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Clear Meaning: Studies on a Thirteenth Century rDzogs-chen Text

1988, National Library of Canada: Ottawa, Canada.

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Abstract

This is my M.A. Thesis. It is devoted to a study of the history and content of the Tantra of Great Unreified Clear Meaning or sPros-bral Pon-gsal Chen-po'i rGyud (PBP). The PBP claims a very ancient history, asserting its origins to be with the famed founder of the Great Perfection tradition dGa-rab rPo-rje, who is thought to have lived in the first century C.E. The PBP is a "treasure" (gter-ma) text, which is believed to have been hidden in Tibet by the teacher Padmasambhava during the eighth century C.E. and discovered by Guru Chos-kyi dBang-phyug in the thirteenth century. Guru Chos-dbang taught this text in the year 1257, and it was written down by one of his disciples. The PBP came to be included in the great collection of Tantric texts known as the Hundred Thousand Tantras of the rNying-ma (rNying-ma rGyud 'bum), and is found in this collection today. As such, the PBD represents the teachings of the rNying-ma school of Tibetan Buddhism in general, and their thirteenth century manifestation in particular. The essence of the teaching of the PBD is that all living beings have a pure awareness (rig pa) which is non-conceptual, uncontrived, and the fundamental state of the mind. This awareness is the fundamental ground on which both the deluded experience of samsara and the pure experience of nirvana are based. When this awareness is falsely intuited based on the primary ignorance of subject/object duality and the emotional defilements which arise from this duality there is the experience of samsara. When this awareness is directly intuited it is Buddhahood itself. The history of the PBD is fully discussed in this thesis, and a thematic study of the major points made in the PBD is presented in the main body of the thesis. The PBD discusses topics fundamental to the Buddhology of the rNying-ma school. This thesis presents the PBD’s views on the Base (gZhi), delusion, the Buddha-kaya, wisdom, the path, recognition, and the Great Perfection (rDzogs-chen) vehicle. These are the major themes presented in the PBD. This investigation provides an insight into the doctrines of esoteric Buddhism as they are reflected in a primary text, and provides an insight into a "treasure" text of the rNying-ma school in the thirteenth century in particular.

THE Clear Studies en. e. Thirteenth Century rQzogs-chen Text by Christopher James Wilkinson A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES ;r;'N PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS ',FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES CALGARY~ ALBERTA APRIL, 1988 . ~!'(i~~~lstopher J. Wilkinson 1988 Abstract Clear Meaning: Studies on a 13th Century rpzogs-chen Text Christopher James Wilkinson is thesis is devoted to a study of the history and content of the Tantra of Great Unreified Clear Meaning or sPros-bral Pon-gsal Chen-po'i rGyud in Tibetan (PBP). The PBP claims a very ancient history, asserting its origins to be with the famed founder of the Great Perfection tradition dGa-rab rPo-rje, who is thought to have lived in the first \ century C.E. The PBP is a "treasure" (gter-ma) text, which is believed to have been hidden in Tibet by the teacher Padmasambhava during the eighth century C.E. and discovered by Guru Chos-kyi dBang-phyug in the thirteenth century. Guru Chos-dbang taught this text in the year 1257, and it was written down by one of his disciples. The PBP came to be included in the great collection of Tantric texts known as the Hundred Thousand Tantras Q!. the rNying-ma (rNying-ma rGVJ19 __ 'bum), and is found in this collection today. As Hi such, the PBD represents the teachings of the rNying-ma school of Tibetan Buddhism in general, and their thirteenth century manifestation in particular. The essence of the teaching of the PBD is that all living beings have a pure awareness (rig~pa) which is non- conceptual, uncontrived, and the fundamental state of the mind (~). This awareness is the fundamental ground on which both the deluded experience of samsara and the pure experience of nirvana are based. When this awareness is falsely intuited based on the primary ignorance of subject- objf;!ct duality and the emotional defilements which arise from this duality there is the experience of samsara. When this awareness is directly intuited it is Buddhahood itself. The history of the PBD is fully discussed in this thesis, and a thematic study of the major points made in the PBD is presented in the main body of the thesis. The PBD discusses topics fundamental to the Buddhology of the rNying-ma school. This thesis presents the PBD r s views on the Base (~), delusion, the Buddha-kaya, wisdom, the path, recognition, and the Great Perfection (rDzogs-chen) vehicle. These are the major themes presented in the PBD. This investigation provides an insight into the doctrines of esoteric Buddhism as they are reflected in a primary text, and provides an insight into a "treasure" text of the rNying-ma school in the thirteenth century in particular. iv Acknowledgments I wish to express my deepest thanks to Dr. Eva Dargyay for her instruction, advice, guidance, generosity, and constant support, as well as for permission to quote extensively from her book, .Ilut ~ Q.f Espteric Buddhism in. Tibet. I thank Dr. Leslie Kawamura for his constant encouragement and support. lowe thanks to Windsor Viney for proofreading my manuscr fpt. I want to thank the Religious Studies faculty at the University of Calgary for much valuable instruction in the course of my studies. I would also like to express my thanks to the people and government of Canada for providing an institution and program where studies such as my own are promoted and furthered. v Table of Contents Page Title Page . . • • • • 1 Approval Page . . ii Abstract . . . . . . iii Acknowledgements . . . v Table of Contents. vi Chapter 1. History of the Text. . . . . . . . . 1 Teaching of the PBD. . . . . . . . . 3 The Colophon . . . . . . . . . . .... 11 Transmission of the PBD. . . . . . . 24 Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 2. Methodology. . . . . . . . . . 52 3. The Base . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ... 57 4. Delusion 73 5. The Buddha-kaya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 6. Wisdom. . . . . .... 112 7. The Path . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 vi 8. Recognition . · . .. . . 149 9. The Great Perfection . · • • • 172 10. Conclusion . . . . · .. . . . 200 Bibliography, Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Appendix A . . . . . . . . . • . • . . 2'10 vii CHAPTER 1 History of the Text 7.b§. Tantra Q.L Great Unreified Clear Meaning, or sPros- Wl.,Dop-gsal Chen-po' i rGyud in the Tibetan language (hereafter the PBD), 1 is a text belonging to the tradition of esoteric Buddhism. The text is a discussion on the view, meditation, practice, and result of what it holds to be the highest path of Buddhism, the rpzogs~chen or Great Perfection. Its intention is to explain how enlightenment 1 The PBD is contained in the rNying-ma rGyud-tbum. There are currently two versions of the rNying-ma rGYQd-'bum available. These are: 1 ) Rnying. mc.1 Rgyud 'Bum. A. Collegti9n21 Treasured Tantras Translated during t.Wit Perigd Q.t First Propagation Qi. Buddhism in . Tibet, ed. by Dingo Khyentse Rimpoche (Thimpu, Bhutan: n.p. 1973) where the PBD is found in volume Cha p.374-608, and 2) ~ Mtshams.....Brag Manuscript. gi, :tb.!t B.nJ.n. b. Rgyud 'Bum, (Thimpu, Bhutan: National Library, Royal Gover~mentof Bhutan, 1982) where the PBD is found in volume XIII, p.1-296. The version of the PBD found in the 1982 edition of the rNying~ma .rGyud.... ~. is superior with regard' to spelling and sense, while the 1973 version occasionally offers superior readings. Bothhave·beenusedin preparation for this study. Page references to the PBD in this thesis refer to the 1982 version. All transla.tlonsof the PBD in this thesis are my·, own. 2 can be instantly intuited by the practitioner ,wi thout his relying on any kind of gradual development or cultivation of spiritual qualities. As a dialogue on the Great Perfection the text rejects the common. Buddhist method of dealingw.lth ,tbeabsolute, for unllke more traditional Buddhist works the PBD uses posltive language to describe the ultimate reality. In fact, the PBD· presents an account of Buddhism that is almost diametrically opposed to the traditional renderings. of Buddhism in many ways. It is the intention of this thesis to discuss. thePBD in full. I will begin, by presenting the history of the text. Then I will discuss my methodology in analyzing the text. I will then discuss the major themes presented in the text. Finally I will conclude with aft summary of the important. points in thePBD and the areas in which fur·ther research is needed. It is not the case that the ideas presented in the PBD are new to Buddhism. The· PBD itself is a very old text,2 though perhaps not the oldest to describe the Great Perfection teachings. The transmission of the teachings of the Great Perfection must certainly go back to the arising of Tantr ic Buddhism in India, perhaps as early as the first centuryC. E. 3 The teachings' of the Great Perfection'are· 2 See p.21 of this thesis. 3 See p.33 of this thesis. 3 generally held to have been made immanent in this world by a certain dGa' -rab rDo-rje, who received them directly from· the Buddha. It is not, however, from the historical Buddha ~kyamuni that dGa' -rab rDo-rje received the teachings, but from the ultimate principle of Buddhahood itself --r·e·ferred to in the PBD as rDo-rje 'Chang.. To understand the historicity of the PBD it will. be useful to first examine what the text itself says about its history. Based on this information and a careful analysis. o·fthe text scholarly discussion of the claims made in the text will follow. Teaching ~ ~ ~ To get an immediate insight into the style o·f the text, as well as to see what the text itself says about the place and time that this teaching was given, I will now quote extensively from the opening passage of the text: In the Sanskrit language of India [this book is] the: Tilaka OUhakala,· Trad" Tilaka DuhakalaTantra Mahatantra. In the Tibetan language it is the: sPros~bral Dop~gsal Chep-po'i rGyud [In the English language it is: Ib§. Tantra ~ IU. Great Unrelfied Clear Meaning] 4 Homage· to the Body, Speech and Mind of the Omniscient and Glorious Great rDo-rje 'Chang! In the great'lnbuilt palace of the Thirty , Three (gods] (Tult ta) ab ides the ch ief of all -~-t-he-gods-known"~,a,s-·,qndra,······RQler··of····,the ·Gods·."····· He is surrounded by a retinue of subservient . gods. He stopped a confrontation which had created a great battle among the asuras,4 then (gave] these sacred instructions for establishing bliss: Dharma Sarya Tilaka AbSJIl Rupi.tikaya Triruka Rusadup ihi .HAm.a, Thus I have at one time heard: T'heBlessedOne Great Dor-rje'Chang, who is the actual intuition o·f sel f-awareness (Rang- .tJr.g, rTogs-pa) , whose k5:ya S the force 4 Asuras are one of the six classes of living beings . . in Buddhist cosmology. They are extremely envious· of the -splendors of the gods and are excessively devot.ed to battle. For a full description seeSgam-po-pa, IbJt Jewel QrnamentgL Liberation, translated by Herbert Guenther;. (Berkeley: Shambhala, 1971), p.68. 5 Klya refers to the state of true being. This technical term is discussed in detail in this thesis on p.I' . 5 (rtsal) of wisdom-- appears without a self nature, who exists in a variety< of bodily colors, who, in the pose of the equanimous lotus position, acts in a manner which ,/ teaches the Kudradharma (phvag-rgya-chgs) for he is the kaya 0 f wisdom" whose countenance is brilliant clarity --unhindered in all the ten directions, abides in the abode totally pure by its own nature know,n as "Lotus Clear Bl iss" (Pad-ma bDe,..gsal) . It's cause is through the arising of the force of wisdom in unhinderedl ight. It is caused by the five colors. Its shape is that ofa square. Its walls are formed from precious stones of the five colors. I ts palace, is round. On the outside it is encircled by a wheel of four, spokes. It has towers. Its center courtyard is full of goddesses. Its four doors have dismounting facilities. It is endowed with such requisites as dakinis o·f many kinds. The vajra fence at its perimeter is surrounded by lotuses. All this appears without a self nature, like a rainbow in the atmosphere. In "such a grand,celestialpalace abides the Teacher .. the Blessed One, the Great rOo,.. 6 rje 'Chang. His retinue, the unhindered. force ofwlsdom, appears as the five families (rigs~IMaJ. The unhindered force of wisdom also [appears as] male and female [Bodhi Jsattvas and· male and female Wrathful Ones. The Lord of SecretsPhyag'""na rDo-rje is the retinue of solici tators. dGa' -rab rDo-rje is the retinue ·of compilers. There are also the five kinds of dakinis,and these five: The Pacifier of Purna., the Vajra Wrath-faced Woman, the Single Crown Jewel .Woman, the Corpse Eater Shant! with his rosary of sku.lls, and He with Wings of Vajra Wind. Each of these has his own retinue of innumerable dakinis. At that time the Lord of Secrets led the retinue in making a seven-fold circumambulation [of rDo-rje 'Chang]. Then, s.itting. down· before him, [the Lord of Secrets] addressed the Teacher with these words: "0, 0 Blessed One, Great rDo-rje 'Chang, you who have attained power. in the force of the intuition (rtogs) of the meaning of self- awareness, [you who areJ the sel.f-perfected three kayas dwelling in the. mode of the 7 .' Sambhogakaya, (you who are) unreified awareness, perfection in· the Dharmakay.a, (you who· are] the unhindered· force of flickering. ( 'gyu-ba ), aris ing as the NirmanakSya," (you • who] in the way of the Sambhogakaya, are not established by self nature , (you who) remove both delu.si;onandconceptual ization, bringing forth the benefi t 0 f 1 i v in9 beings: Wben it is near the moment of the Kaliyuga (snylqs-:- ma' i-dus), the path which leads through . the nine vehicles is very lengthy. The five' pois.ons of the obscurations. are very ripe in the continuum. Pious a'spirations and contemplation of doctrinal views are mentally fabricated religion (blo-yi-chosh I request the sacred instructions (man,,- n9S.9.) of the Great Tantra of Unreified Clear Meaning, the instructions which show the sudden enlightenment (cig,,-car) Dharmaklya,. which real ize the way 0 f being',' of self-awareness, the instructions ·which cannot be harmed by objects, (the instructionsl of self-liberation no matter how the two forces (of good and evil larise, which demonstrate the great meaning- with the· lamp. ·.of words, which comprehend the meaning .' 8 ,', when known through reading, and which are decidedly certain through the connection of words and meaning. 6 The presence of a Sanskrit name at the beginning of the text should not·betaken as a certain sign that the text was originally composed· in Sanskrit. It is possible that some portions of the text are truly Banskri t in or·i-gin,while the possibility is very good that the. majority of the text is ,Tibetan in origin. The Tibetan title is not a translation of the Sanskrit title. The English ti tie that 1 have offered is a translation of the Tibetan title. It is difficult to make sense of the Sanskrit title, except for notlng,thatTJ.laka is the Sanskrit word for the Tibetan word Thig....le. 7 In chapter one hundred twenty two of the PBD are listed the various nameso,f the text. 8 None of these names has the word Thig-le in it. It is most likely that this Sanskrit title is as,purtous creation of the Tibetan writer. It is also significant that no,' translator of the PRO into Tibetan ismentloned in the colophon. 9 6 PBD, pp.1-4. 7 Lokesh Cha,ndra, " Tibetan,....SMskr.i.t Dictionary, (Kyoto: RlnsenBook Co., 1982),p.l029. 8 The PBD offers, in total, seventeen di·£ferent· names for itself. ,It also of·f&rs specific' reasons. for eacho,f these . names,. For a complete listing of the names of thePBD, see appendix A. 9 See this thesis, p.l1ff.• 9 In the openingpas.sagewe gain the in£ormationthat the Tantra was promulga,ted when Indra, the ruler of the Tu:Hta beaven, ,had conquered the demi-gods or asurasand required a teaching for establishing bliss . This unusualpassa,gewhich precede,s the text of the Tantra itself is significant, for in the dogma ,of trad,itional Buddhism, represented by texts such as· The Jewel Ornament··Qt Liberation. the gods are incapable o·f galningthe Buddhist teaching_ 10 It is, also significant tha,t Indra is not mentioned again lnthe entire text. The implication that it was due to the need of the ,highest god o·'ftheworld that the Tantracame into the world of men shows that· the text wishes .. · from, '., the . beginning, to proclaim l,ts divine status. 11 It is only after this introductory passage that. we find the sign'i£ica,nt, , words "ThllS have· I at one time heard.," These are thewordswhicb formall,ybeg·ln the Tantra. After the formal beginning. of·· the Tantra weare told that the Blessed One rDo-rje 'Chang lives ina great celestial palace in a land called Lotus Clear Bliss, and this is the place where the Tantra is actually taught. Many other characters are mentioned in this opening passage, but there are only 10 SeeSgam....po....pa, JewelQrpament,p.68. 11 On the· difference . between mundane (' jig-rtea....pa,) and supramundane. ('jig....rtep lu. 'das....pa) gods see D; S. Ruegg, "On the Supramundane and the Divine in Buddhism, " Tibet Journal, 1976~ 3-4. 10 two among those mentioned that· are mentioned again. These are Phyag-narDo-rje, the solicitor or questioner, and dGa'- rab rOo-rje, the compiler. In the actual body of the text Phyag...na rDo-rie is identified with rOo-rje 'Dzin-pai and . e the two names, are used J.nterchangjl.bl Y• rOo-rj e 'Chang and rDo-rje 'Ozin-paare two Tibetan translations for the Sanskrit name.Vajradhara. 12 It therefore turns out that the text of the PBD is a dialogue between . Vajradhara (rOo-rje 'Chang) and Vairadhara· (rOo...rje 'Ozin..-pa). In order ·.·to avoid confusion I have left the· names in the Tibetanratber than translate .. them into Sanskrit. As I have pointed out, the text of tbe PBD is a dialogue between rOo-rje 'Chang and rOo-rje 'Ozin-pa. Each chapter begins with a question by rOo-rie 'Ozin-pa (Phyag-na rDo-rie, the. Lord o-f Secrets) which is followed by rOo-rje , Chang's answer. It is therefore the Lord of Secrets that begins the Tantra withbis·request for the paD to be taught. It is immediately apparent that many subjects. of central impo.rtance to the· ,- paD are mentionedr ightat - the beginning of the text. The request for, the teachings of Instant Enlightenment and the comments <that the path-of the nine vebicles is too lengthy are especially important. From the beglnning.tbe PBO proposes to - teach the path ,o·f· ins:tant enlightenment, and reJects all gradual methods of progress.• 12 LokeshChandra, Dictionary. p.1285 and p.1298 •. 11 These are .subjectsthat-will,be-dealtwitb in detail in this thesis. -IWL Colophon Now that we know whe·re, and·, in _what company, the PBD claims to have beentaugbt, it will beworthwbile to look at the PBD's colophon. The colophon at tbeendo,fthe text describes the transmission of the text from its first teaching to its being- put into writing. Here is the colophon: Ratna BUa Halla This Tantra 2f :t.b§..Great Clear Meaping2L th!. Unification- of th!. Buddba( Sangs~[gyas ,mNyam-.sbygrQsm. 9Sal~ma Chep-mo'irGyud) which liberates by perceiving it is oompletely finished. Guhya gTad rGya rGya rGya/ gTad rGya· rGyarGya/gTadr-Gya rGya rGya. This Great Tantra of secret saored instructions wa's-complied by the-retinue of compilers, dGa' -rab rDo-rje, -andsetfo-rth in words and letters. He explained it to Guru 'Jam-dpaclbShes-gnyen. He explained it to Guru ~ri Singha. He explained it to the Guru of Orgyan, Padma. I, Padmasambhavao-f· ---Org.yan, dur,ing tbe 12 degenerate time [of, thelastl fivehu-ndred, [years) have hidden' this Great Hotherof·all the Dharmas, this generator of all things, enjoined and- perfect as a self-treatise (rang-gzhungh 7b!t. Great Taptra ··21·· UnreHiied . ' Clear. Meaning" for the sake-of persons, with the three endowments fldaD::Qsum.."skyes..,bu) . This meaning of the u-n:1fioatio&· of sentient beings and Buddha does . Dot rely on hearing,···· thinking, or meditating~ It is .realized. by its teaching .'. and is clear by its reco.llection. Its e.mpowerment is attained by meeting. with-it, and liberation by perceiving it. A Dharma, which at,tains the result i;n this way is like, a wish-ful£illing,.-jewel... This 'secret treasure of Mind Treasure (thugs:=ater) and Repeated T.reasure(yanq=aterJ 13 fills in .incompletenessesandgathersthefragments . This harvest of encounter, su·itahle for practice, is a jewel of the 'heart. It is a fruit. ·for the eye . 13 Fora full. discussion of "tre·asures" and tbedifferent types tbereo'f-,seeTulku ThondupRinpoche, Hidden Teachings. g!, Tibet, An Explanatiop of .thslTerma . ··Tradi,tion o £ :tbJt Hying" cScho·Ql g.f, Buddh;ksm, . (London':WisdomPubltcations, 1986). 13 I mysel fam· not small· in learning.. My knowledge is equal to that of rDo-rje 'Chang. Therefore tbisSecret Treasure of the Kind is the only treasure ·be tween . the sk.y and .... the earth. Even if this should meet w-ith one of fortunate karma it [should be.] contemplated in his mind for fiftee·nyears. During the pa,ssage of this time for the secret vow (gsang-dam) and vow~protectors the mind <b!.2.) of samsara [should be] given up and the certain mea·ning searched. Give up life in devotion to the Guru. No,t everyone,· has exemplary praise for the tbree(jewelsJ. When the . time arrives the fortunate are protected from those who. have attained it as an oral transmission (snyan--brgyudl for the sake of 1 i v ingbeings . Fearing. the. decline oftb1s unexcelled supreme Tantra, this Tantra· is hidden in· t-hreetreasure-troves 19ter-k,ha). One is the Northern Treasure atPraduntse. It is hidden in the heart of Vairocana·., It will be brought forth in· the tiger year. One is the' Repea,ted· Tre'asurehidden here. It- will be brought for,th· in the snake-year • One is in 14 the cave of mKba-ri dGye-rL It will be Drought ,fo·rth lnthe monkey year. Furthermore, the mother' and son. are here· complete. The three Tantras 0 f Further Treasure are in the way of the son. This is because the potency of the mother is here condensed . The 8upremeTantra2.i,Clear Meaning is in thewayo£ the mother. This is because it generates. all things and is enjoined as a self-treatise. In this'way it is profound, so it is a Mind Treasure and is not taught at the rank of a Further·Treasure. In this waytbe meaningof,the un,if~ication· of Buddba, .' is. taug'ht by .this;, ,so may· the, Tafttra come to its place. Some· will cover it by the darkness of commentary. Some will block it with the claw of interpretation. Some will poison it with the content .stomach of scriptural.quotatio.n. ·Therefore may the Pronounced Transmission (bka' -brgyq.d)· find,.· its own place. If it is difficult to interpret the mea,ning, rely on the Guru.. Make a hundred accumulations [0£ meritJandoffer mandalas,. Examine. the similes minutely and ·apply them 15 to the> meaning~.,. 'There. is only liberation by .' examination. May this meet with those possessing a mind' of profound knowledge and·· possessing,· compas·s!on. ,Why? ,Because the essence of the Secret. Mantra is' profound knowledge. It,iGuhya ~ tltYs. rGya. En Ma,HolThe pronoaftcement··.of the,',Buddhas of the three times' has· . fallen ana' treasure ·finder like me, ·Chos-dbang.A supreme Tantra of Essence like this has come into my possession! This is certainly the greatest ·miracle amo,ng the great t sNang-don Dad--seng of gZhu...snyereque,sted (this Tan·tra,l from the- Nirmanaka.yaChos-kyi· • Lho-brag. in the year of the. snake, and wrote it . dowltc. By the virtu&whicharisesfrom this may this> Tantra of all things continually liberate f 14, It will be noted that this. colophon hasthr,ee. distinct sections. The first is the account of its transmission before ente,r1ng Tibet. Here' we .are· told· that the compile·r mentioned "atthe beginning of the text, dGa· ...rab rOo-rje, 14 PBD, p.286f. 16 composed,the-. PBD in words and Ie tte·rs. From dGa·l-rab rDo- ,,/':-:\ rj.etbe· teaching .went,·to . IJam.,.,dpa,l·bSbes,-gnyell,. then to "~ri-/ '\,"'----.;/ Singha. andi·finallyto Padmasambhava·. The next secotion o,f, thecolophon·;1s/Padmasambhava··s· account ,of how he hid the texttnthree places so that its teaching WGuldnot decline, with adv·lceregarding the finding andunderstandlng. of the text. Finally there is the-- section discussing- the ... revelation. of thePBDln Tibet. Here we are - told that the text came to Guru·Chos-dbang (Chos-kyi dBang..,.phyug)· and was iwri tten downbyhisstudentsNang-don Dad-seng. tellsusthatdGa' -,rabrDo,...rjeput<the,PBD illtowriti'ng,and the end of thecolophontellsustha.t sNang;!"'"donDad~-seftgput the text into ,.wri,t.ing.. Itis,pos-sible that. both,peo·pl·e·.put the text into words,. bu,t was "it the same . text exactly that theY"wereconcerned with? Tbe identif,icati·on, of the PBBasa"treasure tf (g·ter~ma) Is most sign·lfioant<here. "Treasures" are sacred objects and- particularly literary, works that are said to have been hidden during the ., "early spread">· (snga.,.,dar) of Buddhlsm'ln Tibet, the eighth andninth>centuries C.E.,15 so that. tbey' 15 The coming" of· Buddhism-to Tibet is cUvidedbyTibetan hi~storians into· an fl.e~rly.spreadff.... (snga;!"'"dar), repre.senting,,' the period before··Atil,a·'callletoTi'bet( 1042, C.E. landa "later spread" (phYl-dar),. represented by the'·periodaft~~­ Atiga came to Tibet. See Guiseppe·Tuccl,. .·~Relig.io·ns·.ii Tibet.. . (Berkeley: Uni.versity of',Calif9~nta, . Pres's, l;Q(O~' ·,p.19;andp .250 . 17 might be rediscovered ina later period. The,PBD claims, to ,have been hidden byPadmasambhava for this purpose. One of the features of the·· "'treasure" texts is that :theyare oftenwr itten in "Dakinf • Script." DakinI l script is wr i:tingthat . can· only be unders,toodby.· the pers.on·, who has the karm:!c,·conneGtionto, read it. To others lt may appear as strange. scribblings•. The te:xt of the· "treasure'" is w·ritten,,>on wha,tare known as t1-yellow scrolls" (shgg-ser).. 16 Snob" scro:11s may not actually, be yellow"and they may. not actnally be scrolls.. In many cases the contento£ a treasure is nothing more thana small scrap. of paper with strange writings on It.Thetreasure finder who uncovers such a "yellow scroll" is though,tto· have the abi;lityto drawQuta,nentire "treasure," perhaps of great length, from this myste.rious, writing... The rationale forthi.s is that t'he treasure finder is believed to have been one of the original disciples of ,Padma,sambhava·, in' a former-life, ·wherebe or she receiv,edthe teaching of the treasure in full. Uponfinding the yellowscr.oll the memor·y of tbi,s,. previou-sli£e . is brought.fo-r·th,.and the treasure finder is able to compose an entire teachiDg . based.on it. Of·. course··, it may .a-laG' be the,· case that the "treasure" found". ,is in fact .a . complete manuscript." a partial manuscript, ar even some,other,object . 16 See Tulku, ThondupRi,npacbe,.HiddeR.,TeaqhiJlgs.,..pp.l03, 127, 237. 18 ··suahasan . image 0 ftheBuddba . 17 As the PBD is a "treasure" there 1s some difficulty in arriving at what might be called anUr-text,wbether such a text might represent the composition of· dGa' -rab rDo-rje' himself, the "yellow scroll" hidden by Padmasa·mbbava and-' found' by Guru Chos'-dbang, or even . the text as composed by sNang-don Dad-seng. The problem is compounded by·· ,the· fact that the- PBD remained- .·as···a copied manuscript.·.· unt-il the,····· "compllationof ·the Hundred .TbousandTantras2!..tU.rHying-,ma (rNying"",ma rGyud-'bum) ···begun .by Ratoa .. 9bing-pa·· ('1'403-1479) and completed by 'Jigs-med gLlng-pa Cborn 1729).18 Tbere are variations ln tbe text o·fthe· PBDln the· different editions of the -Hundred Thous.and Tantras" ~. rNy1ng..,.ma, yet these amount to . nothing more thanminorvar1ants inreading·sand> spel1ings. 19 It is safe to assume that· we still possess the. -texto.f· tbe,P,BDas . Ratna gLlng-pahadit. The stages of rev!·s·ion that thePBD took between the- first compositlon",ofdGa"'-rabrDo-rje and RatnagLing-pa' s inc1 uding"lt 1nthe"Mundred'l'housand Tantras '. -.Q;! . t.bJl r,Hying- II@.; are difficult to determine. The text of thePBD does 17 Ibid, p.77. 18 See Eva Dargyay, lb!l··lU.U.a· Esoteric Buddhism. a%ibe.t, (New ¥ork:SaIMlel'"lfeiser', Inc·.-,. 1978) p.7·O; .pr.1-44....14':7. ·Permirssio.n-to . q uote extensively from this work kindly provided by· Eva,/ Dargyay •.. " 19 See this the&ls p.l,notel. See. also Dargyay, ·Esgterlc·Buddb,is.,pp.144ff, ,and 186f£. 19 contain in it short fragments of a-mys,terious wr iting, which canbe·leen·tifled as "daklnT ser ipt ... 2.0 '·here is no • statementwbetberthesewritings are theorig.inal content of - the· treasure, or . whether- there was more. Also to be considered is the fact· that the questioner is calledPhyag~ na rDo-r:Je in thefirsttwo.-chapters ofthePBD· whi·le in later chapters hels almost alwa.ys referred,toas the Lord·- of Secrets or rDo-rje , Dzln-pa.. Anotber £eatureof the· firsttwochap-ters .ofthe,te,xt is thelr- discussion of the "force of good" (bzaM"",rtsal) and the "·force ··of evil" - (09an- wins over evil, yet after the second chapte·rthereis no discus-sion-of - these poin-ts w-hatever. evidence' tha·t the· first two chapters a.r.e.pe-rhaps earlier -·thaotherest of the volume. Each cbapterof the PBD begins with a. ques-tion from- the Lord of Secrets which 1s followed" by rDo-r:Je 'Chang'S a-nswer. There is a very orderly progress·i-onfr-omsu-bjectto subj ect. This gives the impression·, that much 0 f the text may representt-he teachings· o£ Guru Chos-dbangas given to his disciples and written· - ,. downbysNang-don Dad-seng. The statements in the colophon·that this text "£111sin incomp.1:.etenesses and, ·ga·ther.s the £rag:Jnents"·...i,s ·significant. The words are put .·intothe _. mouth of Padmasambhava.,which 20 PBD,. p.9l, 288. 20 would seem to indicate that there were missing portions even duringtbe early.history·of tbetext. Yet if we assume ·tbat even this colophon was . the composi tion.,ofGuruChos-dbang then', tbe . reference would indicate that the text was not complete when it reached Gtl:!'.u.Cbos-dbang·' s attention., The statement tha'tthetext should be contemplated for f·ifteen years<before; be,ingrevealed to the pUb1 icmay be taken as an indi,cation. that the contents of the PBD were onGuruChos- dbang' smindfora long·time before he taugbtsNang-don Dad- seng. The· statement· that .sNang-don Dad-seng . wrote '. the ,t-eacblngs ·down is an indication: that Guru Chos-dbang did not have a w,ritten ,text from,·wbich.·to·.··teac-h. If we are not to as·s'ume, that the PBD is a spurious "treasure" we must assume· that Guru Chos-dbang did in. fact find,sometbing, which, wa-slater developed into the texto·f the PBD. There' is no 'way of knowing just wha-tit 'la,s that Gur,Q< Chos-dba,ng. foun(h~.l but i,t is safe to assumetbat the text as we havei t represents both the findings,o£ Guru Chos--dbangas well as bis own inspiration in teaching. I will therefore not attempt to define·· an Ur-text of the PBD, as there is not enough, evidence .·of the text's history to make such defini tion"pos,sible. It will be 21 IbI.;GreatTreasure&!scov,eries .~ iB:.ll.'Chps;:dbapg .Hiu~ru;, . . ' Chos-dbgng bi.,g!1ier-'bVUB9 ,Chen,....,' <manu'script copy kind-ly made available to me'by Tu'lku Thondup,Rinpoche),p,.133., indicates that the PBD,was, one of the first eighteen major' treasure ·,discoveries 'of Guru' ··Chos-dbang, <but does not indicate,' the details of the ,discovery. 21 sufficientfor'the-pu:rposes of thepresen'tstudy to take the text as we have it contained in the Hundred Thousand, Tankas Qt. ~ rNying~ma-,asthebasis of the study. The·re may be some doubt> as to· whether, the PBD. ,underwent. any serious,·' changes at . the, handsofma·nuscript _. copie,rsbe·tween:bhe . time These errors tend to be 1 imitad,' however, to errors in' spelli·ng,·and·, .·no,t .·toma,jor·' rei.nterpreta tions of . . meaning,. so··' it is pe·rhaps .. -safe to say that. the, principal form of the, ·manuscriptremained the same during this time. Thecolophon informsu-s tba·tthe text was. revealed,duringthe snake· year, which maybe· ,taken .. lll' this case to be the year 1257 . 2.2 This 22 This dat-ecan be determined based on the,i·nformation that Guru Chos....dbangwas born, in '1212. The PBD,according to "the Great Treasure DiscQyeries2.Lilwa. Qhos-,obaD9,p.133, is one' of his firstmaj'or treasured'lscoveries~< which he . began to make at the age of· 22. I f we allow" 15 years 0'£ . contemplation. before theunveillng; of the . teaching .' this, brings·us'to·the year 1249. The next'snake y,ear -after 1249 is 1257. It is also possible that the text was revealed in the snake year 1269, one year before Garg,· Chos-dbang's c'· death. Itisnoteworthy'.thatsNang-donDad~sengreports .. thathe·wrotetbePBDdo·wn lnthe snake year . If Guru Chos- dbang'discoveredthe ,·.text··fifteenyear,s be,fo·re . . revealing it it would> have· been discovered· in the tige,r year.·. -- which contradict,s the-prediction ····in the c010phonthat .. the text· wou,ldbe <uncovered-lnthe· snake. year. This would indicate . tha·t··· the·writlngdownof· the, text by sNa'ng-.donDad-seng<-- -. rathe-r, ··thantbe·uncoveringby GuruChos-dbang-- 1sthe, revealing of· the ,text'pred,icted . in' tbe.colophalh 'lb1smay· also strengtben···thesapposition"that, ··l,t is sNang~-don··Dad.... seng himself who is thetrueauethor,·ofthe<PBD, thougbhe was gu'ided by Guru'· Chos,....dbang, in his composi,t.ion., See Eva Dargyay" . Esoteric, 'Buddhi,slft!., ·p.·,10:~11'9"andKbetsiun.Sangpo'l Bio.apb,icai'D·i:ct4onar¥'2.t.Tibe,t~.,(,Dharmasala·.,H'. P., . India:' 22 is ·tbeear-liestda·te.tha·tmay safely be given to the P·DD, as the exact na,tu.reo£· the, teachIng handed ·dGwn·from the. Indian ·maste.rs to·Padmas·ambhava canno tbedete·rmined. The au-thority o·f the PBD doesno·t come/.f·rom, its being ··taughtbyt·heh·istorical·Buddha Sakyamuni."- In fact the text itself, states. that "The· teachers of the past.. such as' including the, nine. vehicles, . . as . the sudden penetration, -of' awareness in -order to remedy the >obscurationso£ the· six classes 10f living beingsJ.,,23 Another passage states: I, the gr.eatDor-rje 'Cbang, thepe·rsonal intuition of self-awar·eness,.. teach.wha.t; ha,s .not been taught pt"eviously orbyano,ther, the meaning wb:ichdoes· not dependo.n.hearing, thinkl.ng, or meditating, the Dharma of 1 i ttle toil. aru:! of eas-ein.unders·tanding<the great· meaning, . that . which ,teaches the suddea" pene·tration of the. Dharmakay.a . of -self- awareness (ranq~rig::eh0s~sku.),· which· alb inferior minds real·ize by the mer-eteaehing," which is the· great-essential meaning.. Oi£. all Library of. Tibetan Wer.ks·;·and·Archives;. 1973),. p .. 37. 23PBD, . p. 9. The six classes of sentient beinqsare·:ll· Gods, 2) Asuras,. 3JHuma,ns.,41 . Animals, 5). Hungry ghosts, and, 6 ) Hel1 be·lngs...SeeSga·m...po--pa,tlewel'Qrnament,· pp·.. 5S... 74. 23 the Dharma's, which is the- roo·t ·ofa11, the vellic1esofsamsaraandnirvana, whlchis the unification' of, transmis's'ion., satra"" and, sacred·· instruction,· the· essenoeof·the· awa,re,ness,the condensedmeaningwhlch severs extremesandseversreiflcatlon. 24 The;, PBD,' therefore,.,." actuall: y.. teaches· '.' a. doc,tr ineth'at· ·i,t ·,clalmswas,not ., taught.bythe h lstor lca18Qddha . proclatmedbythe historical Buddha. be, a Buddhis,t text? The'" ,answerwlll depend> on the perspective of,the perso.n in' question. The Theravadatradition. 0'£" Buddhism'" holds"".that, the Budd·ha·was a historical personage" wbe· gained' enlightenmen.t, ,taught:, and,pass,ed away intoni'rvaaa. For this tradition only the- teachings given. or authoci·zed' 'by tbis .histar ical .Buddha·, can· be . considered orthodox.· 25 In.,,the Mahayana, ,tradition.· . there are believed to be '. i,nnu'Marable Buddhas, . . the Buddba. Sakyamunl.being' only one .' among, them·.- ' The teachings of, any of these Buddhas could therefore be 24PBD, p.IO. 25 See Ja·netGyatso., "Signs, Memory, and-H.!story: A Tantric' Buddhist Theoryo£Scriptu,ra;l.Transm!-ss,ion~" . Joqroa1gj, t.I:uL. International AssQciation " gL Buddhi·st . Studies' (Madison), pp.• 7-3L See especially "pp. 9-11. - 24 considered orthodox~26 The Vajrayanaalso upholid·s the· trad! tioD ofi,nnuaerable,Buddhas, ,but in-troducestheidea of " aqiaq,ibuddha, , ar 'supreme Buddha, ·that 'is thoU9bt torepresen,t h the qu:inte,ssential .real i ty 0 fall Buddbahood. This adibuddha is' referred to in·" therNying-ma tradition as Sama·ntbabha,ora or the Al'l Good. ThePBD cla,ims that this Samanthabhadra is none, other ·tha,nrDo-rj·e '. 'Chan9'bimsel'f.27 . In,thev,i,.wof Vajr~,yafta ,Buddhism theteaehingsgive,n byt'he a41buddhaa,re. mostautbori tative, for they are thought to come from ,. the highest principle of· Buddhabood,. and it is this au,thortty that the PBD, cla,ims. , From,thils,perspective it, is only 'fnfortuna te ' that thehisto'rical Buddha did, not ,promul-g-atethe~.eaohin9wb'lcb,rDo-rje"Cha,ftg presents in the PBD; it is no-cause, for questioning the. authority of the teaohing. From, a scholarly point" of view there is little rea SOft' '. shoul,d'sufflcethat a text such. as the PBD is held· to be ··authoritative,·.·by a··,tradition of,Buddblsm. ,The investlgation of such> a text will only lead to a, deeper understanding-of, "the '., brancho·f8uddbism,t'hat it represents. transmission Q[, .:tti,., "'mll! " I t wi 11 beuse,fnl·" a,ttbispoint . to briefly discuss ,the, ' 26lb.isi. 27 PBD",p.24'•. , 25 lives of the holders of tbe, transmission, as presentedby,the text. ,,,At the opening o·f the PBD weare told that,1'Do-r je 'Chang is the actual· intuition of sel'f~awareness" the body of wisdom, the· "princi;ple ·of Buddhabood' as represented. by the three·kayas.Yet intbethirty eighth.,..,cbapterof the tantrawe'are g'iven, a shortbiogra,phy of Dorj·e Chang. This passage is so unusual that it1s worth quoting in full: Tben againtbe Lord· of Secrets addressed· (rOo"'1'je ',C.bang): The three kayas are· unbindered compassion.. , SQ.> how do· tbeyenact thepu;r,pose·····, ·0£· livingoe,ings?' The Teacher . . gave. instruotion,~ Son of Noble . Fami.ly.., 1· was bor·n.· a·s a child ,who ·had .reached tbeage ofeigbtyears. Then, for .' aper.iod,·of e.igh,t years· I, turned the,' ·y,beelofthe five wisdoms at t·ne life-tree of .profound.knowledge.. By Intu,ltion,.· I was 11berated" I was put· into the true insp11'at ion . . The·n,. during .' the·firs't . eight.year.s, I came .. £or,tb,as many.emana,tions .(Nirmana,) and ·;wo,rked t·hepurpose [of 1iv1.ogoe1ngs J. I, removed the; torment of suffer ing.for.the first ret.inues(inl·the. abode,.Gfgods·.·I 26 'strung a ·silktbreadwith a rosary ·of .pearls, then"turned,the wheel, to the ou,tside. In order to 'libera,te others by . compassion ,1 was·',' -inspired in the meaning of enigmas (Idem-po) 28 Then againattbepeak of the Burning Fire Hou'ntain·, I saw with··certainty,thetrnth . of the Buddba. I e»pla·inedthedhar.mas .of ,empty appearance, (snang::ba~s,tong~pati.~chosJ. Then at the Vulture Mountai,n> the Great Tantras~ secret and fabulous, were released from' (mylHindfthugs». [They were) wrapped in the vessel of my throat, stretched out on" the lotos ,of! my· tOD9't8,i 'and: scattered for.th .·bythe consciousness with, the quality of five aspects. I explained. the Cuckoo '" gL. Awarepess29 in a melodious voice, possessing the sixty branches [o,f a Buddha,' s v.oice h I cut off the doubt's and ·re,ifieations, of the 28 This, refer's ,·,to the distinction- bet,ween def,lnit,ive meaning (nges~dop)-a,nd, interpretable meaning,,(dran9~doni)." Enigmas in .this' case, are interpr,etable presentat'ionsof the ,.·teachi,ng,ratherthandirect .and .certai,p·expla,nations. 29. Ri9.~Da·,ti ., Khu~byuq. Tb,isis ashorttexbofsix, li,nes. The' text'has beenstud'ied bySamten<Karmay'inhisart,icle "'J.'heRdzogs..-.chen'fn its-Ea,rliest Text: A Hanu'script from> Tun.....huan~l, ..'··· B.N;~: ',Azd,zandH'~'" Kapstein' (eds:.·) ·Sou,nding§>m· Tibetan Clsdli;zatj,on ,(New Del,b,i:,Manohar, 1985) , "pp. 272-282. 27 retinue,' s minds· ( bl2;)'. In.my twent,yferth year, at my nirvana, I explained, the th~eeaspects ·of mywlllfzhal....,. chems). For the purpo,se 0'£ followers 1 explained.. the, Unreified,···.·· Clear:.·, Meanina, secondly tbe,~Knowledaei 'Total .. Yberation (9Cig...,.sbes· Kun...,.gljo.lJ 30 C, .. and· ··thirdlytbe, Total·· Ga,theping., "Precious Jewel.s fRin...,.CheR 1Jm::., ~).31 1 put them down for,tbe.purpose,o£· . ,.yfollo-we-rs.,those wbo a-re -without· the fortune ·ofmeeting with me.,. . I likewise pu,t down. ,tbereliquary of the· three ·kayas. Then I (en,tered) complete Speak these words fo,r·· the"sake·. of the, i,future! H Thus· be .spoke. From·, the ·Great Tantra·· 2L Unreified.Clear Meaning this is. the thirty eightb cha'pter> whichteacbes the mannero'f·the·N.iroflakaya 's • 30 This text is me·ntioned· in the· . hagiogr,aphyofGuru,Chos...,., ·-dbang···translated ·by··. Eva,Darg,yay.(Dargyay....Es9.teric ····Buddhism, p.llO·)'rw,herehe·readsthetext to bi,'s'father. It is not, clear, however, whetberthistext was discovered by Guru" Cho·s....dbangorby'another. I have been unable .toloeate any extantcopy.o.ftbetextitsel f. 31 It has not.beenposs.ible. to locate this text or to deter.mi·newhe ther -or ,not i t !s s t illextaat • 28 enacting tbepurcpose Coflivtng beingsl. 32 Tbisshort "antobiographytt doe,s not ,inform,· us of· the time or place. that rDo....,rie'Cbang< was born or give us any historically ·soU>nd"informationas .to his life. The·· story has the character of many hagiographies, of Siddhas or spiritualtraining,and, does. not report any. contact. ,with a "teacherofany,ki,nd. It lssignificant .,that this biography, fouRd··,lnthe., ,PBll,. ·sta,testha.t the·.PBD.was·.·taught, 'just before' rDo-rje 'Chang. entered ca,mplete nirvana,i-ndica·ting that ,the present exposition.. of the PBD wa·s· preached> afte·r tn,is complete nirvana. This opens,the'questiono£ whether this· biography is in fact one of thefra,gments mentioned., la, the . . " colopbon,. for·.! £ it were an· inbe,rent par,t of thePBD it cou-ld·'·not.mentlon,thePBDas .hav ingheen taugbt,ln· the past . is in ·,tbisi,nforma,t-ion is ·found. Al though,·thls biography. ·of rDo-rje 'Chang:cmight.lead. 32PBD,p.78ff. 33 See· e.g. Abhayadatta#, .BuddhaJ·s Lions. ·~/Lives2i.~' cEi.(Jlrty~F9ur Siddhas, translated by James ,Robinson, (Berkeley: DbarmaPub:lisbing.:"19-7··9J. 29 the" reader· to believe that> he vas at some point a human rDo-rjewas .thef.,i-rstbuma,n transmitter of the Great ·.Perfec·tion·(;r,Dzogs .....cben) teachings. 34 dGa-rabrOo-rje is held by the PBD· as the redaetor of its teaehings.andtbe-fil"'st one to ,writetbem down. Eva DargyayLnt·he 'B.ia.. 2.t,.Esoter Ie .rDo....r.jewh!ch·',readsas follows: The Lord, of· "Secrets .' (gSanq-ba,·i....bdag=oo)'·· instructed tbe Holders of Wisdom·.JRig.... 'dsin) in Dbanalto'a . in· Uddly,ana,.· the contemporary' •• There was a .'. large . temple·~ .called bDe .,..byed-brtsegs -pa ; i t was ,surreuaded Kin9"Upa,raj.a~; and" Queen sNa·IlCj,....ba ....g.sal-ba·!,-.-,·od-ldan.....II\a' ··resided~'··, there. Tbey,'badada09h.ter called" SudbaJltmi;: . s·be, took the novice v.ows, and soon afterwards the ·fu11··. monastic·· ·v.ows. ··SQdhar;majl ..·.·.toge·tber· maditatecJ,- aboa$., the,,' ¥oga·Tant·ra (rna,1.... · ·byor-gyi....rgyud.). Sudbarm~dreamed·"that a white man, had coma,..· . wnowas.'t1·tterly pur,e.andbeaot,ifaLHe held. a crys,talves'sel·· w,bieb·hadtheletter!s ·if·l· 34 Dal'gyay, Esote,ric . . ByddhisL.p,.19., 30 hiim,.svA'hiengravedupon. it. Three, times . he·, • set the" vessel .upon the cro,wn of her head, and···' light, then ,shone from, it. Whiletbis· ',bappened, she bebeldthetbreefold·world pe'rfectly and clearly. Not, longa.£ter ,.thls', dream ·.the BhiksunI, -gave birth to' a true· son • • o,f the ,gods,.. She, however., was· ve,ry asbamed·' and thus bad ,bad, thoughts:, "Since the child ,was born withou"t. a fatherthewbole world heap;, when ,this" cont·t·nued > for thr,eedaysancfl" the. chi,ld·.,badno·t ye.td-ied,tbe Bbiksun'I· • • 'believedtbe ,infant an lncar,nation(sPrul-pa) andtookhlmback· into the bouse., . All> the gods and"spiEi·tscamei ,to· pay., respe.ct, to the' ,was seven years old he asked bismotherto "be allowed to dispute ·witb"the Patfits, the scholars. because of .biste,nder age. However , a·fterhe had.repea·ted"b,i~"req,Qest"., ; he··stepped'.·i'flfront..,·.·", '0£ the .,ft,ve <hundred scholars ,who were9ues.,ts 31 now th,e", ,scholars-' honoured,the, boy ,and,: gave him the,name,Praj.nabhava, "TheOne V,ho'se-· Belng"is W.l,sdom..-" Thaking,:, wno' < was very' pleased ,. wi1:1hthi1-s·, 'oecur,r;ence,,'" gav~ ,hinL the '" .name", sLob-dpon,. dGa,,'-rao, ,rDo....r;e;,under"tbls, name he, became, fa,lRGus., Becaasehis"JDQ,t,her, had once' thrown h1.., on ,the· dust~heap;,. he-"was also known as Ro-langs-bde-ba' ,or Ro....langs,...' " tbal.,..mdog, ,"Who,rose Happyfroa, -bheDust't or "'The Ashy,...paleOne,wbo" rosefrom·".,the,,[N·s:b.'" In terrible ,mou·a1:ain ',', ,ranges .,and"solitudes where, the ,hungr,Y" spi,r'its <Pre,ta.) appear -in, hordes,. he,-meditated for thirt:v-two years. When, the, 'earth"trembled- ,'seven times... the, 'lle·ret1e,«nd ·l·nfidel mKba' .,.. '9r9 "'U called: "He in;Jures the.Hlndu,bel,le-fl" TbeHindu' ".' king",tbenwanted. to, hold· dGa,f-rab-rdo,.,.,.rje, responsible, but" the latter. ascended . into space. Because ,oftbis, eve,n,t",the, king . and· ",>,his- "ento;tlrage became ,~ver¥ reI igious • After ,: tbese· 'asceti:c exerc1ses,.",dGa".-rab,-' rde-rjeknew ,the<exo,teric,and,tbeesoteric ' path; and mCils,t·".o,f,all""the, sixty.,..four by, a·' hundred. ""thousand "",verses' or· "the ,rpzoqszcben." rQo ....rje ....sems-dpa'r the Being of Uncbangeability", ,wbose emanation,dGa'-rab~rdo,.,. . 32 empowermen.t:,Cdbang,..,bskur,,) . TogetheJ!l- with.,··, the- three mKbal-'gro'!""c'ma, he compiled an, . . index Cdkar::chags!l of . the sixty-fourbya,handred thousand. r[)zoQS'!""c'ghen,verses; this task took three· years •. After· that he went. :to the , cremation gr-oUBcl' , ·SI'tavana, where' many' It is at this poi,nt, in,dGa!-rab' rDo-r;'e', lifethat'he comes into ,contact with.- • Jam~pal bShes,.-gnyeft",,'the,nex:t, holder of the lineage,o£,thePBD.. The accoun,t,J:n· 'IK···IU.H,; g,L<Esoter1cBuddhilmJ.n,Tibet continues as£0110ws: follo.wing '··propheoy: Buddbahoodgo.. to ,- SitavanatJ'. th,ilsadvice,' a'ndmet·dGa,r -rab,..,rdo-r.je·there,. " For, seventy-five-:year,s:·· -'Ja~pal..-b'e,s""9ny:en;"·· listened to< dGa'-rab..,.,roo-r;e,·'s, instructions. lnthe ,Dharma. After 'having 91v8nal1 tradit,ionsto' Jam.-dpal.-bles-gftyen, dGa' -rab..... ' 35 Dargyay, Esp.tertc Buddn:ism.., p,.19-20. For a,no,ther,' accounJt ,of dGa""-rab rDo......r j:e·'s life· with. slightvariation&·, see~arthan9:TQ1:;~u,Cry.s,tal,"irr9rVol·.V '('Ber,keley:,Dha~ma . Publisbing,; 1,971, .. pp.• l&2.,..186., 33 Teacher dGah-rab,...rdo·-rje appeared· i,n the· middleofa. ma,ss of light, surrounded· by Spiritua.l··Beings.(mKha.I .".,lgro''''ma)..·, He. handed'; . contai·n.ed,therJ)zogs.".chepverses. He di v·lded these· sixty...fourey a ··bund·ped,·:thousand.verses· into. the, ···Three.. ,·Sect-iOfts. " ,0£·· tbe.rDzogs-pa...' '.' o chen-po. . . .36 It is not possible' to aseerta·in the. de'gree· of historical trtt·th, that 'lies bebind,these·'stories, yet they, are tlsefuli,n ·providingan insightlnto the Buddbist tradit.ioD" svlew· of the··bolders of the· lineage of teaching .. Eva Da·rgyayhas. proposed· the year 52€. E .., fordGa· ...rabrDo- rje, 37 while, .·Tartbang,Tulku" propo,ses the·yea.reS5 C.E..for "his birth. 38 A. If.. Hanson.-Barber arguest.hat<tbis.date, is. too' early' and sU,gges,ts 550. C. E. as a more suitable, date .' for', bim. 3·9 Hanson....Barber· s method,s in, reaehing.tbis. da·te do Dot. appear tobeent,irel.ysound,,40 wb,ilethe.firstcemtar,y,da,ting '3~ Dargyay,. Esoteric: Buddhi.s.m#..p.21. 37 Dargya'Yi' Es,oterlc.Buddhj"Sm,.P .24.5 •. 38 TartbangTulku.;.: . CrystaLHirrH·,;- •. . p.182. 39 A.W. Hansert""Ba'rber;,~Thelden-ti£ication·o-f·, dGa· l . fab·, rao ' r:le, ff Journa·l.·,·S!t,·tWl InterMtionalAssQciati.on·.g,f: BtuidMst, ·,Sbldies .. · fffad.i·son) VoL 9 'no. 2. 1986 .'p.5'5-63. i 4.0' There al'>e· two ·main weaknesse·s to Hansen-Barber's argament.. . Firrst,·heucsesastandard';of·· "tair:ty-flve·ye'ar. spacings>between.,..each·master and·stude·nt·.. It is poss'ible"··· that· a master,betbi·rty...five year,s older "tha'n.. bis.studenti 34 of dGa' -rab rDo-rie accords with· the ac.counts provided. by" the Buddbist tradiotton' ltself. For this reasoni t;·· is -·furtherevidencebeeomesava ilable . Tulku'·repoJr'ts tha,t he came from·, a village j,ust west of Vajrasanain India, and, was a Brahma,n'" known as ,sNyin9~po ·Grub..,.pa. He ,was an expert inSansk,rit,linguistics, philosophy" logi'c,., and art. kno:wledgehe was also known, as ' Jam,.",(ipal. bShes-gmyen>, ( MaDju6r,imI't.ral.· .TarthangTulku's·. account then,. reports., the same events qQG.te.d, above about·. hi,smee,ting,. wi th.dGa:,f.,..rab. rDo,...r·j.e.·. 41 Eva Dargyayplaces 'Jam,...(lpal bShes.,.gnye,n1sde'atb· ',: in<theyea,r 3'42 C.S .42 ~ '.Jam,...Q.pal, bShes~nyen,f,s student was SrI. Simbilb·.·· A short biography, of h!s li'£e is £otloo.·,1n: Eva"Da·rgyay's ~." 2.i,Esotcr ic dBuddhisma Tlbe t . It ,reads as follows : but it is also possible -- and more likely -- that the difference be greater or, lesser, perhaps very much· so. Secondl,y, Hansen,...Ba,rber invents two holders· of the lineage which 'the tradition does not know-of. These "are a se-eond< Vimalamltr,a.,,·and······an·unknown,,···person· Hanson..-;Barber. ·does ·'not. ""propose to·,j;dentify.Heascribes thirty-five year intervals for tbe,se, two ""lineage bolders,If, in, order,'to""suppo£t'his" dating;, of . dGa.',-rab,rDo....rje in-the s,ix,thcentury,.,;, See' . '··'Hansen'~Barber, ...IS.:i.4. 41 TartbangTu1ku..Cfystal' Hirr,or,..p.186,~· 4 2 Darg;y&y~ E,oter icBuddhism".p.24,5. 35 In Chlnain the town So-khyam",a son full virtuous father and·his wife who· were of.· clear intellec,t; ·this s'ODwas;.. tbe-T-eaeher §rIsimha.Atthe, age of fifteen ,he· studied· • grammar. and .10g1cano" the, other usual;, scholar,- one; night,. inthetown,·.of.gSer;-g11ng. Avalokite'.yara appeared'" to him· and·· prophesied: "I··f·· you reallyasplre·for the Buddbabood,thengo to Indiatotbecremation ground, . · 80-sa4311n9""" The· 'Teacber,~rIsilJ'ha· .-. 'puthistrus t in,th is word. S·ince.he tbougbt that tbe·o.t·he,r\·'l,anva,sbou,ld a·lao. be. studied , studied··tbe,exoter..ic a,nd., the asater iG ·'1'a-ntra··· with, the· .Teacher·,.BbelakIrtL, . ~r'IsilJha.took the vows 0 famonk,. and for ,three years o,practiced,asce.ticismaccording to the . ¥.iUya- systelD.-(Le,.rul,es·,fortbecondtlet·,(')f·.monks).~ AdlROni,s'hed .. by,a·pr.ophecyrepeatedly, given., by , Ayaloki.te'vara ,he set out to India. -Because encoun~ered·.no. pain .·and' hardship·,·, on the way. '. 36 Thus be came, sa·fe,and,soundto the crema<t.i&a.,,' grouftdSo...,sa...,gling... ,. "'bere··.be met ·.the.great Teacher'Jam-dpal-b'es-gnyen,whorbecause of §rIsimba's., entreaties, accept-ed. him asa • student·. FOr'···· t·wenty-five .years.·.··the,Te·aeher belonging to it, till fina·llythe master dtssolvedin-amass ofl ight.. , W·ben, 'rlsl-mba was engaged. with .tbe-deathlamentations r ' the,: form··,af, the master.appeareclin.:,tbe sk,y and·· /- instrueted ,h·iHh bodily. He gave· Sriscimba,· a.· • the Six Med:ttation ,Experiences-. (sGom...,nYaIls..." After the death of his· master" 'r.I'simha.pract.lced til isdoctr·l,neandreal ized • ,the absolutely real (doD79yl::ading) .43 , - .' At this point in Sri Si,mha'sstory other character's, become ·invo'lved·,tha·t, de,· not· ·fmmed,tately conceFn,,;us..~rt· Simhareturned<toCbina.· He ·wasi·nvited, ·to Khota·n(Li.~yul·l atalat'ter date anddiedthe·reafter·o,ne week' sstay .44 His ·main s·tude·nts·we.re . .v.i'mal'am.ltra Aand ·.J~anas·utra. 45 43 Dargy.ay,Eso1berig,Budtlh4sm.".p.. 22,. Fora slightl.ylo·nger, account of, his life see' Tarthang "TQlku, -Crystal Mirror, p.188-191. 44 See, Bargyay,. EsoterigBuddhism.. pp.24...,5." . 45 lRisl.,p. 2.7. 37 C.E.,46 while Eva Dargyay remains'uncommittedo'n a,date.· 4 ? The. col'ophORr" o£ . . the:PB[)· ·reports.·:that~rr.. Simba it,aug'btl the text to Padmasambhava, . who was the a,ne, to bringth,is 'ite,acbing ·toT'!,bet. ..Padaa;salftbhava .1sa figureo,f outs·tanai ng impoE,tanee·.in 1:be ,n,iestory of Budd'hism,. in,'l'ibe;'b,.£o·r it, is he' f who is,. bel.ieved' ·to be, responsible .for.thesucce-ss of· Buddl):'iism. in.· . that country. 48 Unlike,thei' previoUisgUr:US'" for' whicn, we have only, .scanty· >biograph,i·cal.· ,informat.ion", . there· are ....aa·ny.,yol.ulftes·· tnTibe·tan ,1 i-tera ture aevotedto . his·1 ife . 49 These· ··wo·rks.. ' are· mach" too.· le-ngthyto.··· be. included;" in ··the, ;·presents·tudy.'·.inat is' important·forthepresent 'purpose is to note that Padmasambhava,·'vas invltedtoTibet, duri·ng the re1gft ···.ofKhri·-srong ·lDe-btsan (reigned,7SS'-97 )50~and . . . was· .instrQtae·ntali,ne·stablishiftg 8uddhi,sm there. It ·isbel ieved ·46 Tarthang:.Tulku,.CrystalH"irro.r.p.18,8. 4 7 Dargy'ay, Esoter iC( BuddhA,sm" .p. 24·5. 48 See e.g. 'Bar1:hang·.·TQlku.". Crystal Hiprqr",p,. 14,0££. 49 The following"are some· of the more well known blograph;les..·of ·.Padma,sambhava:: The,bKa.',.-tbaASelzbraq....U",by .'. Sh 'Y-r.9.ya ·the_,Pad"a •. . ...n .9L....ii.'n9""'pa,.... g Llngzpa . . :::'~ft:R,Hqn-Sel sGrop.-mej' ·by,Padma,<gLingpaioo ,;andthe,'adma" ..:..~_'-..:.._....;_Bsl.§a.!Jl: br"by .·sNan9,···J,chan..Jt!,n"'chen~pal"i. U....rgyan' .' gLi,ng....pa··<s . biogrsapby ··Q:.f,·Padmasambbava· was' tr'ans.lated . . . tnt-e·... Pre'ncb by' Gustave-Cbar.,lces.Toussa'int·,· as I.dL . . IU&:t... sm. PadM.. (PaI'is: Libra·rire'·Ernes$·· 'Leroux r .... " 1933), and·, ,trans·lated .. fI'om,the·, Frencb i·nto Englls·h 'by I\e,nneth Douglas and Gwendol·yn Bays as :r.u. ld.a,Ad·LJrbe'l!o,t:ioQ:·.U 'PadmasaaIjWay8,p,>,.(Berk'e'1ey:'·· Dhar,ma,· Pubelishlng, 1918+ 2 Nols •. 50 These .... dateasuppl,ied ,by.Sha;kabpa,...Tibe't,>6, .,Pol,i,ti@a,l" HisTtory,'(-,NewHaven: ,Yale,Unlversi ty'Press,1967) ,p. 34. 38 by the, Tibetans that during. his stay In-Tibet he not only", taught val"ious students· about·Buddb,ism,bll·thld many' teach'ing-:sthrGugAout" Tibet, under the. eartb.,'in" rock·s,. in-, temples, inrive,rs and lakes, in the, sky,. etc. 51 "These' biade'ft, ,teaehiings-.are'" kno'wn ," as "'treasures ".< g,terzM'). ' The,· .-,PBD lsone ,such ,treasure . Padmasambbava,ls' knowD-,to ,have stfdied under, a certain .- f""'- 'Jam-.d-pal,bSbes-gnyen,t-he You'Dejer, ',who is believed to be the reinca,rnation ,of the tJam-dpalbShes-gnyen mentioned above. 52 ; He is not kno,wn" to have,studied",with5rT Simhs i,nany Gf the- traditiona'l, accounts.• 53 There is an account ,which states' ~ tha-tPadmasambbava·, ,ta-ugh1lSri5 - imha~Tb'is· accoul'llt·. is taken- by' Eva, Dar9yayas unr.ellable In. l"igbt. o;f, the" existil'lg ,accounts 0,£, the.pr i·no,i,pal trans,missiono;ftbe- rDzogs:cben .54 The, fact., tbat, , there, iSl'lOdirect conneetionbetweenJ Padmas-ambhava- " and irI, 5imha l:n the reliable-existing ,accGuntsdees,aot-mea-n thatstlch aconnectionis.impossible. It i s a common· feature" o-f the teacbi-ngso·f theVajray'lna-" tbat they' ma,y be,handed. downinencoanters;o,f N,pure.,vision".; (dag,..snang) • ·'l'hismeans t-nat ,a disciple can receive teaching from· a, master long.· dead ina direct spiritual 51 5eeTu--l'kui'Jhondup"Rinpoebe ,;H'iddeB,.,'l.aeh'Ms~,p~.58;.··' 52 Dargyay, Eso:telic-'B!1dd,Msm, ,p.27 •. 53 See Da·rgyay"Eso$eri,q'Buddhism,'p,.27 • 54 Dar.9ya;y'i .. Esot&JPi·c'Bud4hlg,,, ,p,.55. 39 encounter,. 55 Suobtransmissions .·'are not rej,ected by' the, tradition, but rather are taken very seriously. Tbe colopnon'·Q·ftbe· PBD does 'not,s-tate that· i t was· received by Padmasambbava, ,in this way" but by lnte'r,preting the, transm;ission, in this way we are able to· explain., a· . transmis's4on that 0 therw isemustbecons idered inaut,he,ntic. PBD, during> ,his, .stayinT'i.bet in,tbee,J;gh,th' century'C.• E. GuruChos--dbang,discovered ,thi,s,teacbing,andtaught. it< to his disciple .sNang.-aon, Dad.-seng, who wrote· i t down. Thus Guru Cbos...dbang, wa,s . a. ver:y famou,st'ransmittero.·£ the teachei;ngsof the rHying,-ma".· school,. a-n.d',i:s .known a,s, . the, secondgr:ea:t> .•Discoverer..-Kill9,*S.6 Eva, Dargyay i:n,her", lUJi&.,.Q!. Esoteric Buddhi,sm, Ul"Tibe,t,.Ras, translated, a biography"o.f GuruChos--dba,n9'~"" toolengtby" to be' qua ted in, full he,rei,57 t'herea,lso ex,ists,a£Ullbiogcaphy of hitmthatremainsto be 55 There, are· numerous ··accounts,·,of, sucheneounters. For'"an· examp,le" see Dar'9¥ay" Esotep,iq.Budgh4·sm·"p" 4,8,. Forabrlef ,:cJisQU,ss,!on of ,this type of' 'spiri,tual . trans.iss,ion see Gyatso,' "Signs, Memory and His.tor.y, ," p •. l0'. See al'so 'Jh:llku', ' ThondupRlnpoche,Segre.:t Teachi.ngs ,p. 90 • 56 8eeDargyay, Eso,teric. Buddbi:sm..p. 104., 57 .Dargyay, ··'soter 19.Bgddh,ism~."ppi.l',O;3~1'}'9•. '. 40 ,,,bls ·life. Guru Chos-dbang,·wa-s born: in"theyear 1212.• 59 His. birth .' was attended by. various miraculous-signs. He received ani·. ,intensiveeducati-o,n ..£roB\ a youncg age in literature, history, and re;llgioustrad.!.tiGns. At the ageofthirteenhehad'a spiritual vision in wbl:cbbe. encountered ·Tara., ·Va;rasa.ttva, and a DakinI:. He co·ntinued.torece ive· large . numbers 0 £ • important teachings:, and transmiss10n-s· until the age "0£·' treaso·res· or :hidden·:- teachings.•.· He" revealed· eigh:teeamaj;or· treasu'res·· .a'nd· nu-mer0Us·.·.• ·mi.nor" 'treasures,. He· prophesied" the:·', Mongol- invasion. of._.Tibet,a pr.ophecywhl.cb in· fact came· .to pass in. i.' the year.. 1239. -60 Guru:-Cbos...dba,ng .·not .only revealed· 'ma·ny . h~idde-n·treasure.s,ehe-wrote copious lyonmanyaspects a £ BUddhistrellg;i,o.n. He·· -d1ed in·.the. year 1270·. . Guru· Ohos ...dbang",. is·. known.· to ba,ve· bad·"eight.." sp"iritua.}: . sons, ,,61 yet the 'nameo£sNang.-don. Dac):-seng.doesnot'a,ppear: 58 ·%WLAutQbif)qrapbY:·~"lnstructi9Ds,'.21 . Go,u,· . Cbo§~kvi·· gBang..,.phyus:;. (J(yichu-"Temp'1e-,..Paro,; Bha-·tan.:Ugyen-Tempal ;(;yaltsen,1979). Two volumes • 59 Datesaccord-ing.toDarg-yay., EsqUerie Buddhism... ···p.103.,- 60 Dargyay, Eso-tericBuddhd"sm,p-.112. 61 DargyaY,.hgteric Bllddhi.sm,p.118. 41 There .is no further information on the transmiss,ion,·of thePBD',until ,its collection in the Huodred Thou,sandTaptras Q.f :th!it ,,' rNyinq,,..mabyRatna 'gLing-!"'pa" (14o-3.,..14Q9l. 62 Ratna, .... gLing.,..pa·· W&'S a· tre'asu·re£inder himself, and, tbe"compiler ·o,f· the gr.eatcollection,,·of rNyi,ng""ma . tantras. Vithregardto his compilation of. the rN,ying-ma.. Tantras.EvaDarg,yay has presented ,tbefollowing account. The, 'lDan--dkar""ma Catalogue, of the Kanjur' states tbattbe esoteric T'antras of the Vajrayana(gsang.,..snaagsnana.,..rgygd) were not·· included ,because they were dangerous {if studied. by non,-qualcified perso,nsl. The transmission of these books . (~) and their oral tradltion (l!m.sl)had become very sca'rce and, preciou,s<, because, the.,Old'l'antras .o,fL the·' . First,Periodo,f Transl,at,ions(snaa.,..'gyur,· rnying~Mt.1::rgyu.d'¥'·were,not'taken· ··i·nto .' the" collection of the Kanj\1<I'"dbKA,f-"gyurh Vitb, . great enthusiasm Ratna-gl ing.,..paearnestly searched for t,hese· books and, the',ora·l .' traditionsinalJ directio·ns, 0'£ the compass·,. Finally, be£ound·thema;ln", bu,lk,o,£· .the· , One,..., ,HQndred-,'l'housa,nd Tantras ("rGyud-"bum)at Zur-· 'ug-pa...,l,uDg;.,He,knew that, lnKhams, dBus"or, 62. Dates·' acco,rd·ing.toDargy'ay,. Esoteric·'Buddhism,;. ·,p.144.,· 42 gTsang,tbecomplete, ora-ltrad,!,tion,·wa,s, not,' handed dow,n, to: anybody witb, th.,exeeptio.D'of, Mes.,-sgom"'"9tan"",bzang ""po, iDgTsang,.· .He .could,!'. " not imag1ne that this oral tradl tionwas to ,-be' interrupted so soen. .lJ!be mas'te-r-Has -8go·m, in spite of his old age#· taught and gave, him; ,the ins truct ions, ,sftowinggre,a t zeal indo In9 so fO.r a long,time"" Lateron<,Ratnar-gl,ing~pacompl1ed" the- One.".· Hundred....Thousand ,Tantras, (rG¥ud....,fbumJ in,a single ccollection", .at- the.,LbuD""'9r,ub....pho,-brang,' (palace) .in Gru-sul. At first he-wrote i tin Indian . ink- bu-tclateron in golden tincture .. Thereupon" he did,much,forthe.-di8sem:ina,tion<" o·f· t·)lisoral traditioll:.Tbanks, to Ratna .... 91-in9~",,'tbe'9racious, and great Discovero£ -'. Concealed",'l'reasares, even,-todaythe.Tantras . --of the Vajrayana (9saD9""&ngags ""'-9Yud ) are ava,ilable for' the Q,se.o·f,·ever.ybody like, a wish,.,..bestowi.Dg jewel (clntauni,). i He, was, e:xceedingly usefu1.to,- the whole ,rNYingzma....po' .' Doctrine. 63 'lbispassage,shows, ,tllat,.the,te'achings, of ,the .rHying""ma, tantras' bad, almost fully,declineda,tthe -' time, of, Ratna· 43 tral'lsmiss,ions . in"all of Tibet. Ratna gLlng~pa edited, the mate,rials ·he compiled" in,tothe IttmdredThousandTantras U tbil rHying-rna or ·l£be preserved them' jus,t, as he found·the,ln,,,, . It is nonetheless.> due to the e£forts' ,of Ratila,gLlng"""pa that tbePBD exists in the present world··· and, is. a.val,lable ·for. study.,. . The Huntkjed,·Thousa'pdTantras of·· ~rHvlnq~ma,·bas been· handed down, since tbe,time, of Ra,tna",gLing.,..pa and ,exists in severaleditions,·.a.nd,·eoples.Ai4 The ·PBD is £ound"in, all. known,',' cop;ies' of ···tats, collection. There' 'are '. no,known""colDIReatar-·ies. ontbe,PBD., Refer-enees ' to tbePBO·,· ar,ealso lacking,in,tbe"ava!,lable' b,istorical, accounts 0'£, ,the ,.transmiss,ion, .of Buddhism, ,,In.·. T,lbe$. The ,present studylsperbapst'hefirst,exploration of thePBD in letters s inee,thetimeofRatna,gLing~pa,• .Coptepts The . PSD· contains .two.··.hundredi··.··,nin:ty,~s,ix pag.es. These, ar:e di'vided .-.into,· one., hundred ·twenty-three chapters •.· The·.· chaptertitlesa're 'recorded in the colophons of each chapter. The,~cftap.tertitlesare,as, follows:· I. Tbe,Baste .Top,lc·and·tak,!ng:·up thetoplc (p. l) . 2 •.. Thegeneral;.meani.ng;,ami"i~s.coa.tent. lp.,9 l. 3.The,way ,0£:be18g o·ftheBas& (p.• 12). 44 ···4 .>Tbe'exlstentlal,,;mode of ·tbe:Base andt'heGreatAppearance of the Base, (p.1S) .. 5,. Thepartioulars of the Base (p.18). 6.· . the',Ba5e The.,;'similes.thate~empl',ify (p.19L 7-. Thewayo£ Being of· the Base and" eft-titles;. and, the recogni:·tion. oftheword-whicbsy-mbol,izesthe,made of, "appearancefp. 2 2 l. 8. A condensedteaah~ng on the Base and, its recognition (,p,.,27L 9. Thecomplete·recogn.itio,n of ·Wisdom(p .30) . 10. The·, wordstha,t si-gnify ;w'isdo...".(,p.33·).·· 11.' The·com,ingforth;o,f' . the force of awarenessa,nd,the tota,lly",pure . force (p. 34) . 12. The words, wbis,h"symbelize:th1s, (p.3fH,. 13 • Thefo,rce ·in·,brle f (p .36) • 14. The" ornament,andtbe,p,lay,(.p.37}. 15. The words ,for ffor,nament",and"play" I,D ·brief (p. 39). 16. The slgn,ifying; slmllesfor "ornament", and ,,,play" (p.40). ,,17. Teaches thatl:nthe pure·,. Base there -is, .nodelusionand;' teaches the three bases,fordel,us,!on lnthe appearanceo,fquality· (p. 4,ll.' 1'8 .1.'becauseand ti,me ofde:lusion,fp .,45), 19. The conditian· of deluslan,andtbede-lnslon of; the obj,ect ,duriog,the·'ill,termediate 'kalpa, ,aloftg-with"the· condit·,ions of the body (p.47l • . 20.' The,manner,·bk..wbiieh,the i,n,te-r'ioreon~en4h'. [of se,nt:ilen,t, ,bein<JSlis'es:tabl"isbed '(p.49).- 45 23. Tbecharacteris,tics of, the elements, and,the>'wayof,- arising and way of dissolving in 'combination, with tbe ,meaning (p.53) . 24..- Thethr,ee" aeons (.p,.55). ,25. The coming ,£orth "of ,the two,RupakaYilsof compassio,n ·from the Dbarmakay,a and, that the', twokayasdGnotexist in, itself (p. 56) . 26. The, way theki'ya is clear as amudrl,'for the>discipleof ,·"pro'found',kROwledge,,'and, its arising as "perfectioft and knowledge in" the·,kaya"oitbe', disciple (p'.,59;)·. 27·. ·Tbe·abode·ofdwellingand thethr'O'fte(,p. 60 ) • 28. The.'expl,anatlon, of the·meaning.ofa. throne, .(.p,. '6·1,h 29. ,The retinue 0 £.theSambbogakay·a (p. 61 ) . 30. The words which signify the SambbGgakaya, (·p.63h ,31. /L',begeneral ,characteristics 'and ·thefi,vef~mllies conioinedwith,the femal,ecaRsorts· {p;...64l. ·32 . ,'l'he r·etinue of the;Sambhogak1iya joined totbeessence of mean1ng" ,(p.66)., , 33. The way the liirmtnattaya comes·fo·rth in the world (p.68 ) • • ,3,4. T,he divlsio·nsof ·thethree kayas (.p. 69) . 35. The,words which signify the . tbree klyas and the.' ·eftumerations,o,fthe k.yas (p. 72). 46 'Buddba"i.n ",brief {p. 75) • 37. The, 'Bhaga,van.,,(bcom~ldan~~d9S} oftbe,', thl'ee kayas" the Buddha (sangs~rqyas),. and the way of purify ingthe defilements (p .76) • 1 lving be 1ngs ) (p. 78) . 39. The philosopbicalperspeet'ives ofthee-ight"vehieles (p. 79). 40., The medLtations"oftheelgbt, velli,cles. (p.'82:l,., 41. Theactlvi,tie'softhe'elghtvehicle,s (p. 84) • 42. The results of the, individual vehicles; tbe· doors of (p .. 85) • 43. The recogn,i;tion, of the ,meaning,. of At! together with questiGnsanda,nswers(p. 87) . 44. The recognition,of the tbreekayas including. ',' the ·,phenominaldlmens-ion,the Dbarmakaya ,Q,f awareness (p. 91). 45. Therecogn;itionofthe,£i,ve aspects of wisdo~,(p.• l,()O"h ·,46., ,The,pu,t·t4ng in order ;.o.,f theeightaccuMUlatio,ns and then their",· reeogn.i.tion ".. (p" 10,2). ' 47. Goingbe'yond.thecaQseofsa,msara,., severing ltsroo·ts £romthe,end,and recognizing ltlp.1(5). 48. Divid,ing" the three ,time·sand, recogn,izing th.em (p.108'). 47 51.·The·.· s-aered··ins,true,tionswbicb condense, the enter,tng lnto recogAi.tioD.·.,(,p·.>120:l .. ··· " 52 . The viewin"ge'neral(,p .. 1211. 53. The view and its application,(,p.124,).• 54 .·The view i'n deta!1 (p .126) . 55. The gra·spiagof the ,one view· in one life. (p,.. 13·8). 56. The view" medita,tic.A", ano"practicecombi:ned into, one' Cp.142) . 57. The final settlemen'tof the view (p •. 144¥.• 58. The jo ining,with··· existence anda·bsencein, meditation, andthe< cont,inua,l samadbi fo,r·· average·mind1!k togetber:. ,withtts de,ftn!ng,enaracterist.ics .(p •.147) . 5~l.. The,' insp;j:ra,tionthat,,·teachesconte'nt.and, . lack,of conten·£·,'·· in,medita~ion., and.~the·, meansoi meditation ..in ·de,tail '. (.p.152). 60 •. The ,'applied theory of med11:a·t10n· (·p ..· 157l. 6·1. .T,be..,.qro,unos ·£o-rer,ror in .meditation fp. 158) • 62. Tbe,·cutting,;"off·; of.tb&.. groQ'nds. for·error·in.meditatien,· .' ·(p.160) • 63. The·"practice, in condensed forRk(p •.175,) .. 64. The sacred···.,·instructio&s,·Q·f, applylng,equal·lythe . theory· of re1.ig1-on5 'practi.ce.toitsel£during·,tbe fou·r,times (p.178) . 65. The practice of the joining,- in equality of the three titftes(-p-. 179) . 66.' The",eighteen",.spberes"of, ,ac,tivityocf,H"ra.. ,p.180l·.· 48 6 7. The ,e,xperieace (p .180 ) • 68. €learingdoabtsalld·"obstruetions.· (·p.181l ·69.,How theresulteomesfortb(p.181). 70. The explanation, of the· me,aning of a vehicle in .brief (p.l81) . 71. The explanation ofthemenaing, of the view" tbe words of ,teaehing(p. 182) . 72. The explanatlon··ofthe·meaning . .· .ofmed,itation·. al.ong witb,·, the ,words 0 fsignif·ication (p .182 ) . 73. Thee,xplanation oftbe, meaning·ofnon-medi,tational·oDg" -wlth tbewordsofproclamation (p. 183). 74,. The praotice in brief (.p.184). " . 75. T,lle explanation of· the, meaning of the resul t(p .185) . 76.· The individual defin·i,tions of the vehicles and the . de·fini'Dg' charaote.ristics(p.187) . 77. The way's of superio,rity,of the eight vehicles in· brief" (p.18S) . 78. The·/meaning,.of thesupe,rior ·(p.190J. ' 79. The superiority, by five· greatnesses', over, the· eight vehicles (p.191). 80. Teaches. that .the eight vehicles have error and·' obscuratlon., and < that, the; Ati does·no>t" ba¥e erro.r,·,and·, ·obscuration (p.195J. 81. Anexpla,nation.of, grounds·· for error and the.word.s of,·, sigD'ificat1onin brie·f(p.197). 82. The wo~rdsof.inquir;ywitb;a,certa'in, summar:y,(ofthe· 49 follow.iRgchapters 1 (p. 198) . 83. Theflveto-talitie's f,p.199J. 84. Theexplanation"of . the .mea·niag-of,,· the, five total·1 ties: ·toge,ther,wl·th the,ir.necessity (p. 202) . 85. The explanation •. ·of·.··tbe,··meaniug,·,of"a,,·Tantra.· G:p.203.)·. 86. The vow·s andempower-ments..· of· the measure of .' rLsing .o·fa .' Ta·nt·ra ·(.p.204) . 87. Clearly teaches the explanationofthe·meaningi:o£·· ·ie.powerffte,nt " (p. 21,0) . 88. 'l'besacred•.commi-tments (p·.210.). 89. The explanation, ·afthe meanLngof·a. sacredcomm!tment-· (p. 211) . 90,_ The:manda·la.(p.• 21·2). 91. The self-nature ." of·sacred. aot10nis wi tho·ut .. deeds.or searching (p. 213) . 92. Worship, aoo.:yoga, .(p.215) .. · ··9·3.,Kant,raand·,·mudra fp.216). 94,. Retreat and! practice (.p.2181.· 95 . The ·JHNe.greatnessesoftbe .tran&mis-s!on(p. -219) . 96. The explana.tionof the meaning ··of,thetra,nsmission (p. 219). 97. The five neces.sar.ypu·rposes o·fthesacred instruction .(p. 220). 98. The meani,ng,·.a,f the saar.ed·· instructions (p.•. 222l .. 99. Puts the levels.,tbepe·rfeetions, and,·the;·fivepatbs· in·' ··proper order ,and actuall yteaches the sta-qeso fthe levels ·(p.,223). 50 '100 •. 'T·be ,mean!-Ing of a level (p .226) . 101. Tbe' result, the five . certain, paths (p.• 226). 102 • Theexplana,tion o·f themeanln9 of a path (p. 228). 103. Tbefour. paths· of, practice, of t·hete'D·perfections Cp.228l. 1&4.. The,explanat:ion, of,·the< mea,ning,·of. the •.· per,fections, of.. .re,sul"tCp.230) . 105.. The·med tuma .(p .230,1~ 10·6.'.rhe".mea,n·!.ng 0 f..appearanoein br ie·,f(-p . 232) . 107. 'l'he£ourmodeso'f·attachmen,t'<lh23Sl. 108. The fou,r ·i,nte·r;mediate states (p.236). 10'9. The div isio:n, betweenm,lnd",and" wi,sdom.. ·Cp.2'37-l.' 110. The- cOIMd,tments,,;·ofthe ge,neral char,acteris·ttcs of l'ihera,t·!onandthe stqDs (.p. 240 ) . 11:1. The· signsofdeatb1Dde,tail(p. 24'2h 112.T·be res;ults. of the . intermediate state (p.244). 113. Theabs·ence,(of a need] for liber,ation· 1n those with' eo·mpletelysuper i-Cilrsenses andthedivisl-on of·t'he superior, a<Verage.. ··and·inieriorof those wi,t!l'"a·verage ·senses, . ,t,hed'irect ,recogni tion o,fPossessi"ngtheFive and Pos-sess.ing., Per·feo,tion" the· six superknow:'ledgesr'i' fo,rth,.and.the· to.gether~w.iththe.waycompassion.come-s individual: division,,·. 0·£, -the ,Great.- Posses-siag,.of. .P er£ect-ion.(p .245) . 114. Tbemeaft>1;D.(jS) of.libera,t·ioD; and compa'sslon·,.(.p~2S8·).. ".. 115. A gene;r.al.assortment. of similes toge.ther'",witban 51 expl,a,oati,onof tbelr meanings fp. 259). 116. The inspiration of n!r.vana,a,nd, the meanings: of the five words.wbichsignifytt (p. 261). 117.. The"explanationof,tbemeaning,o,f·nirvaBa,,( p .26·7 l • .l18 .,'lbe.meani,ng. ·,ofthe eyefp. 268) . 119. Tbemeanlng'of the·, four, extremes (.p.2.6&)., ',12'0,.·, Tbe' mean,ingof,tbeletters (,p.271). 121. Bringstogethe,r.·. the,,'sca,t±ered,., words" causes"freedom, from doubt, and clears, away tbe extreme of ,faults (p.272). 122. The··names o·f· the· Tantra and offerl,ftgsofpraise(p'o280). 123. ConcludestbeTa,ntra (p.284). Colophon ,.( 28:6¥,. CHAPTER 2· Methodology Tbe fol.lowing,.:chapters ....ofthisthe,s·ls· conststot a .,themat.ics,tudy. o·f the ,most lmportant topics in tbePBD. T·be PBD is a text attempting to comprehend every aS,pect of ·i,ts view of tbeBuddbology,it,represents.. To"pFesent. ,a.·full analysis. of everytopi'c, i'D the PRO, wouldrequire c ,nobhia9"" less than",a,ninterlinear, commenta,r,y: andconcordance;o,fthe 'entire tex·t., a .task that could well extend .into tbousandsof pages.. For tbis·reasonlhave foeu·sed, on· the principal subjects nece·ss·ary for a ··compre·heDsion; ,o-f, ·thePBDf,s . 'teaohings, tbose topics presentedrepea·tedly a·ndextensi vel y througboutthe.·,··text. The·' PBD·.···prese.nts many·· secondary topics, oftencrypticall,yandincomple,tely.,.' These topics I .have; ,alluded to"butno,t discussed in detail. The,following;chapters,tbereforeconsistofanaaalysis ofthe,PBIHs;views:on,·lJ.The-Base,. 2) ()elU64-on,. 3,.),. T.he, Buddha~aya#'" ··4,)··... ,.Wisdoa...,·,.S)···Tbe,,····path,,·6.),.• Recogni,ti,Oft,. .• ·anch··7),.· ...!fhe,A,tiyo,ga. ·I·t ,wo.uldcerta1nlybe ,desirable to· ,d.iscuss·tbe 53 relationship the ide'aspre,sentedln the PBDbave to var iou,s other views of reality,. sucbas, the di,ffer,ent Bu-Mbi·st .scbools 'of ·t.fiought,andt,he.·mys.ticall.i-teratureof tiheworld. Such an enterprise ··woaldaga·lnrequire-detailed analy'sis· al80untlng to a fall thesi·s'foreacb topic cov,ered,. M,ygoa,l in preseatingth!s- information,··.. is to provide. as camprehensi-ve a v.iew, a.spossible·ofa text that. is an., importan,t,re·pre.s.entation·,( of,," esoteric Btlddh,!sm.. in·.,genera1,.· ' and··· its ·thirteenth .cent.ury mani,:£estation .. , in,.parit.icular.~ ·1·· .. assume .my .reader ·to be .familiar "i·tb .the£undamental concepts of the Buddh·i.st·traditi.on,. a,nda&suRle< that, he or she is able, to draw q conclusions· on . the import off· the infot'lRationoI provide on-his orber o-wn part. It ·ha.s not been,my·conoern. to a s.certain the truth or falsity o,f the in.£ormation con,talnedi,n· the··PBD.· .1 have' striven, ra.tber,. ·to provide t·be··reader with·an .. ·ins,,igbt,in,to the thOUigbt.·:,o£:·. the: PBD .a-s..'accaratel·yas.possible.,·. dwlthouit" prejud.ice as ·tolts greatnes·s· in or lack of splr·itualvalue. Thi.s . info.rmation,should ..provide.. ·.·.·tbe.·.reader·. witban.,aecurate·" i.nsighti.ntothe tbeoriesandoutlook of one of the greatest movemen.ts.·· in esater:ic Buddhl,sm". the Great Perfection (rdzQqs~chenlvehicle. This study represents theflrsttime,the.PBD." ha·scome·; . to the atten·tion.·of modern. scholarship,. There are no translations of tbePBDavailable.· F-or.thisreason. it bas· . been· necessary. to quote extensively fro.. the text iftiorder . 54 to provide' an accurate·, picture of the . tex,t .itself,. ·.t·nave ," augmen>ted,tbese,>'(Juo'katdi&ftS, from. the .. tex.t w4th,,,cla,rifying remar'ks'· ·.·aOO··' footnotes,., yet, ,.o,f.ten "I " have, 'allowed., the, tex,t, to'. speak, . for itself. I·bavestriven topickau·t the, most appropriate quo·tations. from the PBD,, to expre,sstbesubj,ec,t. at·· band .'.and.,. have .. provided,comme·ftitar.y and ,·aaalysis!"in" order· to,make,,·thesepointsmor,e·lucid.tomy reader. All translations.. in,,,, ,tllis,A:hesis,# unle·ss otherwise noted... are my own.· lnpreparat.ion.·for .this, thesis I .have· prepari!d:a prelimblary" trans,latio,n,·of"tbe, 'entire· text ~. ,Dr • . Eva;J}argyay·,.has'·,·kinclly"read,i:his ,maaascrdptin,compal'isoft" w,Um theo,riginal ''ribetant8'xt . She' ,has of,reredaany,.useful commentsandmllCh."good. advice. on, tec'hnicalpoi·nts·.· Th,ts advice ,has been very helpful inarrivinq at su,itable transla,tionsfortechnical term,s and· identifying. important passages,•.,. The, transl a,t ions. 'presented are Donetheless my own,. Aftyerror ormisunders.ta,nding..perpetrated.. by,taese ',' ·,tremsl·atlansis "my ow,n respons.lbility, though . the reader can be suretbat, I bavemade every a;'btemp,t:to·present, the. text .·lnas. accurate -and meaning fUrl a form as possible. The met'bodologyof. my. 'trans,latioft .·repr.esents.ane£for.t· to avoldtbe two extremesofover-l"lteralness lntranslati:on ando<Ver-interpretdveness i,n trans·latto:n".· This,means·that I havestr,iven. to render> the Tibetan, both accurately and" succinctly.. In.av.oldin9·,over~literalne-ss1 have s:trlven, to , present my,trans],·ati.onsso ,tbat,an< educated·> speaker: of. 55 .avo id ingover-lnte.rpret ivetranslatio,n I ·bavestrivento use the .simple,stterms . possible to render' Tibetan.vocabular.y items. An example·, of what I consider over.-i·nterpretive· entitled' ·•. 'Primorsiia,l·<·.ExPerience'" where . be" translates . the Tibetan,.term,rig,.".paas. "the flash· of knowing. that gives aware·ness its. quality . ,,1 This me,thod. renders a single, Tibetan word in,to, nine, . En-g11:sb.. words. .he,n··· ·numer·au,s·; technleal,·termsare, ·found together, . , 1n.a· texttbe resulting;. overabundaRce..; o.fwordsin English, can'easily turn a single, sentence into a longparagraph:.; I havetra·nslated theter'IR:' rig~pa.simply as "awareness." .I believe this word· to be under.standabl,e to my reader , and· rely onthe·con,telC't·s· in wbich .it is found to elucidate' its more subtle meanings.' The text i.tse1 f often strives to gi,ve meaning.. to the, tecbnicalterms it uses, and it is the co.ntext of the text >i tselfthatgive·smeanin9·'t~the contents, ratherthan·;,the specula·tlons atinterpreta,tion in, the,translator,'smind,. For this reason I have opted· forsimplic,ity in expre,ss:ion wi-th, the· . . . intention·· of provid·!ng·.· directly· accessible ". 1. Manjus.rimitra,.·Primordial, ,. Experience.' t·r.ans·.), Hamkhal"" Norou .and Kennard-" M-pman" <Bo·ston:· Shambha.la,:.1.987'),i p.xxlii. 56 readable. The·thema,tic analysis,of· thePBDnow,follows. The oolophoao:E the PB9 , .a·s.ql1o,tedabove ,2.makespr-o,pbesies that "some w,ill cover it w-itb the darkness of "GQmmentar,y. Some will block it wi·ththe claw,.ofinterpreta:tloa. Some. will" :poison ,it ,wi th .thecontentstomacb 0·£ scrlp·turalquo-tatiOfl. H I have made every attempt not to fulfill, thlspropbesy,in·· thepre'sent 'study..- I hopetha t , I have elas.ida,ted."the' mea·nln<j;,Q·f, the -.PBI) for . the· Engl1sb,speaklngworld -rather· ,thandar·kened it, in ,a,nyway. CHAPTER. 3, ·TheBase I t has already been noted in ,theopening"pas,s&ge" o£ this ·tbesd:sthat the,PBD;, g,ses;pos!:tive"1'8nguage,, ,to d1seu'ss theul.'tlmate,reality,.l ''llhe PBD, usesa,lar·genumberof .'. terms ' in relat,ion, to the' .u:l,tlmatereali,ty(don....dam.).,de5pite the, fact tbattheBud:cith1stit,raditlon, and the,·PBDitsel£, c1aim tha:t.. the',ul,tima,te:reality ,is u:nspeakab1e,.and,,'beyond,· c09n1,t1Qn,.2 ThePBDexplains. 1t5use'o£· sucb,terminola9yin> the '4fo.l low ing ,sticeinc,ts tatement : [The- Base (!D.h.i.ll 1s· uas·peakable,. a,nd " inconceivable, ,yet therels,ftoperfect.lypure meaning-., other· than this., so 1t .must be 1. This thesis.,. p.2. -g.. Santideva, . 2. See->e /,,, verse,i2,where,'it, .-. - BOdhlsat.t.yaqaryayatara •. ,.chapt-er nine';," preclaims"··.·tba·t· ·'":fhe'>u11:i-mate·.,[,ea111:y-· ·ls· ·no,1:1:he·' province ···o·'f,the.,m,j;;nd" ... (dop,...dam,...plg-yi ..,..,spyod-.YUl-.mlp) .' See ·alsoPBD.,.p.24. 58 spoken! z,t·lM1s·tbeknown! 3 ThIs quo.tat.ion, no·t . only points' out the PRD'··s, willingness to u·se positive .language.. ', to desc1'\ib&\ .. the ., ful:timat-e, itbrings:us .di-rectly·to.tbeaostfundamental te.zom the·PBD usesinrela.tion·. to ultima,te· reality" the Base (~) . There is a deep . inter..."relationship betwee'n< all: the terms the·· PBI> uses on· the., ultimate ·level.; and an understanding of one most . often depends u.pon·.an·· u'nderstand.tng,of the others~ It is, however, neoessary·to ··en4:er·into the·sys,tem·at ·some point,and·the·PBD itself uses ·tbe.Baseasi,tsownstartin.g point in th.isdlscusslon. 4 'l'bePBD"de·scribes :the,·Base bath· nega.t,l:vely,deseFibing· wha·t it is not, .• and poslt.lvely" de·scribingwhat· iti,s. I will firs.t present. the passages, that descrlbe,the.Base . positively : Before.' the realized intuit iOD < (rtp9sJ and. de 1 Gslon( 'khpulJo.fsamsara . and, nirvana, it· transcended•. both· ·cause .-and··. conciUtlon,. ·'50 it lsself-arisen. S It isnon..."dua·l .,equi.l U:>riu.,.. ·creating,·no,· good orevilanywhe·re . 6 3.P8D,p.24. 4. PBD; chapters threethr.ou.gb.eight.. 5.PBI>, p.13. 6. PRO,·· p.~ 14. 59 The uncontrivedis the· Base, so it iethe·' matrixo£ al.l,·tba,t,is spontaneously.1"eal,ized'" "andsel £.,.a'1"ls·1n9 . 1 t i stbe v ita! essence 0'£ the unadulterated,.·. the, a·l1· encompa,sslng:· meaning.., ., It is the uDcon.trived.mind' of perfect.· ,pu'1"·ity(byang-gbub""'Ums), .self-abiding. in .its own· way 0 £being__ the pr imevalspontaBeously reall·zedt,reasucyo·f all :precioQsthings. 8 It is the.essence'do£meaning"o£ all. the· Dharmas . '.' of samsara,· ·and,-,·n·i,rvana.Its,arislng·'... is that"' it arlsesf1".omthe· dimension. 0·£ : . ,a.wa1"eness. 9 The essentialrea,l·i.ty . (aao-"",bp)o,f.tAe.-,·Base" " ,is "RPo-dualit-y . ,,,T.be def,iD·!,tion·lstha,t becau,se:itis the. matrix o£al1thlngs it is the Base. Fu·rthermore it··lathe- supper-,t (,~) o:f.both sa·msaraa.ndni-rvana .10 (The. Basel cleanses-ma:t,ter beca~iU,e··.·it i,s subsumed.. under., "awa,reness" which is, cleansed· 7. PBD" .po; 14:. . 8. PBD,p .,16. 9. PBGi' p.17. 10.,PBO"p.18. 60 of all otberthings., It ·.·isclea,nsedof, ... -entltiesbecause it exists in the empty It cleanses the appearance '0 f duality, for it is. w"ltbou,t·· for,· it is· self-arising,... It cleanses hopes and, fear,s., fo,rit is spontaneously ·real-ized. It cleanses .def.ilements,. fO.I\lt is perfec,tly. pure, .. ll It is liberated from,:the conventiona·lit-ie;s,·· of samsara and nirvana,,., , so it is tbe·, Dharmak3y.a .12 There i,sno,tbing above it,. so it is g-reat. primordial. Everything" arises .from, and, appears ·from tt,.soit istheCrea·torof All (kun-byed) . All ·of samsara and-nirvana appear~rom·lt,soit is the Base. 13 It d'ld not appear ad,vent1·tiously, and it istbeide,ntity ('bda9- n¥JJl)of·· thepr imord,ia ll,y "exlstent<awareness,' lI. PBD,. p.19. 12~. ,PBD, p.23. 13. POO, p.2:3 •. 61 ( ye-nas~gnaa-.pa·,i~r io-.pa);,. So it iSi' w.1sdollh14 It transcends, the· enumeration of Rupakaya "Buddhas, .' andeverythingar ises and oomes fortbfrom·reallzedi Intu'ition ,oflts meaning_ So· it is' the ·Ancestcn;, (mes-:-po l of all· BUddhas·~15 Its own;.essential nature ·isu,naefJ:leil,and,···· lit is cl:ear ly the, u·nh·inder:ed .great.. ·sel,£,...".: ··.l.wainesoe.nce,Ocf··,wisaom.Tbus'!.t is·above .all tbl.ngs.., and it is the· u.ncDangJ:ng ·se1·£-. appearaace" and.··self-aspeE:tto£, ,.awarenes,s. So it lsthe highest Buddha" ·Unebangi,ng.,Light,i (lQJlMl-'.qyur-.ba) • 16 All:samsara. afu5,nir·va·ftaarisef,rom,it, and,·, touc!l·,u.ponit,so it is,theroat. 17 Everything.' is born, fr.omand·connected with,·; ,this great Base, so it lsthe seed. 18 It is certain thattbe essential, nature: ,0,£ tbeBase is.tbeself-.arislngolearandempty. 14.PBD, p.22. 15. PBD, p.24~ ·.16.,P·BD, .p.24. 17 • PBD.,p~25. ·l8.PBD,.p.25. 62 There, 1s·,no difference between the, arising", and; non~arisin9' ·of certainknowleage·,(witb,'; regard to Itl. 19 These passages, "can; be "summarized by noting that· the; ,Base istbefuftdaaaental groandof being ·of.al1 reality,bo·th conditioned' real<lty( sarns-ara;,). and transcendent·. reality .,(·n"irvana) . It .is,te,aaporally .' a·ntecedent -to -all sucR-manifestation,. It is also tbe>groundfrom.. wbich ·a,ll rea:U,ty arises. In this, sense it is the creator ·of all· real1ty(ku.n~byed).20 It is theultimate,principle·of be.!'ng· the perspective, ofe,xper'ience it can/be, said, to. arise "froaa, wisdom (ye...,she,s), '. asw·isdomis· the direct in-tul.tion· of .pure .' awareness itself. Yet it does. net depend. in, allywayontbe' perisanal·· .intuition;"01"' analysis. o,f . anyone."" it··.preceding,even· tbeRupakaya Buddba·s.,2~. It is, in fact" the highest., pr,inciple. of Buddhahood itself, whether ,tbisistermedtbe, 20·. For. a· discus'sion,·"o,f 'the·terakUBrbyed and 'an ana.ly·s·is of the ultimatepr;lnciple·· as acreatoc' ofallreali,ty see .•Eva,' .Dacgyay,,«theConcept ,of a 'Creator "God' ·,in ,''!'antr ic Buddhism,.."·. ·~·'Journal,·,gf.·.• ·..tha ,·,International·Association· (If' Buddhist Studies, (Had'J;sonl, Vol~ 8, Number' I; 1985~ p.3-1- 48. 21.. Ropak·ayaBuddhasar,e ·,Sa·ddllas mani.fes~J.,ng,a,t.tbe.leveLo,f' the Sambbocgakaya ·and'N,irmanak·a~a. Adisc'lssion,.of.these· ·tef7ms,is'fo110d ·In·.,this,thesis,p.90 . 63 , . 2 .2 DharmakX,ya... ., thehigbes,t . Buddha Unchanging. . Light,. or the" .' state of, en1'igh·tenedawareness; i.tself~-re,ferred to as . the, mind,·of perfect purity (byanq....chub':""kyi ....sems.)... Tt1sa1,so< ,forth. These descri.ptions of; the Base may lead"thereaderto· reify. it, thinking, that the,· Base is somethi,ng" trn1" existent. The·PBDisverycareful ,notto·positsucha view, hold.ing"thattbe,Base,; is beyond "tbe,'four,extrellle's, "wh;lch, are existence, non-ex'!ste,nce;,; both; andne,itber..;23 That ls, ,to say that the Base is not an 'entity whose ex lstence ca,n be whos,e,existence ··canneitherbe divorcedfroll\l.;,reality ,nor, To gain. an,· ins·igbt in,to these points 'the PBD's" I tdidnot arise from tbe compas,sion of' the 8u9atas;,. It was not born; ,from the,·karma, o·f '., sentient beings. It· was no tbornfromthe five external· elements. 23 •. PBO,p.17. 64 the", inner;··. discursive· . conceptual iz·a ti ODS , . (rnam",..rtoqJ. It. is not affected by an individual's path-wise attitude. 24 It bas no designation o·fname< or mark, (mtshan~ma¥·· let basna" knowotng, .' DO realized in~u1,tio,n.,'110 ignorance, nor ,delusion. The; VAltioQS "conceptualizations of"delws"lofl;.< and,', tendencies .'. (bag:"'"'gbags,) and" the· dbarmas.of··, wisdom:,£oroe", appearanee,.and,re,sult.· aranot distinguished: in the" Base,.,tbe 'self~ar,lsin9;i' ,wayof,being,{ofall ,reality]. 25 It isno1:es,tab,lished atbimeJs. beginnt,n9', ' or ,end·" nor ,in"the,past, or futu,re.•", It has . "notbing, whatever toaccompl ish, to take up or reject, good ,or bad. It has no, limit and ,no" center I' no, d,trection. or partial ity. It is' 'uacontrl,ved"unadulterat.edessence,remaiaing i,n, the .natural state, ,(9 n yug...ma). 26 It does· not bold to, any, tr-atb,or.fal,sity;,.' existenceor,.,non-existence, at all. 27 24 . ·PBD, p. 13 . 25. PBD, p.,13. 26. ,PBD, p.14 . 2,7. PBD, p.·,14.• 65 It is without. thought,. and,·w.ltbou·t·· .... ,'. . dwell,lng . ·or ····.non~wellln9.. It bas· no permanence. OF cessation, no, ,unit¥ · o r plur.ali ty .28 The· six .classes . ,of sentient·. be,ingsw,!,th" their various delusions., the. ·k;iya.. >of the Victorious One,. the appearance 'Of,wi-sdo... and the ·different vehicle,s. .. (theg~par·Skt.~) includi,ng the aiBe '. levels .. not establ:isbed·, on· the·· Base:, by virtue of exis·ti,ngi,n t-bewayof entities .29 It. has no exp.erieftOe, ·non~xperiencef' ·no entering ..it,ol'~ no,t.·entering. it. It ba.s no,· dispe:Fsion or·· non..,.d,ispers 10ft .Tl'lu·s .. it .. ..is 'not ,neoe.ssaryto seek! t .30 It·has;no ..cause.,.&.t·the,fi,rst.·.. t,t,.does,. nnt ·'bavean·,entity 's cause. H:·has Roconditions at the ··'·middl,e •. · It has no. ·rival .at,. the end,. Thus it is unchanging. 31 28. PBO.. p.l5. 29. PBD.. p. IS •. 30. PBD, p. 15. 31. PBD.. p.16. 66 Thesestatements.make.it·clear,. tbat.the ·PBD . does not . hold. the Base to be an ontologlca11yver-i·fiableobiect. The not·ion tba·t the . Base is primordia-lis elucida·ted,by the, sta·temen,ts that the Base' is· beyond·· temporal.. boundaries, whether- they be .in· the past ortbe futu-r·e.. Thus· the' statements. thatthe.Base·precedesall other·reall.ty, .mas-t-be. .unders.tood cG*jnitive ly<ra,t;ber .tbanbisetor lea11 y . T·hat is to saytha-t···.·the ·. "time"···· ·wh,ioh· "'precedes '. ·a·ll" time·· .bothe·trans·cends· and enco.apasses .thetemporal,process;.andthisp:rimordial . "time." lsthe locus. ·o·f· the Ba-se. The Base is a1 so beyond·· 'allc-ognitive prooesses of .·the .' ·mi.nd,wbether they be the notions .of existence, non,-..ex.istence, essence, appearanse,.. abid.ing, non-abiding, experience, non-" exper.!ence, etc . The. Base has no cause or conditlons 0.£. any . kind. These statements represen-ttbe,attempt. to speak. about· the ultimate. real!tywo-ile Cl·t '" tbesame·.timepreve·nt·false. conceptions from, arising, with regard to it. As a compos.ition.in.thetraditionof mystical Buddhism· the. PBD cannot,-howev·er, ·.avoid some attempt to ·define and .ca-,tegorize. the Base., . The tension i,.nheJr'en·t.·in speak.ing- '" o·f the" unspeakable pervades.. the...'PBD,and.mast be accepted frola·the . very begianing" ,in· order t-oappreciatethe . i-deas -thatlt sets fort.h. Atone point the PBD<states: "The limit"lofthe.,Base}. has not. been defined.. . Know,ledge q(shes,.-pa)·canno-t"separate·' 67 it into ~ sections.• .,,32 Ne:Be'tbeless, ·'the······PB9;d·ivide·s.tbe~·.Base··'· in' . two ways·. - Flpst .' ·it· .·makes. the ·distinction· ,be.tween,···the<' existentialmoda.. ( 'dug....thSAl).· ·of. the> Base and. "the» g~eait· appearance of the Base" (gzbi~snang~cben~Doh33 Secondly., it·d!vide.s -the8asein~o threedivlsions or types. 34 Tbe .PBD, defines the. esi.s-tentialmode of the Base and ·the,appearance of·. the . Base as the,Kaya of ·!ssentiality(DSI2::, bg-nvid,""'kvi ....skuJ ·and·the·Appe-araneeo,f· Es,senti,ali'ky. (D99,~bp~' nyid~kyi,..,.,snanq""'ba¥,35 .and states that· "as as1mi1e., they exi·st,. I·ike .the-s.key: and thesllR.• ,,36Wit·h. regard to the Kaya of Essentiality '. thePBD states the· f-ollow,lng: The Kaye of·. Esse·ntiality ..·is, p·re-fou-nd,,· >knowledge .(Shes-rab) which does not fall into partiality. It is nnbinderedwisdom. It 1s the spontaneousl., realized., Buddha .. It is . penetrati.ng and insubstantial. It transoends all theextremeso·f·acrea-to,r. ·(byed-pa"...po),. It is uftOontr·!ved, and.··. 'tra,pscend,s., all . · .·the extreme,s' of· ex·aggera,tion.···aod"·deprec:iation,, 32. PBD, p,. 17,. 33. P-BO, p.,,15..-18. 34. PBD,. p.18,. 35. ,PBD, p • 16. 36. PBI);, . p •.16,•. 68 It is Qnadul;'te-ra.ted"...·lt. is. pu·~e<o£-. ·faulty. extremes,.. 37 Witbregard,to the·- Appearanoe ofEssent;ialitytbe. PBD· . states: Tbe obi ect· - of the Appear.anee. of Essentiality is the· phe·nomenal dime·Ds-lon. Cchgs-dbyings), the totally pure Buddha ·.fie-ld. . l·t ..hasno extreme nor center. Ithas no abo,venor below~ no cardinal no.!l,secondar,y . direction.- It- has. no '. plurali,ty nop, supporting ground, (rten.....sa). . It isno·ta materlal dharma,.. Whencpu-sbed." it . equalizes the, suppr.ession·. Wben,li·fted, it. equalizes· thear;is'i·ng:.. l~t-is brillian·tl"y, . olear." penetrating:"" aoo"tota11y onh-i'ndereEh· It is .' the.unrei-fieddiaension, the ·unehang·ing .space (kloD9).38 The .poin.t.of· this distinction is·.··· that .altbo,ugbthe.. Base·, isbeyond,a11 d\l>allty, . from."the.,po,int·of-view·o£ phenGJDenal experience._,there is a·n, .·apparent difference; be·tween"the· cente,r ofawaren&ss( yul.,..can,),and· tbe.·objects·of.<awareness, (3all.) • Tl,estatement·that ·the.Appear-anceo f,Essential ity is the phenomenal,dimension·refers to the ·.appearance ,o;f.. obj ects 37. PBD,p.16. 38 .;<pao, .p .16 • 69 to the,awarene,ss,,'while t))eKi.ya--of·Essentia·lity ·refers···to the subjective sphere or center of awareness.•.,39 These two are fundamenta,lly· .in,separable .... in·.· that ··each, depends. ,on· the-· other,. and thePBD· is,car,eful, to point out that "The' Appearance:o£ Es.sentiali:ty. and· tbeKaya lo£ Essent,ial,i.ty,), .are spoken of· ano,exempli£ied> In.,.this way as two (tn,lngs;], yet,acaordingto ,the, hig'hestmeaning they are not two • ,,40 The "three . typeso·f Base, mentioned in' the PBD" are: 1), The, Total . · ·Base .of, ,··Primordial- Mean,lng"··{-ve---dop",",,kyi---kuPcG,zhi.) whieh,isgl;ossed as "Thee.Base; of,To4:al ,Parity," 2l ,The Total .Base which Gathers. the Kapy:Tbings( sna~tshqgs~bJaqs;'r'" ;pal l;~kuA~.gzb4.1·w.hichis,glossedastbeeight consaiousnesses whieh aremixedw,lth karmictendencles,.and3lThe·; Total Ba,se -which· is,tbe "Mean,tng of·Existenc~ (gMs..,..pa....don..,..kyi..,.kun- '.~),whicb lsnotglossed. 41 The PRO.. providesexplana·.ti-on, ',fo,ronly the first 0.£ these. 42 Tb.f.s... explanation, ··,intends,to .show:· tbat"the, ··Total, Base of Primordial.· Meaning, cannot ..' be identified with anythi;ng,. .whetherlt bea dbarma. -of the phenomenal, ,:W&rld.or of thetranscenden:trea;];i:ty. In 'part,icular,,,,.,the,,PBD-,po,iDts: Gut-thati-tlsfree' from "t,he ei'CJh,taccuMu1at,ionsof ,39. ,PBD·,. p.15-19. 40. PBD,. p.17. 41. PBD,. p.19. 42. PRO., p.19.' 70 consciousness. 43 The text reads as follows: It is without increase or decrease, so it is liberated ,from-the Alayavii'nana (kun-gzhi- rnam-shes). It has, no grasping-, to a self, so it is liberated from the de'filed mind (nyon,- mongs,-pa'i-yid). It has no subject-object duality, so it is liberated from·, the, mental consciousness (yid-kyi-rnam-shes). It has no birth or cessation.. so it is libera:ted,' from· ' the (sense] consciousnesses. of, the five doors. 44 Thus it is different (from all of _them 1. 45 This passages,- refers, to the eight types of consciousness according to the school of Buddhism. 4~ The statement that the Ba,se is· liberated from - ,.,- is most significant here, for ilayay,ij1iana the Alayayiinana may be literally translated as "The, Consciousness o£ the Base." In the Yogacara system· the "AlayavijMna is that aspect o£consciousness in which, karmic traces are stored 43. PBD, ,p.19. 44. Thisre£ers to consciousnesses of the five senses, i.e. eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness" tongue,-consciousness, nose-consciousness, and skin-consciousness. 45. PBD, p.19. 46. See Nagao Gadjin, "On the Theory o·f Buddha-Body (Buddha,"" MB)," %bit Eastern Buddhist, New Series, Vol. VI, No.1, Hay 1973. p.46. 71 and ·wbicbserves as, the . basic ground from·· ·which· the other forms. of consciousness arise. 47 Thls passage 'shows that the PBll makes> a fundamental,,· di,st:i:ne,tionbetween·.:k..79Zhi"asthe, wb,ich;, ·.gathers·.·. ···infor.ma-tioD:,' and,< hal!'bors ··ka·rm!c· tendencies.•.·· · "Herbert, 'GU:entberelucidates this differ·entlation clearly: Sanskrit ilaya. This is usua,ll y . ', sa·i-dto .oonta,in or "sto·re"the.,experlentially initiated potentialities of, experienee.fbi51.::. permanent/subs·tratuJD,:,ha's been created·. The ' dGe-l ugs""pa: understand" . by it Collected, Works ,XV'II I 3, fo 1. '1bJ ;t,hebKa ' - rN¥iD9,...ma~pas, distinguisb'" between· the k--,., . ~.. <'ijlaya::) as the ground. exbausting . itself in being the ground, and,,· not·.· being behind...or o'vertheresto,;f real. tty., and the kun~gzhi~, rnam~shes. (alaya,,,,,yiioana,.) which is thefle,rst", step in ,thedi-rec,tion,o,;f, concep·t.l1a-l,lza,tion ,and logical construction. 48 4'7. See .' Nagao Gadj:in, Ibid.. Also, see, Herbert ,Guenther, D!L' "Revali2:mlg,i,Saraha , (Berkeley: Shambbala, 1973 ) ,p. 32. 48. Gaen,the'r*" Ibid..,.p-~3-2"d £n,.,·1.3·. ,,:rhedGe,,-lu9s~pa,:.·bKa.'''''·' 72 This opens thequestion,o£,··.w·heether,t.he.· second.·t.ype.·of· Base ment:ioned>in tbePBD..The, Total Base wllichGather.s the,,· Many Things, is in fact thei.layaviiiina_ for it is glossed mentionech" The <PBD·isnotclearon t·bis . po,int, ye't its staotementt'batt·bls second Base is alleigbt consciousnesses runs counter to the Yogicara view which puts the' AlayaviiMna in the eighth or bigbestposition. of consciousness. "Me·ani!ngof Existenoe , .is nei t'her .glossed,noraent1oned again in the·PBD. An. explanat.ion ofits.slgnifi,cance> must awai·t discovery ofa·>relatedtext tba,t ·d·!scusses .tbese·pointsmore fully.. The PBD both-holds the Base as thefundame·ntal gr.ound, of all being and begins . itsexpos!,ti·on. ,wi.thadiscQssion·of, it. The PBD,alsoidentifies·tbe Base. with. the ultima·te principle of Buddhahood. The question of course follows: if the Base is BQddhaaood·. as wellasthe< groundo.fall reality why. are no,t· alll,iving'beiogs.. alre·adyenl:igh~ened.· brgyud·-pa, and "rNy,ing,..,ma,..,pa ·.·are ..schooIs . of . Tibetan,· Buddbis'lIh", ThePBD belon9stothe.rNyi·n9~ma,..,pa. s c-hool. See thist·hesis p.• 16. CHAPTER 4:, Delusion At the' beginning '" of. chapter .. seventeen o£,the PBD the: :Lord 'o,fSecretsreques'bsa,n·explanatlon·for delusion. 1 rOo- rje 'Chang'" begins .Ilis .. answer wit-b.·the ··£ol·.lo·wi'Rg".·statement: Son of Hable.. Fami·Iy,. listen wel1J The, Base is unchanging.. ···.· It, ·1s primordial,. :..Buddhahood. It is tbeBlessed One"tbeGr-eat rDo-rje 'Chang. Previously it ba,s:ne·ver:,been, ,·deluded. Presen,tly it lsnetdeluded. It is impossibletba,t· it will,· beoomedeluded.even. intbe future,. It is like,. for examp.le., t.be, vital essence of thesunhav!-ng no basis for darkness" or·a crystalappearcing. acoordi.ftgto.' whatever . conditions it meets. w,ith'~i: It appears by tbepower of its clarity, yet 1 PBD,p.42. 74 no.tbing adberesto. oreovers .it. In ethe ,same,way t,he,. pro.found,knowledge w,bieb does not . fall lntoa direction. is perfect. Buddbahood·:from,.· the P-rotec·t,i,ve Base (mgon"",po....gz,hil... I·t, ls.·· fro..,,· thebegi,nning., pure ( ka""'us.....daq.,)of . the del-usioD,·.ofkarmic.· ,·tendencies...Where 1s theeonvention of delusion in the undeluded Buddha?· However" this" is not realized.. Just as therels but one sun" bu,t by. t·be· pewerof.. perception. (mt·hgng.....,bal a separa,te sun'· for·' each area appears,. so· there is but··one·.self..., awar;:eness wbich· appea·rs as thepluralltyof both samsara, , and.; ni.r.valla... Just as.campbor.·. appea·rs . as;· Ebothl.medicine"andpoison,thau9h, tbere.·.·.is. ··no.· ·div,isi.on~ . ·In··· -it betweenmedi·eiae. and. poison,*", ·thenon~ual. . Great·."Appe.arance·,Q-f·· the Base· doe·s. not wave::r7fronktbe state, ·o·f non~duality#bu-t appears-.by· the.· power of, [its] quall.ty. The ·quality of appearing. as pl.ural also beeomesdeluded,.·and. a .qua-lity.· arlses·asacfault. 2 Tb;is "passage. points, out . tha-ttheBaseremains . thesame- -whether . "an ·i·nd·ividual.·has ,·en·lightened awareness or is 2 PBD,p.• 42. 75 deluded. The·. Base,,. conceived of· dualisticall'y, can'be div idedinteitsesseneeand",its, appearance. Bot:h e fthe,se ar:eintrinsicallypu~e,oif'a,lldefilemen~t"and"jdeluslon" yet,' this is not. understoodand,living,;beings,co,ntinue, in the: state of delusion.- In this ease the Base, which is the 'ground o-fallreality,hasbecome dualistically concei.ved on accoun-t oftbe. defilement,s, of, a,ttachme-nt.. , a,versloft;"etc.. The essence' of tbe·se defilemeftts is tbe"subjeet~bjec.t' ,b,ypost4bi zation of reaIi ty , ,t·he essential dual i tyfr,om ·,which all otber,du'al&ty ,comesfortb.. In.. its opening.,. statements, on the Base tbe:. 'PBD ·,proclai-ms: ['.l'heBasel becomes obscured. by such things: as ignorance,<- :perve,rse views .. ,. fa.tthl,essness,;,-· and laz'iness, but is free from, ,the, faults o£ ,the,.ex,tre'lI\esof,pe,raanencea'nd cessation, ,the extreme-s:· of existence- ' and non""'8:xistenoe-~, eoarseawa,reness, andsub:lect -obj,ect (dual,ity) . 3 This poin;t bas·, been ,'- expressedvery-cl-early. ,by Namkhai ,'. .,. ,Norbu,inh-j"sexpo,sition of the Great Perfectien,DlI.,Crystal awl··~ lWtu.,Ligbt: . It Is called, the Basebeeause,itls there< ,from·· the very beg inn,lng, "pure and se1 f- 76 perfected· and, " does· no,t ,have to be construc!ted,. It exis,ts in·; every being" . a.Ad,.,. ',cannot<,be'destroyed, tboQgh the experience ·of it is. lost wben.abeing,;enters in-to daalism". It is thea temporarily obscured .'. by the iateraction of the,.nega,tive, mentalsta,tes . 0£ the Passions', of:,.attaahment"and··,aversion thact vision. objecti.fiedas a self-ex,istent ·tll.ing, it is a .state, or condition ,of being .4 These statements point out the role played. by-. the defilements of ,attractioD,.> &versio-n,.. !gnora,nce" etc·. in the Base, is beyondall,·,·def·ilemen,t,how.can·,d,'t be <,the: basis· ..,' ,upon,wh.!ch,de··f:llement is established. basis of defilement... ThePBDteaches that there are three bases. of. defilement:,.·· ··1) Reality (.ghos"",pyid),'., 2,lTbe . · ·mind,·,· . (UU) ,and3 ) Thebedy.{1Y.§.). Tbe·first of ,these refers in ,particular to the objective sphere, 5 the second t.a· a.wareness (r.1g"",p9) "and t,beth!rd to the five lights. 6 4 Namkha,i.Nt>roo, ~,Crys,tal 5lD!l·tbs.Iiut·· .g,£. ,Ligh!, (New;· York : Routledge &,KeganPaul ,19·86), p. 57. 5 PBD,p.43 .. 6 The :five, lights are ,.. azure.,·red,.·.white, green,;, ,aDd, .,. y<&I.10w"o' 77 The PBDexpla.ins,thesui,tability of these three bases, forbeinq'bases·of delusion in these words: Reality is fit to be the basis· for delusion ('khEul ~gz.bll of tbe obj,ective sphere,·'for ,without awareness i t appears as a materialtbing,..A,wareness is fit to be' the basis for delus!onofthe· mind)' for,mere, awareness . . has parrtiality.. The five lights are fit to be tbebasis· for delusion ,of the,; boay,for, they M,ve, tbe,pa,r.tiali,ty of·colo,r and sbape. 7 The way tbat:these,.bases for de-l,us,!o,n, ",are , developed, ·,1nto deluslon ,itself . is.·e,xplainedas follows: 1) At first: reali.ty is empty,. witbou·t awareness. aspects. -At the .ql'asping, conceptt1'alization, and" '. tendenc1e,s swell forth,., . These appear as lfthey were ,essenceless.Tbis is ,taugbtastbebasis for deluslon,o,£tbe ·,ob:ject,. 2) At fir st awarenes,s £1 lokers ( 'qyus} In., the ··middle.· gras.ping, '. Theirrelat.ioftsbip-, "t&,the':body, ·and, ,to,. the "fivewisdomsi,s .'. discQssed<inttlisthesis-onp .121 . 7 PBD., p,.4,4,. 78 towar,ds···tbe· lum,j"ne,scenee·.· is,/born,., ,At ·thee,ad"·· <,theme·fttatlon o·f. the mind (sems-kyi-vid) flickers. From, this men'tal conce,ptions -(sems,.,..rtog ),ar ise i:nplural i ty. This teaches tbe, Dasis for de·lusia,n, oitha mina.· 3) At.,.' firs,t, ,awareness;, >ari,ses fro., ,s,pace, , (kl,onq)., Intbemiddle,reali,ty arises in space. At the end. the ·ma,terialpsycbo,.,..., physical constituents, CskaMbasl ',of ,form,,' ,appea,rbe·cause,o,fthetendencles towards this (reality}. This teaches, the ··ba;s!s '. for delusion ,of the body. 8 Al"ltbree of .these anal'yses areexpressions-of-howa·- 1 ivi·ng:beingaeparts,frolft-·the,spber.e,of pure be ing;through,/ the igDO,rance.of duallstie,conceptions.•" This delus'ionmay.· take as its object reality, . the m-lnd,;, or the,body,and.as such. . these are the base,s of ignorance;·., ,Prom,,· tbisbasi·c, ignorance, ··a,ll. c.ondltio,ned ..,existenae,including,.,our tempora,l"," ·w,orldand, ,the .sentie,ntbeingsthat live in it, -are fOl:',med. The procea·sby wh,ich.the worlais .for,med·or, created is alsodisonssedln ,the ·PBO .T'hepassage i·nquest.ion describesi·'how,··, reali:ty·isatfir·st. pure.bu,ttben,: 'beoomes,, obsculTed· due.: ,··to obJectHiication,·· conceptua,],:.izat,ton, ,. and, ,graspi,ng.Jl'he ,;passage,readsas .follo.ws: 79 I, (rOo-rde' '." Chang:}, will explain- the," cause (of del:u·sionJandthecondition ·of the' 'cause (·of··.,(jel·usion)·. The cause is···u,nhi:ndered awar·eness;. The· condition, . is. empty,reali·ty (chos~nyid,...stqn9,...pa).. Aw.areness, . the' characteristic of.' the Dharmakaya" is emptiness. inse·parable. . from awareness, unobstructed pro,fGund...knowl.eage··•. , ··T,he.. ·.aeure., . . ·,·white, .r.ed, .yello,w,andgreenhold,iad ividual characterlstics-.· .', Pure real tty, .. wbicb",abides: lnit5Gwll cause, is ,seen li.ke·&imirror.The five. arisings. of w,isdom".,(¥e-shes,....tb¥UAq~! 1DS8;> 9. arise like·ara·inbow"j;,n·the,sky. In tbe, next momeRt, theas.pec,ts of· the. i,ma9ination,.. (dmiqs~..,.pa,)· appear as an.. object. Conceptual',i:zati&Dcomesfor·th. by grasping·. to ··thecondit·lon (o.·f, emptyrealit.y J. • • . At this moment the.·.f,!ve natu·r.al lights cannot be clear due to the discursi;ve cencept·ualizations of subject and object. The·, four continents·, Ht •. Meru·, and the···· . saal.li.sl·ands.appear, like chunksa·f· ice on. a lake < or Ch'il'llk:s,· af.·scum-,aD".yogurt., by. imeans· 0,£1' tendencies towards·· the. five image·s.···· 80 ( gzugs~brnyan)· The egg.· of the world, 10 froit, trees, medicinal [herbs}, ·.flowers and forests are born in the; potency of these, and·· wa,rmth. In tbis.. way tbevessel of the' world [·enters].·· a different .aeonafte.r the', intermediate aeon.· [The worldlis bor·nfram, ·knowledge . The e99 of the· wo,;,l,d,..·.. whiah., has. t·he ident.ity; of tllafive elementis' (of earth;, water ,fIre, wind, and spaoe) is ..icmpure. The .this. That which has the ident.tty· 0'£ both ·at·tachment and aversion Isthe.support o·fthe ,body. 11 The PBD·, also discuss,esthe way sent.ien,t,beiog.scome ·,fortbin tAe"wor 1<1 : Just as .. w100 f1 ickers through t,he empty· sky ,..the, greatwindo·f themlnd (w,>eourses everywhere.• By the.· engagement. of· the,eyes the egg.· of the world is perceived .. · By the 10- For a descr·1ption.'·of,the,-.e99tO£ ,theworld",see.Namk.b§,j..", .',Noirbu, ,·.iU.·Crys·ta1 ud.'~. .1H g.i.'Ligbt,QR.,sa:t.. ,..p.60. 11 PBD.,pp. 48... 49,. 81 engageme:nb· Q'f the mind" the egg,o£ the world, is well.· and,··beautifully understood. Bytbe . ",engage.eat G.£the face the mind 0'£ attaohment dwells inooniunctlon w:ith,the<·mlnd. Sentient beings ripell.a,tthe,:rootto both male and female.· Fromthefonr (types of 1 birtbs.,12 this is the, egg. born•. In the Base the five psycho':"'"physical constituents 1 3 are establi'shed,ln:, the five' great eleme,n,·ts. The 'aspect of . the five" [elementsl whieh. comefromthe,sapport.. [o·r Base] is compl.ete,; .so the .psycho-:,pby·sical . cO.nstituents;, the sense bases,. and the elements14 areestabl lshed. They are kno.w-ft'··, .'as tbe son·s' of ".men and ..f,r-iends·o.fmen . 12 The four· types. . of birth,. are: 1 ) Eggebor.n ,.such, as birds; 2)Womb-born, such as humans; 3 ) Adventitiously-born, such as insects (wbichare believedtoar isef-romthe>dus·t); and. 4 ) . M'iiracu 1'0 asl,y-oorn·" such as incarnate- Buddhas,,' who - ·appear . ·.drirectl·y.. tn't:<he ·wo,r1'8 without··· ,any normal" "birth. II 13 Tbe, five ps,yoho....physicalconsti,tuentsare: 1) . . Form, CrUpal, 2) Feel-lngs (Vedan'il,3lPercePtions~)',4¥ Impulses, (sa,sklra handSl Consciousness.(yij2:dl., See Th,. Stcherbatsky,. IU,;' .··.·.CentralCopqeptioD .. _g,t Buddhl,smi (Oelhi.:Hotilal.Bana·rsidass,19'70) ,.pp. 6-7. 14· Tlle .sense bases .··.elvatana,) a,re,." the.·-· cognJ.tive. faculties: and thelrob:Jects. Theelements(~)aretheslxsense faculties.. the sixob:Jectsof the·se faculties, and the six ;>consc.iousnesses.See <Stcherbatsky, ib14,p. 6-10 • 82 The untor-·men,ted, g·rad.uall.y. becomes the, are bad. At last [they] touch the abode. of Avici(hell) .15 These passages show that from tbe-point.,o£view·of thee come into existence with tbearising,,-o£the defilemen:tso·£ .- attachment . and aver·sionwhich hav-e ignorance- at. the-irroot. Thus both the experiencersandobiectsof experience that- consti:tute" inauthentic being.. are the -resalts, of-a, bas.ic del us ion > whose ·-bas,ia - na.bllreis thedicbotomi.-zing,.ofreal i ty-- aversion -towards this. bi f_ureated-·reality.•- The PBD' does not leave off- its anaIy,s,is of delusion with these passages,. but a,lso· presents a deeper anal·ysis.of .- delusion itself.·ln this analysis thePBDdlsc-riminatestwo sorts of delusion: ];) Co-emergeRt. ignorance (lban....G.lq~ skyes.. ..,pa,'i-ma...,riq--pal 16 , and 2·) The igDoranceof fa-lse 15 PBD.,- p.-50. The Avici bel.l-.i-s the lowest of the eighteen bel-Is of BUdQhilst-cosmo.lo9Y'~ See·Sga~po.-pa#2a. £i.t... , pAi9. 16 Saha1a..,.ayidya. This, trans-Ia:tion folloiwin9.-Herbe~t Guenther, who' says. witb,--.regard.• toco-emergentw'ls,dome,tthe opposite· of our term): "The literal trans lati-on , of-the Tibetan.. term Ihap-ciq,...,skyes...,pa, (Sanskrit .sahaia) would· be 'aaemerge-nae ',·and --,as --,such-it -,is expl ained -,by --.Padma --dk-ar -po, Phyaq-chen - gan..,.mdzod.- •• , fol-s. 29a, ff.. Essenti,all,y - it -- refers to the spontaneity and. total-i.tY -of- the experience in' which, theapposi·tes --such, as transcendence, and.. imminence" 83 'U,t,h regard to the first of· these, t,he c:o...,emergent. ignorance"tbe,PBD, statest . "Theco-emer.gentigllorance . 1-5 born toge·ther wi-tb,· that·. which ··i t comes· from·.- H18: The text then.goesonto give a clearer explanation of the term: .I fyou, ask. from wha.t£ei t comes), · i t is· from the Bas,e Grasping Awareness . .T,f you ask what andwhatda·rise togetherl, it lsthe co- emergentwisdom19 andignorance-. If you ask what lit is}, it is tbat by contrivance there is ignorance . -toward .. tbe .. space.. o£ .uneolltrived,: reall.ty.20 there is, both wisdom, and ignorance,;. whieb., ar,isetogether , and that thismome,nt of cogni,tio.nrepresents a·; ·.contrived,or subject and, object, thenoumenal, and. t·he phenomenal,· iind'ivislbly,blend.Tbetranslation·of -this term by '1' lnne' (K. Shahidulclabland,'tbe innate' (D.L.· Snel,lgrove) . is ·,wrong." See~Royal62DaQLSaraha,QQ.. £ll..,p.9n. 17 Thlstransla.tion. following. Nagao, Gadiin who tra·nslates "the·termparikalpi ta· (Tlb .kup:::brtags )asHimagifla tioa," ·bu t speci fies'that "',' thi's ·.imag,ina-tion is- always'. fa1s'e,. See. Nagao', ·Gadj,ln:r"'l'.he.,Buddbis,tWorldYiewasEl,uc'ida,ted in ,tlle· Three - Nature, TbeoJr·y.and·,ItsSimiles ,.-" ~Eastern,Buddtti.s,t,'·New· Series,. Vol. XYl,No.!; Sprlng"1·983. pp.1-18. See 'espec lal-1 yp. 2. 18, PBD, p.45. 19 See above .p. 82.. fn·.16 .• 20 PBD, pp.45-46. 84 false intu! tlon, of .tb&real.ity inquest-ion •. ' Th,is coga,it.ion" comes· from, a grasping., or attaobmen:t' to",tbe, Base. The PBD of£er,s,·i,tbe ,s,ima..·le,ofa,n,. image, appearing, in a,mi,rror, wherethemomenttbe object !splacedin ·front o·f the mirror ·the·re,flection also arises .21 With regard·"to . the· second fo,rm of, ignorance, ..thePBD" states: The ignorance; of·falseimag,inati.onis OOr-n,.' in,. subtle and coarseconeeptualizations toward,· an obj'e.ct. It is in" the.,mannero·! pJ:leviou.sand· late.r·,moments. 22 This is to say. that with this ignoranee,tbere:'may be a·n .. awareness of an object whicb is then grasped upon to be some par,ticular . . . tbing,.bythe .imagination" ,which·, has no .·grasp on the true reality oftha,t ·thing. The· term parikalpita.. ,(,false·imagination.) isemplo,yedby the YogacaEa, , school,ofBuddhism,.··'wnere it ·is, one of·' the·· "tbl"ee·natQres·~ (trisvabMya'hThe· PBD,does, ne-tu,se the ,,(J,tbert-wo ·.termsof·the threenaturetbeoryat any ,point . An under s tandi.ng,· .o.f .. this.··· term ·.1n. its. tracli·t,!onal·: •Buddllis.t·.-usage will nonetheless be, . help,ful inga-ining·insig,h,t,.in.to this, term. Nagao.,.Gadj 1-n p.r·esents an excellent . discussion.of this term-· ' in,. his article•... " The... Buddh·!s·t,,·Wo.rld,..,V·!e'w. ··as.'Eluc1-da,ted···.···· 21 PBD, p.45. 22 PBD, p,.. 45•. 85 nei<thercontaminatednor purifi-ed, but rather neGtral, ju,st like· the world,; ,·which '. a - , ,'. research..." However .. insofar· as·· our interaction wi.th this world occurs directly reflection or self....consciousness-":'" ·that. is., insofar as· we are Doty,et ,enlightened, to' its, speak of .this· ,world a's a world of the imagined nature·; it is an imaglnedworld. Through-.· our ,cognitio,ns, or discriminations" or intellect" weare. always; projecting some ki'nd"o'f imagination (which· is always. false onto the world tha·t isoriginally,neutr·.al. Thi,s .proj'ection; of.,·falseimaginat.i.on,·ckanges. o.r"con·taainates"th-e world,thinklngtbat it is the real world. Thisattachment,gives rise to all forms of human-, suffering, discontent,. ,conflict, defileme.nt" and,so,o-n,., In short.. this con-taminatedwarld to which", , - samsara,whicb, the, Budd,ha declared ·tobefull 86 of suffering. Theimagined'iworld,· then, appears upon the .' change,· .conversion,· or ttlltAabo·ut·of·· theworldfrom·"a· neutral·, pure, uncontami.na,t..ed.. ··s tate . to an· '. impu're,,.·imaq.ined,, .. >co·n.taminated state. 23 These two sorts of del us·ion·, are held by the PBI) to be· the cause·ofall concH tio,ned,·e.xistence, anil i,n part,icu,l·atr. the· failure .to, intuit the Base in its true being. From .these£orms of i<jnoranceallthe deflle'ments·comefo.r.tb.,the mater'ial, world andthe,bei.ng,switbinit arise, andsu£fering;· ensues. ",No.ne,theless, ~I9noranceis 'Dot ,re,al,but is expe'rien.t,iallyexistent. ,,24 Theaat ····of, going. beyond ,this ignorance" of." in.tutting., reality"i:nits primorcUa,l.purity" is. te,r.medr'.by thePBD, "rec09ni,tion"(ngo~spr;odl. Before entering. a 01scus·s1on·"",0£· recognition' ia, t'he ,PBD.,.boweve,r '" it, will be helpful to elucidatetbePBIl:'::s views on the. na·ture of, .tbeBuddha" ·of· wisdom,," and,of . the path. This discuss,ion will lay a fr,amework· from, whichthe·,PBD' s s'tatements, . . . Oft ·recogni.tion·'·· will·be . more ··full y,under s toad. 23 Nagao Gadjin, ga.£it..."p,.,.3 .. 24 PBD; p.46·~.· CHAPTERS "The'.Baddba-kaya The' ,PBD.is a Buddb.i,s.t···text,,, yet up·.te tbe-present.··tbe:re' has been, almost no mention, of the Buddha"illc:thls thesis '+ 'T-hewo-rdWA."has"however "occurred in v'ar ious ·.,quotations I have madefrom··the.PBD." This section' of tbe the.sls will be devoted to an explanation"o,fthePBD·'s,. understanding of· the., .,Budd'ba andw,ill also ,cla,rify the,word,ma,. There. is a close in,teJrrelationship.. between, thePBD',s. ",understanding ·o·f·Buddhaand of.wa,. ·Befor·etbis·connection isdiscuss,ed.. however., it will be useful to disctlSS the,term :lsW.so that it 'may be properly understood. K.iils.ls a. Sanskroitword, andis··translated iDtothe, Tibetan,as~•. l Inh!s Buddhist. Hvbrid·Sanskrit9J.ctionanr· Franklin Edgerton defines &W,. as "body, H and provides understandings of the term that designate it as both the 1 Loke'sh Chandra, ,po 129. 88 body of a person and the body· of a group ,of per.sons or things, i.n w.hich case,· he. recommends,.the terms "mass~" "bundle,,'. or o~group.... 2 He also points out. that this term is used in .the Buddhist technical terms Dha,rmakaya, Sambbogakiu,andeUrmipak'lya. 3 • Na9ao' ·Gadj:·in·,in··.·his. ·.exce1:1ent:,study ·.onthe . history. ··and> mean'1119·;o,£.. the. te.rm.. kiya.. ·"On,·the Theory o,f, "the·· Buddha".,.B0dy· Hany other ····'authors .·:·and ·trans·lators .·.fo,ll,ow this·t-ransIa·tion as·,well. I-n the trans·}a'tlon.of Tibetan"t.ex;ts the word. "body" is often· used asa ,·transla·tionforthe worduy'."Thlsterm "&!l is in Tibetan the, honorific term for the ward "lu.r. wh·i:,cb.doe.s ·in· fact mean "body."STheword "body" is no.t~ howeve.r, a.n~ adequate. translation . of either. the' 'l'ibe,tan H!!' or the Sanskrit~. HerbertGuentherco.mme,nts ··that "the'l'ibetan term .~ alway,s,··impl,ies·.·the,··.dy,nam-ic., .character·· .of··· belng.····andi.,·, ex lstlng;thestaticaspectof' body '.is ter:med1,wt. ,,6 This statement strikes right at theheart·of· the; difficulty of adequately translating UJl... The problem becomes, compounded· 2 Franklin Edgerton,. Buddhist Hybrid, Sanskrit Dictionary (Delhi: ,MattIa! ··Ba'narsldass,1977), p.177. 3l:b.Jr4. 4 Nagao. Gadjin" " 'l'heBuddha.....bod.y," QQ.. . w.. 5 H.A. Jaschke', A. 'l'ibetan...English Digt.ionary,.. (London,:' Routledge & KeganPaul Ltd ... 188l),·p.21. 6 Herbert Guenther,. %IlstRoyal..~. Q;i Saraha:,(Berkeley: ·,.Sha-mbhala,:il973J i\p.:5"Rote .' 4. 89 when~ ·ls:comblnedwithothertechnicaLterms,toformthe words 'chOS~sku, CQharaaki'ya), 'longs~sku" CSambhQ.gaMya )" .and sP£ul..,.sku fNirmavaki:ya'h..Nagao . Gadjin, .. translates these terms ."Dharma.,...body," "Enjoyment".,body," and,."Transforma,tion.,... body" respectively.7 Tulku Thondup Rinpoche ,translates these terms, "Ultimate body," "Enjoy,ment· body," and "Manifesting,,body •. " 8 Herbert. Guentherr., on" ,the other .hand, uses the terms "noetic being," "communicative· being, "a·ad' .~u,tJ!leni'ticbeing."9 Each of these translations of §kJl or w.a has, advan-tages ··anddisadvantages. The striking, point, to be no·tedhere is that ,there is no consensus as to how .the ter,ms should be translated. This is in part, due to the lack of te,rms :In,''Englisbthateasily lend themselves to encompassing the, meani,ngs, of, the Sansk,rit and Tibetan, te,rms. Herbert Guen,ther" '., in. ~,'.'L.i.f.I.. , sm4·.·Teaching21 Hargpa., has opted to translate the Tibetan term" Hll,·a,s "kaya. "10 He also translates the connected ·.··technical, terms,men,tioned above into, the<ir Sanskr it equivalents. He does not italicize these Sanskrit words, for they are used as the, work,i'neJ,, 7 HagaoGadj,in., gg..£i.t. 8 Tulku ThondnpRinpocbe, 2Q.w.., P.273-279. 9 H. Guen-ther,. Saraba. p. 5 note 4 • 10 Herbert Guenther, ,~,. L1a.. ·smsl·feacbing, ·2Llaropa... (·London:,Ox4:ordUniversity ·Press, 1963). 90 vocabulary of his study. For my pre,senta,tion. ·of .' the.PBO,L, have determinedthat.tbis is the best course to take, for it avoids the difficulties inherent in eacho·f the.possibl-e .. "Englis,btranslatlons ,and allows the reader to develop his or her own compJ!'cehension of the true meanings· of the,se·tel'ms. ThePBO speaks of the Buddha as being, or havin9"two, kayas" (sku-gnyis) or "three kayas lf (sk!1~gsuml.·. The. two· kayas referred to are the Oharmakaya (chos-sku) and·, the / Rupakaya, (gzugs-sk u). The three kayasmentioned are thei' These are not actually separate groupings. lnthe PBD,i for the ·RuPakayao£ the two kaya system is actually the Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya.-of . the three -kayasystem• under·stood in.<tha,t, . theDhar,malGi'ya.,is thepu,r,e, noe,tic,. and· uDlllaAi:fest aspect, "of Buddhahood"wbile the twa Rupaki'yas are man.ifest.aspects .o£<Buddbahood •. ,. . The 'difference ,between the' two '. Rupakayas 1s that the. Sambhogakay,a. manifests only to accompli.shed spiritual beings or Bodhisattvas (Bel.ngs of· Enligh:tened.,'MincU while the Nirmanakaya, . manifest·s in the 'mate-rial warld tanarmal 1 ivlng beings. The PBD's discusslon.oftheBuddhais therefore found, initsenameratiGn and clari fica·tiono·f thethreeJ{i"yas. In my analysis of, this discussion I will first prese,n~ the PBD's defi'n·ltions of the threetta'yas, then I w'illdiscuss some of the, terminologyc ·the,PBDuses, i,n rela,tion·to the thre.e kayas, a,nd,.finally 1,.' will .present.. a,· detailed account, 91 of each of the kayas according to the PBO's statements on· \ <these points . In chapter" tbirt·y-fouroft.he PBD tbeLord', of Secrets requests an explanation of the, three kayas from" ,rDo"",rje ,'Chang.rDo-",r;e 'Chang's answerbeginsasfo11ows: The essence of the Dharmaka·ya 1s profound knowledge which does not fa111nto pa,:-tia1ity and ,. is non~dual. The, essence Character is.tic Grasping-Wisdom,clea,rand non~onceptual., The essence of .U<ftbi'-ftderedcompass ion. The definition of the Dbarmakaya is ,pervasiveness and non-support (ma-rten~pa) . Thedefin·itio·n of·,the Sambhogakaya is the enjoyme,nt,·" (sambllogalof., the., pure ,realm: 'and theripen.i.ng of thereti,nue. , Thedefini:tion·of the Nirmanauya is, that unhindered 'compassion man,ifests. (nlrmina)· as " many things. It is the Nirmanakaya • because!t abides for a short while .. It is the Nirmanakaya because it appears. in • accordance (with ,theworldl. It 1sa1so, the 92 [fo·rmsl.· 11 . The Buddha, is often referred to as the Blessed, One fBhagayan) ,·,bothi'D the,P,BOand in ,the ,Buddhist tradition in general. The Sanskrit word Bhagavapistranslated into Tibetan as bcom~ldaD,~'das. 12 This;T1betanword has three syllables, which me'an.· 1 iterally "defeat" (~)., "possession" (ldan), and "transcendence'" (~.>. Chapter thirty-seven ofthePBD is devotedteanexplanat'ioBcof the, ,Buddha's ,th,ree kayasbasedon the three....,fold division of the word, bcom,..,.ltian"..'das. ,', ,de £.1,81 t10ns .'o·f '. ctheki'yas jus,tmentioned . . The DhaFmakaya. is unbinde,red· aBd . thus destroys (~) . the Mara 13 of the Lord of Death. It has no marks and thus destroys the Malta. of '. thepsycbo,...physicakconstitue,nts. It, isnon...dual andtbus destroys,tbeMara of the passions. It destroys them", by, its very na·ture. The ,11fe1e'5s ( sroq,,,..medJ five 11 PBD, pp.70-71. 12 Lokesh Chandra, pigtionary.. ,p.679,. 13 Mara,(Wiwl> is the force ofnega,tivity that attempts to' prevent,sp1ritual progress andenligbtenment. The,re ar;e traditionall¥four·~rtas. These·'are:ll The Harao·£the" < defiltemen·ts<k.l;eU,..,.m'lral!2) T'heMara ,0 f the psycho-physical constituents (skandba~mlral, 3) The Ha1"a·,o£ the Lord ·0£ Death (mrtyu-mira); and 4> TbeDevaputra".,:Mfra,. or anthro.pomorpbici zed "Evil One'. " See F. Edgerton, .,0 ictionary, . p .430 . 93 (Sambhogalkayas, destroy the Narao·f the Lord of· Death. Wisdom ,is an, il,lusion, and tbus destroys the Mara of thepsyoho-.physical cons t i tuents. The mind, ( BIJl§.) without, conceptuali.za,tio'D destroys . the· Mara of, "passions ano, the ,Deva.putra ,Mara. The intuition,··· of·. .the, Hi,rmanakaya,,, of • adamantinebe·ing' spur.posefu1ness destroys the Mara of the defilements and, 1 ikewisetbe, .Devaputra Mara. • The Dbarmakaya is the Wide Door· of Quality and ).tbuspossesse,s .. (~) the,f.iv.ewisdoms1,4 and two lRupa lkayas. The. Sambhogakaya. possesses. the marks a,nd., seaondac.y. marks., I t possesses the inspirat.ion o,f the fiv·e· wisdoms. It pO.ssesses the. sixdbarmaso£ 'supernatural . perception. 1'belH,rmi'nauya • possesses miracles andmag'ic •. The Dharmakaya transcends (~) all the extremes,. Tbe,Sambhogakaya. tra'Dscends subject and objec,t, the ,dhat;.mas ,ofsamsa,ra,., The Ni,r,ma,akay,a. possesses. great, profound" knowledge,. 'and co,mpassionate. means,,. .and" thus does not abide in .and transcends thee~tremecs 1.4 The fi,ve· wisdoms are discussed in· this .,thesis. ·on·, ,p.l'12ff. 94 of both samsar,aandnirvana. 15 The word "Buddha," is rendered sangs-rgVa,s in Tibetan. The syllable sang,s,mea,ns,toremoveor clear away. The syllab.lergvas . means to expand'" eropenupi.,16 ThePBD,· presentsthe<,threekayas in relation to these two terms that makeup "Buddha,": The Dhar.makaya. removes (sang.s) all the dharmas of, marks, which ap.peardual,istically. It expands ( rgvas) . the self-clear ·non,,-,dua,l 'wisdom. ,The ·SambhogakayaremQves the dha,rmas of samsar,a'.' '. It, expands. omniscience and the greater good quality of the Dharmakaya. The Nirmanakaya,removes all ignorance and • perverse views. It removes samsaraand deluded . appearance. It expa-nds profound knowledge, skillful means, ,a,nd, compassion. 17 Another analysis of the three kayas i,s with refer,enee to their .purity. The', Dharmakaya,in.'its-esse,ntia.l.i.t,y is;non~, defiled. The Sambhogakayais pure of·.. the defilements of what can be known, (shes-bya). ; The.,.N.irmanak'ay,a is ; pure ·ofthede,filements of " 15 PBD, pp,.76.-78. 16 Jaschke" Qictionat:v ... p.571 & p.10-9-. '.' 17 PBD.,p. 77. 95 the obscurations [.of attachment;~ aversion, 19nora·nce, etc.) .18 The'se are .. the,definitions·of the, thr,ee,o)tiayas.fou'nd"in· the' PBD. The PBD's usage, of these. terms willnew··be ,elucidated so that the k'ayas,Rlay be better understood. The first defin,ition·of tbe,·Dharmakayapresentedabove, was that it .is "profoand, knowledge.that,.does no·t .fal·1,· into par,tiality'8nd isnon-dual." In the discussion of the Base, under the divisions· of ,. the existential, mode·of. the Base and the Great Appearance o,f the Base, the Kaya, of Essentiality (ngo~bo~nvid-kYi...sk u.. Sk t. syabhAV,ik.:-kAva) existential mode of theBase-- w~~/ defined. as "profound,; knowledge that .does notfallinto,par.,tiali-ty,.. "l~ That"tbe terms Dharmaka;ya.and:<,Syabhav;i~lda¥aaredefi:.nedidentica;ll.y, ". might lead,ns" '. to, believe them" identical. I,ndeed.. . Nagao Gadjin in. his study of the BUddM...ki'va,sa,ys ,that these', two terms" refer ·to the same . tbing .. 2Q Howeve,r, ·the"PB9a,tone, point defines- tbeDharmakayaastheGrea,t Appearanceo'f the Bas&.,2l This would indicate that .whiletbeSyabhaviki,Jt'iya, is the existential mode afthe Base the Dharmakaya is the Appearanceaf the Base., The,PBD isnotrconsistent 'on· this 18 PBD., p .. 78. 19 See this thesis, p.67. 20 Nagao . Gad,j,in, Buddha-"k.a<Ya., .p .. 31., 21 PBD" .p.,56. 96 poin,t, however, for Dharmakayais g,1ven. asa synonym for the Base in its non-dual aspect as wel1. 22 ThePBD clarifies the issue' to somedeg,ree in, stating that "at the time. [the Dharma·kaya] is not ··in.taited it is the Kaya of Es.sentiality.· At the time of intuition it is exactly the Dharmakaya. ,,23 This statement ." is help·ful,- but also obfuscate·stheissue further, fortbe K'aya of· Essentiality astRe existe:at1al mode of the Base is not subject todelusion~ The ··PBD· is' .thereforenot conslst-entorclear regarrdingtbe relationship of the - - Syabhayikakaya and the· Dbarmak'i'ya.. On many occasions throug·bout t·he text the ·PBDspeaks of "The DharmaJta:ya.- of self-awareness" (rang~tig~cho§:-sku). On one occa-sion self,...,.a·wareness (ran9:-ri9') and the Dharmakaya are said to be identical. 2.4 "Self-awareness" is a very literal transla,tlon for the Tibetan word rang-rig. This translation presents. the, , r 1sk tha,tthe, word. may be correct. "Self-awareness~1 refers. toself-referen;tlal awareness, awareness which·· is not directed toward an· object but rather is aware o·f i tsown,beingaware. This is not the same as introspective awar,eness in tha,t,· introspect!ve 22 This ·thesis, p.60. 23 PBD, p.99. 24 PBD, p.157. 97 makes· them.i.tsobject.The· '. term;."self~refe,rential aw,areness" ·'m·lg·ht be used to translaterang,..,rig, yet I have preferred to stick as close to· the Tibetan.ternk&s-,po:ssible despite the ,risk·ent-ailed. r,t is hoped t·hatfalse understandings of the term· ··may. be prevented by thepres.ent explanation.··· With regard to therelationshlp. bet-v'een the three' ka,as, the PBD holds that they are neither identical nor different. 25 between. ,the tbreek'i'yas wblchtbe PBDdescrlbes as·follows: The Sambhogakayais multiplied through the Dharmakaya" and· this is taugh,t to be the , Nirmanakaya. Qil>.26 The .,forty-two Sambho.gakayas are transformatioDsof, the. light (' od,..,'g,yur)of the Dbarmakaya. From their speech. the playful Nirmanakayas explain the • characteristics· [·of.realityJ,-inciUviduallyto thes ix di.sciples. 27 25 PBD, p:.102. 26 PBD, p.75. 27 PBD, p.69. Theforty,.,..two ·Sambhogakayas are, discussed· in;. this thesis. onp. The. six disciples are· the disciple·s of the six,classes>oftemporal,exlstenceo~·The gods.. MU.tas", 98 The PBD presents a divisiono·f the three kayas that will be helpful incunderstanding the relationships between, them as well as to clarify the <PBD's own view of the three kaya'S. 28 This division divides each of. the threek~as' in turn into three more> kayas. Thus for the Dharmakaya, there, are .the- Dharmakaya,...,Dharmakaya" the Dharmakaya,-Sambhogak'l"y-a .... , and the Dharmakaya,-Nirmanakay,a.•. · For the Sambhogakaya there . are the. ··Sambhogakaya"",Dharmakaya, the ' Sambbogakaya,- and, tme .Sambhogakaya...Kirmanakaya, .. • N:irmanakaya ., there are the Nirmanakaya-Dharmakaya,. • • Nirmanakaya-Sambhogakaya, and • The PBDdoes not provide elucidation of" all nine af these kayas, but, describes most of them,., The description is as ·£ollows: The· Dharmaki'ya-Dharmakaya' is awareness free from, .al1· identifica,t ion·. The Dharmakaya~Sambho9a'kaya is awareness· wl,th unhindered;, knewledge (mk,hyen...,.pa), oithe k'aya; of profound'" knowledge,. The Dharmakay·a- ',N.l,~manakaya is, thef1vekayas,whicbappear to • disciples. These. are.·. called,··the,·, essence, true nature, and,compassion. They humans, animals., hungry ghosts, and: hell beings. See 8g8m'"": .'. pO.-pa, Jewek.Qp,oamept.pp. 55-74. 28 PBD,'p.70. 99 are also called the three, kayas·wllich, abide in the Base. The Sambhogakaya.,.,.Sambhogakiiya,ls the four . . {Buddha) ,families. ,The Sambhogakaya- is the male and Bodhi,sattvas. These are called the ,threekayas setout in,aspects. The Nirmanakaya-Dharmakaya, . is the fou,r" [Buddha] The .Sambhogakaya is the, "male and female Bodbisattvas. The NirRnaki."ya-Nirmanakaya is • • the I i9ht., rays of compassion. These,' are called the threekayas, which bring forth compass·ion,•. "'. They are also. called the three' kayas which subdue living. beings. 29 This description' defines, all nine kayasexcept, the" Sambhogakaya-,.Dharmakaya., The· four Buddhafami,l,ies",will ,be' discussedshortl,y. For the pr,e·sent it should be na.ted ,that, the four, Buddha",£amilies (rlqs...,.bzhi,). ,·"are an.abbrevia.tion""o,f, the five' Buddha ,fam.11ies (rigs.-lnqaJ,the di,fference< being' that in the four family system. the central, figure of Vairocana and his family are disregarded. The Buddhas which are the lards of these five Buddha families· are the ' five kayas which" appear to d,tsciples., This,allaws,presentation 29 PBD,.pp.70-71. 100 of a· diagram . sbowing.,.·the·.. relationshoips·.betwee,n.· these nine kayas. For the. sake of space Dharmakaya is shown as "D," "N": D-Il. . ............. 0-8. . D-N:.. • • • S-S. . . . . . N-D . . . . • . S--N. N-8. . 8-8 • . This table shows, that there is an overlap between. the three kayas as they are subdi,vided···,i,nto their nine levels. The pos.ition.of., the. SambhogakayarDharmak8ya,· has been·determ:inedbypostulating its place .in reference to the definitions provided. for the other eight kayas • This .prese.ntation of ,the t·hree kayas as nine ..k'ayas is helpful for seeingitheinterconnectedness of thethreekayas, yet it is anI y inthisnl,ne-kayapr-esentat ionthat t,hed! f,fer-enti-a·tton is used in the PBD.. In the general body of the text the threekayas are not presented in this way. This introduces the d'ifficul:ty, that a refer·ence:.to the Sambhogak'aya, for example, may ,refer to the .. Dhar.makaya-Sambhogakaya, the 8ambbogakaya·-Dharmakaya,.the Sambh09ak~ya-:Sambho.gak"i"ya.,., the.' 8ambhogakaya,-Nirmanakaya.... , or the Nlrmanak'iya-:8ambhogakaya. I The element ·o·fconfuslonthis creates is not resolved in the PBO. The" reader mGst simply do his or her best to iunde:rstandthe··,three ·kayas on .w:hateverlevelthe PBD 101 presents.thematany ..·particular point. There is one paragraph. in the PBD whererDo-rj.e 'Chang gives three concreteexampJ..es of how. .tbeBuddha·s ·fit into this nine kayasysitem. It reads as .foll.ows: I, the adamantine· being" . am· the ,D.ha~makaya-Nlr'manakaya. . Thekayas such • as Ma~ju'ri"",amala~garbha are· Sambhagaltaya- N,irmanakayas... The· six sages·.. (thub'-Ri) such • as dGa'-rab rDo-rje are Nirmanakaya- • This statement info·rms us that ·rDo-rJ·e 'Chang is manlfestiDgon the. level of the fiveBuddha.fam,1.1ies;wbich' will·· be discussed shortly. Ma"ju~ri is. known· as .the Bodhisattva of Wisdom and as such is presented. on· the level ... _...... h of theSambhogakaya.-Nirmanakaya; the level of Bodisattvas • • dGa',...rab rDo-rje lsthe compiler of the PRO and is also held to be the sage .for the class of huma,nbeings at the level ·of the --... ..... .... .Nirmanak'aya·-Nirmanakaya.• The six sages are· the. • • manifestations of Buddhahoodthat appear in the. six locales of samsaric existence. The six sages, according to the traditional rNying,.,.ma presentation, are: 1) Indra for the gods, 2J Thags-bzang.-ris.for tbe asuras.. 3) ,Sak·yamunlfor. the huma-,as, 4) Seng.,.,.ge .Ra~brta,n· for the animals, Sl sGrom.-bu Iba-' barfo·r thehuRgry ghos ts , and 6) the Dhacma-king¥amafor 102 , the· hel1s. 31 The' PBD replaces. the Buddha Saityamuni w,ith dGa~ -rabrDo-rie as the .sage for the. huma·ns.This indicates tbe;primaey·the PBn places. on the first human expounder. of the Grea,t. Per·fection tradition ove·r the historical founder· of the Buddhist religion. In the definition of the three k~yasof-the Dbarmak~ya' ' just mentioned they were described as, the,. "essence, true nature, and compassion." The PBO elucidates tbispoint by noting that "the essence (nao-boJ is the Dharmakaya • The true-nature (rapg-bzhin) is the Sambhogakaya. Compassion (tbugs-rjeJ is. the N.iI'1lt'anaka:ya.,,3~ These· terms are:· inddturn·, • eluo!dated,as .fol lows : The essence is unereated, uncontrived, unadulte·rat.ed, unchang.ing." and. na,tural1 y pure. It is the' great uncompou·ndedwisdom, . the sky-l ike reality, subject ,. (ston9~Da--rdo-rie~chos;-can) the insubs,tantial .. primordially pure, penetrating awareness. The true-, nature is the grea,t wisdom which, abides in, the Base and is the. five· wisdoms which grasp characteristics. It is 31 This in.iormation, kindly prov,ided by.my Tibetan ,informant' Khenpo: Palden Sberab, who is one of . the·mast,deeply learned native scholars of the rNying-ma tradition living. -",-,. p -'.. 72 .. 32 PB·O'"- - . '. ' , 103 \111billc!lered" "just, as I i9llt is clear in ' the ,(abo,vemen,tioned ) essence. Compa,ssion ,is in", its vital,essent,itali,ty.", the fivekayas. 33 This quotation provides an insight into the . Dbarmakaya" on its ,thr,ee levels. The, five ,wisdoms will, be discussed in, the followlng ,chapter of this thesis. The fiv,e kayas and the fiveBuddhafamilies,ofw·bi,ah they are the lords will ,no,woe lnves t igated . The Buddhas 0.£, the five fami.lies are presented in the PBD as.Sambhogakaya Buddhas. 34 It has already. been shown, ,however, that the level onwhlch the Buddha families mani fest' may be e1 ther the Dharmakaya,-Nirmanak'aya, the • ·Sambboga·kaya-Sambhogakaya, or the ,Nir.manakaya.,...Dha.rmakaya . • The PBO describes the ,Sambhogakaya as the ffking,ofkayas,,,35 for, it is the Sambhogakayatha,t actua.l,ly initiates the dlssemina·tionof theteaoblng on the highest possible level. The Dharmak,aya is unmanifest and. beyond interaotive processes .' The N-i,rmanakay,a·mani·fests ,·intheworld", and as • such conforms, wi th the I imitations inherent" in wor Idly existence, thoug·hit is capable ofmiraculo\lsactivity,. It is the Sambhogakaya that is both manlfe,stand completely 33 PBD" p.72. 34 PBD" p.,6,4. 35 PBD, p. 65. 104 be,yond liimitatio,ns. The PBDdescrib&s the origin of ,the Sambhogak;aya as follows: The space (klang) of the indivisible reality and Dharmakaya islknown as 1 The, Dense Array of Purity. 36 The five vessels Cbum"",pa) of self-luminescent wisdom appear as unhindered sprouts (myu""9u ),. The five appearance's of pure reality, the azure, white, yellow, red, and green complete "the unmixed' clear wisdom, (ma.,..'dres-9sal-ba' i.,..ye- ~). The five kayas , are ,realized from,', amongst ,these five. They abide, in the five (places·], four' di:rections and the.: center. 37 Tbi-s passage.: informs ustha;t, from· the Dharmakaya, in its indivisible connection with reality the five self.,.. luminescent wisdoms come fort,h. These five wisdoms manIfest as light. of the, five colors. The five Sambhogaklyas come forth as manifestations of this luminosity. This passage makes apparent the importance of the five wisdoms in understanding the lord,s, ofthefi:veBuddha,faml1ies. A full 36 The Dense Arra.y 0'£ Purity is the name, of a"Buddba.,..,fleld w·here the· SambbQgakaya becomes apparent... See Bod-rgya' '" .Tshis::mdzodCbeft-po, Vo1.2,p.l103. 37 PBO"p.S9. 105 discussion· of the nature of the·· five·· wisdoms· and their relationships- to the five Sambhogakaya Buddha,s follows in, the next chapter . At this point I want to ,draw atte,ntio,nto the final statement in the above quotation, that; the five Buddhas abide in tbe fou·r directions and the center. "The four directions and the center" is a reference to the posltions in the mandala or interactive matrix. Each of •• the f!.ve Sambhogaki'ya·Buddbasabidesi,n, one position of this mal}9al,a. 38 The ·PBD devotes. f1vecha,pters,toadescri,ption.of this mangala in all its,aspec·ts.• 39 The mandala in its •• •• entirety contains forty,...two figures, which are referred to as the forty-two Sambhogakayas. 40 The space available .does 38 The five tathaga·tas, the. lords ·of . the five Buddha" families,' ,are not a creation of the Tibetans, but are found in the earliest Sanskrit Tantric literature. They are mentioned in the Sidhanamila (Baroda: GaekwadOrie·nta·l Series, 1968)1n the Kurgltulla-s'idhana by Indrablmt~i,'wbi,cb··li's,ts·.thefi;ve; Sambho'9ak~ya;Buddbas, jus,t;as· does .tbe"PBD.;,The Arapachaoa"" sadhana 1n the Si'dhanamalaalso speaks of the five ta th~gatas, but considers them eminations, 0 f Manju,'r LThe GUhyas4ddhi ,by Padmavajra ment;ions the; five Baddhas,'bu,t , ~~:~~~~=~:n~.) n::':bhy;~e§)a~:t:~e~:a~~:::b::~a,~~ .~~s~;:,: (Amitabha l,and 5 Kulad'ya(AmoghasiddhihTbe Jnanasiddbi" ;bylndrabhut,i (foundin~ Vajrayana'orks,Barada : Gaekwad Or lenta;l Series" 1922) Ed. by Benoytosh'BhattacharYijlists, the five tathaga,tas as in. the PBD.The Sahajas4ddhi,by . - DombI'heruka (Baroda: Gaekwad Or ientil Series, tl'npubl ished manuscript l lists these same· five tathagatas under thena,me, of ~efias (Lords of the Families). ,The Adyayasiddhiof Lakf,amkaralBaroda: UnpUblished manu~cript\)'Ed.by Malati', Shendge,'pr'esentst,hesa.melisto ftathagatas . 39 PBD, chapters 26,...31. 40 See this thesis, p.97. 106 not allow a full. description ··of th·is ma,qalawith reference to the- indi,vidual, signifi-cance of each member. I shall therefore pr.esent the . five Buddbas, whoa,rethe principal figuresoftbe mal}falaand,the, lords of the five Buddha famillesaloDg, with the, names and loca,tions o,f the other members of themaDdala . •• The PBDpresentsthe. fivema-in. figures of the mandpla ,. . as follows: At the center Vairocana ·faces all· [the other) four in the·· wisdom ·of all appearance (kun""snang,...ve-/ihes) . He appears as Ak~obhya, ;i Ratnasambhava, Ami.ti'bha,. and the great· Amoghas,iddhi..• His mOOra is held at his own heart. He holds the identity of· the,five colors. 41 Furt-her in the .-text the. -name·s·· of -these Buddbas .. are--· givenwi-th short glosses: The onett-ayawhich,exists in lumi,nosit.y as the five kayas is Vairocana. He is unchaftg,ing, Ak~Obhya;.. He br lngs forth good I qua1itie.s, withou,t partiality., so he is Ratnasambha-va,.,. ,He· is the, appearance' of. the force of compassion unstained by faults: Amitl'bha is the kaya without limit. He 41 PBD, p .. 59. 107 accomp,lishesthe purpose of self and, others .without obstructio·n, so the kaya ·of Amoghasiddbireaches the 1: imito f· . spiritual action. 42 These passages make', i tclear that Vairocanaencompasses all the Buddhas while the different aspects of his being are manifested as the other four Buddhas. It is for this reason· that the PBD alternately speaks of the four Buddha families . and the. five B'-1ddha families. the families of Vairocana .. Ak.'obhya, Ratnasambhav,a, Amitabha,. and Amogbas iddbL Tbe four Buddha fami·lies are, the secondar,y manifestations of· Vairocanaasthe, central figure and. are thus Ak'obbya, Ratnasambha,va, Amitabha,and, ···Amoghasiddb,i. The PBD refers to the Buddha- fa'miliesby the names of The, Vajrayana tradition~ however, has separate names for these Budd,ha . families which di ffer ··fromtbe .name's 0 ftheBuddhas .themsel ves .'1'hef,ami I y of Vairocana. is referred to as· the Buddha family. Ak'obhya's is the Vajra family. Ratnasambha,va's is., the Ratna family. Amitabha's is family. Amoghasiddhi's is the Karma family. 43 42 PBD,.p.65. 4~ See KeithcDowman,,. .a¥. Pancer" .(London:Routledge,'& Kegan Pau.l" 1984h· p .,193. Also see MkbasGrub Rje, Intrg,duction m :tM;.. Buddhist Tantrio Systems, trans. F. D. Lessing and A. 108 Each of these £1ve SambhogakayaBuddhas sits inun10n w1thhlsconsort (~). The male principle of the Buddha· himself 15 referred·. to as a manifestation . of method.·. or skill ful means (thabs) while the consort is a manl festa tion of profound" ·knowled.ge (shes-rabl . Their being joined in .sexua·l anlon,is ·anindicationo ftbeinseparab,il i ty of means and ,profound knowl.edge •. 44 T-hePBDstatesthis clearly: The five female consorts·· fare joined to the Budd,bas ] like a· body (lwi,) and its shadow. Thus the non-dual means and profound know,l·edge abidew,ith faces joined. 45 The PBD does not give a name, for Vairocana's consort, nor does it describe any, Bodb,t-sattvas.iDhls reti.nue.Each of the o·thet fourBuddhas,howeve,r, not· only hasaconsol't· but hasaBodhlsattvaonbis le·ftand right. Eachoithese Bod-hisattva·s in-. turn has a consort • - The PBDspeaks of each" Buddlla,w1·th, his consort and retinueasa heapedmWa.la, •• (thsom~bu","dk¥il-'khar). Thus the oftemandala of-the five q •• Buddhasbecomesflve 'Modalas . • # The PBD does not state any particular direction of the :mandala in which any particular Buddha abides . This •• informa-tion cannot safely be -derived from outside ,sources·, Wayman: (Delhi: MotilalBanarsidass,. 1968) ,pp.119,147, 149. 44 PBD, p.60. 45 PBD, p.• 60. 109 for the locations of. the five Buddhas vary intbedifferent Tantric sysotems. The consort of Akfobhya is Buddhalocani. On· his right ,. 4 sits K~i::ti9a'rbha witbhi,s consort Lisya,. Onhl·s·1eftsits ~ f Maitreya wirth his consort Dhupe.. The consor t of Ratnasambhava is Kamak!. On his right sits Samantabhadra with his consort Klla. -, - On his left sits Akasagarbhawi th Dhupe .. , The consort of Amitabhais pandaravasinI'. On his •• ri9h~ sits Avalokite'varawith,G'irtima.On his left, sits ,., , Manjusr i w,i thAloke. The consort of Amoghasiddhi is' Samayatara. , with Ghirti. On his right slts Vajrapani On .hisleft sitsSarvanivaranaviskambhinwithGante. " EacbBuddh'a,andBodhlsa,ttva . is also.· Samantabhadra. 46 The . Buddhas are .thus identi,fiedwith the .pr imo.rdialBuddha Cadibuddba).This Samantabhadrashould not be confused with the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, who sits at Ratnasambhava's· right. Yair-ocana, the central· BUddha,. 1s not only identifiedwlth Samantabhadra" he is none· other· thantbe, teacher of the PBD, rDo ....rje 'Ohang .. 41 The above quoted passages indicates that the ·four·Buddhas are emanations of Vairocana, yet in another passage it states that: Vairocanasees "the,!r .faces and, knows their inspiration. Vairocanais self.~apparent ,and.. 46 PBD, p.74 .. 47 PBD, p.69. 110 has no appearance '. as another. He is self- arising, self-apparent, self-rising, and is known by himself. His own force is not c,reated ata,ny one point. 48 The mandala is protected. in each of the four quarte,rs, •• by a gate,...keeper (sgo,...srung.). 49 Each gate-keeper alsoMsa consort.,!',hesefigures are not named in thePBO. The total number of ·figures in the mandala. is said to' e. be forty-two, yet it is difficu'l·t to add,upthe cbarac,ters ment;ioned to that number·., ,The five Buddhas w,ith their consorts make ten. The eight, Bodhisattvas with their consor.ts make sixteen. The four door-keepers with their consorts make eight . This adds up toatotal o·f thirty-four figu.res.. If.. however.. the four Buddhas that surround, Vairocana and theircon'sorts, are counted twice: once in, their identities as Ak~obhya, Ra·tnasambhava., Amitabha;.. and b ~ Amoghasiddhi..etc. ; and once in their identities. as ,.Samantabhadr·a ,and Saaantabhadr!, the total number does ·PBOis beeome;",forty,...tw(!)~Tbe no,t clear onthispo.int. Nowherein,thePBD,does itrecommend.·that,·thj.,;s, ,maMa1a. ' of Sambhogakaya Buddhas be used as an 'object of medlta tion . or spir itualpractice. The pur.pose for this exposition, appears to be simply to show· the waytbe Samboogakaya,' 48·- PBD, p. 59. 49 PBD, p.62. 111 mandala is layed out,. The importance of the five· •• Sambhogakiya Buddhas inthePBo is most strongly felt In the presentation of their relationships to the five wisdoms. 'l'hiswll1be discussed in the next chapter. It remains to present the PBD' s account. 0·£ the Nirmanakaya. The PBo is very quiet on tbispoint,bowever . • The six sages mentioned above· are described as y,irmanakaya • Beyond this the PBD has almost nothing to say, except· they are', manifestations of. compassion and that theybavetheability to per form, miracles. The lack of lengthy discussion 0'£ the Nirmanakayas. in the PBDcan be· attributed to. the importance. • placed on the Sambhogakayaas both,· -the . origin of the ·,teachbuj and ,the pure "mane! fe station of wisdom. This· comple.tesmy di,scus:siono£ the Buddha· and. his .threekayas. The threekayaswill be mentioned again in the discussion of recognition; where the· recognition of the three kayas is presented as a> fundamental insight i·ntothe definitive meaning of the BUddha'steachin9' and, neces,sary for the el.iminationo.fdelnsio,n·. . The nature of. wisdom and, the pa·thmust be discu!ssed first, however; fo·r the PBO's statements on these subjects will serve as a g,roundworkfrom which recognition will. be ·.better·Q·nderstoed. Wl·sdom preceding. portions of this thesis. It is a fundamental aspect of the PBD's presentation. This chapter is devoted to an inquiry intothePBD's treatmento-f this subject. ThePBDsometimesspeaks of wisdom as a single concept, 'but "most often·wisdomis presented in a particula.raspect or enu,meration.. The five wisdoms" in particular, are mentioned· throughout the text. In the preceding chapter on the :;J- Bugdha..,kaya it was shown that these five wisdoms are the,· ground froDl'whicb thefiveSambhog-ak.-aya,·Buddbas arise.. In. the discussion of the Base it was shown that . wisdom is, a ·synony·m .' for the Base . Theses ta tementswi 11 now be clarified. Just as the five families of Sambho9aka'yaBuddhas a,re;, sald to be manifestations of Vairocana, the five wisdoms are said to arise from the essential wisdom which, is known as· 113 the Base abiding wisdom:,(gzhi ....9nas~kyi ....ye...shesJ. The· five wisdoms" are: 1) The wisdom" of the pbeno.menal dimension (chos...dbyings-ye-shes), 2) The mirror, like wisdom,(me ...1ong.... Ita....bu-ye-shes), 3) The equality wisdom (mn'(am:-pyld-ye- ~), 4) The\ distinction conceivi,ng., wisdomCsg....sor-rtoq..... par i-ye-shes), and 5) The deedaccomplishingwisdom,(~ .grub...pa • i -ye ....shes . 1 When thePBD first discusses wisdom it presen'tstbese five wisdoms as well as other wisdoms.,wblchareshown to be elucidations of different aspects of the Base, abiding" wisdom. ThePBD presents wisdom in thefollo,wi,ng phrases: The essence of wisdom· is tbati,tis clear andnon....conceptual. Furthermore, the naturally 'pure Base abid1ng, .. wisdom is insubstantial and·· penetrating.. When correlated with the· kaya it is the, Dharmakay'a,. When correlated, with awareness . it ,1 stheessence (nao ....bo) . Son of·· Noble Famlly, its existential mode abi'des as light, so when it is correlated with the kaya it is the Riipakaya. When correlated with wisdom it is the five· character isticgrasping wisdoms (,mtshap....nyid- •dz in....pa· i ....ye -shes)', L PBD, p.30. 114 The mode of appe'arance lis that it 1 .appears without an exterior or interior, thus it is unobscured clear wisdom. Fu.rthe·rmore, its pure nature transcends the extreme of permanence. ··Its existential ,mode as light transcends ,the extre·me of cessation. Its Inodeof appearance is without exteriorand.·interior,.. so i t l s pure ofp the extreme of subject and object. This is the essence of wisdom .. The definition is that unmistaken. knowledge .cshes",,:,pa) of the . meaning which exists from the primordial is wisdom.' Ifall samsaraand ni,rvanaappear ·from·, this great., pene trat lng, primordial.lypure, insubstantlal awarene,ss,- it is the Base abiding wisdom. This (wisdom] abides in, the empty (ston9~paJ,so i,t is the wisdom of the phenome,nal.. dimensioD,. The empty .exis·ts (~) as unhindered. awa,reness.,. thus" it is the mirror. wisdom., This empty itself is awareness, and this awareness, itself is empty. As the empty and awareness are .not divided they are the equality wisdom;. The, empty 'and aw,areness are wlthO-ut dual! ty and, (yet) are ,known distinctly, thus there is the 115 distinction conceiving wi.sdom·.Thewisdom of insubstantial awareness is nota mater ial thing.. thus. there is the Wide 0001' of Good 'Quality. Force (rtsal) come·s £orthwithout any· obstruction whatever .. without direction. Thus tbereisthedeed accomplishing.iwisdom. Kye MaHo! Son of Noble Family, thlssort of knowledge (shes-pa) is aware of its own;· self-awarene·ss (rang=:ais""'raBg-r ig..,.,pa) , thus there is the self~aware wisdom. There is no creator of· [wisdomh tnusi·t is·the self-arising wisdom. There is no transcending its meaning# so it is thet-ranscende;ntbeart wisdom. To teach the,s·imiles: A simile (~) for the Base abiding;,wisdoDh is that it brings . ·.fortheverything, like-a precious jewel. The·.:{sim.ilelforthe airror wisdom· isth-at it is like sparkling. water-or a polished >;mirc·or. That for the equality wisdom is the. simile for the equaliity of the three times: It is like a r iver. The simile for the' non-dual·wisdom.is that·· it is 1 ikegolda·nd yellow. 116 The simile for the distinction conceiving wisdom is that it is like the,a,ri,singofthe planets and stars at sea. The simile for the deed accomplishing- wisdom is that it is like the wind and the, sun. The simile for the non-abiding, w,isdom,,,is that· it is like. the moon [reflected onJ .'. water. The s imlle, for these If-aware wisdom; ·is thatl,tislikecrystal and light. 2 This .passageno,t,on1y mentions the five· wisdoms, it also talks about other aspe.ets, of the, Base abiding.· wisdom. In the body of the text, however, 1t1s the five wisdoms that receive the greatest attention. A passage t,hat identifies these five wisdoms and, their interrelationsh,ip follows: The essence of awareness exists (~) as '" the . empty, thus it is the emptines,sw1sdom (stong~Da-ny1d-ky1-ve-shes). This empty awarenessitsel£ is unhindered clarity, so it is the mi~ror like wisdom., Awareness, is without. the dualJ.,ty of the emp,ty . and"the· clear;. these two are equal, so there is the 2. PBD, pp.31-33. 117 non~dual equality wisdom. Awareness is the essence of this, and from. theperspectiv& (bltas) of the direction of the empty it is clear as the·· emp.ty. From .'. tbeperspeotlve of the direction. of clar! ty it exists as clarity. From theperspectiv.e of the direction of non--dua11ty it is non--dual. Fromsuch,unhinder-ed,indi,vidual.aspects it is the distinction oonceivingwlsdom. Alldeeds are unobstructedlyaccomllli,shed, by the· force . of realizing this.· meaning;, it is the deed, accomplishing wisdom. Non--intuition of these five arises as the five poisons. 3 In this passage the wisdom of the pbenome'nal dimension bas been replaced bytbe .emptinesswisdom. ·This is in order to elucidatetbe relationsh.ip,betweenawareness, emptiness, and clarity. The PBD. is generally consistent< in its enumerationofthefive< wisdoms, with the exception of the ·f1rstwisdomwhich is sometimes referred to as the wisdom of the phenomenal dimens.ionand ,some,times as the emptiness wisdom. The statement tha,tthe fivepoiso,ns( ° f attachme'at, avers.ion, ignorance, pride, ,and jealousy) are the non~ intuition of thef·ive wisdoms, though not elaborated further in the PBD, deserves further inquiry. 3. PBD, p.lOl. 118 The connection between· the ·five wisdoms. and, the-five pois.ons. is common to the traditions of, TantricBuddhlsm'O· Keith Dowman, has presented this connection in<his, book ~ Dancer. 4 There he states that the poison connected with the wisdom of the· . phenomenal dimension is ignorance. . That . con·nected·wl·th ,mir.ror like wisdom is aversion. That connected with the equality wisdom is pride·..T'hatconnected with, ,the. distinction conceiving wisdom. is attraction. That connectedwitbthe deed accomplishing wisdom is jealousy. The PBD does not present any method of finding the five wisdoms with,in .the five poisons, nor does it recommend any practice that would turn the five poisons into wisdom. It does state, as above, that the five poisons are the fallure to recognize or intultthe five wisdoms, which is delusion .. The five Sambhogakaya, Buddhas,. as mentioned in the previous chapter, are manifestations of· the. fi.vewisdoms. Thisrela,tionsh ip is described in the follow ingpassage from the PBD·: All things arise and appear from awareness, the single essence, thus it is also called "The Great All-Appearance". (Un=. ,soana:;eben-co). Self-awareness is unhindered good quality,. so it is explained as "The Great Self-ar ising. It is Amlt'lbha,. e,ndowed 4. Dowman, ~ Dancer, p.193. 119 with the power of compassion. It is unobstructed profound knowledge, so is AmoghasiddhL This (awareness) itself is unchanging, so is Aklobhya. The essence of the five. kayas of profoand know,ledge is the·· unobstructed· non-dualemp,ty: awarenessw·isdom. (stOR9~pa~ri9"'Da"'9nvis ...med-ve-shes). S In scattered references. throughout the text thePBD corr-elates the five Sambhogakaya Buddhas with the· five wisdoms. 6 These pass.ages can be summarized by not·ing,~tha.t Vairocana· is the manife·sta·tion of the wisdom of· the . phenomenal dimension or emptiness wlsdom; Ak/obhya represents . the mirror like wisdom;. Ratna,sambhava represents the equality wisdom; Amitaoha ." represen.ts .. thedisti,nctlon· conceiving. wisdom; and Amoghasiddhi,· represents the deed accomplishing wisdom. In the discussion of the Sambhogakiya in the previous chapter 0 f this thesis it was shown .' tha,t· from the indivisibility of real.fty aBel the Dha·rmakayawisdom manifests as the five colors of.· light.. which in turn .manifesY as thefiveSambhogakaya Buddhas. Each wisdom and SambbDgakaya Buddha is associated with a particular color o.f light. The simile used in the PBDfor tbisrelationsbipis S. PBD, p.S7. 6. See' in particular PBD,pp.66-68. 120 that of a crystal and the rainbow it produces. 7 When a crystal is held in the sunligllrt a ··rainbow is proj ected forth.. The rainbow is not . the same, as the crystal , nor can it be' separa,ted from, the crystaL., The Dharmakaya is like the crystal while the five Sambhogaki'yas are like the light- rays that issue forth from it. The following passage clearly presents the relationships between the five wisdoms ,and.the five colors of light: The self~luminescence,(rang"'!"9dangs)of· the wisdom of tbe,phenomenaldimens·!on . as light (chos-dbYings"'!"'od~kyi-ye-shes) is clear, from the state of the empty as azure. The self- luminescence of the mlrror wisdom is clear from the state, of the unhindered as· white. The self-luminescence of the equality. wisdom' is clear from the sta,te of ,the .inseparable as yellow. The self,...luminescence ,of the all conceiving wisdom is clear f·rom the state of· the knowledge of thusness as red. The se1f- luminousity of the deed accomplishing w,isdom is clear from unbindered space as green. These five arise in the space of reality.8 Nowhere in thePBD, doe,s it state the actual colors of 7. PBD, p.116. 8.,PBD,p! 34. 121 the Sambhogabya Buddhas. This information, maybe derived, however, from the relationships of the wisdoms to the colors and. the wisdoms to· the Buddhas. Vairocana, as a manifestation o·f the wisdom of the phenomena-I. dimension ) would be· azure. Akfobhya as mirror. like wisdom would be white. Ratnasambbava as theequal.ity wi.sdom. -wou-ld be ye.llow .,Am1tabha as the distinction conceiv.ingwisdom would be red . . Amogha.siddbi;&s thedeedaccomplishingwisdemwGuld- be green. The PBD holds.. that these five wisdoms are·manifest throughGut reality, though due to delusion they may not be perceived. In particular.. the· five elements of ear-th, water, fire, wind" and sky are in fact the five wisdoms. Thep·BDdoes not, however , correlate the elements with their specific wisdoms. The PBDalsoholds that the body ofa human or other living being is in fact a conglomeration of the five wisdoms in their nature as light. This is stated as follows: Flesh a-nd bones are from· white light. The' bile and pus are from.yell0·w· light,. Blood and warmth are from red light. Breath is· from green light. The comfort of the body is from azure 1ight. 9 In the chapter on delusion it was pointed out that the. 9. PBD,. p.53. 122 body is one of the three bases for delusion. The present elucidation demonstratestha-t thebod,y,can.alsobe a basis for the intuit,ioD,.o£ wisdom,. if it seen in. its nature, as ,li,gh·tratbertban taken to be merely a material reality. The PBD, also holds that the five wisdoms are actually none other than the three kaya,s. This is demonstrated-in the following. passage: There is no division between the five wisdoms and the meaning. of the three kayas. The empty aspect of reality, clear awareness, and the non"", dual. aspect. are the- essence of . the Dharmak~ya. The two l-Rupa.Jkayas are, unhindered force, and light· comesforth,£rom·,' ,theunbinderedi-ndiv idual aspects. This itself istbe essence of the Sambhogakaya .• The enactor of the purpose of living, being,s, with compassion, the Nirmav-akaya, is the deed accomplishing.· w'isdom,. The .. three -kayas and, five wisdoms are spontaneously realized in the state of the Oharmakaya. IO If the exposition in the PBO- reqUired rational consistencythi·s statement -would be-i,mpossible, for the five wisdoms have already been· shown to· manife·st as the five Sambhogakaya-. Buddhas.· If· this passage,were,correlated-wi,th lO. PBD, p.102. 123 the previous stateme·nts it would, follow· that Vairocana, Ak'obhya, and Ratnasambhav& are in, fact Dharmakayas, , Amitabha would, be the only Sambhogakaya,andAmoghasiddhi . would be a Nirmanakaya. Such a position ,runs Gounterto t,he • identification of the five Buddha,£amiliesas manifesting' on the Sambhogakaya level. This statement must. ther,efore. be taken to represent a totally different way of looking at the wisdoms, where the principle,s of emptiness, clarity, and, non~uality are held to reflect cthe true nature of pure awareness .(theDha,rmakaya) ,the .ab!1 i ty todist ingu ish these separate aspects represents the division o·t·pure awareness into aspects (the ..Sambhogakaya), and the fact that all deeds issue forth from the state of pure awareness represents the princi-pleof .compas,sionin action, (the Nirma~akaya). The fact that the five wisdoms ,can be seen in these two different presentations must be taken as an-encouragement to the reader· not . to pigeon"""ho.le or relfy the five. wisdoms as being definite "things .. " In the chapter on recogni tion,I willdiscU'sshow.the PRD·· advises the direct intuition of the'se wisdoms in oneself as a· means> for eliminating delusio:n. First, however, it is necessary to investigate, the PBD's presentation, of the different. Buddhist paths, <the·ir merits and -,faults. CHAPTER.7 The Path In- the preceding chapter I have discussed the fundamen-talconcepts that are dealt with in the PBD. It remains to discuss thePBO's treatment of the Buddhist path, the actual application. of the previously discussed themes to the spiritual quest, and a summary of the PBD's statements regarding the higbe.st mode of. spiri tual·· being, the Great Perfection. Tbischapterwil1 discuss the path. The Va.jraya'natradition of Buddhism has beensubdlvided· in the Tibetan tradition into two·main bJ:'anches: 1) The "Old School II (rnying..,..mal·whichrep.rese·nts . the Buddhisttraditicon" in its early diffus.iop. i,n'Tibe~·.(,6th-9thcenturies c. E •.), and, 2) The. "Ne·w Schools" . (gsar,:",mal which. represent the traditions prQmu1gate.d during the later spread.of Buddhism in Tibet (10th century onwards C.E.).l There are generally 1 On the Old and. New,'Scbools,. see this· thesis, p.l6.· 125 held to be three "New Schools." These are· the dGe..-lugs~pa" the Sa-skya-pa, and the bKa'-rgyud~pa. There is a fundamental difference between the Old School and the New Schools in their presentation> of the tantric systems. The New· Schools present thetantrasunde·r four subdivisions. Tbese are: 1) Kriya-yoga, 2) Carya-yoga, 3) Yoga..-yoga, and 4) Anutara~yoga.2 The Old Scbool d·ivldes ~- the Buddhisbpath into nine '. levels, referred to as vehicles (tbeg""'oa" Skt.. xina.). Tbi.snlne vebicle,· .system. does not. limit itself to tbe tan·tric systems, but includes them,.. As. an, Old School text, tbePBD maintains the nine vebicle subdivision of the Buddhist paths. This division is enumerated as follows: 1) The Auditor vehicle~· 2) The Pratyeka'...buddha veh>tcle~ 3)Tbe Bodhisattvaveh·icle, 4) The Kriya""y09a vehicle, 5JThe Carya..-yoga vehicle (which is also known as Upa.-yoga), 6) The Y09a~y09a vehicle., 7 ) The Maba... yoga vebicle~ 8) The Anu-yoga .' vehicle, and 9 ) The Ati -yoga vehicle (which, is also known as the Great Perfection,· (rdzogs -chep) . NamkbaiNorbu' has elucidated the ,status of· tbeseviews in the rNying ...maschoolvery clearly: In the rNying ma pa school, there isa nine-fold division of spiritual pursuits: 2 These four· levels of tantra are thoroughly disctl'ssedin ' Mkhas.GrQb ,'Rje '5 IntroduQti2nm ~BuddbistTantric Systems,£Q.. £U.., pp.l0'1~27l.. 126 the three ordinary pursuits, -- tha>t of gods and men, of the Sravakas (Auditors) and Pratyeka"..buddhas, and of the Bodhisattvas; the three outer tantras· -- Kr iya, Carya, and Yoga; and the threeinne'r, unsurpassable '" por.soits -_. Hahayoga. Anuyoga.· and Atiyoga" 1,Among these, the three .ordinary l pursuits pr imar ily teach." the way of. renunciation (SP0Da lam.); the three outer tantras teach primarily the way of purification (sbvgnq· lu); and the three inner tanb-asprimarily the way ·of transfo·rmation( sgvur lH,). 3 The PBD refers to the first eigbt of these spiritual pursuits as "the eight vehicles." As a. text representing.. the At! yoga,. or Great Perfection, the.PBD is explicit in rejecting these eight vehicles as a truly effective means to realize the definltivemeaning. of . the Buddhis,t.·teach.!ng. Thefollowlng,passage makes this clear: The . Auditors, Pratyekabuddha,s., Bodhisattvas,tbethree classes of Kriya, Upa and Yoga [Tantrasl, and both generatlon·[the Mahayoga,} and perfection, [the Anu,yogal grasp, the truth ·from a single direction., They ar·e 3 Manjusrimitra, Primordial EXDer ience .. Trans. .Namkhai· Norbu anelKennard Lipman, , (Boston: Shambhala.. 1986) , introduction by Namkhai Norbu, p.x. 127 the eight views which go together with· astrological divination. The mind, holds to dualistic extremes. They do not speak of the wisdom of self-awareness. Thus, they are perverted, for they fail and err in the meaning. They are views which hold to, an attitude of a ttachedpostur 1ng . 4 Despite this statement, thePBD does not ignore these eight vehicles. There isa considerable discussio'nof the nature, con,tent, and effects of each view along with the superiority of ·each view over the ones preceding it. A presentation of these vehicles will not only help to understandtherNying.-,ma sohool's del inea,tion of the various versions o,f the Buddhist path, it will provide a ground-work from- which the explanation of the Grea,t Perfection, will become more meaningful. The PBDdevotestenchaptersto an analysis of the nine vehicles. 5 These chapters are devoted,todiscussions of the vehicles w,ith referencetospecificpointsabol1·t each one. In my summary of these statements I have gathered,the separate statements on each of the vehicles" ino,rderto provide a concise insight into each vehicle from., every perspective that thePBD offers. ThePBD does not discuss 4 PBD, p.SO. S Chapters 39, 40,. 41, 42, 43". 70, 76, 77, 79, and 80 of thePBD are devoted to discussion of the nine vehicles. 128 every vehicle with every topic presented, yet there is enough, information on each vehicle toprov ide an insight iinto,what it is. 6 The present state.· of scholarship, on the nine vehicles of the rlfying':'"'ma> schoo.lis very limited. For this reason I will quote extensively from·thePBD on its discussion. of these topics, preferring. to let the, PBD speak for itsel£on this subject. In. place o·f commentary and analysis I ha,ve ,attempted toprovideclar i fying footnotes. The first of the nine vebiclesis the Audltor vehicle. These are thePBD's comments upon it: The Auditor vehicle is so called because (.its propou,nders) .positsabj-ecta,nd object as ;twotb:ings . I f 7 The Aud-ltor lvehlclel is superior to both non~intuition·. and perverse intuition. Further, if you ask how i t is super,ior., the view is superior because it intuits the selflessness of individuals. The pract.ice is superior because it enacts the ten virtues for one.'s own, purpose . The· -attainment is super ior because it is accomplished through, 6 My explication of the nine, vehicles relies entirely on- the PBD.For a summarized account of the nine vehicles see Tucci, Religions 2i. Tibet,pp. 7-6-87. 7 .PBD~ p.l8L 129 the four - [nobl.e,] truths. The resul t is super-ior because it is the attainment 0 f the four pairs and, eight units such as Arhatship.8 The graspable is clearly the relative truth ( kun,,-rdzob) . [ They 1 hold the ultimate {r truth (don..,.dam) to be the stuff of minate - atoms. 9 Those who espouse the Audi,tor [vehicle] meditate in this way:, They generate the conception toward their own body, the ,material psycho""'physical constituent, that it is unclean matter. body] is risky, decaying, rotten, a,nd decomposed,. They turn away from- . the extreme of longing for the psycho,""'physical constituent of form. They possess the twelve branches of peaceful abiding, (zhi:=anas), and reject the objects of the six consciousnesses 8 PBD, p.188. The fo-ur pairs are the, same as the eight units'. They. are the attainments of Stream Winner (Srotl'- apatti), Once Returner - (saktdagimiQJ, Non-returner (Anlgl"min), and Arhatship. Eacho~thesefour is subdivided intotheobta,in,ing,ofthe state and, theen;Joyment of."i ts fruits, wbichmakes a total of four pairs or eight units. See Etienne Lamotte, Histoire Wi. Boud4hisme' Indien.. (Louvai,n: InstltutOriental lste, 1976), -.p. 51. 9 PBD,. p.. 80. 130 . along with conceptual izations .10 The particalarso·f the Auditor practice are that they give up steal ingand impu,re sexual practices. Theyg!ve up killing. The pure. practice of speech is practice without lying, gossip, slander, and cruel words. The pure practice of the mind is. free from avar iciousness,. harmfulness, and·. perverse. v.lews.The tenvirtuesaree·nacted ··forone' 5 own purpose. 11 The resu1 t for the Audi tors is that when thee.nd of v,ie,w~ . meditation, and practice has been . reached the results of the four pairs and eig-ht units·ripens. 12 This concludes the PBO' 5 remarks on the Auditor ve,hicle. T·he·.P·BD' 5 statements on the Pratyekabuddha ve,hicle follow: The de finit.ion, -of the name of the Pratyekabuddhas is that they are self~Buddbas because they practise witbthepower·of their own skill.fulnes.s., without lookingtowar.d any 10 PBO, p.82. The six conse·ious,nesses are the consciousnesses of the five senses .and the "mind,... co,nacio'usness" (yid~kyi-'lijnam-.sbes,manoyiinana). 11 PBO, p.84. 12 PBO,p.85. 131 other teacher. 13 The view o·f the Pratyekabuddhas is so called because they say " the existence o·f the subject is absent in theobject.,,14 The Pra·tyekabuddhas are superior· to the Aud.itors. The . view is superior because it . intuits selflessness in· the ··s ingle.. direction of tbe psy.cbo-pbysical constituent of form, the realm· ofdharmas (chos...,.khams).The activi ty is superior becau·se it enacts the' purpose living, 'beings by some disproportionate miracles on top of the ten virtues. The attainment··· is supe·rior because it is accomplished. through the strength of skillfulness, without relying. on a friend in virtue. The resul t is especially superior, because· it is like a parrot or a rhi-noceros.1 5 Tbe v lew posited by thePratyekabuddhas certainly realizes the selflessness of individuals, just a·s the· Auditors, but views selflessness .in the, realm of dharmas ..ina 13 PBD; p.187. 14 PBD, p.182. 15 PBD, p.188. 132 single direction. [Pratyekabuddtlas 1 hold marks ·to be certain, thus they fall f·rom the "meanlng o·f the non-dual grea tbl iss. 16 Those who espouse the Pratyekabuddtla. vehicle meditate in,th1s way: They meditate that from, such. things, as ignora,nce at the first one finally meets with old, age and· death. 17 They focus the mind. on their own forehead, then hold the mind on a .white skeleton the ·size o,f a thumb ,and rest it there . The,n they increase i tunti 1 they view the skeleton in full size. Then they gradu.allymeditate into cessation. 18 The practice of the Pratyekabuddba enacts only part of the purpose of living beings by means of a few incongruous miracles. 19 The result for the Pratyekabuddhas is that ',when the end of view, meditation and, .practice has been reached ',. the two kinds of desired, fruition are obtained, . like a parro.t or a 16 PBD, p.81. 17 This refers to the twelve-fold chain of interdependence. See Richa~d Robinson ans: illill,ardJohnson, .:J1.Wl....,' Buddhi;st. ' ReI i9ion, (California, =, pickeason ,Publ isb'lngCo. ,1977) , 31 ... 34. '. ''''''f. pp'.' <; , ~,;,-,t ..'\,t I if.. .~),{>,.~~:?i;{,,~. f lt~t:/,ft,t 18 PBD, p.82. 19 PBD, p.8,4. 133 rhinoceros for example. 20 This concludes the PBD's sta·tements on the Pratyekabuddhas. The vehicle of the Bodhlsattvas is. explainedas·fo1-1ows: The defi·nit.iop,of the, name· of the Bodhisattva' is that [Bodhisa.ttvas] pas,se.ss renu,nciation, wisdom." compassion, and sacred· action in a state, of perfection, and declare, the meaning of this to others. 21 The Bodhisattva is, so called because they proclaim "the mind and- the, mind's aspects" and they proclaim "the ul timatetrut.b, is in! . the relative t.ruth ... 22 The Bodhisattva is super ior to the ,Pratyekabuddha. The view is super ior because l.t realizes the' two kinds of selflessness. The practice is superior because it enacts the purpose [of others] by the four immeasurables. 23 The, attainment is superior because i t is accomplished through the ten 20 PBD, p.8S. 21 PBD, p.l8? 22 PBD, p.l82. 23 The four immeasarables are benevolence, compassion, delight, and. equanimi·ty., See Sgam...po-pa, Jewel,Qrnament" p.234. 134 perfections.· 24 The result is snperior because it mounts the level of Total Light (kun-tu- 1 odJ.25 The view ·of the Bodhisattva is the view free from the two selves [of individuals and of dharmas) and es.pouses the two truths in the.properway. The ultimate truth is viewed as the mind, and the relative truth is not belittled, like a dream or i11ns10n for example. [Th,is v lew 1 errs from the meaning.. of the wisdom of non-dual grea.t bliss. 26 Those who espouse the Bodhi.sattva vehicle· meditate in this way: They meditate with, mental desire on mind only (sems-tsam)., mind itself (sems-nyldl,andself-clarity. They meditate ·on the undivided truth of the middle way "(dbu-rna) , like the center 0·£ the sky . 27 The practice of the Bodhisattva is the 24 Herbert Guenther lists the ten perfectlonsas follows: 1) liberality, 2) ethics and manners, 3) pat,ience,4) strenuousness., 5) meditative concentration, 6) discrim4natill9: aware·ness, 7) beneficial expediency, 8) devoted resolution, 9) p.ower, and 10) transcending awareness. See Sgam....P?-pa, Jewelprnament, p.253 note 3. ";,J,,l~~t' f~,(t;C,:;it;"i~~~'J' 25 PBD, p.189. 26 PBD, p.81- 27 PBD, p.83. 135 four immeasurables>. [Bodhlsattvas l act mainly for the purpose of others. 28 The result" for Bodbisattvas 1s that when the end of view, medltationand practice ha,s been reached the actual ten stages (bhumil 29 are gradually purified and then they posit that they come to abide in the Total Light (kun-tu- 'ad) .30 This completes . . the discussion of . the, three ou-ter, levels· ofspiritua1 practice from the PBD. These are also known as the levels of cau-se, because they take the perspective of the causes of spiritual progress as their .basis. Tbenext six levels are the vehicles of effect, because they take the resul,tof the path as ,the basis of thelr perspective. 31 ThePBD's description of the Kriya yoga is as follows: The definition of the name o-f Kriya is that (its propounderslmainly teach ablution, purification" the planets and the co,nstellations. 32 The view,,·ofthe KrTyais. so called because 28 PBD, p.84. 29 The ten stages of the Bodhisattva path are described in, Sgam,....po-pa, ··Jewel-- -o.rnament, 30 PBD, p.85. 31 PBD, p.196. 32 PBD, p.187. 136 [its propounders1 posit that the three families are in accord. with .the ultimate truth in its entirety.33 The Kriya is superior to the Bodbisattva. iIl'7 view is superior because it fUlly intuits that the ultimate reality is unborn and it views the self (W;Jsg,);wbich·· is relatively. real, and the god (lbsJ, which!s wisdolfti, as . subj.ect and lord. The practice is superior becaus.e it enacts the three kinds of f:{c purity. 34 ~ atta,inment is superior because /' it . is ·.accomplished throug·hthe doors of skillfalness.,. transformation, and blessings T~J (bv.iu-::-rlabs). ~ result issupe.riorbecause it is the attainment of the fru! tion o£ the 33 The, three Buddha families according' to the Kriyasystem are the Tath~gata famlly, the Padma·family, and the Vaj ra :family. These arediscussedln detail In,Mkbas Grub Rj,e's .Introdu.ctiopto t.lulBuddh ist Taptr ic Sys,tems, pp. 1() 1-135 . 34 The "three purities" (dag-pa..,.,gsum) are listed.-inthe- Kun..,.,byed rGyal..,.,poti ~. rNy-ing""M.' rGyud-' bum, '1973 edition), Vol. I, p.38 as the purities of the outer, inner, and conceptual. Hkhas·GrubRje, however, lists three methods of practlce(rather than. purity) used·in<,theKr,iyaTantra.· His descr ipt:ion, is as £0 110ws: "'l'here·are·threemethodso·f procedu,re (anusthli'na) in the Kriya Tantra, namely, meditation (d'hy~nal accompanied by muttering (i..s.Qs), meditation independent .. of 'mu;tterln~h" and accompl.ishment .. ,o·f . slddb4 after appropriate servlce( ~}..BuddhistTant.r:ic' Systems .. ,p. 159. 137 three families. 35 The Kiri.ya view is tied up with a·ttached, posturing .. but does not waver from the state of the non-conceptual emi .."rtgg) ,which is without birth, or cessation. It views the [Bodhilsat"tvas in two aspects, as lords and servants .. It errs fro·m the meaning of the all~ood great bliss. 36 ~ Those who espouse the Kr iya vehicle meditate in this···way: Afterthe.·.·gods . ··of· the empty ( stgng,..pali...,.lha-tshogs) have gone away they,·meditate that they possessthemudras of the three . famil ies. 37 The practice of Krlya is pure beha·v lor in the three: External.. internal, and mater ial (rdzas).38 The perfection of· the result of Kriya is the .reason, for their v iew and medita·tion. [Its practltionerslhold [this resu,l,tl, to, be 35 PBD,,' p. 189. 36 PBD, p.8l. 37 PBD, p.83. Thewordmqdra in thIs case may refer either to the' "seaVI signified. ·by thehand-gesture,o·f the':lord of the Buddha ,family or to . the Mother of the Buddha family , the lord l s consort and hence his mu4ra. Ei,.t;betL meaning would, nonetheless have a mystical ...,.- rather than worldly significance. 38 PBD,p.84. 138 the essence of the three families and,three doors. They mount the level of rD~rje tDzin-pa. 39 This conclude,s the PBD-ts comments 0,0 Kr iya-yog'a "The next level of tantra is known variously as Carya-yoga ·.and Upa,..,.yoga. The PBD uses the term Upa,..,.yoga, along·,with its derivative Upaya., for this level in every case. The PBD,is also relatively silent on tbesubject.ofUpa-yoga, hence the smaller< numbe,r, of· quotat.ions ... ,c'.'"' ", The defJ:nition:ofthe· name 0 ftbe ;~~!;').iS; that the ir practice comes upward· from below and their view is turned downwards from above. 40 The view of the Upaya-is so called because, 7 theyposltthetwo aspects {cha-gnyis:? ).~ 1 ~f'''''' The Upa is superior to the Kriya. ('The v iew is superior because it v iew·s the god' along with the master and servants. The practice is superior because it enacts the purpo.se of,living beings via the existenGe 39 PBD, p.85. 40 PBD, p.187. 41 PBD,p-.182. This may refer to the two forms of practice in the Carya Tantra, which· according to Mkhas Grub Rje are Yoga with images and Yoga wi thout images,. BuddhiSt Taptrig . System§,pp. 207-215. 139 and non.,-existence of marks. The- attainment is superior because it is accomplished through the four thusnesses (de,-kho,-na-nyid- tWl1> (42) ,""",,' "I 'i The Upaya espouses a view which does not waver from the state of the non..,.conceptual and, is free from birth and, ' cessation. It views the two types, of [Bodhilsattvas as brothers and", friends. It errs from the meaning of the undivided wisdom of great bliss. 43 This concludes the PBD's discussion of the Upa-yoga vehicle. The Yoga vehicle follows. The definition of the name Yoga is that a,neu,ni tes one 'sbady, speech andmi-nd to the i' ./t t ,~-tt§, ;:/"~:l >";;'1 ..A~.,~,,_ . / i' ,f natural state ' (rnal '-ma), th~' meaning.,',of which is tlhefaur£amiliesofBuddhas .44 Those who use words to posit the seven nerve channels (r!&s.) of the mind are explained tobe,(halders of] the Yoga view. 45 The Yoga, is superior to ,the Upa." The view, ~--'" 42 PBD;, p18S] \._-""",,/ 43 PBD, p.• SI.• 44 PBD, p. 187. 45 PBD, p. 182. 140 is superior because it views the relat!ve reality. as being. in friendship with the god. The practice is. superior becallse it enacts the four kinds of. sacred action (phrin...,1as,-- rnamdmhi ). 46 The attainment .·is super lor because. it is the accomplishment of the four kinds of n\Udras. 47 The result is superior because it is the . Buddhahood of the five families .48 Those. who posit.. the Yoga vehicle meditate" in· this way: After the five aspects of enlightenment (byana--chub""'rnam...,lnga) have passed away they meditate that the, thirty-- seven possess the four mudras. 49 The, practice of the Yoga.. vehicle is made· to ena.ct the four kinds of·. sacred, action, and 46 In·the Bod...,rgyaTshig...,m4zgd ·Chep--mo··these are listed in Vol. 2., p.1771 as: 1) Peace (zhi...,ba), 2.) Productiontrgyas..., 'a), ,3) Power (gpang) , and 4') ,Wrath (drag --po) . 47 The four mudras a·re: 1) The Gpeat,Mudpa .. 2) The, Hudra,gL Sacped Commitment,; 3) The···.pharma····· Mudra.. and 4) The Karma, Mudra. These are d iscu'ssed e,xtensivelythrou'ghou,t Herbert· Guenther's Royal ~ gL Saraha. Also see Mkha,s Grub Rje's Buddhist Tantric Systems, pp.229--250. 48 PBD, p.1.89. 49 PBD, p.83. The five aspects of enlightenment are nowhere detailed in the PBD,nor does there appear to be an available external reference. The "thirty--seven" mentioned are also mysterious in· this regard. 141 .tbef0ur.thusnesses (kho~na:-.pyid,..bzhi).50 The result of ·,the Yoga. is that the thirty- seven are actually perfected by the blessing (bYip""rlabs) of view, . meditation, and practice, and the three kayas are spo.ntaneously realized by their ownnature. 51 This completes. the PRDf s discus,sion of the Yoga vehicle. The elucidation of· the three inner tantras, be.ginningwiththe ~Maha-yo9~,i'vebicle follows: . . ~-< ". ~", ..-".- .. ~.",-"." -, The definition of the name.·o·f tbe·Mahayoga is that it chiefly uses the. three: Meditative absorption, skill·ful means, and profound knowledge in order to engage in the meaning. 52 The,tt;hayoga \ is like the wide dominion of The forty-two (peaceful deities) and., fifty-eight [wrathful deitiesJ, etc. are explained as the view of the Mahayoga. 54 50 PRD, p.84. 5-1 PBD, p.86. 52 PRO, p.187. 53 PBD, p.l8!. 54 PBD, p.182. The peaceful,and wra,thful deitle,s ,are described in France sea Fremantle and Chogyam 'l'rungpafs translation of Karma Lingpafs Tibetap ~ 2i ~ Dead, (Berkeley:Shambhala,1975),tbroughout. 142 The Maba ,is super lor to the¥oga, in four··· I' ways. The view is superior because it views one's own· 'body as the mandala, oftha •• victor ious one. The practice· is superior because it enacts the purpose of living beings by both union (. sbyor) and liberation (sgroI). The attainment· is super iorbecause it is through both skillful means and profound knowledge', The result is superior because it is the mounting of the level of Total Ligbt .55 Those who posit the Maba hold to marks. [Its propounders' view} is also unborn.. without. cessation, is non"..concep·tual, and··is They view. the elements· (dbatii,,) and. sense bases (aYe tapas) as god,s and goddesses.. [This view! errs from the ··meaning 0 f the ·unreified .grea t bl iss. 56 The medita·tion .of", the Mabayoga is that after the three types of meditative absorption have, gone away they create tbe meditation of the widely-diffused (.~ 55 PBD, pp.189-190. 56 PBD, p.81. On the elements and sense bases see this thesis, p.81. 143 'byams) peacefnl·.and .wrathful. [dei-ties]. That which· possesses the ·four mudras·is the supreme ·.meditation. 57 The practice of the Mahayoga is action which reaches the limit of the purpose of living beings through both skillful means and ·profound knowledge. 5 $ The resul t 0 f the Mahayoga is that.· .·. when·- the view and· so· forth.. have already come up·, and the Great. Mudra has already been perfected,: (its practitioners] are actually realized -on the eleventh level of Total Light. 59 Tbis concludes; the. description of the; Mahayoga. The·· Mahayoga is known.,as tbe stage of generation ( bskyed.....rimJ . while the Anuyog8. is known· as the stage of perfe.ction (rdzogs.,-rimh 60 The.description.ofAnuyoga follows: The definition of the perfection of Anu is that it is perfectio.n. without generation and isappl icationofthe·meaning o·fthis. 61 57 PBD, p.83. 58 PBD, p.84. 59 PBD., p. 86. 60 PBD, p.l89. 61 PBD, p.187. 144 The Anuyoga is like a man, and woman performing intercourse. 62 Words expressing. perfection without· gene,rationandwordswhich speak of the dimension·of reality and wisdom. refer to the " view ·of the Anuyoga. 63 The Ana issupe,rior· to the Maba in . . four, ways. The view is superior because it intui ts that the dimension o·f reallty and wisdom are non~dual. The pra<:tice is superior because it enacts wisdom in the dimension o,f·enjoyment.• The attainment is superior because it is the accomplisbment of. the five psycho-physical: constituents, the five elements, and the. five Buddha,families in, Fa·ther.,.,..Motber (yab,.,..yum) .£orm~ ·Tbe,.·re,sult, i,s sUiper ior because it 1.5 the attainment of the level oftheUnchanging",Lotus (ma-chags~ Dad~mal.64 Those who meditate by. positing the Anuyoga claim that after they have left behind proclamat·lon of the e55ence(snying--:-po-brjod- 62 PBI), p.l8!. 63 PBD, p.l82. 64 PBD, p.l90. 145 ea.} the; .. psycho""phys,ical ,coDs;ti tuents . are , the' four· 'mudra,s of the god;, like bubbles in water or taking a clay reliquaryout,·from, the, mold, for example. They meditate on clarity fo·ra mere instant. After they have entered the, branches of meditative concentration, the, divisions of meditated in the same way. They attain the result whIch reaches the limit of the desired .purpose. 65 The situation of practice for the Anuyoga is that li,tspract,i tioner Jactsinthe way of non~uality. The two aspects 0 £ the' dimension 0 freal i,ty and wisdomarelenacted J without duality.66 / The result of the, ,Anu· is the need for . pure views. [Its practltioners,l mount the < level of the totally perfect name;of·Vajrasattva. They abide on, the level ·of the Unchanging, Lotus Possessor (ma ...chags=oad.,..ma=:can). 67 This concludes the PSD's discussion, of. the Anuyoga. It·· also concludes the discussion of . the eight, vehicles, which -65 PSD, p.83. 66 PBD, p.84. 67 PBD, p.86. 146 . the PBD rej ects as representing. only the interpretable meaning. (drana=4on) of the, Buddha's teaching. The ninth level is the Atiyoga. or Great Perfection, and it is this level of .Buddhist teaching that the PBO holds to be definitive. As the-. PSD-is intiJnate-l·y concerned with the-· Atiyoga its discussion of· this level receive-smuch' more attention tbantheother levels. The remainder- ·of this thesis will be an elucidation of this Great Perfection. First, in order to properly conclude this chapter, I will present the statements made in the, _PBD regarding the Atiyoga in its comparison with the other eight leve-Is. In the following chapter I will present the PBD r s explanation of the methods of reaching. spiritual awareness or recog.nition (Uao..,..sprodl. In, the flnal chapter of· tbis thematic study . I wlll present a summary of the PBD's statements regarding-· the ._ ",iew, medl tation,· pr-actice, and result of the Atiyoga. The final chapter of the thesis will then contain concluding remarks. The PBD's statements regarding the Atiyoga in compariso-nwiththe other eight vehicles areas follows: The, de·finition -of the . name of the .yoga-of Great Perfection is engagement by way of·· the non-dual. All the. phenomenon of appearance and the world [are non..,..duaI withl the primordlall:y perfect Buddha, the 147 - 6..8 Dharmakaya The Atiyoga is like a great, garuda soa,r ing in the sky.69 Words expressing the transcendence .of deeds and searching,· words which· express the self-arising wisdom~ the spontaneously realized Buddha, etc. re·fer to the view of the Great Perfection. 70 The .At! is superior to theAnu in four ways. The·· v lew is super ior because it views all appearance and. the world as the Dharmaka,ya .. Buddha. The practice is super ior ·because the purpose of living beings is enacted through the blessing of. the Dharmakaya. The attainment is super,ior becau'se it is accomplished without deeds or ·search.ing. The result is super ior because it mounts the levels beginning; at the thirteenth, the Great Collection of the Wheel ('khor..,lo-tshogs-chen), on up to the, twenty- first. 71 68 PBD, p.187. 69 PBD~ p.18L The,garuda iaa mythlcalbird, like a very large eagle. 70 PBD, p.182. 71 PBD, p.190. No reference to the thirteenth, level by 148 These statements on the . Great Per£ectionwillserveto introduce the reader to the level of· spiritual understanding offered in the ,PBD.It will be noted that the Atiyoga is held to be "beyond deeds and searching." This sta,tement indicates that from the .point of view of the Great Perfection there is nothing. to. be done in order to attain realization. Nonetheless, thePBD does provide, in£ormat,ioDr on how-to realize Buddba,hood. This realization·. is called "recognition," ·for according to the PBDi t is only the difference between recognizing all reality as Buddhahood and failing to recognize this that makes the difference between delusion and . intuiti,ve realization·., Thus there· is nothing,·' really to be done in an active sense, but one must recognize the Buddhahood of oneself, others, and, real.ityas a whole in order to comprehend the meaning of non"...searching . The following chapter is devoted to the PBD's elucidation, of .,recogni tion . this name nor . to . the higher levels up to thetwenty""'flrs.t·· is available. CHAPTER 8 Recognition At the beginning, of the forty third chapter of the PBD, the Lord of Secrets poses a question of fundamental import. It reads as follows: 0, 0 Blessed One, rDo-rje 'Chang, if the view, meditation, practice and final fruition of the eight vehicles are such, what are the stages of sacred instruction for entering the meaning of the Ati? All living and sentient beings have the three kayas and five kinds of wisdom in themselves as part of themselves (rapg,-la-rang....cha.s), so how is it that all those individuals who enter the path do not Int,uitthls? Nothing but tbe external object itself obscures reality; so how is it that they do not perceive this? I beg rDo-rje 150 'Chang .to explain this. l This" question strikes right at the heart of the fundamental problem in Great Perfection philosophy. If ,everything is naturally pure Buddhahood why don't people realize it? rOo-rje 'Chang then goes on to explain that beings do not recognize the true state of things and hence wander on .in del us ion. As a remedy for this the· PBO . presents ,what it calls "the seven recognitions." It is with the intuitive realization of these recognitions that the force ·of delusion can be cut off. The PBO is generally a very clear text, yet in its discussion of the recognitions it resorts to cryptic language. I will not, therefore, present extensive· quotations from the PBO in this chapter, but will attempt to express the content of each recognition with only occasional quotations from the text. 2 The seven recognitions are recognition of: 1) The five elements, 2) The three kayas, 3) The five wisdoms, 4) The eight·· consciou·snesses,· 5) The three times, 6) The four recognitions, and 7) The outer, inner, and secret. It should be understood right from the; beginning that the PBO does not recommend; any active measures. for reaching these recognitions. Each of the recognitions. is., rather, a 1 PBD, pp.86-87. 2 The PBO's discussion on recognition is found on pp.9l ... 125. 151 description of its topic with the - proviso that when this topic is intuitively realized there will be release from delusion. This is in accordance with the PBD' s statements that the Great Perfection is beyond deeds and searching. The recognitions are therefore neither goals nor objects of spiritual practice, but rather indications -of the state of realization itself. This is expressed clearly in the follow ingquotation: There is nothing to do for the sake o·f that which has been done from the primordial, dwells in the present, and is unsought. There is nothing to stop it. 3 II Recognition Q.L :tb!l. UK Elements, The first of. the seven recognitions is. to recognize one I s own essential nature in the true state of the five elements. The five elements are earth, water" fire", wind, and sky. The PBD divides each of the elements into its- radiant and defiled aspect. The radiant aspect of the elements is their nature as light. The defiled aspect o·f the elements is their concretization under the influence of delusion -into matercial reality. In the state of delusion beings perceive the five elements as real entities. W-ith therecognit.ion of their true nature as light comes release 3 PBD, p.123. 152 from this delusion. The five elements· as hypostasis. o·f reality are cut through. In its description 'of, this . recognition. the,PBD first points out that real i ty is di ffere·ntia ted between the objects of the five senses, which are, the external world, and consciousness and, awareness, which are the internal world. The true objects of the five. senses are combinations o·f light. This isreferred,to as the phenomenal dimension (ch9s~dbyinqs). It is w,hen.d'iscu:rsive. conceptualizations based on SUbject/object duality are brought into play that the external world becomes concretized into real entities. Reality itself is both external and internal, as this passage states: In. pure reality there is no dualistic appearance. It is taught as "both external and internal." There is no reificatlon towards the meaning of reality; it is pure. 4 The process whereby this pure reality is obfusc,ated into deluded appearance is described as follows: By the spreading forth of discursive· conceptualizations coarse defilement is spread forth as the five kinds of elements. From thesupreme,Mt. Mera at the center [of the cosmos) down to small rocks,·, bits of 4 'PBD, p. 92 .. 153 earth and bits of wood it is spread forth as the entlty of the earth element. Thus it is coarse. From the ocean and great. rivers on down to mere moistne.ss, mere wetness, and a drop of water discurs,lve conceptualization is spread forth as water. Thus it is coarse. From the burning-of the great fire at [the end ofl the aeon on down to the spark of rUbbing sticks together discursive conceptualization is spread forth' as fire. Thus it is coarse. From the great wind of thecrossed-vaira (rdo-rje-rgva~gram) on down to the smallest breeze, movements are spread forth by discursive conceptualization as wind. Thus it is coarse. The four elements obscure the empty unreified reality.5 When this process of delusion is recognized for what it is an intuition. of reality, will come forth as light,. This·· light is none other than the natare of the· five wisdems.. · Therefore by intuiting the true reality. of the elements there is a clear percep-tion of the nature of reality as wisdom. This is the recognition.of the elements. I I Recognition·of .tb!t Three layas. 5 PBD, pp.92-93. 154 The second recognition is that of the three kayas. This involves a recognition of each of the three k~yas, yet the PBD also holds that an intuition of the Dharmakaya alone automatically results in an intuition of all three kayas. 6 The recognition of the Dharmakaya is the intuition that it is pure awareness (rig.-pa). This is stated . clearly in, the 'PBD: In the teaching of instant eni ightenment,,, awareness and the Dharmakaya are taught as a single essence. The essence of self- awareness and the Dharmakaya is empty. This is the empty reality. This empty essence is itself clear. It abides in pure self- clarity . . The force of clarity comes forth as the flickering wind and. the appearing light. It arises as experience by the power of the flickering. The five lights arise as the force of the arising five wisdoms. These perfectly comprehe·nd. the three kayas; the Dharmakaya is clear andnon-conceptual. 7 This statement not only shows the PBD's identification of awareness with the Dharmakaya, it points out that the three kayas are spontaneously realized in the Dharmakaya•.. 6 PBD, p.lOO. 7 PBD, p.96. 155 How is the Dharmakaya obscured? The PBD informs us that: When the phenomenaL. dimension is. obscured by subtle and· coarse de filements the, Dharmakaya is not recognized, so co-emergent ignorance comes forth. [This ig.norance 1 is spread forth as coarse discursive conceptualizations by causes and conditions. By these conditions the meaning. of the three kayas is not clear . The meaning of reality is also not clear and becomes spread forth as coarseness. The external object i tsel f is obscured, and the particulars of the non- deluded come forth in this way.8 It is the intuition that pure awareness is Buddhahood itself that undercuts the process of delusion, and ·from this a full intuition of all the three kayas will manifest. The recogni tion of the Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakay.a are • therefore dependent on a recognition of the Dharmakaya. The Sambhogakaya is recognized to be the five families of Buddhas, which· are in fact manifestations of the five wisdoms. These five wisdoms are inherent in the Dharmakaya. This is explained as follows: The essence of the Sa.mbhogakaya .is . that it;· is realized to be the five kinds of wisdom in 8 PBD, p.97. 156 the meaning of the Dharmakaya which is without defilement and pure. The five wisdoms which are the arising o.f the force of the Dharmakayaarise as luminescence. 9 The PBD also. points out that "self-awareness possesses the five wisdoms, and .luminescence itself arises as the five lights, thus it comes forth as the kayas of the five famil les . ,,10 What obscures the Sambhog.akaya? Actually, subtle longing. is the subtle obscurant of the Sambhog.akaya. It is the ungiving (ma-ster) obscuring defilement against the perceptiono.f the Sambhogakaya. l1 When luminescence,. the clear aspect of the Dharmakaya, is perceived as the five lights (azure, white, yellow, red, and green) and these are intuited to be wisdom itself the Sambhogakaya will be recognized. The recognition of the Nirmanakaya depends on· intuition • of the Dharmakayaand Sambhogakaya. ThePBD describes the recognition of N" - th e1rmana,k- aya very br iefl y with these· • words: The arising. of the spontaneously realized 9 PBD, p.98. 10 PBD, p.98. 11 PBD, p.99. 157 luminescent light in clear and empty self- awareness, the Dharmakaya, is the Sambhogakaya. The arising of the force of these ·twoto the face of the disciple appears as the kaya of the force of light and awareness. An appropr iate appearance ar ises for the six (classes ofl sentient beings, and it appears as the Nirmanakayas such as the • six sages. 12 This> passage informs us that the Ni.rmanauya. is a • manifestation ·ofawareness and wisdom, ·in· a fo.rmappropriate to the beings of samsara. This conform! ty to samsaric existence is the manifestation of the Buddha's compassion. Unl ike the information on the Dharmakaya and Sambhogakaya, where practitioners may find their own awareness to be the Dharmakaya and,tbeir perception of color to be the wisdom of the Sambbogakaya, the PBD does not present any direct indication that a practitioner may discover him or hersel f to. bea Nirmana,kaya..lt is said,. on the other ·hand, that • with the intuition of. the Dha,rmak.'iya will come a full reco.gnition of all, three kayas..This may be taken to be an indication that with the intuition of the Dharmakaya Buddhahood itself is actually realized. One who realizes Buddhahood yet continues to remain·· in the .·world of 158 appearance ma.y be said to be a Nirmanakaya, and it is in • this sense that practitioners may find their status as N.irmanakaya Buddhas . • Furthermore, the three kayas -- though not recognized -- are actually present in the body, speech. and, mind· of ordinary living beings. The following stateme·nt clarifies this: At the time the Dharmakaya is recognized ·the· three kayas are recognized. If you ask why, the three kayas are spontaneously realized, therefore the un-intuited three kayas are the body (lwi,;), speech (1l92Sl), and mind (Ud). At the time of intuition the three kayas arise at one time. All three are perfected at one time in the Dharmakaya.. If '. you ask why, it is because it is spontaneously realized. 13 . It is in this connection that it will be useful to present the definitions of the three kayas offered by Herber t Guenther. Dr. Guenther focuses on the three kayas - in their interrelationship with persons., and it is therefore under the present discussion of recognition -- rather than the previous chapter delineating the three kayas· -- that I· offer his presentation. 13 PBD,p.lOO. 159 "Dharmak'aya (chos~sku) is a term for the experience of Being in one's own existence (Ull) in the sense that, BeiDgis an absolute real i ty and val ue (~). The exper lence is 'ineffable' in the sense that any attempt to conceptual i,ze it would detract from its validity of absoluteness by reducing it to some content in mind,' which, is relative to other contents. 'Ineffable' therefore does notmeanthat'ineffabillty' is a quaIl tyof Dharmakaya. The experience of Being operates , through, Sambhogakaya (longs-sku) and Nirmanakaya (spru1-sku) , both of them • referred to by the- termRUpakaya (gzugs-sku). Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya are thus images • through which, we understand, our existential value o,f Being. In par ticu1ar, Sambhogakaya is an empathetic experience- through which we take empathetic delight in Dharmakaya or Being,. Nirmanakaya 'expresses' this • exper lence in-such away as to communicate it to others. Dharmakaya is also used as a term for Being-as-such in which a1.1 that is participates and by virtue of it a,.14 14 Herbert Guenther, The Tantric lliJt Q.t Life, (Berkeley: Sbambha1a,1972), pp.14&-149, note 13. 160 Dr. Guenther does not employ such terms used in the PBD· as "awareness," "light, "luminosity," etc. Yetbisempbasis on the threekayasas being.. directly related to the ground of experience of a perso.n is in harmony with the PBD's exegesis. II Recogni tion 2L .tWit. [,J.n Wisdoms The third recognition is that of the five wisdoms. It has already been pointed out in the chapter on wisdom that the five wisdoms represent the emptiness, clarity, non- duality, differentiation, and manifest force of awareness. It was also pointed out that the five wisdoms a,re in fact the three kayas. What obscures the fiv·e wisdoms? The PBD states that the five poisons of attachment, aversion, ignorance, pride, and jealousy are the· coarse obscurants of the five wisdoms. Grasping is the subtle obscurant. Non"","recognition is the very subtle obscurant. IS The point of recognizing the five wisdoms, therefore, is to distinguish them from the five poisons. This discrimination amounts to recognition. The PBD holds that both wisdom and the poisons arise from the same fundamental state, which is called the Sel f- arising Wisdom. Under the influence of non-recognition or 1S PBD, p.10l. 161 delusion these proceedings from the basic state of wisdom are either identified with the five wisdoms or felt as the poisons which hold one in samsara. 16 When there is recognition of the Self-arising Wisdom and understanding of the differentiation between the five wisdoms and the five poisons delusion is cleared away. This is the recognition. of wisdom. ll. Recognitioq2i. .tb!!.·EightCopsgiQusnesses The fourth recognition is that of the eight consciousnesses. These are the five consciousnesses o·f the sense faculties, the mental consciousness (Yid-kvi-rnam- ~), the defiled mind (nyon-mongs.,-kyi-yid), and the Total ,Base which gathers the many things . In the chapter on the Base, the Total Base which gathers the many things was identified with all eight of· the ,consciousnesses, while here -- at the point of recognition - - it is identified only with the eighth consciousness. The PBD explains the functions of the five consciou,snesses of the senses in the following passage: Form is seen as the object of the eye. Attachment and aversion are .born towards beautiful and ugly forms. In the same way·· sound is the object of the ear; smell is the object of the nose; taste is the object of 16 PBD, p.102. 162 the tongue; touchables are the object of the body, etc. [The consciousnessesl act 1 ike servants, for they carry [their contents] to the mental consciousne.ss, like being sent to a lord. 17 The explanation of how sensory input is then processed by the remaining three consciousnesses follows: [Sense datal are carried to the defiled "mind. They are grasped firmly by such defilements as attachment and aversion, like a husband looks after a wife after acquiring her. By this they turn into tendencies (~ chags) . The Total· Base which gathers these [tendencies], which is 1 ike a vessel, is the Total Base which gathers the many things. In relation to the five senses, the PBD speaks of the five "doors." The doors referred to are the sensory organs. The sense consciousnesses seize hold of the data intercepted by the sense faculties and relay this i·nformation to the mental consciousness. The. defiled mind·. then interprets the data in terms o·f the five poisons. The tendencies· this defiled interpretation harbors are held in the Total Base which .gathers the many things. It is clear, therefore, that theobiects of perception 17 PBD, p.103. 163 do not become interpreted. in. terms of subject and object until they are received by the mental consciousness, which interprets its data in terms of internal and external. This is the fundamental- delusion of subject-object duality. In the realm of the· defiled mind the poisons come into play, and it is here that grasping at a true identity or "self" (~) with reference to the sense data and the receptor of the sense da ta appears. The consciousness that perpetuates the tendencies towards this deluded vision of reality is the Total Base which gathers the many things. The recognition of the eight consciousnesses in nothing more or less then an understanding intuition of how this process takes place. 1S When the workings of the mind are clearly perceived there will no longer arise the grasping attitude that delusion is inherent in reality. The delusion of the mind will dissolve upon recognition of the nature of the mind. 19 I I Recognition g,t··the Three Times The fifth recognition is that of the three times. The PBD holds that "the recognition through dividing the three times is inconceivable for an ordinary person.,,20 18 PBD, p.l04. 19 PBD, p.l05. 20 PBD, p.l08. 164 Nonetheless it provides teaching on this subject. The recogn-ition of the three times is divided between the pure knowledge of the three times and the timeless knowledge of intuition. 2l The two knowledges of the three times are explained as follows: If the knowledge of the three times is recognized there are the knowledge that the past cuts off the future, the knowledge tha,t, the future meets with the. past, and the knowledge that the five sensory bases which issue forth in the present are lost into the object. This is the knowledge that recollection and conceptualization are adventitious. The knowledge that the past cuts off the future is recollected in. the mind, which creates the past. The knowledge that the£uture meets the past is recollected in the mind of the future. The adventitious recollection and conceptual-ization of the present is generated in the objects of the five senses. These are the phenomena, of samsara, and by the knowledge that these three are adventi tious there come forth the 2lpBD,. p.109. 165 three times which are· selfless, free from grasping, uncreated, uncontrived, uncontaminated, self--arising, a-nd abiding from the primordial. Knowledge· of. just this is wisdom. 22 This passage represents the teaching on the three times in full. It is appareat that an intuitive awareness of the past, present and future leads to the priJn(;)rdJ:al awareness which is beyond ticme altogether. This is the recognition of the three times. 2l.RecognitionU .~. E.2Ju:. Recognitions The sixth recognition is the four recognitions. The four recognitions are recognition . of the Dharmaka,ya, of the Sambhogakaya, of the Nirmanakaya, and that thethreekayas • are without joining or separation. Thisrecognitiondiffers from that of the three kayas only in its presentat.ion. In this teaching. the PBD uses what it calls "the four signs of signi·fication" (mtshon-pa .1 i -brda) • These are: 1) Vajrasattva'smirror, 2) A mask, 3) A house of light, and 4) The sun. The PBD offers a speech or lecture which should be given to the student in order to teach each of these recognitions. The speech on Vajrasattva'smirror follows: You suitable receptacle [for the teaching), student, listen to me! This 22 PBD, p.I09. 166 mirror of the mind, this crystal, is not truly the Dharmakaya. How must this be known? Just as there is no exterior or interior to. a crystal,. the Dharmaki'ya. of sel f-awareness must be kno·wn to have no exterior or interior. Just as a crystal has no front or back the Dharmakaya· also has no front or back. Jus.t as a crystal has penetrating clarity the Dharmakaya. is undefiled; pure, and penetrating. Just as the unconditioned five lights are inside, so this which has no interior, the three kayas, abides in inner clarity inside the penetrating Dharmakaya. You must know tha·t this is the empty with the vital essence of wisdom. A simile is that just as the five lights arise on the outside from· the inside of this [crystal), so the two R"iipak'ayas appear for the two [sorts ofl disciples;from the Dharmakaya. 23 The presentation on the Sambhogakaya, which uses the mask as a simile, is as follows: Son of Noble Family, listen to this ! The instructions on the Sambhogakayas are that 23 PBD, p.lll. 167 just as when a mask is shown· in the face· of a mirror yet the mirror is pure and clear, reality is pure and clear. Just as the appearance of an image inside a mirror is without self nature, so the appearance of the five kayas in the dimension of reality is wi·thoutselfnature and abides in clarity. 24 The speech on the Nirma9akaya, which should use the simile of a house of light yet in fact uses the simile of a lamp reflected em water, is as follows: Oh Son of Noble Family, listen to this! Just as the mirror of speech is pure and clear at the time the N'irmanak-ayais applied • to signs and speech, just as the dimension of the lamps which are reflected on water is clear as the five kayas in the face of a mirror, the wisdom of sigRs(rtags,-kyi-ye- is clear as light, as the- Nirmanakaya. 25 • The lecture on the inseparabil i ty of the three kayas finishes the four speeches. Kye Ma, Lord of Secrets, take it as certain! Just as the essential nature of the 24 PBD, p.112. 25 PBD, p.l12. 168 sun is together with its light rays" the Dharmakaya is ornamented by the compas.s iona te Riipakaya. Just as the light. rays of the sun are free from dual i ty , the three kayas abide from the primordial without joining or separation. 26 The PBD goes on to say that "when. this is intuited there is Buddhahood.. so the Buddha Aware of All Aspects (rNam-pa Kun-rig) is supreme. This is the, inspiration of the four recognitions." 27 The fundamental difference between the presentation of the recognition of the three kayas and the recognition of the four recognitions is that the latter uses simi·les to elucidate its subject. It is also apparent. that these four speeches are actually intended to be delivered to students by a guru. In this respect these passages are unique in the PBD. The paD does not provide any directions to the guru for malting these presentations, yet it is not unlikely that the guru would use such props as a crystal, a mirror, etc. in del iver ingthese sermons. The last- of the . seven recogni.tions is that of the outer, inner, and secre<t. "The recognition of the outer .. inner, and secret is the final settlement of the 26 PBD, p.ll2. 27 PBD., p.l14. 169 recognitions. It is applied to the meaningof,the view,. ,,28 The recognition of these is explained very concisely in the PBD: The recognition of the outer is the recognition o·f appearance, the phenomenal dimension. The teaching. on the recognition of· the inner is the recognition of the two Riipakayas. The teaching on the recogniti,on· of the secret is the recognition that awareness is the Dharmakaya. 29 The PBD then offers a unique passage.. It was said above that the Atiyoga is beyond all deeds and searching and that nothing can be done to acco>mplishwhat is complete from· the primordiaL Nonetheless, in this one instance the PBD does recommend action as a means to gain recognition. The passage reads as follows: Show a crystal to the cloudless rising sun and set out an icon (br is-sku). Lift up the crystal to the sun, and set out the icon where the. 1 ight spreads out. When both the crystal and the icon hi t the unmoving eye, look. Look at the picture and look at the sky. You must look when. it enters the mind 28 PBD, p.lIS. 29 PBD, p.lIS. 170 that the su,nl ight hits the crystal and the icon has color and form. Look at the sky which is empty of both eye and cloud. What is the icon? The color and shape actually appear to the eye-sense, but they arise without self-nature. 30 After this passage the PBD offers various explanations of the three kayas, all of which conform to thein£ormation already provided in this thesis. An example is the following: Through the aspect of awareness there is the Dharmakay.a. Thro\lghthe aspect. 0 f the appearance of light by means of the unhindered aspect of form, its clarity, there is the Sambhogakaya. Through the aspect of flickering recollection and awareness the five sense organs variously flicker in the object. These are the Nirmanakayas. 3l • Eacbof the seven recognitions is intended to provide an insight into the nature of reality as the· Great Perfection tradition sees it. Upon gaining any or all of these recognitions the follower is expected to have realized the definitive. meaning of the Buddha's teaching. In the 30 PBD, p.116. 31 PBD, p.ll? 171 discussion of the nine vehicles .we have seen that each Buddhist path is divided· into view,. meditation, practice, and result. Upon gaining recognition. one has truly entered the vehicle of the Great. Perfection. This vehicle is also discussed in terms of its view, meditation, practice, and result. The following chapter, the last in this thematic study of the PBD, will devoted to an exposition of these aspec.ts of the Atiyoga. CHAPTER 9 The Great Perfection In the previous chapters I have presented. the fundamental· .concepts that the' PBD is built upon. In the chapter on the nine vehicles I have shown the PBD's views on the different Buddhist paths. In the chapter on recognition. I have shown the PBD'sanalysis on- the true entrance into the highest vehicle, the sudden penetration. of real i ty. This highest vehicle, the ninth, is . the Atiyoga, also known as the Great Perfection. The PBD is quite clear in its statements> that recognition constitutes the highest view. Nonetheless, a large and important part of the PBD is devoted to a discussion of the view, meditation,. practice, and results of the Great Perfection vehicle. The Great Perfection vehicle is held by the PBD to be the highest Buddhist path. An elucidation of this path is the fundamental purpose of the PBD. For this reason the present. chapter is devoted· to a prese.ntation ,··ofthe view, 173 meditation, practice, and results of the Great Perfection according to the PBD. The information. provided in the previous chapters of this thesis will now· serve as a framework in which the PBDls views an Atiyoga can be properly understood. Concerning the relationship between recognition and the view the PBO states the following: At the occasion of recognition of the view there is clarity. Upon recognition, realized intuition immediately arises. If you ask why, it is the teaching of sudden penetration. There·fore recognitio.n is extremely dear. l Why is the view 50 important? The PBO explains this as follows: Concerning the teaching on· the . necessary purpose of the view: The view is like an eye; everything is clear. It is impossible for persons who do not have the view to obtain Buddhahood. Without the view it is impossible to remove the darkness of ignorance. If one practises meditation wi thout the view it will be to no purpose. Engaging in practice without the view is 1 PBD, p.135. 174 devoid of a reason for practice. Withoutthe view it is impossible to be liberated from the abode of samsara. Without the view it is impossible to be liberated from sUffering., Without the view it is impossible to obtain the great bl iss. There fore the requirement of the view is extremely great. 2 Just what, then, is the view? The PBD I S presentation of the definition of the view is a follows: The· definition of the view is self-aware wisdom (rang-rig.,-ye-shes). "Self" (tsn9,) is said because it need not ·rely on another. "Aware"(t.J.g,) is said because it is different from material things.. Its time is called "primordial"(m) as it does not come ··forth adventitiously. This itself is the knowledge (~) of the meaning and the recognition. 3 This .statement is elucidated by the following remark: By a lucid intuition of the apparent reality of the phenomenal dimension and the self-arising, self-aware Dharmakaya there is the view. I£ this itself is suddenly recognized there will arise in this or.dinary 2 PBD, p.130. 3 PBD, p.128 175 knowledge (shes-pa) startlement, lucidity, purity, thrill, distinctness, and holiness. 4 To condense several passages relating to the view it may be said that awareness i tsel f is empty, in tha·t, it can be in no way defined, and clear, in that perception is its quality. The empty aspect of awareness and the clear aspect are non-dual, in that the emptiness is i tsel f clear and the clarity is itself· empty. . These three aspects, empt·iness, clarity, and non..,..duality, can be conceived of separately. The manifest force of this awareness is action. This explanation represents the discussion of the five wisdoms, and the five wisdoms -- which are manifestations of the sel·f-aware wisdom --are the essence of the view. The five wisdoms are also the three kayas. The empty, clear, and non-dual aspects of awareness are the Dharmakaya. The distinction o·f these qualities of awareness is the Sambhogakaya. The manifes,t force of aw·areness is the .',Nirmanakaya . • Upon recognition that awareness is the .Dharmakaya there is instant intuition of the five wisdoms and three }ka'yas. This in,tuition is exactly the view. This intuition of the view also amounts to the abandonment of grasping, for the view is intuited directly and not in the manner of grasping or searching. With this 4 PBD, p.124. 176 abandonment of grasping comes the disappearance of subject- object duality and the five poisons. This is expressed in the PBD as follows: When there is no longing for the externally appear ing object and the inner self-arislngawareness is clear, this is called "the Dharmakaya of self-awareness." The meaning of everything is. known by possessing the bliss of not conceptualizing the empty and the clear, and there is no subsequent grasping. This is called "the .Dharmakaya of awareness. ,,5 It is possible that the view be misunderstood. Such a misunderstand is called a "ground for error" (gol-sa) in the PBD. The PBD presents the ways that such misunderstandings· are eliminated by the view as follows: The ground for error of [a belief in} cause and condition is cut off because [ the view] is self-arising. The ground fer error of it being an entity is cut off because it exists in the empty. The ground for error of it being empty is cut off because it exists as clarity. The grou.nd for error of peaceful abiding ( zhi -gnas ) is cut off because, 5 PBD, p.129. 177 awareness is penetrating. The ground for· error of awareness being alone is cut off because clarity arises as light. The ground for error of the stage o·f generation is cut off because [the view) abides as the uncontr ived and uncontaminated. The ground for error of meditation is cut off because it is clear, without joining or separation. The ground for error of hoping for some th i,ng else is cut off because it is exactly itself. The ground for error 0 f card inal and secondary directions is cut off because it arises without direction. The ground for error of the vehicles is cut off because it is the root of everything. The ground for error of study and thinking is cut off because it is intui"ted by the mere teaching. Other errors are impGssibl.e because one knows one r sown true essence. 6 These statements indicate that any hypo.stapization or objectification of the view results in a misconception. may be thought, then, that these faults must be actively given up. This would also be ami·stake, however, for i:tis recognition itself -- and not any overt act -- that removes 6 PBD. pp.130-131. 178 misconceptions about the view. The PBD states: The purification of faults is that they are not purposefully abandoned. Faults are purified by the intuition of their own- essence, just as darkness does not abide when the sun rises, for example. 7 It ma,y also be thought that an individual who intuits the view, and hence obtains Buddhahood, also departs from· samsara. The PBD does -not negate this possibility, but offers another.insight into the situation: An individual who knows and intuits these things may exist in the abode of samsara but the result, the three kayas, is perfected. [For him] there is no changing from the meaninCj of the five wisdoms. There is the actual arising of the meaning of the self- ar ising awareness. By having not the least bit of anguish one is like a great garuda soaring in the sky.S The ultimate. misconception, of the view, however, is not in the realm of overt grasping. It is the conceptual holding of such concepts as Dharmakaya, clarity, emptiness, etc. to refer to real things. The summation of the view is 7 PBD, p.131. 8 PBD,;: p.137. 179 that it is totally beyond even, such concepts as Buddbahood. ThePBD makes t-his very clear: The essential Dharmakaya o·f awareness,. or what is called "self-arising wisdom" is, from the essence of self-awareness, the Dharmakaya withoutsamsara and without n,!rvana; without the Base, without the path, without the result; without vehicles and. without· i·ncUvlduals; wi thou t any Dharma or non -Dharma whatever; without the cause and result of samsara; without any cause, which is taught to be the two ignorances and such things as the four condi tlons, .whatever; without the. result which is attraction, aversion, ignorance,. pride, and jealousy; without defilements such as the five poisons; without the six classes of samsara's sentient beings; also without the five external elements, i.e. without earth, without water, without fire and wind; even the pure sky is mere designation. Thus there is no vessel {of the world:] or contents [of sentient beings.] Whatever. Samsara is merely designated through delusion. There is nosamsara and no nirvana. Buddha (sangs~rgyas) is designated through realiza.t.ion, but in the essence of 180 meaning, the Dharmakaya, there is no removing (sangs) and no increa-sing (rayas). There is no- defeat (~), no possessing. <l.9M), no transcendence (' das) , [and hence no Blessed One (bcgm-ldan,...'das)]. There is no purity, no accomplishment, no being. There is no Thus (de-bzhin), no- Gone One (asheas-pa). There is no Arahat who has removed the defilements. There is no abandoning to be abandoned, or attaining to be attained. There is not even an atom of the name that is called "Buddha." There is not the path he preaches or the vehicles. There are no nine. vehicles, cause and resul t,· outer and inner. There is no path of means and. path of liberation. There is no gradual [enlightenment], nor instantaneous [enl ightenmentl. There· is no medi tatton and non-meditation, practice and non-practice. There is no go.d, mandala, i. meditative absorption, expansion or contraction. There is no existence, non,...existence, appearance, empty, single, plural, permanence, cessation, like, dislike, fame, infamy, finding, not finding, . accomplishment, 181 non,.,.accomplishment, removing" non,.-removing, expanding, non~xpanding, action, non-action, and so on whatever. 9 These statements show that the view of the Great Perfection is ultimately beyond even the three kayas, the five wisdoms, and the nine vehicles. In the highest view there is not even a Buddha or Buddhahood. There is also not the absence of the k~as, the wisdoms, etc. The view of the Atiyoga is totally beyond any defined reality whatever. As thePBD states: Sim.iles, characteristics, conventions, recognition, view, meditation, practice, result" delusion, intui tion, and skillfulness, are mere designations for infer ior minds as a suitable condition for the path. lO Thus the PBO, which set out from the beginning to, speak of 'the unspeakable, now reasserts the inconceivability of the highest view. The information provided up to this point was merely to accommodate inferior intellects, while the intuition of the view of the Atiyoga is beyond even these lofty subjects. If, the view of the Atiyoga, is completely unspeakable, 9 PBD, pp.14S-146. lOpBO, p.14S. 182 what can be said of the meditation of Atiyoga? The PBD presents the situation clearly: The non-dual great bliss that I [rDo-rje 'Chang] teach is completely pure of all the conventions of content and lack ·of content in meditation. For one possessing profound knowledge who intui ts the meaning of sel f- awareness there is no joining to or separation .' from the state of non-dual great bliss . . • . This is taught for the purpose of those with very sharp senses. For those individuals of middling profound knowledge non-meditation is taught as meditation. For yogis whose force of profound knowledge is small non-meditation is taught to be non- Buddhahood. 11 This passage shows that there are three levels of teaching meditation. For the superior there. is no meditation or non~meditation, as they have intuited the nature of self-awareness. For the middling not meditating is taught to be the true meditation. For the inferior meditation is ,taught to be essential. Therefore the PBD does not concern itself with providing teachings fo.rsuperior and middling. individuals. 11 PBD, p.148. 183 It is for the inferior that the PBD speaks of meditation at all. This teaching. intends to demonstrate that there is no entering or leaving the state of pure reality, the Dharmakaya of self-awareness. Meditation, in the view of the PBD, is awareness of the all-encompassing, state of pure being. Thus the meditatio.n of the Atiyoga is the understanding of the view of Atiyoga. The following passage applies this view of med.itation to the activities of daily life: One sits, but one sits simply wi thou·t wavering from the state of the self- appearance of reality. One moves, but one moves simply astbe unhindered self-nature of the self.,..luminescence of wisdom, just as a butter lamp and the sun go along wi th the ir sel f-appearance. One sleeps, but one is joined to the force of the Base through the space of the unwavering state of reality, the state of penetrating awareness, and one dissolves into the natural Base. A.fter defining marks are liberated into their own place tbeybecome the great joining to the meaning. One gets up, but one gets up in the unwavering state. Awareness is self-arising., 184 and is clear as the naturally unhindered. l2 The PBD is clear in stating that there is no joining to or separation from reality, yet in one sense one is constantly within the state of reality. This is exemplified as follows: No matter where a bird fl ies there is no plac~ that transcends the sky. No matter where a fish swims it does not transcend the water.·· No>· matter where a man goes he does not transcend the. earth. Just so, the well- endowed who possess intuition do not waver f·rom the state of reality. 13 The inferior, nonetheless, require some idea of what to do in meditation. The comments on this in the PBD vary, but the following is an excellent example: Son of Noble Family, the thing to be meditated is pure perfected Buddhahood. There is nothing other than the meaning of this. Self-awareness is exactly the Dharmakaya. All arisings are self-a,rising. Awareness, the Dharmakaya, arises as the empty, the unhindered, the inseparability of these two, the unhindered discriminative 12 PBD, p.150. 13 PBD, p.150. 185 awareness which· knows this, and the unobstructedness of that, in short, the five characteristics. These· five ·ar ise as. the. five·wisdoms. 14 This explanation of meditation is in harmony with the PBO's contention that the Atiyoga is beyond all deeds and searching.• Nonetheless,. the PBO does offeranexplana·tion of meditation for the inferior. This meditation is divided into outer, inner, and secret. It ma.yappearthat thePBO is proposing a type of deed for the spiritual path, which would in turn mean that the practitioner is searching some unattained goal. This would be a misconce.ption, for it is the PBD's contention . that the goal is not something to be attained, but rather something to be recognized in the immediate present. The following passage makes this clear: The application of meditation is the Ohar.makaya ·of sel f-awareness. It is intuited by the seven, recognitions. It will enter the disposition as confidence,. and if this meaning is continually clear it is applied meditation. If it is realized that awareness is the Oharmakaya- the three kayas, are spontaneously realized. The five wisdoms are 14 PBD, p.151. 186 also spontaneously realized. 15 What are the meditations of the outer, inner, and secret, then? These teachings are given. at the level of content in-meditation, ra.ther than contentless med,ita.tion; though in the . highest medita.tio.n.there is neither. content nor lack of it. The outer [meditation) is relaxation of bod,y, speech, and mind • It is remaining in. the state ·of giving up deeds. 16 This statement is very clear . The outer meditation is abandoning a straining attitude towards meditation, and hence the view. The inner meditation is more complicated. It involves the nerve channels (~), winds (rlung), and T,~~17 which are part of thetantric physiology- of a human' being. The passages -describing this meditation are obscure, as are the passages relating the secret meditation. It is likely that these are techniques intended to be learned from a guru who holds the transmission for this teaching. Such a native expert not being available, I have attempted to portray these techniques based only on the text of the PBD 15 PBD, p.157. 16 PBD, p.153. 17 T!!9-le is a technical term hard tothat is very translatit:~""" On one level it refers to the semen. On another level it represents the unified state of reality. No adequate translation is therefore available, for which reason I have used the 'Tibetan term itself. 187 itself. The inner [meditation] is closing the doors of the winds in the nerve channels. From the Thigle of the self-arising dimension there is first the attraction for the world of the body. From this both upper and lower nerve channels arise. From thejoinlng of the two [kinds of] nerve channels the knot of the nerve channels (rtsa-mdud) becomes the navel. From this the secondary nerve channels generate the splendor ·of the body. From this the gathered entrails are expanded in the heart. From·· this there comes the innards. From these discursive conceptualizations ar ise. From these the nerve channels are conceptualized. Whatever appears is sel f-appearing. Uncreated .discursive conceptualizations are nakedly seen. The conceptualization is not enjoined, so the force of awareness does not flicker from this. The profound knowledge which intuits the presence of wind is completely spread out. It is grasped by skillful means" so non-conceptualization . abides in its own place. On the occasion [of utteringl '''Ha'~ and "Phat" the dead winds are 188 blownou t. 18 As I have noted above, this passage is obscure. What is required is not only a thorough understanding of the tantric physiology but instruction in the technique being explained. This information must await the release of fu·r·ther information in this area . The secret meditation is presented under what are called three methods. These are: 1) The king. sits on the throne, 2) The minister is held in prison, and 3) SUbduing the public. These do not represent three separate techniques, but are rather combined into a single meditative process. The ins.tructions found on the secret meditation in the PBO are cryptic, nonetheless I will present the key passages so that the reader may gain some insight into this· technique. o rOo-rje 'Ozin-pa, take it well! The king is pure self-awareness, the Oharmak'iya. The throne is this appearance as an object of the naturally pure sky . This is the Thigl.e of the l.phenomena 1 ] dimension I s appearance as an object. The meaning of just this is free from a self. The· totally pure dimension is the dwell ing-throne for the wisdom 0 f awareness. Now the lamp of Bodhicitta is 18 PBD, pp.153-154. 189 joined to the pure and clear self-nature of water. Furthermore, [ the Dharmakaya.] abides by its existential mode and is diffused by its modeo.f appearing. It is just as the abode of a peregrine falcon abides in a rock mountain and all the [young falcons 1 stay at the door, for example. Just as in. this simile the wisdom of awareness abides in the precious citta (mind). Its true essence is actually clear in the conception. . . . Dwelling on the throne, the appearance of wisdom, is the unhindered self-clarity of the Thigle of great wisdom. The vital essence of wisdom abides in awareness, and wisdom is clear in awareness. Thus the . spontaneously real ized Tbigle defeats defining marks and discursive conceptualization. In this way it abides in the unchanging, and other than self-appearance there is no other-appearance. The king abiding on the throne is that awareness is primordially pure in the state of the unchanging, unreified dimension, and is placed in the unwavering state from that (dimens ion). . . . 190 Defining marks do not abide [in this statel, so the eye looks at the center of the sky. The door of the winds in the nerve channels is closed. The meditative absorption of the Bodhisattva abides in-between the Buddha and sentient beings. Thus - the eye looks at the atmosphere. The throat is slightly contracted. The neck is placed on top of the shoulder. The three nerve channels squeeze the-passage way of the winds. The mental absorption and mind holding of· gods and men is for the most part a defined mark. . . . The eye looks at the earth. As for this, the throat is sl ightly bent and the neck must nearly touch the chest. The minister is the mind (~). It does not arise above awareness, above the wind- force, thus it does not go together with conceptualization. It is clear in non- conceptualization. It is like a minister held in prison and has no counselor or enactor of what must be done, for example. It i-s not free from the body, so there is breath. Awareness has a horse, so it is like a minister. l,t is li.kebeing held in prison,. 191 for it has reason for conceptual ization but cannot move. The five sense organs. are like subjects. They are creators of karma. At this time they do not conceptual ize clar ity,. This is like subduing the subjects. 19 These are the PBDt s statements regarding the secret meditation. The difficulty in interpreting these passages is clear. It will be observed that thePBD walks a very fine line between recommending actual practices which will further the disciple in his or her meditation and refraining from recommending any deeds or searching as part o·f the path. The meditation of the king sitting, on the throne basically represents the conjunction of the Dharmakaya with the phenomenal dimension, bringing together the apparent subject and object into a unity. Holding the minister in prison seems to refer to not allowing the mind to concep,tualize. Subdui-ng the public seems to refer to ignoring the data of the sense facul-ties duringmedi tation. This analysis is at present speculation, and a final understanding of these meditative techniques must await further infor-mation. The meditation of the Great Perfection, then, is fundamentally the recognition of the view in i tsapplied 19 PBD,pp.155-157. 192 aspect. The particular techniqu.es taugh.tfor the. sake of inferior individuals are methods of applying. the intuition of the view to an actual meditative session. The practice of the Great Perfection is nothing more or less than the continual application of the view. It is beyond deeds and searching. Here follow some of the PBD's statements of Atiyoga practice: The practice which is without taking up and rejecting is without a cause for action, thusltisthe supreme practice. 20 The practice. of self-aware wisdom is. like a mirror of precious jewels, for example. Wisdom is naturally unhindered, and the self- arising self-appearing acts without attraction or aversion. 21 The practice of the meaning of the view is like a greatgaruda soaring in the sky. It enjoys the spont,aneous perfection free fro·m deeds. 22 The statements that the practice is totally without deeds or searching, attraction or aversion,· may lead the reader to believe that any behavior is appropriate to the 20 PBD, p.162. 21 PBD, p.162" 22 PBD, p.162. 193 Great Perfection. The PBO speaks out against this perception in the following phrase: The practice which is without recollection (drap...pa) must not be contrived as the way of yoga. It acts like a mad elephant. Yoga acts in what is bliss, without desire for a single thing, just as a bee relishes a flower. 23 As in the section on Atiyoga meditation, there exists the tension in thePBO between speaking of no practice ...- as the Atiyoga is beyond deeds and searching -- and actually recommending something to do. The PBO divides practice into two levels, that for the superior and tha-tfor·the middling. and infer ior • Concerning the super ior the PBO states the following: The practice as it is applied to an individual is intuition through the. highest view. This is for those with very sharp senses. Not being separated from- this state is the perfection of view, meditation and practice at one time. The -result is not sought from another, so at that very mome.nt the instantaneous enl ightenment is 23 PBD-, p.163. 194 perfected. 24 With regard to middling and inferior individuals the PBD prescribes what it calls the practice. of the four times and the practice of the three times. The in·formation on these practices is cryptic, and undoabtedlyreqaires the explanation of a qualified native expert. For the present I will present the important passages relating to these practices, with hopes. that the insights provided may be supplemented by the future uncovering of more information. The four times are the past, present,. future, and pri-rnordially pure time (ka-dag-Pa' i-dus). The PBO does not, however, present the practice of the four times in terms of this division" but focuses on practice as it relates to sleeping and waking up. The text reads as follows: Concerning the practice of the four times, at the time of sl.eep the five ·forces [of the senses] are condensed into the Base. The five senses, the force of theBase,tbe clear aspect of the Base, are unhindered, so the external object which relies on the five senses is cut off. The dualistic appearance of subject and object generates the five poisons. These, at the time of going to sleep are gathered upo.n the Base's clear 24 PBD, p.163. 195 aspect. Ordinary ignorance goes to sleep . . If the recollection and conceptu'alization, o·f a dream come forth or the recollection and conceptualization of· awaking· come forth at the time the dream is purified or awakened,. grasping to the recollection of the meaning is self-liberated. according to the instructions of sel f-clear awareness. Thus self-appearing appearance in its own place is 1 iberated grasping; and if appe.arances are spread forth by skillfulness the dream is cut off. The practice which 1 iberates grasping is self-clear, like a butter lamp.. At the time of getting up the five objects are widely dispersed. Even though the five kinds of [ sense 1 obj ect appear . • . they are taught to be called "their own selves" (rang-rang). They are caused to be cut off, so the force of flickering wind is the object and appearance • s force o·f form. If conceptual.izations are bornthemeaning' i is recollected and non-grasping is born, thus grasping is liberated. Conceptualizations are not put into the 196 object of grasping and liberation. When there is skillfulness in taking up the practice conceptualizations decrease. Self-awareness, the Dharmakaya, is self- clear without chang1ng in the four time,s. For example the essential nature of the sun is not separated from clarity and exists in accompaniment with it. The Dharmaki'ya of awareness is like this. 25 It is not entirely clear just what practice this practice of the fou·r times represents. The practice of the three times is somewhat less obscure. Traditionally the three times are said to be the past, present, and future . In this practice of the three times, however, they, are different. The description of the practice of the three times follows: For the sake of individuals who are sui table receptacles for the teaching, the practice of the three times is enacted in this way: In the three times the Dharmakaya of self-awareness is like the sun which is not separated from cIaI' i ty. Sel f-awareness is not separated from clarity, but the power o·f .non-recognition and evil tendencies brings 25 PBD, pp.164-165. 197 fortb obscuration to tbe cIaI.' ity . Therefore the practice of the three times is dear. [The three times are:] 1) The time when sel f-clear sel f-awareness is equanimously composed, 2) The time which follows upon agitation fromtbis, and 3) The time of discursive conceptualization at the rising up of the five poisons. These three are not separate from the Dharmakaya. This is explained to be the final settlement of practice. At the time agitation.comes forth from this equanimously composed state in the clarity of the Dharmakaya, thatwbich comes forth as the object is the appearance of (the Dharmakayafs] force. Conceptualizationwhicb creates grasping. is self~liberated, so the Dharmakaya of self-awareness is self- recollecting. Thus conceptualizations which grasp at a self are emptied out. Tberefore conceptual ization which creates grasping is liberated to its own place in the, self- appearance of appearance. 26 This practice of the three times, then, appears to be a 26 PBD, p.166. 198 technique for identifying every moment of perception as the Dharmakaya itself. When the objects of the senses are intuited to be. the manifest force of the Dharmakaya,. the phenomenal dimension, all grasping towards them, disappears naturally. In this way the practice is not a conscious abandonment of the defilements, but rather a recognition that the objects of defiled consciousness are pure in their own na ture. Thus it is apparent tha t the PBD doe s bel ieve practice without deeds and searching is not only possible but mandatory. The result of the Atiyoga is nothing more or less than the direct intuition of real i ty ,the five wisdoms and the three kayas. The PBD does not present an extensive explanation of the resul t of the Great Perfection. A concise passage sums up the result of the Atiyoga: The teaching on the way of being [of the resul t 1 is that real i ty is clear without interior or exterior. Awareness is pervasive wi thout interior or exter ior. The non-dual Oharmakaya is the adamantine body (~). Self-clarity abides in the state of noo- grasping. Self-aware wisdom is the Sambhogakaya.. The true nature.· of the object is the five vessels of the eye of wisdom. In appearance they are like the rainbow colors of the insubstantial sky. Inside of these 199 the five Nlrmanakayas are clear. There is no • conceptualization of the clarity, like a butter lamp which is inside a pot. The three kayas abide in inner clarity without joining or separation. 27 The result of· the Atiyoga is the intuition of the three kay-as, and thus is Buddhahood i tsel f. In actuality, the view, meditation, practice, and result of the Great Perfection all amount to recognition of true being and continuing in this recognition. This state of true being, the Dharmakaya and phenomenal dime,nslon in their indivis ibill ty , is finally the· Base, the path, and the result in totality. This is Buddhahood itself, primordial, present, and all-encompassing. This is the summation of the Great Perfection. 27 PBD, p .. 179 . CHAPTER 10 Conclusion This thesis has been devoted to a study of the history and content of the Tantra- gL Great Unreified Clear Meaning (PBO). The PBO claims a very ancient history, asserting its origi.ns to be with the famed· founder of the Great Perfection tradition dGa-rab rOo-rie who is thought to have lived in the first century C. E. The PBO is a "treasure" (gter-ma) text, which is believed to have been hidden, in Tibet by the teacher Padmasa,mbhava during the eighth century C. E.. and discovered by Guru Chos-kyidBang,..,.,phyug.in the thirteenth century. Guru Chos-dbang taught this text in the year 1257, and it was WI' i tten down by one of his disciples. The PBO came to be included in the great collection of Tantrictexts known· as the Hundred Thousand Tantras g.i. .t.htiL rNying-ma (rNying~ma rGyud""" bum>, and is found in this collection today. As such, the PBO represents the teachings of the rNying-ma.. school of Tibetan Buddhism in general, and their 201 thirteenth.centurymanifestation in particular. The essence of the teaching of the PBD is that all living beings have a pure awareness (rig-paJ which is non.". conceptual, uncontrived, and the fundamental state of the mind (~). This awareness is the funda·mental ground on which both the deluded experience of samsara and the pure experience of nirvana are based. In this sense awareness is referred to as the Base, as it is thebasiso·f both samsara and nirvana. When this awareness is.falsely intuited based on the primary ignorance of subject-object duality and the ,emotional defilements which arise from this duality there is the experience of samsara. When this awareness is directly intuited it is Buddhahood itself. The fundamental ground of awareness is referred to as '. the Base abiding wisdom, and from this wisdom all other ..manifestations of wisdom are thought to come forth. The paD speaks of five wisdoms, in particular, which represent awareness in its empty, clear, non-dual, and differentiated aspects as well as its manifest force. As this awareness is nothing less that Buddhahood, the PBD also identifies pure awareness with the highest principle of Buddhahood, the - Dharmakaya. This awareness in its manifest form as wisdom also appears as the manifest forms of Buddha, the Sambhogakayaand Nirmanakaya . • In keeping with the doctrines of the rNying-maschool the PBD speaks of nine vehicles, or levels of spiritual 202 pursuit. The first eight of these are rejected as representing only the interpretable mean,ing (drang-donl of the Buddha's teaching, while the ninth, or Great Perfection, is upheld as the definitive meaning, (nges-don) of Buddha's teaching. It is only on this ninth level that the teachings of instant enlightenment are propounded. This instant enlightenment is called "recognition" (ngo-sgrod) in the PBO, for it is the recognition that awareness itself is Buddhahood that liberates from samsara instantly. It is on the point of recognition that a practitioner actually enters the vehicle of the Great Perfection. The Great Perfection vehicle, or Atiyog8, consists in maintaining this recognition, which is in fact the view, meditation, practice and result of this path. That is to say that the view of Atiyoga is an understanding that awareness is Buddhahood, the meditation and practice of Atiyoga are methods of abiding in this understanding., and the result of Atiyoga is the state of Buddhahood itself, pure awareness. Thus the PBO teaches that Buddhahood, as pure awareness, is both the ground of all being and the result of the spiritual path. The purpose in explaining the path at all is to overcome the delusion which prevents living beings from intuiting. the perfect reality that underlies this delusion. The present study of the PBO opens the door for much 203 further research. A study is needed, first of all, of any other "treasure" texts revealed by Guru Chos-dbang to determine whether they contain similar or identical· teachings to those found in thePBD. This study would also do much to clarify many o·f the obscure points found in the -PBD. Such as study would add to the knowledge of the state of the rNying-ma school's Buddhology in the thirteenth century, as well as clarify the major themes found in the PBD. The present study begins this effort in identifying. and examining one o·f Guru Chos-dbang' s maj or "treasure" discoveries. The PBD represents only one text in a vast store of literature devoted to the Great Perfection tradition. Almost none of this literature has been explored by Western scholarship. There remains a great deal of work to be done on the history and development of ideas in the Great Perfection tradition in general. Of special interest will be the determination of the impact of other schools of Buddhism and historical events in Tibet upon this tradition. This study depends on first developing specific information about the Great Perfection as it appears throughout Tibetan history. The present study is intended to begin this investigation. It remains to be determined whether the concepts expressed in such texts as the PBD are representations. of pure Indian Buddhism transplanted into Tibet, whether there 204 are original Tibetan developments in this teaching, and whether Chinese influences might not also be present in this tradition. The relationship of Great Perfection thinking to other schools of Buddhlst philosophy remains to be studied. The chapter on the nine vehicles in the present thesis begins this study, yet there is certainly a great deal of research to be done to clarify this relationship further. As a treatise representing the esoteric branch of the Buddhist tradition the teachings in the PBD might also be compared to mystical traditions from other parts of the world and periods in history. Such a study will no doubt require extensive knowledge of languages and history as well as a methodology that will allow honest interpretation of the differing and similar ideas found in such mystical traditions. For the sake of scholars whose comprehension of Tibetan· is limited studies such as the present one will do much to make the ideas of the Great Perfection available to thinkers in comparative religious traditions. Thus it can be seen that the present study of the PBD represents a beginning. to major investigation on many levels. It has been my purpose in presenting this analysis· of the PBD to begin this investigation with an authentic text representingthe·Great Perfection school ill general and the "treasure" tradition in particular. It is my hope that the information provided in this study will not only stand 205 as a starting point for my own research in· this area but will also serve as an encouragement to other scbolarsto pursue in-depth knowledge of the Great Perfection tradition. Bibliography, Works Cited Abhayadatta. Buddha's Lions, Ib,@,. Lives 9.i. ~ Eighty~Four Siddhas. Translated by James Robinson. Berkeley: Dharma Publishing; 1979. The Autobiographx and Instructions Q.L Gu-ru Chos-kyi dBang~ phyug. Kyichu Temple, Paro, Bhutan: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen, 1979. Two volumes. Bod-rgya Tshig-mdzod Chen-po. China: Hi-rigs dPe-skyan Khang. 3 Vols. Chandra, Lokesb. Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary. Kyoto: Rinsen Book Co., 1982. Dargyay, Eva. "The Concept of a 'Creator God' in Tantr ic Buddhism, " The Journal 9.i. th.tt International Association 9.i. Buddhist Studies. Vo.l. 8. Number 1. (1985). pp.31-48. Dargyay, Eva. :nut ~ 9.i. Esoter ic Buddhism in. Tibet. New York: Samuel <Weiser, Inc., 1978. Dombiberuka. . Sahaj.as.iddhi.. Baroda: Gaekwad Oriental Ser ies . Unpubl ishedmanuscr 1pt. Douglas, Kenneth and Gwendolyn Bays. The ~ s.w! Liberation 2t Padmasambhaya. Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1978. 2 Vols. Dowman., Keith. ~ Dancer. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984. Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary. 207 Delhi: HotilalBanarsidass, 1977. Gadj in, Nagao. "The Buddhist World View as Elucidated in the· Three-Nature Theory and Its Similes." The Eastern Buddhist, New Series. Vol. XVI. No. 1. (Spring 1983). pp.1-18. Gadjin, Nagao "On the Theory of Buddha-Body (Buddha-kaya)." 1b§.Eastern Buddhist. New Series. ·Vol. VI. No.l. (Hay 1973,). gLingpa, Padma.·. Padma gLing-pa bRa' -than Mun..,.sel sGron-me. N.P. gLing-pa, U-rgyan.bKa.' -thanSel-brag-ma. N. P. ~ Great Treasure Discoveries 2i. ~ Chos-dbang (Gu-ru Chos-dbang Kv.i. gTer-'byung Chen-mo. Unpublished manuscr ipt copy kindly made available to me by Tulku ThondupRinpoche. Guenther, Herbert. ~ ~ snd· Teaching of Naropa. London: Oxford University Press, 1963. Guenther, Herbert. The Royal Song of Saraha. Berkeley: Shambhala, 1973. Guenther, Herbert. IIul Tantric ~ 2i. ~. Berkeley: Shambhala, 1972. Gyatso, Janet. "Signs, Memory, and History: A Tantric Buddhist Theory of Scriptural Transmission." Journal 2i. tM. International ASSociation 2i. Buddhist Studies. (1987) pp.7-31. Hansen-Barber, A. W. "The Identification of dGa' rab rdo rje." Journal 2i.tbsl International ASSociation 2L Buddhist Studies. Vol. 9. No.2. (1986>' p.55-63. Indrabhuti. JnanasiddhL Two Vajrayana Works Baroda: Gaekwad Oriental Series, 1922. Ed. by Benoytosh Bhattacharya. Jaschke, H.A. A Tibetan-English Dictionary. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1881. Karmay, Samten. "The Rdzogs-chen in its Earliest Text: A Manuscript from Tun-huang." Soundings in. Tibetan Civilization. Ed. B.N. Aziz and H. Kapstein. New Delhi: Manohar, 1985. pp.272-282. Kun-byed rGyal-po'i mOo. RnVing ~ Rgyud 'Bum. 208 Collection 2f. Treasured Tantras Translated during ~ Period Q.t. First Propagation 9.f Buddhism in. Tibet. Ed. by Dingo Khyentse Rimpoche. Thimpu, Bhutan: n.p. 1973. Vol. 1. p.lff. Laksmimkara. Adyayasiddhi. Baroda: Unpublished manuscript. Ed. by Malati Shendge. Lamotte, Etienne. Histoire' Q!&. Bouddhisme lndien. Louvain: Institut Orientaliste, 1976. Lingpa, Karma. Tibetan ~ Q.t.~~. Trans. Francesca Fremantle and Chogyam Trungpa. Berkeley: Shambhala, 1975. Manjusrimitra. Primordial Experience. Trans. Namkhai Norbu and ,Kennard Lipman. Boston: Shambhala, 1986. Mkhas Grub Rje. Introduction .tQ. .:tb§.. Buddhist Tantric Systems. Trans. F.D. Lessing and A. Wayman. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1968. The Mtshams-Brag Manuscript Q.L ~ Bn!n. Ma Rgyud 'Bum. Thimpu, Bhutan: National Library, Royal Government of Bhutan, 1982. Norbu-, Namkhai. ~Crysta,l sm4 the .!in 9.f Light. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986. Padmava,j ra. Guhyasiddhi. Baroda: Gaekwad Or iental Ser ies. Unpublished manuscript. Rinpoche, Tulku Thondup. Hidden Teachings £t.' Tibet, AD. Explanation of the Terma Tradition £t ~ Nyingma Scbool2i,Buddbism. London: Wisdom Publications, 1986. Robinso.n, Richard and Willard Johnson. ~ Buddhist Religion, California: Dickenson Publishing Co., 1977. Ruegg, David S. "On the Supramundaneand the Divine in Buddhism." Tibet Journal, (1976, 3-4). Saddbanamala. Baroda: Gaekwad Oriental Series, 1968. Sangpo, Khetsun.Biographical Olctionary 2i,Tibet. Dharmasala, H. P. , India: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1973. Santideva. Bodbisattvacaryayatara. Unpublished manuscript. Sgam-po-pa. IWtJewel Ornament 2i, Liberation. Translated by Herbert Guenther. Berkeley: Shambhala, 1971. 209 Mkhas Grub Rje. Introduction .:tQ.. the Buddhist Tantric SYstems. Trans. F.e. Lessing and A. Wayman. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1968. sNang-'chan Rin-chen-dpa1. Padma bla' -than .lis. Ga' u lis.. N.P. sPros-bral Don-gsal.Chen-po'i rGyud. :nm... Mtshams-Brag Manusgript gi. ~ Rnin lis. Rgyud 'Bum. Thimpu, Bhu,tan: National Library, Royal Government of Bhutan, 1982. Volume XIII, pp.1-296. sPros-bral Don-gsal Chen-po'i rGyud. Rnying ~ Rgyud 'Bum. A Collection g!. Treasured Tantras Translated during the Period g!. First Propagation 2i. Buddhism 1n. Tibet. Ed. by Dingo Khyentse Rimpoche. Thimpu, Bhutan: n.p. 1973. Volume Cha p.374- 608. Stcherbatsky, Th. The Central Conception g!. Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970. Toussaint, Gustave-Charles. Le Diet ,dJ! Padma.Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, 1933. Tucci, Guiseppe. Ilut Reliaions g,f Tibet. Berkeley: University o£ California Press, 19aO. Tulku., Tarthang. Crystal Mirror Vol. V. Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1971. Appendix A Names of the PBD The one hundred twenty second chapter of the PBD (pp.280-283) lists the PBD's several names along with reasons for these names. The passage in question is of interest in identifying the PBD, and is included for this purpose. The passage in question follows: "This Tantra g,L Great Unreified Clear Meaning ,(sPros- m:.sl. Don-gsal Chen,.-po' i rGyud) of mine teaches the instant enlightenment into the root of all dharmas, so it is taken to be The Great Tantra of Sudden Penetration of the Bs.9.i (rTsa,...ba Car,...phgg rGyud-chen). "It teaches the one knowledge [that brings] liberation to all, so it is taken to be !lut Tantra o.t .t.WtGreat K!tY. o.t Further Teaching (Xang-tig IDe-mig Chen,...pg' i rGyud). "It is the unification into equality with Buddhahood i tsel f in the present, so it is taken to be !lut Tantra o.t .t.Wt Great Unifficatign !n.t.o.Egual ity !!.ilhBuddhahggd (Sangs- rgyas mNyamcsbyor Chen~pQ.'i rGyud) .. "It teaches without reification, the final settlement, so it is taken to be ~ Great Ta·ntra 2L Unreified Clear Meaning(sPros~bralD,Qn:9salrGyud...,chen). "It teaches the recognition which shows one' 5 true nature to oneself, so it -is taken to be The Tantra g.f, .~ Great Secret Recognition (gSang=ba'i Ngo-sprod Chen-po'i rGyud) . "It perfectly teache·s the existential mode just as it is, so it is taken to be The· Tantraof the Great Total Perfection from inside the Great Perfection (rDzogs-chen . ,Na,pg,.,.na·sYang-rOzogsChen.. . . po' i rGyud). "It teaches the great undefiled. purity of view and . med! tattoo, so it is t~Jten to be The· Tantra of Great Unclefi.led Primordial Purity (Dri,=med·· Ka-dag Chen?'""po'i ,rGyud) . "It teaohes the spontaneous realization of faultsa·s. qualit'ies, so it taken to be ~ Great Tantra of Gr.eat Spontaneous Real iza.t.ion (lHun...,g·rub· Chen-po,' irGyud....chen) . It teaches the self.. . .a rising Wisdom arising in oneself, so it is taken be to the The Tantra of .t.Wl Great Sel f . . . ar ising Qi. Wisdom (Ye ....shes Rang-shar Cben-po' i rGyud). "It clears away the gl--oom of the darkness of ignorance from the root, so it is taken to be The Tantra Qi. ~ Great Clearing Away of the Darkness· of Ignorance (Ma~rig Mun....sel Cben...,po'i rGyud). " 212 "It leaps forth from. the pit of all samsara, so it is taken to be called The T.antra gl. the Great Leaping From the f!.t. {Dong-sorng Chen~p9 t i rGyud). "It- cuts off all delusion at the root, so it is taken to be called The T.antra which Cuts Delusion at the Root (t Khr-ul ~pa rTsad-:gcod rGyud). "It gives liberation from the river of samsara with a boat, so it is taken to be called The Tantra g,! ~Great ~ g.f.Llberatlop (Gru-sgrol Chen-po' i rGyud). "It expels the fever of the obscurations from, its depths, so it is taken-to be called The Tantra g,! the Great Supre.me- ppctor ( sHan-pa .ehe -,mchogrGyud) . "It teaches the defeat of the four Karas. from the,ir roots, so it is taken to __ be .~ Great Tantra of ~Great Defeat 2.L tW:a (gDud- t toms Chen-Do 'irGyud-chen) . "It· teache's the unexcelled' greaot .. meaning through, opening it up". so it is taken to be The Grea,t TaptraWhich Opeps .. ta!LGreatForce <pTsal-chen. s,Prugs-pa t i rGyud-:ehen). If

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