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Śrī Siṃha’s Ultimate Upadeśa
Seven Nails that Strike the Essence of Awakening
Georgios T. Halkias
Chanted by Śrī Siṃha in his meditation residence during a feast offering.
ཇི་ལྟར་བསམ་ཀྱང་སྒོམ་དུ་མེད།
ཇི་ལྟར་སྨྲས་ཀྱང་དཔྱད་དུ་མེད།
ཡེ་ཤེས་ཆེན་པྒོའི་དབིངས་ཉིད་ལས།།
བཙལ་བ་མེད་པར་འྒོད་ཤར་ཏེ།
བསམ་དུ་མེད་པའི་ཆྒོས་ཉིད་ལ།
ཡེངས་པ་མེད་པར་མཉམ་པར་གཞག
སྒོམ་པ་འདི་ལས་མེད་པར་འཁུམས།
རིག་པ་ཡེ་ཤེས་མདུང་རེ་ཡིས།
རྣམ་རྒོག་དགྲ་བྒོ་རྡུལ་དུ་རྒོག།
རཏྣ་ཀྒོ་ས་ལ་ཨ་ཧྒོཿ
~ Vajra Songs of the Eighteen Texts of the Mind Division ~
Gdams ngag rin po che’i mdzod, f.9a3
The following introduction to The Seven Nails is dedicated to a formidable
scholar and cherished colleague, Professor Venerable K. L. Dhammajoti,
whose academic legacy and ethos served as a guiding light in the Centre
of Buddhist Studies at the University of Hong Kong. It is a study on a text
from the early corpus of the teachings of Atiyoga or Great Perfection (Tib.
rdzogs chen). According to hagiographical accounts, Śrī Siṃha delivered
it in a jewelled casket to his heart-disciple Jñānasūtra with the purpose of
resolving any lingering doubts concerning the ‘nature of mind’ (sems nyid),
the indivisible union of awareness, clarity, and spaciousness. Even though the
origins of The Seven Nails (Gzer bu bdun pa) are sheathed in the language of
symbolism and mystical experience, its pithy contents have a liberating and
enduring value that cuts across religious denominations and prescribed dogma.
In its present incarnation, our text was transmitted to Tibet by Śrī Siṃha’s
Indian disciple Vimalamitra, the fifth and last in a line of early Dzogchen
patriarchs that realised the ‘rainbow body’ (’ja’ lus) – an esoteric experience of
awakening portrayed as the physical body’s dissolution into particles of light.
Śrī Siṃha’s Hagiography
The Nyingma School considers Śrī Siṃha to be the founding father of all
Tibetan Dzogchen teachings even though he never set foot on Tibetan soil.1
Tradition credits him with the diffusion of the Nyingthig (snying thig; lit.
‘seminal heart’) lineage, the highest soteriological system of practice for the
Ancient School of Tibetan Buddhism.2 The Nyingthig corpus, a composite
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collection of contemplative instructions, was redacted in Tibet sometime in
the early eleventh century and was systematized in the fourteenth century
by the Dzogchen luminary Longchen Rabjam (Klong chen rab ’byams,
1308–1363). According to the fundamental tantra of the Pith Division of
the Great Perfection teachings,3 the Realms and Transformations of Sound
(Sgra thal ’gyur), Dzogchen was taught in thirteen solar systems including
our own (Norbu and Clemente 1999: 22). The precepts of Atiyoga were
transmitted by Buddha Vajrasatva to the first human teacher Garab Dorje
(ca. 100 BCE–100 CE) from Dhanakośa, a country west of Bodhgaya ruled
by King Thor cog can of Oḍḍiyāna. Śrī Siṃha received the esoteric teachings
of the Great Perfection from Mañjuśrīmitra, a Singhalese scholar at Nālandā
and Garab Dorje’s heart-disciple.4
A typical account of Śrī Siṃha’s life is found in the Extensive History
of the Great Perfection of the Seminal Heart (Rdzogs chen snying thig gi
lo rgyus chen mo) (ff.110–119). 5 As this has been reproduced in several
English publications, I will not repeat it here.6 A note however concerning
Śrī Siṃha’s country of birth is in order to clarify conflicting accounts that
situate him either in India or in China.7 In line with the Extensive History,
Padma Karpo’s History of Buddhism (Chos ’byung padma rgyas pa’i nyin
byed; Padma dkar po 1527–1592), Dudjom Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje’s History
of the Nyingma School (Rnying ma’i chos ’byung; Bdud ’joms ’jigs bral ye
shes 1904–1987), and more recently, Nyoshül Kenpo’s History of the Great
Perfection (Rdzogs pa chen po’i chos ’byung; Smyo shul mkhan po 1932–1999),
locate his birthplace in China. On the other hand, in the life-story of his
heart-disciple Vairocana, The Great Image: The Life Story of Vairocana (Be
ro tsa na’i rnam thar ’dra ’bag chen mo), and in Vimalamitra’s biographies
compiled from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries (Gruber 2016: 419),
Śrī Siṃha’s origins are firmly situated in India. In support of this, Nyangral’s
Copper Island (Zangs gling ma), Longchenpa’s History of Buddhism (Klong
chen chos ’byung), and both Deü Histories of Buddhism (Lde’u chos ’byung),
make no mention of Vimalamitra ever travelling to China to meet Śrī Siṃha.
In the canonical collections of the Tengyur (Bstan ’gyur) and the Collected
Tantras of the Ancients (Rnying ma rgyud ’bum), he is unequivocally listed
as the learned master from India (rgya gar gyi mkhan po), while Dargyay
(1998: 19) rightly notes that Śrī Siṃha can hardly be a Sanskritised Chinese
name.8 This is further underscored by the Sanskrit titles of texts attributed
to Śrī Siṃha. Furthermore, all his teachers bear proper Sanskrit names and
should any of them had been among those Indian masters who sojourned
to China we would expect some mention in the Chinese records. Germano
(2002: 239) contends that the association of Śrī Siṃha with China and
Chinese teachers is most probably a fabrication that originated with the
Nyingthig chronicles of the 12th century as an apology for the fact that no
Indian Dzogchen scriptures have ever been found. The pressure to legitimize
Buddhist teachings as authentic by showing an Indian source text meant
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183
that many orally transmitted lineages upheld by the Nyingma School were
deemed suspect by the New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Citing China
as another source for the teachings of Atiyoga only muddles the picture
and contradicts both Buddhist and Bön accounts that situate the origins of
Dzogchen in adjacent if not intersecting regions: Oḍḍiyāna for the former
and Zhang Zhung for the latter.
Śrī Siṃha, Eastern Tibet, 19th century. Courtesy of Rubin Museum of Art.
Early Tibetan Lineages of the Great Perfection
Śrī Siṃha’s prominent Tibetan students include Vairocana of Pagor,
Legdrüp of Tsang, and Nübchen Sangye Yeshe of Dra.9 Among his nonTibetan disciples we find references to the Indian yogis Jñānasūtra (Ye shes
mdo) and Vimalamitra (Dri med bshes gnyen), and to the eminent yogi from
Oḍḍiyāna, Padmasambhava. Tradition gives credit to Padmasambhava,
Vairocana, and Vimalamitra for propagating Dzogchen in Tibet. According
to the Seminal Heart of the Ḍākinī (Mkha’ ’gro snying tig), Padmasambhava
journeyed to the charnel ground Paruṣakavana (Rtsub ’gyur tshal) to meet
Śrī Siṃha, led there by a prophesy delivered by Vajravārāhī who instructed
him that the “transmission that ensures the goal in a single lifetime…resides
in the vajra mind of Shri Simha” (Nyoshul Khenpo 2005: 46). From Śrī
Siṃha Padmasambhava received the entire range of Dzogchen teachings
of the Mind, Space and Pith Instruction Divisions, the eighteen Dzogchen
Tantras, and the empowerment of the Seminal Heart of the Ḍākinī. As
related in The Garland of Precious Jewels: History of the Seminal Heart
of the Ḍākinī (Mkha’ ’gro snying thig gi lo rgyus rin po che’i phreng ba),
Śrī Siṃha received the Seminal Heart of the Ḍākinī from Garab Dorje
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at the Sītavana charnel ground at Rājagṛha and not from Mañjuśrīmitra
who curiously does not feature as his teacher. He later transmitted these
teachings to Padmasambhava and Vairocana who concealed them as terma
(gter ma) with the mandate of their future rediscovery. 10
In the first Tibetan terma biography, the Copper Island by Nyangral
Nyima Özer (Nyang ral nyi ma ’od zer 1124–1192), we read of the long
perilous journey of the Tibetan translators Vairocana and Ledrüp (Legs
grub) to India in search of Dzogchen teachings. In the latter half of the eighth
century at Dhahena assembly hall (Dha he na ku sha ’du khang) they meet Śrī
Siṃha who imparts to them the twenty-five tantras (rgyud nyi shu rtsa lnga)
and the eighteen scriptures of the Mind Division (sems sde bco brgyad).11
The Great Image: The Life Story of Vairocana describes how, before
the arrival of the two Tibetans, erupted a heated doctrinal dispute on the
‘theory of a single reality’ (thig le nyag gcig) between the female prostitute
Dagnyima (Bdag nyi ma) and the Buddhist nun Kungamo (Kun dga’ mo)
(Jinba Palmo 2004: 105).12 Their quarrel over sanctified Atiyoga precepts
was perceived by the king as a bad omen and he ordered that all Dzogchen
scriptures be hidden from foreign visitors in Bodhgaya.
According to The Great Image, under the cover of night and in utter
secrecy, Śrī Siṃha instructed them on the eighteen texts of the Mind Division
they had previously retrieved from Bodhgaya. Unfortunately, on his return
to Tibet, Ledrüp was killed by border guards at the age of forty-four.
Vairocana stayed behind and received more teachings, including the sixty
tantrapiṭaka along with the White (klong dkar po), Black (klong nag po),
and Variegated (klong khra bo) instructions contained in the Space Division
of the Great Perfection.13 Upon completing his training with Śrī Siṃha
and acquiring the siddhi of ‘swiftfootedness’ (Skt. pādukāsiddhi; rkang
mgyogs),14 he returned to Tibet soon after it was discovered that he defied
the king’s orders and stolen precious Indian teachings. The Great Image
contains a detailed narrative of Vairocana’s legendary trials and tribulations.
Śrī Siṃha’s third disciple, Vimalamitra, spent thirteen years in Tibet
teaching and translating Dzogchen and tantric scriptures.15 In the Extensive
History we read that he and his dharma-brother Jñānasūtra had a vision of
Buddha Vajrasattva who divulged that in their last five hundred rebirths
as paṇḍitas they failed to realize the ultimate goal of the Secret Mantra.
Should they wish to realize it in this lifetime, they ought to travel to the
Chinese Bodhi Tree shrine and request teachings from Śrī Siṃha.
Vimalamitra took heed of Vajrasattva’s advise and journeyed to China
to study the Nyingthig corpus with Śrī Siṃha. Upon his return to India some
twenty years later, he shared his experiences and persuaded Jñānasūtra to
study with the master. Gruber (2012) notes that prior to his visit to Tibet,
Halkias: Śrī Siṃha’s Ultimate Upadeśa
185
and for reasons that are unclear in the hagiographical sources, Vimalamitra
was the recipient of “a slightly less profound aural lineage.” Between the
two, Jñānasūtra received the higher teachings, most notably Śrī Siṃha’s
last testament, The Seven Nails.
The Extensive History narrates that Śrī Siṃha conferred the oral
transmission of the four sections of the teachings of the Pith Division
to Jñānasūtra before passing away in a spectacular manner. Jñānasūtra
fainted upon seeing a vision of Śrī Siṃha in a luminous sphere of light
only to be revived later holding a jewel casket containing The Seven Nails.
The apocryphal mode of the master’s mortal body dissolving into light
amidst unusual sounds, rainbow lights, and in some cases earth tremors,16
is a leitmotif common to the early lineage of Great Perfection masters.
Other shared elements include, the disciple’s lamentation at the teacher’s
unexpected disappearance and the master’s return in a light-body to grant
his last teaching. The posthumous teachings are enclosed in tiny caskets
made of precious jewels with the expressed purpose of inspiring disciples
towards ultimate realization. The description of the master’s right arm
reaching out of a nebulous light to pass on his last testament is another
recurrent motif in the hagiographies of the early patriarchs. Here one is
tempted to entertain iconographic symbolism with the dextera domini, or the
‘right hand of God’ issuing forth from a cloud in Jewish and Christian art.17
The Seven Nails
The Seven Nails belongs to the zhelchem (zhal chems) genre of Tibetan
religious literature that encompasses the final spiritual instructions of Buddhist
masters. It is part in a collection of texts known as the Four Final Testaments
of the Vidyādharas18 (Rig ’dzin gyi zhal chems bzhi), or the Four Posthumous
Teachings of the Vidyādharas (Rig ’dzin gyi ’das rjes bzhi).19 It is a summary
of ‘key points’ (gnad) that clarifies the Dzogchen view (lta ba) of selforiginated awareness and presupposes experiential familiarity with Dzogchen
contemplative designations such as rig pa’i ye shes (awareness of primordial
wisdom), gsal ba’i ye shes (luminosity of primordial wisdom), shes rab rang grol
(self-liberating knowledge), and rig pa chos nyid (awareness of the dharmatā).
The use of the term ‘nail’ (gzer bu) serves as an apt metaphor in Tibetan
as it does in English. To ‘hit the nail on the head’ is to get to the heart of the
matter, to fix one’s attention on that which is important and essential – or as
our text suggests, to be firm in deciding between saṃsāra and nirvāṇa and
between phenomena as they appear to the mind and as they are in their true
nature (i.e., non-established). In the Commentary on the Intended Meaning of
the Six Lamps, Drugom Gyalwa Yungdrung (Bru sgom rgyal ba g.yung drung
1242–290) offers the following explanation for the metaphorical use of nails:
“They are nails for minds that fall apart. A nail fixes something so it does not
slip away or separate; in the same way, this advice plants the nail that keeps
the mind from slipping to the side of proliferations or separating reality.”20
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The Seven Nails is arranged as a series of seven statements focusing
on the narrow chasm between juxtaposed terms such as mind and matter,
knower and knowable, and so forth. The description of liberation resides in
the tension between the limits of language and experience, in the abysmal
interval between words and their intended meaning. A tear in the ornate
fabric of our belief structures exposes our compulsive tendency to approve
and disprove the reality of our thoughts and feelings and reveals the
possibility of allowing them to resonate against the radiant background of
all-pervasive awareness. Light and its by-products (i.e., luminosity, vision,
clarity) occupy a symbolic, metaphorical, and literal place in Dzogchen
literature. The fundamental nature of consciousness is the mind of ‘clear
light’ (’od gsal) and in the context of Dzogchen this entails a direct
experience of the mind’s movement reflecting the dynamic inseparability
of emptiness and lucidity. Through the mind’s own self-perception binary
divides – i.e., the ordinary mind (sems) and the mind itself (sems nyid),
the reflections and the mirror – are liberated in their own state without
recourse to additional analysis and further intellectualization. Each of the
seven visual similes that follow the seven nails are in fact pointing towards
an immediate and unmediated experience of reality–fire running into grass,
light entering into a dungeon, a husband meeting his wife, a face in the
mirror, and frost touched by the sun. They illustrate the unforced and
uncaused unity of image and ideation, form and perception, sense-objects
and pristine awareness (Skt. vidyā; Tib. rig pa). The instructions entwined
in metaphor, symbol, and reason are intended for the Atiyoga practitioner
who recognizes the underlying sameness between subjective experiences
of bondage and liberation and makes a firm decision to gain freedom from
all forms of grasping and their associated dukkha.
Jñānasūtra, 18th cent. Tibet. Courtesy of Himalayan Arts Resources
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187
The Seven Nails
A Tibetan-English Translation
The following English translation is based on the Tibetan text reproduced
by Jamgon Kongtrul (’Jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas 1813–1899)
in the Treasury of Oral Instructions (Gdams ngag mdzod, vol. 2, kha,
fols. 6a6–7a2). An interlineal commentary to The Seven Nails features in
Longchenpa’s Collected Works and in Vimalamitra’s Seminal Heart, but
it is not included in Jamgon Kongtrul’s version.21 Instead, seven similes
(1s–7s) follow the exposition of the seven nails. Section breaks, headings,
and brackets are not found in the Tibetan version and are introduced below
for the benefit of the reader.
[Title]
The Seven Nails: Śrī Siṃha’s Ultimate Upadeśa
[Opening Homage]
Sarvāḥ Śāntika.
[I pay] homage to the perfection of insight, empty and luminous,
To the primordial, boundless, and uninhibited wisdom that pervades
and illuminates all.
[Introduction]
As I struck large nails [of awareness] into the unchanging ground,22
Seven nails fixed on the narrow divide between saṃsāra and nirvāṇa,23
Immutable bliss supreme arose in my mind.
Like the sunrays of the pith instructions that revived you from your faint
illumine the hidden intent,24
The door to the treasury of luminous insight is unfastened,
And like a wish-fulfilling jewel the meaning is realized.
[Seven Nails]
[1] Strike the interval25 between saṃsāra and nirvāṇa with the nail of primordial
wisdom’s unobstructed luminosity.
[2] Strike the juncture between knower and its object with the nail of selfarising light.
[3] Strike the duality between mind and matter with the nail of self-purified
essence.26
[4] Strike the division between affirmation and negation with the nail of
[gaining] utmost freedom from views.
[5] Strike the juncture between subjects [phenomena] and their nature with
the nail of intrinsic awareness of the dharmatā.
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Buddhist Studies in Honour of Venerable Professor KL Dhammajoti
[6] Strike the interval between dullness and agitation with the nail of the five
sense doors [resting] in utter relaxation.27
[7] Strike the distinction between appearance and emptiness with the nail of
the primordially perfected dharmakāya.
[Seven Similes]
[1s] Like fire running into grass – radiant, self-arising, and undefiled insight
liberates itself as it perceives the other.
[2s] Like light entering a dungeon – appearances are directly freed through
mastery of bare attention.
[3s] Like a husband meeting his wife – pristine pure awareness recognizes
the state of the ground.
[4s] Like a face encountering its likeliness in a mirror – self-essence, impartially
arises before itself as the condition of primordial wisdom, beyond measure,
being and non-being.
[5s] Like frost touched by the sun – diverse thoughts are liberated soon after
they appear, free from view and meditation.
[6s] Like meeting your only child – with the intention of resting naturally in
the phenomenal world as if attached to a wisdom mudrā,28 the sameness of
perceiver-subject is realized.
[7s] Like a pauper discovering a hidden treasure – since effortless and
atemporal dharmakāya is indivisible to itself, the world and its contents are
naturally released in their own state.
[Epilogue]
When Śrī Siṃha was about to depart for the original state beyond sorrow
[nirvāṇa], he ascended to the sky in a beam of light. Jñānasūtra, crying
out in distress alas, alas, fell senseless to the ground. Having regained his
consciousness from [the experience of] thusness, he heard a familiar loud
voice from the sky. He looked up and from the centre of lights a right hand
appeared. To wake him from his faint a jewelled casket one inch [long] landed
on the palm of his hand. By merely touching him he gained realization. This
occurred at the ‘Gate to the Auspicious Throne.’29
[Coda]
This completes The Seven Nails, Śrī Siṃha’s last testament that is like a
blind man being led [to sight].
Tibetan Text
༈ ཤི་ྲ སིཾ་ཧའི་ཞལ་ཆེམས་གཟེར་བུ་བདུན་པ་བཞུགས་སྒོ༔ སརྦ་སནྟི་ཀ༔ སྒོང་གསལ་ཤེས་རབ་རྒོགས་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལྒོ༔ ཀུན་ཏུ་ཁྱབ་ཅིང་སྣ་ཚོགས་སྣང་
བ་ཡི༔ རིག་པའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་རྒྱ་ཡན་ཕྱྒོགས་མེད་དེ༔ མི་འགྱུར་ས་ལ་ གཟེར་ཆེན་བཏབ་པའི་ཕྱིར༔ འཁྒོར་འདས་འཕྲང་ལ་གཟེར་ཆེན་བདུན་བཏབ་པས༔ མི་
འགྱུར་བདེ་ཆེན་བདག་གི་བྒོ་ལ་ཤར༔ དེ་དྒོན་མན་ངག་ཉི་མའི་ཟེར་འདྲ་བ༔ བརྒྱལ་བ་བསླང་ཕྱིར་དགྒོངས་དྒོན་གསང་བ་འདི༔ གསལ་བའི་ཤེས་རབ་
མཛོད་ཀྱི་སྒོ་ཕྱེ་ལ༔ ཡིད་བཞིན་ནྒོར་འདྲའི་དྒོན་འདི་རྒོགས་པར་གིས༔ གསལ་བའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཟང་ཐལ་གི་གཟེར་གིས་འཁྒོར་འདས་གཉིས་ཀྱི་མཚམས་སུ་
ཐྒོབ་ཅིག༔ སྒྒོན་མ་རང་སྣང་གི་གཟེར་གིས་ཡུལ་སེམས་གཉིས་ཀྱི་བར་དུ་ཐྒོབ་ཅིག༔ ངྒོ་བྒོ་རང་དག་གི་གཟེར་བྒོ་དངྒོས་གཉིས་ཀྱི་བར་དུ་ཐྒོབ་ཅིག༔ ལྟ་
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བ་གྲྒོལ་ཡན་གི་གཟེར་རག་ཆད་གཉིས་ཀྱི་བར་དུ་ཐྒོབ་ཅིག༔ རིག་པ་ཆྒོས་ཉིད་ཀྱི་གཟེར་ཆྒོས་ཅན་ཆྒོས་ཉིད་ཀྱི་བར་དུ་ཐྒོབ་ཅིག༔ སྒོ་ལྔ་རྒྱ་ཡན་གི་གཟེར་
བིང་རྒོད་གཉིས་ཀྱི་བར་ལ་ཐྒོབ་ཅིག༔ ཆྒོས་སྐུ་ཡེ་རྒོགས་ཀྱི་གཟེར་སྣང་སྒོང་གཉིས་ཀྱི་བར་ལ་ཐྒོབ་ཅིག༔ ༔ གསལ་བ་རང་ངྒོས་མ་སྒིབ་པ་ཤེས་རབ་རང་
གྲྒོལ་གཞན་ངྒོ་ལ་བཞག་པ་ནི་རྩྭ་དང་མེ་འཕྲད་པ་ལྟ་བུའྒོ༔ སྣང་བ་གཅེར་གྲྒོལ་དུ་ཤེས་པས་དྲན་བསམ་ལ་བན་ཚུད་པ་ནི་མུན་ཁང་དང་སྣང་བ་འཕྲད་
པ་ལྟ་བུའྒོ༔ རིག་པ་ཡེ་དག་གི་དགྒོངས་པ་གཞི་མངྒོན་དུ་ཤེས་པ་ནི་ཡིད་མཐུན་པའི་ཕྒོ་མྒོ་འཕྲད་པ་ལྟ་བུའྒོ༔ རང་ངྒོ་ཕྱྒོགས་བྲལ་གི་ཡེ་ཤེས་རང་རྐེན་དུ་
ཤར་བས་ཡིན་མིན་གི་རིས་ལས་འདས་པ་བཞིན་དང་མེ་ལྒོང་འཕྲད་པ་ལྟ་བུའྒོ༔ ལྟ་སྒོམ་ལས་གྲྒོལ་བའི་རྒོག་པ་སྣ་ཚོགས་རྒོལ་པར་ཤར་བས་བ་མྒོ་དང་
ཉི་མ་རེག་པ་ལྟ་བུའྒོ༔ སྣང་སིད་སྒོར་བཞག་གི་དགྒོངས་པ་ཡེ་རྒྱས་བཏབ་པས་ཡུལ་ཅན་མཉམ་པ་ཉིད་དུ་ཤེས་པ་ནི་བུ་གཅིག་པྒོ་དང་འཕྲད་པ་ལྟ་བུའྒོ༔
ཆྒོས་སྐུ་འབད་རྒོལ་མེད་པར་ཡེ་ནས་རང་དང་འདུ་འབྲལ་མེད་པ་ཡིན་པས་སྣྒོད་བཅུད་རང་སར་གྲྒོལ་བ་ནི་དབུལ་པྒོ་གཏེར་མཛོད་དང་འཕྲད་པ་ལྟ་
བུའྒོ༔ ༔ ཤི་ྲ སིཾ་ཧ་དགྒོངས་པ་ཡྒོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པའི་ཚེ་འྒོད་ཟེར་གི་ཕུང་པྒོ་དང་བཅས་ཏེ་ནམ་མཁའ་ལ་གཤེགས་པས༔ ཡེ་ཤེས་མདྒོ་བརྒྱལ་
ཞིང་ས་ལ་འགེལ་བར་གྱུར་ཏེ་ཀྱེ་མ་ཀྱི་ཧུད་ཀྱི་སྒ་བསྒགས་པས༔ ནམ་མཁའ་ལ་སྒ་ཆེན་པྒོ་གྲགས་ཏེ༔ དེ་ཉིད་ཀྱིས་བརྒྱལ་སངས་ནས་བལྟས་པས༔ འྒོད་
ཀྱི་དཀྱིལ་ནས་ཕྱག་གཡས་པ་ཕྱུངས་ཏེ༔ ཡེ་ཤེས་མདྒོ་བརྒྱལ་བ་ལས་བསླང་བའི་དྒོན་དུ་རིན་པྒོ་ཆེའི་ཟ་མ་ཏྒོག་སེན་གང་བ་གཅིག་ཕྱག་མཐིལ་དུ་བབས་
སྒོ༔ དེ་ཉིད་བབས་པ་ཙམ་གིས་རྒོགས་པ་དང་ལྡན་པར་གྱུར་ཏྒོ༔ བཀྲ་ཤིས་ཁི་སྒོར་བབས་པ༔ ཤི་ྲ སིཾ་ཧའི་ཞལ་ཆེམས་གཟེར་བུ་བདུན་པ་ལྒོང་བའི་སྣ་ཁིད་
དང་འདྲ་བ་རྒོགས་སྒོ༔
Tibetan References
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ཀུན་གསལ་ལྷ་མྒོ་ལ་སྦིན་རབས་ཀུན་ཁྱབ་སྦིན།
ས་ཕག་༢༡༤༦
ཕྱི་ལྒོ་༢༠༢༠།
Halkias: Śrī Siṃha’s Ultimate Upadeśa
191
Notes
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Germano (2002:238) notes that the Lde’u chos ’byung contains the only known account of his
visit to Tibet. Hagiographical accounts of Śrī Siṃha’s life in Dudjom Rinpoche (1991: 497–501);
Tulku Thondup (1996: 103-105); Valby (2002: 27–33); Pema Kunsang (2006: 133–143); and
Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorjé (2005: 39–40).
For Karmay (1988: 216) early Dzogchen lineages may be traced to three principle sources: Tibetan
movements of the eight/ninth centuries celebrating the instantaneous nature of enlightenment
(cig car ba) influenced by Chinese Chan; teachings derived from the Guhyagarbha Tantra; and
the eighteen series of texts of the Mind Division teachings. Dzogchen is the highest system of
contemplative practice in the Nyingma School in the full spectrum of spiritual paths divided
into nine successive vehicles (theg pa rim pa dgu).
According to the A ti bkod pa chen po’i rgyud and the Snying thig gi lo rgyus chen mo, it was
Mañjuśrīmitra, Śrī Siṃha’s teacher, who arranged the Dzogchen corpus into three sections
(sde) – the Mind Division (sems sde), the Space Division (klong sde) and the Pith Instruction
Division (man ngag sde). It was Śrī Siṃha who further subdivided the Pith Instruction Division
(man ngag sde) into four sections, relegating the Nyingthig teachings to the fourth ‘innermost
secret unsurpassed section’ (yang gsang bla na med pa’i skor); see Dargyay (1998: 23).
See Prats (1984: 201). The early line of Dzogchen succession commonly starts with Garab
Dorje (Dga’ rab rdo rje). It continuous with Mañjuśrīmitra, Śrī Siṃha, Jñānasūtra and ends with
Vimalamitra. However, there exist alternative lineage histories. In the Be ro tsa na’i rnam thar
’dra ’bag chen mo, Buddhagupta is listed as Śrī Siṃha’s teacher and Garab Dorje according
to the lineage preserved in the Mkha’ ’gro snying thig.
Thereafter, Extensive History. This work compiled by Zhang ston bkra shis rdo rje (1097–1167)
is now part of the Vima Nyingthig (Snying thig ya bzhi, vol. 9, Part III). It is said to have been
dictated by Vimalamitra to the eminent Tibetan translators Ska ba dpal brtsegs and Cog ro klu’i
rgyal mtshan in the middle floor of Samye monastery. According to Erik Pema Kunsang (2006:
422, fn. 34), the story follows closely a version revealed by Sangs rgyas gling pa (1340-1396)
in the Bla ma dgongs ’dus cycle. According to Padma Karpo’s Chos ’byung, Śrī Siṃha taught the
Indian scholar Vimalamitra at the Śītavana (Bsil ba’i tshal) charnel ground in Magadha, India.
This account is reproduced in later Tibetan literature: see Dudjom Rinpoche (1991:
497–501); Tulku Thondup (1996: 103-105); Valby (2002: 27–33); Pema Kunsang (2006:
133–143); and Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorjé (2005: 39–40).
See Karmay (2007:22, fn18). Tibetan sources assign his birthplace at Shoshaling (Sho sha’i
gling) or Shokyam (Sho khyam). Various theories regarding his country of origin have included:
India, China, Chinese Central Asia, Khotan, Burma, and Suvarnadvīpa (Gser ling).
Variant spellings of his name in Sanskrit read, Śrīsiṃha, Shri seng ha, Shri Sing nga pra pa
ta, Shri sing nga, and in Tibetan, Dpal gyi seng ge, Dpal seng, and so forth. While a sizable
number of scriptures in the Tengyur and in the Collected Tantras of the Ancients are attributed
to him along with Atiyoga texts he co-translated with Vairocana, no corresponding Sanskrit
texts (or Chinese) have been identified to date. Among Śrī Siṃha’s works in the Gting skyes
edition of the Rnying ma rgyud ’bum, Germano (2002: 246, n. 62) counts twelve from the Mind
Division, ten from the Space Division, and seven from the Pith Instruction Division.
Concerning Gnubs chen sangs rgyas ye shes there is no further information other than a passing
mention that he met Śrī Siṃha in India and received teachings from him (Esler 2014: 10).
Listed as one of the twenty-five disciples of Padmasambhava, he is best known for his Lamp for
the Eye of Contemplation (Bsam gtan mig sgron), a text of historical importance that contains
a detailed discussion drawn from Dzogchen scriptures of the Mind Division; see Dalton and
van-Schaik (2003).
The Mkha’ ’gro snying thig is included in the Snying thig ya bzhi compiled by Longchenpa; see
Tulku Thondup (1996: 57). Germano (2002: 247) is right to doubt that Padmasambhava had
any historical connection with Śrī Siṃha suggesting that their alleged encounter must have
been a later fabrication coinciding with the mythologization of Padmasambhava.
Karmay (2007: 22) notes that according to some Tibetan sources the name Dhahena refers to
a place in Oḍḍiyāna.The titles of these texts seem to vary among sources. See Karmay (2007:
23–24) for a list drawn from the Thimphu edition of the Rnying ma rgyud ’bum. The Paṇ
sgrub rnams kyi thugs bcud snying gi nyi ma (Bai ro rgyud ’bum, vol. 1, pl. 1–172) refers to the
meeting between Śrī Siṃha and the Tibetans who receive six particular teachings; a list and
discussion is found in Kapstein (2008: 276–277). The life story of Vairocana is also included
in Kun bzang rdo rje’s Snyan brgyud rin po che rdo rje zam pa’i gdams ngag gzhung bshad che
ba ’dzeng yab sras kyis slob ma slob dpon kun bzang rdo rjes mdzad pa (93–146).
192
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14
15
16
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18
19
20
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22
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Buddhist Studies in Honour of Venerable Professor KL Dhammajoti
Achard (2015: 14, n.59) explains: “This spontaneous absence of duality is due to the fact that
the Contemplation of the natural state has no objects except itself. In other words, Awareness
(rig pa), as the knowledge of the natural state, is simply the knowledge with which that state
is spontaneously endowed and which does not differ from it in any way whatsoever. This is
why the definition of this state in purely rDzogs chen terms is that of the Single Thiglé (thig
le nyag gcig).”
Given that the sources vary widely on the content of these teachings, Germano (2002:239)
suggested that they served as a niche for attributing to Vairocana many Dzogchen texts of a
later Tibetan origin.
The siddhi of speed-walking is commonly listed among the eight ordinary siddhis
(Skt. aṣṭasādhāraṇasiddhi; thun mong gi dngos grub brgyad).
These include one hundred ninety upadeśa instructions (man ngag gi yig brgya dgu bcu), the
seventeen tantras of Dzogchen (rgya che ba rgyud bcu bdun), and the Wrathful Black Mother
Tantra (Bka’ srung nag mo khros ma’i rgyud); see Dargyay (1988: 47). From his teachings, the
‘four great profound scriptures’ were buried as treasures only to be later rediscovered by Lce
btsun seng ge dbang phyug (ca. 10th-11th centuries) in the Chimpu caves at a mountain hill some
distance away from the Samye compound. Generally known as the Four Profound Scriptures of
Vimalamitra (Bi ma la’i zab pa pod bzhi), they comprise the Golden Letters (gser yig can), the
Copper Letters (zangs yig can), the Conch Letters (dung yig can), and the Turquoise Letters (g.yu
yig can). The Ornamented Letters (phra yig can) and the Copper Letters are grouped together.
These along with the eighteen tantras and the one hundred and ninety upadeśa instructions
constitute, according to ’Jam mgon kong sprul’s Gter rnam, the complete series of the Gsang
ba snying thig chen mo ascribed to five treasure revealers (Prats 1984: 207).
Examples of signs involving lights, kāya, sounds, and earth tremors when awareness reaches
maturity are mentioned in the Tantra of Blazing Relics (Sku gdung ’bar ba’i rgyud).
There are parallels with symbolic references to Jesus as the right hand of God. Curiously,
the Acts of Archelaus depict a ‘right hand of light’ (δεξιά του φωτός – dextera lucis) as a
luminous power sustaining all souls struggling against evil; see Coyle (2009: 94). For an original
exploration in the multireligious milieu of Central Asia and parallels to spiritual trajectories
in the Syriac Church of the East, see Tiso (2016).
In the Jātakas and Jain literature, the term vidyādhara designates a crossover between a human/
divine sorcerer (Davidson 2017: 17), but in later Dzogchen contexts it has come to represent
an accomplished practitioner, often translated as ‘awareness-holder.’
The other three testaments include: Three Statements that Strike the Essential Points (Tshig
gsum gnad du brdeg pa) granted by the legendary Garab Dorje to Mañjuśrīmitra; Six Meditation
Experiences (Sgom nyams drug pa) bestowed by Mañjuśrīmitra to Śrī Siṃha; and Four Methods
of Abiding (Bzhag thabs bzhi pa) passed on by Jñānasūtra to Vimalamitra; see the Golden Letters
(gser yig can) section of Vimalamitra’s Seminal Heart and Klong chen pa dri med ’od zer’s
Gsung ’Bum, vol. 1, 213–238. The four testaments are not mentioned in the Mkha’ ’gro snying
tig. The chronology of the transmission lineage of the Bi ma snying thig as per the btsan rtsis
of Kah thog rig ’dzin tshe dbang nor bu (1698–1755) is discussed in Prats (1984: 197–209).
See Hatchell (2014: 345). The metaphorical use of nails is not uncommon in Indo-Tibetan
Buddhist writings. The mahāsiddha Tilopa is said to have given Nāropa a set of key points known
as the ‘six nails’ (gnad kyi gser drug). At the Tiger Cave Lion Fortress in Yolmo, Milarepa sung
about a set of ‘three nails’ relating to view, meditation and conduct. The Bön adept Tapihritsa
bestowed the ‘twenty-one nails’ as a companion to the teachings on the Six Lamps in the oral
transmission of the Zhang Zhung lineage of Dzogchen.
See the Collected Works of Klong chen pa dri med ’od zer, vol. 1, Shrī sing ha’i gzer bu bdun
pa, pp. 232–235, and Bi ma snying thig, pt. 1, vol. ga, 318–325. The interlinear commentary is
included in smaller script interspersed between the lines of the main text and may very well
be a later addition to the root text.
The text reads sa for ground which in this context refers to the primordial basis (gzhi), the
basis for all pure and impure appearances.
According to Gnubs chen, who identified nine views of Dzogchen that were prevalent during
the time of the composition of his Lamp of Meditation (Bsam gtan mi sgron), Śrī Siṃha along
with Kukkurāja were proponents of the Dzogchen view of ‘great bliss’ (bde ba chen por lugs),
see Karmay (2007:117).
This is reference to Jñānasūtra fainting before receiving the last testament from his teacher.
The repeated terms gnyis kyi mtshams and gnyis kyi bar convey different shades of meaning such
as, the in-between two states, an intermediate space, an interval, a boundary, duality, division
or juncture. Despite my own partiality for choosing a given reading, the reader is advised to
alternate between these translations as they best capture the meaning of each sentence.
Halkias: Śrī Siṃha’s Ultimate Upadeśa
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One of the aspects of the primordial basis (gzhi) is its essence (ngo bo) that is fundamentally
pure (ka dag), where purity in this context refers to its emptiness. It is purified by itself
without the need of any extraneous practices or application of methods; hence it is selfpurified.
The five sense doors are in reference to the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and touch.
The term ye rgya, an abbreviation of ye shes kyi phyag rgya (jñānamudrā), may refer to a
visualized consort in higher tantric practices.
‘Bkra shis khri sgo’ could be translated as the ‘Gate of Myriad Blessings,’ ‘Auspicious Myriad
Gate,’ or ‘Auspicious Ten-thousand Gate.’ It is the place where Śrī Siṃha, following the advice
of a ḍākinī named Nampar Rolpe Gyen (Rnam par rol pa’i rgyan), hid the innermost esoteric
teachings of Dzogchen in a pillar.
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Buddhist Studies in Honour of Venerable Professor KL Dhammajoti
Georgios T . Halkias