Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. “The Four Signs of Mahāmudrā Meditation – The Prevailing Topic in Karma Phrin las pa’s Dohā Commentary.” In Techniques in Vajrayāna Buddhism: Proceedings of the Third Vajrayāna Conference. Thimphu: Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies, 2019, pp. 45–69. Techniques in Vajrayāna Buddhism Proceedings of the Third Vajrayāna Conference དཔལ་འ&ག་(བ་འ*ག་+་བ། Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies Techniques in Vajrayāna Buddhism: Proceedings of the Third Vajrayāna Conference Copyright © 2019 by Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies Post Box No. 1111, Langjophakha, Thimphu Tel: 975-2-321005, 321007; Fax: 975-2-321001 Email: cbs@bhutanstudies.org.bt www.bhutanstudies.org.bt www.grossnationalhappiness.com ISBN 978-99980-35-05-8 The Four Signs of Mahāmudrā Meditation – The Prevailing Topic in Karma Phrin las pa’s Dohā Commentary51 Klaus-Dieter Mathes In his commentary on Saraha’s Peoples’ Dohās (dMangs do hā), Karma Phrin las pa (1456-1539) repeatedly comments on various verses in terms of secret pith instructions, the so-called four signs or symbols (Tib. brda) in ḍākinī language. 52 They are mindfulness (dran pa), beyond mindfulness (dran med), non-arising (skye med), and transcending the intellect (blo ‘das), and stand for a four-step Mahāmudrā meditation. The four signs are already found in the Heart Sūtra commentary (Toh. 3820) of Maitrīpa’s (986-1063) heart disciple 51 Improvements to my English by Michele Martin (Buddhist Digital Resource Center) are gratefully acknowledged. See Karma Phrin las pa: “bTsun mo do ha’i ṭī ka ‘bring po” 12013-14: “E ma! The secret ḍākinī language is the basis of mahāmudrā, whose nature is nonduality.” (e ma mkha’ gsang ba’i skad | | gnyis med rang bzhin phyag rgya chen po’i gnas |) 52 The commentary on these lines (op. cit. 12020-22) is as follows: “Ḍākas and yoginīs magically fly through the sky and their secret language, spoken in a language of ‘signs’ (brda), such as “mindfulness,” and “beyond mindfulness,” is difficult to understand by ordinary persons. Therefore it is amazing.” (dpa’ bo dang rnal ‘byor ma rnams ni nam mkha’ la rdzu ‘phrul gyi bgrod pas ‘gro bas nam mkha’ ‘gro de rnams kyi gsang ba’i skad ni dran pa dran med sogs brda’i skad du gsungs pa phal gyis rtogs dka‘ bas na ngo mtshar che ba‘o) 46 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM Vajrapāṇi (1017-?).53 While mindfulness of the illusion-like character of what directly manifests to the sense faculties constitutes the teaching for ordinary beings, the three remaining signs, or “practices” (dharmas), as Vajrapāṇi calls them, are based on the profound nature of phenomena, which is beyond the reach of ordinary beings: The dharma taught to ordinary people is the samādhi of realizing everything as illusion, which through mindfulness takes manifold appearances as objects – [a practice] based on being mindful of phenomena’s indivisible union [with mind]54 as ascertained through the direct cognition provided by one’s sense faculties. Now those [practices] based on the profound nature of phenomena, which is not the experiential object of ordinary people, are [the remaining three dharmas of] “beyond mindfulness,” “non-arising,” and “transcending the intellect.” They are the three samādhis of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, and the direct perception of the mental faculty, the direct perception of self-awareness, and yogic direct perception. Through them together with the non-foundation of empti[ness], nonfoundation of equanimity, and non-foundation of interruption [we present instruction relating to] the threefold insight (prajñā) beyond the three conditions [of cognition]. Śāriputra, in this way all phenomena are [seen to be] emptiness.55 53 Roerich 1988: 843. 54 See Karma Phrin las pa, who explains the first dharma of mindfulness in his dMangs do ha’i rnam bshad 3117 as follows: “Through the special instructions on “mindfulness” manifold appearances are known to be mind [only]...” (dran pa’i man ngag gis snang ba sna tshogs pa sems su shes pas...) 55 BhPHṬAP (D 288b6-289a2; P 312a2-6): snang ba sna tshogs dran pas yul du byas pa'i sgyu ma lta bu'i ting nge 'dzin dbang po'i mngon sum gyis gtan la phab pa'i chos thams cad zung du 'jug pa'i dran pa la brten pa so so'i skye bo'i chos bstan zin to | | da ni zab mo'i chos nyid la brten pa so so'i skye bo'i spyod yul ma yin pa dran pa med pa dang | skye ba med pa dang | blo'i spyod yul las 'das pa de ni stong pa nyid dang | mtshan ma med pa dang | smon pa med pa'i ting nge 'dzin gsum po ni yid kyi mngon sum dang | rang rig pa'i mngon sum dang | rnal 'byor gyi mngon sum gyis stong pa’i rab tu mi gnas pa dang | btang snyoms rab tu mi gnas pa dang | rgyun chad rab tu mi gnas pa dang gsum gyis rkyen gsum dang bral ba'i shes rab rnam gsum gyi gdams ngag ni | shā ri'i bu de lta bas na chos thams cad stong pa nyid de | My translation differs from the one of Lopez (1996:206-207) only in terminology. THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 47 Once the first practice, which in ḍākinī language is symbolically called “mindfulness” is left behind, mind itself can be realised as being empty. This enables an immediate access to the true nature of phenomena that enables the kind of instantaneous approach, for which the Mahāmudrā lineage of Saraha and the Maitrīpa circle is wellknown. In his introductory explanation of the Heart Sūtra’s four syllables e vaṃ ma yā, Vajrapāṇi thus distinguishes, just as in his *Guruparaṃparākrama-Upadeśa, 56 an instantaneous from a gradual approach: The four dharmas (i.e., the four signs or practices) pertaining to the identical essence of the nature of mind and the nature of phenomena are “mindfulness,” “beyond mindfulness,” “non-arising,” and “transcending the intellect.” They are heard at one and the same time in two ways – profound and manifest. The profound is beyond studying, reflecting, and meditation. It is an expression that denotes instantaneous abiding in an equipoise that is not essentially different from the dharmadhātu of all the Buddhas of the three times and sentient beings of the three realms.57 In his Zhi byed Middle Transmission, namely in the *Mahāmudrātattvanākṣaropadeśa (Toh. 2325), which is included in last of the Nine Lamps (sGron ma skor dgu),58 Dam pa Sangs rgyas59 attributes the last three of the four signs to Saraha: 56 Mathes 2007:548-49. BhPHṬAP (D 286b7-287a2; P 309b5-8): sems nyid dang chos nyid kyi ngo bo gcig la dran pa dang | dran pa med pa dang | skye ba med pa dang | blo las ‘das pa chos bzhi po dus gcig pa las zab pa dang | snang ba’i tshul rnam pa gnyis kyis thos so | de yang zab pa ni thos pa dang bsam pa dang bsgom pa las 'das pa ste | dus gsum du rnam par bzhugs pa'i sangs rgyas rnams dang | khams gsum gyi sems can ma lus pa'i chos kyi dbyings kyi ngo bo tha mi dad pa'i skad cig ma gcig la mnyam pa nyid la gnas pa'i tshig bla dags so |. My translation differs from the one of Lopez (1996:202-203) only in terminology. 57 See Bu ston chos ‘byung 3055-10. 59 In the colophon, Kamalaśīla is mentioned as author, but Dam pa sangs rgyas also goes under this name (Bu ston chos ‘byung 3055). See also Hopkins (1983: 536-37), who reports the legend that Pha dam pa Sangs rgyas lived for over five hundred years and was Bodhidharma, also known as Kamalaśīla (but not Śāntarakṣita’s student Kamalaśīla). In his Blue Annals, ‘Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal (Roerich 1988: 871) reports that the sādhana of Yamāntaka and the three cycles of Zhi byed sgrol ma (to which our text belongs) were preached by Dam pa 58 48 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM With the three kāyas in equanimity, there are, for Saraha, [The three signs of] beyond mindfulness, non-arising, and transcending the intellect.60 In other words, the first of the four signs, mindfulness, is missing here. This means that Saraha either teaches a revolutionary direct Mahāmudrā path (even for beginners), or tacitly presupposes mindfulness as an initial step. A further possibility is that Saraha’s teaching is meant for advanced practitioners only, who do not concentrate anymore on what directly appears to the sense faculties.61 The initial modifier “with the three kāyas in equanimity” suggests this interpretation. In his *Sarvayogatattvāloka (Toh. 2453), Dam pa sangs rgyas quotes a verse attributed to the yoginī Sukhasiddhi, who describes a similarly advanced path starting from “beyond mindfulness”: The path to nirvāṇa, on which the objects of the six types of consciousness Are not enjoyed, and which is beyond mindfulness Is the dharmadhātu without concepts. Being free from mental consciousness, it is mahāmudrā.62 It should be noted that this approach differs from Vajrapāṇi’s system, in which “beyond mindfulness” refers to the direct perception of the sixth consciousness and so it is not free of the six types of consciousness. to the Kashmirian Jñānaguhya. They were then taught by Dam pa and Jñānaguhya to Ong po Lo tsā ba. The latter taught them to Lo btsun chung, who translated the *Mahāmudrātattvanākṣaropadeśa into Tibetan. 60 MTAĀU (D 266b6-7; P 283b5): sku gsum mnyam gzhag mda' bsnun na || dran med skye med blo las 'das || 61 As for Saraha’s dohās, Karma bKra shis chos ‘phel, a dPal spung monk and disciple of Kong sprul Blo gros mtha’ yas (1813-1899), classifies them as essence mahāmudrā, as they teach a short and direct path (Mathes 2011:102). 62 SYTĀ (D 101a3-4; P 127b3-4): | tshogs drug yul du ma spyad pa’i | | dran med mya ngan ‘das pa’i lam | | rnam par mi rtog chos kyi dbyings || yid dang bral bas phyag rgya che || zhes gsung ngo | THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 49 A preliminary survey of the locus classicus of the four signs, i.e., Advaya Avadhūtīpa’s (11th-13th cent.?)63 *Dohākoṣasārārthagītāṭīkā, also shows a rather reserved attitude towards mind-fulness, which is clear from the following passages: As a result of mindfulness, one wanders in saṃsāra. As a result of not wavering from a state beyond mindfulness, one finds nirvāṇa.64 At the time when one is [still] ignorant – neither knowing, nor realizing, nor perceiving – the genuine guru’s teaching in terms of the signs and means is as follows: Abandoning mindfulness is generosity, experiencing the state beyond mindfulness is discipline, [enduring] non-arising is acceptance, and the meditative concentration of inseparable, uninterrupted diligence is insight transcending the intellect.65 It is particularly noteworthy that one even abandons mindfulness in an act of generosity when still ignorant and not knowing. This excludes the possibility of restricting “beyond mindfulness” and the rest to an advanced level of the path. In the *Dohākoṣasārārthagītāṭīkā we also find an explanation of the first three of the four signs with regard to appearances that is found again in different variations in Karma Phrin las pa’s commentary: To encounter [any] appearance is “mindfulness.” To encounter [its] emptiness is “beyond mindfulness.”’ To encounter “non-arising” is non-arisen reality.66 63 Schaeffer 2005:20. Further research is needed in order to determine whether this is Maitrīpa (986-1063), who also goes under the names of Advayavajra and Avadhūtīpa. 64 DKSGṬ (D 82a6; P 113b5): dran pa lasa ‘khor bar ‘khor la | dran pa med pa las ma g.yos mya ngan las ‘das pa’o | a D la 65 DKSGṬ (D 92b1-2; P 124a5-6): ma rig pa dang | ma shes pa dang | ma rtogs pa mi dmigs pa’i dus su | bla ma dam pas brda dang thabs kyis bstan paa de ni | dran pa spangs pa sbyin pa dang | dran med myong tshul khrims | skye med bzod pa | dbyer med brtson ‘grus rgyun mi ‘chad pa bsam gtan blo las ‘das pa shes rab | a P pa’i 66 DKSGṬ (D 92b4; P 124b1): snang ba thug phrad dran pa’o | stong pa thug phrad ni dran med do | skye med thug phrad ni de nyid ma skyes pa’o | 50 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM To sum up this introduction, there are indications that the four-step Mahāmudrā meditation of the four signs has its origin in India, the *Mahāmudrātattvanākṣaropadeśa attributing the final three signs even to Saraha. Together with initial mindfulness, Saraha’s three signs become an ideal commentarial structure, which plays into the hands of Karma Phrin las pa’s hermeneutical project of systematically reading a gradual Mahāmudrā path into Saraha’s dohās. In his dohā commentary, Karma Phrin las pa sometimes distinguishes outer, inner, and secret explanations, and the four signs are, with one exception, mentioned in terms of the last of these categories. Of particular interest is Karma Phrin las pa’s secret interpretation of Saraha’s dohā on gaṇacakra, which is verse 24 in the dMangs do hā: Eating, drinking, enjoying intercourse, And always filling the cakras, again and again – Through such a teaching, one attains the other world (i.e., mahāmudrā). [The master] stamps on the heads of those in the ignorant world and moves on. The outer explanation elaborates the gaṇacakra feast in a way that reveals tantric details, which are normally kept secret: As for the outer explanation, having received empowerment, one eats the meat and drinks the alcohol of the gaṇa[cakra] substances. Then, after having blessed her secret space, one unites with a qualified karmamudrā, who is endowed with three authentic perceptions. Through this intercourse, the four joys are recognised and sustained, namely as they arise in progressive and reverse order – all this is in accordance with the pith instructions of the lama. During this process one fills the four cakras [with the drops moving down] from above and then [returning] from below. Through such a practice one transcends the world and becomes a transmundane Buddha. [The master] stamps on the heads of worldly people who are, without empowerment, ignorant about spiritual maturation, and without guidance, ignorant about pith instructions. Stamping down on the ignorant, he moves on to the level of a Buddha through the means of removing delusion.67 67 Karma Phrin las pa : “dMangs do ha” 3022-319: phyi ltar du bshad na | dbang bskur ba thob nas tshogs rdzas kyi sha la sogs pa za zhing chang sogs ‘thung la | THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 51 The inner explanation of the same verse is as follows: As for the inner explanation, once the yoga of the secret Mantra [Path] has been taken up, one eats and drinks the pure, essential [forms of meat] and the five nectars, and meditates on channels and winds, bodhicitta and union. Through that, the wisdom of the four joys arises in one’s continuum. When it becomes a stable experience in oneself, one continuously cultivates it again and again, which fills the cakras with the pure elements,68 the wisdom of great bliss. …69 Paradoxically, the exoteric (or “sūtric”) yet “secret” commentary in terms of the four signs now replaces the esoteric tantric teachings of the outer and inner explanation: As for the secret explanation, through the pith instructions on “mindfulness” one recognises the manifold appearances as mind and eats them. Through the pith instructions on “beyond mindfulness”, one recognises this very mind as empty and drinks it. Through the pith instructions on “non-arising” both appearance and mind meet in the single taste [of everything] and are [thus realised as] being united in indivisible union. Through the pith instructions on “transcending the intellect” one embraces self-awareness as coemergent joy. Through the pith instruction on practicing ineffable reality, one fills continuously [one’s] mental continuum with wisdom phyag rgya mtshan ldan dang ‘du shes gsum ldan kyis mkha’ gsang byin gyis brlabs nas snyoms par zhugs te | dbang po gnyis sprod cing bsrub pa sogs kyis dga’ bzhi rim bzhin lugs ‘byung lugs bzlog tu skye ba de nyid bla ma’i man ngag gis ngos bzung zhing skyong ba la sogs pa’i dus rtag tu yang dang yang du rtsa’i ‘khor lo bzhi po la yas ‘bebs shing ‘gengs pa dang | mas gshegs su gsol zhing ‘gengs pa’i nyams len gyi chos ‘di lta bus ‘jig rten ‘di las pha rol ‘jig rten las ‘das pa’i sangs rgyas ‘grub par ‘gyur te | dbang ma thob pas smin byed la rmongs pa dang | khrid ma thob pas gdams ngag la rmongs pa’i ‘jig rten pa rnams kyi mgo bor rdog pa bzhag nas rmongs pa de mnan de ma rmongs pa’i thabs kyis sangs rgyas kyi sar song ngo | 68 i.e., the red and white drops. 69 Op. cit. 3110-14: nang ltar du bshad na | gsang sngags kyi rnal ‘byor la zhugs nas dwangs snying bdud rtsi lnga la sogs pa za zhing ‘thung la | rtsa rlung dang | byang sems gnyis sprod cing bsgoms pas dga‘ ba bzhi’i ye shes rang rgyud la shar ba rang gnas su brtan zhing nyams su myong ba de nyid dus rtag tu yang nas yang du bsgoms pas rtsa’i ‘khor lo rnams khams kyi dwangs ma bde ba chen po’i ye shes kyis ‘gengs pa’i … 52 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM again and again in an effort that is unceasing as a [turning] wheel.70 By practicing such a teaching, one passes beyond this world.71 In other words, eating and drinking the gaṇacakra substances equates with mindfulness and beyond mindfulness, which means that being mindful one eats the manifold appearances by recognizing them as not being different from mind. “Beyond mindfulness” then refers to drinking the mind by realizing its emptiness. “Non-arising” is then related to intercourse, understood in the sense of the indivisible union of appearances and mind. This must be taken against the background that appearances and mind are identical in terms of their non-arising or emptiness. In the formal tantric practice of the outer and inner explanations, the cakras are filled through controlling the winds in the energy channels. This helps to recognise and sustain the four joys. The pith instructions called “transcending the intellect” help to embrace self-awareness as co-emergent joy, which is the most supreme of the four joys. Karma Phrin las further elaborates the four gaṇacakra elements of eating, drinking, intercourse, and filling the cakras in a further explanation of verse 24: As for the explanation in terms of true reality, the Mahāmudrā yogin takes as his food the appearances, which emerge in unobstructed vibrant radiance. He takes as his drink emptiness – their dissolving into the non-arising fundamental state. Both appearance and emptiness are united in indivisible union. Putting this into practice, the effortless joy of reflexive self-awareness becomes directly manifest. If one practices in such a sequence continuously again and again, filling the cakras of knowable objects – all phenomenal 70 It should be noted that the cakras of the vajra body become here the metaphor of a wheel (cakra) to express continuous practice. 71 Op. cit. 3117-22: gsang ba ltar bshad na | dran pa’i man ngag gis snang ba sna tshogs pa sems su shes pas za zhing | dran med kyi man ngag gis sems nyid stong par shes pas ‘thung la | skye med kyi man ngag gis snang sems de gnyis ro gcig tu sprod cing zung ‘jug tu sbyar nas | blo ‘das kyi man ngag gis rang rig lhan cig skyes pa’i dga’ bar ‘chang zhing | brjod du med pa’i don nyams su len pa la dus rtag tu yang yang brtson pa rgyun mi ‘chad pa ‘khor lo lta bu’i man ngag gis shes rgyud ye shes kyis ‘gengs par byed na | nyams len gyi chos ‘di lta bus ‘jig rten rol zhes sogs sam | THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 53 existence – with co-emergent wisdom, one reaches the other world through this Dharma of inseparable union. ….72 This departure from the physical elements of gaṇacakra to a mere mental level of eating appearances and drinking the mind (i.e., realizing its emptiness) in accordance with the second explanation, finds its parallel in the tantric Nāgārjuna’s Caturmudrānvaya and the works of Maitrīpa (986-1063), such as the Sekanirdeśa and Caturmudropadeśa. These texts teach the sequence of four seals (karmamudrā, dharmamudrā, mahāmudrā, and samayamudrā), which lies at the center of the completion stage practice in the Yoginītantras. 73 Karmamudrā practice involves an initial recognition of four joys (joy, supreme joy, co-emergent joy, and joy beyond joy) at four distinct moments (manifold activity, maturation, freedom from defining characteristics, and relaxation) on a physical level in a way similar to what happens during a gaṇacakra feast. The four joys are then experienced again on the level of dharmamudrā, which is based on speech,74 and the respective instructions are similar to the ones of the four pith instructions in Karma Phrin las pa’s Dohā commentary, as can 72 Op. cit. 321-6: de kho na nyid du ‘chad na | phyag rgya chen po’i rnal ‘byor pa des ni gdangs ‘gag med la shar ba’i snang ba zad su za zhing | gzhis skye med la thim pa’i stong pa skom du ‘thung la | snang stong gnyis po dbyer med zung ‘jug sprod cing nyams su blangs pas gzhol med kyi dga’ ba rang rig mngon du ‘gyur zhing | de lta bu’i rim pas dus rtag tu yang dang yang du nyams su len zhing shes bya’i ‘khor lo snang srid thams cad lhan cig skyes pa’i ye shes kyis ‘gengs na zung ‘zug gi chos ‘di lta bus ‘jig rten pha rol zhes sogs sam | 73 In these texts, mahāmudrā is the technical term for the goal of Buddhahood, while dharmamudrā is the ultimate, which is meditated upon while on the path. This path can be effectively initiated with the help of a karmamudrā, which involves intercourse with an actual consort in order to identify the goal through an artificially created image of co-emergent joy. The samayamudrā is by its nature the manifestation of the tantric sambhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya. See Mathes 2008 (2009): 89 & 117. 74 See Rāmapāla’s Sekanirdeśapañjikā (SNP 19110-11): “Now that the karmamudrā, which has the nature of the four joys and is based on physicality has been propounded, he teaches the dharmamudrā, which has the nature of the four joys and is based on speech.” (caturānandasvabhāvā kāyikī karmamudroktaiva | vācasīṃ dharmamudrāṃ caturānandasvabhāvām āha |). For a fine translation of the entire text, see Isaacson & Sferra 2014 (2015): 255-333. My own translation is only for the sake of consistent terminology. 54 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM be gathered from Maitrīpa’s explanation of the four joys on the level of dharmamudrā in the Caturmudropadeśa: (1) The concept of manifold [appearances] arises.75 (2) The concept of manifold [appearances] ceases, and one abides in [their] co-emergent nature (lit. “form”).76 (3) [One realises that] the manifold [appearances] and the coemergent [nature] are not two [different things]. (4) One does not entertain concepts of either the manifold [appearances] or the co-emergent [nature]. These four are [respectively] joy, supreme joy, co-emergent joy, and the [joy of] no-joy on the level of the dharmamudrā.77 The physically induced joy during the moment of manifold activity such as embracing and kissing 78 thus corresponds to manifold appearances. Their disappearance and one’s abiding in the co-emergent nature leads to supreme joy, which has first been experienced during the physical level of maturation, when bodhicitta had reached the tip of the vajra.79 The co-emergent joy – which is experienced on the level of 75 For a similar description of the first moment, see Rāmapāla’s Sekanirdeśapañjikā (SNP 19114-15): “From a karmamudrā as cause, the character of the world, which is [now] realised on the basis of speech, [namely] through the pith instructions of a genuine guru, [becomes clear]. Because of its manifold appearances [the first moment is called] manifold.” (karmamudrāto nimittāt sadgurūpadeśena vacasā pratīyamānā jagadātmatā citrollekhatvād vicitraṃ |). 76 SNP 19115-16: “And precisely this [character] is also the [moment of] maturation, for it is through a [form of] meditation approaching penetrating insight that the manifold appearances disappear.” (saiva ca bhāvanayā nivedhābhimukhyā citrollekhāpagamād vipākaḥ |). 77 CMU (B 12b2-4, D214a3-4, P 233b3-5) : sna tshogs kyi rtog pa ‘byung ba dang | sna tshogs kyi rtog pa ‘gags shing lhan cig skyes pa’i gzugs su gnas pa dang | sna tshogs dang lhan cig skyes pa (agnyis sua) med pa dang | sna tshogs dang lhan cig skyes pa gnyis ka’i rtog pa mi dmigs pa dang bzhi ni chos kyi phyag rgya’i dga’ ba dang | mchog dga’ dang | lhan cig skyes dga’ dang | dga’ bral lo |. a BD nyid du For a fine translation of the entire text, see Isaacson & Sferra 2014 (2015) : 39198. My own translation is only for the sake of consitent terminology. 78 See Hevajratantra II.3.7ab (HT 1561): “[The moment of the] manifold is called variety.” (vicitraṃ vividhaṃ khyātam āliṅgacumbanādikam |) 79 See Mathes 2008 (2009): 89. THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 55 physical karmamudrā during the peak of intercourse at the moment of freedom from defining characteristics 80 – becomes on the dharmamudrā level, the realization that the manifold forms are not different from the co-emergent nature. The moment of relaxation becomes a state, which is free from the concepts of either the manifold or the coemergent. As Karma Phrin las pa provides further explanations of the four activities during gaṇacakra, the four signs are also indirectly linked to the four seals (mudrās) and the four yogas: Likewise, in terms of the four seals, ‘eating’ is the dharmamudrā, ‘drinking’ the karmamudrā, intercourse the samayamudrā, and coemergent wisdom mahāmudrā. As for the four yogas, during [the yoga of] one-pointedness, appearances are taken as food. During the yoga of freedom from mental fabrication, [their] emptiness is taken as drink. During [the yoga of] one taste, the two (appearance and emptiness) meet. During [the yoga of] non-meditation there is [coemergent] joy.81 Interestingly, intercourse is here not linked with karmamudrā, but samayamudrā, 82 which is consistent with the samayamudrā explanation in Karma Phrin las pa’s dMangs do hā commentary, verse 86 (see below). As for the four signs and the four Mahāmudrā yogas, it makes perfect sense to equate mindfulness to the yoga of onepointedness, and the yoga of freedom from mental fabrication to the second sign (beyond mindfulness). In addition, the third sign (nonarising) can be easily brought in line with the yoga of one taste, nonarising or emptiness being the unique taste of everything. Finally, both “transcending the intellect” and yoga of non-meditation are perfect descriptions of the ultimate goal. 80 For a detailed description of the third moment on the level of karmamudrā, see Mathes 2016:314-16. 81 Karma Phrin las pa “dMangs do ha’i rnam bshad” 326-10: de bzhin du phyag rgya bzhi dang sbyar na | za ba chos kyi phyag rgya | ‘thung ba las kyi phyag rgya | gnyis sprod dam tshig gi phyag rgya | lhan cig skyes dga’ phyag rgya chen po dang rnal ‘byor bzhi dang sbyar na | rtse gcig gi skabs su snang ba zas su za | spros bral du stong pa skom du ‘thung | ro gcig tu gnyis sprod | sgom med du dga’ ba dang | 82 Just as in Tripiṭakamāla’s Nayatrayapradīpa (oral information from Péter Szántó). 56 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM The next secret explanation in terms the four signs is in the commentary on dMangs do hā, verse 29: Where the sense faculties have subsided And where the own-being of a self has been destroyed This my friend is the body of co-emergent bliss. For clarity go and ask the venerable Guru!”83 Karma Phrin las pa explains: As for the secret explanation, [the four signs] are related as follows: the consciousnesses of the “sense faculties” are mindfulness. “Subsided” is “beyond mindfulness.” “And [the mistaken notion of] the own-being [of a self] disappears” is “non-arising.” “Co-emergent” is “transcending the intellect.” With regard to such a presentation of the aspect of means, one needs to conjoin this temporarily with the threefold experience of bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality. Ultimately, however, it is crucial to abandon [such subtle] attachment. Therefore, [this verse] is for the sake of abandoning one’s attachment to means and experience.84 This secret explanation follows the same line of thought. While mindfulness relates to sense faculties apprehending the appearances of the world, their dissolution coincides with the second sign “beyond mindfulness.” In standard Madhyamaka fashion, “non-arising” is again related to emptiness, or rather the disappearance of the wrong notion of a self; and “transcending the intellect” is again the co-emergent – the goal in Saraha’s Dohā system. The text also affirms that the experiences of bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality are passing. A short but concise explanation with elements of the four signs is also found in the commentary on dMangs do hā, verse 34ab: 83 Op. cit. 3616-17: dbang po gang du nub gyur cing | | rang gi ngo bor nyams par ‘gyur || grogs dag de ni lhan cig skyes pa’i lus | | bla ma’i zhal las gsal bar dris ||. The Göttingen manuscript of the root text reads: | indī jattha bilīa gaü | ṇaṭṭhaü appasahāba | so hale sahajānandataṇu | phuḍa pucchaha gurupāba || 84 Karma Phrin las pa: “dMangs do ha’i rnam bshad” 388-11: gsang ba ltar na | dbang po shes (em., text: zhes) pa dran pa dang | nub pa dran med dang | ngo bo nyams pa skye med dang | lhan cig skyes pa blo ‘das dang sbyar te bshad par bya’o | | de ltar thabs kyi cha bstan pa de la gnas skabs su bde gsal mi rtog pa’i nyams gsum gyis zin dgos la | mthar thug tu zhen pa spong ba gnad du che bas thabs dang nyams myong la zhen pa spong ba’i phyir du’o || THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 57 Looking and looking at the nature of primordially pure space, The seeing of it ceases.85 Karma Phrin las pa reports: Lama Bal po [Asu] (11th cent.) 86 says in this respect: “Looking with mindfulness at non-arising, one sees it as transcending the intellect.”87 A more detailed elaboration of the four signs is found in the secret commentary on a dohā about the dissolution of the elements that is absent in the Indian material:88 When wind, fire, and earth are stopped – And when the nectar flows, the wind enters the mind. As the four connections [of the winds with the elements] enter the single place,89 All of space cannot contain supreme great bliss.90 The secret commentary in Karma Phrin las pa’s dMangs do hā commentary is as follows: 85 Op. cit. 417-8: gdod nas dag pa nam mkha’i rang bzhin la | | bltas shing bltas shing mthong ba ‘gag par ‘gyur ||. The Apabhraṃśa root text in the Dohākoṣapañjikā (DKP 965 & 7): “If space is pure right from the beginning, you look and look [eventually] and the perception [of it] ceases.” (paḍhame jaï āāsavisuddho | iti | cāhante cāhante diṭṭhia ṇiruddho |) π a ESh diṭhṭhi N diddhi 86 Aka sKye med bde chen. See Schaeffer 2005: 19 & 71-72. 87 Op. cit. 4117-18: ‘dir bla ma bal pos ni dran pas skyes med la bltas pas blo ‘das su mthong ba ‘gag par gsungs la | 88 See Shahidullah 1928:140. 89 In his word for word commentary (op. cit. 4912-14), Karma Phrin las pa explains the line with the four yogas as follows: “When calm abiding has reached perfection, at the time when the four winds connected (yoga) to the elements dissolve into each other and enter the central [channel], …” (zhi gnas mthar son pa’i dus nam zhig gi tshe ‘byung ba dang sbyor ba’i rlung bzhi po gcig la gcig thim nas gnas gcig po dbu ma la ni zhugs pa na …) 90 Karma Phrin las pa: “dMangs do ha’i rnam bshad” 494-7: rlung dang me dang dbang chen ‘gags na | | bdud rtsi rgyu ba’i dus su rlung ni sems la ‘jug | nam zhig sbyor bzhi gnas gcig la ni zhugs pa | | bde chen mchog ni nam mkha’i khams su mi shong ngo | 58 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM As for the secret explanation in the sign language of the ḍākinīs, through the power of special calm abiding, the outward moving winds of thoughts are interrupted and forced to enter the mind inside. When finally looking for the mind one does not find it and this is the pith instruction on “mindfulness.” Not to become mentally engaged is the pith instruction on “beyond mindfulness.” The fact that the mind has not arisen throughout beginningless time is the pith instruction on “non-arising.” Being beyond example and meaning is the pith instruction on “transcending the intellect.” When based on these four [pith instructions], thoughts – [symbolically] taught in terms of wind, fire, and earth – are stopped, at this time when the nectar of nonconceptual wisdom flows, the karmic winds and thoughts enter and dissolve into the nature of mind, this natural sphere. Therefore, when the four yogas,91 starting with the pith instruction on mindfulness, [cause the adept] to enter the unique sphere of effortless Mahāmudrā, one attains supreme great bliss, which cannot be contained in the [entire] space element of the dharmakāya.92 It is noteworthy that the four signs are not only related here to the transformative process of mental disengagement, but also more directly to the dissolution of the elements. A further elaborate use of the four signs is found in the commentary on dMangs do hā, verse 75: If a thought about an agreeable [position, such as mind-only] Strikes one’s fancy and one cherishes it, Then even this thorn, which is only the husk of a sesame seed 91 i.e., the four connections (sbyor ba) in the root text above. Op. cit. 5118-523: gsang ba mkha’ ‘gro ma’i brda skad du bshad na | zhi gnas khyad par can de’i mthus rnam rtog gi rlung phyir rgyu ba chad nas nang du sems la ‘jug cing | mthar sems btsal na ma rnyed pa dran pa’i man ngag dang | yid la mi byed pa dran med kyi man ngag dang sems gdod nas ma skyes kyi man ngag dang | dpe don dang bral ba blo ‘das kyi man ngag ste | de bzhi la brten nas rlung dang me dang dbang chen gyi sgrar bstan pa’i rnam par rtog pa ‘gags pa na | mi rtog ye shes kyi bdud rtsi rgyu ba’i dus su las rlung dang rnam rtog ni | sems nyid gnyug ma’i dbyings la ‘jug cing thim par ‘gyur bas | dus nam zhig gi tshe dran pa’i man ngag la sogs pa’i sbyor ba bzhi po phyag rgya chen po lhun gyis grub pa’i gnas gcig la zhugs pa na bde ba chen po’i mchog chos kyi sku nam mkha’i khams su mi shong ba thob bo zhes bya ba’o || 92 THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 59 Inevitably gives rise to nothing but suffering.93 Karma Phrin las pa explains: As for the secret explanation, view, tenet, and meditation experience are only indicated. The treatise has been taught for the sake of realization without determining any phenomenon from matter up to omniscience. If determination and attachment occur, one does not, thanks to the pith instruction “mindfulness,” cling to thoughts about any object, be they pleasant, unpleasant, or in between. Through the pith instruction “beyond mindfulness,” one establishes that also the mind that apprehends an object is empty. Through the pith instruction of “non-arising,” the followers [of mind-only, who are] attracted to a truly existing consciousness beyond the duality of a perceived and a perceiver, are protected by [the practice of] the indivisible union of appearance and emptiness, which is true non-arising. In accordance with the pith instruction “transcending the intellect”, one practices by resolving not to cherish even the ultimate abiding mode, Mahāmudrā. Otherwise, if one treasures objects and subjects as true appearances, [even] a slight determination would be a thorn, even if it were only [as insignificant as] the husk of a sesame seed. Through determination, one will definitely create nothing but the cause for suffering. The idea is that one must practice in accordance with the four signs.94 93 Op. cit. 813-4: gal te yid du ‘ong ngam snyam pa’i sems | | snying la bab pa gces par byas na ni | | til gyi shun pa tsam gyi zug rngus kyang | | nam yang sdug bsngal ‘ba’ zhig byed par zad |. The first two lines are missing in DKP, but reported in Shahidullah 1928: 153. 94 Op. cit. 8121-828: gsang ba ltar du bshad na | lta grub dang | nyams myong ni mtshon pa tsam ste | gzugs nas rnam mkhyen gyi bar gyi chos thams cad la zhen pa med par rtogs pa’i ched du gzhung ‘di gsungs so | | de yang gal te zhen pa dang chags par gyur na dran pa’i man ngag gis yul gang la yang yid du ‘ong ba dang | mi ‘ong ba dang | bar ma’o snyam du mi ‘dzin | dran med kyi man ngag gis yul de ‘dzin gyi sems kyang stong par gtan la ‘bebs | skye med kyi man ngag gis gzung ‘dzin gnyis med kyi shes pa bden par snying la gang bab pa rnams snang stong zung ‘zug tu bden pa’i skye ba med par skyong | blo ‘das kyi man ngag gis gnas lugs phyag rgya chen po la’ang gces par mi ‘dzin par la bzla ba’i tshul du nyams su len dgos te | de las log nas yul yul can snang bden du gces ‘dzin byas na ni ‘dzin pa chung ngu til kyi shun pa tsam gyi zug rngu ste zhen pas kyang nam yang sdug bsngal gyi rgyu ‘ba’ zhig byed par zad pas brda bzhi po’i sgo nas nyams su long zhig ces dgongs pa yin no | 60 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM The way the four signs are explained here introduces a slightly different context, namely the fourfold Yogācāra practice, which leads to the realization of a state free from perceived and perceiver. Any notion of an ultimately existing non-dual mind, however, is remedied with a Madhyamaka interpretation based on the third sign “non-arising” in terms of the indivisible union of appearance and emptiness. The realization of mind’s emptiness through the second sign equates with the Yogācāra emptiness that a perceiving subject does not exist. In the Laṅkāvatārasūtra (LAS X.256-58) the four practices are presented as follows: When one has relied on [the notion of] mind only, External objects should not be imagined. Based on the apprehension of suchness, One should pass beyond [even] mind only. Having passed beyond mind only, One should pass over into a state without appearances. A yogin who is established in a state without appearances Does not [even] see the Mahāyāna.95 The state of effortlessness is quiescent and purified By [one’s previous] aspirations; And, being in a state without appearances, Wisdom sees the most excellent, which has no self.96 Similar to previous contexts, in which appearances are established as mind, the first sign “mindfulness” in the secret commentary on dMangs do hā, verse 75, is the means to deconstruct external objects and establish them as mind or perception only. “Beyond mindfulness” establishes the emptiness of the perceiving mind, which amounts to 95 It should be noted, that in his Tattvāvatāra, Jñānakīrti reads this line without the particle of negation and glosses Mahāyāna with Mahāmudrā: “Sees the Mahāyāna, i.e., Mahāmudrā.” See Mathes 2008:36. LAS 29815 – 2993: cittamātraṃ samāruhya bāhyam arthaṃ na kalpayet | tathatālambane sthitvā cittamātram atikramet || cittamātram atikramya nirābhāsam atikramet | nirābhāsasthito yogī mahāyānaṃ naa paśyati || anābhogagatiḥ śāntā praṇidhānair viśodhitā | jñānam anātmakaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ nirābhāsenab paśyati ||. a Only the Tokyo manuscript reads sa. b Nanjio proposes reading nirābhāse na, but this does not yield a satisfying meaning. 96 THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 61 passing beyond mind-only (cittamātra) in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra.97 To what extent the third sign “non-arising” – which establishes Madhyamaka emptiness in the commentary on dMangs do hā verse 75 – accords with the Laṅkāvatārasūtra is a controversial issue. Nevertheless, a variant reading of LAS X.257d has a negation (na) instead of the personal pronoun (sa), and this gives the reading, “Does not see the Mahāyāna,” which could be more easily brought in line with Madhyamaka. The last line of sūtra quote, however, does not point univocally to an emptiness beyond Yogācāra. In one instance, in the commentary on dMangs do hā, verse 86, the four signs do not appear in a secret explanation, but in a mahāmudrā explanation at the end of explanations for the other mudrās. The verse in the root text is as follows: She eats and drinks, and does not care. This female friend [does] whatever comes to mind. I have seen that external objects [cannot be] identified [as anything other than] mind.98 Advayavajra99 explains this enigmatic verse as follows: Whatever act she performs – eating, drinking, and the like – she does without interruption, doing whatever comes to mind. But it does not affect [her] mind. What is the use of [such wisdom,] so difficult to 97 For taking cittamātra in the context of the four prayogas as the perceiving subject only, and not the non-dual mind of the dependent nature, see Salvini 2015:42f. Karma Phrin las Pa: “dMangs do hā” 9517-18: za zhing ‘thung la bsam du med par gyur | | grogs mo ‘di ni sems la gang snang ba | | phyi rol sems la mtshon med bdag gis mthong ||. The reading in DKP (13617-18) differs: “She eats and drinks without interruption. Whatever appears in her mind is outside of her mental engagement. [Does this] affect her mind? Hey, the path of the yoginī is difficult to fathom! Hey, and at odds [with worldly convention]!” (khajjaï pijjaï ṇaa vichinnab[jjaï (ccitta pa]ḍ.hitāac) | maṇu bāhirad ree dullakkha haref visarisag joiṇi-māah |) 98 ESh na b EBESh vicinte N vicinti- c EBN citte paḍihāa ESh citte paḍḍihāa d EBEShN vāhi e N re f EB hale EShN hare g ESh ria h EBESh māi a 99 Advayavajra’s style, numerous flagrant grammatical violations, and, most important, the varying view on the sequence of the four moments and four joys, exclude the possibility that he is the famous Maitrīpa, who also goes under this name. See Mathes 2015a:17-18. 62 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM fathom by reason? For those who have the wisdom of the yoginīs, [all this] is dissolved, as [explained] before.100 Instead of the modifier “without interruption,” Karma Phrin las pa has “and does not care” (bsam du med par gyur). In his mahāmudrā explanation of this verse 86, Karma Phrin las pa relates the four signs to (1) she eats, (2) drinks, (3) does not care, and (4) friend. It is the only time the four-stepped practice of the four signs is not the frame of a ‘secret,’ but a mahāmudrā explanation. Through their equation with “eating”, “drinking”’, and so forth we can see how the frame of the four signs indirectly works in the respective dharmamudrā-, jñānamudrā-, and samayamudrā-explanations of verse 86: As for the dharmamudrā explanation, one takes perceived [objects] as food and has the perceiving [subject] as drink and does not think (or “care”) about the perceived and perceiver as being distinct. Once one calls a female friend the dharmakāya, perceived [objects] and perceiving [subjects] merely appear distinct from each other in this and that form, which are related to habitual tendencies in the confused mind. But since external objects cannot be characterized as something separate from the mind, one sustains in an uncontrived way [the resting in] the essential nature of the object itself. Thus, I come to see co-emergent wisdom and remain never separated from the dharmakāya. This is how one’s faults (i.e., habitual tendencies) are but awareness.101 As for the jñānamudrā explanation, because perceived objects appear as illusions and [their reality] cannot be indicated by examples, one takes them as mere appearances and has them as food. [Their] 100 DKP 1371-3: ya [t kiṃcit khādayanti] pibantītyādia karma kriyate | (btasya karma sā avicchinnaṃ kriyate |b) sa ca yaṃ yaṃ cittena pratibhāsate taṃ taṃ kuryāt [kiṃ tu manavā] hi na kriyate | kiṃ yuktidurlakṣyeṇac | yoginījñānavantasya līnaṃ pūrvavat | a ESh -ntīti b EBESh om. N inserts tasya. ka ... avichinnaṃ kriyate c EBESh –lakṣeṇa 101 Op. cit. 9519-24: chos kyi phyag rgya bshad na | gzung ba zas su za zhing ‘dzin pa skom du ‘thung la | gzung ‘dzin tha dad du bsam du med do | grogs mo zhes chos sku la bos nas gzung ‘dzin tha dad pa ‘di ni ‘khrul pa’i sems la bag chags kyi gzugs gang dang gang du snang tsam yin gyi | phyi rol gyi don sems las gzhan du mtshon du med pas yul rang gi ngo bo la ma bcos par bskyangs pas lhan cig skyes pa’i ye shes bdag gis mthong bar ‘gyur te | chos kyi sku nam yang mi ‘bral bar bzhugs pa’i rang mtshang rig pa yin no | THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 63 emptiness one has as drink, not thinking (i.e., caring) about anything. Therefore, this female friend who is the emptiness of objects, cannot be characterized as mind in the sense of a perceiving mind in relation to an objective basis – that is, apart from the mere appearances as this and that in one’s unreal mind. Therefore, I come to know appearances to be the light of my own mind, and abiding without wavering within empty mind, I see the ultimate abiding nature.102 As for the samayamudrā explanation, during intercourse one has the white and red elements as food and great bliss as drink. Having thereby enjoyed the four joys sequentially, one does not conceptualize co-emergent joy and abides in mental disengagement. Why is that? This bliss and emptiness is inconceivable, “transcending the intellect,” and cannot be cultivated in meditation. This coemergent wisdom of bliss and emptiness is a friend from whom one is never separate. Giving birth to all Buddhas, she is a female friend. How do appearances occur as this and that in the mind of one who experiences co-emergent bliss and emptiness? Even though the coemergent mind cannot be characterized by any example in the outside world, it being beyond the objects of thought and expression, one sees it through individual self-insight.103 102 Op. cit. 961-6: ye shes kyi phyag rgyar bshad na | gzung ba sgyu ma lta bur snang zhing dper bya ba dang bral bas | snang tsam gyis ‘dzin pa zas su za zhing stong pa skom du ‘thung ba la cir yang bsam du med do | | des na yul stong pa nyid kyi grogs mo ‘di ni rang gi sems bden med la gang dang gang du snang ba tsam las gzhan du phyi rol gyi dmigs rten la sems ‘dzin pa sogs kyis sems la mtshon du med pas | snang ba sems kyi rang ‘od du shes par byas nas sems stong pa’i ngang mi g.yo bar bzhag pas gnas lugs kyi don bdag gis mthong bar ‘gyur ro |. 103 Op. cit. 967-15: dam tshig gyi phyag rgyas bshad na | snyoms ‘jug gi gnas skabs su khams dkar dmar zas su za zhing | bde ba chen po skom du ‘thung bar byas pas dga’ ba bzhi rim gyis myong nas lhan cig skyes pa’i dga’ ba la bsam du med cing | yid la mi byed par mnyams par bzhag go | | ci ste zhe na | bde stong de nyid bsam pa dang yid las ‘das shing sgom du med pa’o | | bde stong lhan cig skyes pa’i ye shes de dang dus rtag tu ‘bral ba med par ‘grogs shing sangs rgyas thams cad bskyed pas na grogs mo ste | bde stong lhan cig skyes pa nyams su myong mkhan gyi sems la gang dang gang du tshul ji ltar snang bar ‘gyur zhe na | bsam brjod kyi yul las ‘das pas phyi rol na dpe la sogs pas lhan cig skyes dga’i sems la mtshon du med kyang | so so rang rig pa’i tshul du bdag gis mthong bar ‘gyur | 64 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM As for the mahāmudrā explanation, through the pith instructions on “mindfulness”, one eats appearances [by recognizing them] as the indivisible union of awareness and emptiness. Through the pith instructions on “beyond mindfulness”, one drinks this emptiness [by recognizing it] as the indivisible union of emptiness and luminosity. Through the pith instructions on “non-arising”, one takes it as the indivisible union of self-awareness and profound luminosity, not to be conceptualized as arising and passing out of existence throughout beginningless time, and the like. Through the pith instructions on “transcending the intellect”, that which is characterized by the name “female friend”, this indivisible union of mind and co-emergent wisdom is the natural light of wisdom – its unobstructed vibrant radiance appearing as anything in the non-arising, fundamental nature of mind. It seems to appear outside but this is merely the mind’s magical illusion. Since it is taken as transcendent, it cannot be characterized by anything that might indicate it – examples, reasonings, signs, or means. I can directly see it to be self-awareness free from mental fabrication, the dharmakāya.104 Mindfulness is thus related to taking appearances, perceived objects, or in the case of samayamudrā, red and white elements as food, which means to either recognise them as being mere illusion or mindonly. While recognition of emptiness is normally introduced only in the following steps, in the mahāmudrā explanation, appearances are already recognised as inseparable awareness and emptiness during the first practice. An exception is the dharmamudrā explanation, which operates within the Yogācāra framework of going beyond the duality of a perceived and perceiver only. Of note here is that the move away from a physical practice with a tantric partner in the outer explanation to the secret explanation in terms of the four signs found in dMangs do Karma Phrin las pa: “dMangs do hā” 9616-23: phyag rgya chen por bshad na | dran pa’i man ngag gis snang ba rig stong zung ‘jug tu za zhing | dran med kyi man ngag gis stong pa stong gsal zung ‘jug tu ‘thung la | skye med kyi man ngag gis rang rig zab gsal zung ‘jug tu ‘dod ma nas skye ‘gag la sogs par bsam du med par byed cing | blo ‘das kyi man ngag gyis grogs mo’i ming gis nye bar mtshon pa sems lhan cig skyes pa’i ye shes zung ‘jug ‘di ni | sems kyi gshis skye med la gang snang ba’i gdangs ‘gag pa med pa’i ye shes kyi rang ‘od phyi rol ltar snang yang sems kyi cho ‘phrul tsam las dpe gtan tshigs brda thabs sogs mtshon byed gang gis kyang mtshon du med par la bzla bar byas pas | rang rig kyang spros pa dang bral ba chos kyi skur bdag gis mngon sum du mthong bar ‘gyur | 104 THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 65 hā, verse 24, finds its parallel in this context, where the samayamudrā explanation leads over to the mahāmudrā explanation. Of particular interest is an explanation of the four signs in dMangs do hā, verse 90,105 as it shows a close link to Maitrīpa’s understanding of amanasikāra: As for the secret explanation, the means to accomplish the supreme siddhi is fourfold and indicated by the letters [e vaṃ ma yā]: “mindfulness”, “beyond mindfulness”, “non-arising”, and “transcending the intellect.” First, by way of special instructions, I teach “mindfulness”, which means cutting [ordinary conceptual] mind from its root. Then, [second,] drinking the juice of “beyond mindfulness”, that is, of resting in the sphere of mental nonengagement (a-manasikāra), one forgets to cling to the notion “mine”. Then, [third,] through special instructions on “non-arising”, which make one understand the meaning of the single syllable for “non-arising”, [the privative] a, one realises that the nature of mind has never arisen. Then, [fourth,] through the special instructions on “transcending the intellect”, [which allow] passing over to the ultimate, one no longer knows [even] the words or signs for “nonarising”. This is liberation beyond expression in words or thoughts.106 Both Dam pa Sangs rgyas and Vajrapāṇi received Saraha’s teachings through their common teacher Maitrīpa. For Maitrīpa “beyond mindfulness” is linked with “non-arising” through the wide semantic range he attributes to his central term amanasikāra, which not 105 DKP 13814-17: “First, I [could] read [the sentence]: “May there be realization!” [Later,] I drunk the essence [of its meaning] and forgot [the words. At first,] I only understood the letters but not the words based on them, my friend.” (siddhir atthu maï paḍame paḍhiaü | maṇḍa pivanteṃ (avisaraa e maïua) | akkharam ekka ettha maï jāṇiu | tāhara ṇāma ṇa jāṇami e saïu |) a ESh viṇa maï Karma Phrin las pa : “dMangs do ha’i rnam bshad” 1014-10: gsang ba ltar bshad na | mchog gi dngos grub bsgrub par byed pa’i thabs yi ges nye bar mtshon pa ni bzhi ste | dran pa | dran med | skye med | blo ‘das so | de bzhi las dang po sems rtsa ba gcod pa dran pa’i man ngag bdag gis ston te | de nas yid la mi byed pa’i ngang du ‘jog pa dran med kyi khu ba ‘thungs pas nga yir ‘dzin pa ni brjed par ‘gyur ro | de nas gang gis a skye ba med pa’i yi ge gcig don shes par byed pa skye med kyi man ngag gis sems nyid gdod nas ma skyes par rtogs | de nas mthar thug la bzla ba blo ‘das kyi man ngag gis skye med ces bya ba de’i ming dang brda ni mi shes te sgra bsam brjod med du grol ba’o || 106 66 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM only means “mental non-engagement”, but also mental engagement with the privative a of amanasikāra standing for anutpāda (“nonarising”) or emptiness. In Maitrīpa’s final analysis the letter a becomes luminosity and manasikāra self-empowerment (svādhiṣṭhāna). 107 It could be argued that such an understanding of amanasikāra is the fourth sign, which is, as we have seen above, at times taken as selfawareness or co-emergent joy. Such positive descriptions of the ultimate, however, harbor the danger of reifying it. This is why Karma Phrin las pa also warns in his commentary on dMangs do hā, verse 75, not to cherish the ultimate mode of Mahāmudrā. Conclusion It could be shown that the three signs “beyond mindfulness”, “nonarising”, and “transcending the intellect” characterize a practice beyond the usual duality of a perceived and perceiver. Combined with initial mindfulness, they form a useful frame for gradual Mahāmudrā meditation. Starting off by being mindful of whatever appears to the sense faculties, in line with early Buddhist principles, one eventually realises that there is nothing to concentrate on. In terms of a YogācāraMadhyamaka-based philosophy, when accepting that all external appearances are but the vibrant radiance of one’s own mind, a process of deconstruction sets in that also leads to the abandonment of a perceiving subject and eventually all reifying notions of non-dual states of mind. At this point, the final three signs, which in the eyes of Dam pa Sangs rgyas are Saraha’s only three signs, describe the collapse of our common experiences, to make room for the soteriologically relevant emergence of co-emergent bliss or wisdom. 107 This is clear from Maitrīpa’s Amanasikārādhāra (see Mathes 2015:245-47). THE FOUR SIGNS OF MAHĀMUDRĀ 67 Bibliography Abbreviations and Sigla for Dohākoṣa and Dohākoṣapañjikā material B Dpal spungs Edition, vol. āḥ, fols. 121b4-161a5. D Derge bsTan ‘gyur, no. 2256, rgyud ‘grel, vol. wi, fols. 180b3-207a7 DK Dohākoṣa Contained as pratīka in the DKP. [] Missing in N Indian texts CMU: *Caturmudropadeśa (Tibetan translation) B dPal spung block print of the Phyag rgya chen po’i rgya gzhung, vol. hūṃ, 9a1-13b1. D Derge bsTan ‘gyur 2295, rgyud, vol. shi, 211b4-214b5. P Peking bsTan ‘gyur 3143, rgyud ‘grel, vol. tsi, 231a1-234a5. DK: Dohākoṣa Contained as pratīka in the DKP. DKG: Dohākoṣa (photos taken by Sākṛtyāyana) Ms Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen Xc 14/16. Praemittit: [1a1] [siddham] namaḥ sarvajñāya || DKP: Dohākoṣapañjikā EB The Sanskrit of DKP edited by Prabodh Chandra Bagchi. Calcutta Sanskrit Series No. 25c (1938), 72-148. ESh The Sanskrit of DKP edited by Haraprasad Shastri on the basis of his transcript made from an unknown Nepalese manuscript in 1897 or 1898 in Kathmandu (Shastri 1916:4-5). The edition is from Shastri 1959:84118. N DKP on NGMPP Reel No. A 932/4, 17b3-102b5. The Nepalese manuscript of Hemraj Sharma (now at the National Archives, Kathmandu) P The Tibetan translation of DKP in Peking bsTan ‘gyur, no. 3101, rgyud ‘grel, vol. mi, fols. 199a7-231a5 DKSGṬ: *Dohākoṣasārārthagītāṭīkā D Derge bsTan ‘gyur 2268, rgyud, vol. zhi, 65b7-106b4. P Peking bsTan ‘gyur 3120, rgyud ‘grel, vol. tsi, 97a6-138a1. BhPHṬAP: *Bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāhṛdayaṭīkārthapradīpanāma (by Vajrapāṇi) D Derge bsTan ‘gyur 3820, shes phyin, vol. ma, 286b5-295a7. P Peking bsTan ‘gyur 5219, mdo ‘grel, vol. tsi, 309b1-319b8. MTAĀU: *Mahāmudrātattvanākṣaropadeśa D Derge bsTan ‘gyur 2325, rgyud, vol. zhi, 266b6-267b2. P Peking bsTan ‘gyur 3164, rgyud ‘grel, vol. tsi, 283a7-284b4. LAS: Laṅkāvatārasūtra 68 TECHNIQUES IN VAJRAYĀNA BUDDHISM Ed. by Bunyiu Nanjio (Bibliotheca Otaniensis 1). Kyoto: Otani University Press, 1923. SYTĀ: *Sarvayogatattvāloka D Derge bsTan ‘gyur 2453, rgyud, vol. zi, 92b1-115b3. P Peking bsTan ‘gyur 3281, rgyud, vol. tshi, 116b2-145b6. SNP: Sekanirdeśapañjikā (Tibetan translation) Ed. by Harunaga Isaacson and Francesco Sferra in: The Sekanirdeśa of Maitreyanātha (Advayavajra) with the Sekanirdeśapañjikā of Rāmapāla. Critical Edition of the Sanskrit and Tibetan Texts with English Translation and Reproductions of the MSS (Manuscripta Buddhica 2). Naples: Università degli Studi Napoli “L’Orientale,” 165204. HT: Hevajratantra Ed. (together with the Hevajrapañjikā Muktāvalī) by Ram Shankar Tripathi and Thakur Sain Negi (Bibliotheca Indo-Tibetica 48). Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 2001. Tibetan texts: Karma Phrin las pa “dMangs do ha’i rnam bshad.” Do ha skor gsum gyi tshig don kyi rnam bshad sems kyi rnam thar ston pa’i me long zhes bya ba bzhugs so, 1118. Sarnath: Vajra Vidya Institute Library, 2009. “bTsun mo do ha’i ṭī ka ‘bring po.” Op. cit., 119-194. Bu ston rin chen grub: Bu ston chos ‘byung. mTsho sngon: Mi rigs par khang, 1988. References Bagchi, P. C. (1938). Dohākoṣa. 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