Deity Yoga: in Action and Performance Tantra (PDF)

D e i t y Y o g a In Action and Performance Tantra

THE WISDOM OF TIBET SERIES The Buddhism of Tibet H.H. the Dalai Lama Tantra in Tibet H.H. the Dalai Lama Tsong-ka-pa Jeffrey Hopkins Dei ty Yoga H.H. the Dalai Lama Tsong-ka-pa Jeffrey Hopkins

D e i t y Y o g a In Action and Performance Tantra H . H . t h e Dala i Lama, Tsong-ka-pa a n d Jeffrey H o p k i n s Translated and Edited by Jeffrey Hopkins Associate editors for Tsong-ka-pa's text: Lati Rinbochay and Denma Locho Rinbochay Assistant editor: Elizabeth Napper S n o w L i o n P u b l i c a t i o n s I thaca , N e w York USA

Snow Lion Publications P.O. Box 6483 Ithaca, New York 14851 USA Copyright©1981 George Allen Unwin, Ltd. First published as The Yoga of Tibet by George Allen Unwin, Ltd., London, England, 1981. This edition published by arrangement with Unwin & Hyman, Ltd., 1987. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without written permission from the publisher. Printed in USA ISBN 0-937938-50-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tson-kha-pa Blo-bzan-grags-pa, 1357-1419 Deity yoga. Reprint. Originally published: The yoga of Tibet. London ; Boston : Allen & Unwin, 1981. Translation of selections from: Snags rim chen po. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Dge-lugs-pa (Sect)—Doctrines—Early works to 1800. 2. Yoga (Tantric Buddhism)—Early works to 1800. 3. Tantric Buddhism—China—Tibet—Doctrines- Early works to 1800. I. Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935- . II. Hopkins, Jeffrey. III. Title. BQ7950.T754S572513 1987 294.3'443 87-16562 ISBN 0-937938-50-5

Published under the aegis of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives with the authority of His Holiness the Dalai Lama as revealing oral tradition May whatever merit there is in presenting this book on Action and Performance Tantra serve to benefit each and every sentient being throughout space.

T r a n s l a t o r ' s N o t e Homage to Vajradhara This book is a continuation of Tantra in Tibet. Centred on the second and third parts of Tsong-ka-pa's Great Exposition of Secret Mantra, it presents the profound process of meditation in Action and Performance Tantra. This explanation of the main features of the Action and Performance systems should clear away misconceptions about the tantric path and lay the groundwork for those who wish to cultivate these tantras upon receiving initiation from a qualified lama. Part I is an introduction by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whose commentary on Tsong-ka-pa's text was received in 1974 and subsequently translated and edited. His lucid exposition of the meditative rites of deity yoga — the distinctly tantric process in which a yogi cultivates appearance in a Buddha's divine body — affords an accessibility to Part II, Tsong-ka-pa's text itself. Part III is a short supplement primarily on the structure of the path in Action Tantra. It is drawn from Na-wang-bel-den's Presentation of the Grounds and Paths of Mantra as well as the oral teachings of Lati Rinbochay and Denma Locho Rinbochay, both philosophy masters and tantric lamas, the former being abbot of the Shar-dzay College of Gan-den and the latter, abbot of the Tibetan Monastery at Kulu. Part II was orally retranslated into Tibetan for Lati Rinbochay for the sake of correction and verification, and a complete commentary on the same was received from Denma Locho Rinbochay. Elizabeth Napper, a doctoral candidate in Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia, provided crucial help in editing the entire manuscript. vn

THE YOGA OF TIBET A guide to Tsong-ka-pa's text, following his own mode of division of the contents, is given in tabular form in an appendix. The chapter divisions and their titles in the Dalai Lama's commentary and in Tsong-ka-pa's text were added to facilitate understanding. The trans- literation scheme for Sanskrit names and titles is aimed at easy pronunciation, using sh, $h, and ch rather than i, s, and c. With the first occurrence of each Indian title, the Sanskrit is given, if available. Often Tsong-ka-pa refers only to the title or the author of a work, whereas both are given in translation to obviate the need for checking back and forth. The full Sanskrit and Tibetan titles are to be found in the bibliography, which is arranged alphabet- ically according to the English titles of sutras and tantras and according to the authors of other works. The Tibetan originals of key terms have been given in a glossary at the end. Photographs of the thirty-eight seals or hand signs (mudra) are given in the middle of the text; the for- mation of several of these is speculative since a full- fledged transmission of their practice has not been found among the refugee lamas in India. JEFFREY HOPKINS University of Virginia Vlll

C o n t e n t s Translator's note page vii I HEART OF MANTRA by His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso the Fourtenth Dalai Lama 1 Techniques for Improvement 3 Purpose of Deity Yoga 9 Initiations and Vows 15 Divine Aproximation 19 Performance Tantra 37 II THE GREAT EXPOSITION OF SECRET MANTRA 2 and 3 43 by Tsong-ka-pa Introduction 45 1 Controversy about Deity Yoga in Action and Performance 47 2 Structure 63 Action Tantra 67 3 Pledges and Vows 69 4 Preliminaries 7 5 Self-Generation 103 6 Generation in Front 115 7 Mantra Repetition 139 8 Concentration Without Repetition ' 155 9 Feats 173 Performance Tantra 181 10 Outline 183 11 Yoga With Signs 189 12 Yoga Without Signs 197 I SUPPLEMENT 205 by Jeffrey Hopkins The Need for Common Feats 207