Vajrayana Mind Training

The Unexcelled Mind Training of Secret Mantra Instructions on Practicing a Deity with Attributes

NAMO GURU DHEVA DAKINI HUNG

The great master Padmakara had gained accomplishment in development and completion, and had obtained the empowerment of natural awareness display. He had reached the siddhi of abiding in the bodily form of mahamudra. Within the space of manifestation, he played with the whole of appearance and existence. For

the benefit of the present king and the princes as well as for the beings of future generations, he gave Lady Tsogyal, the princess of Kharchen, these real instructions, the Unexcelled Mind Training of Secret Mantra. Lady Tsogyal said: Emaho, great Master! I request from you the oral instructions on the

practice of the deity with attributes. Since one does not attain the siddhis without relying on the yidam deity, how should we practice a yidam deity? The master said: The meditation on the yidam deity with attributes is of two types: the gradual meditation by a person of lesser mental capacity and the meditation on the nondual body by a person of greater capacity.

THE PERSON OF LESSER MENTAL CAPACITY

The person of lesser mental capacity should train in the precious mind of enlightenment, bodhicitta. To begin with, you the practitioner, no matter where you dwell, should rinse your hands, mouth, face, and so forth with secret nectar or the water of the vase and sit down in the fully or half-crossed leg

position on a comfortable seat. Then you should direct your mind toward sentient beings of the three realms of samsara who are enmeshed in suffering and the causes of suffering. First form the bodhicitta of thinking: In order to take them all out of samsara, I shall practice the form of the yidam diety!

Next cultivate the compassion of feeling pity for all sentient beings, the love of wanting them to be free from suffering, the joy of wanting them to meet with happiness, and the impartiality of wanting them not to be apart from happiness. Following this, utter the three syllables OM AH HUNG and then assume

the pride that you are the yidam deity and visualize the particular seed syllable upon a lotus, a sun, and a moon in the yidam’s heart center. Next imagine that through the rays of light issuing forth from the seed syllable, all the buddhas and bodhisattvas abiding in the ten directions as well as all the

gurus, yidams, and dakinis are present in the sky before you. Make prostrations and offerings to them, confess misdeeds, rejoice in their merit, take refuge in the Three Jewels, request them to turn the wheel of Dharma, beseech them not to pass into

nirvana, arouse the mind set on enlightenment, and dedicate the roots of virtue. Request the masters and the others to depart and let your visualization subside or dissolve into yourself, whichever is suitable. These steps are all aspects of gathering the accumulation of merit. Following this, in order to

gather the accumulation of wisdom, let your entire body become the nature of light by means of rays of light shining from the seed syllable in your heart center. Also radiate light in the ten directions through which all worldly things as well as all beings become the nature of light. This light is then

blessed by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions. As to absorbing the light back into yourself, the world becomes light that is absorbed into the beings, they dissolve into yourself, and the light of your own body dissolves like the vapor of breath on a mirror. That dissolves gradually into

the lotus seat, then into the sun and moon, and then dissolves into the seed syllable. The seed syllable then gradually dissolves into the crescent and the bindu. The light of the bindu is of the nature of mind, the size of one part of a hair tip split one hundred ways. Imagine this again and again. When your

visualization is unclear, utter the shunyata mantra and so forth, after which you let the visualization vanish. The fruition of the two kayas results from perfecting these two types of accumulation. From within the state of emptiness, imagine that your mind-essence is present as the seed syllable of the yidam deity or imagine that the seed syllable is transformed into a symbolic attribute marked with the seed syllable. From the transformation of this, create the complete head, attributes, and so forth of your particular yidam deity and then the seed syllable upon a sun or moon disc on the lotus in its heart center.

The rays of light shining forth therefrom invite all the sugatas, gurus, yidam deities, and dakinis of the ten directions in the sky before you. Present them then with the five kinds of offerings. Summon the wisdom deities and request them to be seated. Imagine that the sugatas confer the empowerments upon

you and crown you with the lord of the family. Request them then to take leave. Following this, visualize the three seed syllables upon sun discs in the three centers of your crown, throat, and heart. Consecrate them as being body, speech, and mind. Focus your mind one-pointedly on the yidam deity. When you then feel weary of meditating, do the recitations.

1. The whispering vajra recitation is to recite so that only your collar can hear it.

2. The melodious vajra recitation is to recite with a tune as at the time of a great accomplishment practice.

3. The secret vajra recitation is to recite mentally.

4. The wheellike recitation is to imagine that it emerges through your mouth, enters the navel, and dissolves back into the heart center.

5. The garlandlike recitation is to spin the mantra garland around the seed syllable in the heart center and recite one-pointedly while focusing your mind on the syllables.

6. The recitation focused on sound is to recite while focusing your mind only on the sound of the mantra.

PRACTICES DURING BREAKS

Lady Tsogyal asked the master: What should we do in the breaks between meditating on the yidam deity? The master advised: When you cannot do recitations, then offer tormas and make praises after sounding the bell. Having requested the wisdom deity to take leave, remain as yourself with your ordinary

conceptual thinking. When you, the practitioner, then wish to make offerings for accomplishment, place a painting, statue, or scripture in front of you and make a mandala with scented water strewn with flowers. In one instant, assume the pride of being the yidam deity and send forth rays of light from the seed syllable in your heart center. Invite all the dharmakaya and form kayas dwelling in the ten directions. Request the dharmakaya to remain in the shrine object and scripture. Request the form kayas to remain in the painting and statue. Imagine that unfathomable assemblies of the buddhas and bodhisattvas,

masters, yidams, and dakinis who dwell in the ten directions are remaining before you. Presenting them with any offerings you have, perform the seven purities in front of them. At this point you can offer tormas to the yidam deity. To the Dharma protectors give water tormas, make tsa-tsa, clay images, or

other such practices. Then if you wish to read the words of all the sugatas, imagine that in an instant your tongue becomes emptiness, from which appears a HUNG and from that a onepronged vajra. Imagine that the reading issues forth from your seed syllable through the tube of the vajra. Innumerable replicas of your body fill the billionfold universe, each one having a vajra in its mouth. Imagine that the reading is heard by all sentient beings and that they are

liberated from samsara. That was the ritual for reciting the sutras. All these steps are Dharma practices to perform during the breaks or when doing your daily activities.

SEALING THE DEVELOPMENT STAGE

Lady Tsogyal asked the master: How should we seal the development stage with the completion stage? The master advised: The practitioner who wishes to practice the completion stage shoud, having visualized himself in the form of the deity, request the wisdom deity to take leave. Melting the samaya being

into light, it becomes the seed syllable of the deity or a HUNG. The HUNG gradually dissolves and becomes the bindu. The bindu grows smaller and smaller and then becomes clear emptiness. From within this state, remain in the “thatness of all phenomena,” empty, nonconceptual self-cognizance beyond the extremes of existence and nonexistence. Alternately, remind yourself again and again in accordance with the oral instructions on the completion stage you have received from your master. If you, the practitioner, do like that, practicing three or four sessions daily, you will, within this life or without being interrupted by other rebirths, rest in the great yoga during the intermediate state and attain the mahamudra

form of the yidam deity. Even if the power of your development stage is not fully perfected, you will inthe next rebirth abide in the great yoga state and without a doubt attain the vidyadhara level of mahamudra. All these steps were advices in progressive stages of meditation for people with simple mental capacities.

===THE PERSON OF THE HIGHEST MENTAL CAPACITY

Lady Tsogyal asked the master: How should a person with the highest mental capacity practice? The master replied: When a person of the highest mental capacity meditates on a deity, he does not visualize it

step by step. Simply by uttering the essence mantra, a sentence, or simply by wanting to and thinking of the deity, he visualizes it vividly, instantaneously, and self-existing, like a bubble emerging from water. This is itself the invitation of the deity from dharmadhatu. To visualize yourself

as the deity is space, and that the deity is visible while devoid of self-nature is wisdom. Thus it is indivisible space and wisdom. The relative is to appear unceasingly as the deity, while the ultimate is to realize that the essence of the deity, devoid of self-nature, is empty. Thus it is the

indivisible relative and ultimate. The deity manifesting as male is means, when manifesting as female it is knowledge. Thus it is indivisible means and knowledge. The deity manifesting in the form of the deity is bliss, its lack of self-nature is emptiness. Thus it is indivisible bliss and emptiness. The

deity manifesting in the form of the deity is awareness, its appearance devoid of self-nature is emptiness. Thus it is indivisible awareness and emptiness. The deity manifesting in the form of the deity is luminosity, its lack of self-nature is emptiness. Thus it is indivisible luminosity and emptiness.

Visualizing yourself in that way as the deity, the body aspect is visible yet devoid of self-nature and is therefore beyond age and decline. The speech aspect is unceasing and thus the essence mantra is beyond cessation. The mind aspect transcends birth and death and is thus the continuity of dharmata. Not

being apart from the deity during the four aspects of daily activities— walking, moving about, lying down, or sitting—that is the path of the person of the highest mental capacity. It is extremely difficult and is the domain of someone who possesses the residual karma of former training.

THE STAGES OF VISUALIZING

Lady Tsogyal asked the master: Please give advice on how to keep the deity in mind when meditating on the yidam deity. The master replied: First, the oral instructions on visualizing the deity: Whether you meditate on the deity in front of you or whether you meditate on yourself as the deity,

after having received the master’s oral instructions, the master should have given you, the disciple, his blessings and protected you against obstructing forces. Next, sit on a comfortable seat and be physically at ease. Take a well-made painting of the yidam deity and place it in front of you. Sit for a

short time without thinking of anything whatsoever and then look at the image from head to foot. Look again gradually at all the details from the feet to the head. Look at the image as a whole. Sometimes rest without thinking about the image and refresh

yourself. Then in this way, look again and again for a whole day. That evening take a full night’s sleep. When you wake up look again as before. In the evening do not meditate on the deity but just rest your mind in the state of nonthought. Following this, the deity will appear vividly in your mind even

without meditating. If it does not, look at its image, close your eyes, and visualize the image in front of yourself. Sit for as long as the visualization naturally remains. When it becomes blurry and unclear, look again at the image and then repeat the visualization, letting it be vividly present. Cut

conceptual thinking and sit. When meditating like this you will have five kinds of experiences: the experience of movement, the experience of attainment, the experience of habituation, the experience of stability and the experience of perfection.

1. When your mind does not remain settled at this time and you have numerous thoughts, ideas, and recollections, that is the experience of movement. Through that you approach taking control of the mind. This experience is like a waterfall cascading over a steep cliff.

2. Then when you can visualize the deity for a short time with both the shape and color of the deity remaining vivid and clear at the same time, that is the experience of attainment. This experience is like a small pond.

3. Following this, when the deity is clear whether you meditate upon it from a long or a short distance, and when it remains for a sixth of your session without any occurrence of gross thoughts, that is the experience of habituation that is like the flow of a river.

4. Next, no thoughts move and you are able to maintain the session while clearly visualizing the deity. That is the experience of stability that is like Mount Sumeru.

5. Following this, when you can remain for a full day or more without losing the vivid presence of the deity’s arms and legs even down to the hairs on its body and without giving rise to conceptual thinking, that is the experience of perfection. Practitioner, apply this to your own experience! If you sit too long with an unclear visualization of the deity, your

physical constitution will be upset. You will become weary and consequently unable to progress in your concentration. You will have even more thoughts, so first refresh yourself and then continue meditating. Until you attain a clear visualization, do not meditate at night. In general it is important to

visualize in short sessions. Meditate while there is sunlight, when the sky is clear, or with a butter lamp. Do not meditate when you just have woken up or when you feel sluggish or hazy. At night, get a full night’s sleep and meditate the next day in eight short sessions. When meditating, if you leave the

session abruptly you will lose concentration, so do it gently. When your visualization becomes vivid the moment you meditate, you can also practice at nighttime, during dusk and early dawn. In general do not weary yourself. Focus your mind on the visualization, grow accustomed to it with stability, and visualize the complete form of the deity.

PROLONGING THE VISUALIZATION

Lady Tsogyal asked the master: For what duration should we remain visualizing the deity? The master replied: After you have attained some clarity and a slight degree of stability as explained above, the duration of remaining can be prolonged. Usually the recitation determines the length of the sessions. But since the time for recitation has not yet arrived, the duration of your sessions should be according to your ability to remain visualizing. For the inner measure of sessions, the intervals of breathing are the most important. However, for the outer measure, time and number of sessions is most

important. The measures for sessions can be determined by keeping four sessions each day and night, for as long as possible. The purpose of measured sessions is to not upset your physical constitution, to keep a balanced practice, to enhance your concentration, and to be able to visualize for a long

time. As for counting, do not count verbally but use a mental rosary. Following this, gradually increase the number; take rest for one period and meditate one period. For the shadow measure, divide the day into sixteen or eight sessions and meditate for every second part of the lines of the shadow. Rest for

each part in between. In short, meditate in eight short sessions and alternate by resting in eight. When you have become stable in this, meditate in two short sessions and gradually prolong them. Then you will be able to remain for a day, a day and a night, half a month, a full month, and so forth. In

short, no matter how stable your session is, the main point is to not weary yourself. So keep proportional sessions, and naturally prolong the duration of unmoving clarity free from thought activity. These were the oral instructions on prolonging the visualization of the deity. CORRECTING FAULTS Lady Tsogyal

asked the master: When meditating on the deity how should we correct the faults of transfiguration? The master said: In order to correct the faults of transfigurations there are two aspects: identifying the faults and correcting the faults. Regarding identifying the faults, there are two kinds: general

and particular. The general faults are forgetting the visualization, laziness, apprehension, dullness, agitation, too much effort, and lack of effort.

1. Forgetting the visualization is distraction from the meditation.

2. Laziness is indolently thinking, “I will do it later.”

3. Apprehension is fearing that you will fail to accomplish and be sidetracked.

4. Dullness is feeling dull because of circumstances, incidentally or naturally.

5. Agitation is feeling naturally agitated, because of either circumstances or a deliberate activity.

6. Too much effort is being discontent while the visualization of the deity

clear and giving rise to further thinking by visualizing it again. 7. Lack of effort is remaining indifferent while the visualization of the deity is unclear. When meditating on the deity there are the following twelve particular faults: haziness and cloudiness, up and down reversed, the proportions of

the body changing, the attire changing, the shape changing, the number changing, the posture changing, the body colors changing, appearing as just color, appearing as just shape, sitting sideways, and gradually vanishing. Now to explain the methods for correcting these faults. For the seven general faults

you should adhere to the eight applications that remove them. Apply mindfulness when forgetting the visualization. Apply faith, determination, and diligence as the antidote to laziness. Apply right thought as the remedy against apprehension. As the antidote for dullness, develop enthusiasm, take a

bath, and walk about. When agitated, develop sadness for samsara, tie your mind with the rope of mindfulness, and bind it to the tree of the visualization. In short, for dullness and agitation use the watchman of alertness. Apply equanimity when you desire to use too much effort. Visualize diligently when you

lack effort. As for correcting the particular faults of the deity, look at the image in detail when hazy, murky, or cloudy, and practice having meditated on nonconceptual emptiness. Alternate among nonthought, looking at the deity, and meditating. When the proportion of the body or the attire, posture, or

shape change, imagine that the body is of material substance and extremely huge and steady. Imagine that pigeons fly in and out of the nostrils, and that birds, sheep, and deer frolic on the arms and legs. Imagine that it remains of solid matter like a statue. If the number changes, confine the visualization

to one or two deities. When it appears as just color, visualize its shape. If it changes color to red or yellow according to the heat of your physical constitutions of blood or bile and so forth, take rest. If it gradually vanishes, focus your mind clearly on the face and arms. For the fault of

incompleteness, meditate vividly on the body in its entirety with all the ornaments and attributes. In short, practice without becoming weary from any of the faults that may arise. Following this, meditate upon nonconceptual emptiness. Then practice while looking at and focusing on the form of the deity.

These were the oral instructions on correcting the faults when meditating on the deity. TRAINING WITH THE DEITY Lady Tsogyal asked the master: When training with the deity, how should we train? The master advised: The oral instruction on training with the deity is to visualize the deity through

meditating on nonthought until you are free from these faults. Meditate while alternating the deity and nonthought. When you can visualize the deity without faults, depart from nonthought and meditate exclusively on the deity. Now for training with the deity. When you can visualize the deity without

faults, visualize it as standing upright or sitting or lying on its back or face down, on a plain or a mountain peak, close by or far away, in the center of a rock or at the bottom of water. Train in visualizing the deity in any of these ways whenever you wish to practice.

MINGLING WITH THE DEITY

Lady Tsogyal asked the master: When mingling with the deity, how should we mingle? The master advised: Once you have trained in the deity and grown accustomed to it, dissolve it into yourself. Visualize it whether you are a single deity or a mandala with a buddha-field. Then in order to

connect the deity to the ultimate, the deity is visualized by your own thoughts and then stabilized. Your mind and the eight collections of consciousness are what manifest as bodily form and the wisdom of the deity. Ultimately, it is the awareness of enlightened mind, the great self-existing wisdom, the

essence of fruition. The deity does not appear from elsewhere. No matter how it appears, it is devoid of a self-nature and is therefore a nondual form. To appear in the form of the deity is beyond attachment since its vajra-like body, speech, and mind are manifest while devoid of self-nature. Although your

mind manifests as the deity, it has no self-nature. Since it cannot be examined or demonstrated as being such and such, it is dharmakaya. You the practitioner, who have thus trained in this meaning, should observe and abide by the six samayas of the practice. You should not break off your devotion

for the master who has given you the oral instructions. Apply what is conducive to samadhi and avoid what is not conducive. Do not let your concentration dissipate during daily activities. Carry on to perfection without abandoning the yidam, keep the particular deity you practice secret and do not meditate

with the frame of mind that rejects one deity in order to accept another. Any deity you practice is the same as meditating on all the buddhas. The buddhas are nothing to be meditated upon besides realizing your own mind. Even the visualization of the yidam deity is a mental manifestation. Apart from that

there is nothing to accomplish or meditate upon. The buddhas and bodhisattvas are embodied within your yidam deity. Although you may meditate on many yidam deities, they are still manifestations of your mind. If you meditate on just one, that also is a manifestation of your mind. These were the oral instructions on mingling with the deity and connecting it to the ultimate. HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THE DEITY Lady Tsogyal asked the nirmanakaya master: How does one take a deity as the path and accomplish it? The master replied: To accomplish a deity, first visualize the deity being in front of you. Then stabilize

the visualization of yourself as the deity. Up to this point, avoid doing the recitations. Now, when about to practice the deity, arrange a mandala for accomplishment and set out offerings. Place the shrine objects in front of you and, having refreshed yourself, sit down on a comfortable seat. Invite your

master and the assembly of yidam deities, make prostrations, offerings, and praises, and perform the eight branches. The deities then melt into light and dissolve into yourself, by which method you visualize yourself as the yidam deity. Draw the boundary lines for retreat and sanctify the offerings. By means

of the three samadhis and so forth, visualize the mandala together with the deities. Perform the consecration and empowerment. Invite and absorb the wisdom deity and make homage, offerings, and praises. Again, visualize the

wisdom deity in front of you, separate from yourself, and do the recitation. When you have finished reciting, make praises. Absorb the deity separate from yourself back into yourself and go to sleep while retaining the pride that you are the deity. Visualize the deity instantly the next morning and make

recitations following your sadhana text as above. Sanctify your food and drink and offer it as a feast. In this way whether you train with the yidam deity to be an assembly of mandala deities or a single form, you will still accomplish it. This was the oral instruction for accomplishing the deity.

THE SIGNS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

Lady Tsogyal asked the master: When accomplishing a deity, what signs and indications of accomplishment will appear? The master advised: There are four kinds of signs: marks, dream omens, indications, and actual signs. The four types of marks are like smoke, mirage, fireflies, and a cloudless sky. These

are explained as being examples for progressive stages of experience. The five types of dream omens are as follows: seeing buddhas and bodhisattvas as different from oneself, seeing the buddhas and oneself as equal, seeing oneself in the form of the deity without front and back, seeing that all the

buddhas and bodhisattvas pay homage and make offerings to oneself, and dreaming that all the buddhas impart and explain profound teachings. Moreover, to dream repeatedly that one is naked is a sign of having purified habitual tendencies. To dream of ascending a staircase into the sky is a sign of having entered the path. To dream of riding on lions and elephants is a sign of having achieved the bhumis. Dreaming of a smiling apparition and so forth is a

sign of receiving a prophecy. Even if you do have such excellent dreams, do not be exhilarated. There are outer, inner, and secret indications of practice. 1. The outer indications during meditation are: to see material objects such as subtle particles, seed syllables, mind attributes, subtle bodily forms, and

so forth, or to see gross perception spheres of five colors such as of fire and water and so forth. 2. The inner indications are that when meditating on the deity you do not notice the outward and inward movement of your breath, that your body is buoyant like cotton wool, and that you are free from old age

and decay. 3. The secret indications are that when you practice the deity as a mere illusory apparition, wisdom is naturally present. You feel equal compassion for everyone and your field of experience dawns as wisdom. Actual signs are the outer and the inner signs. The outer signs are that lights

appear, the image of the deity smiles, a great sound or a sweet fragrance appears, a butter lamp lights by itself, your skull cup levitates, or that you are without any physical discomfort. The inner signs are that your compassion grows greater than before, your attachment diminishes, you are free from prejudice, you have pure

samaya and love for your master and Dharma friends, you have no fear of samsara and are not intimidated by Mara. When many such signs occur, do not become exhilarated but be diligent. These are the way in which the indications and signs of practicing the deity appear.

THE RESULTS OF PRACTICE

Lady Tsogyal asked the master: Which qualities will result from practicing a deity? The master said: The qualities resulting from deity practice are that you purify your obscurations and gather the accumulations. Since your conceptualization is brought to an end by meditating on a deity, you will purify the

obscurations of karma, disturbing emotions, and places of rebirth. As for the gathering of the accumulations, there are five types of results: the path results, which are the four vidyadhara levels, and the ultimate result. The vidyadhara levels have two aspects: qualities and essence. The qualities are

the six superknowledges and the four magical powers. The essence is the four vidyadhara levels, which are the vidyadhara level of maturation, the vidyadhara level of life mastery, the vidyadhara level of mahamudra, and the vidyadhara level of spontaneous presence. The ultimate result is that when

your meditation of the deity becomes pliable, even if you have few qualities and little intelligence, you will without a doubt attain the state of perfect buddhahood.

THE FIVE PATHS

Lady Tsogyal asked the master: It is taught in the system of prajnaparamita that one must proceed through the paths. How should we combine the five paths with practicing the mandala of the deity to perfection? The master replied: The path of practicing the mandala of the deity as

four aspects: the path of joining, the path of seeing, the path of cultivation, and the path of consummation. These gradual paths can be connected to the four aspects of approach and accomplishment in that approach is the path of joining, full approach is the path of seeing, accomplishment is the path of cultivation, and great accomplishment is the path of consummation.

THE PATH OF JOINING

The path of joining has four aspects. Practicing the suchness and the magical samadhis is heat. Practicing the subtle concentration and the single form is summit. Practicing the full manifestation and the elaborate form is acceptance. Practicing the assembly on the uninterrupted path is supreme mundane

attribute. 1. Through the samadhi of suchness decide that all phenomena are your own mind and practice nonthought in the unfabricated nature of mind. Practice until you realize it. The magical samadhi is the self-display of nonarising space. That is to practice

the cognizant and yet nonconceptual inseparability of manifestation and emptiness. It is like space permeated by light, being cognizant while manifesting and nonconceptual while being cognizant. When you have realized this after attaining pliancy, you will cross the boundary between the affinities of the

greater and lesser vehicles, after which the eleven signs of attaining the heat will appear: ° Insects do not live on your body. ° Your outer and inner defilements are purified. ° You are free from the illnesses of the four compositions. ° You attain physical patience. ° You overcome your own conceptual

thinking. Free from material food, your radiance and majestic brilliance are beyond waning. ° You do not give rise to ordinary desire. ° You are free from the five disturbing emotions. ° Your habitual tendencies of feeling inclined toward the view and conduct of the lesser vehicles are exhausted. ° You

are free from the eight worldly concerns. ° You attain the acceptance of the profound Dharma. These were the eleven signs of being beyond falling back. 2. To practice the single form and the subtle concentration at the summit stage is to meditate on the subtle samadhi and the single form until it becomes

manifest in the three fields of objects. The signs of the concentration of the summit are that your five inner disturbing emotions do not arise toward outer objects and that you cannot be harmed by the five outer elements. Those are the signs that your mind has mingled with appearance. 3. Practicing the

yoga of the elaborate form at the acceptance stage is to train yourself in the peaceful and wrathful deities as three families, five families, or a given number of groups of families. You have reached perfection in this when, having grown accustomed to it, you can send forth light with an instantaneous

samadhi and your natural awareness can visualize a mandala of even one thousand buddhas. The signs that you have attained the stage of acceptance and have become pliant in disclosing appearances are that you can transform sand into gold, make water appear in a dry place, make a sprout grow forth from

charcoal, and can control all perceivable things as you wish. These are the signs of having attained mastery over mind. 4. Accomplishing the assembly on the uninterrupted path at the stage of supreme mundane attribute is to practice the meaning of the great bliss of dharmata. When you have become extremely

stable, you are endowed with the five articles and so forth, and you commence the sadhana at an auspicious time. If your power of concentration in this is strong, you attain the vidyadhara level of life mastery and thus you will, within six, twelve, or sixteen months, reach the attainment of the sacred family

of mastery. Your life force will equal the sun and the moon and you can extend your life span one hundred years at a time. If your power of concentration is weak, you attain the vidyadhara level of maturation. Having left your body behind, you attain the complete form of the

yidam deity in the bardo. That is the result of stability in the development stage. THE PATH OF SEEING Now I will explain the full approach as the path of seeing. After you have realized that your residual body is a mental body, your

defilements are exhausted and you attain the changeless vidyadhara level of life mastery beyond birth and death, without even leaving your physical body behind. Having attained the five superknowledges and four magical powers, you realize the characteristics of the ultimate. Although you transform yourself

into myriad things through three incalculable aeons, display your magical powers on the path of seeing and act for the welfare of beings, you engage in actions without attachment and receive teachings from the nirmanakaya in person. You will be beyond falling back from the paths.

THE PATHS OF CULTIVATION AND CONSUMMATION

Now to explain the accomplishment as the path of cultivation. The path of cultivation is to put the characteristics of the ultimate into practice, having reached the mahamudra level of the rainbowlike body. Although your state of mind during the meditation state is not different from that of the buddhas, you

still retain the state of consciousness of the postmeditation and must therefore deliberately rest in meditation. Because you now abide in unshakable concentration, it is the vidyadhara level of mahamudra. This is the experience of being unshakable from ati yoga. Without moving from the meditation state

you send forth myriads of magical apparitions and accomplish the welfare of beings. Mentally or by means of symbols you can receive teachings from the sambhogakaya. As for the path of consummation of the great accomplishment, the vidyadhara of spontaneous presence, your qualities are almost equal to the

supreme qualities of the buddhas, but there is still the difference between whether or not the meditation state brings forth enhancement. The vidyadhara level of spontaneous presence possesses instantaneous enhancement. Gathering regents and giving teachings, you attain the consummation, the vajralike

samadhi, and accomplish the welfare of self and others through effortless magical powers. This is the action of the expression of wisdom. Meeting the dharmakaya face to face, you receive teachings through blessings and purify the subtle obscuration of dualistic knowledge. These are the gradual path of

how to attain the four aspects of approach and accomplishment, the five paths, and the four vidyadhara levels. SKIPPING THE GRADES Lady Tsogyal asked the master: When explaining the short path of Secret Mantra, is it possible to journey the path by skipping the grades? The master replied: It is also taught

that there is a path that skips grades. It is possible that some people reach consummation, progressing through the paths of joining, seeing, and cultivation simultaneously. Without having to journey step by

step, some people attain enlightenment from the path of seeing, some reach buddhahood from the path of cultivation, some journey progressively to the end and then reach the state of buddhahood. People are divided due to their degree of power of intelligence and concentration. These four ways of practicing

the path according to the levels of the four types of people do not depend on following a path after taking rebirth in a future life. The resultant system of Secret Mantra holds that you are freed from the illness of samsara within this very lifetime, and having attained the level of samadhi beyond rebirth,

you spontaneously accomplish the three kayas. In order to reach the bhumi of Indivisibility and attain dharmakaya within a single lifetime, intelligent people are taught to train in the path of dharmakaya, grow accustomed to it, and take thatness as the path. In order to reach the bhumi of Unexcelled Wisdom and attain the kaya of great bliss, passionate people are taught to train in the path of great bliss, grow accustomed to it, and take bliss as the path. In order to reach the bhumi of the Great Assembly Circle and attain the form kayas, angry people are taught to train in the path of deliverance and

grow accustomed to it. People who hold attributes are taught to take the deity as path. In this way you purify the realms of the three kayas and grow accustomed to the three bhumis. Since all these results are contained within your own mind, decide that buddhahood does not exist elsewhere. These are the

supreme qualities of the path that skips the grades.

THE KAYAS AND WISDOMS

Lady Tsogyal asked the master: How do we attain the fruition of Secret Mantra, the five kayas, and the five wisdoms? The master advised: In connection with the different types of capacity just mentioned above, when you have proceeded

in the manner of the four ways of taking as path, you attain the ultimate fruition, the spontaneously present result of the five kayas and five wisdoms. The dharmadhatu wisdom is the fact that this general form of all buddhas, your innate nature devoid of constructs, a primordially unconditioned essence, is

the unproduced, unborn, and original purity beyond arising and ceasing. The mirrorlike wisdom is the fact that although dharmadhatu is devoid of concrete substance, it is by nature luminous and all phenomena appear like reflections in a mirror while having no self-nature, and are cognized while having no

conceptual thinking. The wisdom of equality is the fact that, unceasingly, dharmadhatu is self-existing awareness, and this awareness wisdom is devoid of constructs. Perception is unborn, nondual, and great equality. Individually discriminating wisdom is the fact that without leaving this nondual state of

equality, the general and individual characteristics of phenomena are unmixed and utterly complete, while the habitual tendencies of ignorance are relinquished and omniscient wisdom arises without possessing the misery of conceptual thinking. The wisdom of the persevering action1 is to rest while

remaining cognizant, as just mentioned. This inseparable wisdom is to accomplish and to perfect the welfare of self and others spontaneously and with perseverance. These five wisdoms manifest separately as the unceasing expression of your awareness, but they are never apart from the basic wisdom of dharmadhatu. The basis of all, this dharmadhatu wisdom is primordially present in yourself; throughout the three times the practitioner is never apart from it. Now follows how the five kayas are present. Dharmakaya is the unfabricated innate nature, a profound naturalness, beyond arising and ceasing, and

devoid of constructs. Sambhogakaya is the enjoyment of the self-existing wisdom of awareness, because the kayas and wisdoms are present within the continuity of the innate nature of your mind. Nirmanakaya is compassion born out of wisdom, magically displayed and manifest in all ways. The great bliss

kaya is the unborn bliss of enlightened mind. The essence kaya is the fact that these four kayas are inseparable as the essence of the innate enlightened mind. Since the five kayas and five wisdoms are spontaneously present, this is called possessing the general form of all buddhas. The practitioner

meditates gradually on the essence of these five kayas at the time of the path as being the nature of his own mind. When the practitioner parts with the enclosure of the physical body, he attains these five kayas and five wisdoms in a way that transcends attainment, and perceives them in a way that transcends perception. Here is the explanation of how buddhahood acts for the welfare of sentient beings. Numerous reflections of the sun appear on the

surface of many waters without leaving behind the single circle of the sun. Similarly, the truly and completely Enlightened One, the dharmakaya, without leaving behind the equality of the innate nature, magically appears, through the sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya, in accordance with the particular inclinations of those to be tamed in a number as great as the infinite space. Although acting for the benefit of beings, the dharmakaya holds no conceptual

thinking. For example, the sunlight does not conceive of benefiting beings. In the same way the two kayas hold no concepts of acting for the welfare of beings. The welfare of beings results from the power of aspiration. The master advised: Tsogyal, when the five hundred-year cycle of the dark age arrives, most followers of Mantra will only utter the words rather than practice their meaning. They will let the Secret Mantra stray into shamanistic incantations

and will misuse the samaya substances for hollow rituals. They will build their hermitages in the center of the village. Claiming to be practicing union, they will indulge in ordinary desire. Claiming to be practicing deliverance, they will indulge in ordinary anger. Confusing good with evil, they will barter the oral instructions and even the teachers will sell them to the disciples. They will turn the Secret Mantra into speculation and will practice

with political incentive and self-centered ambition. In this final period, the Secret Mantra will be obscured by words. The blessings of the Secret Mantra will diminish because of lack of understanding its meaning. Since only few attain siddhi, there will come a time when the Secret Mantra is close to vanishing. For the sake of a destined person endowed with the residual karma at

that time, write down this hearing lineage and conceal it as a treasure. In the High Soaring Cave at Yerpa, on the twenty-second day of the last autumn month in the Year of the Monkey, I, Lady Tsogyal, wrote down this jewel garland of oral instructions, the Mind Training of Secret Mantra, and concealed it

as a treasure. After meeting with a destined person endowed with the residual karma, may these words purify the obscurations for his wisdom and may he attain the vidyadhara level. Treasure seal. Concealment seal. Profundity seal. Entrustment seal.

1. Bya ba nan tan gyi ye shes. Usually it is “all-accomplishing wisdom” (bya grub ye shes).