Initially I wanted to consolidate the Dzogchen and Mahamudra threads into a single topic, but seems like FireIce deleted Nahahwu and his posts. So I'll just post whatever is still opened my screen.
The Khepa Sri Gyelpo by Patrul Rimpoche is for some the single
most important Dzogchen text in the Dzogchen
Nyingthik tradition.
Within the frame of view, meditation and action,
Patrul Rimpoche
includes Garab Dorje's three incisive precepts,
or imperatives, in
his exposition of the vision, or view, of
Dzogchen atiyoga. He
gives very precise instructions in the practice
of view and
meditation. The meditation technique employed is
explosive
utterance of the sacred syllable PHAT.
Homage to the Guru!
Vision is Longchen Rabjam, the All-pervasive
Vast Expanse;
meditation is Khyentse Wozer, the Radiance of
Wisdom and
Love;
action is Gyelwai Nyugu, the Bodhisattva.
Practicing such vision, meditation and action,
Without stress or strain you will attain
Buddhahood in this
lifetime;
And failing that - what peace of mind!
Yes, Vision is Longchen Rabjam, All-Pervasive
Vast Expanse,
and the three precepts strike that essential
reality.
First, keep the mind relaxed,
and neither diffused nor concentrated, remain
without
thought;
in this state of equilibrium and relaxation
abruptly utter a mind-shattering PHAT!
forcefully, loud and short - and there it is!
nothing at all but wonderment and illumination.
In illuminated wonderment is all-pervading
freedom of mind,
and in that inexpressible all-penetrating
freedom of mind
recognise the dharmakaya's total presence.
A direct introduction into the nature of mind is
the first
imperative.
Then, whether there is quiescence or flow,
rage or lust, happiness or sadness,
at all times and in every situation,
sustain that recognition of the dharmakaya's
total presence.
The 'son' clear light uniting with the familiar
'mother'
light
remain absorbed in ineffable total presence.
Again and again disrupt quiescence, elation,
clarity and
flow,
by abruptly uttering the syllable of means and
insight,
and meditative absorption and subsequent insight
are
identical
and the sessions and intervals of meditation are
indistinguishable:
always remain in this state of
non-differentiation.
While stability in this is developing , however,
renounce entertainment and treasure meditation;
practice formal meditation in set periods
and at all times and in every situation
watch the free play of the dharmakaya alone
convinced that there is nothing other than that.
Absolute conviction is the second imperative.
In the event of lust or anger, pleasure or pain,
or any fortuitous thought,
with direct recognition of it no residue
remains;
by intuiting this liberating aspect of the
dharmakaya,
analogous to a figure drawn in water,
there is uninterrupted spontaneous arising and
reflexive
release.
Whatever arises is the food of naked presence
and emptiness;
whatever moves is the creativity of the
sovereign dharmakaya,
spontaneously dissolving, leaving no trace –
awesome!
The way things arise is the same as before;
the crucial difference is in their release.
Without this vital function of release,
meditation is a delusory
path;
imbued with it, we abide in dharmakaya
non-meditation.
Implicit confidence in release is the third
imperative.
In this vision that possesses those three
imperatives,
meditation, the interfusion of wisdom and love,
and the Bodhisattva's customary activity, act as
support.
Though the Buddhas of past present and future
confer,
there are no precepts superior to these.
The Dharmakaya Treasure-finder, the creativity
of total
presence,
took this treasure from the matrix of perfect
insight.
This treasure is not an extraction of ore from
rock;
it is the final testament of Garab Dorje;
it is the spiritual elixir of the three
transmissions
entrusted with the seal of secrecy to my heart
sons.
This message from the heart is the profound
truth;
ihis vital truth is my heart message.
Do not abandon this vital truth;
do not let these precepts escape you.
The Extraordinary Teaching of the Khepa
Srigyelpo,
Glorious Sovereign Wisdom, is complete.
"Likewise, whoever reads and memorizes it, recites, explains,
or
studies it, will be blessed by me, Padma" said
Guru Rinpoche
OM AH HUNG HO
The essence of primordially pure space is
Samantabhadra,
The spontaneously present awareness is
Padmasambhava,
And their indivisble unity, Dorje Drakpo Tsal,
Is the heruka, the supreme sovereign of all
mandalas.
In the realm of the great sphere, the
all-pervasive
dharmadhatu,
In the sambhogakaya palace with the fivefold
luminosity,
And in all the indefinite places of nirmanakayas
who tame
beings,
They turn throughout the three times
The wheel of Dharma of the inconceivable number
of causal and
resultant vehicles,
For oceanlike assemblies of disciples possessing
potential,
In accordance with the various types of
suitability and capacity
of
each individual.
I will now teach to my closest disciples
The quintessence of all these condensed into
one,
The essence of my heart, the ultimate counsel,
As a direct instruction that is easy to
understand and simple to
apply
Don't let it dwindle away, but practice
one-pointedly.
It has that to be understood, that which causes
realization, and
the final result.
Thus it is demonstrated by these three aspects.
The ground to be understood is the all-pervasive
sugata
essence.
Uncompounded, luminous, and empty, it is the
natural state of
awareness.
Beyond confusion and liberation, it is
completely quiescent, like
space.
Although it abides without separation in samsara
or joining in
nirvana,
Due to the great demon of coemergent and
conceptual
ignorance,
From the solidified habitual patterns of
grasping and
fixation,
And the different perceptions of worlds and
inhabitants,
The six classes of beings appeared as a dream.
Although this is so, you have never moved and
will never move
From the original condition of the essence.
Endeavor therefore in purifying the temporary
stains.
The stages of the path that bring about
realization are
innumerable.
Purify your beings, sow the seeds, and cultivate
them.
Remove the hindrances, and likewise bring forth
enhancement.
Thus enter the correct path through these five
aspects.
First of all is to purify your mind and being.
The vajra master, the root of the path,
Is someone who has the pure conduct of samaya
and vows.
He is fully adorned with learning, has discerned
it through
reflection.
And through meditation he posseses the qualities
and signs of
experience and realization.
With his compassionate action he accepts
disciples.
Serve a master endowed with these
characteristics by means of the
three pleasing actions,
And do not commit the displeasing ones for even
an instant.
Take the pledge to accomplish whatever he
commands
By the skill of correctly training in his
thoughts and deeds.
The master should give the teachings suited to
the mind of the
disciple
Who has faith, renunciation, and compassion,
And who has sharp faculties, intelligence, and
discipline.
He should not give instructions that are
inappropriate for the
recipient.
For the way of guiding gradually in accordance
with the types of
mental capacity,
First, keep far away from places of disturbance
By going to a place of solitude and giving up
worldly
activities.
Sit on a comfortable seat, straighten your body,
and expel the
stale breath.
Supplicate the Three Jewels and generate
devotion to your
guru.
Apply mindfulness and reflect in the following
way.
This bodily support adorned with the perfect
freedoms and
riches,
Like the udumbara flower, is extremely hard to
find.
If you skillfully take advantage of it,
Then this find has great value, exceeding that
of a wish-fulfilling
gem.
Therefore follow spiritual guides and virtuous
friends
At all times and on all occasions.
Giving up concerns for this life, and for the
sake of the
future.
Exert yourself quickly to take advantage of it,
for if you don't,
it will not last.
Like the rising and setting of the sun and moon,
composite things
are impermanent.
The time of death lies uncertain, like a flash
of lightning in the
sky.
At the time of death nondharmic things are of no
help at all,
So practice the sacred and sublime Dharma
correctly.
The root of practicing the sacred Dharma is the
law of karma.
Through evil deeds and nonvirtues you will go to
the three lower
realms.
By virtuous actions you achieve the higher
realms and
liberation.
Therefore confess evil deeds and make the
wholehearted vow to
refrain from them.
Diligently take up the roots of virtue.
Prostrations and circumambulations purify the
wrongdoings of your
body.
Reciting and reading the Buddha's words purify
the obscurations of
your speech,
And supplicating the Three Jewels pacifies the
faults of your
mind.
Always train correctly in being mindful,
careful, and
conscientious.
In particular, for accomplishing the state of
emancipation,
With the recognition and remembrance that all of
samsara
Is like a fiery pit, a garden of razors, or a
forest of
swords,
Arouse again and again the intense and genuine
attitude
Of desiring to be quickly freed from the three
sufferings
At some point, when you understand that all
samsaric grandeur
Is impermanent, inconstant, and illusive,
Fascination with even the splendor of Brahma and
Indra
Will have no occasion to arise for as much as an
instant.
While truly perceiving the Three Precious Ones,
the Roots, and the
guardians of the Dharma
To be the unfailing and permanent protection,
Regard them repectfully as your refuge until
enlightenment
In order to free yourself and others from the
terrors of
samsara.
Using your own experience as a measure,
Arouse the bodhicitta of aspiration
Through the four immeasurables of love,
compassion, joy and
impartiality
In order that your mothers, all beings, may have
happiness and be
free from suffering
With the intent of pursuing complete
enlightenment solely for the
sake of others,
Give away, like grass, your body and possesions,
And give the relief of protection to those
disturbed by
dangers.
Practice the Dharma yourself and establish
others in it.
With the intention of renouncing, a throughly
delighted frame of
mind,
Constrain yourself from committing the negative
misdeeds of your
three doors.
Practice the conditioned and unconditioned
virtues as much as you
can,
And motivate yourself to carry out all your
deeds for the sake of
sentient beings.
In order never to be overcome by harmdoers,
Cultivate patience through mindfulness of the
demerits of
anger.
Joyfully undertake hardships for the sake of the
Dharma,
And be unafraid of the profound emptiness.
By awakening a courageous fortitude for what is
virtuous,
Don the armor of tirelessly engaging in
bodhisattva deeds.
Exert yourself without distraction throughout
day and night,
And cast away weariness when achieving the
welfare of others
With the thorough intention to calm your mind,
Take the mundane dhyanas as the foundation.
Through fully accomplishing samadhi with
vipashyana,
Enter the domain of the experience of the
tathagatas.
By means of the intelligence that fully discerns
phenomena,
First comprehend the words of all teachings
through learning.
Next seek an understanding of their meaning
through
reflection,
And finally realize the meaning through
meditation.
Having ripened your own beings, gather followers
through
generosity,
Delight them with pleasing words, and comfort
them by being
consistent.
Through counseling them in meaningful conduct,
fully establish
them,temporarily and ultimately
In the splendor of benefit and well-being.
As the essential point, take upon yourself the
burden
Of all the miseries of sentient beings,
Give away your happiness and virtue to the six
classes of
beings,
And train in compassion and bodhicitta without
being carried away
by difficulties.
In particular, external objects grasped by
fixation
Are all unreal and appear like an illusion.
Not permanent, yet their transiency is able to
function.
They are not singular, since a variety emerges
and changes.
They are not independent, but follow the karmic
deeds.
They are not particles, since partless atoms do
not exist.
If they did exist, gross things could not be
assembled.
If they had parts, this would contradict the
assertion of
partlessness.
They are nothing but a nonexistent and false
appearance, an
interdependence,
Like dreams, magical illusion, and the
reflection of the moon in
water.
Regard them as a city of gandharvas and as a
rainbow.
The mind that observes is also devoid of an ego
or a
self-entity.
It is neither seen as something different from
the aggregates
Nor as identical with these five aggregates.
If the first were true, there would exist some
other
substance.
This is not the case, so were the second to be
true,
That would contradict a permanent self, since
the aggregates are
impermanent.
Therefore, based on the five aggregates,
The self is a mere imputation by the power of
ego-clinging.
As to that which imputes, the past thought has
vanished and is
nonexistent.
The future thought has not occurred, and the
present thought does
not withstand scrutiny.
In short, understand the twofold self, the
perceiver and the
perceived,
To be totally quiescent, like the sky, and
devoid of arising,
And also that this nonarising is beyond the
domain of conceptual
mind.
Since even the Omniscient Ones find no words for
this,
This absence of mental constructs is called the
Middle Way.
Having realized this, rest in equanimity,
Free from conceptual activity, in the state
devoid of
fixation.
Thoughts then subside, and the natural state of
the essence is
seen.
Hereby you accomplish the virtues such as the
eyes,
superknowledge, and dharani-recall.
The causal vehicle of the paramitas
Is to gradually attain the paths and bhumis.
On the path of fruition, you should still regard
The practice of unified emptiness and compassion
as the basis of
the path.
Namo mahamudraya: Homage to mahamudra, the great seal of
reality.
I respectfully bow at the feet of my peerless
guru, lord of that
which pervades everywhere, master of those with
actual attainment,
who expounds the all-pervasive nature of
everything, the great seal
of reality, mahamudra, inseparable from the
diamond-strong sphere
of mind that is beyond speech. Gathering
together the essence of
the sutras and tantras and condensing oceans of
guideline
instructions, I shall write some advice
concerning mahamudra from
the Gelug/Kagyü tradition, deriving from the
pioneering fatherly
Dharmavajra, a mahasiddha with supreme actual
attainment, and his
spiritual offspring.For this there are
preparatory practices,
actual techniques and concluding procedures. As
for the first, in
order to have a gateway for entering the
teachings and a central
tent pole for erecting a mahayana mind.
earnestly take the safe
direction of refuge and develop a dedicated
heart of bodhichitta.
Do not let these merely be words from your
mouth. Since seeing the
actual nature of mind is dependent upon building
up bountiful
stores and purifying yourself of mental
obstacles, direct towards
your root guru at least a hundred thousand
repetitions of the
hundred-syllable mantra and as many hundreds of
prostrations as
possible, made while reciting The Admission of
Downfalls. In
addition, make repeated heartfelt requests to
your root guru
inseparable from all Buddhas of the three times.
As for the actual basic techniques, although
there are many ways of
asserting mahamudra, there are two when divided
according to the
sutras and tantras. The latter is a greatly
blissful clear light
mind manifested by such skillful methods as
penetrating vital
points of the subtle vajra-body and so forth.
The mahamudra of the
traditions of Saraha, Nagarjuna, Naropa and
Maitripa, it is the
quintessence of the anuttarayoga class of tantra
as taught in The
Seven Texts of the Mahasiddhis and The Three
Core Volumes. The
former refers to the ways of meditating on
voidness as directly
indicated in the expanded, intermediate and
brief Prajnaparamita
sutras. The supremely realized Arya Nagarjuna
has said, "Except of
this, there is no other pathway of mind leading
to liberation."
Here I shall give instruction on mahamudra in
accordance with his
intentions and discuss the methods that lead you
to recognize mind
in keeping with the exposition of the lineage
masters.From the
point of view of individually ascribed names,
there are numerous
traditions, such as those of the simultaneously
arising as merged,
the amulet box, possessing five, the six spheres
of equal taste,
the four syllables, the pacifier, the object to
be cut off,
dzogchen, the discursive madhyamaka view, and so
on. Nevertheless,
when scrutinized by a yogi learned in scripture
and logic and
experienced in meditation, their definitive
meanings are all seen
to come to the same intended point.
Of the two main techniques of the sutra
tradition of mahamudra,
namely seeking to meditate on mind on top of
having gained a
correct view of reality and seeking a correct
view on top of having
meditated on mind, I shall explain here in
accordance with the
latter technique. On a seat conducive for mental
stability, assume
the sevenfold bodily posture and clear yourself
purely with a round
of the nine tastes of breath. Thoroughly cleanse
your state of
awareness, and then, with a purely positive
mind, direct toward
your practice your taking of refuge and the
reaffirmation of your
dedicated heart of bodhichitta. Meditate next on
a profound path of
guru-yoga and, after making hundreds of very
strong. fervent
requests, dissolve your visualized guru into
yourself.
Absorb for awhile unwaveringly in this state in
which all haphazard
appearance-making and appearances have been
contracted until they
have disappeared. Do not contrive anything with
thoughts such as
expectations or worries. This does not mean,
however, that you
cease all attention as if your had fainted or
fallen asleep. Rather
, you must tie your attention to the post of
mindfulness in order
not to wander, and station alertness to be aware
of any mental
movement.Firmly tighten the hold of your
mindfulness on that which
has the nature of clarity and awareness and
behold it
starkly.
Should your mind give rise to any thoughts,
simply recognize them.
Or, like your opponent in a duel, cut thoughts
immediately as soon
as they occur. Once you have completely cut
these off and have
settled your mind, then, without losing
mindfulness, loosen and
relax its tightness. As has been said, "Loosen
and relax its firm
tightness and there is the settled state of
mind." And elsewhere,
"When mind ensnared in a tangle is relaxed, it
frees itself without
a doubt." Like these statements, relax but
without any
wandering.When you look at the nature of any
thought that arises,
it automatically disappears by itself and a bare
absence
dawns.
Likewise, when you inspect mind's nature when it
is settled, a non
obstructive bare absence and clarity is vivid.
You see that the
settled and moving minds are mixed together.
Thus, no matter what
thought arises, when you recognize that it is a
movement of mind
and, without blocking it, have settled on its
nature, you find it
is like the example of a bird confined on a
boat. As is said, "Just
as a crow having flown from a ship after
circling the directions
must realight on it.."
From cultivating such methods as these, you
experience the nature
of the totally absorbed mind to be a
non-obstructive lucidity and
clarity. Not established as any form of physical
phenomenon, it is
a bare absence which, like space, allows
anything to dawn and be
vivid. Such nature of mind must in fact be seen
straightforwardly
with exceptional perception and cannot be
verbally indicated or
apprehended as a "this." Therefore, without such
apprehension,
settle in a fluid and flowing manner on whatever
cognitive dawning
arises.
The great meditators of the snow mountains are
practically of a
single opinion in proclaiming that this is a
guideline indicating
how to forge a state of Buddhahood. Be that as
it may, I,
Chökyi-gyeltsen, say that this is wondrous
skillful means for
beginners to accomplish the settling of their
mind and is a way
that leads you to recognize merely the
conventional nature of mind
that conceals something deeper.
As for the methods that can lead you to
recognize the actual
deepest nature of mind, I shall now record the
personal
instructions of my root guru, Sanggyay-yeshey,
who as his name
literally means is the embodiment of the
Buddhas' deep awareness.
Assuming the guise of a monk clad in saffron, he
has eliminated the
darkness enshrouding my mind.
While in a state of total absorption as before,
and like a tiny
fish flashing about in a lucid pond and not
disturbing it,
intelligently inspect the self-nature of the
person who is
meditating. It is just as our source of
direction, the highly
realized Arya Nagarjuna, has said, "A person is
not earth, not
water, nor fire, nor wind, not space, not
consciousness. Nor is he
or she all of them. Yet what person is there
separate from these?
And just as a person is not perfectly solid
because he or she is
what can be labeled on the collection of these
six constituents,
likewise none of the constituents are perfectly
solid because each
is what can be labeled on a collection of
parts." When you search
and, as has been said, cannot find even a mere
atom of a total
absorption, someone totally absorbed and so on,
then cultivate
absorbed concentration on voidness which is like
space, and do so
single-pointedly without any wandering.
Furthermore, while in a state of total
absorption, scrutinize mind.
Not established as any form of physical
phenomenon, it is a
non-obstructive bareness that gives rise to the
cognitive dawning
and emanation of anything, and which endures as
an unhindered
clarity and awareness, engaging with objects
without discontinuity.
It appears not to depend on anything else. But
as for the implied
object of the mind that apprehends it to exist
as it appears, our
guiding light, Shantideva, has said, "Such
things as continuum or
collection are not as they seem. They are false,
as in the case of
a rosary, an army and so on." By means of
scriptural authority and
lines of reasoning such as this, totally absorb
yourself on
everything's lack of existing as it appears.
In short, as my spiritual mentor,
Sanggyay-yeshey, omniscient in
the true sense, has said, "When, no matter what
dawns in your mind,
you are fully aware that what it is an
appearance of exists simply
as what can be apprehended by conceptual
thought, you experience
the deepest sphere of reality dawning without
need to rely on
anything else. While this dawning, to immerse
your awareness in it
and totally absorb, my goodness!" Similarly,
fatherly Pa
Dampa-sanggyay has said, "Within a state of
voidness, the lance of
awareness twirls around. A correct view of
reality cannot be
impeded by anything ultimately tangible or
obstructive, O people of
Dingri." All such statements come to the same
intended point.
At the conclusion of your meditation session,
dedicate whatever
ennobling, positive potential has accrued from
meditating on
mahamudra, the great seal of reality, as well as
your ocean like
collection of positive potential of the three
times, toward your
attainment of the peerless state of
enlightenment.
Having accustomed yourself like this to seeing
with a correct view,
when you subsequently inspect how your mind
makes the objects of
any of your six collections of consciousness
appear, you experience
their bare mode of existence dawning in an
exposed, resplendent
manner, This is called the essential point of a
correct view
recognizing whatever dawns in your mind.In
short, always cultivate
your realization by not apprehending things,
such as your mind and
so forth, to exist in the manner in which your
mind gives rise to
an appearance of them. Do this by keeping firm
to their actual mode
of existence. When you cognize one thing like
this, you see the
nature of all phenomena of samsara or nirvana as
being uniformly
the same. Aryadeva has confirmed this point, "As
has been
explained, the way in which mind becomes the
seer of one functional
phenomenon is the way it becomes the seer of
everything. The
voidness of one thing suffices for the voidness
of all
things."Before the face of proper, total
absorption on the actual
nature of reality, there is just the severance
of fantasized,
impossible extremes - namely, inherent, findable
existence or total
non-existence - with respect to everything of
samsara and
nirvana.
Yet after you arise, when you inspect, you see
that your mind still
gives rise to the appearance of things that
dependently arise,
which do function and can only exist as simply
what can be labeled
by names. It is unmistakable that such things
still naturally dawn,
yet they are like dreams, mirages, reflection of
the moon in water
and illusions.
When the time comes that you can perceive
simultaneously the
appearance of things without this causing their
voidness to be
obscured to your mind, and their voidness
without your mind ceasing
to make their appearance dawn, you have directly
manifested the
excellent pathway mind that perceives everything
from the single,
integrated point of voidness and dependent
arising being
synonymous. The attainment of the resultant two
unified Buddha
bodies comes from the unified practice of wisdom
and method, This
follows from the fact that all objects have both
voidness and
appearance levels of truth.These words have been
written by the
renounced meditator Lozang-chökyi-gyeltsen, who
has heard many
teachings. By its positive merit, may all beings
quickly become
triumphant Buddhas through this pathway of mind,
apart from which
there is no second gateway to a state of
serenity.I have compiled
these techniques that lead you to recognize the
great seal of
reality, mahamudra, at the repeated request of
Gedün-gyeltsen, who holds the monastic degree of
Infinitely Learned
Scholar of the Ten Fields of Knowledge, and of
Sherab Senggey from
Hatong, who holds the monastic degree of Master
of the Ten
Difficult Texts. They have seen all concerns for
the eight worldly
emotional states to be dramas of madness and now
live in remote
solitude, following a sagely way of life and
taking this pathway of
mind as their essential practice. Many other of
my disciples who
truly wish to practice mahamudra at its
definitive level have also
requested such a text.
I have especially composed this text now since
the triumphant
Ensapa, the omniscient lord of masters with
actual attainment,
himself has said in one of his songs of
experience to instruct
himself and others, "I have written explanation
of lamrim the
graded stages of the path from the Kadam
tradition all the way from
whole-hearted commitment to a spiritual teacher
up through shamata
and vipashyana. But I have not committed to
paper the ultimate
guideline instructions for mahamudra, which are
not included among
these aforementioned pathways of mind and which
are not well known
at present to those of the Land of Snows."
Thus, what was not set down in writing at that
time due to need for
restriction was intended for a later period.
Scriptural sources
establish as much - for example, from The Lotus
Sutra, "Because it
is to be realized completely by the Buddhas'
deep awareness
Sanggyay-yeshey, you could never say to those
who would prematurely
write about this method of their own accord that
you are
enlightened. If you ask why, it is because those
who are sources of
safe direction have regard for the
times."Therefore, also in order
for such prophesies as this to be fulfilled, I,
the renounced
meditator Lozang-chökyi-gyeltsen, who have not
let degenerate the
lineage of inspiration from those who have
practiced
straightforwardly this pathway of mind from the
peerless universal
teacher, the king of the Shakyas, down through
my root guru, the
omniscient Sanggyay-yeshey, and who myself have
become a member of
this lineage, not letting the close bond of its
practice be lost,
and who uphold the guideline instructions of the
sutras and
tantras, have compiled this at Gaden Monastery.
TEACHINGS by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal
The Fivefold Teachings of Dawa Gyaltsen, series of videotaped talks available on youtube.com:
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's youtube videos are awesome.
Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara) Mantra
OM MANI PEME HUNG
Refuge Prayer
PEL DEN LA MA DAM PA NAM LA KYAB SU CHIO
YI DAM KYIL KHOR GYI LHA TSOG NAM LA KYAB SU CHIO
SANG GYE CHOM DEN DAY NAM LA KYAB SU CHIO
DAM PAY CHÖ NAM LA KYAB SU CHIO
PAG PAY GEN DÜN NAM LA KYAB SU CHIO
PA WO KAN DRO CHÖ KYONG SUNG MAY TSOG
YE SHAY KYI CHEN DANG DEN PA NAM LA KYAB SU CHIO
Bodhicitta Prayer
SANG GYE CHÖ DANG TSOG KYI CHOG NAM LA
JANG CHUB BAR DU DAG NI KYAB SU CHI
DAG GI JIN SOG GYI PAY SÖ NAM KI
DRO LA PEN CHIR SANG GYE DRUB PAR SHOG
Root Guru Prayer
PAL DEN TSA WAI LA MA RIN PO CHE
DAK GI CHI WOR PE DAI DEN SHUK LA
KA DRIN CHEN PÖ GO NE JE ZUNG TE
KU SUNG TUK KYI NGÖ DRUB TSAL DU SÖL
Dorje Sempa (Vajrasattva) 100 syllable mantra
OM BENZA SA TO SAMAYA MANUPALAYA
BENZA SATO DENOPA TITA DRITO ME BAWA
SUTO KAYO ME BA WA
SUPO KAYO ME BA WA
ANURAKTO ME BA WA
SARWA SI DHI ME PRA YA TSA
SARWA KARMA SU TSA ME
TSITAM SHRI YA KU RU HUNG
HA HA HA HA HO BA GA WAN
SARWA TA THA GA TA
BENZA MA ME MUN TSA
BENZA BA WA MA HA SA MA YA SA TO AH
Dedication Prayers
GAY WA DI YI KAY WO KÜN
SÖ NAM YE SHAY TSOG DZOG TAY
SÖ NAM YE SHAY LAY JUNG WAY
DAM PA KU NYI TOB PAR SHOG
SANG GYE KU SUM NAY PAY JIN LAB DANG
CHÖ NYI MIN GYUR DEN PAY JIN LAB DANG
GEN DUN MI CHAY DÜN PAY JIN LAB KYI
JI TAR NGO WA MÖN LAM DRUB PAR SHOG
Guru Rinpoche Mantra
OM AH HUNG BENZRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
Guru Rinpoche Seven Line Prayer
HUNG OR GYEN YÜL GYI NUB JANG TSAM
PE MA GE SAR DONG PO LA
YA TSEN CHOG GI NGÖ DRUB NAY
PE MA JUNG NAY ZHAY SU DRAG
KOR DU KHAN DRO MANG PÖ KOR
KE KYI JE SU DAG DRUB KYI
JIN GYI LAB CHIR SHEG SU SÖL
GU RU PE MA SID DHI HUNG
Mahakala Mantra
OM BENZA MAHAKALA KHYINGKHYE TRA
BIGANEN BINAYAKA HUNG HUNG PE PE SO HA
Nyung ne (1000-arm Chenrezig) Dharani (long mantra)
NAMO RATNA TRAYAYA
NAMO ARYA JNANA SAGARA BE ROTSANA BAYU HARADZAYA
TATAGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK SAM BUDDHAYA
NAMA SARWA TATAGATE BHAYA ARHAT BHAYA
SAM YAK SAM BUDDHE BHAYA
NAMA ARYA AVALOKITESHVARAYA BODHI SATOYA MAHA SATOYA
MAHA KARUNIKAYA
TEYATA OM DHARA DHARA DHIRI DHIRI DHURU DHURU ITTE WITTE
TSALE TSALE PRATSALE PRATSALE KUSUME KUSUMA WA RE ILI MILI
TSITI DZOLA MAPANAYA SOHA
Offering Prayers/mudras
OM BENZRA ARGHAM AH HUNG (drinking water)
OM BENZRA PADYAM AH HUNG (foot washing water)
OM BENZRA PUPE AH HUNG (flowers)
OM BENZRA DHUPE AH HUNG (incense)
OM BENZRA ALOKE AH HUNG (light)
OM BENZRA GENDHE AH HUNG (scented water)
OM BENZRA NEWIDYA AH HUNG (food)
OM BENZRA SHAPTA AH HUNG (music)
Long Life Dharani of Amitayus (Arya Aparimita-Ayurjnana, Noble Buddha
of Limitless Life and Primordial Wisdom)
OM NAMO BHAGAWATE APARIMITA AYURGYANA
SUBINI TSITA TEDZORADZAYA TATHAGATAYA
ARHATE SAMYAKSAMBUDDHAYA TADYATHA
OM PUNYE PUNYE MAHAPUNYE APARIMITAPUNYE APARIMITAPUNYE
GYANA SAMBHA ROWA TSITE OM SARWA SAMKARA
PARI SHUDDHA DHARMATE GAGANA SAMUTGATE
SOBHAWA BISHUDDHE MAHANAYA PARI WARE SOHA
Short Mandala Offering:
SA SHI PÖ CHU JU SHING ME TOK TRAM
RI RAB LING SHI NYI DE JEN PA DI
SAN JAY SHING DU MIK DE PUL WA YI
DRO KAM NAM DAK SHING LA CHÖ PAR SHO
Pattern of rice on pan for mandala accumulation
http://www.nyungne.org/graphics/MANDALA.jpg
LAMA KHYEN NO
Lama, thinks of us.
DRIN CHEN TSA WIE LA MA KHYEN NO
Kind root lama thinks of us.
DU SUM SANG GYE KYI NGO WO
Essence of the Buddhas of the three times,
LUNG TOK DAM CHO KYI JUNG NE
Source of genuine Dharma in scripture and realization,
PHAK TSOK GEN DUN GYI NGA DAK
Master of the noble gathering of sangha,
TSA WEI LAMA KHYEN NE
Root lama, may you think of us.
JIN LAB THUK JE YI TER CHEN
Great treasure of blessing and compassion,
NGO DRUB NAM NYI KYI JUNG NE
Source of the two siddhis,
TRIN LE CHI DO KUN TSOL DZE
Buddha activity that grants whatever is desired,
TSA WEI LA MA KHYE KHYEN NO
Root lama, may you think of us.
LA MA O PAK ME PA KHYEN NO
Lama Amitabha, thinks of us.
TRO DRAL CHO KU LONG NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the expanse of the dharmakaya, free of fabrication,
DAK SOK LE NGEN KHOR WAR KHYAM NAM
We wander in samsara through the force of negative karma;
DE CHEN DAK PAY ZHING DU DRONG DZO
Bring us to rebirth in your pure land of bliss.
LA MA CHEN RE ZIK WANG KHYEN NO
Lama Chenrezik, thinks of us.
O SAL LONG KUE LONG NE ZIK SHIK
See us from the expanse of the luminous sambhogakaya.
RIK DRUK DUK NGAL TSE NE ZHI ZHING
Pacify completely the suffering of the six kinds of beings
KHAM SUM KHOR WA DONG NE TRUK DZO
And totally transform the three realms of samsara.
LA MA PE MA JUNG NE KHYEN NO
Lama Padmasambhava, thinks of us.
NGA YAB PE MA O NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the luminous lotus of Nga Yab Ling.
NYIK DU KYAB ME BO BANG NYAM THAK
In these dark times, swiftly protect with your compassion
THUK JE NYUR WA NYI DU KYOB DZO
We, disciples, who are destitute and without refuge.
LA MA YE SHE TSO GYEL KHYEN NO
Lama Yeshe Tsogyel, thinks of us.
KHA CHO DE CHEN TRONG NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the dakinis' city of great bliss.
DIK DEN DAK SOK SI PAY TSO LE
Bring us, who have committed negative actions,
THAR PAY DRONG KHYER CHEN POR DROL DZO
Cross the ocean of samsara, to the great city of liberation.
KA TER GYU PAY LA MA KHYEN NO
Lama of the oral transmission and terma lineages, thinks of us.
ZUNG JUK YE SHE LONG NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the expanse of primordial wisdom, the union of appearance and emptiness
DAK GYU TRUL PAY MUN KHANG TOL NE
Break through the dark prison of our confused mind
TOK PAY NYI MA SHAR WAR DZO CHIK
And make the sun of realization rise.
KUN KHYEN DRI ME O ZER KHYEN NO
Omniscient Drime Ozer, thinks of us.
LHUN RUB O NGEI LONG NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the expanse of the five spontaneous lights.
KA DAK GONG PAY TSAL CHEN DZOK NE
Help us to perfect the great display of mind, primordially pure,
NANG SHI THA RU CHIN PAR DZO CHIK
And complete the four stages of Ati yoga.
NYAM ME JO WO YAB SE KHYEN NO
Incomparable Atisha and your heart sons,
GA DEN LHA GYE U NE ZIK SHIK
Amidst hundreds of deities, behold us from Tushita.
TONG NYI NYING JEY NYING PO CHEN GYI
Bring about the birth in our mind stream
JANG SEM GYU LA KYE WAR DZO CHIK
The bodhicitta, the essence of emptiness and compassion.
DRUB CHOK MAR MI DAK SUM KHYEN NO
Supreme siddhas, Marpa, Milarepa, and Gampopa, think of us.
DE CHEN DOR JE YING NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the space of great vajra bliss.
DE TONG CHAK CHEN CHOK NGO DRUB CHING
Enable us to attain the supreme siddhi of Mahamudra - bliss and emptiness inseparable;
CHO KU NYING U SE PAR DZO CHIK
Awaken the dharmakaya in our heart of hearts.
JIK TEN WANG CHUK KAR MA PA KHYEN NO
Lord of the world, Karmapa, thinks of us.
KHA KHYAB DRO DUL YING NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the space where all beings, in numbers as vast as the sky, are trained.
CHO KUN DEN ME GYU MAR TOK NE
Bring us to see that all phenomena are like an illusion, without any true existence,
NANG SEM KU SUM CHAR WAR DZO CHIK
And to realize appearance and mind arising as the three kayas.
KA GYU CHE ZHI CHUNG GYE KHYEN NO
Lamas of the four great and eight lesser Kagyu lineages, thinks of us.
RANG NANG DAK PEI SHING NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the realm of pure appearances that naturally arise.
NE KAB ZHI YI TRUL PA SANG NE
Clear away the confusion of the four situations,
NAM TOK THA RU CHIN PAR DZO CHIK
And bring us to the perfection of experience and realization.
JE TSUN GONG MA NAM NGA KHYEN NO
Five Sakya forefathers, think of us.
KHOR DE YER ME LONG NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the expanse of samsara and nirvana inseparable.
NAM DAK TA GOM CHO SUM DREL NE
Help us to blend together pure view, meditation and action;
SANG WAY LAM CHOK TRO PAR DZO CHIK
Take us along the supreme path of the secret vajrayana.
NYAM ME SHANG PA KA GYU KHYEN NO
Lamas of the unequalled Shangpa Kagyu, think of us.
NAM DAK SANG GYE ZHING NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the totally pure realms of Buddhas.
THAB DROL NYAM LEN TSUL ZHIN JONG NE
Train us correctly in the methods of practice that bring liberation;
MI LOB ZUNG JUK NYE PAR DZO CHIK
Lead us to discover the path of no more learning, the ultimate union.
DRUB CHEN THANG TONG GYAL PO KHYEN NO
Great Siddha, Thangton Gyalpo, thinks of us.
TSOL ME THUK JEY LONG NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the expanse of effortless compassion.
DEN ME TOK PAY TUL ZHUK DRUB NE
Enable us to attain the discipline that brings realization of
LUNG SEM RANG WANG DU WAR DZO CHIK
Ultimate non-existence, and to master prana and mind.
PHA CHIK DAM PA SANG GYE KHYEN NO
Only father, Dampa Sangya, thinks of us.
LE RAB DRUB PAY YING NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the space of the accomplishing supreme activity.
GYU PAY CHIN LAB NYING LA ZHUK NE
Bring into our heart the blessing of the lineage,
TEN DREL CHOK ME CHAR WAR DZO CHIK
And make auspicious signs arise in all directions.
MA CHIK LAB KYI DRON MA KHYEN NO
Only mother, Labkyi Dronma, thinks of us.
SHE RAB PHAR CHIN LONG NE SIK ZHIK
Behold us from the space of prajnaparamita.
DAK DZIN NYEM CHE TSE NE CHO CHING
Enable us to uproot ego-clinging, the source of pride,
DAK ME TRO DRAL DEN THONG DZO CHIK
And see the truth of egolessness, beyond conception.
KUN KHYEN DOL PO SANG GYE KHYEN NO
Omniscient Dolpa Sangya, thinks of us.
NAM KUN CHOK DEN YING NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the space endowed with all supreme aspects.
PHO WAY UG NAM U MAR GAK NE
Help us to bring into the central channel, the prana of transference
PHO DRAL DOR JEI KU THOB DZO CHIK
And to train the immovable vajra body.
JE TSUN TA RA NA THA KHYEN NO
Jetsun Taranatha, thinks of us.
NAM SUM PO NYAY YING NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the space of the three mudras.
DOR JEY SANG LAM GEK ME DRO NE
Help us to travel without obstacle, the secret vajra path,
JA LU KHA CHO DRUB PAR DZO CHIK
And bring us to the attainment of a rainbow body, the enjoyment of all space
JAM YANG KHYEN TSE WANG PO KHYEN NO
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, thinks of us.
KHYEN NYI YE SHE YING NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the space of primordial wisdom that knows
MI SHE LO YI MUN PA SANG NE
Clear away the mental darkness of ignorance;
KHYEN RAB NANG WA GYE PAR DZO CHIK
Increase the luminosity of our supreme intelligence.
O SAL TRUL PEI DOR JE KHYEN NO
Osel Tulpay Dorje, thinks of us.
JA ZER O NGEI LONG NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the expanse of the five rainbow lights
THIK LUNG SEM KYI DRI ME DAK NE
Purify the stains from bindu, prana, and mind.
ZHON NU BUM KUR CHANG CHUB DZO CHIK
And bring to the enlightenment of youthful vase body.
PE MA DO NGAK LING PA KHYEN NO
Pema Do Ngak Lingpa, thinks of us.
DE TONG GYUR ME LONG NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the expanse of unchanging bliss and emptiness inseparable.
GYEL DANG GYEL SE GONG PA THA DAK
Enable us to fulfill perfectly
DAK GI YONG SU KONG NU DZO CHIK
The intentions of all the Buddha and bodhisattvas.
NGAK WANG YON TEN GYA TSO KHYEN NO
Ngakwang Yonten Gyamtso, thinks of us.
YING YE ZUNG JUK LONG NE SIK SHIK
Behold us from the expanse of space and primordial wisdom in union.
NANG WAY DEN DZIN HRUL GYI ZHIK NE
May we stop taking appearances to be real;
GANG JUNG LAM DU KHYER NU DZO CHIK
Develop our ability to carry onto the path whatever arises.
GYEL SE LO DRO THA YE KHYEN NO
Bodhisattva Lodro Thaye, thinks of us.
JAM DANG NYING JEI NGANG NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from your state of loving-kindness and compassion.
DRO KUN DRIN CHEN PHA MA SHE NE
Enable us recognize all beings as our kind parents;
ZHEN PHEN NYING NE DRUB NU DZO CHIK
Develop our ability to benefit others from the depth of our hearts.
PE MA GAR GYI WANG CHUK KYEN NO
Pema Garyi Wangchuk, thinks of us.
DE CHEN O SEL YING NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the expanse of great bliss and luminosity.
DUK NGA YE SHE NGA RU DROL NE
Liberate the five poisons into five wisdom;
PANG THOB NYI DZIN ZHIK PAR DZO CHIK
May our dualistic clinging to loss and gain disappear.
TEN NYI YUNG DRUNG LING PA KHYEN NO
Tenyi Yungdrung Lingpa, thinks of us.
SID ZHI NYAM NYI YING NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the space where samsara and nirvana are equal.
MO GU NAL MA GYU LA KYE NE
Engender genuine devotion in our mind;
TOK DROL DU NYAM CHEN POR DZO CHIK
Bring us to simultaneous realization and liberation.
DRIN CHEN TSA WEI LAMA KHYEN NO
King root lama, thinks of us.
CHI TSUK DE CHEN NE NE ZIK SHIK
Behold us from the place of great bliss on the crown of our head.
RANG RIK CHO KUE RANG ZHAL JAL NE
Bring us to meet the very face of the dharmakaya, the awareness of our true nature,
TSE CHIK SANG GYE DRUB DZO CHIK
And in this very life, bring us to complete enlightenment.
KYE MA DAK DREI SEM CHEN LE NGEN DIK TO CHE
Alas, sentient beings like ourselves, who have committed negative actions,
THOK ME DU NE KHOR WAR YUN RING KHYAM
Wander in samsara from beginningless time.
DA RUNG DUK NGAL THA ME NYONG GYUR WAY
Still experiencing endless suffering,
KYO SHE YE CHIK TSAM YANG MA KYE PAY
We do not feel even an instant of repentance.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
NGE JUNG TING NE KYE WAR CHIN GYI LOB
Bless us that renunciation arise from the depth of our heart.
DAL JOR THOB KYANG MI TSE TONG ZE KHEN
Although we have attained a precious human birth with leisure and resources, we waste it in vain,
DON ME TSE DIR JHA WAY TAK TU YENG
Constantly distracted by the activities of this hollow life.
DON CHEN THAR PA DRUB LA LE LO KHYER
When it comes to accomplishing the great goal of liberation, we are overcome by laziness
NOR BUY LING NE LAK TONG LOK GYUR PAY
And return empty-handed from a land filled with jewels.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
MI LU DON DEN DRUB PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we make this life meaningful.
MI SHI SA TENG LU PA CHIK KYANG ME
There is no one on this earth that will not die.
DA TA CHIK JE NYI THU PHA ROL DRO
Even now, people are passing away, one after the other.
RANG YANG NYUR WA NYI DU CHI GO KYANG
We also soon must die,
YUN RING DO DRAB CHE PAY NYING RUL PO
But like a fool, we plan to livelong.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUK DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
LONG ME LO NA THUNG WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we curtail all our scheming.
NYING DU DUK PAY DZA SHE SO SOR DRAL
We will be separated from our closest friends.
SER NAY SAK PAY NOR DZE ZHEN GYI CHO
Others will enjoy the wealth we as misers kept.
CHE PAY LU KYANG SHUL DU BOR NE SU
Even our body we hold so dear would be left behind,
NAM SHE BAR DO TOL ME KHOR WAR KHYAM
And our consciousness will wander without direction in the bardo of samsara.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
CHI KYANG GO ME TOK PAR JIN GYI LOP
Bless us that we realize the futility of this life.
JIK PAY MUN PA NAK POE NGON NE SU
In front, the black darkness of fear waits to take us in;
LE GYI LUNG MAR DRAK PO GYAB NE DE
From behind, we are chased by the fierce red wind of karma.
MI DUK SHIN JE PHO NAY DEK CHING TSOK
The hideous messengers of the lord of death beat and stab us,
ZO KA NGEN DROY DUK NGAL NYONG GO NA
And so we must experience the unbearable sufferings of the lower realms.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
NGEN SONG YANG LE THAR WAR JHIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we are liberated from chasms of lower realms.
RANG KYON RO WO TSAM YANG KHONG DU BE
We conceal within ourselves a mountain of faults;
ZHEN KYON TIL DRU TSAM YANG DROK CHING MO
Yet, we put down others and broadcast their shortcomings, though they be minute as a sesame seed.
YON TEN CHUNG ZE ME KYANG ZANG POR LOM
Though we have not the slightest good qualities, we boast saying how great we are.
CHO PAY MING TAK CHO MIN KHO NA CHO
We have the label of Dharma practitioners, but practice only non-Dharma.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JE NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
RANG DO NGA GYAL ZHI WAR CHIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we loose our pride and self-centredness.
TEN PHUNG DAK DZIN GONG PO KHONG DU CHUK
We conceal within the demon of ego-clinging that always brings us to ruin.
SAM TSE THAM CHE NYON MONG PHEL WAY GYU
All our thoughts cause kleshas to increase.
JHE TSE THAM CHE MI GEY DRE BU CHEN
All our actions have non-virtuous results.
THAR PAY LAM DU CHOK TSAM MA CHIN PAY
We have not even turned towards the path of liberation.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JE NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
NGAR DZIN TSE NE CHO PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that grasping onto a self be uprooted.
TO ME TSAM LA GA DANG MA GA KYE
A little praise makes us happy; a little blame makes us sad.
TSIK NGEN TSAM LA ZO PAY GO CHA SHOR
With a few harsh words, we loose the armor of our patience.
NYAM TAK THONG YANG NYING JEY SEM MI KYE
Even if we see those who are destitute, no compassion arises.
JIN YUL JUNG DU SER NAY DU PAY CHING
When there is an opportunity to be generous, we are tied in knots by greed.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
SEM GYU CHO DANG DRE PA JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that our mind be one with the Dharma.
KHOR WA NYING PO ME LA NYING POR ZUNG
We think samsara is worthwhile, when it is not.
TO GO CHIR DU TEN DUN LING GI BOR
We give up our higher vision for the sake of food and clothes.
KHO GU TSANG YANG GO GO CHI CHIR MANG
Although we have all that is needed, we constantly want more.
MI DEN GYU MAY CHO GYI RANG SEM LU
Our minds are deceived by unreal, illusory phenomena.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
TSE DI LO YI THONG WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we let go of the attachment to this life.
LU SEM DUK NGAL TRA MOANG MI ZO KYANG
Not able to endure the merest physical or mental pain.
NGEN DROR DRO LA MI TSER NYING DOL CHEN
With blind courage, we do not hesitate to fall into lower realms.
GYU DRE LU ME NGON SUM THONG ZHIN DU
Although we see directly the unfailing law of cause and effect,
GE WA MI DRUB DIK PAY YO LANG PHEL
We do not act virtuously, but increase our wholesome activity.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JE NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
LE LA YI CHE KYE WAR CHIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we come to trust completely in the law of karma.
DRA LA DANG SEM NYEN LA CHAK SEM KYE
We hate our enemies and cling to friends.
LANG DOR NE LA TI MUK MUN TAR THOM
Lost in the darkness of ignorance, we do not know what to accept of reject.
CHO ZHIN CHO TSE JHING MUK NYI WANG SHOR
When practicing Dharma, we fall into dullness, drowsiness, and sleep.
CHO MIN CHO TSE WANG PO SAL CHING DRUNG
When not practicing Dharma, we are clever and our senses are clear.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JE NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
NYON MONG DRA WO CHOM PAR JING GYI LOB
Bless us that we overcome our enemy, the kleshas.
CHI NE TE NA YANG DAK CHO PAY ZUK
From the outside, we appear to be genuine Dharma practitioners;
NANG DU RANG SEM CHO DANG MA DRE PAY
On the inside, our minds have not blended with the Dharma.
DRUL DUK ZHIN DU NYON MONG KONG NA BE
We conceal our kleshas inside like a poisonous snake,
KYEN NGEN TRE TSE CHO PAY TSANG TAK TON
Yet when difficult situations arise, the hidden faults of a poor practitioner come to light.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
RANG GYU RANG GI THUL WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we ourselves are able to tame our mind.
RANG KYON NGEN PA RANG GI MA TOK PAY
Not recognizing our own faults,
CHO PAY ZUK ZUNG CHO MIN NA TSOK CHO
We take the form of a Dharma practitioner, while engaging in non-Dharmic pursuits.
NYO MONG MI GEY LE LA SHUK KYI GOM
We are habituated to kleshas and non-virtuous activity.
GE LO YANG YANG KYE KYANG YANG YANG CHE
Again and again virtuous intentions arise; again and again they are cut off.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
RANG KYON RANG GI THONG WAR JING GYI LOB
Bless us that we see our own faults.
ZHAK RE SONG ZHIN CHI LA PHAR PHAR NYE
With the passing of each day, we come closer and closer to death.
NYIN RE LONG ZHIN RANG GYU CHI CHIR GYONG
As each day arrives, our mind gets more and more rigid.
LAMA TEN ZHIN MO GU RIM GYI DRIB
Though we serve the lama. Our devotion is gradually obscured.
CHE LA TSE DUNG DAK NANG JE CHUNG SONG
Our love, affection, and pure outlook, towards our Dharma friends diminish.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JE NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
MU GO RANG GYU THUL WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we tame our obstinate mind.
KHYAB DRO SEM KYE SOL DEB CHE NA YANG
Although we have take refuge, engendered bodhicitta, and made prayers,
MO GU NYING JE TING NE MA KYE PAY
Devotion and compassion have not arisen in the depth of our being.
TSIK TSAM WANG GYUR CHO CHO GE JOR NAM
Dharma activity and the practice of virtue have turned into hollow words.
JED LO TSAM LE GYU THOK MA KHEL WAY
Our empty achievements are many, but none more have moved our mind.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
CHI CHE CHO SU DRO WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that whatever we do is harmony with Dharma.
DAK DE DO LE DUG NGAL THAM CHE JUNG
All suffering arises from wanting our own happiness;
ZHEN PEN SEM GYI SANG GYE DRUB SUNG KYANG
Although it is taught that enlightenment is attained through benefiting others,
SEM CHOK KYE CHING RANG DO PHUK TU CHUK
We engender bodhicitta, while secretly cherishing our own desires.
ZHEN PEN TA CHI ZHEN NO ZHOR LA BRUB
We do not benefit others, and further, we even unconsciously harm them.
LAMA KYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
DAK ZHEN JE PAR NU PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we are able to exchange self for others.
SANG GYE NGO NANG LAMA MI RU ZUNG
Our lama is actually the appearance of the Buddha himself,
But we take him to be an ordinary human being.
DAM ZAB TON PAY KA DRIN NGANG GI JE
We come to forget the lama's kindness in giving us profound instructions.
RANG DO MA JUNG TSE NA YI CHE GOM
We are upset if we do not get what we want.
DZE CHO NAM LA THE TSOM LOK TA DRIB
We see the lama's activity and behaviour through the veil of doubts and wrong views.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
MO GU DRIB ME PHEL WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that free of obscurations, our devotion increase.
RANG SEM SANG GYE YIN KYANG NGO MA SHE
Our own mind is the Buddha, but we do not recognize it.
NAM TOK CHO KU YIN KYANG DON MA TOK
All concepts are the dhamakaya, but we do not realize it.
MA CHO NYUK MA YIN KYANG KYONG MA NU
This is the uncontrived natural state, but we cannot sustain it.
RANG BAB NE LUK YIN KYANG YI MA CHE
This is the true nature of the mind, settled into itself, but we are unable to believe it.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JE NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
RANG RIK RANG SAR DROL WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that self-awareness be liberated into its ground.
YONG NGE CHI WA NYING NE DREN MA THUB
Death is certain to come, but we are unable to take this to heart.
PHEN NGE DAM CHO TSUL ZHIN DRUB MA NU
Genuine Dharma is certain to benefit, but we are unable to practice correctly.
DEN NGE LE DRE LANG DOR TSUL ZHIN ME
The truth of karma, is certain, but we do not decide correctly what to give up and accept.
GO NGE DREN SHE MA TEN YENG WAY KHYER
It
is certainly necessary to be mindful and alert, but these qualities are
not stable in us, and we are carried away by distraction.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
YENG ME DREN PAY ZIN PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we stay mindful with no distractions.
NGON LE NGEN PAY NYIK MAY DU THAR KYE
Out of previous negative karma, we are born at the end this degenerate time.
NGAR JE THAM CHE DUK NGAL GYU RU SONG
Al our previous actions have become the cause of suffering.
DROK NGEN NAM KYI DIK PAY DRIB MAY YOK
Bad friends cast over us, the shadow of their negative actions.
DON ME LENG MO GE JOR YENG WAY KHYER
Our practice of virtue is corrupted by meaningless gossip.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JE NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
CHO LA NYING RU NU PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we take the Dharma deep to heart.
DANG POR SAM GYU CHO LE ME PA LA
At first there is nothing but Dharma on our mind.
THA MA DRUB DRE KHOR WA NGEN SONG GYU
But at the end, the result is the cause of samsara and lower realms.
THAR PAY LO TOK MI GEY SE KYI CHOM
The harvest of liberation is destroyed by the frost of unwholesome activity.
TEN DUN NYE PAY MU GO DAK DRA NAM
We, like wild savages, have lost our ultimate vision.
LAMA KHYEN NO THUK JEY NYUR DU ZIK
Lama, thinks of us, beholds us swiftly with compassion.
DAM CHO THA RU CHIN PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that within we bring the genuine Dharma to perfection.
KYO SHE TING NE KYE WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that repentance arise deep from within.
LONG ME LO NA THUNG WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we curtail all our scheming.
CHI WA NYING NE DREN PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that from the depth of our heart, we remember death.
LE LA YI CHE KYE WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we develop certainty in the law of karma.
LAM LA BAR CHE ME PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that our path is free of obstacles.
DRUB LA TSON DRU NU PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we are able to exert ourselves in practice.
KHYEN NGEN LAM DU LONG WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we bring difficult situations into the path.
NYEN PO RANG TSUK THUB PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that antidotes, through their own power, are completely effective.
CHO MIN MO GU KYE WAR CHIN GYI LOB
Bless us that genuine devotion arise.
NE LUK RANG ZHEL JEL WAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we see the very face of the mind's true nature.
RANG RIK NYING U SE PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that self-awareness awaken in the center of our heart.
TRUL NANG ZHI TSA CHO PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that delusive appearances are completely eliminated.
TSE CHIK SANG GYE DRUB PAR JIN GYI LOB
Bless us that we achieve enlightenment in one lifetime.
SOL WA DEB SO LA MA RIN PO CHE
We pray to you, precious lama.
DUNG WAY BO DO DRIN CHEN CHO KYI JE
Kind lama, lord of Dharma, we call out to you with longing.
KAL ME DAK LA RE SA KHYO LE ME
For us, unworthy ones, you are the only hope.
THUK YI YER ME DRE PAR CHIN GYI LOB
Bless us that your mind blends with ours.
OM MANI PADME HUM
Great Loving Victorious One (Maitreya Buddha), Transcendental Sublime Compassionate Eye Looking One,
Wrathful Victorious Hayagriva, Fully Accomplished Totally Pure (Jetsun) Tara and so forth,
Merely hearing your holy names eliminates all dangers,
Objects of refuge in the nature of compassion, please pay attention!
When the sentient beings of the time of quarrelling and five degenerations
By the explosion of the great ocean of evil karma and jealousy
Are tormented by the intensive suffering of fighting and quarrelling
Please dry this up by the power of transcendental wisdom and compassion.
By letting great rainfalls of the nectar of loving-kindness fall
On the migratory beings who are enflaming the conflagration of hatred-fire
Please grant blessings with the recognition of each other like father-mother
Then increase happiness and auspiciousness.
May the multitudes of the vicious evil spirits
Who enter the mental continuum and
Change it instantly to the mind of asura
From now on never run in this area (country/world).
I am requesting for even all the sentient beings who have died in the war
To abandon from that time onward all the evil karma, cause and effect,
Then having entered and been born in the Blissful Field (Amitabha's Pure Land)
To lead all others to that Pure Land.
Please bless all those who are born and die (samsaric beings)
To have a long life, no sicknesses, to pacify all quarrelling and fighting,
Enjoy the ten virtues, have rainfall at the right times, always have good harvests
And for all the habitat and inhabitants to be auspicious and increase.
By the ultimate reality which is pure by nature,
By phenomena having ultimate reality, cause and result are unbetrayable,
And by the compassion of the Guru, Mind-seal Deity and Rare Sublime Ones,
May these pure extensive prayers be completed.
'When
there was unceasing war in Kham, Me Nyak, Tibet, and nobody was able to
create harmony, the Great Lord Yogi Tang Tong Gyalpo came to Kham,
generated bodhicitta, and just by merely saying these true words and
sprinkling flowers, all the vicious minds of jealousy and anger were
completely pacified and the war that had been continuous, ceased. There
were prosperous harvests and so forth. The country became auspicious
and peaceful. This is blessed vajra speech.This is one of the prayers
of the Great Tantric Yogi Tang Tong Gyalpo. The other prayers that he
composed were to stop famine and epidemics.
Namo guru.
Gurus and yidams, deities of the mandala,
Buddhas of the three times and ten directions and your children,
Consider me with kindness,
Grant your blessing that all my wishes be realized.
Sprung from the snow, mountain of the pure actions and intentions,
Mine and those of all sentient beings without limit,
May the river of virtue undefiled by the three spheres
Flow into the ocean of the four bodies of buddha.
As long as I have not realized this,
Through all my life times, birth after birth,
May not even the words for defilement and suffering be heard
And may I enjoy the prosperity of oceans of happiness and virtue.
Having obtained this excellent free and well-favored life
Along with faith, energy and intelligence,
Having attended a worthy master and received the pith of the sacred instructions,
May I practice the sacred dharma properly in all my lives without interruption.
The study of scriptures frees one from the veil of ignorance.
The contemplation of oral instructions overcomes the darkness of doubt.
Light born of meditation illuminates the way things are.
May the radiance of the three wisdoms increase.
The significance of the ground is the two truths,
free from the extremes of eternalism and nihilism.
The excellent path, the two accumulations
free from the extremes of assumption and denial.
The result obtained is the two benefits,
free from the extremes of existence and peace.
May I meet the dharma which is free from error.
The ground of refinement is mind itself, indivisible luminosity and emptiness.
The refining, the great vajra composure of mahamudra.
What is to be refined, the incidental stains of confusion.
The result of refining, the unstained dharmakaya, may I realize it.
Confidence in outlook is cutting assumptions about the ground.
The key to meditation is maintaining that without distraction.
The supreme activity is to exercise the sense of meditation in everything.
May I have confidence in outlook, meditation and activity.
All dharmas are projections of the mind.
As for mind, there is no mind; mind's nature is empty.
Empty and immediate, mind appears as everything.
Investigating it well, may I settle the basic points.
Appearances, which never existed in themselves, have been confused as objects.
Awareness itself, because of ignorance, has been confused as a self.
Through the power of dualistic fixation I wander in the realm of existence.
May ignorance and confusion be completely resolved.
It doesn't exist; even buddhas do not see it.
It doesn't not exist; it is the origin of samsara and nirvana.
No contradiction; conjunction, the middle way.
May I realize the pure being of mind, free of extremes.
If one says "it is this," nothing has been posited.
If one says "it is not this," nothing has been denied.
Unconditioned pure being transcends intellect.
May I gain conviction in the ultimate position.
Not realizing it, one circles in the ocean of samsara.
Realizing it, buddha isn't anywhere else.
"It is everything." "It isn't anything." None of this.
Pure being, the basis of everything, may I see any misunderstanding here.
Since appearance is mind and emptiness is mind,
Since realization is mind and delusion is mind,
Since arising is mind and cessation is mind,
May all assumptions about mind be eliminated.
Unpolluted by meditation with intellectual efforts,
Undisturbed by the winds of everyday affairs,
Not manipulating, knowing how to let what is true be itself,
May I become skilled in this practice of mind and maintain it.
The waves of subtle and coarse thoughts calm down in their own ground.
Motionless, the river of mind abides naturally.
Free from the contaminations of dullness and torpor,
May I establish the still ocean of shamata.
When one looks again and again at the mind which cannot be looked at,
And sees vividly for what it is, the meaning of not seeing,
Doubts about the meaning of "is" and "is not" are resolved.
Without confusion, may my own face know itself.
Looking at objects, there is no object, one sees mind.
Looking at mind, there is no mind, it is empty of nature.
Looking at both of these, dualistic clinging subsides on its own.
May I realize sheer clarity, the way mind is.
Free from mental constructions, it is called mahamudra.
Free from extremes, it is called madhyamika.
Everything complete here, it is also called maha ati.
May I attain the confidence that, in understanding one, all are realized.
The great bliss of non-attachment is continuous.
Sheer clarity without fixations is free of obscurations.
Passing beyond intellect, non-thought is naturally present.
May these experiences continually arise without effort.
Attachment to good and fixation on experience subside on their own.
Confusion and evil concepts are cleared away in the realm of ultimate nature.
In the ordinary mind, there is no rejection or acceptance, no separation or attainment.
May I realize the truth of pure being, complete simplicity.
While the nature of beings has always been full enlightenment,
Not realizing this, they wander in endless samsara.
For the boundless suffering of sentient beings
May overwhelming compassion be born in my being.
While such compassion is active and immediate,
In the moment of compassion, its essential emptiness is nakedly clear.
This conjunction is the undeviating supreme path.
Inseparable from it, may I meditate day and night.
From the power of meditation come eyes and actual knowledge,
Sentient beings are ripened and domains of enlightenment refined.
Aspirations for the realization of all aspects of buddhahood are fulfilled.
May I complete these three--fulfillment, ripening and refinement--and become buddha.
By the compassion of the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions
And the power of whatever pure virtue there may be,
May my wishes and those of all beings
Be fulfilled as we ask in this way.
All who commit themselves to remain in retreat should ensure that
faith, renunciation, compassion and looking into the nature of mind lie
at the very heart of their practice.
Faith
‘Faith’
means complete trust in, and reliance upon, the Three Jewels in
general, and our own teacher in particular, as well as in the Dharma we
are practising. If we practise for a long time, after a while we might
think, “I still haven’t gained any signs of progress! The teacher can’t
have given me the most profound instructions. It would be better for me
to do the main practice, rather than the preliminaries, because it’s
more profound!” Or if we are doing the main practice we might think, “I
think it would be better for me to set aside this simple generation
stage practice and do some dzogrim instead.” Or even, “Dzogchen would
be more profound than these completion stage practices like tummo.”
You
might think that once you have received the Dzogchen teachings you will
have all kinds of profound lofty experiences, even after just a few
days. If you have such high expectations, then when things don’t work
out that way, you will begin to doubt the instructions and relax your
diligence. Or, if you do develop the slightest hint of renunciation or
gain some minor experience or realization, you will only develop pride
and think, “The Kagyü, Sakya and Gelug schools have nothing to compare
with these Nyingma teachings!” You must avoid developing wrong views
such as this and arrogantly supposing that you have gained some special
experience or realization. No matter who you are, the ordinary mind is
always prone to change and transformation, so you should try never to
get carried away.
Even if you were to practise day and night
with unflagging diligence for a full twelve years and still fail to
have even one good dream, you must never lose heart. Recognizing that
this is due simply to the strength of your own obscurations, you must
be confident that neither your teachers nor the teachings will ever let
you down.
On the other hand, even if you were to make such
swift progress that in just a single day you reached the level at which
there is nothing further in samsara to be abandoned nor anything
further in nirvana to be gained, you should feel no pride, because to
do so would only be to invite the demon of obstacles. That is why
Jetsün Milarepa said:
When you are approaching the end of the Dharma,
Continue ceaselessly, without any highs or lows,
And without hopes for signs of swift attainment,
Ensure your practice endures as long as you do!
This is marvellous advice.
Renunciation
‘Renunciation’
means that while in the retreat centre, every single time you recite
the Seven Line Prayer or complete a single mala of mani mantras, you
must dedicate it towards the attainment of buddhahood for yourself and
all other sentient beings. While in retreat, you should not waste even
a single moment in idleness or frivolity, and you must avoid any form
of insincerity or duplicity, such as pretending—for as long as you are
in other people’s view—to practise perfectly.
Do all that you
can to bring your own stubborn mind under control and to develop your
faith, diligence and renunciation. Never think that the Dharma you are
practising is for your benefit alone. To recite even a single mani
mantra is of inconceivable benefit, so dedicate it for the sake of all
who live.
Again and again, develop compassion for all sentient
beings in general, and particularly for those who dislike you. It might
be difficult at first, but you will never attain enlightenment as long
as you continue to feel ill-will towards your enemies. Those who are
now your enemies were in former lives your parents, and there is
nothing fixed about the status of an enemy or friend. To feel hostility
towards enemies and affection towards your friends is nothing but a
deluded form of perception. If you train your mind to recognize
everything as insubstantial like a dream, hostility towards enemies
will lose its meaning entirely. This is crucially important, because
ordinarily our lives are driven by the yearning to acquire food and
clothing, possessions, partners, status and acclaim. We put a great
deal of thought into devising the cleverest, most efficient ways to
obtain them, and we think, “So-and-so has this much money, my friends
have this much, so I need more.” Or: “In the past, I stayed in this
kind of house, in this part of town, but now I shall move to a better
place.” We must put a stop to all such thinking.
With ordinary
work, the more you do the more suffering you create for the future. But
now that you have found a human existence, met an authentic teacher,
and received the Dharma teachings, your situation is even better and
more fortunate than that of Indra, king of the gods. If you now put the
teachings into practice with steadfast determination, you are sure to
find happiness in all your future lives. So be content with only the
most basic food and clothing. Let me put it simply: do all that you can
to renounce and minimize the ordinary affairs and activities of samsara.
Noone
should stay in the retreat centre without taking the vows of refuge.
Even if you are a layperson, for the three years that you are in
retreat you must avoid sexual relations, and, while in retreat, it is
enormously significant and beneficial to wear the robes of a monk or
nun. The Buddha himself said it is permissible for anyone who has taken
the vows of refuge to wear the monastic robes.
Compassion
Generally
speaking, you have been practising the teachings of the Mahayana ever
since you first entered the door of the Dharma, and this is really
nothing other than compassion. Without genuine compassion there is
simply no possibility of reaching buddhahood.
In their
delusion, all the beings of samsara cherish only their own selfish
interests and neglect others’ welfare. At the moment, no matter how
well off we may be in terms of food, clothing or material possessions,
and no matter how much happiness we may experience, we can never be
satisfied. At the same time, if we give away even just a tiny fraction
of what we own, it feels as if we are losing something enormous. We
must let go of such attitudes, and, instead of caring for ourselves
alone, learn to cherish others. Previously we neglected others, but now
we must neglect our own selfish goals. Whenever we perform any virtuous
deed with body, speech or mind, we must first remember that we are
doing so as a means to bring about the enlightenment of all.
In
Dharma practice, the most important thing is motivation. If it is
motivated by the wish to benefit all beings, then even a single
prostration or a single recitation of the hundred-syllable mantra will
yield inexhaustible merit—merit that will remain until we have reached
enlightenment and there are no beings left in samsara. Whereas if we do
not have this motivation of universal benevolence, even a hundred
thousand prostrations, or a hundred thousand recitations of the
hundred-syllable mantra, will bear fruit only once before the merit is
exhausted, and a single burst of anger will be enough to destroy our
entire stock of virtue. It is crucial to understand this. If we
consider that our practice is for the sake of all others, then because
sentient beings are infinitely vast in number, our own merit will be
equally vast.
No one is entirely free from suffering, so
consider all the major and minor sufferings that befall others, and
imagine them happening to you instead. How would you feel? Surely you
would do all that you could to find a way to avoid the pain. So reflect
continually on all the sufferings that other beings undergo and develop
the compassionate wish that they may be free from pain. Once you have
true compassion, you will naturally feel the wish to benefit others.
Our teacher, the Buddha, while still a bodhisattva, had such vast and
overwhelming compassion that he made five hundred prayers of aspiration
for our benefit, and, as his followers, we too must make compassion the
very core of our practice.
The immeasurable benefits of
generating true compassion are described in detail in The Words of My
Perfect Teacher and the Bodhicharyavatara, so please study them.
Looking into the Nature of Mind
To
look into the nature of the mind we must understand how all its
ordinary thoughts about anything and everything imaginable are just
empty and insubstantial. Until now, we have been the slave of what we
call ‘mind,’ forced to wander helplessly through samsaric existence.
Now we must reverse the situation, and take control of our own mind. It
will be easy to do this if we have some real understanding of how the
mind is empty, but just entertaining some vague notion of mind’s
emptiness, by thinking, “Well, this is what the masters say,” or “This
is what it says in the texts,” will not help us to recognize the
insubstantiality of our own deluded perception.
Turn your
attention within then, and allow your mind to relax. You will notice
not just one thought or idea, but many. For example, if you think of
your mother, that is one thought, but then it in turn evokes all kinds
of other thoughts, such as memories of the kindness she showed you. If
she is still alive, you might think about going to visit her, and if
not, you might feel sad. These are thoughts of attachment. If you think
about your enemies, reflecting on the ways they have hurt you in the
past, how they are sure to do so again in the future, and how you must
find some way to be rid of them, these are thoughts of aversion. You
might wonder where this attachment and aversion come from. In fact,
they come from the deluded belief in the existence of what we call “I.”
Where
is such an “I” to be found? Is it in the body or the mind? If you
really look into the body, examining each of its parts—flesh, blood,
bones and skin—you can not find anything at all called ‘body,’ so how
could this be the location of the “I”? The mind, on the other hand, is
insubstantial, so how could the “I” abide within it? In fact, the “I”
is merely a concept or a thought. There is no location within a
thought, and nothing could remain there, but still the power of one
thought, such as the thought of our mother, causes us to think another
thought, about her kindness to us, and that in turn inspires the
thought of wishing to see her.
If we look into this process in
more detail, we can see that while we are thinking about our mother’s
kindness, the initial thought of our mother is no longer there—it has
already gone. And the thought that we must visit her has not yet
occurred—it is still in the future. As soon as we look into it, the
present thought of our mother’s kindness is no longer there; it has
already turned into the future thought of wanting to visit her. This
means that the thoughts of the past, present and future can not exist
at the same time, and we only use these terms for the sake of
communication. The past is gone, like a person who has died, and the
future (or ‘that which is yet to come’) does not exist at all. In fact,
there is no such thing as a ‘present thought’ existing somehow
independently of past and future. Before we thought of our mother that
‘present thought’ was still in the future. Then, as we thought of her,
it was present. Finally, as we brought to mind her kindness, it was
already in the past.
For one thought to pass through these
three phases of time is a sign of its impermanence, and whatever is
impermanent is empty. It is because a thing is empty that it can change
over the course of the past, present and future.
Consider the
surface of a mirror: because it is empty [and not fixed in a particular
way], reflections can appear within it. When a person’s likeness
appears in a mirror, the reflection resembles the real person, but the
person’s face has neither entered the mirror nor been transferred to
its surface. The image of the face appears because of certain causes
and conditions, including the clarity of the mirror and the presence of
the person’s face before it. The reflection of the face and the face
itself are not the same. The reflection is inanimate, and when the
reflection disappears the real face does not. A face can be burned if
it is touched by fire, but you can not burn a reflection. Nevertheless,
the reflection and the face are not completely different either,
because the reflection can not appear in the absence of the person’s
face, and if the person adopts a particular expression, such as a smile
or a look of anger, the reflection also appears that way.
For
these reasons, thoughts and reflections appear to be real only when we
fail to examine them or look into them in any detail. If we do pause to
consider them, we find that although they appear, they do not really
exist. And this is true not just of these phenomena. It applies to all
the appearances of our deluded samsaric experience: they seem real
enough as long as we do not examine them too deeply, but when we do, we
find that they are not real. This is why we refer to them as
“unexamined, seeming reality.”
If the understanding of this
point develops and takes hold, so that it becomes self-sustaining, that
is what we call ‘experience.’ When we become more and more familiar
with this, so that the mind is no longer swayed by thoughts of aversion
or attachment, that is what we call ‘realization.’
When we
examine thoughts again and again in this way, we come to see that
although they have no real existence, still they appear, and although
they appear, they are insubstantial. At the same time, we understand
how the thoughts of the past, present and future exist only as mere
names or labels, and have no more reality than that.
If we
have this understanding, then whenever we think of our mother and
remember all the kindness she showed us, we need not succumb to
thoughts of attachment. We will think, “Even if I were to go and see my
mother, what good would that do? She has managed to provide food and
clothing for herself, and even to provide for my material needs as
well. If I were to take on this role, I would need to find work in some
trade or business, and that would provoke all kinds of attachment and
aversion and produce lots of distractions, which would only come in the
way of my Dharma practice. Instead, I should put my energy into
practising the Dharma, straightaway as much as I can, then dedicate all
my sources of merit to my mother, to help relieve her sufferings of
birth, death and the bardo states. It would be better for me to forget
about ordinary worldly feelings of attachment to my mother. She has
other children who can take care of her material needs, but there is no
one but me to offer her spiritual assistance.” If we think this way, it
will prevent us getting caught in the ordinary patterns of thought
which can come up whenever we recall our mother.
This also
gives us some clues as to how we can give up our thoughts of aversion
towards our enemies. At first it might be a little difficult to
overcome our attachment and aversion, but by practising again and
again, it will become easier.
If you can overcome attachment
and aversion, you will no longer accumulate karma. Morevoer, if you
look into the unaltered state of mind that follows whenever feelings of
attachment or aversion have subsided, you will find the nature of mind.
As long as there are not too many thoughts arising, look undistractedly
into the mind itself. Whenever there are lots of thoughts, examine them
in the way I just described. If you become really familiar with this by
training in it again and again, recognition of the nature of mind will
occur naturally and spontaneously. The mind will no longer be caught up
in thoughts, and even if thoughts do arise, they will not have any real
strength and there will be no need to analyze or examine them. It will
be sufficient simply to maintain an unaltered state of mind.
If
ever you can not counteract a thought of attachment or aversion, repeat
the process of investigation. When you have thoughts, don’t react with
anxiety, thinking, “I shouldn’t have thoughts during meditation! Now
lots of thoughts are going to come.” Simply look straight into the
nature of any thought—be it positive or negative—and it will lose its
strength and disappear. Without letting go of the state which follows,
look gently into the nature of mind, and thoughts will vanish by
themselves. When thoughts no longer occur one after another in swift
succession you will gradually be able to liberate them.
When
looking into the nature of mind, don’t expect to gain some
exceptionally high or profound realization, or to see anything new. Nor
should you hesitate or doubt your ability to meditate. Just trust that
the nature of mind is simply the mind itself left in an unaltered
state, and do all that you can to sustain this, without distraction, at
all times, during and between the meditation sessions. Don’t expect to
gain realization in just a few months, or even years. Whether you
develop any of the qualities that come from the practice or not, remain
steadfastly determined and resolve to continue the practice with
diligence, day and night, throughout this life, future lives and the
bardo state.
Understand this: it is more important to take to heart the key instructions than to receive a great many teachings.
In
general, you should look at the instruction manual Words of My Perfect
Teacher, and check whether or not your practice accords with what it
says there. If you notice something that does not correspond, change
it; and if there is something that is only partially in agreement, see
whether or not it can be improved.
Aspire to practise the Dharma authentically, and never do anything that might upset your Dharma brothers and sisters.
In short, devote yourself to the Dharma as much as you possibly can, with body, speech and mind.
I
will certainly come and visit you, and I will always remember to pray
and practise for your protection, so that all your wishes in accordance
with the Dharma will be accomplished.
OM SVASTI
O our gurus, and your line of lamas, for whom we have the deepest gratitude,
You who are the repository of the three: secret powers of body, speech, and mind of innumerable buddhas,
Who manifest in a miraculous way to each devotee according to his capacity,
To you, who are the wish-fulfilling gems, the source of all virtues and good qualities,
We offer our prayers with intense devotion
That our protector of the great Land of Snows,
Tenzin Gyatso, upholder of the Dharma, the great ocean,
May live for a hundred eons.
Pour on him your blessings
That his aspirations may be fulfilled.
The dharmadhatu, the inexpressible reality that pervades all things like the heavens,
Immaculate, full of great bliss and transcendental wisdom,
Manifests like a cloud the numberless abodes of the higher divinities,
The mandalas of the heavenly beings.
To all the higher forms of the divine ones, the yidams,
We offer our prayers with intense devotion
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the great Land of Snows,
May live for a hundred eons.
Pour on him your blessings
That his aspirations may be fulfilled.
O you numberless buddhas of the past, present, and future
Who are the masters of the ten powers and teachers of the gods,
Whose attributes of perfection, free from defilements and born of realization
Are the source of the buddha-activity
That appears for all time in the ocean of the suffering of the world
For the sake of all sentient beings —
To you we offer our prayers with intense devotion
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the great Land of Snows,
May live for a hundred eons.
Pour on him your blessings
That his aspirations may be fulfilled.
O sacred Dharmas of the three yanas,
Which liberate us from the sufferings of the three worlds,
Supremely calm, the jewel treasure of the fully enlightened ones,
Without impurities, unchanging, eternally good, the peak of virtues,
To you we offer our prayers with intense devotion
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the great Land of Snows,
May live for a hundred eons.
Pour on him your blessings
That his aspirations may be fulfilled.
O all you arya Sangha, awakened and unsullied,
Of highest valour in conquering the suffering of the wheel of life
With the transcendental wisdom that directly intuits the deeper truth,
Never departing from the indestructible vajra abode of nirvana -
To you we offer our prayers with intense devotion
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the great Land of Snows,
May live for a hundred eons.
Pour on him your blessings
That his aspirations may be fulfilled.
O you dakas and dakinis, heavenly beings of the three worlds,
Who appear in the highest paradises, the sacred places, the cremation grounds,
Who have innumerable experiences of the bliss of the void,
Supporting the yogis in their meditation on the excellent path,
To you all we offer our prayers with intense devotion
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the great Land of Snows,
May live for a hundred eons.
Pour on him your blessings
That his aspirations may be fulfilled.
To the ocean of guardians of the teaching, who possess the eye of transcendental wisdom,
Carrying on their matted locks the knot
Symbolic of the vows they made to Vajradhara Buddha,
The powerful ones who protect the teaching and the upholders of the Dharma -
We offer you our prayers with intense devotion
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the great Land of Snows,
May live for a hundred eons.
Pour on him your blessings
That his aspirations may be fulfilled.
To all you guileless ones, in whom we take the excellent refuge,
We pray with intense devotion, humbly, from our very heart,
That by the strength of these verses
Ngawang Losang Tenzin Gyatso,
He who has power over speech, the kindly one,
Upholder of the Dharma, the great ocean,
He who possesses the three secret powers,
May be indestructible, eternal, and without end.
That, seated on the supreme unconquerable throne of the vajra,
He may live for coutlesss eons.
Pour on him your blessings
That his aspirations may be fulfilled.
You who bear the burdens of innumerable buddhas,
With courage carrying on your shoulders the vast activities of the fully enlightened ones,
Working for the weal of all beings, like the wish-fulfilling gem, the jewel of jewels,
May your aspiration be perfectly fulfilled.
By virtue of this may the golden era be opened
Like a gate to the great spaces, liberating all sentient beings,
Coming as the happiness of spring which comforts our sorrows
And helps the teaching of the Buddha to spread in all directions and in all ages,
Making it prosper to the summit of samsara and nirvana.
O you with the lotus in your hand, may the nectar stream of your blessing
Strengthen our mind and bring it to maturity.
May we be able to please you by practicing the Dharma;
Through accomplishing at all times the good deeds of the bodhisattvas,
May we reach nirvana.
By the blessings of the wondrous buddhas and bodhisattvas,
By the unassailable truth of the spiritual laws of cause and effect,
By the unstained power of the pure mind,
May the aim of my prayers soon be accomplished.
We start the practice with the focus on samsara. Now samsara consists
of six realms or the six states;
so there is a separate meditation for each of these. In each case you
meditate on the sensations of
that specific realm and then on the emptiness of those sensations. You
do so by looking at the direct
nature of your own mind and thereby experiencing the emptiness of the
sensations.
So the first realm is the hell realm and, among the two types of hell
realms, the hot hell. During
these meditations you will be visualizing yourself in your ordinary
form with the exception that you
visualize your body as hollow. So, from the outside, you will look as
you look and from the inside
there are no bones or guts.
In the center of your right foot towards its heel, visualize a black
Duh syllable. You then think that
all of the karma which is likely to cause your rebirth anytime in
hell, all of the karma accumulated
by others which will cause their rebirth in hell, and all of the
hellish kleshas that afflict you and
others, are drawn into that black Duh syllable. The syllable in your
foot is then transformed into the
realm of the hot hell, clearly like an image in a mirror. Then you
imagine that you, in the form of a
little body, are actually in that hot hell inside your right foot. Try
to imagine it as clearly as
possible, the inconceivable suffering of the hot hells. While you are
doing so, you repeat the mantra
Ram Naraka at least seven times. The first part, while doing this
contemplation, is to imagine
yourself burning in the hot hell and then towards the end of it you
look directly at the nature your
mind which causes the appearance and the sensations of the hot hell
realm to dissolve into emptiness.
Next, in the same way, you visualize in the corresponding place in
your left foot an identical black
Duh syllable, and withdraw into that all the karma and kleshas
accumulated this life and in previous
lives by yourself and others that causes rebirth in the cold hell.
Again, imagine that you are stuck
there and are experiencing all the inconceivable suffering of extreme
cold. While doing so, you recite
the mantra Kham Naraka seven times and then you look at the nature of
the mind of the meditator, the
person visualizing this, the experiencer, the person who is
experiencing the suffering and looking at
the nature of the mind. At this point of course is the return to the
practice of Mahamudra or Trekcho,
and by doing so the appearances dissolve into emptiness.The purpose of
these first two meditations is,
through the direct experience of emptiness, to purify the habit of the
two hells.
The second realm, from the bottom up, is the preta or hungry ghost
realm. The corresponding meditation
concerned with this realm begins by visualizing a red Preh in your
lower abdomen that is in the center
of your body at the level of the genitals. You think that all of the
karma accumulated by yourself and
others, through greed and the klesha of greed itself, in short all
wrong doings and obscurations that
can cause birth as a preta are withdrawn into this red syllable. At
that point, it is transformed into
the preta realm. You imagine, after being born there, intense
suffering of hunger, thirst and craving.
You recite the mantra Sarva Pretaka at lease seven times and then
again you look at the nature of the
mind of the person meditating, the person experiencing, and by doing
so the contents of the meditation
dissolve into emptiness.
The third samsaric realm is the animal realm. For this you visualize a
dark red colored syllable at
the level of the navel in the center of your body; its a dark red Trih.
You think that all of the karma and kleshas that cause the rebirth as
an animal, principally the karma
and kleshas associated with stupidity and apathy, are drawn into this
syllable which is transformed
into the habitat or realm of animals. You imagine yourself born in
this realm and, as vivid as
possible, imagine the suffering you are experiencing being born an
animal, such as enslavement and
being preyed upon. The suffering that is fundamental to this realm is
the suffering of stupidity and
the inability to communicate. You recite the mantra Sarva Tiryaka, at
least seven times. Then at the
end, as before, you look at the nature of the mind of the meditator,
the experiencer, causing all the
appearances of the meditation to dissolve into emptiness.
The fourth realm, the first of the so called fortunate or higher
realms, is the human realm. Here you
visualize the syllable at the center of the heart and the syllable is
Nrih, it is green. Then you
think of all of the causes of human rebirth, principally the klesha of
desire and the karma
accumulated through desire by yourself and others, dissolving into
this green syllable which becomes
the four continents of the human world. Imagine yourself born there
and the sufferings most astigmatic
to the human realm are birth, aging, sickness and death. Try to
imagine these four as clear as
possible. While doing so the mantra that is recited is Sarva Anuse,
seven times. Then afterwards you
look at the nature of the mind, the meditator, the experiencer, and
the appearances dissolve into
emptiness.
The second of the higher realms and the fifth realm in samsara is the
realm of the Asuras or non gods.
Here the place is the center of the throat, the syllable is Suh, and
it is yellow. You visualize that
while thinking that all of the causes of rebirth, principally the
klesha of jealousy and the actions
motivated by jealousy, are drawn into that syllable which is
transformed into the Asura realm. You
then imagine you are born in and stuck in this realm and that you are
undergoing the suffering of an
Asura. Now, because their nature is jealousy, their principal
suffering is unsuccessful warfare
against the gods and you imagine all the experiences of being killed
and wounded. You recite the
mantra Sarva Asurra seven times. And then again you look at the nature
of the mind, the meditator, the
experiencer, and the appearances of the Asura realm dissolves into emptiness.
The sixth and highest realm within samsara is the god or deva realm.
You visualize the syllable Ah,
white in color, inside your head toward the top. Again you think that
all of the causes for rebirth in
the deva realm are withdrawn into the syllable. Principal among these
are the klesha of pride and
actions motivated by pride. All of this dissolves into the syllable
which is transformed into the god
realm, specifically the type of god realm which is called the deva
realm of desire. You imagine that
you are born in that realm and experience the suffering of a deva.
Now, generally speaking, the devas
enjoy tremendous pleasure, comfort and prosperity, but since they are
still within samsara it ends and
when it ends they experience incredible suffering, the suffering of
death and downfall. Because the
deva realm and life in the deva realm is so pleasant, when they see
signs of their impending death,
[they do sometimes before it occurs] they suffer terribly because of
what they are losing. Now,
because of the contrast with the subsequent rebirth, which they can
see; so obviously if they know
that they are going to be reborn in one of the three lower realms they
suffer. But, even if they are
going to be reborn as a human or as an Asura, they suffer because of
not having control or choice.
Think that you are experiencing the suffering of a deva, and repeat
the mantra Sarva Deva seven times.
And as before, look at the nature of the mind of the meditator, the
experiencer, which is the practice
of Mahamudra or Trekcho, and the appearance of the meditation of the
deva realm dissolves.
In that way you eradicate or prevent the birth in and experience of
the suffering of the six realms.
At the end of all six phases of the meditation you again look at the
nature of your mind. The point is
to realize that the experience of suffering, such as the individual
sufferings of the six realms, the
experience of suffering is mind; it is not something other than mind.
These sufferings occur, but they
occur as manifestations or display of mind and mind is not anything,
it is empty of being anything. So
by recognizing the emptiness of mind and the emptiness of the
experiences of mind, this is an
instruction for preventing rebirth in the six realms. This is also
referred to closing the door of
rebirth in the six types of existence.
At this point or phase of the contemplation you recite the six
syllable mantra of The Great
Perfection, which prevents rebirth in the six realms.
AH AH SAH SAH MAH HAH
Next, in the same meditation, you visualize the embodiment of the
wisdom body speech and mind of all
buddhas, as the three syllables in your three places. So, inside your
head, you visualize a white Om,
inside your throat, a red Ah, and in your heart, a blue Hum. You then
think that the blessing and
wisdom of the body speech and minds of all the buddhas are drawn into
these three syllables. Once
these blessing and wisdom of the buddhas are drawn into these
syllables, they blaze with wisdom fire,
the fire of five colors in each case.
Now, previously after visualizing each realm, you looked at the nature
of your mind, and the
visualization of each realm dissolved, but you didn’t totally get rid
of the realms. Here you are
going to get rid of them. So you think that the wisdom fire which
comes from these three syllable
fills your whole body, burning up and away the six realms all at once,
and the seeds which cause the
rebirth in them. While visualizing that, you recite the mantra OH AH
HUM. That’s the samsara part.
Now we come to the nirvana part. The nirvana part is the contemplation
of the Three Jewels, but
starting from the bottom up. So first sangha, the dharma and then the
buddha. Now during the previous
meditation you visualized yourself in your ordinary form. You are
going to change that; first you are
going to visualize yourself as the sangha. The supreme member of the
Mahayana sangha is the
Bodhisattva Maitreya because he is going to be the next buddha. He is
the closest member of the sangha
to buddhahood. You visualize yourself as Maitreya and while doing so
you recite the mantra; NAMO
SANGHAYA.
Next is the contemplation of the jewel of the dharma. You think that
your body, as the Bodhisattva
Maitreya, is transformed in an instant into the embodiment of dharma.
The realization of dharma is
depicted as the female deity. The cause of all awakening, the cause of
all buddhahood is the
perfection of discernment, Prajnaparamita. Although the perfection of
discernment is truly the
realization of the nature of all things, because it is the cause of
all awakening when it is depicted
as a deity, it is called the great mother Prajnaparmita. So you
visualize yourself as her because she
is the embodiment of all dharma. She is gold in color with four arms
and so on. You recite the mantra;
NAMO DHARMAYA, three times.
Then there is the jewel of the buddha. You think that you, as the form
of the great mother, are
transformed in an instant into the Buddha Sakayamuni, and visualizing
yourself as the buddha you
recite the mantra NAMO BUDDHAYA, three times. Then having visualized
yourself as the buddha, you
visualize yourself as the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The reason you
visualize yourself as Chenrezig
at this point is that he is the embodiment of the compassion of all
buddhas. So you think that you,
the Buddha Sakayamuni, are transformed into the Bodhisattva
Avlalokiteshvara, and you visualize
yourself as him in the usual manner, white in color with one face and
four arms, and you recite the
mantra OH MANI PADME HUM, three times.
Then in order to reveal or enhance the power of compassion you think
that Avalokiteshvara is
transformed into his ferocious or wrathful form, Hayagriva. Now
Avalokiteshvara has these two aspects
because compassion itself is embodied in the peaceful form and the
power or effectiveness of
compassion is in the wrathful form. So you visualize yourself as
Hayagriva, who is red in color and
recite the mantra; OM HAYAGRIVA HUM PHAT, three times.
Now all of this is basically connected with the purification of the
body, and your body is composed of
the five elements, earth, water, fire, air, and space. Not only your
body but all of the external
phenomena are composed of the five elements as well. While reflecting
that the five elements do not
exist independently, that things appear that way as the display of
mind, you recite the essence
syllable of the five elements; E YAM RAM BAM LAM, three times. E, the
essence of space, YAM, the
essence of wind or air, RAM, the essence of fire, BAM, the essence of
water and LAM, the essence of
earth. That section is the purification of body.
The second section is the purification of speech. The purification of
speech is done through the use
of the syllable HUM, by mantra.You sit in the same posture, except
that you join the palms of the
hands above the top of the head, and you visualize your body as a five
prong golden vajra. In the
center of the vajra you visualize your mind as a blue HUM, and you
think that from the bindu at the
top of the HUM lots of blue HUMS emerge and come out of your body, the
golden vajra, and fill the
entire universe with HUMS. Then you think; they return and come
together into one cubic size HUM, in
the space in front of you. Then you think from the HUM, in the center
of the vajra, which is somewhat
identified with your heart, more HUMS come out and this time they fill
your body. While doing this
recite three long HUMS, and then after that, for the rest of the time
you do short HUMS, recited in
groups of three.
The final part of the preliminaries done after that is called the
natural settling of body, speech and
mind. So after doing all of these you then rest your mind without any
contrivance or artifice in
primordial purity, which means you return to the Trekcho or break
through practice that you did
earlier.
The practice of breakthrough or Trekcho is the basis for the teachings
and practice of the six lamps,
which constitute the path of the leap over. The practice of Togel in
itself has two aspects, the
preliminaries and the main practice.
Now we come to the presentation of the actual practice, which is
called the introduction of the six
lamps. The use of the term lamp, or torch, connotes or denotes
something that dispels darkness. What
we are trying to do in our practice is recognize a direct experience
of the Dharmata, or nature of all
dharmas or things. This is of course the nature of our own mind.
Principally we recognize it by
looking at our own mind. The first thing you can say about your own
mind is that it is emptiness
because it is empty of any substantial existence. If that was all the
mind was, just emptiness and it
was nothing, then we could not call the mind, or the nature of the
mind, a lamp. It would not have the
capacity to dispel darkness; in fact it would be darkness itself.
While your mind’s nature is
emptiness, it is not obscurity or darkness, it is illumination. Along
with the mind’s emptiness, the
other character that defines the mind is cognitive lucidity or
awareness. So here the first use of the
term lamp is to refer to the nature of your mind, which is like a
lamp, in being the unity of
cognitive lucidity and emptiness.
There are six aspects to this lamp or the illuminating quality of ones
basic nature. The first is
called the abiding lamp of the ground. This is what was pointed out in
the chapter which introduced
Mahamudra and Trekcho or breakthrough. Any sentient being by
definition has a mind. Any being that has
a mind possesses the same fundamental nature. All minds are of the
same nature and this nature is
emptiness, not obscurity. It is an emptiness that is inseparability
from lucidity. This lucidity which
is the defining characteristic of a mind, or of cognition, is at the
same time the innate ability to
achieve the perfect wisdom of buddhahood, the innate ability to
realize the nature of all things.
Therefore, this lucidity, which characterizes any and all minds, is
called Sugatagarba or the seed or
nature of those who have gone to bliss. Now the term sugata refers to
a buddha and it means those who
have gone to bliss, those who no longer are remaining in a state of
suffering. When it is said we all
possess the basic nature of that, it means we all possess the ability
to transcend suffering, the
ability to achieve buddahood. So cognitive lucidity in and of itself
is the seed of the potential to
achieve and the ability to achieve awakening. And this is so because
we always have this as our basic
nature.
The first of the six lamps, the abiding lamp of the ground, is in a
sense an explanation or common to
Togel and Trekcho. The others are uncommon, in that they are only
explained or pointed out in the
contents of Togel instruction. Now Dharmata, the nature of things, if
you look at it from the point of
view of its vastness in scope is literally the nature of all things.
Therefore it is all pervasive.
But the root of Dharmata is the mind and therefore the primary
observation of Dharmata is in one’s own
mind.
We saw before that the mind has two aspects, what it is or how it
really is, and what it appears to be
or how it appears. In terms of how the mind appears, the mind appears
to reside in the body. The way
we experience is our appearing to be a resident of our body. This
means that while Dharmata is all
pervasive, because it is the nature of mind and because the mind
appears to reside within the body,
Dharmata is most apparent within your body. Now your mind pervades
your whole body, but especially the
mind itself.
In the primordial wisdom of the sugatas, the principle mind is seated
within the heart. Therefore, the
second lamp is called the citta flesh lamp. So the heart is the lamp
made of flesh or living tissue.
The reason for this is that, as we saw earlier, while you are alive
the fundamental seat of the eighth
consciousness is your heart. Now when you die and your mind leaves
your body, that’s a whole different
thing. Your body becomes a corpse. But as long as you are alive, your
body and mind are
interconnected. Therefore, the second lamp is the heart, which is the
seat of mind.
The third lamp is called the smooth white channel lamp. This is the
channel which connects the heart
to the eyes. The eyes are the fourth lamp and the third lamp is the
channel that connects these two.
It is this channel that causes the appearances of Dharmata, seated in
the heart to be visible. In
order to be visible obviously they have to appear to the eyes and the
connection between the heart and
eyes is called the smooth white channel lamp. Now it is a channel, but
it is a channel that does not
contain either blood or lymph. It is empty of everything except wind.
For example, in some Dzogchen
tantras it says, “It is in the white place of the brain that the
appearances arise to the senses.”
This refers to the vision of the eyes because this channel passing
from the heart, the smooth white
channel lamp, passes via or through the brain.
The fourth lamp is called the distant lasso water lamp. This refers to
something that is in the center
of the eyes. Because you can see things that are distant, its called
the distant lasso water because
of the composition of the eye. It refers, not to the entire eye, but
to the sense faculty within the
eye that is at the end of the smooth white channel lamp. The smooth
white channel lamp starts at the
heart and ends at the optic nerve.
The fourth lamp is the gate for the appearance of wisdom. The wisdom,
in this case, refers to the
display of Dharmata and the condition for its appearance is the use of
the eyes in a particular way,
or gaze, in connection with a source of light. Traditionally the sun
is given as the main example but
it can also be the light of the moon, an electric light, or a light
from a flame. Through the
application of gaze you cause to appear to the fourth lamp, or in the
fourth lamp, the eyes, a rainbow
like light phenomenon. This embodies the purity of the Dharmakaya and
the five certainties of the
Sambhogakaya, initially appearing as multi colored light and circles
of light. The gate for that
appearance is the distant lasso water lamp. When you do this and apply
the gaze and make use of the
four lamps explained thus far, what you will see looks something like
the tail of a peacock which
contains circles, which are often five different colors; one
surrounding another like circular shields
used in warfare.
What you are seeing with the fourth lamp is the fifth lamp which is
called the pure lamp of the
expanse. Here it is called the pure lamp of Dharmadhatu. Through the
meeting of the fourth and fifth
lamps you experience the spontaneous display of the nature of all
things. This means that what you are
seeing is not a created or composite physical phenomenon. Within the
rays of light, which are created
by the gaze, you see not only large circles or spheres but lots of
minute or little ones, like a net
of pearls or little drops like fish eyes, and sometimes they appear in
moving patterns of lattice
networks. That aspect of what you are seeing is the appearance of the
unceasing activity of
Nirmanakaya. What you experience is called the display of the Trikaya
in the form of rainbow lights;
they are the unlimited display of the same nature; the Dharmata. What
you are seeing are the three
kayas as the unified appearances. Know that they appear in different
ways; know that in reality the
different modes of appearances of the three embodiments are in essence
indivisible from reality
itself.
The way you do this is by using a light source and in this text the
example used is the sun. Usually
you use the sun as soon as it has arisen or as it sets. But, whenever
you do it, it has to be done in
a certain way for this to work and for it to be safe.
First thing, you do not look at the sun. You are not trying to get the
direct light of the sun into
your eyes. Nor do you look at the rays of the sun in the usual sense,
as the sun has rays coming out
of it. What you do is look one cubit below the sun, some distance from
it, and you cause the
appearance of rays by squinting. By closing your eyes half way you
adjust them exactly as to how much
you close them, to what or how much you need to, in order to generate
the appearance of rays. When
this happens, one of the things that occurs is you cause the
appearance of refractions of the light,
so that it appears in different colors. The squinting of the eyes
causes the rays of light to appear
like aligned weapons, like parallel spears, which seem like a downpour
of weapons shooting into
oneself at your heart.
This one aspect of this training, and one benefit of this, is that you
prepare yourself for the
appearances of the bardo. Because, in the bardo after death the light
of wisdom appears in part as
brilliant rays of light that you perceive as threatening, as weapons,
as something that you have to be
afraid of. So one thing you are doing in this practice is learning to
recognize such phenomena as your
own display and not as something coming from outside yourself.
When you do this you see five colors of light. The five colors of
light are considered the display of
emptiness. The reason that you see the five colors is because in the
impure context or form, we
experience the five poisons, attachment, aversion, pride, jealously
and apathy. If they are recognized
in their pure nature, these are the five wisdoms, which are
inseparable from the five buddhas. In the
impure context we experience the five aggregates, form, sensation,
perception, mental formation and
consciousness. In the pure form they are the five buddhas; Varochana,
Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava,
Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi. In the impure contents we experience the
five elements. Blue light is the
element of space, white light of water, yellow light of earth, red
light of fire and green light of
air. In their pure form they are the five female buddhas. The dark
blue light is Akasadhatvisvari; the
white light is Buddhalocana; the yellow light is Mamaki; the red light
is Pandaravasini and the green
light is Samayatara.
The five colors of light are the five families in nature, white sugata
family; blue vajra family;
yellow ratna family; red padma; and green karma. But if they are
unrecognized, they are the five winds
which give rise to the five physical elements. Again, if unrecognized,
they are the five directions;
the center, south, west, east and north. If their nature is recognized
they are the five pure realms.
If unrecognized they are the five maras; the mara of the lord of
death, means everyone is subject to
death which of course interrupts their practice. The mara of the
aggregates refers to the physical
body, encased in this material human body subject to its changes. The
klesha mara or mara of
disturbing emotions is to be caught up in these emotions, as all
sentient beings are. The mara of the
child of the gods is the demon of seduction. It is our inner voice
that whispers to oneself and gives
wrong advice, such as, there is something more interesting than
practicing. Do it later, tomorrow,
next week or next month. If recognized they are the five wrathful
deities, vajra heruka, ratna heruka,
and so forth.
The technique just presented using the creation of appearances of rays
from a light source, such as
the sun, is called the ‘introduction to rays.’ The appearances are
classified as light rays and sound.
Another instruction that is given is called the ‘introduction to
squeezing the oceans.’ The word
‘oceans’ is referring to the eyes and this is the technique where you
squeeze or press on your eyes
with your fingers, and by doing so you see light. The light that you
see is said to be the display of
the wisdom light of the peaceful deities in your heart. In order to
see this particular light you have
to squeeze quite hard. So don’t do it for very long.
The third one which is connected to sound is called ‘the introduction
to the waves of the ocean.’ This
one, with your fingers, you block the ears by pressing on them. First
very indistinct and then
progressively louder and louder, you hear a hum or humming, that is
said to be the nature sound of
Dharmata.Now the point of all these techniques is to use the
appearance as a means for realizing the
nature itself, or Dharmata. You can also do this by remaining in
complete darkness. Generally speaking
the techniques that use light are called instructions or guidance in
brightness and the ones that
depend on darkness are called the instruction in darkness.
These appearances can arise through meditation practice using these
techniques or they also happen
after you die in the bardo. When these appearances arise in the bardo
they constitute the sixth lamp,
which is called the ‘bardo lamp of time.’ Although in the bardo the
appearances of light and sound are
far more intense then what you experience through practice in this
life. Nevertheless, through
familiarization with this phenomenon in this life in practice, you
gain the ability not to be
intimidated by these appearances through your recognition of them as
empty display.
Now the part of the bardo or the phase of the bardo, in which these
things appear, is called the
‘bardo of Dharmata.’ When you are dying, what is called the life wind
is gradually weakening. Now, it
is the life wind that keeps you alive, and the life wind also keeps
the white element, which you have
inherited from your father in place at the top of your body; and the
red element that you have
inherited from your mother in place in the lower abdomen. As the life
wind becomes weaker and
weakening, these two start to move. It is as though the wind has a
pressure that keeps these elements
in place. As the life wind starts to become more and more impaired the
white element, inherited from
your father, descends from the top of your head downward through your
body, you experience an all
encompassing whiteness. As the red element inherited from your mother
begins to move upward from the
lower abdomen, you experience an all encompassing redness. When the
life wind is no longer
functioning, then these two elements meet at the heart and encapsulate
the seed of the mind within the
heart causing an experience of all encompassing blackness, or darkness.
Immediately after that there is an experience of emptiness, an
experience of the nature of all things,
just as it is, without any other appearances or other factors
interfering with it. That initial
experience of emptiness and what happens immediately after that, is
called the ‘bardo Dharmata,’
because it is the display or experience of the nature of things itself.
If you have become familiar with the nature of things through
meditation, in the preceding life, then
there will be no difference between the Dharmata that you have
experience and the Dharmata that
presents itself to you at that point and being able to recognize the
present Dharmata. Because of your
experience with it in practice is called the ‘meeting of the mother
and child Dharmatas.’ The mother
is what arises for everyone, and the child is what you have cultivated
and familiarized in practice.
So in that way through practice you are able to recognize the nature,
then you remain in that
recognition in the state of samadhi for sometime. If you do not
recognize it, then that brief glimpse
of emptiness ceases and you start to see the appearances of the clear
light such as the peaceful and
wrathful deities, lights and sounds and so on. It is at that point
that familiarity with these,
through meditating on the lights, circles and the forms of deities
will be of benefit.
In Trekcho and essence Mahamudra the main point is to be able to rest
in and sustain the continuity of
the view. When practicing Togel while maintaining the view, one uses
whatever manifests as an
adornment in the sense of acknowledging that all the different
experiences are actually the display or
manifestation of innate wakefulness.
If you have the habit of meditating on this aspect of The Great
Perfection, then you can achieve
liberation at that point in the bardo. So therefore, at this point,
Karma Chagmey Rinpoche says, “In
order to prepare for that aspect of the after death experience, you
should regularly gaze at light in
this way.” He also says, “If you do this assiduously you will see
truly wondrous things.” He cautions
us at this point. He says, “Make no mistake what you are seeing when
you do this authentically is not
like looking at a rainbow that appears in the sky. It is not external
light in that way, because it is
the spontaneous display of the five families. Therefore, when you see
these five color rays of light,
it is no different from seeing the five Buddhas themselves.” He
concludes, “If you have purified karma
you will actually see the forms of deities, peaceful deities like
Avalokiteshvara, Amitabha and Guru
Rinpoche, wrathful deities, like Hayagriva, and so on.”
The practice, of course, consists of the common preliminaries, the
four thoughts, the uncommon preliminaries, the practice of generation
and completion of Mahamudra and the Dzogchen practices of Trekcho and
Togel. So at this point he presents a way to apply these as an on
going practice. First of all, whatever you practice you must insure
that you don’t do it for your own benefit alone. At the beginning of
any session of practice clarify concisely your motivation for doing
it. Recollect that there are innumerable beings who are suffering
intensely, who lack the happiness that they seek. So resolve that
whatever practice that you do, whatever virtuous actions that you
perform will be done for their benefit. In that way, before the
session begins, generate bodhicitta. Then at the beginning of the
session briefly recollect in sequence the four thoughts which turns
the mind and then briefly meditate in sequence on the uncommon
preliminaries; each of the four or five, if refuge and bodhicitta are
considered separate uncommon preliminaries. For the main practice
visualize yourself as Chenrezig, as instructed in the text, and
visualize the Buddha Amitabha present above your head as the lord of
your family. Then think that Amitabha is the embodiment of all the
root and lineage gurus and in order to reinforce that thought, invite
all the root and lineage gurus, including all of the siddhas of India
and Tibet, and cause them to dissolve into Amitabha. Next invite all
of the yidams which you are connected with, such as Vajrasattva,
whomever, invite all of them and dissolve them into yourself as
Chenrezig.
Then visualize the seed syllable HRIH in your heart and the six
syllable mantra OM MANI PADME HUNG surrounding it. Reflect upon the
fact that the mantra is the essence mantra of all yidams without
exception. Now the reason for this recollection of Amitabha as the
embodiment of all gurus and Chenrezig as the embodiment of all yidams,
and his mantra as the embodiment of all essence mantras, is so while
doing this one practice you can be simultaneously accomplishing all
gurus, all yidams, and all mantras. Think that rays of light from the
syllable HRIH and its surrounding mantra in your heart emerge filling
the entire universe which is transformed into the realm of Sukhavati.
These rays of light also strike all beings, transforming each and
every one of them into the bodhisattva Chenrezig, resting in the
attitude that the entire universe is Sukhavati, and all beings within
it are Chenrezig. It is the maintenance of the first of what are
called the three barings, and this is the baring or outlook of all
appearances as the body or presence of the deity.
After that commence the repetition of the mantra OM MANI PADME HUNG,
and while you recite it, think that simultaneously all beings in the
form of Chenrezig recite the mantra along with you. Contemplating
that, while reciting the mantra, is the practice of the second baring
or outlook, which is the attitude that all sound is the speech or
mantra of the deity. The particular value of this is that by
contemplating, without distraction, that all beings without exception
recite the mantra along with you, every single mantra that you recite
is the equivalent of billions of mantras. After the recitation, then
look at your mind and whatever thoughts arise, good or bad, simply
look at them without distraction and without any attempt to alter
them. Practicing that is the third baring, the attitude that all
thoughts and memories are the mind or wisdom of the deity. In that
way, you practice what is called the three fold baring.
The third part of the three fold baring is the outlook that all
thoughts and recollections are the mind of the deity includes the
practice of Mahamudra and the Trekcho aspect of the practice of the
Great Perfection. In that way, the practice of the three fold baring,
appearances as the deity’s presence, sound as the deity’s speech or
mantra and thoughts and recollections as the deity’s mind or wisdom,
includes the practice of the generation stage, the completion stage
and their unity. As to how to perform these, you can practice all
three barings simultaneously. In that way, you have one simple
practice which includes all the essential points. But if that is
difficult, you can also practice them in sequence as they were
explained here.
Now in addition to this Chagmey Rinpoche says: “At sunrise and sunset
or if you don’t use the sun, when you have access to a suitable
electric light or candle, do the Togel practice of gazing at the rays
and when you first arise in the morning and the last thing before you
go to sleep at night practice Tonglen, taking and sending. This is the
taking of the suffering of others and the giving to them of your
happiness, in coordination with the breathing. Finally, just before
you go to sleep, dedicate all of the virtue you have accumulated
during that day to the awakening of all beings with the aspiration
that all beings achieve buddhahood without impediment as quickly as
possible. In addition, from time to time, make the aspiration to be
reborn in the pure realm of Sukhavati. If you practice all of this in
a relatively simple and concise format you have a complete practice of
dharma.
The ideal dedication is one which you are free of the idea that the
dedication exists, the dedicated virtue exists and the recipient of
the dedication exists. But you might ask, how do you do this? The best
way is to rest in the state of practice without straying and remain
looking at the nature of your own mind, without straying from that
recognition, dedicate the virtue to all beings.
Every time you practice, every time you contemplate these things and
every time you listen to them, seeds or habits are imprinted in you
all-basis consciousness, habits of generation stage practice,
completion stage practice, Mahamudra, and so on. So you are very
fortunate to have exposure to these things, to practice these things,
to gain experience of these things. Recollecting that even when it
becomes difficult, maintain an attitude of confidence, enthusiasm and
devotion. In short practice as much as you can.
