits think the fragrance of sandalwood to be foul. So those who hanker after sensual objects reject the desire for attaining Nirvat;ta, the state of freedom which is replete with infinite qualities like the fragrance of sandalwood, and being shrouded in dark ignorance, the origin of the misery of the world, they cling to occasional small pleasures. Since this will bring nothing but suffering, one should reside in the sphere of genuineness without hankering for anything. 39 40

See below, stanza 14. See note 22, above in this section.

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STANZA ro

An ox's footprints filled with water .. COMMENTARY BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, another contradictory simile. By the simile of water in the footprint of an ox it is pointed out how qualities dry up, if they are not real. Just as a man who has never seen the ocean will think that the water in the footprint of an ox is the sea and, though he may look for a precious jewel in it, will not find it, so [and in this way the simile will be understood] by thinking that the pleasures which are experienced as having determinate characteristics and distinct feeling-tones are the ultimately real bliss, ultimate reality is not found. Therefore Saraha says: "An ox's footprints filled with water." Just as in the water which fills the footprints of an ox, a precious jewel may be found but will be lost quickly because it is so small, so the things created by the ordinary mind, the common achievements, vanish quickly, because they are not lasting. And so Saraha continues: "Will soon dry up." Although many qualities may appear on the body of the Buddha, such as the major auspicious marks and the minor auspicious signs, they will all fade, because they are only accidental. Just as one may dream that one has entered the palace of god, but when one wakes up everything disappears because it contains no truth and so is unreliable, Saraha elaborates the simile:" So with a mind that's firm but full of qualities that are not perfect." Mind which is firm is the noetic norm, unchanging and without interpretative thought, not vitiated by the three con-

a

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ditions. 41 While this is the perfect steadfast mind, hew ho does not understand it considers the power of the Mantras and Mudras to be superior. But since their power is only accidental, Saraha concludes: "These imperfections will in time dry up."

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d. When one thinks the various experiences which come from the properties of things and through the senses to be the vision of the noetic norm and hankers after them, one leaves the path ofawareness. Similarly, when ignorant people who have never seen the ocean come across the footprint of an ox, full of water, they think that this must be the ocean, and although they may search for jewels 'in it they will find none. And in the same way as the water in the footprint will dry up, so this hankering after sensual experiences as Buddhaintentionality is not the vision of the noetic norm pure in it~ freedom from all distorting veils and replete with the sixtyfour billion qualities. To realize thenoetic norm, which contains the ultimate and supreme qualities, one must fully experience the reality of mind, which is unchanging through the phases of starting-point, path, and goal, and which is like celestial space. The opinionated view which hankers after a mere idea 42 as the noetic norm replete with excellent qualities See note r, above in this section. nyams. The translation, from a linguist's point of view, is shockingly free, but he himself is to be blamed because he has failed to make a semantic study of terms relating to mental processes. The term nyams occurs in the triad of nyams, rtogs, go-b a, all of which relate to ways of understanding. Padma dkar-po in his Phyag-chen-gyi zin-bris, fol. 7a, explains the difference as follows: "To understand the presential value of mind by hearing and thinking discursively about it is go-ba; to under41

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dries up like the water in the footprint of an ox. The idea will fade and become nothing. While this is the explanation of Lama Bal-po, Par-phu-ba speaks about the man who is addicted to worldly qualities which are the quintessence of darkness and says that in this world some stupid people, in their hankering after such worldly things as the power of Brahma or Indra or a universal monarch or wealth or beauty may well wonder which are better, the qualities ofBuddhahood or these things. Although one may consider the footprint of an ox, full of water, as the great ocean, the footprint but not the ocean will dry up, so worldly goods which are not real may be considered to have reliable qualities. Yet these worldly goods will be consumed, but not the liberating qualities ofBuddhahood. Hence these two goods are incompatible. Do not, therefore, become addicted to worldly goods. He then says that the pleasures of the path of action are like the water in the footprint of an ox and that the Mahamudra bliss is like the ocean. So thinking, one should not become addicted to the pleasures on the path of action but realize liberation. Both viewpoints are possible; however, since reality cannot be fathomed by thought, one comes to the same conclusion as to the meaning of the text. stand it as an idea is an exclusive concentration on it (rtse-gcig) and nyams; to understand it directly as it happens when all judgments and subjective evaluations are about to be suspended (spros-baQ is rtogs-pa." sGam-po-pa, Da, fol. 2ab, states that the difference between nyams and rtogs-pa is that" nyams does not pass beyond the working of the intellect; it is like the sun concealed behind the clouds. Sometimes the triad of radiance (gsal-ba), bliss (bde-ba), and nondiscursiveness (mi-rtog-pa) is of high intensity; sometimes it is of a low one and is .coming and going. rtogs-pa is an understanding when the impurity of intellection has been removed because then this understanding is preserved in its integrity without there being any desire connected with it."

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STANZA

II

Like salt sea water that turns .. CoMMENTARY BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a noncontradictory simile. When a man has understood the nature of that which is unchanging, no fault attaches to him, even if he should go into the world of varied objects and enjoy them. When one understands the unchanging, nonmemory or authentic being in the world, that which is without origin or authentic communication, and which transcends ordinary mind or the noetic norm, one will never be born again in Sa111sara.just as in the ocean no fruit or forest trees can grow, because salt water is unsuited for their cultivation, so that which is beyond the ordinary mind and cannot be fathomed by the intellect cannot grow in Sa111sara. Hence Saraha declares: "Like salt sea water." However, it may be asked whether this salt water is completely useless. The answer is No. For out of the ocean, vapor rises and turns into clouds from which rain falls and ripens the crops. Furthermore, according to the nature of the receptacle this salt water is changed: if it enters the mouth of a shellfish it becomes a pearl, and if the mouth of a leech it becomes mercury. In the same way the wondrous manifestations of memory which have risen from nonmemory ripen into Sa111sara for those who do not understand reality. For those, however, who are in the spiritual lineage these very manifestations ripen into the three existential norms. Just as the pearl in shellfish or the mercury in the leech, either Sal11sara or Nirvai).a is obtained according to whether or not the receptacle is proper. And so Saraha continues: "That turns sweet when drunk up by the clouds." II8

Whatever arises from the triad of nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence is the multitude of wondrous manifestations [that we encounter in everyday life]. To covet these manifestations is not a sign ofa steadfast mind. But transcendence, the place of origin for these wondrous manifestations, cannot be brought under the control of ordinary mind. Transcendence is the ultimately real mind, immaculate by nature. From it arises everything that benefits sentient beings, and because it is like the Wish-Fulfllling Tree or an auspicious jug, Saraha says: "So a firm mind that works for others." When one understands the nature of that which has no origin, one realizes [what is meant by] the place of origin, continuance, and dissolution of all the outer and inner constituents of our reality. Thereby even emotional reactions, which [ordinarily] are like poison, are easily turned into the nectarofknowledge.Just as a man who is seriously ill recovers when he has been given a strong drug, so it is with us: the serious illness is memory and the remedy is the Buddhaintentionality or nonmemory. Out of inhe v:ariety of the contents of memory arises and is turned into poison by being reified; but in knowing the intrinsic nature of memory one may go into and.enjoy the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory because one is aware that they have no being as such. Therefore Saraha says: "Turns the poison of sense-objects into nectar."

COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

This subsection which deals with the cognition of reality, illustrated by four similes, contains four topics. (a) The true understanding of reality as implying that whatever one does is faultless. This is illustrated by the simile of salt water becoming sweet. (b) The true understanding of that 2.

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which cannot be expressed in words, although one may be afraid of the mere sound of nothingness, as maturing into bliss supreme. This is illustrated by the simile of the clap of thunder. (c) The explanation of appearance and nothingness as not being two entities. This is illustrated by the simile of there being no difference in the three aspects of time. (d) The difference between wisdom and foolishness concerning the indivisibility of Sal'!lsara and Nirval).a. This is illustrated by the simile of the bee and the frog. · a. Although beginners are fettered by their deliberations concerning virtue and vice, by understanding virtue an:d vice as having no foundation as such they are freed from the fetters of their actions. As implied by the simile; although the water of the ocean which turns everything salt is not suited to be drunk because it makes one sick, it is fit for drinking when it has lost its saltiness and has become sweet after it has been absorbed by a cloud, carried over the sky, and has fallen down again as rain which has eight properties. 43 Similarly, although a man who thoroughly understands the existential mode of reality rna y seem to do a great variety ofgood and evil to help others, the poison of covetous thoughts for sensual objects has become like nectar because it has been neutralized in the sphere of the radiant light. When he understands that there is no real foundation for poison seeming to be nectar, he should not be reproached for any action. 4 3 They are coolness, sweetness, digestiveness, softness, clearness, freedom from.impurities, soothingness to the stomach when a person is drunk, and clearing the throat.

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STANZA

12

If ineffable, never is one unsatisfied ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a noncontradictory simile. Although one may be frightened by the voice of the ineffable, when one understands that which cannot be expressed in words one knows it is the source of everything that benefits sentient beings. This is illustrated by the simile of the clap of thunder. The sphere of that which is not a content of ordinary mind cannot be expressed in words, and the rapture of coition which a young woman may imagine is a good example.44 That which can be spoken or perceived belongs to memory. As long as memory operates we have the truth of unsatisfactoriness. Nonmemory is the truth of the origin of unsatisfactoriness; unorigination is the truth of the path leading to the annihilation of unsatisfactoriness; and transcendence is the truth of annihilation of unsatisfactoriness. Because these three truths cannot be stated in words [but must be experienced in order to be known], Saraha begins: "If ineffable, never is one unsatisfied." Since it cannot be expressed in words, it also cannot be imagined. Imagination means directionality of thought processes, and this entails the use of interpretative thought. Inasmuch as these constructs make up Sarp.sara, ultimate reality 44 See also Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fol. 36b. gNyismed Avadhiitipa, Do-hii mdzod-kyi snying-po .. . , fol. 84b, gives the following interpretation of this simile: "When a young woman in the fullness of youth and a pleasant young man sleep together they can tell others about the [three kinds of delight such as] joy, ecstasy, and cessation ofjoy that they experience, but the spontaneity which they experience in their hearts cannot be put into words."

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which is beyond the world of ordinary mind cannot be produced by the intellect and enlarged upon by imagination, nor can it be spoken of in terms of everyday language. This ultimate reality is Bliss Supreme, not marred by the impurities of Sa111sara and Nirval}.a, but since anything created by the mind is the cause of unsatisfactoriness, because of its createdness when the opportunity for a mind to create it arises, Saraha continues: "If unimaginable, it must be bliss itsel£" Although an individual lacking intelligence may hate and fear the sound of that which cannot be formulated in words, it is by an understanding of its significance that liberation from Salpsara will be effected. In a like manner, lightning and heavy thunder, though they are hated and feared by those of poor intelligence, perform their beneficial work of ripening the crops. And so Saraha declares: "Though from a cloud one fears the thunderclap." Thunder and lightning are sure s~gns of rain, and just as the rain that falls ripens the crops and fruit, so because of the reality that cannot be spoken of in ordinary words, the benefit ofsentient beings is spontaneously achieved as memory ripens into nonmemory, this into that which has no origin, and this into transcendence. As transcendence is understood, Sarp.sara and NirvaiJ.a ripen into ultimate reality. Therefore Saraha ends: "The crops ripen when from it pours the rain."

COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

b. Even people who are frightened by reality will realize bliss supreme, unchanging and devoid of any pleasantness or unpleasantness, when they gradually come to understand by means of ordinary words that great bliss which cannot be expressed in speech, after they take up the meditation of reality under the guidance by competent people. When they 122

thoroughly understand that that which cannot be imagined by a mind is beyond the division into the imaginer and the imagined, this awareness is. the real bliss not sullied even by pure actions. As stated in the jfianasiddhi: The awareness of all Buddhas Is called the bliss supreme That knows Reality as such. And in the Uttaratantra: There is bliss when the constituents partaking Of the nature of mentation and their cause have been reversed. 4 5 That is to say, even the being of those who are likely to be frightened of the existential mode of reality because of their unfortunate position will mature into bliss supreme when they become used to and acquainted with spontaneous awareness. This is indicated by the simile: even such simple people as the Sravakas become reassured when, terrified by the loud voice of thunder and by lightning, they are told that these phenomena are the sign of rain and the ripening of the crops. Benefit is achieved because by the rainfall crops, fruit, and trees grow and ripen. This is the explanation given by Lama Bal-po. Par-phu-ba, however, explains the first two lines as the vision of bliss supreme because it is the realm beyond thoughts and words, and joins the two last lines with the following verse. 45

Uttaratantra I 38.

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STANZA 13

It is in the beginning, in the middle, and . .. CoMMENTARY BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a noncontradictory simile which shows the nonduality ofappearance and nothingness in the undifferentiatedness of the three aspects of time. In the initial phase of memory the end one is not present, and in the end phase the middle one is absent. Therefore in the whole of memory there is no place for localizing any aspect of the phase as an entity. It is precisely in this inability to fmd any place that ultimate reality is found. Moreover, it is out of the sphere of nonmemory alone that memory rises in its initial phase, in which it stays in its middle phase, and into which it dissolves in its end phase. Thus for a yogi, who understands reality, memory stays in nonmemory throughout the three aspects of time. Therefore Saraha begins: "It is in the beginning, in the middle, and the end." For him who understands it in this way, the past, the future, and the present are an three without any reference as such, and inasmuch as in the sphere of transcendence there is no difference between them, Saraha continues: "Yet end and beginning are nowhere else." However, he who does not understand this has a different conception about appearance and also about nothingness. Yet this belief in appearance and nothingness as two different entities is nothing ultimately real, because such dualism is merely accidental. To center one's attention on that which is merely accidental is the sign of a fool. And so Saraha says: "All those with minds deluded by interpretative thoughts." It may be asked what appearance and nothingness really are. The answer is: nothingness has a double aspect; it is arti124

fi.cial and genuine. The former means the imagining ofsomething as nothing; the latter is the pure understanding 'of nonmemory. Artificial nothingness is the ephemeral world because it is created by the mind. Although genuine nothingness may be predicated as just nonmemory, in experiencing this predication it is also perishable. Appearance is ordinary appearing and the change of mind due to a philosophical doctrine. The former is the naive belief in the concrete existence of things. If one does not investigate the nature of this belief, appearance ·is the optimistic belief that transitory seeming-objects are a solid basis for happiness. If one investigates the nature of appearance it is found to be like a magic spell, a dimness of eyesight, a dream. Appearance as found in a change of mind due to a philosophical doctrine constitutes the three types ofcompassion. The first is compassion extending to sentient beings, which perishes because it is especially generated for them. The second is compassion extending to their nature, which also perishes for the same reason. The third is compassion without any reference as its goal. Since there is no reason for [ordinary] compassion in the absence of anything to which it refers, nonreferential compassion is a natural fact. 46 "Therefore we only have a duality but no ultimate reality when something turns up for perceiving or 46 According to the living tradition of Buddhism (which so often differs from what lexical translators ordain Buddhism to be), the first kind of compassion extends to sentient beings in the naive assumption that they are what they are believed to be. The second kind also extends to sentient beings but takes into account the transitory character of man's being and the fact that he has no pre-existing essence. The third kind is free from all presuppositions and fully aware of the delusive character of everything phenomenal. The first kind can easily be related to sentimentality and a misplaced philanthropism which often has done more harm than good. The second kind is still mixed up with ideas about the nature of man and comes close to empathy. The third kind is purely ethical as it implies the possibility of being compassionate. Here compassion is commensurate with knowledge, which is the very foundation of man.

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stating it in terms of appearance and nothingness. And so Saraha concludes: "Are in two minds and so discuss nothingness and compassion as two things."

COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

c. If one were to think that spontaneous awareness is first of all something that has become a thing, and then becomes something which is no thing, so proving the existence of appearance and nothingness as two entities, one will have to realize that the one awareness cannot be proved to be a thing and not a thing, and that which is two is not somewhere else one. Therefore while there is appearance there is nothingness and vice-versa so that it is beyond thingness and all its observable qualities. Moreover, since in the beginning there is no chance of its becoming, there is no beginning; since in the end there is no chance of its cessation, there is no end; and since there is no chance of its having or being without sides, there is no middle. In the same way, the three aspects of time are not differentiated [as such] and hence one can know the nonduality of appearance and nothingness as residing in that which is beyond words even if one intends to speak about it. If one does not understand it in this way, one looks at superficialities by thinking of appearance or nothingness or appearance-nothingness as due to thought processes which are not proper ones. Since such improper thought processes are the very nature of delusion and unknowing, one speaks of its appearance as appearance to a deluded mind. Since appearance and nothingness appear as two it does not pass beyond ordinary and interpreted appearance. The former is the naive belief in the concrete existence qf things, the latter, starting from such terms as appearance-and-nothingness or cognitionand-nothingness, speaks in conformity with the various 126

philosophical convictions about unity or unification. These philosophers then speak about appearance and nothingness and the other pairs as nothingness and compassion, according to the mode within which this duality is cognized. That is, to understand appearance, cognition, bliss, lucidity, and so on, as the reality-illumining awareness is in the mode of great compassion. It is in the mode of nothingness to understand their potentiality which is without origin and beyond thingness and its observable qualities as the reality-illumining awareness. Such a unity is termed nothingness having the nature of compassion or compassion having the nature of nothingness. When great compassion and nothingness have one flavor, they are indivisible. This is the explanation of Lama Bal-po. Par-phu-ba, however, takes the two last lines of the preceding verse and joins them with this one saying that the path· as such is the unity of nothingness and compassion. That is to say, when someone who has become deluded and confused about the texts through studying the words, and who wants to win supreme enlightenment, comes to a Guru, the latter will speak to him about nothingness and compassion. Compassion is said to be in the beginning, in the end, and in the middle. In the beginning, compassion is the reason for developing an enlightened attitude. In the end it is the reason for immanent altruism as it is grounded in a spirituality which is not terminated by definite contents. In the middle it is nondeviation into Sravaka or Pratyekabuddha patterns. Nothingness is said to be in the beginning, in the end, and nowhere else. This means that all entities of reality or one's mind are in the beginning without origin and in the end without cessation, while the middle is just these two aspects. In order to give a simile ofhow there may be fear in the beginning while there will be prosperity in the end, the words in the verse are cited which show that although one may be afraid of the COMMENTARIES

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voice of thunder, when rain falls the crops will ripen. So also, Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas are frightened at developing great compassion and therefore cling to things, and so may be frightened at nothingness. Once they experience the unity of compassion and nothingness, the rising of the noetic norm out of nothingness, and that of the communicative and existential norms out of compassion they will realize this is best for themselves and others.

STANZA 14

Bees know that in flowers .. COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a noncontradictory simile. The wise, but not fools, know that Saq1sara and Nirva~a are not two distinct entities. This is illustrated by the simile of the flower, the bee, and the frog. Just as a bee, having come from afar, drinks honey from flowers and flies away without falling into the lake which contains flowering plants and without knocking against the flower petals, so the wise man does not covet the thoughts due to the operation of memory because he knows the triad ofnonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence. Therefore Saraha says: "Bees know that in flowers honey can be found." Waterfowl, swans, fish, and frogs do not know that there is honey in a flower, even when they live at the root of it. It is the same with those who covet the experiences of the developing and fulfillment stages, of the innervation of the pathways of the biotic forces by their motility, of the mystic

!28

sound, and of the structuralizing creat1v1ty, all of which belong to the working of memory as a power. They do not know that in nonmemory which is not vitiated by memory there is the honey of that which is without origin and is transcendence. So Saraha states: "Bees know that in flowers honey can be found." "When one knows the meaning of nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence, Sal!lsara and NirvaJ::!,a are realized as undifferentiated. "While the worlds of sensuous and sensual desires, of patterning, and of nonpatterning are the three realms of Sal!lsara, the three types of NirvaJ?.a are those in which the organi,sm still exists, in which the organism has ceased to exist, and which cannot be localized anywhere. Since a duality between Sal!lsara and NirvaJ::!,a is not perceived in the sphere of transcendence and since the flavor of there being no reference whatsoever is not lost, but remains in its being-itself, Saraha states: "That Sal!lsara and Nirv3I].a are not two." Although one may covet and cherish the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory in the mistaken hope that they might intuit reality, it is through being fooled about the nature of nonmemory that one does not become aware of the significance of the three existential patterns, and so Saraha concludes: "How will the deluded ever understand?"

COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

d. The simile of the .wise man enjoying S.pontaneity which encompasses everything and of the deluded one not understanding it shows that while bees know that honey is in the flowers that grow by a lake, and, when they have drunk it fly away without striking against anything, the frogs and COMMENTARIES

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other creatures that live so near the flowers do not know anything about the honey and do not taste the flavor. Similarly those who are acquainted with the existential mode of reality by long habit do not reject the turbulence of Sa111sara and accept the peacefulness of NirvaJ7a. Understanding Sa111sara and Nirva17a to be equal in their unity, they realize the great value of not staying in either. But how will the deluded ever understand and experience this unity? While the bees come from afar and recognize the flavor ofhoney in a flower, the frogs, although they live in the lake [close to the flowers], do not. Par-phu-ba declares that this refers to the qualities of the disciple as constituting a suitable receptacle [for the instructions] and that a person who is a proper vessel as symbolized by the bee becomes free by tasting the flavor of the unity of compassion and nothingness which is contained in the injunction not to reject the world because of compassion or Nirva17a because of nothingness.

STANZA 15

When the deluded in a mirror look ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a contradictory simile. The reflection of one's face in a mirror shows that truth has been abandoned and untruth coveted. Just as a little child, looking in a mirror, sees his reflection there and goes to grasp it, so those who do not understand reality covet as the ultimate the relative pleasures which are characterized by the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory, and cling to them. In this way 130

they resemble a man who has taken hold of a certain object and yet is unable to retain it. Therefore Saraha declares: " When the deluded in a mirror look." Just as a lion, king ofbeasts, who had been led by hares to a well, saw his reflection in the water and leapt at it filled with rage, so he who does not understand reality covets the status of a god or a goddess, the reflection of memory, and fetters himselfby it. Therefore Saraha says: "They see a face, not a reflection." Since one who covets memory denies the truth of ultimate reality, the innermost meaning as transcendence not polluted by the impurities ofSarp.sara and Nirval:).a, Saraha continues: "So the mind that has truth denied." Those who covet pleasures that have a determinate character such as the rapture of the Karmamudra, the quietist state of nothingness associated with the Dharmamudra, and the mystic circle of gods belonging to the Samayamudra rely on these relative pleasures as if they were ultimate bliss supreme. But since such artificial absorptions are bound to collapse, because they are not truth, and because those who do not understand reality rely on this untruth, Saraha concludes: "Relies on that which is not true."

COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

3. This subsection dealing with the indication of facticity by using four mixed similes contains four topics: (a) the necessity of not being addicted to untruth, illustrated by the simile of the reflection in a mirror; (b) the presence of uninterrupted concentration when one understands the three existential norms, illustrated by the simile of the fragrance of a flower; (c) the hardening of interpretative thoughts by the tendency to covet concrete things, illustrated by the simile of COMMENTARIES

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ice; and (d) the unsulliedness of mind as such, illustrated by a jewel lying in the mud. a. Inasmuch as all of the appearances ofour common world are delusive, one should not desire their existence in this way as constituting truth. This is illustrated by the following simile. When a person who does not know the qualitative mode of something, 47 because he is deluded by words and propositions, looks at that which appears on the surface of a mirror, he sees many things which he mistakes as belonging to the external world. Thus, for instance, when a little child looks into a mirror he feels enamoured with the image of his face, which he takes to be there in truth, and he shows his affection by playing and laughing; if a monkey sees its face it starts to beat about and gnash its teeth, showing all the signs of anger; and when the lady of the house looks in a mirror to clean her face because of coquetry, then seeing the reflection stained, she starts to wipe the blemishes of the reflection, not knowing the true condition ofher face. Similarly, mind which considers the images appearing as projected into an external world, although it cannot be proved to exist in truth, as so existing, deliberates about truth and untruth, until it is certain that the outer world does not exist as such. Since by this process delusive appearances increase, one should experience anything that arises without interpreting how it does so. 47 yin-lugs. bKa'-brgyud-pa texts distinguish between yin-lugs and gnas-lugs. So do the rNying-ma-pa texts, and it seems that the bKa'brgyud-pas' distinction is due to the clear thinking of the rN ying-mapas. The latter term, gnas-lugs, refers to the existentiality of things in being a presential value, while yin-lugs refers to what a thing momentarily is in its being this or that.

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STANZA 16

Though the fragrance of aflower cannot be touched ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a noncontradictory simile. It reveals the fact that when one understands the three existential norms, absorption stays uninterrupted. Just as the Campaka scent will seem to come from the flower in front of us, though it may be behind our back or from one side, so the proper outlook which cannot be brought about by imagination moving in the confmes of memory, though it may be on the other side and behind memory and its perceptual processes, proceeds even in the forefront of memory and its activities and also pervades all this when it is understood. Since the fact of its all-encompassingness cannot be set up by imagination, it also cannot be expressed in ordinary words. Therefore one should not look at anything as something. Further, memory and its perceptual processes are like the flower, nonmemory like its fragrance. Since nonmemory is without patterning, it encompasses without any difficulty or obstruction everything that appears as a concrete entity having a determinate character. Therefore Saraha begins with the words: "Though the fragrance of a flower cannot be touched." Although the fragrance of a flower has no visible pattern, Saraha refers to it thus: "'Tis all pervasive and at once perceptible." This simile must be understood in the following manner: that which is no content of mentation is all-encompassing. This the Guru can explain by symbols and by his competence in direct ways. He can show that memory is sense perception, nonmemory- abstract perception, unorigination extrasensory COMMENTARIES

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perception, and transcendence intuitive perception. 48 From this it follows that the triad ofnonmemory, unorigination, transcendence encompasses directly everything that is believed to have the character of a materially existing thing. Moreover, nonmemory or .authentic being, unorigination or authentic communication, transcendence or pure noetic being, and their undifferentiatedness or ultimate existentiality are all pure by nature, are without materiality and other determinate characteristics, without patterning and without the being-itself of patterning. But they have four attributes: authentic being or nonmemory is all-encompassing; authentic communication or unorigination is patternless; noetic being or transcendence is neither something coming nor going; and ultimate existentiality stretches across the whole of time. While thus it is suchness, and since in this suchness there is neither patterning nor any essence thereof, Saraha says: "So by unpatterned being-in-itself." In this suchness which is beyond all characterizations, the sundry patterns of Sarp.sara and NirvaQ.a may rise; but all these patterns of the without and the within, which are meant to guide those who have to be led to spiritual maturity, rise out of that which is no content of thought, and in it they dissolve. Since this sphere is not polluted by the two types of impurity, that is, since it is not soiled either by Sa111sara or NirvaQ.a, Saraha concludes: "Recognize the round of mystic circles." CoMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

b. When the whole of appearance arises as the totality of the three existential norms, there is no time nor activity 48 A more detailed account in which sensory perception is contrasted with intuition is given by gNyis-med Avadhii.tipa, Do-hii mdzod-kyi snying-po ... , fol. 93ab.

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except for meditation of which whatever is seen or heard is the content. Therefore there is uninterrupted absorption. The simile says that although there is neither form nor color to the scent of a Campaka flower which grows beyond the hill, the fragrance seems to have come from afar and is smelled immediately and is all-pervasive as here and now. Similarly, the potentiality of the whole of appearance which has no origin as such, or noetic being, and its lustrous actuality which is unceasing, or authentic communication and its self-activity which appears as everything possible, or authentic being, is the round of mystic circles. Although they have no color or shape, they can be known immediately, and when this is done one also knows that absorption has become continuous because it is beyond the concretizing distinction between that which is to be meditated upon and him who meditates.

STANZA 17

When [in winter} still water by the wind is stirred ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a contradictory simile. It shows how by conceiving of memory as a material entity interpretative thoughts become hardened and solid like ice. When the sphere of nonmemory has been stirred up by the ever-changing memory, it solidifies into the interpretative constructs of mind. Just as water that has been stirred up by the cold storms of winter is turned into ice, so, when the interpretative thoughts have entered into that which is not these constructs, it grows into Sarp.sara. Therefore Saraha COMMENTARIES

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begins: " When [in winter] still water by the wind is stirred.'' However, when the wind does not stir the water it remains still and does not change; but when the cold wind, the condition for the disturbance of the water, stirs it, it becomes ice, as hard as rock. So also, when thoughts due to memory do not enter nonmemory, there is not the painful situation of emotional reactions and since there are no thoughts of different characteristics, the calm and smoothness of nonmemory are preserved. But when out of nonmemory memory rises, and when this is conceived as some permanent, materially existing entity, emotional reactions become more and more intensified and the interpretative thoughts are not likely to pass away. Therefore Saraha continues: "It takes [as ice] the shape and texture of a rock." Further, when one knows that in its initial phase memory starts from nonmemory, that in its middle one it stays in nonmemory, and that in its fmal phase it dissolves in nonmemory, everything that has arisen as memory is like snow that has fallen into a lake. But when those who do not understand memory in this way take it as a permanent, eternal, and independent entity, it is like snow that has fallen on the surface of a glacier. Inasmuch as in this way thoughts become more and more pronounced, and since the individual who does not understand reality stirs up nonmemory by memory, he only causes Sarpsara to arise. And therefore Saraha exclaims: "When the deluded are disturbed by interpretative thoughts, that which is as yet unpatterned." Further, when one understands as ultimate reality the pathways of the biotic forces, the mystic sound, the structuralizing creativity, the inner warmth, the quietist state of nothingness, and other such topics, although they are contents of imagination, by becoming more and more involved in these interpretative constructs, this activity is not going to subside. Therefore Saraha concludes: "Turns very hard and solid."

CoMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

c. Through long habit all that which ordinarily appears to us seems to exist in truth, and through the desire for this to be true, error gets worse and worse. As the simile has it, when the ice-cold winds of winter stir the water and lash it, the still, smooth water becomes hard and solid and takes the shape of a rock. So also it is by the growth of unknowing, itself having no pattern as such, and being a superficial phenomenon, yet adding to infatuation by hankering after apparent truth, that whatever appears does so as existing in truth and as being a hard fact.

STANZA 18

Mind immaculate in its very being can never be ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a noncontradictory simile. The fact that nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence are not vitiated by certain specifiable conditions is illustrated by the simile ofa precious jewel not polluted by the mud in which it happens to lie. Just as clouds and rainbows appear in the sky, without harming it, while in a mirror the reflection of one's face appears, yet no harm comes to the mirror, so out of the radiance of Mind, which is nonmemory, accidentally comes memory. In its origination it arises from nonmemory, in its continuance it remains in nonmemory, and in its dissolution it dissolves in nonmemory. Because no trace of memory remains after it has met its source by yogic practices, that COMMENTARIES

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which is not a content of thinking is neither benefited nor harmed by either the good or the bad that has been created by memory. Therefore Saraha says: "Mind immaculate in its very being." The three world spheres and the three types ofNirvar:ta are subsumed under the duality of Sarp.sara and Nirvar:ta. But since the belief in Sarp.sara and Nirvar:ta as representing a clear-cut duality is the operation of memory manifesting in thoughts, this memory must, indeed, be considered as the stain caused by the two types of impurity. The three world spheres are the impurity of emotional reactions, and the three types ofNirva~a are the impurity of primitive beliefs about reality. But since the immaculate sphere of that which is not just a content of thought is without any ground for the imposition upon it of the duality of Sarp.sara and Nirva~a, and since it is not polluted by any impurity, Saraha says about it: "Can never be polluted by Sarp.sara's nor Nirva~a's impurities." Although a precious jewel may lie embedded in the mud, its qualities will not be affected. So also the yogi who understands nonmemory is not polluted by the defects of memory, although he may have gone deep into its impurity. Because he is like the lotus flower which is not sullied by the mud from which it has been born, Saraha says: "A precious jewel deep in mud." Just as the luster of a precious jewel does not radiate when the jewel lies embedded in mud, and as it is impossible to say that its qualities are resplendent or not, so it is with nonmemory when it lies embedded in the impurity of memory. It is not recognized by him who covets memory, and no statement can be made as to whether nonmemory is or is not radiant, whether it is eternal or not. But just as a precious jewel is recognized as such, when dirt has been washed from it, so, when by the Guru's instruction the impurity of mem-

ory has been revealed as being only accidental, one sees the three existential norms after the impurity of memory has been washed offin the sphere of nonmemory; but ifit has not been washed off, one· does not see the three norms. Therefore Saraha states: " Will not shine, though it has luster." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

d. Mind whose facti city consists of a double purity4 9 is not affected by the impurities of those elements which obscure it. It remains for all time unaffected by the impurity of the belief in the difference between Sarp.sara and Nirvar,ta. It is like the most precious Wish-Fulfilling Gem which will not let its luster and wish-fulfilling power shine brilliantly when it is buried in mud, although the mud cannot impair the gem and its properties. The four similes which have just been explained point to the factualness of reality in an alternation of contradiction and 49 Karma Phrin.:.las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum . .. , fols. 24a ff., gives the following explanation: "Which are the two purities? Purity as to essence and purity as to accidence. Essence is twofold: conventional and absolutistic. The Byang-chub-sems-'grel states: 'The essence of fire is heat, that of water wetness, that of sugar sweetness, but that of all things nothingness.' Here conventionally accepted and absolutistically postulated essences have been explained by way of the thing and its quality; therefore the conventionally accepted essence is substance and quality, while the absolutistically postulated essence is the opposite. The belief that essence as classified by the two truths is given as such is the impurity as to essence. For this reason mind in its spontaneity which is not a substance or thing and has no observable qualities is pure as to essence. The impurity of accidence, or that which has to be purified in view of purity as to accidence, is the involvement in the distinction made between an objective situation and the owner of this situation, in brief, between subject and object. Spontaneous mind is not defiled by the division into subject and object and so is pure as to accidence. Therefore, it is the word of my Guru that makes me understand directly as the ultimately real norm this basic a priori awareness which is neither a substance nor has any observable qualities nor is affected by the division into subject and object.''

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noncontradiction. According to Lama Bal-po the first and third similes are contradictory and the second and fourth noncontradictory. This is an alternating mode ofpresentation because the similes have not been kept separate.

STANZA 19

Knowledge shines not in the dark ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now a contradictory simile. It illustrates how out of the seed of the pervasive substratum5° the fruit of SaJ!lsara and Nirval).a ripens, in the same way that all seeds grow shoots. Consciousness in the body of a sentient being is submerged in the five senses, these senses in mind, mind in emotivity, and emotivity in the pervasive substratum. To imagine such a created nothingness51 as absolute is a sign of spiritual dark50 The bKa'-brgyud-pas, like the rNying-ma-pas, differ from the dGe-lugs-pas in their conception of the" pervasive substratum." For the former it is both positive (pure) and negative (impure). In its former aspect it is called the "a priori awareness as pervasive substratum," in its .latter one "consciousness as pervasive substratum." For the dGe-lugspas it is an indeterminate, incipient cognition. The rNying-ma-pas distinguish between a "pervasive substratum" developing into the delusiveness of ordinary perception, and a "ground" that is dealt with metaphysically. 51 Here, too, the bKa'-brgyud-pas, like the rNying-ma-pas, differ from the dGe-lugs-pas, for whom "nothingness'! is absolute negation (med-dgag). For the bKa'-brgyud-pas and rNying-ma-pas "nothingness" is dynamic and may manifest itself as and in all and everything. It is positive, not negative. See Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fols. 15b, 56b, 82a.

ness, because thereby ultimately real knowledge, which is transcendence, does not shine. Therefore Saraha begins: "Knowledge shines not in the dark." Others, having visualized the letters Oly! Aij HOM and seen them fade into each other, imaginatively produce that which seems to be creativity or is creativity and therefore call this imagination "knowledge." But because it has been produced by the mind, it is spiritual darkness. Or, again, to call a determinate experience such as the one that occurs in the third consecration-confirmation52 "ultimately real knowledge," or to imagine a subtle or coarse or artificial nothingness, is also spiritual darkness; and since the idea of a pervasive substratum is a sign of the same darkness, one does not become free from the three world spheres and thus various degrees of unsatisfactoriness come about. Therefore Saraha continues: "But when the darkness is illumined, suffering disappears [at once]." Just as roots and fruits which have their origin in seeds do not grow if no seed has been planted; yet when it has been whatever one wants will grow, so in the pervasive substratum memory and its perceptual processes have gr.own out of the principal motive-power, unknowing. And so Saraha continues: " Shoots grow from the seed." When the seed is not bad, branches and leaves and the like will grow, and so also when the root, the pervasive substratum awareness, is not cut off, the various branches of the unsatisfactoriness of Sal'!lsara will grow. Therefore Saraha concludes: "And leaves from the shoots." 52

In particular, see Guenther, The Life and Teaching

of Niiropa,

pp.

269 ff. Padma dkar-po, Phyag-rgya chen-po rnal-'byor bzhi'i bshad-pa

nges-don lta-ba'i mig, fol. roa, explains it as the realization of the unity of bliss and nothingness and ofradiancy and nothingness. In this stage everything is experienced as having only one flavor, comparable to ice dissolving in water. COMMENTARIES

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COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

4· In this subsection, which points out the real by two contradictory similes, two topics are dealt with: (a) how, out of the pervasive substratum, Sa111sara and Nirval).a ripen, illustrated by the simile of seeds and shoots; and (b) the fact that an intelligent person who is addicted to discursive thought slides into platitudes, illustrated by the simile of a man who knowingly commits suicide. a. In the rNam-snang mngon-byang (Vairocaniibhisambodhi) it is stated:" Thoughts that wander are the great unknowing, J Causing man to fall into Sa111sara." Thus thoughts constitute spiritual darkness, and when they are cultivated that darkness becomes all-embracing; and inasmuch as awareness and unknowing are contradictory, awareness does not shine when unknowing prevails. Therefore this darkness makes man fall into the deep ocean of Sa111sara which is unsatisfactoriness. Thus, when darkness prevails, the unsatisfactoriness of Sa111sara is all-embracing. This the simile illustrates: when a seed has been planted a shoot will grow out of it, and from it come stalks and leaves. Similarly, out of the pervasive substratum awareness which contains all seeds the various branches ofhappiness and misery in Sa111sara grow, but when this awareness matures into knowledge the infinite virtues ofliberation are gained.

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He who thinks of the mind in terms of one ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a contradictory simile. It shows how someone, though he understands nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence, yet hankers after appearance and memory, is like a man who with his eyes open jumps into a fire. The radiancy ofMind, or what is the same, ultimate reality, ultimate peace, genuineness, spontaneous awareness, cannot be fathomed systematically by dialectics or perceptions. Moreover, since it is free from such attributes as oneness or multiplicity, it is without any being-itself. That which can be coveted and thought of can be stated in ordinary words, but not ultimate reality. Since one does not understand [conceptually] that which is ultimately without any being-itself, Saraha states: "He who thinks of the mind in terms of one or many." The ultimately real Buddha-intentionality is nonmemory and the sphere that cannot be reduced to a content of thought. The jewel of the Sangha or community, so spoken ofbecause all merits combine in it, is without origin and end. The jewel of the Dharma, so spoken ofbecause it may arise as the eightyfour thousand constituents of reality, is transcendence and the sphere beyond thought. In these spheres all thoughts have disappeared and only the ultimately real has come to be unfolded. The three jewels of Buddha, Sangha, and Dharma are radiant in and quite near to us. But if one does not understand this, one imagines the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory and, although the three precious jewels are so near, one is not released through them COMMENTARIES

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from the three world spheres. Therefore Saraha says: "Casts away the light and enters the world." Moreover, in memory two ways are outlined. If one does good deeds one obtains the three fairly happy forms of existence, 53 but if one commits the ten evils, one goes into the three unhappy forms of existence. 54 This means that in either case one is involved in evil in spite of knowing what the result will be. To strive for that which the ordinary mind conjures up, after the Guru has pointed to that which is not this content of thought, is like the act of a man who jumps into a fire, although he sees it directly in front of his eyes. Therefore Saraha exclaims: "Into a [raging] fire he walks with open eyes." There is no situation that could be more appropriate for showing compassion than this. But although compassion may be showered on him and he may be put on the right way, yet man will go on striving to do evil, and although he has been shown the reality that is free from the three conditions, 55 he will fulfill these conditions. Therefore Saraha says: "Who could be more deserving of compassion?" COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

b. The existential mode of mind,' which is inexpressible in words however much one tries, is not understood through syllogisms and logic. When one examines mind by any of the four syllogisms dealing with the absence of oneness or multiplicity, and so on, 56 one refutes its existence as such in truth, Men, gods, and demigods. Animals, spirits, and denizens of hell. 55 See note I, above in this section. 56 The four syllogisms in this context are as follows: I. rdo-rje gzegs-ma'i gtan-tshig. It examines the ''cause" and declares that a sprout does not exist by itself as such; neither has it come about 53 54

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but when one stays with the operation of memory that has become certain about mind's nonexistence as such in truth, and when by discarqing the radiancy of mind translucent in itself one concentrates on nothingness as absolute negation, one falls into evil forms of existence as stated: "The nihilist falls into evil forms oflife." Such a man falls into evil forms of existence although he sees their great misery. Who is more pitiable than this man? Although seeing the terror and horror ofthese abysmal forms of life, he commits spiritual suicide. Therefore one should stop yearning for meditation by relying on the operations of memory which. deal with refutation of existence in truth, and should never become separated from a state in which mind, without analysis and scrutiny, is preserved in its genuineness. by itself, nor is it produced by something else, nor by both possibilities, nor has it come about without a cause. Example: a monkey. 2. yod-med skye-'gag-gi gtan-tshig. It examines the" effect" and declares that a sprout is not something really existing. Ifit already exists it will not come about again nor will something nonexistent become existent. Example: a sky-flower. J. mu-bzhi skye-'gag-gi gtan-tshig. It examines both "cause" and "effect" together and declares that a sprout does not really exist because a single cause does not produce multiple effects and vice versa, while a single cause also does not produce a single effect and vice versa. Example: a mother. 4- gcig-du-bral-gyi gtan-tshig. It examines the mere fact of being and declares that a sprout does not really exist be.cause neither a one nor a multiplicity really exists. Example: a reflection.

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For the delights of kissing the deluded crave ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now the simile of the man who is attached to the Karmamudra shows how a man engrossed in sensuality will demand the full range of sensual enjoyments. In the Mahasukhacakra~ which is in the crown of the head, is the white letter HAl\(! with its face turned downward. In the Sambhogacakra in the throat is the yellow letter E with its face turned upward. In the Dharmacakra in the heart is the blue letter HOJ\(1 with its face turned downward, and in the Nirmal;lacakra in the navel is the red letter A with its face turned upward. Thus in these four focal points the letters in the crown of the head and the throat, on the one hand, and those in the heart and navel, on the other, have been made to kiss each other. Then in turn one gradually fills the four focal points with pulsating life which is symbolized by the color white and conceived to be as fine as a spider's thread;S7 imagines the pleasure involved in this process; and experiences a voluptuous sensation whicl;l is the Karmamudra as an inspiratory power, ss until one recognizes the unity of oneself in an act ofkissing in which the body is conceived as a deity, the mind as ultimacy, and speech as Mantra. In this way attachment is created to be a sensation of pleasure which accompanies the stages when an attitude grounded in enlightenment descends and when it is firmly grasped and made to turn upward again, innervating the various focal points. 57 byang-chub or byangs-sems. On the many meanings of this term see Guenther, The Life and Teaching of Naropa, pp. r6o ff. 58 Ibid., p. 212 n.

This Saraha means by saying:" For the delights of kissing the deluded crave." This pleasure, however, is not bliss supreme, but just an echo of it. If someone were to ask why this is so, he would have to be answered that the cause of this bliss is ephemeral, 59 just as is its localization and duration. That is to say, its cause is not a stable attitude grounded in enlightenment, inasmuch as such an attitude does not result in the flowing of saliva and other bodily discharges. Its locality is not Padma and Vajra, 60 and from anywhere else a real attitude of enlightenment cannot come about. Its duration does not depend on the conjunction of Padmaand Vajra, and at any other time it cannot come about. Therefore this pleasure is artificial, unstable, and accidental. For these reasons it is not the ultimately real, but because the deluded believe it to be so, Saraha says: "Declaring it to be the ultimately real." The ultimately real is the sphere of nonmentation, inalienable throughout the three divisions of time. But to expect one to find liberation by imagining four focal points ofexperience which belong to memory, or by coveting the uniting and disengaging ofPadma and Vajra which also belong to memory, after the wondrous manifestations of memory have subsided in this sphere of nonmentation, is just as foolish as the act of a man who having carried his property inside the house seeks at the front door that which is not there. Therefore · Saraha.says: "Like a man who leaves his house and standing at the door." Coveting the pleasure of the kisses by way ofKarmamudra rna y be described thus: just as a lewd person, who has no 59 See ~lso gNyis-med Avadhiitipa's explanation, Do-ha mdzod-kyi snying-po .. . , fol. IOOb. 60 Vajra and Padma are terms of multiple meanings, Vajra among others referring to "fitness of action" (thabs) and Padma to the "appreciation of nothingness" (shes-rab). The sexual connotation is incidental, rather than essential.

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female companion, talks lasciviously with all the women who come to his door and hopes to satisfy his sensual cravings by the pleasure that he derives from such conversation, so bliss supreme is not attained by experiences of those pleasures of a determinate character. By striving for artificial things one does not become free from the three world spheres. Because all of this belongs to the world of sensuality, patterning, and nonpatterning, Saraha says:" Asks [a woman] for reports of sensual delights."

CoMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

B. The method of experiencing the Mahiimudrii as path. The explanation of the method of experiencing the Mahamudra path has two sections: (r) the discarding of the desire for the wrong path and (2) the real path of Mahamudra. 1. This section has eight subsections: (a) the removal of the fault of attachment to the Karmamudra, illustrated by the simile oflewd talk; (b) the removal of the fault ofattachment to one's body as instrumentality, illustrated by the simile of swooning through passion; (c) the removal of the fault of being fettered by one's sentiments, illustrated by the simile of a Brahmin making a burnt offering; (d) the removal of the fault of artificial yoga, illustrated by the simile of ridiculousness; (e) the removal of the fault ofgiving out one's subjective feelings as ultimate cognitions, illustrated by the simile of a glass trinket and an emerald; (f) the removal of the fault of yearning for felt knowledge, illustrated by the simile of copper being mistaken for gold; (g) the removal of the fault of being mistaken about the apparent and real EVA¥ and the four Mudras, illustrated by the simile ofan image; and (h) the removal of the fault of establishing the ultimately real by the conventionally true, illustrated by the simile of a mirage.

a. Some people claim liberation by making the pleasure associated with the Karmamudra their path. By being completely attached to the pleasure of kissing and cohabiting with the Karmamudra they declare their mistaken belief that the passing pleasure is the unchanging bliss supreme. This is as if a lewd person, having no wife, went outside his house which is stocked with wealth, and at the gate where there is nobody and nothing were to ask about sensuality and beauty and then get excited about it. Just as one does not experience real,pleasure when one merely talks about it, being attached to ephemeral sensuous qualities and beautiful shapes, so one should dismiss the desire for passing pleasures with the Karmamudra, inasmuch as bliss supreme is not realized by it. As it is stated in the "People Dohas" :61 In coition to find bliss supreme

Without knowing the real is like A thirsty man who pursues a mirage: will he ever Find the heavenly nectar before he dies of thirst? Ineffective is the revelling In that most blissful feeling Which lies between the Padma and the Vajra; How will he fulfill the hopes of the three worlds? 6! Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum . .. , fols. Sib ff., comments on these two verses as follows: "In the explanation that reality cannot be understood by way of the Karmamudra two points haye to be noted: (I) the use of a simile in order to show that those who expect to understand reality by the Karmamudra are mistaken and (2) that the being for others is not available through the Karmamudra. I. This is indicated by the first verse beginning with 'in coition' and ending with 'of thirst.' A person who is ignorant of how to understand the meaning of existentiality or the very being of everything knowable is very much mistaken when he believes that when he cohabits with the Karmamudra the unchanging bliss supreme, the spontaneous awareness as an awareness in itselfis effectc;:d. What he does is as senseless as a flock of deer thirstily chasing after a mirage in the belief that the mirage is real water. Their action is senseless because tormented by thirst the flock

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of deer will die in the belief that the mirage, the heavenly water, can be drunk, which it cannot. A mirage is produced when the rays of the sun fall on the earth and are reflected upward and, meeting the sunlight, appear as water. In the commentary to the ~tasiihasrikii it is stated:' A mirage is the refraction of the rays of the sun.' Similarly, not knowing what ·nothingness means, from the pleasure of coition the unchanging bliss supreme, the spontaneous bliss as awareness as such, is not obtained. The pleasure of coition is a tainted pleasure; that of unchanging bliss supreme is untainted. Moreover, the pleasure that is felt in' cohabiting with the Karmamudra lasts only a moment while spontaneous bliss is continual. Not only that, although the pleasure of'cohabiting with a woman is highly satisfactory, it does not pass beyond the realm of subjective desires, but awareness in itself is beyond pleasure and pain and does not stay in either Sarp.sara or Nirvil;l.a. 2. This is explained in the verse beginning with 'he who cannot' and ending with 'the three worlds.' Not knowing the meaning of genuine existentiality, which is found in between the Vajra of fitness of action and the Padma of appreciation, [and then] to claim the feeling of reveling in the pleasure that stems from the ordinary body as the meaning of existentiality, and by this action alone to expect to understand existenti-· ality, is unreasonable. The reason is that ordinary pleasure is something tainted because it is not the truly real and therefore is ineffective for ultimate understanding. Therefore, by not understanding that the noetic norm exists in itself and for itself there is no chance for the two other norms [of communication and authentic being], which serve the needs of others, to come about. For this reason that which could fulfill the expectations of all beings in the three worlds does not do so. Ba-ri [lotsava] in his translation ofMaitripa's commentary declares that since the text reads 'is ineffective to show it' the meaning is that it cannot point out the real meaning of the Real, as might be supposed, because it indulges merely in thought constructions. In the gLing tikii [the commentary by gLing-ras-pa], the text seem's to have read 'is ineffective to offer something to rely on.' The explanation there is that since the experience of the pleasure at the time [of cohabiting with the Karmamudra] cannot be relied on forever, it is ephemeral and perishable. Now, in Tibetan the words for 'true,' 'to point out,' and ' to rely on' can be mistaken for each other [bden-pa, bstan-pa, bsten-pa are similar in sound], but in Sanskrit they are different [satya, siisana, sevana], and so the correct reading should be ascertained from the Indian original.'' Unfortunately the allegedly original text of this verse has no word corresponding to the Tibetan translation. This shows that the Tibetan translators. did not translate mechanically but as they understood the text. Except in orientalibus it is axiomatic that a text cannot be translated 150

unless it is understood, but modern linguistic translators forget this axiom deliberately and want to make us believe that their etymologizing is what was understood by the authors of the texts they maltreat. gNyis-med Avadhiitipa, Do-hii mdzod-kyi snying-po .. ., fols. 1oob ff., .seems to have understood the verse in still another way. He speaks of a "foundation" (rten, Sanskrit iidhiira) and elaborates: "The simile of a mirage is used to illustra·te the ignorance about the communicative norm. First, in order to overcome this ignorance [the following is to be noted], since it is not known that the actuality of unorigination which encompasses all sentient beings is the communicative norm [Saraha says]: ' Without knowing the real.' Since by not knowing the all-sustaining power of Mahamudra at the time of the consecration-empowerment to a priori awareness through discriminative appreciation, the bliss felt is not the bliss supreme [Saraha continues]: 'In coition to find bliss supreme.' Since the pleasure felt with the Karmamudra is a mind-made pleasure and not Mahamudra [he further says]: 'Is like a thirsty man who pursues a mirage.' Just as a man is not relieved of thirst by imagining that which is not water to be water, so also by not knowing that Mahamudra is beyond the various ideas about it, similar to celestial space and unfathomable by ordinary thought, he is tormented by the belief that thought and memory are the ultimate. [Hence Saraha concludes]: 'Will he ever find the heavenly nectar before he dies of thirst?' Vajra and Padma are ephemeral places. The ecstatic feeling that originates when they unite is only an ephemeral causal agent. And since its duration is not separate from this moment, duration also is an ephemeral phenomenon. When the two partners' libido, which is of a fourfold nature, ceases to be pent up, the feverishness of passion-lust subsides, and when it becomes balanced there is yet no absence of passion-lust. One such balanced state is [felt to] reside in the point of the Vajra and another in the anthers of the Padma. Therefore Saraha says: 'That most blissful feeling which lies between the Padma and the Vajra.' This feeling is merely a semblance-spontaneity, but when one tries to experience it as the real feeling [Saraha's words describe the matter aptly]: 'He who merely enjoys.' Of course, enjoyment is not the real feeling. The bliss of Mahamudra, vast like the sky, needs no foundation, but is the foundation of everything. On the other hand, the bliss which is felt when two phases pass and two become equalized is only an ephemeral bliss because it cannot serve as a foundation, and therefore Saraha continues: 'Ineffective is the reveling.' While the bliss of Mahamudra which is not mind-made fulfills the expectations of the three world spheres, this feeling here forms but part COMM.ENTARIES

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And in the Guhyasiddhi: "Dirty-minded people say that's only the union ofsex organs. But Buddha never did renounce such unchanging bliss."

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The stirring of biotic forces ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, the simile of a deluded person coveting the control of the biotic forces is used to illustrate the situation of a man overcome by desires. A yogi who is concerned with the control of the biotic forces first neutralizes those that move upward and then compels those that usually move downward to reverse. In this way he produces by effort and imagination an atmosphere of complete nothingness, affecting, as it were, his whole physical body. It is because of the imagination of pleasure in the house of this nothingness that Saraha declares: "The stirring of biotic forces in the house of nothingness." The mode of imagining such pleasure is as follows: by neutralizing the movement of the vital forces along the path-

of the world of sensuality. And so Saraha sums up: 'How will he fulfill the hopes of the three worlds?'" The "fourfold nature" of libido refers to the subject-object polarity in each partner in the mystic-erotic situation. Objectively it is the four kinds of intangibleness ("nothingness") and of momentariness; subjectively the four intensities of delight. See Padma dkar-po,Jo-bo Nii-ropa'i khyad-chos bsre-'pho'i gzhung-'grel rdo-rje-'chang-gi dgongs-pa gsal-bar byed-pa, fols. 155b ff., and Guenther, The Life and Teaching of Niiropa,

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ways termed Lalana and Rasana, and by forcing the concentrated subtle energy in the shape of a red needle into the central pathway or Avadhiiti, the white structuralizing stream of spirituality is made to move downward from the crown of the head and thereby a feeling of pleasure, having a determinate character, is achieved. This feeling has been brought about artificially by various methods. That which is artificial is a compound and therefore no genuine state of liberation. Therefore Saraha continues: "Has given artificial rise to pleasures in so many ways." Or, by having imagined that the physical body is something as intangible as celestial space and by having imagined that the white structuralizing stream of spirituality is the beingitself of enlightenment, only. a passing feeling of pleasure is brought about. The beliefin it as the ultimately real is a wrong mode of meditation, and therefore Saraha asserts: "For they have fallen from celestial space, inveigled into vice." By having created a longing for passing pleasures, expectations for them are set up. By having strenuously imagined such pleasures, a yogi who wishes to conquer Saq1sara in this way remains involved in artificial things. Therefore Saraha concludes: " Such yogis from affliction faint."

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b. When one thinks that one. will attain liberation by experiencing creativity as it moves along the pathways of the structures of one's body, relying on the instruction concerning one's body as an instrumentality, one will not see the existential mode of reality, because this is an artificial path. The reason is that many artificial methods have been devised through imagining in various ways how motility shoots up like an arrow or circulates like a wheel or becomes full like a COMMENTARIES

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pitcher, and so on. But people yearn for the thrill of the sensation of pulsating life descending from the letter HA¥ in the head, symbolized by the [infinitude] of celestial space. Intoxicated by the harmful sensation of this movement penetrating deep into them, they swoon and become senseless. Since such yogis will not become free, one should dismiss this desire for one's body as instrumentality.

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As a Brahmin, who with rice and butter . .. CoMMENTARY BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a simile of a mixed character. For the contradictory aspect a Brahmin making a burnt offering is quoted as an instance for having determinate hopes; for the noncontradictory aspect the meaning of a true burnt offering is elucidated. Just as the ingredients for a Brahmin making a burnt offering are butter, rice, and sesame, so in a true burnt offering the sesame of memory, the butter of nothingness, and the rice of appearance are burnt in the fire of the unoriginated. Therefore Saraha says:" As a Brahmin, who with rice and butter." However, when a Brahmin wants to burn evil after he has piled up the firewood in a mystic circle, lighted the fire and, after that, burnt the ingredients, he only makes an external burnt offering. When one wants to burn the interpretative constructs of mind after having kindled the inner warmth in the region of the navel focal point, one makes an inner burnt offering. 154

When one imagines that one's yi-dam6 2 has been propitiated in the heart after one has imagined the mystic circle of the gods in one's heart, has made the mouth the sacrificial pit and the two hands the two sacrificial spoons and the food [of contemplation] the ingredients of the burnt offering, one makes a spiritual burnt offering. To throw as ingredients the variety of things created by a mind into the sacrificial pit of transcendence is the true and ultimate burnt offering. Therefore Saraha says: "Makes a burnt offering in blazing fire." The Brahmin's intention is to attain liberation by imagining himself to be nothing, empty like the clear sky, and also by imagining the ingredients of his sacrifice to be nothing in the process of the burnt offering after having propitiated the gods and goddesses which also are nothing, these ingredients of the offering being in themselves essentially nothing. In reality the situation is such that celestial space is nothingness and the essence of the ingredients is appearance. Both are elevated ·to the inconceivable sphere and made to ·dissolve in it. Therefore Saraha's words are: "Creating a vessel for nectar from celestial space." To .make an artificial burnt offering and to cling to a created nothingness is to crave for Saq1sara. If one understands the meaning of a real burnt offering, one strives for that which is never separated from the sphere of ultimate reality. And therefore Saraha says: "Takes this through wishful thinking as the ultimate." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

c. Because one has desires which are tinged by one's sentiments and therefore performs a good deed which has but 62 yi-dam. A "tutelary deity" is not an outside agent, but man's own psyche as it projects itself ahead as a goal for his striving ofself-realization.

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relative value, one is not liberated from Sarpsara. For instance, a Brahmin who makes a burnt offering by burning such ingredients as butter and rice in the flames of the sacrificial pit aspires for liberation, but because he is fettered by the desire for this sentiment, he is far from being liberated. Moreover, by creating the feeling of nectar descending from the letter HA.li(.C, symbolizing the infinitude of celestial space, and by being mistaken about the pleasure of this feeling, one should recognize this as a mere desire for the ultimate and therefore give up this desire for all such postulates as yearning and holding, accepting and rejecting, affirming and negating, hoping and fearing, and remain in the sphere which is settled in itself and genuine.

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Some people who have kindled the inner heat ... CoMMENTARY BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now the ridiculousness of yogic exercises concerned with artifacts will be exposed. In the crown of the head Heruka63 is imagined in conjugal embrace [with Vajravarahi]; in the region of the navel the mystic heat is kindled whereby the structuralizing stream of creativity is made to descend from the crown of the head. The feeling of pleasure that has arisen after the heat has moved upwards and reached the fontanelle is called the ultimately real. But because this is an artificially produced feeling of 63 Heruka is the name of a Tantric deity. Its significance depends on whether he appears with two or six or twelve arms.

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pleasure, Saraha says: "Some people who have kindled the inner heat and raised it to the fontanelle." At this moment the tongue is made to stroke the palate and a pleasurable feeling of tickling or eating is produced. This, also, such people call the ultimately real, and therefore Saraha continues: "Stroke the uvula with the tongue in a sort of coition." Such pleasures are passing and artificial and for this reason fetter man to the three forms of Sarp.sara. Since such people, by believing that which is not the ultimately real to be the Real, are afraid of the real Mind, Saraha states: "And confuse that which fetters with what gives release." Calling, in utter arrogance, the experience of these pleasures that have arisen from the senses the ultimately real, such a yogi is a man who busies himself with artifacts, and therefore Sarah a says about him: "In pride will call themselves yogis." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

d. Some monks imagine the creative life force to descend when, by having kindled the flre in the navel region, it has melted the letter HA¥ in the fontanelle. With the tip of their tongue they stroke the uvula in a sort of coition and; hankering after the feeling of pleasure that then arises, they excite body and mind by this feeling which fetters them. In their arrogance they claim that they are yogis who have set out on the path, and so they do many ridiculous things. Since one is not liberated thereby one should dismiss such hankering and experience the profound path as stated before.

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STANZA 25

As higher awareness they teach what they experience .. COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a contradictory simile. Making a show of one's subjective experiences to others is illustrated by the simile of a man confusing a glass trinket with an emerald. The pleasure of the experience of the structuralizing stream ofcreativity-that is, the mystic heat and the quietism of gods and goddesses-all of which has been imagined in the course of perceptual processes operating against the background of memory, is in a sovereign way declared to be the ultimately real. Having identified these personal feelings with pure sensation, they are displayed before others. Therefore Saraha declares: "As higher awareness they teach what they experience within." However much such a person may struggle with the directionality of thought and with imagination, belonging to memory, in order to win liberation, he will only fetter himself like a silkworm with its saliva. A man who acknowledges as the cause of liberation that which is the cause of bondage is not clever. He is more like someone who .says that, just as a man suffering from an internal disease will feel some relief when he has been given sugar and ginger, so one who is drowning should be given ginger mixed with sugar and thereby will be saved. Therefore Saraha remarks: "What fetters them they will call liberation." Just as a man who searches for an emerald and finds a glass trinket thinks it is an emerald, because they are alike in color and shape, though not in value, so it is with the radiancy of Mind, the triad of nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence, and with mental events, the perceptual processes, and

their background memory which are like a glass trinket. Since they are similar to Mind, though unequal in value with Mind, Saraha says: "A glass trinket colored green to them is a [priceless] emerald.'·' Since deluded persons do not recognize a gem, they call a glass trinket a precious jewel. Like someone who has found a precious jewel but does not know it, those who do not understand reality never distinguish between the radiancy ofMind, which cannot be turned into a content of the mind, and which is the sphere in which no thoughts obtain, and the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory which, as mental events, are the cause for these constructs. Therefore Saraha concludes: "Deluded, they know not a gem from what they think that it should be." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

e. Some yogis carried away by their experience attach the name ofhigher awareness to their mistaken perception [expressed in the proposition] that appearance is nothingness and in their elation make a show of it to others as a valid means of cognition. They say that being fettered by the experience of that which is only an index is the means to win freedom from Sarp.sara. But this is not so. Rather, it means that in one's mistaken idea about the nature of a jewel and in one's ignorance about the method of ascertaining that nature, one says a glass trinket is an emerald just because they both look green. Therefore it is stated in the "People Do has" :64 "Decide what is Mind with a man f Who has done what he had to do." 64 According to Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum . .. , fol. 32a, a man who has done what he had to do is a Guru who has experienced what is meant by tranquillity and insight and in whom there is no alternation between a state ·of concentration and a postconcentration phase.

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That is to say, relying on a Guru who has done what had to be done, one must decide what Mind is, and having become competent in guiding the disciple one must, without saying much when the time comes to work for others, see all appearance as fading like mist, and so give up all such craving as believing and talking, and keep all of that which appears in its unartificiality and genuineness.

STANZA 26

They take copper to be gold .. CoMMENTARY BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now the simile of copper mistaken for gold is used to illustrate the belief in subjective feelings as the ultimately real. Just as a man who does not know metals takes copper to be gold or vice versa, so a man who does not understand the ultimate nature of things, which is not artificial and cannot be reached by thinking, believes as ultimately real the topics that can be expressed in words, the contents of the interpretative constructs of mind which are not to be taken as the ultimate. Therefore Sarah a declares: "They take copper to be gold." Moreover they call real, and make frantic efforts to secure, such pleasures as are found in the experience of appearancenothingness, perception-nothingness, the pathways of the biotic forces and their movement, the disappearance and equalization of two materiality-creating forces,6 5 all of which 65 This refers to processes which can be given both a physical and a mental explanation. Physically it relates to the peak of orgasm, while

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belongs to the working of memory. Therefore Saraha says: "Bound by discursive thought they think those thoughts to be ultimate reality." These experiences tied up with traces and dispositions are perishable contents. Just as a boy may dream how he is taught what is good and bad by his parents in their love for him, but when he awakens there is nothing to it, so attachment to the raptures of the Karmamudra or to the pleasant feelings connected with the innervation of the pathways of the biotic forces and the mystic heat is something artificial and perishable. Therefore Saraha asserts: "They long for the pleasures experienced in dreams." He who does not understand that all topics created by a mind are like a dream, in coveting the passing pleasures of the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory declares that mind associates with pleasure in the presence of the physical constituents of one's being. But since such pleasure owes its existence to constituents which are perishable, it cannot be permanent. Therefore Saraha exclaims: "They call the perishable body-mind eternal bliss supreme." CoMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

f. Just as by mistaking a subjective feeling as intuition of reality, and by believing some copper to be gold because of mentally it is a state of pure awareness. In the]o-bo Nii-ro-pa'i khyad-chos bsre-'pho'i gzhung-'grel rdo-rje-'chang-gi dgongs-pa gsal-bar byed-pa, fol. 158ab, Padma dkar-po gives the following explanation: "When the bright (as opposed to the dark and impure) powers of the libido of ourselves and of our partner descend towards the lower end of the structural pathway that is found in the middle of the imaginary picture [of ourselves], we speak of the cessation of two, and when the same powers seal each other and become balanced we speak of the balancing of two. In the center of this balance nothingness alive with infinite content is experienced." COMMENTARIES

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their color and then grasping it, so by thinking of the sensations of the pathways, motility, and creativity as the intuition ofreality and taking these sensations as the path, the existential mode of the Real is said to be found. This is not the case, because this feeling itself is passing and transitory. Similarly, just like people who have dreamed about enjoyments and when they wake up feel attached to the pleasures they have dreamed of, some persons cling to their longing for passing pleasures and say that when the body breaks up mind and pleasure remain inseparably together. However, when the body is transitory the pleasure in it cannot be permanent. Therefore one should dismiss such hankering because the belief that the passing pleasure in a transitory body is permanent is itself an error.

STANZA 27

By the symbol EVAM ... CoMMENTARY BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a simile of mixed character. Its contradictory aspect explains that attachment to the symbol EVAly.f is like taking the reflection in a mirror as reality, while its noncontradictory aspects explain the real meaning of EVAly.f by the four seals. The origin of the inspiratory reality of the intersubjective relation expressed by the female companion lies in the triangular E, and in it resides the Vajra of activity in the shape of the letter V Aly.f. In their union bliss and nothingness are recognized as constituents of reality. When, further, in this state of bliss there is no appearance of seeming-objects, its casual characteristic sealed by the nothingness of nonmenta162

tion, this indivisibility of appearance and nothingness is a nonlocalizable unity. To think so is [to have] a philosophical outlook. To think, then, that this bliss is sealed by nothingness is meditative imagination. At this moment all appearance is freed from an objective reference and is resolved into pure awareness. To think that pure awareness is sealed by nothingness is to live by this philosophical outlook. The subsequent realization of the very nature of the three existential norms by a constant attention to this task is the goal-achievement. This is the meaning of EVA¥ as a semblance of and contradiction to reality. Noncontradictory and real EVA¥ implies the following: E is the sphere free from the three kinds of specifiable conditions, 66 and is immaculate in itsel£ In it there arises accidentally under the influence of these specific conditions the V Aly.f. Or, stated otherwise, out of the E, the sphere of nonmemory, there arises V Aly.f, the wondrous manifestations of memory. Although a multitude of words expressing this have arisen, the very being-itself of both memory and nonmemory remains unorigination, and the meaning of suchness is to grasp the idea of unorigination. This Saraha points out by the words: "By the symbol EVAly.f [they think] self-clearness is achieved." The moment an individual does not understand this he experiences the third stage of the initiation-empowerment,67 so that he outwardly concretizes the four situation-moments and inwardly the four joy-intensities. Here the first joyous excitement is Karmamudra; the experience of ecstatic joy is Dharmamudra. When, at the moment of spontaneous joy he thinks and judges this as the Mahamudra, it is a mere semblance. Actually all of this is as follows: when, at the time of the instruction by the Guru in symbols, the action-aspect 66 67

See note r, above in this section. See note 52, above in this section. COMMENTARIES

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of memory and the inspiration-aspect of nonmemory have been united, then there are four real situation-moments, four real joy-intensities, and four real seals. Whatever may have come about when memory was at work, since in one single situation-moment manifestations of wondrous variety have appeared, their situation-moment is varied, and the joyous or nonjoyous excitement is the first type or phase of joyous excitement. Since memory, however, does not go beyond the variety of appearance, it is Karmamudra. By understanding that memory is accidental one becomes aware that its place of birth, of continuance, and of dissolution is the sphere of nonmemory. This is the situation-moment when memory ripens into nonmemory. Since nonmemory is in the sphere of nonmentation, this is ecstatic joy, and since from the sphere of nonmentation the eighty-four thousand particular existents of our reality may come about, this is Dharmamudra. When there is no sign of memory and nonmemory because both have subsided in the sphere of unorigination, then there is the situation-moment of absence of distinct characteristics, and there is spontaneous joy because memory and nonmemory have become united in the sphere of unorigination. Since the nature of unorigination is not beyond the nonorigination of memory and nonmemory, this is Samayamudra. Since in the sphere of transcendence there is neither memory, nonmemory, nor unorigination, this is the situation-moment of ferment, and since there is no pride in it, it is the recession of excitement. Since the sphere of transcendence is all-encompassing, it is Mahamudra. 68 Therefore Saraha explains.:" By the different situations that demand four seals." A man, however, who is not in the spiritual lineage calls the rapture with theKarmamudra or the pleasure of the innerva68 For further details see Guenther, The Life and Teaching of Nii.ropa, p. 78, n. 2.

tions of the pathways of the biotic forces and their movement along them real spontaneity. This experience is but memory; memory is the play of wondrous manifestations; and these are perishable. Therefore this memorized spontaneity is not the ultimately real. For this reason Saraha declares: "They call what they have fancied spontaneity." The ultimately real can be pointed out by the Guru by symbols and many other means. While this sphere, incapable ofbecoming concretized, free from the three specifiable conditions, and pure, is like a mirror, the subjective experience, which is impure due to the specifiable conditions, is like the reflection in a mirror. Just as a monkey, having seen from a roof the moon reflected in the water of a well, tries to but cannot grasp it, so, however much one may try to catch the reflection of memory appearing the sphere of nonmemory one will not succeed, because it is not something ultimately real. Therefore Saraha says: "But this is looking at reflections . . ,, m a mrrror. COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

g. The triangular letter E opens up the inspiratory function and the round letter VA.l\1 the Vajra of activity. When by their union, having recognized bliss-nothingness, and through the preservation of the triad of outlook, meditation, and action, one claims to realize the goal of the indivisibility of the three existential norms, this is EVAMof the contradictory simile. The real EVA¥ means that E is pure by itself because free from the three specifiable conditions and that VA¥ is the accidental appearance due to conditions. Or, out of the sphere of nonmemory or E there rise the wondrous manifestations of memory or V Al\1. Although there are many words for this, the moment memory has become nonmemory the meaning of unorigination, the significance ofthe COMMENTARIES

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Real, is understood. Therefore by these two syllables the semblance and the real can be understood correctly. When one does not understand the problem, then in the experience of the third ·phase of the initiation-empowerment the first joyous moment is Karmamudra, the second Dharmamudra, the third Samayamudra, and the fourth Mahamudra. This is a simile. The real significance is that when by the Guru's symbolic instruction the action aspect of memory and the inspiration aspect of nonmemory are united, four seals of four joy-intensities of four situa.tion-moments arise. That is to say, at the time of memory the first situationmoment is characterized by various manifestations; in this moment of variedness both joy and sorrow arise. Knowing this, one speaks ofKarmamudra because the first joyous excitement and memory do not pass beyond the variety of appearance. Having understood that memory is but accidental and knowing that its place of origin, duration, and dissolution is the &phere of nonmemory, memory ripens into nonmemory, and this second situation-moment of maturation is not beyond and above the sphere of nonmentation. Since this second joy and the sphere of nonmentation are such as to give rise to the eighty-four thousand particular existents of our reality, one speaks of it asjiianamudra. When memory and nonmemory have faded away in the sphere of unorigination, the situation-moment is then called the one without determinate characteristics, because memory and nonmemory are absent. Knowing that there is nothing to choose, one speaks ofthe Samayamudra because this third joy and the very nature of unorigination are not beyond the nonorigination of memory and nonmemory. Since all three, memory, nonmemory, and unorigination are in upheaval in the sphere of transcendence, the fourth situation-moment is called one of ferment. Knowing that this situation and the four aspects of memory, nonmemory, unorigination, and I66

transcendence are spontaneous, one speaks of Mahamudra because the fourth joy and all entities of reality do not pass beyond the sphere of transcendence. Having thus made a distinction between the semblance and real situationmoments and joy-intensities, the distribution of the semblance and real seals has been established. Some people, craving for experiences, declare the feeling associated with the experience ofKarmamudra or with sensations involved in the pathways of biotic forces to be real spontaneity. The Real, however, is unconcretizable and therefore free from the three specifiable conditions. While it can be indicated through symbols and other means by a competent Guru, the experience itself is an appearance due to conditio.ns, like a reflection in a mirror. Therefore those who crave for the reflection cannot get rid of their infatuation because they are infatuated by looking into a mirror. Similarly, a monkey on a roof, seeing the reflection of the moon in a well, will not catch it by grasping for it. Therefore one should dismiss this craving for experiences, which are due to passing procedures.

STANZA 28

As under delusion's power a herd of deer will rush . . COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, a contradictory simile. The postulation of hypothetical truth as the realization of the ultimately real is illustrated by the simile of the water in a mirage. Just as in the spring a mirage is thought to be real water by ~eer tormented by thirst, yet because of the deception cannot COMMENTARIES

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be drunk however much they try, so he who does not know the intrinsic nature of the innermost nature of reality, which is not vitiated by any specifiable conditions, thinks that artificial pleasure is the Buddha-intentionality. As a result, he hankers after memory appearing under certain specifiable conditions and becomes attached to such a pleasure. Therefore Saraha says: "As under delusion's power a herd of deer will rush." Deer and other sentient beings are deluded by believing to be water what is not water. Similarly people are deluded by taking the pleasure of memory, which is not the ultimately real, for the ultimately real. Since those who do not understand it come under the power of delusion by· memory, Saraha states: "For the water in a mirage which is not recognized." Those who covet the pleasure of the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory are deluded about the ultimately real. The latter, transcendence, is not reached by the common mind, however much it may be yearned for by the perceptual processes working against the background of memory. Since one is fettered by them to the three types ofSal!lsara, Saraha declares: "So also the deluded quench not their thirst, are bound by chains." However loudly one may claim that this passing pleasure is the ultimately real and however eagerly one may strive for it, it will pass away. Therefore Saraha asserts: "And find pleasure in them saying that all is ultimately real." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

h. The great error of claiming that the noetic norm, the existential mode of the Real, can be realized by depending on the common conditioned pleasuresis illustrated by the following simile. Deer or other beings who do not know what a 168

mirage is, when they suffer from thirst, think that the mirage, although it is not even wet, is water, and by the power of this mistake they suffer from thirst more and more. However quickly they rush after the mirage in their delusion about the difference between it and water, they will not be able to avoid the torment of thirst, and suffering badly they will die. Similarly, those who crave for the common conditioned pleasures, not knowing the existential mode of the noetic norm, the real, unchanging bliss, will call their passing pleasures the real bliss and seek satisfaction in this craving. Since this does not free one from Sai!lsara, one should, to the best of one's ability, strive to realize the great unchanging or transcendent bliss.

STANZA 29

Nonmemory is convention's truth ... CoMMENTARY BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

After having refuted the mistaken ideas by the above, our own philosophical position is now laid down by means often similes, and first of all by [what is called] the unchanging view. Memory, nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence: these four topics are subsumed under the two kinds of truth, which are conventional [hypothetical] and ultimate truth. The former, again, comprises two types: a wrong and a correct one. The former is bewilderment and bewildered cognition. Bewilderment is the whole of appearance; and bewildered cognition is memory and perception operating COMMENTARIES

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against the background of memory. Since these two processes have turned away from the Buddha-intentionality, which is nonbewilderment, and since they are of a contingent nature, they are called "wrong conventional truth." Correct conventional truth means that memory and perception against the background of memory, after their nature has been indicated by symbols and other means, are such that, though they can be referred to in a tangible manner, they cannot be so grasped. The sphere of nonmemory is the very nature of the existential norm of authentic being. The reason for calling this correct conventional truth is that correctness relates to normativeness, ~nd conventionality to the manifestations of this process. Or, correctness exists because this ·process is incapable of being concretized, while conventionality can be. Therefore Saraha states: "Nonmemory is convention's truth." Ultimate truth means that there are no changes or transformations, no thoughts, and no origination or termination, as soon as mind in its aspects of memory and nonmemory has become inoperative in the sphere of t:morigination. It is the meditative absorption termed "walking like a hero," and this is the very nature of authentic communication. Therefore Saraha continues: "And mind which has become nomind, [is ultimate truth]." As soon as nonmemory or authentic being and unorigination or authentic communication have dissolved in the realm of transcendence or the noetic norm, all that is left is ultimacy not vitiated by any specifiable conditions. This Saraha expresses by saying: "This is fulfillment, this the highest good." Although the triad of existential norms may appear in such a way that they seem to differ from each other, according to the conditions which determine the specific character of each norm, their actuality is not different. Just as the air in a jug and a gill measure and the air itself are different according to 170

the conditions which produce a spatial limit, but no longer differ from each other as soon as the jug or the gill measure is broken, so also the difference of the three norms-that is, that of authentic being due to appearance, communication due to nothingness, and noeticness dtie to origination-is no longer a separateness and difference when there is no pollution by the three specifiable conditions. This sphere, in which no differentiation enters, is not polluted by any kind of impurity. As soon as reality is understood in this way there is the pattern of bliss supreme, not polluted by any impurity. Out of it the whole of appearance has come forth, and by explaining this to his friends in the spiritual lineage, Saraha says: "Friends, of this highest good become awax:e." CoMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA 2. The real Mahamudra path is to be considered under four topics: (a) a concise exposition through the use of four specific terms in a special instruction; (b) their detailed explanation; (c) a general discussion of the method by which basic awareness is experienced through the lamp of memory by studying, pondering over, and then meditating on that which one has studied; and (d) a detailed explanation of the instruction on meditation upon that which has been shown not to fall into the categories of assertion and negation once one has really understood it. a. Mahamudra has to be established by memory, nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence. All that appears as conventionally true is made up of the various manifestations of memory. In order to become aware of it as experience, the instruction in memory as nonmemory is given. How is this nonmemory? The mind which becomes aware that memory is experience becomes nonmemory. Mind having become nonmemory resides in unorigination ever

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since its beginning. It is called the best of the best because unorigination is better than nonmemory and better still is transcendence. That which is beyond things and its similes is transcendence, and it is the highest good because it is endowed with the excellencies that serve one's own and others' purposes. It is Buddhahood free from all obscurations. "Friends" is the way a teacher addresses his disciples. Because the explanation of this concise statement is given in the four following verses, it is not given here. As a preliminary to it the following may serve. The four symbols are related to four absorptions by Lama Bal-po. 69 In his commentary he says: Mind as memory is accidental and has come about by specifiable conditions, just like a bubble in water; or since it appears without so existing, it is like a dream; and since it appears without having any being ofits own, this activity is meditative absorption in which everything is like a magic spell. These wondrous manifestations come out of the sphere of nonmemory; that is to say, in appearing they come out of nonmemory and in disappearing they dissolve in it. When one knows that the variety of the manifestations of memory is but a play, the concrete topics of memory are overcome by the splendor of nonmemory, which then turns out to be a meditative absorption comparable to the play of a lion. As soon as both memory and nonmemory have arrived in the sphere of unorigination, memory or Sarp.sara and nonmemory or Nirval}.a have been overpowered; and since unorigination is like a hero, it turns out to be an absorption which is comparable to the march of a hero. When all three, memory, nonmemory, and unorigination, have dissolved in the sphere of transcendence, so that not even their names can be found, that which remains, inaccessible to the scrutiny of the intellect and of the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory, is transcendence or an absorption which 69 Lama Bal-po refers to sKye-med bde-chen whose commentary on the following stanza is quoted here by Karma Phrin-las-pa.

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is like a Vajra. Understanding these four types of absorption in this way means that memory resolves in nonmemory, this in unorigination, and this in transcendence. Therefore ..

STANZA 30

In nonmemory is mind absorbed j just this ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, after having understood that nonmemory is meditative concentration, desireless imagination is illustrated in the simile of the lotus flower not polluted by mud. Mind as memory is accidental and has come about by specifiable conditions, just like a bubble in water; or since it appears without so existing, it is like a dream; and since it appears without having any being of its own, this activity is meditative absorption in which everything is like a magic spell. These wondrous manifestations come out of the sphere of nonmemory; that is to say, in appearing they come out of nonmemory and in disappearing they dissolve in it. When one knows that the variety of the manifestations of memory is but a play, the concrete topics of memory are overcome by the splendor of nonmemory, which then turns out to be a meditative absorption comparable to the play of a lion. As soon as both memory and nonmemory have arrived in the sphere of unorigination, memory or Sarp.sara and nonmemory or NirvaQ.a have been overpowered; and since unorigination is like a hero, it turns out to be an absorption which is comparable to the march of a hero. When all three, memory, nonmemory, and unorigination, COMMENTARIES

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have dissolved in the sphere of transcendence, so that not even their names can be found, that which remains, in~ccessible to the scrutiny of the intellect and of the perceptual processes operating against the background of memory, is transcendence or an absorption which is like a Vajra. Understanding these four types ofabsorption in this way means that memory resolves in nonmemory, this in unorigination, and this in transcendence. Therefore Saraha says: "In nonmemory is mind absorbed." As soon as one becomes aware that all the particular existents created by thinking have been resolved in the sphere of nonmentation, the cause of the three unhappy forms oflife70 has been removed and there is freedom from misery. For emotional reactivity, such as covetousness, hatred, and delusion, has turned out to be pure in itself in the sphere of nonmentation. Also, insofar as the impurity of the knowable, that is, the mystic circle of gods and goddesses, the pleasure of the innervation of the pathways for the biotic forces as well as their movement along them, and the hankering after the quietist state of nothingness, has become pure in itself in the sphere of nonmentation, and the cause for becoming a god in paradise or a human being on earth has been removed, thus without being born in one of the six kinds of life, 71 one reaches sublime NirvaJ:?.a. Therefore Saraha declares: "Just this is emotionality perfect and pure." Although the two kinds of impurity [emotionality and primitive beliefs about reality] may appear in the sphere of nonmentation, their relation to this sphere is like that of bubbles to water or of an echo to a rock or of clouds to the sky. Knowing this one understands that this impurity appears and also disappears in this sphere of nonmentation. And so, although one may live under the sway ofemotional reactions, 70 71

See note 54, above in' this section. See also note 31, above in this section.

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one is not polluted by them, just as a lotus flower, although it has grown out of the mud, is not defiled by it. Therefore Saraha declares: "Like a lotus unaffected by the mud from which it grows." This simile means: as soon as nonmentation is understood, one has realized that this sphere which is absolutely pure is not vitiated by any evil in the three realms ofSarp.sara nor by any virtues ofNirvii:t;1a. Since in the sphere of nonmentation neither Sarp.sara nor Nirvii:t;1a can be found as something, Saraha says: "It is unpollute~ by the good or bad of worldliness." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

b. There are four points to be noted: (i) understanding nonmemory as an absorption which is like the play of a lion, illustrated by the simile of a flower not polluted by mud; (ii) understanding memory as an absorption in which everything appears as a magic spell, illustrated by unshakability beyond thought; (iii) understanding unorigination as an absorption which is like the march of a hero, shown to be the passing beyond conventional truth; and (iv) understanding transcendence as an absorption indestructible like a Vajra shown to mean that for a yogi all entities are not different because they are by nature Mahamudra. i. Mind which understands memory to be of the nature of mind is nonmemory, that is, the nonactivity of memory and of mentation. This is why memory is overcome by nonmemory, and nonmemory is linked with an absorption similar to. the play of a lion. Therefore all thinking is linked to the sphere of nonmentation, and since thereby the impurity of the three poisons of emotionality have become pure by nature, all hankering, or the impurity of primitive beliefs about reality, has also become pure by nature in this sphere. COMMENTARIES

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For instance, just as a lotus flower is not sullied by the mud out of which it grows, so that which we will call mind is pure in its factuality, and is not polluted by the impurity of emotionality, the vice of the origin of the world, nor by the virtues ofBuddhahood such as his powers and so on. This is because in nonmentation neither Samsara nor Nirval).a can be found.

STANZA 31

Yet with certainty must all things be viewed . .. COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, by means ofunshakability beyond thought, due to the knowledge that memory is a magic spell, it will be shown that conduct cannot be regulated by fixed rules. The constituents of Samsara as well as those of Nirval).a, those of memory and of nonmemory, of concrete and abstract, are all reputed to be a magic spell; and since none of them have ultimate validity, one should live in such a way that one does not accept one thing and reject another. All that is seen or heard is mind-made. This is memory and this is itself wondrous manifestation in all of its variety. But just because these manifestations may come about as anything at any time, one should look at them as being utterly contingent. Therefore Saraha says:" Yet with certainty must all things be viewed as if they were a magic spell." The foundation of the contingent appearance of wondrous manifestation is the sphere of nonmentation, which is not vitiated by the three specifiable conditions. This sphere is the triad of the existential norms. They transcend the world,

memory, and the perceptual processes against the background of memory, and are not polluted by any impurity. They may be understood in a flash when one relies on a competent Guru who knows the symbols and the proper means; and in this understanding equanimity is won so that all the particular existents of either Sa~sara or Nirva~a are neither accepted nor rejected. Therefore Saraha declares: "If without distinction yo.u can accept or reject Samsara or Nirva~a." The triad of the existential norms, as pointed out by the Guru, is unchanging and cannot be interpreted by thought. These norms cannot be stated in words or propositions, scrutinized by the intellect nor by perceptual processes; they are not fettered by emotional reactions of covetousness, hatred, and delusion; they cannot be excited by the constructs of the intellect. Therefore Saraha continues: "Steadfast is your mind, free from the shroud of darkness." This triad ofexistential norms cannot be sought by singling out one of the norms from the others, nor can it be produced causally. Since a competent Guru, by way of symbols and appropriate means, shows that this triad· is immanent and abides in itself in the actuality of inconceivable self-rising knowledge free from the vagaries of directionality and imagery, Saraha concludes his verse by saying: "In you will be self-being, beyond thought and self-originated." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

ii. Memory and nonmemory, the compound and the noncompound are a magic spell but not ultimately existing. All that is seen or heard is the working of a mind, and this is memory. Again, this is a wondrous manifestation process. Therefore memory is to be looked at as being merely a magic spell. Transcendent awareness, however, is radiant; it cannot be interpreted by thought and is beyond memory and its COMMENTARIES

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perceptual processes, which embody division in the worldly consciousness through believing in things as existing independently of their being experienced. This awareness, because it cannot be seen by looking at the mind, is understood in a flash through symbols and other appropriate means. It must be left in its sphere of equanimity, genuine and selfsettled because it is not something that can be grasped or seen or looked at in one's mental build-up. Those who understand correctly what is meant by an absorption in which everything appears like a magic spell, as pointed out by a Guru, fetter all emotional reactions such as delusion and the others. When this absorption has become stable, the self-existing inconceivable awareness becomes the self-abiding great 1mmanence.

STANZA 32

This world of appearance ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, knowing that memory or mentation is not the ultimately real, being only conventionally true, one realizes also that the whole of the conventionally true remains in the actuality of unorigination. The experienceable character of memory, perception, and perceiving subject do not exist as such, but appear and vanish accidentally under certain specifiable conditions. Ultimacy, however, does not owe its validity to these conditions. In the self-being of that which has never come into existence as something, never comes to an end as something, and never performs any perceptual activity as such, the world of

appearance may come about, but it does so like a reflection in a mirror, because the mirror has no preconceived ideas about what it will reflect. The sphere of unorigination is like a mirror, and the appearance of a reflection in it is a wondrous manifestation. This is accidental because of specifiable conditions, but unorigination is neither found as a wondrous manifestation nor as something accidental inasmuch as it has never come into existence at all. Therefore Saraha declares: "This world of appearance has from its radiant beginning never come to be." Since the sphere of unorigination cannot be expressed in words, it is transcendence, which is Mahamudra. It has four characteristics: all-encompassing, without patterning, neither corning nor going, and stretching across time. "All-encompassing" means that it is the foundation of all and everything: Sal'!lsara and Nirviil).a, cause and effect, · appearance and nothingness; all this it encompasses. " Without patterning" means that, although all the constituents of our reality [the psycho-physical components of our being, the elements and all the other particular existents which have come into existence in interdependence or by certain specifiable conditions] may appear; yet they cannot be ·grasped as such, and so by nature they have never come into existence in a certain pattern. "Neither corning nor going" means that it does not begin nor end but encompasses everything, and since it has no spurious validity it is the actuality of the reality of all that is. "Stretching across time" means that Mahamudra is not a nihilistic postulate nor nonexistent like the horns of a hare or the child of a barren woman. As the indivisibility of nothingness and compassion, Mahamudra persists stretching across the whole of time. Therefore Saraha says: "Unpatterned it has discarded patterning." Since M~hamudra continues uninterruptedly as the four COMMENTARIES

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kinds of meditative absorption, 72 it is not something that can be imagined, and in its undisturbability it is uninterrupted meditative concentration. Therefore Saraha continues: "As such it is continuous and unique meditation." Meditation in so far as it is a process of imagination and thinking is something unclean and therefore not ultimately real mind. Only that which cannot be a content of imagination and thought is immaculate meditation, and this is ultimately real mind. Therefore Saraha concludes: "It is nonmentation, stainless contemplation, and nonmind." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA 111. Since the perceptual processes, taking in the world of appearance and operating against the background of memory, are accidental, they come into and fade out of existence under specifiable conditions. But although the variety of appearances may rise in the reality which does not come into or fade out of existence, reality itself remains without origination, persistence, and annihilation because it is free from the three specifiable conditions. Therefore, in mere appearance there is nothing and in this nothing there is appearance so that it andnothingness form a unity. Thus it is that one speaks of the unity ofbliss and nothingness, cognition and nothingness, and of radiance and nothingness as well in terms of indivisibility. Therefore while appearance, bliss, cognition, and radiance differ only in name, but not in reality, they are not separate factors. It follows, then, that appearance and the rest are without.origination, continuance, and annihilation. For this reason, appearance has never come into existence in its factuality of radiance, and not having become a form-thing and also having discarded a form-essence, neither form nor 72

They are those of a magic spell, a lion, a hero, and a Vajra.

r8o

that which has no form have come into existence, and therefore have not become appearance and nothingness nor memory and nonmemory. Consequently this mind which performs a unique concentration of nonorigination by remaining in the unoriginatedness of spirituality is the ultimately real mind, and this concentration which remains in the unorigination ofnonmentation and stainlessness of mind is the nonthinking about a meditation object and a meditating subject.

STANZA 33

Mind, intellect, and the formed contents of that mind . .. COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, by means of nondifferentiation a yogi who brings an interpretative differentiation into mind and its states and emotional reactions will be shown that all this is the essence of Mahamudra. The contents of a mind, of mentation, are not something apart from Mahamudra. Intellect and mind appear accidentally out of the sphere of nonmemory, and by force of specifiable conditions they operate as the red and white structuralizing streams of conscious becoming, 73 and they 73 According to Karma Phrin-las-pa, Zab-mo nang-don ... , fol. 7b, "red" is the symbol for the belief that the appearance of SaJ:!lsara and Nirval).a is something different from appearance as such, and "white" that of the postulate of a self. Both "red" and" white" are formulations of"spontaneous unknowing" (lhan-cig-skyes-pa'i ma-rig-pa). It is obvi"ous from this explanation that appearance is not an appearance or semblance of something but the slanted views through which something manifests itself.

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also disappear in the sphere of nonmemory. Therefore Saraha begins: "Mind, intellect, and the formed contents of that mind are It." The three types of world spheres which constitute Saq1sara and the three types of Nirvai).a which are beyond Saq1sara also are It, and when one understands reality they become indivisible from the three existential norms, and they, in turn, from the very norm of being-itsel£ This latter norm is beyond such imaginative processes that can be expressed in images of thought or in propositions. Rather it encompasses all and everything, appearance and nothingness, the tainted and the pure; it continues as the being-itself of Mahamudra. Therefore Saraha says: " So too are the world and all that seems from It to differ." Ultimateness, the essence of unorigination, encompasses all and everything, the variety of observers who differentiate between appearance and nothingness, the observable types of the constituents ofSaq1sara and Nirvai).a, the owner of the perceptual situations, and many other topics. Tlierefore Saraha declares : " All things that can be sensed and the perceiver." Through kindness of heart, like that of a child, one speaks of desire-attachment; because of hatred in the heart, like that of an enemy, one speaks of anger-hatred; and because of the absence ofboth, one speaks of spiritual darkness. These three, too·, lie embedded in the realm of unorigination and ultimacy. And since mind vast like celestial space is the being-itself of Mahamudra, Saraha concludes: "Also dullness, aversion, desire, and enlightenment." COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

iv. Now the contents of mind do not exist apart [from mind itself]. Intellect, mind, and appearance before mind !82

have arisen accidentally out of the realm of nonmemory through specifiable conditions as the two opposites, red and white, and inasmuch as they dissolve in the realm of nonmemory, they participate in transcendence. The three world spheres and the three kinds of Nirval).a passing beyond this world, when understood, do not go beyond the three existential norms. The very being of these norms cannot be separated from the norm of being-itself and is beyond words and thought. Inasmuch as it encompasses all that is and remains in the being-itself of Mahamudra, the three world spheres and whatever else appears as different from them partake of transcendence. The object and the subject appear as partaking of transcendence. Moreover, the cause of Sal!lsara, that is, desire, aversion, and dullness, as well as the cause of Buddhahood, that is, the existential mode of the enlightened mind or nothingness, partake of transcendence, and since their very being is transcendence, a mind dealing with concrete things cannot approach it.

STANZA 34

Like a lamp that shines in the darkness of spiritual ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, it will be shown how the pervasive substratum awareness, or memory, may be taken as a lamp. Nothingness, as far as it is a thought imagined to appear because of memory, is spiritual darkness. Since it does not see the Buddha-intentionality which is not a content of thought and which is not stirred up by the working of a mind or by perception, it is like darkness. But, it may be asked, how can COMMENTARIES

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spiritual awareness be found? Memory should be considered a lamp. By using memory in the way the Guru points out by means of many symbols and other appropriate means, the three existential norms can be shown. It is as ifin darkness one were to seek something that one desires, one would find it only by using the light of a lamp. Or, if someone were t6 imagine in the open lotus of his heart an extremely subtle creative power, and thinking this the state which is free from interpretative constructs of mind, were to call this the Buddha-intentionality, he should conceive of it merely as the knowledge .in which everything is like a reflection in a mirror. Beyond this is nonmemory as that knowledge in which everything comes to sameness. Then there is knowledge of distinct insight as both preceding types are realized as having neither a beginning nor end, and knowledge of fulfillment as there are no longer any obligations. Lastly there is knowledge of the evidence ofbeing as no longer any perceptual processes nor interpretative operations prevail. Therefore, since all of these types ofknowledge are only like a lamp, Saraha says: "Like a lamp that shines in the darkness of spiritual unknowing." However, he who does not understand that memory is only like a lamp, but takes it as something in its own right, harbors good and bad ideas such as: this is Sarpsara and that Nirval).a, and therefore he is fettered to the three worlds. And since the fragmentations of Sarp.sara by the intellect are inconceivable in number, Saraha continues: "As far as the fragmentations of intellect obtain." Although an inconceivable number of fragmentations such as this, as a process of imagination, and that, as one of nonimagination, may arise in a yogi who understands ultimateness, when instructed by a competent Guru he knows them to be nothing but wondrous manifestations. Knowing that they are only accidental and will fade away into the

sphere of unorigination, he is not affected by the two kinds of impurity [Sarp.sara and Nirv~a]. Therefore Saraha continues: "It removes obscurations of a mind." The sphere into which the wondrous manifestations disappear is not reached by memory or by the perceptual processes operating against it as background. It is not defJ.led by the dirt of either SazP,sara or Nirvat}.a, and it is beyond the world of hearing, thinking, and imagining about it. Since it cannot be coveted as a possession either by the intellect or the perceptual processes, Saraha concludes: "Who .can imagine the self-being of desirelessness ? " ·

COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

c. The general discussion of the method of gaining felt knowledge by means of studying, thinking, and imagining. This is the instruction for taking memory [that has arisen out of the] pervasive substratum as a lamp. Nothingness which has been created by the intellect is spiritual darkness, and since it cannot see the very being of that which is radiant and without interpretative constructs, it is like darkness. In this darkness memory is known to serve as a lamp. When memory is used, as far as it does not take hold of objects and is unaffected by them, the three existential norms can be revealed in many ways. One may use a lamp to fmd things in a dark house. In like nianner, the understanding ofspirituality to be fJ.ve kinds of awareness is but making use of a lamp. Understanding also depends on instruction by a competent Guru. Having kindled the lamp by listening to words, there is born that knowledge which discriminates between the real and the false. This is called real study. When certainty has been achieved by having studied properly, this is called real thinking. Until then one has to think that the impurity of COMMENTARIES

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unknowing has to be removed. Then by seeing and studying and thinking about what on~ desires one begins to ponder over the real, the being-itself of desirelessness, and this is called real imagining. It means neither to reject nor to accept.

STANZA 35

There's nothing to be negated, nothing to be ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now it will be shown that when one understands reality there is nothing to be denied or asserted. It is not necessary to negate memory which has arisen due to specifiable conditions, for it will pass like clouds in the sky. It is also unnecessary to affirm nonmemory, for it will rise all by itself. Therefore, since it is not necessary to negate the status of a sentient being and to affirm that of a Buddha, Saraha declares: "There's nothing to be negated, nothing to be affirmed." As soon as memory and nonmemory have regained their purity in unorigination, the latter remains free from any possibility of being concretized. There is no directive thinking to reject the status of a sentient being and to accept that of NirvaQ.a. That which cannot be stated intelligibly even if one wants to do so is the inconceivable sphere, and since as bliss supreme it is not polluted by any impurity, Saraha continues: "Or grasped; for it can never be conceived." The deluded who do not understand ultimateness in this way covet the many forms of dualistic knowledge which claim that this is Sarpsara and that NirvaQ.a, and this is concentration on concrete topics. Since by this process beings are 186

fettered to the three spheres ofSaq1sara, Saraha says:" By the fragmentations of the intellect are the deluded fettered." However, the yogiwho understands reality is aware that Saq1sara and Nirval)a are indivisible as are the concrete and abstract constituents of our reality. As soon as all types of dualistic knowledge which distinguish between a state of tranquillity and a state of wider outlook have become pure in spontaneity with and in appearance, then there is pure motivation. When this has been purified in spontaneity with and in nothingness, then there is the pure path. When both motivation and path have become pure in the sphere of unorigination, the pure goal is realized. When motivation, path, and goal are understood as being inaccessible to the fragmenting mind, then everything has become pure in the indivisibility of reality. Therefore Saraha concludes: "Undivided and pure remains spontaneity."

COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

d. The detailed explanation of the meditation method comprises two topics: (i) to leave reality when one understands it undefiled by the dirt of philosophical tenets of affirmation and rejection; and (ii) through understanding in a feeling ofbliss supreme, to let mind continue in perfect freedom, radiancy, and unshakability in a state of nonmeditation .. i. Memory which has arisen due to specifiable conditions need not be negated, because like clouds in the sky it passes away. Therefore, in genuine Reality there is no negation of defects and since nonmemory rises by itself, there is also no affirmation of virtues in the real. Since there also is no subject-object process regarding this Reality, the real cannot be conceived by it. The upholders of philosophical tenets, fooled by their postulates of difference due to the workings of COMMENTARIES

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concrete mind, do not know the real and so are fettered. Spontaneity, where Sarp.sara and Nirvat).a, appearance and nothingness, or the thing in question and its reality are indivisible, is pure because it is not vitiated by philosophical postulates.

STANZA 36

If you question ultimacy ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, by understanding Reality it will be shown that that which cannot become an object of imagination and meditation is the freedom of mind. Although ultimacy may be examined through syllogisms about oneness or multiplicity, 74 developed by the Madhyamika school and by the logicians, and thereby found to be nothingness, this is not ultimacy nor nothingness which is pure transcendence. Therefore Saraha asserts: "If you question ultimacy with the postulates of the many and the one, oneness is not given." If someone were to ask how the nature of ultimacy can be known, he would have to be answered that nonmemory becomes known by being pointed out through memory, and that by knowing nonmemory memory is understood to be accidental. By understanding that memory is acCidental one knows that it has neither foundation nor root. One realizes that the intrinsic nature of nonmemory is unorigination, the 74

See note 56, above in this section.

r88

very being of which is transcendence. As soon as reality is understood in this way one knows that nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence are the three existential norms, and the yogi ~ho understands their indivisibility is liberated. That is to say, memory fmds its freedom in nonmemory or nothingness; the latter in unobservableness or unorigination; and this in purposelessness or transcendence. 75 Therefore Saraha says: "For by [transcending] knowledge are sentient beings freed." The triad of existential norms is not vitiated by any specifiable conditions and is no object of imagination. When imagination has turned into radiance, thoughts have become this radiance; but when there is no radiance, everything that has been imagined remains meaningless, and so ultimate reality is no content of imagination. Since it remains for all time in a state of continuity, like that of a river, Saraha continues: "The radiant is potency latent in the intellect, and this is shown to be meditation." The variety of the memory processes or states of mind is unstable and fickle, while the radiancy of spirituality, nonmemory, unorigination, and transcendence, is unshakable and an absorption which is as firm as the Vajra. As soon as one knows that in its sphere memory or the states of mind and perceptual processes operating against the background of unstable and fickle memory all dissolve of themselves, memory will be taken for nonmemory; nonmemory for unorigination; and unorigination, in turn, for transcendence. Therefore Saraha concludes: "Unswerving mind is our true ., essence. 75 According to sGam-po-pa, Nga, fol. sa, "nothingness" is the absence of the division into seer and the seen; "unobservableness" the certainty about nothingness; and" purposelessness" a state of transcendence and freedom from the distorting operations of the intellect.

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COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

ii. When, through the four terms, such as those of the syllogism about oneness and multiplicity as developed by the Madhyamikas and logicians, one investigates reality by understanding it as being no thing, neither oneness nor multiplicity are given. It is only the" middle view," which by this understanding is called nothingness. Therefore, since all philosophical postulates are the impurity of giving a name to something, in asking ourselves what this nonvitiated is, sentient beings are only liberated by realizing the existential mode because the emotional reactions and interpretative constructs are not something to be rejected but to be known. That is to say, memory becomes free in nonmemory or nothingness, this in unorigination, and this in transcendence. That which is called radiant because it does not fall into despondency or rise to elation and that which is stable or unshakable become the firmly concentrated mind. It is this radiant and unshakable mind which has to be grasped firmly.

STANZA 37

Once in the realm that's full ofjoy ... CoMMENTARY BY sKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now it will be shown that after the attainment of bliss supreme no harm can come from running after objects. Since the triad of nonmemory, unorigination, and trans-

cendence, as the three existential norms which are pure joy devoid of any unsatisfactoriness, is not vitiated by the impurity either of Saxpsara or NirvaJ:..la, it constitutes the realm that has conquered the three spheres of Saxpsara. Therefore Saraha begins: "Once in the realm that's full ofjoy." As a result of the teaching by a competent Guru, through symbols and many other appropriate means, this deep understanding of ultimateness which has neither a beginning nor an end enriches the three world spheres, the three existential norms, and the three aspects of time in a manner which remains the same forever. Therefore Saraha continues: "The seeing mind becomes enriched." After the Guru has pointed out by symbols and appropriate means the Buddha-intentionality, so that the significance of the three existential norms is realized, this awareness acts usefully through these norms in fulfilling whatever is wished for, and it does so for sentient beings. Therefore Saraha asserts: "And thereby for this and that most useful." This acting on behalf of sentient beings takes place in a state in which there are no interpretative thoughts, Even though there are, this memory, which is ready to unfold itself in a variety of manifestations as they rna y be prompted by one's interests and intentions, rises from nonmemory, stays and dissolves in it. But memory and nonmemory are not different from each other. Just as all of the various beings walking on the earth, the many gods and goddesses, the castles of the country and many other things, preserve the material out of which they have been shaped, so also whatever may appear in memory of color and shape, sound, smell, flavor, and feelings does not part from. nonmemory. On the other hand, the origination, continuance, and dissolution of memory are not apart from nonmemory, and therefore Saraha states: "Even when it runs after objects it is not alienated from itself." COMMENTARIES

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COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

C. Indication of the goal. In indicating the goal which is free from any impurity, there are three points: (1) the unfolding of transcending awareness through fmding bliss supreme; (2) the statement about five norms which derive from the fact that out of the noetic norm, which is nothing concrete, the two concrete norms appear; and (3) the fact that selfsufficiency and being-for-others are not two different entities, because ultimately there is neither a sentient being nor a Buddha as such. I. Transcending awareness unfolds when one has realized the goal or the noetic norm through becoming acquainted with a state in which no judgments obtain, as the pa:th [which is one's] mind; This happens through seeing and attending to the existential mode, which is dependent on realizing the ultimateness of mind, the object of one's vision, in a manner in which spontaneousjoy7 6 encompasses everything. At that time, having traversed the paths and scaled the spiritual levels leading to an understanding of spontaneity, the main objective is to win liberation. Although one may speak of objects through enjoying them, the object of mere understanding is not a special object as such. 76

In other words, bliss is commensurate with knowledge.

STANZA 38

The buds ofjoy and pleasure . .. COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now it will be shown that, although the two concrete norms may become verbalized from the bliss supreme or the noetic norm which is beyond words, the goal remains one and the same. From transcendence, which is not stained by the impurity of either Sa:q1sara or Nirval).a, the two concrete norms may rise for the benefit Of sentient beings. This is so because the noetic norm there causes these forthcoming buds. Therefore Saraha says: "The buds ofjoy and pleasure." Amorig the two concrete norms which work for the benefit of sentient beings, the communicative norm is ~uperior to that ofauthentic being. This is because out of communication or that which has no origin, the miraculous performance of origination comes about, and because authentic being which may manifest itself anywhere and everywhere for making sentient beings attain spiritual maturity is but the leaf grown visibly out of communication. Therefore Saraha continues: "And the leaves of glory grow." While the two norms, communication and authentic being, develop into a variety of patterns and forms for the benefit ofsentient beings, in the noetic norm or transcendence there is neither working nor nonworking for their benefit because transcendence does not move in any direction. Therefore Saraha says: "If nothing flows out anywhere." Pleasure which can be put into words is a goal that is tainted; but pure noeticness which cannot be put into words is fruition free from hope and fear inasmuch as it is not COMMENTARIES

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polluted by the mildew of Satp.sara and Nirval}a. It is an untainted fruition or goal. Therefore Saraha declares: "Then bliss unspeakable will fruit."

CoMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

Transcending awareness which is not stained by either Sa~p.sara or Nirva1_1a is spontaneous joy or the norm of pure noeticness. To understand it as being pure as to any essence is the norm of being as such and the absence of any displeasure is the norm of bliss supreme. While these three aspects may be spoken of as three norms in relation to each other, in their facticity they are but the norm of pure noeticness and hence bliss supreme. Since out of pure noeticness communication appears, it is called the bud ofbliss. By virtue of its being for others it is called a bud. In comparison with the norm of authentic being, the norm of communication is superior, and authentic being which manifests itselffor people to be brought to spiritual maturity appears merely as the leaves of noeticness and communication. The word "if" in the text relates to the cause. That is to say, if in traversing the path there is no straying anywhere, [then transcending awareness remains present] because in the noetic norm or transcendence there is no working nor nonworking for sentient beings and hence no deviation into anything. Therefore the goal, the norm of noeticness, bliss supreme, nonexteriorization, is the very goal which remains untainted. The meaning of the five norms, explained through the fact that out of the norm of pure noeticness the two concrete norms [of communication and authentic being] arise, is as follows: while there is a triad whell one divides the noetic norm into the norm itself, the norms of being as such and of bliss supreme, they are yet one as the noetic norm. The two 2.

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concrete norms are similar to their cause [the noetic norm] and are called the bud of bliss. The five norms are thus: the noetic norm, the nor!D of being as such, that ofbliss, that of communication, and that of authentic being in the world. Their division has been explained in the Doha collection of one hundred and sixty verses 77 and another consisting of eighty, 7 B and may be looked up there.

STANZA 39

What has been done and where ... COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now it will be shown that neither the status of a sentient being nor that of a Buddha can be established as something given. In ultimate reality there is no evil deed by which one might fall into the status of a sentient being, nor anything so to fall, nor any place where this may happen. In ultimate reality there also is no good deed by which one might become a Buddha, nor anything to become a Buddha, nor any place where this could happen.79 Therefore Saraha begins: "What has been done and where and what in itself it will become is nothing." However, if someone were to claim that the Buddhaintentionality is something nonexistent when one has understood this awareness, he would have to be told: after one has 77 "People Dohas." See Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-ha skor-gsum ... , fols. 47b ff. 78 "Queen Dohas." See ibid., fols. 8Ia ff. 79 This is a favorite statement of the rDzogs-chen-pas among the rNying-ma-pas.

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realized that in ultimate reality neither an entity called "sentient being" nor another called "Buddha" exists, it is precisely this realization in which there is no fear [of becoming a sentient being] and no hope [of becoming a Buddha], which alone can bring all sentient beings to spiritual maturity and liberation. Therefore Saraha continues: "Yet thereby it has been useful for this and that." The idea that one has to act for the benefit ofsentient beings is bound up with a mind endowed with traces and dispositions; the nonacting for their benefit is a mind without such traces. But both of these aspects, which in the sphere of unorigination know nothing of acceptance or rejection, remain in complete sameness of nature. Therefore Saraha declares: " Whether passionate or not." Since the variety of appearance is accidental, it is nothing in itself; and while there is nothing and yet appearance, the fact that out of nothingness the wondrous manifestations come about for the benefit of sentient beings means that nothingness is appearance. And since both nothingness and appearance are indivisible in the sphere beyond thought, Saraha concludes: "The pattern is nothingness."

COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

3. Although authentic being in ·the world serves to benefit sentient beings in whatever place, time, and situation, it is not something existing so in truth but only a dynamic phenomenon for such beings at any place and time. The concrete patterns [of being and communication], whether in compassion they help others or not, as well as the noetic norm from which they are indivisible, are nothingness. While the noetic norm as self-sufficient and the concrete norms as relating to others are shown to be different in their appear-

ance, ultimately at the completion of the individual's striving they are one in their facticity and thus form a unity. The statement "Whether passionate or not" means that the selfsufficient noetic norm is called the passionate concrete norms. Therefore, since the noetic and concrete norms form a unity, at the start [of the individual's striving] the radiant [illumining aspect] of mind represents the concrete patterns of serving others, and the aspect of being nothing that of the noetic norm. Thus, since the noetic norm manifests in the concrete norms for sentient beings, nonpassionateness or the noetic norm and passionateness or the concrete norms are indivisible; and, therefore, the noetic norm can be called a concrete one. While at the start one can state that nothingness and appearance form a unity because appearance is nothing and nothing is what appears, there also is no nothingness apart from appearance and no appearance apart from nothingness. This is the meaning of the unity of nothingness and appearance. At the time of the goal one speaks of the unity of the two norms [the noetic and the concrete ones].

STANZA 40

If I

am like a pig that covets worldly mire ...

COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

Now, at last the king said to Saraha: "Since you do not accept or reject anything, you are like a pig; for, first you were a Brahmin, then you became a homeless mendicant, and now you declare that there is neither purity nor impurity. You do not become liberated from the worlds, but are COMMENTARIES

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addicted to Sa111sara." Saraha, taking up this challenge, says: "Ifl am like a pig that covets worldly mire." By way of refutation Saraha gives this answer: "Since I have understood the meaning of ultimacy, I am not polluted by the two types of impurity, the impurity of emotionality and the one of primitive beliefs about reality. Therefore I am free from believing something to be pure and something else to be impure. Because I am not affected by any blemishes, I can charge you: 'You must tell me what fault lies in a stainless mind.' "And if you ask why there is not fault, I answer that the five sense objects cannot pollute reality, and so I say: 'By what does not affect one.' " Ultimateness which is not vitiated by any defects cannot be fettered by the five emotional reactions ;BO and therefore Saraha concludes his song by saying: "How can one now be fettered ? " COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA

IV. The Summing up of the Exposition of the Meaning of Purity According to Lama Bal-po, when the king fmally charged Saraha that he was like a pig because for him 'there existed nothing to be accepted or rejected, there ensued a question by the king and an answer by Saraha. While this is a possible interpretation, the meaning of the verse is the following: if one thinks that one remains in the mire of worldliness unless Sa111sara has been emptied by the [realization of the] two existential norms, and that by coveting and hankering after it one is like a pig wallowing in the mud, this is not the case. When the existential, utterly pure mode of mind is intuitive! y understood, what is there to be found of that fault of craving 8

° Cupidity, hatred, dullness, self-importance, and envy.

for Satp.sara ? Since a yogi who understands this existential mode is not affected by any worldly evil, why should he be fettered by that which does not exist for him? By understanding that the whole of the world has no foundation there is nothing to be fettered and no one to fetter.

CONCLUSION COMMENTARY BY SKYE-MED BDE-CHEN

"The Song on Human Action-the Treasure ofDohas," composed by the Great Lord ofYogis, the venerable Saraha: The meaning of Saraha's message having been fully elucidated by way of twenty-three similes, the meaning of the title of this song will now be explained. Since for him the three aspects of time and all of the three world spheres have merged in the ultimate sphere which is nothing apart from genuineness, peace, and spontaneity, and since he has realized what the Buddhas of the three times have intended, he is called a yogi. Since he has come to rule over the sphere of ultimate reality, or transcendence, and has transformed the three spheres of the world into the three existential norms, and has penetrated the significance of Mahamudra, he is called Great Lord. Since he points out that all the constituents of reality cannot be conceived in a dual manner, since he shows that they are bliss supreme, and since he explains all this to be without increase and decrease, he is called the venerable Saraha. Since after his awakening to ultimate reality he has turned his experience into an instructive message so that the present spiritual lineage may not be interrupted, and so that this COMMENTARIES

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instruction also may serve for the spiritual lineage to come, one reads in the title "by." In so doing he has conquered the whole of appearance manifesting itself in duality. He has turned into a song both the refutation of the claim that appearance is of a dual character, arid the ultimacy which does not proceed anywhere and is without decrease or increase. By sealing it with seven seals81 he has turned the deeply hidden meaning into a living experience which cannot be expressed in ordinary words. There are three types ofliving experiences: one which can be expressed in ordinary words, another which cannot, and a third one which is utterly incapable of expression. He has made the whole of memory lose itself in the sphere of nonmemory; therefore, the title is "The Song on Human Action-the Treasure ofDohas." This concludes the elucidation of the meaning of ultimacy by way of symbols and other appropriate means. Though the spiritual awareness of the Buddhas of the past, the present, and the future is no realm For the ordinary mind, as unvarying compassion it embraces all sentient beings. [This] Authenticity absolute in which sentient beings and Buddhas ultimately have no status; [and] In which Sarp.sara in itself is pure as the three immanent norms wherein is neither hope nor fear; [and] Which is the final meaning of unconditioned freedom, awareness without strain or effort; [and] Which is no realm for memory to roam in, since as such it would from reality be too farThis I have received by the (great] grace [and favor] of the Hermit Maitrinatha VajrapaQi.B2 See Karma Phrin-las-pa, Do-hii skor-gsum ... , fol. I Iab. He was born A.D. 1017. See George N. Roerich, The Blue Annals (Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1949, 1953), II, 843, and I, 384. 81

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He who thinks that the simple sKye-med bde-chen spoke the truth may realize through my attempt To explain in part the meaning of the symbols, though all words and meaning are not the same, The three existential norms which shine in memory and make the whole of all three worlds. The commentary called "The Lamp revealing the Meaning of the ' Song on Human Action-the Treasure of Dohas,'" composed by the great lord of yogis sKye-med bde-chen, is herewith completed and written in Tibetan by the author.

COMMENTARY BY KARMA PHRIN-LAS-PA CONCLUSION

The conclusion contains two points: (I) the concluding words, and (II) the translation. I. The Concluding Words

"The explanation of the words and the meaning of the three sections of the 'Do has,' the mirror revealing clear! y the freedom of mind,'' has been written as a commentary on the commentary of the " Song on Human Action" com posed by the great lqrd of yogis Saraha who is the best in Sa~sara and Nirviit).a, by the learned monk and explainer of religion Karma Phrin-las-pa. II. The Translation

The bilingual Lama Bal-po Asu translated the work which he had studied in India, under Vajrapal).i, into Tibetan COMMENTARIES

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according to the way he had studied it and in which it had been explained to him. May sentient beings realize the noetic norm Through the good that comes from the words and meaning of this song Of understanding, the "King Dohas," that intimates The reality of mind as pure noeticness.

Karma Phrin-las-pa's commentary on the "King Dohiis", fols. 88h-89a, from a blockprint 202

Selected Bibliography

PHILOSOPHICAL-HISTORICAL WORKS

Bharati, Agehananda. The Tantric Tradition. London: Rider & Co., 196 5. Broad, C. D. The Mind and Its Place in Nature (6th ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, I95L Collingwood, R. C. The Principles of Art. Oxford: Clarendon Press, I963. Ganguli, Hemanta Kumar. Philosophy ofLogical Construction: An Examination of Logical Atomism and Logical Positivism in the Light of the Philosophies ofBhartrhari, Dharmakirti and Prajnaliaragupta. Calcutta: Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, I963. Guenther, Herbert V. sGam-po-pa: The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. London: Rider & Co., I959· - - - . The Life and Teaching ofNaropa. Oxford: Clarendon Press, I 963. - - - . Indian Buddhist Thought in Tibetan Perspective: Infinite Transcendence versus Finiteness. (History of Religions, Vol. Ill, No. I.) Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, I963. Nakamura, Hajime. Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples: India-ChinaTibet-]apan. Honolulu, Hawaii: East-West Center Press, I 964. Potter, Karl H. Presuppositions of India's Philosophies. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, I963. Roerich, George N. The Blue Annals. 2 vols. Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1949, 1953. Ryle, Gilbert. Dilemmas. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, I96o. 205

TEXTS AND EDITIONS

Bagchi, P. C. Dohiiko~a. (Calcutta Sanskrit Series, No. 25c.) Calcutta, 1938. dPa'-bo gtsug-lag. mKhas-pa'i dga'-ston, ed. Lokesh Chandra. New Delhi: International Academy oflndian Culture, 1959. gNyis-med Avadhiitipa. Do-hii mdzod-kyi snying-po-don-gyiglu'i'grel-pa (Dolriiko$a-hrdaya-artha-giti-!ikii). bsTan-'gyur. Derge ed.: fols. 66a-ro6b. Peking ed.: fols. 97a-138a. Karma Phrin-las-pa. Do-hii skor gsum-gyi [i-kii sems-kyi rnam-thar ston-pa'i me-long. (Handwritten copy of an old print in which one leaf in the section on the "Queen Doha~" was missing.) - - - . Zab-mo nang-don-gi rnam-bshad snying-po gsal-bar byed-pa'i nyinbyed 'od-kyi phreng-ba. (Microfilm of the Rin-chen ri-bo edition of 1517.) "King Dohas." Do-hii mdzod ces-bya-ba spyod-pa'i glu (Dohiiko~a-nama­ caryagiti). bsTan-'gyur. Derge ed.: fols. 26b-28b. Peking ed.: · fols. 31h-34a. kLong-chen rab-'byams-pa. Chos-dbyings rin-po-che'i mdzod-kyi 'grel-pa lung-gi gter-mdzod. Varanasi, 1964. - - - . bLa-ma yang-tig. N.p., n.d. Mi-pham 'Jam-dbyangs rgya-mtsho. gNyug-sems 'od-gsal-gyi don rgyalba rig-'dzin brgyud-pa'i lung-bzhin brjod-pa rdo-rje-snying-po. (Part r ofthegNyug-sems trilogy [skor-gsum.]) Varanasi, n.d. Padma dkar-po. sNying-po-don-gyi man-ngag sems-kyi me-long. Handwritten copy. - - - . mKhas-grub mnyam-med dpal-ldan Na-ro-pa'i rnam-par thar-pa dri-med legs-bshad bde-chen 'brug-sgra. Handwritten copy. - - - . Na-ro lugs-kyi bde-mchog bcu-gsum-gyi 'khor-lo'i khrid. Handwritten copy. - - - . Phyag-rgya chen-po rnal-'byor bzhi'i bshad-pa nges-don lta-ba'i mig. Handwritten copy. ___, Phyag-chen-gyi zin-bris. Handwritten copy. - - - . Phyag-rgya chen-po'i man-ngag-gi bshad-sbyar rgyal-ba'i ganmdzod. N.p., n.d. - - - . ]o-bo Na-ro-pa'i khyad-chos bsre-'pho'i gzhung-'grel rdo-rje'chang-gi dgongs-pagsal-bar byed-pa. Handwritten copy. "People I;>ohas." SeeP. C. Bagchi; M. Shahidullah; D. L. Shellgrove. "Queen Dohas." Mi-zad-pa'i gter-mdzod man-ngag-gi glu (Dohako~a­ upade.Sa-giti). bsTan-'gyur. Derge ed.: fols. 28h-33b. Peking ed.: fols. 34a-39b. (The arrangement of the verses differs in the two editions. Karma Phrin-las-pa has followed the Derge arrangement.) sGam-po-pa. Collected Works. Ri-bo-shanti, n.d. 206

Shahidullah, M. Les Chants Mystiques de Kat;zha et de Saraha. Les Dohako~a

(en apabhra~psa, avec les versions tibetaines) et Les Caryas (en vieux-bengali) avec introduction, vocabulaires et notes. Paris: Adrien-

Maisonneuve, 1928. sKye-med bde-chen. Do-ha mdzod ces-bya-ba spyod-pa'i glu-i 'grel-pa don-gyi sgron-ma (Doha-ko~a-nama-caryagiti-artha-pradipa-nama­ tika). bsTan-'gyur. Derge ed.: rgyud-'grel, Vol. zhi, fols. 33b-ssb.

Peking ed.: rgyud-' grel, Vol. tsi, fols .. 39b-66a. Snellgrove, D. L. "Saraha's Treasury of Songs." Pp. 224-39 in E. Conze (ed.), Buddhist Texts through the Ages. Oxford: Cassirer, 1954. Sog-po Khal-kha chos-rje Ngag-dbang dpal-ldan. Grub-mtha' chen-mo'i mchan-grel dka'-gnad. N.p., n.d. Thub-bstan 'bar-ba. ·Nges-don phyag-rgya chen-po'i sgom-rim gsal-bar byed-pa'i legs-bshad zla-ba'i 'od-zer. Microfilm. Thu'u-kvan bLo-bzang chos-kyi nyi-ma dpal bzang-po. Grub-mtha' thams-cad-kyi khungs dang 'dod-tshul ston-pa legs-bshad shel-gyi melong. (Vol. II in his Collected Works.) Lhasa ed., n.d. Tsong-kha-pa. Collected Works. Tashilhunpo, n.d.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

207

Index

I.

SUBJECT

Absoluteness, S7. ss Absorption(s), 173, I7S. 17S, 1S9; four, 162, ISO and n Abstraction, 26 Act, noetic, xoo Action, 6, 44, 53; path of, I IOn Activity, xos, 162, x6s; mental, 32 Actuality, ss, 77n, xos Analogy, 24n, 2S Appearance, 23n, 3S, sx, 90, 93 ff., 9S If., 124 ff., 162 fF.; actuality of, sz; world of, 69, 179 Awareness, 22, 23n, 27, 4S, SS, 96; mystic, s; a priori, 6, 23n, 3S, 44, SI; presential, 2S; as such, 34; selfawakening, sx; transcendent, 177, 192; spiritual, 184 Axioms, xo6n Being, 29, 43 ff., 56 fF.; authentic, sn, 44, 134, 191, 193; communicative, sn, 44. S4. 7Sn, 134; mystery of, 29, 30, Sin; noetic, 32, 43, 44, 49, 52, 53, 59, 76n, 79, S3; cognitive, 35n; relativity of, s7; evidence of, 59; in-itself, 66; source of, 7Sn; organismic, SS; real, 91n; six kinds of, xos and n; sentient, 191-96 passim

MATTER

Behavior, 33, 34 Bewilderment, 169 Birth, S9 BIUs,29,3I,49.s6,69,IIOn,I47,ISin, 192n; great, 29, xoS, 1221£.; supreme, 194 Bliss-nothingness, 40, sI Body, sn, 77n; real, Sz and n, S4 Boundary situations, four, 77, So and n, 88, IOS Buddha,22,23n, I07D, I9S, 196,2oo; qualities of, 102 fF. Buddhahood, 22, 45n, ss, xoSn; potentiality of, 3Sn Buddha-intentionality, 22, 107 ff., I I%, Il9, 184 Buddhism: Tibetan-Nepalese, 18-19; idealistic-mentalistic schools of, I 9; Mahayana, xo7D Burnt offering, 1541f. Circles, mystic, 65, 107, 134, I 54. 174 Coemergence, s, 9n, 46 Cognition, 2S; self-luminous, 34 Commitment, Sin Communication, 30 and n, 193; significant, 44; mystery of, Sin; real, 82; authentic, 13 s

209

Feeling, three kinds of, I IOn Freedom, 4In, 42 ff., 58 ff., 94n. I 88, 200; spiritual, 5 Frustration, 43 ff.

Compassion, 65, 126; three types of, I25 and n Concentration, meditative, 23n Conditions, three, 78 and n, 98n, I I 5, I44 and n, I65 Constituents, psychophysical, 94 and n,95 Construction, logical, 3I, 32 and n, 33 Contemplation, 28, 69 Covetousness, I09 ff. Creativity, 40n, I05, I4I Criticism, higher, I4n

Goal, 34 Guru, 9 ff., 75, 78n, 79, 98, 159n Heat, inner, 68 House: inner, 95; mystic, 95; outer, 95 Idea, II6n; overevaluated, 83 ff., 88 Idealism, 36, 85n Image, 24 ff. . Imagination, 28, I2I ff., 173, 184 Immanence, 5, 9n, transcendent, 75, 76n Immediacy, aesthetic, 23n Immobility, 89 ff. Impurity, 138, 174 Ineffability, 40 and n Initiation, 163 Insight, 24, 28; mystic, 6n; basic, 33 Integration, 5n Intellect, I09, 184, 185 Intelligence, 6 Intentionality, 22 and n Interdependence, 39 ff. Intrepidities, four, I 02n Intuition, I 34n

Darkness, 95 ff., 98 ff., I40 ff., I82, I85 Death, 82, 88 Delight: four kinds of, 5n; sensual, 67, I48; four intensities of, I52n Desire, 48n, 90n, uo Determiner, 75, 77n Development, spiritual, 5n Discursiveness, 6 Divine, 77n, Io6n Divineness, feeling of, 83 Dohiis, 3, 7, 85, 86n; "King Dohas," 3, I3, 20; "People Dohiis," 7, 8 and n, I3, I4, 2on, I95n; "Queen Dohas," 7, I3 ff., I95n; Three Cycles ofDohiis, I4 Dream, 68, I I 5 Dream-experience, 37 Duality, 86n, 94 ff., 127, I38, 200 Emotionality, 69, 8 I, 82, I 77 ff. Energy, 40 and n; potential, 58, 77n, 78n Enlightenment, 38; instantaneous, 4I Error, 23n, 58, 8rn, I37 Existence, 29, 31, 43 ff., 56; authentic, 56 ff.; three happy forms of, I44n; threeunhappyformsof, I44n, I74n; evil forms of, I45 Existentialism, 85n Experience, 23 ff.; focal points of, 30 and n; potentialities of, 32n; unity of, 39; mystic, II2; three types of, 200

Jewels, three, 143 Joy, 51, 70; coemergent, 55; four intensities of, 163 ff., r66 Judgment, eight forms of, 84 and n Knowledge, 37, 67, 70, 95, 184, 192n; felt, 22, 30, 58, 76n, ro8n, 148; nature of, 76n Language, 26 ff., 79n Libertinism, 4 I Libido, I5In, r6rn Life, 82; two pursuits of, roan; six kinds of, 174 and n Light: illuminating, 29 ff., 35; radiant, 59

210

Marks, auspicious, I02n, II 5 Meaning,84,85n Meditation, 29, 33, 69, II2, I35, I8o, I87 Memory, 6, II, 14n, 24, 26, 30, 34, 37n, 39, 46, 48, SI, 58, Bin, 82 and n, 83, 89, 90, 97, II9, I24, 129, I33, 172 Mind, IO, II, 32, 58, 69, 70, 71n, 159; self-luminosity of, 5 I ; egocentric aspect of, 58; obscurations of, 70; stainless, 7I; as such, 78n; real, Sin, 83 If.; reality of, II 6; radiant, I 43 Mobility, three aspects of, 90 Momentaripess, 40, 4I, I52n Motility, 33, Son Mysticism, I9 NirviiiJa, 32 et passim, I I4n No-mind, 69 Nonduality, 6, I26 Nonmemory,6,II,I4n,24,26,30,34, 38, 39, 46, 48, 52, 58, 69, 8I and n, 82 and n, 90, 95 tr., 102 ff., IOJn, II9, I24, I33, I64, 172 Nonmentation, 69, 77, I66, 174 ff., I76 Nonorigination, 78n Norms, existential, 53, 76n; three, sn, 38n, 58, 75, 78n, 84, 9In, 98, ·I09, II 8, I70 If., I76 If., I 82, I9I; five, 45 and n; two, 54, 76n, 193, 197, I98; four, 77, So, 88, I94 If., 201 Nothingness, II, 23n, 29, 30, 38, 39, 46, 65, 7I, Io2n, 124 ff., I62 ff., I89n; house of, 67; artificial, 125; genuine, 125; created, 140n Object, 6, 9n, 10, 28, 3 I and n, 36, 39 If., 70, I9o; epistemological, 27; sensual, 95 One, 9, II Oneness, 70 Origination, 9, II, 89 Outlook, philosophical, I63 Particular, 36; instantaneous, 35

Passion, 48n, 49, I 5 m Path, 26, son, sB,IIon, I48; ofspiritual growth, 5; of messenger, J.I; of seeing, 3 5; of freedom, 49; of action, IIon; Mahiimudrii, I481 I7I ff. Patterns, existential, 91 and n Perception, I 33 ff. Perfections, 64 Point-instant, 3I, 40n, I 46 Poison, 88 and n, II9, 120, 175 Postulate, 36, 77n, 78n Potencies, 78 and n Potentiality, 105 Purity, 44, 139 and n Reaction, So, 198 Realism, 36 Reality,7,II,21,48n,77n,I03n,IOSn, I87; ultimate, 34, IIS, 189; objective, 47; double nature of, 58; pure, 76n; unity of, 90; source of, I30n Realization, instantaneous, 5 Relativity, 59 Seal, 68, 162 If., 167, 2oon Self, belief in, 6, 88 Sensation, 27 Senses, IO, 81 Simile, 24 and n, 79 If., 89 Situation: nonreferential, 27,28; referential, 27, 28, 29; perceptual, 27, 35; objective, 29, 30, 31, 95; nonobjective, 29, 32; causal, 9In Sound, mystic, 83 and n, roB Speech,77n,8on,8rn,84 Spirituality, 78n, Son, Sm Spontaneity, 9n, 36, 41, 63 If., 95 If., IOI ff., I03 ff., IOSn, I65, 187 If.; fancied, 68, I 6 5; three kinds of, 103n Stability, 33 Subject, 6, 9n, IO, 28, 39 ff. Subjectivism, 45, 47, 85n Substance, I I Substratum, pervasive, I40 and n, 14I ff. Syllogism, 144 and n, I88 and n, 190

INDEX

2II

Understanding, u6n, II7 Unity, 29, 30, 39 and n, 46, I27, I4In, I8o, I97 Unorigination, 6, IO, II, 14n, 24, 30, 34, 39, 52, 58, ·8I and n, 90, 104, I64, I71 ff., I82, I86, I89 Unsatisfactoriness, I I2n, I21

Symbol, So and n, I72 Symbolism, sexual, 52 Symbol-language, 24, 34 Symbol-term, II, I4 and n Thought: interpretative, 65, 77, 8I, 95, I2I, I24, I35; discursive, 68 Time, three aspects of, I9I, I99 Transcendence, 5, 6, 9n, I I, I4n, 24, 30, 35, 39, 40, 52, 58, 89, 90, II9, I64, I67, I72, I89, I93 Truth(s), 66, 98, IJO ff.; conventional, 69, 97, I7o; two, 78 and n, I69; ultimate, I69, I70 II.

Value system, 22 Vice, 120, I76 View: proper, 93 ff.; middle, I90 Virtue, I20, I76 Zen,4I

TIBETAN NAMES AND TECHNICAL TERMS

Karma Phrin-las-pa, 3n, I5, I9 kun-khyab, 84n kun-gzhi, 32 and n kun-gzhi rnam-shes, 32n rkyen, 7?n sku, sn, 35n sKye-med bde-chen, 20 mkha'-'gro-ma, 4 'khrul-pa, 23n 'Khrul-zhig Sangs-rgyas bsam-grub, I9 go-ba, u6n Gru-shul-ba, I 8, I9 gLing-rarpa, 20n glu, 85, 86n dgongs-pa, 22 dGyer-sgom, 19 rGyal-ba Lo, 20n rgyas, 23n sgom, 28 'Gro-mgon Ras-chen, 20 nges-don, 18 ngo-bo-nyid-kyi sku, 44, 45n, 78n mNga'-ris-pa, 17, 18 ces-bya-ba, 85 gcig-du-bral-gyi gtan tshig, 145n Chos-kyi tshul-krims, 17 Chos-grags rgya-mtsho, I9 chos-skyi sku, 44 · chos-sku, sn, 32, 35n, 45n, 53, 76n, 77n, 78n

Chos-sgo-ba dPal shes-rab, I9 chos-i:an, 3 In, 36, 38 chos-nyid, 3I and n, 36, 38, 40n chos-nyid-kyi ngang, 29 chos-dbyings, 77n rJe Sha-ra rab-'byams-pa bSod-nams seng-ge, I9 nyams, u6n rten, I Sin rtogs, 76n, 108n, I I6n rtogs-pa, II7n stong-pa, 28 stong-pa-nyid, 29 sTag-lung Chos-rje Ngag-gi dbangpo, I9 thabs, I47n thig-/e, 78n Dus-gsum mkhyen-pa, 20 de-kho-na-nyid gcig-pu, 40n don-gyi Ius, 81n don-dam-pa'i bden-pa, 40n dran-pa, 47n dri-ma ye sangs, 23n gdangs, 40n, 52, 58, 77n, 78n bde-ba, 29, 1 17n bde-ba chen-po'i sku, 44, 45n bden-med, 31 mda'-mkhan-ma, 6n mda'-bsnun, 6 rdo-rje gzegs-ma'i gtan-tshig, 144n brda-mkhan-ma, 6n

212

gnas-lugs, I 32n rnam-rtog, 3on rnam-pa, 77n

rDza-khol-baJo-ston, I9

Par-phu-ba, I 5, I 8, I 9

spyod-pa, 28, 85 sprul-sku, 45n, 76n, 78n sprul-pa'i sku, sn, 3sn spros-bra/, 77n, I I 70 spros-bral-gyi thig-le, 78n Pha dam-pa Sangs-rgyas, I6 Phag-mo gru-pa, I6 bag-chags, 32n Ba-ri lotsava, I6 Bal-po, Is. I7 Bal-po A-su, 20 Bu lotsava, I9 byang-chub, I46n byang-sems, I46n Bla-ma dKon-mchog rdo-rje, I9 Bla-ma sMon-lam-pa, I9 Brag-'bur-ba, I9 bLo-grosseng-ge, I8 dbyings, 44, 77n man-ngag, 30n Mati paQ-chen, I 5 Mar-pa, 15 mi-rtog-pa, 117n Mi-la ras-pa, I 5 mi-zad-pa, 86n mu-bzhi skye-'gag-gi gtan-tshig, I45n med-dgag, I40n dmigs-can, 29

dmigs-med, 29 rMa chos-'bar, I6 Tsang nag-po, IS rtsal, 40n, 58, 77n, 78n rtse-gdg, I I 70 mdzod, 85, 86n

'dzin-med-kyi dran-pa, 47n gzhan-don phun-sum tshogs, nn zung-du 'jug-pa, 29 'od-gsal, 29 yi-dam, ISSn yid, 32 Yid-bzang rtse-pa, 15 yin-lugs, I 32n yod-med skye-'gag-gigtan-tshig, I45n yon-tan ye-nas rgyas-pa, 23n rang-don phun-sum tshogs, nn Rang-byung rdo-rje, 4, IS Ras-chung-pa, I7, 20 Ri-la gzhon-rin, I9 Rin-chen snying-po, I9 longs-sku, 45n, 53, 78n

longs-spyod rdzogs-pa'i sku, Ius, sn rlung, 33n

sn, 35n, 44

Shugs-gseb ri-rab, I9

shes-rab, I47n gshis, 52, s8, nn sangs, 23n sangs-rgyas, 22, 23n, I08n sangs-rgyas-kyi dgongs-pa, 22, I07n sangs-rgyas-kyi sprul-pa'i sku, 45n Sangs-rgyas dbon, I9 Sum-pa, 20n sems, 35 and n sems-nyid, 33 and n, 58

sems-tsam, I 9 gsal-ba, 117n lha, 77n, Io6n lhan-cig skyes-pa, 9n /hun-grub, 76n A-su, I7

lll. SANSKRIT NAMES AND TECHNICAL TERMS bhriinti, 23n Advaita Vedanta, 36, 40n Buddha, 22, 23n, I02 ff., I07n, I9S, iilaya, 32n I96, 200 iilaya-vijfiiina, 32n Candanapala, 7 anirvacaniya, 40n caryii, 85 Atisa, IS I;>aka, 24 and n, 79 and n Avadhiiti, I53 deva, 77n

iidhiira, I 5In

INDEX

213

Devaputramara, Son Dharmacakra, 146 dharmadhiitu, 77n dharmakiiya, 5n, 77n, 91n Dharmamudra, 50 and n, 107, 131, 163 ff., !66 dharmatii, 3In, 36 dharmin, 3In, 36 Doha, S6n. See also Dohiis in Subject Matter Index Dvaha, S5, S6n EVA¥, 162 ff., 165 ff. giti, S5 Guru, 9 ff., 75, 7Sn, 79, 9S, 159n ha(n), 6 Hayagriva, 4 and n Heruka, 156n jiva, ro6n Jiianamudra, 51, r66 Karmamudra, 107, 131, 146, 147 ff., 149n, 161, 163 ff., 166 ff. KleS'amara, Son ko$a, S5 Lalana, 153 Mahamudra, 35, 51, 55, 56, 77, S6n, 117, 14~ ff., 163 ff., 175, 179, ISI, 199 Mahapala, 4, 7, S Mahasukhacakra, 146 mahiisukhakiiya, 91n Mahayana Srikirti, 4 Maitrinatha Vajrapani, 200n, 201 Maitripa, ron, 13, 15 maf14ala, 57 Maiijusri, 63, S7; Kumarabhiita, 75, S7n

Mantra, 146 Mrtyumara, Son Nagarjuna, 5, I r niima, S5 Naropa, S Nirmat;tacakra, 146 nirmiil}akiiya, 5n, 76n, 91n NirvaJ;J.a, 32 et passim, I 14n Padma, 147 and n, 150n, I5In Rahula, 4, 5, 7, Sn Rahulabhadra, 4, Sn Rasana, 153 Ratnapala, 7 sahaja, 9n Samayamudra, 51, 107, 131, 164, r66 Sambhogacakra, 146 sambhogakiiya, 5n, 76n, 91n SaqlSara, 32 et passim, 90n, 10S, I14fi sara, 6 Saraha, 3, 4, 6, S, 12, 63 Skandhamara, Son svabhiivikakaya,91n Tantra, 12 r tilaka, 7Sn upadesa, 30n Vajra,9oandn, 147andn, 150n,151n, 162, 165 VajrapaQ.i, 16, 17, 201 Vajravarahi, 14, 156 viisanii, 32n vayu, 33n vikalpa, 30n Yoga, Ku-su-lu, II3n Yogi, 199 Yogini, 47-52 passim

214