Yoga Tantra II

Yoga Tantra

How to progress on the path of yoga tantra

This has four parts:

1. How to become a suitable vessel

2. How to keep the vows and commitments purely

3. How to approximate the deity

4. How to establish the siddhis

How to become a suitable vessel

First, you become a vessel suitable to meditate on the path through obtaining the empowerments conferred in such maṇḍalas as the vajra sphere. Further, there is a difference between those who have received just the student empowerment and hold the bodhisattva vows, and those who have received the complete vajra-master empowerment and hold both the bodhisattva and tantric vows.

The root tantra of yoga tantra, Compendium of the Reality of All Tathāgatas, is divided into four chapters: (1) The Vajra Sphere, (2) Victory Over the Three Worlds, (3) Taming Reincarnating Beings, and (4) Accomplishing the Aim.103 Each chapter targets a different type of disciple: the first is suitable for those afflicted mainly by attachment, the second is for those afflicted by aversion, the third for those afflicted by confusion, and the fourth is for those who are afflicted by all three equally. Each chapter presents a different maṇḍala with accompanying resident deities within which the disciple is initiated. Students are classified according to these four types and also follow specific empowerment rites and practices in accordance with them.

These four chapters also present the four lineages of yoga tantra. Thus the Vajra Sphere presents the lineage of Vairocana, Victory Over The Three Worlds presents the lineage of Akṣobhya, Taming Reincarnating Beings presents the lotus lineage, and Accomplishing the Aim presents the lineage of Ratnasambhava. The lineage of Ratnasambhava can be further divided in two, namely the jewel lineage through being the agent who accomplishes the desired intention and the action lineage through being the action of enlightened activities.104 Thus the lineages in yoga tantra can be enumerated as either four or five. In action and performance tantras we receive the bodhisattva vows during the initiation ceremony, and in yoga and highest yoga tantras tantric vows105 may be bestowed at the same time. Those who receive just the five knowledge empowerments, or five student empowerments, take just the bodhisattva vows. Those who receive the vajra-master empowerment in addition to the five student empowerments—and thus receive six empowerments in all—take both bodhisattva and tantric vows.106 There is debate regarding the nature of the vajra-master empowerment in yoga tantra. Some scholars assert that the vajra-master empowerment exists in the lower tantras, but Tsongkhapa has stated that the actual vajra-master empowerment exists only in highest yoga tantra, and the vajra-master empowerment conferred in the lower tantras, and specifically in yoga tantra, is not a fully qualified vajra-master empowerment.

How to keep the vows and commitments purely

Second, if you are a suitable basis for prātimokṣa, you should accomplish tantra as one possessing the three vows. Therefore you should take the three vows and guard the commitments according to First Supreme Glory and Vajra Peak. Lay prātimokṣa vows are the vows held by a lay man or woman for a single day or for life. Lay prātimokṣa vow holders who also hold bodhisattva and tantric vows are examples of laity holding all three classes of vows. The ordained prātimokṣa vows are the novice, trainee, and full-ordination vows held by a monk or nun. Ordainees who hold bodhisattva and tantric vows are examples of ordained beings who hold all three classes of vows. Moreover once tantric vows are taken, lay and ordained students must also practice guru yoga in six sessions every day. The salient points of the vows and commitments107 of yoga tantra are discussed in the four authoritative texts of this class of tantra, the root tantra: Compendium of the Reality of All Tathāgatas that is the condensed root source of yoga tantra; the explanatory tantra: Vajra Peak; the compatible tantra: First Supreme Glory; and the elaborating tantra: Purification of Lower Realms.

How to approximate the deity

The third has two parts:

1. Yoga with signs

2. Yoga without signs

Yoga with signs

The first has two parts:

1. Yoga focusing on the basic deity

2. Yoga focusing on subtle hand symbols

The terms yoga with signs and yoga without signs appear in all three lower classes of tantra. In yoga tantra there are two ways to meditate on yoga with signs: focusing on the basic body of the deity as a coarse focal object or meditating on specific hand symbols or subtle syllables at the heart of the deity as smaller or subtler focal objects.

Yoga focusing on the basic deity

First, by merely obtaining the student empowerment you possess the specific yoga of the deity where the flower landed.108 [6b] By obtaining the master empowerment you may engage either in (1) the extensive approximation that meditates with no decline in the three concentrations associated with the great yoga of self-completion, where you can confer empowerment on students and establish yourself as the deity, (2) the medium approximation that includes the rite for generating the supreme-conqueror maṇḍala, or (3) the abbreviated approximation that includes the recitation of 100,000 mantras for each of the great yoga deities.

These practices include three types of approximation reliant on recitation: extensive, medium, and abbreviated. The extensive approximation relies on three types of concentration: the concentration of initial application, the concentration on the supreme-conqueror maṇḍala, and concentration on the supreme-conqueror activities.109 Medium approximation relies on an abbreviated method for generating the supreme-conqueror maṇḍala. Abbreviated approximation relies on reciting a set number of the mantras of specific deities.110

Yoga focusing on specific hand symbols

Second, while clearly visualizing yourself as the deity, you hold your mind on the small vajra hand symbol—similar in color to your special deity—at the upper opening of the central channel. When the mind attains stability in this yoga, you should then practice emanation, absorption, and so on. The focal object becomes subtler as we reduce the size of the hand symbol and place it between our eyebrows, at the upper opening of our central channel. Alternatively, we may take the entire deity as our focal object as long as we reduce it in size and visualize it between our eyebrows. When our mind is able to focus on this small and subtle focal object for an extended period, we may then begin to emanate and absorb it while visualizing that it is conveyed on rays of light.111

Yoga without signs

Second, you conclude that the deity in front of you together with the letters of the mantra do not inherently exist, then you develop certainty on that point, then you alternate placement and analysis within the stream of that certainty, and then you establish the union of calm abiding and insight realizing emptiness. When you obtain such insight, you progress to the path of preparation and so on as mentioned previously.

The author now addresses the practice of yoga without signs, which meditates on the emptiness of the divine body.112 On the path of accumulation a practitioner develops calm abiding and placement meditation and employs various reasons to examine and analyze emptiness. When such a being combines placement meditation and analysis within the union of calm abiding and insight113 focusing on emptiness, he attains the path of preparation. This presentation of how we progress to the path of preparation is similar to the presentation found in action and performance tantras.

It is clear that each class of tantra has its own way of approximating the deity. In action tantra we practice meditation on the basis of the four branches of recitation. In performance tantra meditation is performed on the basis of the four internal and the four external branches of recitation. In yoga tantra, this is accomplished on the basis of the four seals: the commitment seal (samayamudrā), the dharma seal (dharmamudrā), the great seal (mahāmudrā), and the action seal (karmamudrā).

These four seals may each be differentiated at the time of the basis, the path, and the result, making twelve in all. The four seals of the basis of purification are the ordinary (1) body, (2) speech, (3) mind, and (4) activities of the practitioner who aspires to engage in this practice.115 The four seals of the purifying path116 are (5) the body with the individual mudrās of the main and secondary deities, (6) the verbal recitation of their mantras, (7) the pride that our own body, speech, mind, and activities are indivisible from those of the deity, and (8) the single-pointed meditation on the hand symbols such as the vajra while generating such pride. The four seals of the result are the divine (9) body, (10) speech, (11) mind, and (12) enlightened activities of the resultant state.

In yoga tantra it is very important to ensure that the commitment beings are established as inseparable from the wisdom beings. This process generally involves first visualizing the commitment beings, then inviting the wisdom beings to approach and merge with the commitment beings. We recite the four syllables jaḥ hūṃ vaṃ hoḥ that mark four stages in the process: summoning, dissolving, merging, and becoming inseparable. But in yoga tantra the practitioner must meditate in a more elaborate way by incorporating the four seals of the basis, path, and result.

How to establish the siddhis

Fourth, it is said that many siddhis are accomplished through three practices: absorption, recitation, and fire pūjās.117 Mantric Stages states that the best siddhis that supreme disciples of yoga tantra may first accomplish are either holding the knowledge mantra of a bodhisattva who apprehends the form of a perfect buddha or obtaining the form of the great seal of their deity’s body

As mentioned previously, there are many ways to attain siddhis. It is said that the most excellent of all siddhis is the ability to meet the embodied form of a buddha made possible through the mantra siddhi 118 or alternatively to obtain the seal siddhi called the siddhi of the great seal of your deity’s body.119 . . . and in action and performance tantras, accomplishing the siddhi of the knowledge-bearer is the great siddhi of the body.

In action and performance tantras the knowledge-bearer siddhi allows practitioners to prolong their lifespan. By living for an extremely long time, they greatly extend their capacity to meditate and thus complete all the paths without needing to change their body. The knowledge-bearer siddhi is supreme among the siddhis of the body in the first two classes of tantra, and even in yoga tantra it is cited as one of the supreme siddhis.

How the supreme siddhi is obtained

The Great Commentary to the Kālacakra states that practitioners of the three lower tantras accomplish the supreme siddhi in reliance on having previously accomplished worldly siddhis, but in accordance with highest yoga tantra, you may accomplish the supreme siddhi without relying on worldly siddhis by uninterruptedly meditating on the generation and completion stages.

As noted above, there are two types of siddhis: common and supreme. According to Khedrup Rinpoché’s Great Commentary to the Kālacakra, the accomplishment of the supreme siddhi in the three lower tantras, namely the attainment of the state of Vajradhara, is preceded by the accomplishment of worldly siddhis, namely the eight common siddhis according to the distinct presentation of lower tantras. This is not necessary in highest yoga tantra. Also Mantric Stages states:

First keep purely the vows and commitments that are the source of the siddhis, then master the practice through striving in yoga with signs and without signs in four daily sessions, and then you will attain the common and uncommon siddhis. You must understand this delineation of the path in the three lower tantras, for it is inappropriate to assert that you progress on the path by combining wind yoga, recitation yoga, empty yoga, and deity yoga in a single practice.120 Mantric Stages extensively explains the source of siddhis and how we progress on the path in the three lower tantras. Therefore, first we request empowerment and then we diligently protect the vows and commitments accepted at the time of empowerment. On this basis we strive to practice yoga with signs and yoga without signs in four daily sessions, and as a result we accomplish first the common siddhis and then the supreme siddhi. But this is not the way we progress on the path in highest yoga tantra, where we accomplish the supreme siddhi without first attaining the common siddhis that are themselves dependent on the practice of yoga with signs and yoga without signs.

Why common siddhis must precede the supreme siddhi in the three lower tantras

The reason why you must establish the common siddhis before establishing the supreme siddhi in the paths of the three lower tantras is stated in the Bodhicaryāvatāra (9:1):

The Sage has proclaimed that all these branches are for the purpose of wisdom.

Thus in both systems of the Mahāyāna,121 the factor of method enhances the wisdom realizing emptiness.

There are ten chapters in the Bodhicaryāvatāra on

(1) the benefits of bodhicitta,

(2) the confession of negativity,

(3) the mode of generating the mind of bodhicitta through ritual,

(4) conscientiousness,

(5) ethics, (6) patience,

(7) effort,

(8) concentration,

(9) wisdom, and

(10) the dedication.

The passage cited from the beginning of the ninth chapter not only indicates that the perfections of generosity, ethics, patience, effort, and absorption precede and support the generation of wisdom, it also shows that the first eight chapters support the ninth chapter on wisdom. Just as method supports wisdom in the Perfection Vehicle, so too the common siddhis precede and support the supreme siddhi. Thus method qualifies wisdom in both the sūtra and tantra traditions of the Mahāyāna.

According to the Perfection Vehicle, when you have trained for an incalculable period in limitless distinct forms of generosity and so on, the wisdom realizing emptiness attains the capacity to abandon obscurations to knowledge.

From among the practices of beings of great scope enunciated in the Perfection Vehicle, the root of the path is the generation of bodhicitta. First we generate aspiring bodhicitta and receive vows, then we generate engaging bodhicitta, which reflects that such aspiration alone is not enough and that we need to engage in the practice of the six perfections in accordance with the pledge we have made. Moreover we should practice each perfection according to the various ways it is classified. For example, we should practice the three forms of generosity 122 and the specific types of the remaining perfections as well as their various subdivisions. In brief we practice limitless forms of the perfections within the Perfection Vehicle for three countless eons to amass the necessary merit because a wisdom realizing emptiness that is capable of abandoning knowledge obscurations123 must be supported by a vast foundation of merit.

Why this is not necessary in the case of highest yoga tantra

According to highest yoga mantra, the comprehension of emptiness is strengthened by relying on the point of convergence and coabidance of both bodhicittas through taking desire for the union of the two sexual organs as the path.

Although the two types of bodhicitta are generated in a similar way in the Perfection Vehicle and highest yoga tantra, in highest yoga tantra it is not necessary to accumulate merit for three countless eons to enhance the generation of wisdom. Instead we utilize the desire associated with the union of the two sexual organs. Therefore in the previous two paragraphs the author emphasizes that the essential difference between the practice of the Perfection Vehicle and highest yoga tantra is in their presentation of method. But method alone is insufficient, for Tsongkhapa has stated in the Three Principal Aspects of the Path: If we do not possess the wisdom realizing the way phenomena exist,

we will be unable to sever the root of existence,

despite familiarity with renunciation and bodhicitta.

Strive therefore in the means of realizing dependent origination.

This verse reveals that even though we may train in the proper method and generate renunciation and bodhicitta, that is not sufficient for us to sever the root of suffering in cyclic existence. The root of suffering is severed only with the understanding of emptiness, and wisdom realizing emptiness is only accomplished by pursuing the method practices. Method is enhanced in the Perfection Vehicle through the practice of the perfections, and in highest yoga tantra by bringing desire into the path. But how is method enhanced in the three lower tantras?

In the three lower tantras it is not said that you should train for an incalculable period in limitless distinct forms of generosity and so on in accordance with the Perfection Vehicle, nor is it said that you should train in the method of generating the special awareness124 realizing emptiness according to highest yoga mantra. Instead you must strengthen the comprehension of emptiness through skill in such methods as attaining many common siddhis and being directly cared for and [7b] blessed by buddhas and higher bodhisattvas.

There are thus three different systems for enhancing the wisdom realizing emptiness: that of the Perfection Vehicle, that of the three lower tantras, and that of highest yoga tantra. The text continues by examining each of these in detail.

Points of debate

Defining the shared path

One scholar says: You cannot state that the disciples of mantra do not need to train in limitless, distinct forms of generosity and so on because training in practices from the awakening mind to the six perfections are shared paths of both Mahāyāna vehicles. A scholar raises an objection regarding the assertion that the disciples of mantra do not need to train in limitless forms of the six perfections in order to enhance their wisdom. He argues that both the Perfection and the Mantra Vehicles are classified as Great Vehicles and, as such, share common paths. These common paths begin with the generation of the mind of bodhicitta that marks the entrance into the Great Vehicle, and subsequently include training in all six perfections.

Reply: That is not logically necessary because what is shared is merely the awakening mind that is the basis of practice and the coarse body of the path training in the six perfections. But training in limitless, distinct forms of generosity and so forth is different from the path of mantra because this is stated in Condensed Stages of the Path and in Illuminating Lamp. Ngawang Palden here makes a fine distinction. Of course, the generation of bodhicitta is the foundation upon which any further training in the six perfections is based. First we generate aspiring bodhicitta and then engaging bodhicitta, in which we willingly apply ourselves to the practice of the six perfections according to our pledge. The general, nonspecific training in the six perfections is indeed a shared path, but the extensive and thorough training that continues for three countless eons is not shared. This distinction is mentioned in two of Jé Rinpoché’s texts, Condensed Stages of the Path and Lamp Illuminating the Five Levels of Guhyasamāja Tantra.

The purpose of generating blissful consciousness

One says: It cannot be asserted that the three lower classes of tantra lack the method for generating the special [[[blissful]]] awareness realizing emptiness through taking desire as the path because you take the bliss derived from observing, smiling at, holding hands with, and embracing the visualized consort as the path in the three lower classes of tantra—and this is done to generate the special awareness realizing emptiness. As previously stated, a blissful consciousness is practiced in highest yoga tantra—but not in the three lower tantras—for the purpose of realizing emptiness.

Here a scholar contends that the practice of taking the bliss generated from observing, smiling, holding hands, and embracing our visualized consort as the path is found in the lower tantras. Ngawang Palden agrees that we bring the bliss induced by different ways of interacting with our consort into the path according to the class of tantra practiced. The opponent’s flaw comes from carrying this point further, stating that such practices are done to enhance the special consciousness realizing emptiness.

Reply: The latter part of the reason is not established because taking desire as the path to generate the special awareness realizing emptiness is a feature of highest yoga tantra alone—because Illuminating Lamp states: Taking desire for pleasurable objects as the path to generate the special awareness realizing emptiness does not appear in systems other than highest yoga tantra.

Quoting Lamp Illuminating the Five Levels of Guhyasamāja, the author acknowledges that indeed the generation of a special, blissful consciousness does exist in the three lower tantras, but bliss is not generated there for the same purpose. Different types of disciples generate bliss through different types of activities for a variety of purposes. Thus it is stated:

The three lower tantras were taught for disciples capable of merely taking the bliss of observing, smiling at, or holding hands with the visualized deity as the path. For fortunate beings of the supreme path that are capable of combining great bliss with emptiness through taking the desire of embracing an actual or visualized consort as the path, the highest practice was stated.

There are different versions of this passage, as some past translators have altered the order of the words. For example, some have placed the bliss generated by smiling at each other first and the bliss generated through observing each other second, so that verse reads: “for disciples capable of just taking the bliss of smiling at, observing, or holding hands with the visualized deity as the path.”

We can formulate definitions of the four classes of tantra from the perspective of the disciples who practice them. Therefore action tantra may be defined as “a tantra proclaimed for disciples capable of bringing merely the bliss of observing a visualized deity into the path.” Performance tantra is “the tantra proclaimed for disciples capable of bringing merely the bliss of smiling at a visualized deity into the path.” Yoga tantra is “the tantra proclaimed for disciples capable of bringing merely the bliss of holding hands with a visualized deity into the path.” Highest yoga tantra is “the tantra proclaimed for disciples capable of bringing the bliss of embracing a visualized deity into the path.”127 In the three lower tantras the word “merely” occurs in each definition to set the limit of the capacity of each practitioner, but it does not occur in the definition of highest yoga tantra.

We can look at the example of the woodworm to understand how desire is transformed into the path. Woodworms do not enter wood fully grown; they are hatched inside the wood, where they grow by consuming the wood that surrounds them until none is left. The way desire works in tantra is similar. Desire is generated in the first moment, but from the second moment on, this desire is transformed into pristine wisdom realizing emptiness, which gradually exhausts all attachment just like a woodworm consumes the wood in which it was hatched. Another metaphor is the lotus, which grows out of the mud yet remains unsullied by it. Desire is like the mud, but we transform desire into the path, and that path remains pure and unaffected by it.

The importance of studying the lower tantras

We may wonder why we need to study the lower tantras when highest yoga tantra is regarded as the most powerful. By following this presentation, we begin to realize the need for progressive training in tantra so that we may assimilate the different levels of desire and bring them into the path. Though highest yoga tantra is the supreme level of tantra and every practitioner should aspire to engage in it, we enter the practice of highest yoga tantra by relying on the three lower tantras. Further, unless we know how to progress the paths of lower tantras, we cannot fully appreciate why highest yoga tantra is supreme. In brief we need to comprehend the full potential of tantra so that we may maximize our practice.

It is like when we are shopping: we make the best choice when we are aware of the different brands, qualities, functions, capacities, sizes, and prices of the different products. Likewise, if we want to excel in the study of science at the university level, we must first master the basics in primary and secondary school. Therefore the three lower tantras are important because they support and permit entry to higher practices. Without them we would not fully grasp the supreme value of highest yoga tantra nor be able to fully benefit from it.

Although our objective is to bring desire into the path, we commence our training with the thorough study of sūtra, for sūtra forms the basis of all tantric practice. We therefore study the various texts and commentaries composed by the great Indian and Tibetan masters and gain a clear understanding of their meaning. Upon that foundation we begin to train in tantra through studying the root texts and commentaries of action tantra. Then based on a thorough understanding of action tantra we progress to performance tantra, then yoga tantra, and finally highest yoga tantra. Highest yoga tantra is further divided into father and mother tantras, and we should become acquainted with the root tantras and commentaries and seek advice concerning their meaning. Moreover, each time we study a specific class of tantra, we will be clear about some points but have doubt and confusion about others. Before we move to the next level we should settle any such doubts and uncertainty. In this way each step provides a stable and supportive basis for further study.

The purpose of the three types of bliss

One says: It follows that the three types of bliss derived from observing, smiling, and holding hands do not comprehend emptiness because they are not taken as the path to develop the special awareness realizing emptiness.

Reply: This should be analyzed. Research whether this is clearly stated in the [8a] excellent explanations of the great Jé Rinpoché, even though most of his followers explain that they do function in this way.

The author suggests that though most followers of Jé Rinpoché affirm that bliss is generated in the lower tantras in order to comprehend emptiness, it is not clear whether this assertion is made in the texts of Jé Rinpoché himself. In his texts he states that bliss is induced, and as a result, consciousness then comprehends emptiness, but he does not clearly state that the blissful consciousness itself comprehends emptiness.

The difference in the speed of the path between the lower tantras and the Perfection Vehicle

Again one: It follows that is no difference in the speed of the paths between the three lower classes of tantra and the Perfection Vehicle because it has not been said that there is a difference in the strength of awareness realizing emptiness depending on whether desire is taken as the path. There is a difference in the duration of these paths, but this has nothing to do with whether the comprehension of emptiness is qualified by taking desire as the path. Therefore the author gives the following reply:

Reply: That is not logically necessary because Mantric Stages states:

The relative swiftness of the three lower classes of tantra when compared to the Perfection Vehicle is due to completing enlightened actions through many skillful methods—such as attaining many common siddhis in dependence on the power of deity yoga and mantra recitation—and due to being directly cared for and blessed by buddhas and great bodhisattvas.

This quotation states that the paths of the lower tantras are quicker by means of the common siddhis and so forth, and it does not state that they are quicker due to possessing an awareness that comprehends emptiness more profoundly through taking desire as the path. In the lower tantras we practice the deity yoga of generating ourselves as the deity that is quite different from the deity yoga practiced in the Perfection Vehicle that merely involves inviting the deity to appear before us. By combining the deity yoga of self-generation with mantra recitation, we attain many common siddhis that facilitate swift progress on the path. Further, directly meeting buddhas and bodhisattvas, being cared for by them, and receiving their blessings also assists us in completing the path faster. The use of desire, on the other hand, is not stated to be a factor that enhances the comprehension of emptiness.

Do we need to amass merit for three countless eons in the lower tantras?

Again one says: It follows that the paths of the three lower classes of tantra produce enlightenment without relying on accumulating merit and wisdom for three countless eons because these three are distinguished as quicker paths than the Perfection Vehicle.

Reply: That is not logically necessary because although the three lower classes of tantra are nominally quicker paths than the Perfection Vehicle, they are not said to enable enlightenment in a single lifetime or forego the need to accumulate merit and wisdom for countless eons. Mantric Stages states: The feature of highest yoga tantra is that it quickly produces enlightenment without relying on accumulating merit and wisdom for countless eons. Disciples of the three lower classes of tantra rely on entering the two stages of highest yoga tantra to obtain that feature, since it cannot be obtained by their path alone. Do not assume that the speed [8b] of mantra is characterized only by attaining enlightenment in one life in this age of conflict or attaining enlightenment without relying on accumulating merit and wisdom for countless eons.

In the Perfection Vehicle we rely on the extensive accumulation of merit and wisdom for three countless eons to attain enlightenment. The paths of the three lower tantras enable practitioners to complete the path more quickly, but it is a feature of highest yoga tantra alone that the path may be completed within a single lifetime.130

Is enlightenment possible in one life and one body?

And:

You do not accomplish buddhahood in this life by merely practicing the paths of the three lower classes, for they are not superior to the generation stage of the unique, highest path of mantra.

The author uses the term “merely” since we attain the state of Vajradhara in reliance on the paths of the three lower tantras by first accomplishing the siddhi of prolonging our life in the lower tantras and then progressing to the path of highest yoga tantra. Moreover the swiftness of the highest yoga path depends on the capacity of the practitioner to bring desire into the path. Those of least capacity can attain enlightenment in sixteen lifetimes. Those of medium capacity take half that time since they are capable of completing the path in seven or eight lives. Those of supreme capacity are called jewel-like disciples who can attain enlightenment in the same lifetime they enter the highest yoga tantra path of accumulation. Examples of such supreme practitioners include Jetsün Milarepa in the Kagyü tradition and the mahāsiddha Chö Dorjé in the Geluk tradition.

When the great master Atiśa came to Tibet, Tibetans asked him whether it was possible to reach enlightenment in one lifetime without needing to change bodies. Lord Atiśa replied that it is possible to reach enlightenment in one lifetime but not in the same body. Some Tibetans thought that Atiśa did not really comprehend the point of attaining enlightenment in one lifetime without needing to change one’s body. But those with a deeper understanding saw that Lord Atiśa was making a fine distinction. Those who follow the paths of the lower tantras can reach enlightenment in one life without changing their body by prolonging their life in dependence upon the common siddhis.

When Atiśa stated that it was not possible to attain enlightenment in the same body, he was referring to the need to establish the illusory body for those practicing the paths of highest yoga tantra. Once the illusory body is attained, it is certain that we will manifest enlightenment in the same lifetime. But Atiśa’s point was that the illusory body is a subtle type of body that is different and separate from our ordinary, coarse body. Since enlightenment is attained on the basis of the illusory body, the statement of Lord Atiśa is well founded. Therefore enlightenment is attained in one lifetime, but it is not attained on the basis of one ordinary, coarse body. Instead it is attained on the basis of another, subtler body that exists within the coarser body.