Teachings and Practice of Tibetan Tantra
128
Teachings and Practice of Tibetan Tantra
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| ISBN-13: | 9780486166766 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Dover Publications |
| Publication date: | 02/21/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| File size: | 790 KB |
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Teachings and Practice of Tibetan Tantra
By Garma C.C. Chang
Dover Publications, Inc.
Copyright © 2004 Dover Publications, Inc.All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-486-16676-6
CHAPTER 1
Part I
The Teaching of Mahamudra
The Song of Mahamudra
by Tilopa
Mahamudra is beyond all words
And symbols, but for you, Naropa,
Earnest and loyal, must this be said.
The Void needs no reliance,
Mahamudra rests on nought.
Without making an effort,
But remaining loose and natural,
One can break the yoke
Thus gaining Liberation.
If one sees nought when staring into space,
If with the mind one then observes the mind,
One destroys distinctions
And reaches Buddhahood.
The clouds that wander through the sky
Have no roots, no home; nor do the distinctive
Thoughts floating through the mind.
Once the Self-mind is seen,
Discrimination stops.
In space shapes and colors form,
But neither by black nor white is space tinged.
From the Self-mind all things emerge, the mind
By virtues and by vices is not stained.
The darkness of ages cannot shroud
The glowing sun; the long kalpas
Of Samsara ne'er can hide
The Mind's brilliant light.
Though words are spoken to explain the Void,
The Void as such can never be expressed.
Though we say "the mind is a bright light,"
It is beyond all words and symbols.
Although the mind is void in essence,
All things it embraces and contains.
Do nought with the body but relax,
Shut firm the mouth and silent remain,
Empty your mind and think of nought.
Like a hollow bamboo
Rest at ease your body.
Giving not nor taking,
Put your mind at rest.
Mahamudra is like a mind that clings to nought.
Thus practicing, in time you will reach Buddhahood.
The practice of Mantra and Paramita,
Instruction in the Sutras and Precepts,
And teaching from the Schools and Scriptures
will not bring
Realization of the Innate Truth.
For if the mind when filled with some desire
Should seek a goal, it only hides the Light.
He who keeps Tantric Precepts
Yet discriminates, betrays
The spirit of Samaya.
Cease all activity, abandon
All desire, let thoughts rise and fall
As they will like the ocean waves.
He who never harms the Non-abiding
Nor the Principle of Non-distinction,
Upholds the Tantric Precepts.
He who abandons craving
And clings not to this or that,
Perceives the real meaning
Given in the Scriptures.
In Mahamudra all one's sins are burned;
In Mahamudra one is released
From the prison of this world.
This is the Dharma's supreme torch.
Those who disbelieve it
Are fools who ever wallow
In misery and sorrow.
To strive for Liberation
One should rely on a Guru.
When your mind receives his blessing
Emancipation is at hand.
Alas, all things in this world are meaningless,
They are but sorrow's seeds.
Small teachings lead to acts;
One should only follow
Teachings that are great.
To transcend duality
Is the Kingly View;
To conquer distractions is
The Royal Practice;
The Path of No-practice
Is the Way of Buddhas;
He who treads that Path
Reaches Buddhahood.
Transient is this world;
Like phantoms and dreams,
Substance it has none.
Renounce it and forsake your kin,
Cut the strings of lust and hatred,
Meditate in woods and mountains.
If without effort you remain
Loosely in the "natural state,"
Soon Mahamudra you will win
And attain the Non-attainment.
Cut the root of a tree
And the leaves will wither;
Cut the root of your mind
And Samsara falls.
The light of any lamp
Dispels in a moment
The darkness of long kalpas;
The strong light of the mind
In but a flash will burn
The veil of ignorance.
Whoever clings to mind sees not
The truth of what's Beyond the mind.
Whoever strives to practice Dharma
Finds not the truth of Beyond-practice.
To know what is Beyond both mind and practice,
One should cut cleanly through the root of mind
And stare naked. One should thus break away
From all distinctions and remain at ease.
One should not give or take
But remain natural,
For Mahamudra is beyond
All acceptance and rejection.
Since the Alaya is not born,
No one can obstruct or soil it;
Staying in the "Unborn" realm
All appearance will dissolve
Into the Dharmata, all self-will
And pride will vanish into nought.
The supreme Understanding transcends
All this and that. The supreme Action
Embraces great resourcefulness
Without attachment. The supreme
Accomplishment is to realize
Immanence without hope.
At first a yogi feels his mind
Is tumbling like a waterfall;
In mid-course, like the Ganges
It flows on slow and gentle;
In the end, it is a great
Vast ocean, where the Lights
Of Son and Mother merge in one.
The Vow of Mahamudra
by Garmapa Rangjang Dorje
(1)
In the Mandala I see the Guru, Yidam, and Holy Beings,
In all times and directions I see the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas,
With deep sincerity to you all I pray;
Pray bless my good wishes with Accomplishment!
(2)
The good deeds of mind and body
And the virtues of all beings
Are pure and clear streams from the Snow Mountain.
In freedom may they flow down to the sea
Of the Four Bodies of Buddhahood.
(3)
Through all my lives in future times
May I not hear words like
"Pain" and "sin." May I always
Share joy and goodness
In the vast Dharma sea.
(4)
May I always have leisure, faith, diligence, and wisdom,
Meet good Gurus and receive their Pith-Instructions.
In my practice may I never meet
With hindrances, but e'er enjoy
The Dharma in my future lives.
(5)
May the Rational and Holy Judgements
Liberate me from ignorance; may
The Pith-Instructions destroy all doubt
And darkness. Through the light of meditation
May I vividly behold the naked Truth,
And kindle the Light of the Three Wisdoms!
(6)
The Principle is the Two-Truths beyond
The views of positive and negative;
The Path is the spiritual preparation
Outstripping both increase and decrease;
The Accomplishment is the Two-Benefits
Transcending both Samsara and Nirvana.
May I always meet with these right
Teachings throughout my future lives!
(7)
Mind-Essence is void and radiant—
The real source of Two-in-One.
The diamond-cutter Mahamudra
Purifies. The purified
Are ignorance and vices-
Momentary confusions.
May I attain the immaculate Dharmakaya—
The fruit of being purified.
(8)
The View of Mahamudra is to add
Nothing to Mind's nature. Being mindful
Of this View, without distraction, is the
Essence of Practice. Of all practices,
This is the supreme one. May I attain
The Teaching of the View and Practice.
(9)
All forms are but expressions of one's mind;
The mind is of no-mind and void in nature.
Though void, 'tis not extinct,
But manifests all things.
May I always observe this Truth
And attain a decisive View.
(10)
Confused, self-manifestations that are void
We deem to be real objects and outside ourselves;
We hold self-awareness
To be our true Ego.
Because of these Two Clingings,
Men wander in Samsara.
O, may I cut off
The root blindness!
(11)
"Nothing really is!" For even
Buddha no existence sees.
"All is not empty!" For Nirvana
And Samsara do exist.
This wondrous Middle Way of Two-in-One is neither
In harmony nor conflict. O, may I realize
The Self-mind which is free from all discriminations.
(12)
No one can describe That by saying "It is this!"
No one can deny That by saying "It's not this!"
This non-being of the real Dharma
Which transcends the realm of Consciousness-
May I understand it
With deep conviction.
(13)
Blind to This, one wanders in Samsara;
Seeing This, there is no other Buddha.
In the final Truth, there is neither this, nor that.
May I realize the Dharma-nature-
The meaning and Origin of all!
(14)
Manifestation is mind;
And so is Voidness too.
Enlightenment is mind;
And so is blindness too.
The emergence and extinction
Of things are also in one's mind.
May I understand that all and everything
Inhere only in the mind.
(15)
Unsullied by intended practice and by efforts,
And apart from worldly influence and distractions,
May I rest at ease in mind's natural state
And learn the subtle teaching of Mind-practice.
(16)
Strong and weak, clear and dim,
The waves of flowing thoughts subside.
Without disturbance the mind-river gently flows.
Far from the mud of drowsiness and distractions,
May I enter the steady ocean of Samadhi!
(17)
Often I contemplate the incontemplatable
Mind, clearly I discern Truth indiscernable.
Ever may I eliminate the doubts of "Yes" and "No,"
With certainty may I behold my own Self-face!
(18)
Observing outer objects, I find but my own mind;
Observing my mind, I find only Voidness;
Observing both mind and objects,
I am freed from the Two Clingings.
May I realize the Self-nature of the illuminating mind!
(19)
Because That transcends the mind,
It is the Great Symbol called;
Because That frees from the extremes,
It is called the Great Middle Way;
Because That embraces all,
It is called the Great Perfection;
May I ever understand that knowing one is knowing all.
(20)
Because of no attachment, the Great
Bliss continuously arises.
Free from clinging, the radiant Light
Outshines hindrances and shade.
May I practice without ceasing this Practice-of-no-effort,
Which is free, beyond thought, and self-sustaining.
(21)
The craving for ecstasy and good experience on its own dissolves;
Confusions and evil thoughts are self-purified in the Dharmadhatu;
The ordinary mind has no acceptance or rejection, no loss or gain;
May I ever realize the truth of Dharma-nature -
That which is far beyond all playwords.
(22)
Not knowing that their Self-nature
Is identical with Buddha's,
Sentient beings ever wander in Samsara.
Toward all creatures bound by sorrow
Who suffer infinite pain
May I always have true pity,
Through great, unbearable compassion.
(23)
When this compassion rises, the great Voidness
Also becomes vivid in its nakedness.
This clear and supreme Path that's Two-in-One,
Day and night may I ever follow it.
(24)
May I use clairvoyance and like
Powers gained through meditation,
To ripen sentient beings,
To serve all Buddhas and their Lands.
May I fulfill the great wishes of the Enlightened Ones,
And quickly attain supreme and perfect Buddhahood.
(25)
Great is the power of all virtues in the Universe,
Great is the power of Buddha and Bodhisattvas'
Compassions.
With the support of this great might,
And guided by the Light of Dharma,
May all my good wishes be fulfilled
Readily, and those of others.
The Essentials of Mahamudra Practice
As Given by the Venerable Lama Kong Ka
LAMA KONG KA SAID:
"To practice this Mahamudra meditation one should first be initiated by a qualified Guru. The purpose of Mahamudra initiation is to make the disciple recognize the illuminating-void Awarness of his Self-mind. Only after recognizing this intrinsic 'awareness-without-content' can the disciple practice Mahamudra correctly. Until he has done so, he will find it difficult to escape from the subject-object entanglement and to elevate his mind to the state of non-distinction and non-attachment. To deepen this illuminating-void Awareness, he should practice often the essential instructions given below.
"He who can rest his mind in pure Self-awareness without distraction will be able to do anything. To practice Mahamudra he should stop discriminating, abandon habitual thoughts of 'accept this' and 'reject that,' and strive to reach a state where Samadhi and activities become one. Until he has done so, he should stress quiet meditation first, and then as a subsidiary exercise apply his Mahamudra-awareness to his daily activities."
* * *
"There are three essentials in the Mahamudra practice: equilibrium, relaxation, and naturalness.
"'Equilibrium' means to balance body, mouth, and mind. The Mahamudra way of balancing the body is to loosen it, of balancing the mouth is to slow down the breathing, and of balancing the mind is not to cling to and rely on anything.
"This is the supreme way to tame the body, breath [prana], and mind.
"'Relaxation' means to loosen the mind, to let everything go, to strip off all ideas and thoughts. When one's whole body and mind become loose, one can, without effort, remain in the natural state, which is intrinsically non-discriminative and yet without distractions.
"'Naturalness' means not 'taking' or 'leaving' anything: in other words the yogi does not make the slightest effort of any kind. He lets the senses and mind stop or flow by themselves without assisting or restricting them. To practice naturalness is to make no effort and be spontaneous.
"The above can be summarized thus:
The essence of equilibrium is not to cling.
The essence of relaxation is not to hold.
The essence of naturalness is to make no effort."
THE FIVE SIMILES OF MAHAMUDRA EXPERIENCE
"There are five similes which describe the correct experience of Mahamudra:
A sphere which is vast like infinite space.
Awareness omnipresent like the great earth.
A mind steady as a mountain.
Self-realizing Awareness clear and bright like a lamp.
Pure consciousness, crystal clear and empty of discriminating thoughts.
"Mahamudra experience can also be described thus:
Like a cloudless sky, the sphere is broad and free from obstruction.
Like a waveless ocean, the mind is steady without discriminating thoughts.
Like a bright lamp on a windless night, the consciousness is clear, bright, and stable."
* * *
"To practice Mahamudra, keep both mind and body loose and gentle without straining to do so; stop doubting and worrying, and remain balanced.
"In practicing Mahamudra, identify all that you encounter with the 'unborn Void' and remain natural and relaxed."
* * *
"To keep the body loose and gentle does not imply completely abandoning all activities, but that these activities should be carried out in a smooth, relaxed, and spontaneous way.
"To keep the mind loose and gentle does not imply making it dumb or insensible, but that one should try to further and sharpen its bright awareness.
"To identify everything with the Unborn Void means that he who has realized Self-awareness and is able to sustain it, should then try to let everything he meets and experiences liberate itself into the Voidness."
THE FIVE WAYS OF STRAYING FROM MAHAMUDRA
"(1) One is liable to misconstrue Voidness as an annulment of both virtues and vices if he does not know that existence and Voidness are, in essence, identical, and this includes all moral truths and laws. This misunderstanding is straying from the View of Mahamudra. On the other hand, if one only has some sort of understanding of this truth, but cannot experience it intimately, he is said to have strayed from the realization of Mahamudra.
"(2) If one does not know that Mahamudra practice [the Path] is, in essence, not different from Mahamudra accomplishment [the Fruit] and that all the wondrous merits are contained in the practice itself, he is liable to think that practice comes first and Realization follows, so that Enlightenment is a product of the practice. This is perhaps true on the everyday level, but as far as the View is concerned, he is said to have gone astray.
"(3) If one can make a genuine effort in Mahamudra practice but does not have immutable faith in the teaching itself, he is liable to cherish a 'hidden' hope that some day he may attain a teaching that is superior even to Mahamudra. This is also a sign of straying from Mahamudra.
"(4) He who knows not that the cure and the cured are, in essence, the same, is liable to cling to the idea that the Dharma-practice [the cure] and the desire-passions [the cured, or that which is to be cured] are two absolutely different things. This is also straying from the View of Mahamudra.
(5) In Mahamudra practice, there is always a tendency on the yogi's part to make too many corrections. He who finds himself always trying to correct faults is most likely to have strayed from the Path."
THE THREE MAJOR EXPERIENCES OF MAHAMUDRA
"In the course of meditation practice, three major experiences will be encountered. They are: Blissfulness, Illumination, and Non-distinction.
"(1) In the experience of Blissfulness some people feel that a great rapture envelops the whole body and does not decrease even in adverse circumstances, such as in extremely cold or hot weather. Some may feel that both body and mind disappear, that they are extremely joyful —and they often burst into laughter. Some may feel full of inspiration and enthusiasm, or extremely peaceful, contented, and happy. The ecstasy may become so great and intense that they become unconscious of day and night.
"(2) In the experience of Non-distinction, some may feel that all things become empty, or may see the void nature of the world; others experience all things as devoid of self-entity, or that both body and mind are non-existent; while yet others really understand the truth of Voidness [Sunyata]."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Teachings and Practice of Tibetan Tantra by Garma C.C. Chang. Copyright © 2004 Dover Publications, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Title Page,Copyright Page,
Introduction,
Foreword,
Glossary,
Part I - The Teaching of Mahamudra,
The Song of Mahamudra,
The Vow of Mahamudra,
The Essentials of Mahamudra Practice,
NOTES,
Part II - The Epitome of an Introduction to the Six Yogas of Naropa,
The Epitome of an Introduction to the Profound Path of the Six Yogas of Naropa,