V AJJRA H:EART

TUli(U URGl'1EN RINPOCHE

Compiled by Marcia B. Schmidt

Translated by Erik Perna Kunsang

Edited by Wayne and Judith Amtzis

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CorYRIGHT (!) 1988, 1991, 1994 TULKU URGYEN RINrOCHE

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COVER ()~SIGN BRIGID RYAN

THE VAJRA IIEART IS THE SF.COND BOOK IN THE

GUiiYA·GARIIHA SERIES OF TRANSLATIONS FOR

RESTRICTED CIRCULATION. OTHER TITLES

INCLUDE FLIGHT OF THE GARUDA, THE CIRCLE OF

THF. SUN, AND CRYSTAL CAVE.

CONTENTS

Prefou 9 Introduction 11

Brief Life History 19

History of Dzogchen 27

Pointing-out Instruction 35

Preliminary Teachings 47

Wake-up Practice 61

Development Stage 71

Recitation 83

Torma 95

Shamatha and Vipashyana 103

Experiences 115

No Sessions, No Breaks 123

Stability 131

Glossary 141

"All the conditioned and unconditioned merit, however much tbere may be, I dedicate in tbe even and open space of dharmata. "

-Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

PRJEFACJE

Over the past few years various Western Dharma students have had the good fortune to meet and present their questions and doubts to the Venerable Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Rinpoche in return has always responded with the compassionate brilliance of a great teacher. Slowly it has become apparent that to keep many of these teachings for a small group of friends is a bit selfish. What then followed was a careful selection of topics suitable for a wider audience.

The collection presented in Vajra Htart is meant for the beginner as well as the advanced practitioner. This collection lays out a graduated path that can be followed in the course of a day or a lifetime. The skillful method of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche's teaching is to never separate any practice or activity from the view

9

VAJRA HEART

of Dzogchen. Rinpoche himself especially wants to make people

understand the importance of receiving the pointing out

instruction and the necessity of requesting it from a qualified

master.

Vajra !I tart would never have been. possible without the translation skills of Erik Perna Kunsang and the editorial talents of Wayne and Judith Amtzis. Nor would it have come to life without the efforts of Mim Coulstock, Abraham Zablocki and Phinjo

Sherpa. I pray this offering may benefit all who come into contact with it.

Marcia B. Schmidt

10

INTRODUCTION

Tulku Urgyen

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche was born in eastern Tibet on the tenth day of the fourth Tibetan month in 1920. He was re-cognized by H. H. Khakyab Dorje, the 15th G)'alwang Karmapa, as the reincarnation of the Guru Chowang Tulku, as well as the emanation of Nubchen Sanbrye Yeshe, one of the chief disciples of Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava. Guru Chowang the First (1212-70 AD) was one of the five Tenon Kings, the major revealcrs of secret texts hidden by Guru Padmasambhava.

Tulku Urgyen's main monastery was Lachab Gompa in Nang-chen, Eastern Tibet. He has studied and practiced the teachings of both the Kagyii and Nyingma orders of Tibetan Buddhism. Among the four greater Kagyil Schools, his family line is the main lin~:age holder of the Barom Kagyti Lint":lgc.

II

VAJRA IIEART

In the Nyingma tradition, Tulku Urgycn holds the complete teachings of the last century's three great masters: Terchcn Chok-gyur Lingpa, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Kongtrul Lodro Thaye. He has an especially close transmission for the Chok/ing Ttrsar. a compilation of all the empowerments, textual aUlhoriza-tions and oral instructions of Padmasambhava's teachings, which were rediscovered by T ere hen Chokgyur Lingpa, his great-grand-father. Rinpoche recently passed on this tradition to the major regents of the Karma Kagyii lineage as well as to many other promising young tulkus.

Tulku Urgyen has established several monasteries and retreat centers in Nepal. The most important ones in the Kathmandu region are at Boudhanath, the site of the Great Stupa, and at the Asura Cave, where Padmasambhava manifested the Mahamudra Vid>•adhara level. He lives at Nagi Gompa Hermitage above the Kathmandu Valley. He has completed four three-year retreats.

In recent years Rinpoche has been instructing a growing num-ber of Dharma students in essential meditation practice. He is famed for his profound mcdirati\'e realization and for the concise, lucid and humorous style with which he imparts the essence of the Buddhist teachings. His method of teaching is 'instruction through one's own experience.' Using few words, this way of teaching points out the nature of mind, revealing a natural simplicity of wakefulness that enables the student to actually touch the hean of awakened mind.

Sty!~ ofT~aching

As Tulku Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, the oldest son of Tulku Urgycn Rinpoche, explains in his commentary on Karma

12

I NT RODUCTJON

Chagmcy's Union of Ma!Jamudra and Dzogclun there are many ways in which the Buddhadharma can be presemed.

A fully enlightened buddha expounds the Dharma in one way; a noble being, abiding on one of the bodhisattva levels, in another; one who has attained the realization of an arhant in a third; and a learned pandita in yet another. A simple meditator in a mountain retreat teaches with few elabo-rations, while a high lama, a great master sitting on a big throne, teaches the important points of the Dharma in a concise and impressive way. Finally, there is a manner of giving meditation instruction in a direct, simple fashion.

The teachings impancd by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche to his stu-dents which have been recorded in this book belong to the last style of expounding the Dharma. Less concerned with the sys-tematic categories of topics of knowledge or with the logical steps of philosophy, Tulku Urgycn directly addresses the listener's pre-sent state of mind. This approach is rraditionally referred to as the multam vtbiclt of Vajrayana as opposed to the causal vtbiclts of Hinayana and Mahayana.

The over-all background of the Dzogchen teachings, which are tremendously vast and profound, can be condensed into simple statements of immediate relevance to our present state of mind. Some of the terminology used may appear to be impenetrable or above one's head. Most of those terms are found in the glossary at the back. Furthermore, when explained by a qualified master of these teachings in connection with one's individual practice experience, such words as u/ftxisring waktfolntss, rigpa and dbannakaya will take on authentic meaning.

13

The BarciJey Kiinsc/ TeaciJings

A sadhana practice entidcd Bard~ty Kt"imrl is mentioned throughout this book and it seems appropriate to expand a lirde on that cycle of teachings. Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo the First described the Tukdrub Barchey Kunscl cycle of teachings as follows:

This present teaching belongs to the short lineage of Terma. A coumlcss number of different Tcrma uaditions, both the Early and the Later have appeared, bur I will now describe the present one.

Manjushri in person, King Trisong Deutsen, had three sons. The middle prince was Murub Tscpo Yeshc Rolpa Tsal, a master of the tenth bhumi. His reincarnation, authenticated by the triple m!ans of valid knowledge, and extolled by all holy beings, was the indisputably great treasure rc:vealcr and Dharma king, Orgyen Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa, who discovered an ocean-like number of profound termas. These termas were linked wirh the tannic scriptures, established by the logic of fact, adorned with the experience of oral instructions, ar.d endowed with the warmth of wondrous blessings.

Chokgyur Lingpa revealed this terma of Barchcy Ktinsel from beneath the vajra feet of the Great Glorious One at Danyi Khala Rong-Go, the sacred place of the qualities of enlightened body. This was on the tenth day of the waxing moon of the nimh month in the year of the Male Earth Monkey, when he was twenty years of age,

11

INTRODUCTION

Keeping it secret for eight years, he applied it in his own practice. Later on, in connection with a perfect coincidence of time and place, he was accepted by the wisdom body of the glorious Dharma King of Uddiyana and consort, who be-stowed upon him the empowerments and oral instructions as well as special predictions and confirmations. From that time forward, Chokgyur Lingpa gradually let the terma of Lamey Tukdrub Barchey KUnsd flourish.

This terma cycle is the essence of the heart of Padmakara, the Knower of the Three Times, and the most unique treasure concealed under the earth in Tibet. It is like the great treasury of the universal monarch, complc:tdy and unmistak-ably filled with all the means for accomplishing the supreme and common siddhis.

In terms of the sections of T antra, this profound path is based on the Grrat King ofTamras, tht Pracrfol and \flra:hfol Maniftstations of tlu Magical Ntt of tht Vidyadhara Guru, which is the root of blessings belonging to the category of the Eigbt Stctions of tht Magical Ntt. Due to the certainty of oral instructions, there is no conflict in the fact that it also belongs to the category of Lotus Speech among the Eight Sadl:a11a Ttachings.

In short, it is like the extracted essence of the meaning of all development and completion stages as well as the activity applications of the T antra and Sadhana Sections.

Among the numerous sadhanas, instructions and applications of yogic activities contained in the Barchey KUnsc:l cycle, the: most famous and the one Tulku Urro•cn Rinpochc repeatedly refers to, is the guru sadhana known as Tri11lty Nyingpo, the Essence of

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VAJRA HEART

Activity. The empowermem for this practice was among the primary transmi;sions given by H. H. Karmapa, H. H. Dilgo Khyentse and Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche on their first visits to the Western world and to Somhca.'it ASia. Moreover, H. H. the 16th Karmapa practiced the concise form of this sadhana daily through-out his life. h is also one of the first sadhanas which Tulku Urgyen Rinpochc transmits to his students for their individual practice.

As a final note, although our prcscmation of Tulku Urgycn Rinpoche's precious teaching is in many ways imperfect and falls short of his profound, lucid and humorous style, please treat this book with proper respect. Do not leave it casually lying around to be sat upon or stepped over. Put it where its value as the essence of the Buddhadharma is recognized.

Tulku Urgycn Rinpoche personally expressed his wish that this book not be made available as an open publication. When you share it with your friends, please make sure that they have a sincere respect for the Buddhist teachings. This book will, as Rinpoche stated himself, be of benefit to many people.

16

Erik Pmza Kunsang Nagi Gompa, 1988

"Through proper exertion in meditation it is possible to destroy confosion. \Vben confosion falls away, enlightenment is attained. "

BRJIEJF LliFE

((Carry th( burden of tlu doctrine. "

I was born in Kham in Eastern Tibet, in the area called Nang-chen. The Dharma teaching of my family line is called Barom Kagyti. My grandmother, Konchok Paldron, was the daughter of the great tenon Chokgyur Lingpa, so my family line also practices the Nyingma teachings. Since I hold both KagyO and Nyingma lineages, my monastery in Boudhanath is called Ka-Nying

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VAJRA HEART

Shedrub Ling, "The Kagyii and Nyingma Sanctuary for Teaching and Practice."

From when I was quite young until the age of twenty-one, I stayed with my father Tsangsar Chimey Dorje, a Vajrayana master and tantric layman. He was my first teacher and from him I received the transmission for the Kangyur, the entire teachings of the Buddha, and also for the Chokling Tersar, the New Treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa. I later studied with my father's older brother, Tulku Sa1nten Gyarso, from whom I received, among other things, the entire transmission of the Chokling Tersar.

Later I studied with Kyungtriil Karjam, an incredible great master, and received the entire Dam-ngak Dzii as well as Cbowang Gyatsa, the Hundred Empowerments of Cutting Practice. He also passed on to me the reading transmission for the Hundred Thou-sand Nyingma Tantras and the Jangter Gongpa Sangftll, the Northern Treasure of Unimpeded Wisdom Mind. In particular, he gave me a derailed commentary and clarification of the important treasure of Chokgyur Lingpa renowned as Lamrim YtsiJf Nyingpo, the Gradual Path ofThe Wisdom Essence.

From the age cf eight, my own father gave me teachings on the nature of mind, and I was lucky later on to receive detailed instructions, as 'guidance through personal experience: from Samten Gyatso on the: teachings of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection. From my other uncle, Tersey Rinpoche, a close: dis-ciple of the great siddha Shakya Shri, I was also privileged to receive Dzogchen teachings.

Moreover, Jo"yab Rinpoche, a disciple of Dru Jamyang Drakpa, again gave me detailed teachings on Lamrim Ytsht Ny•ingo. The body of teachings known as Rinclun Ttrdzo, the

20

BRIEF LIFE HISTORY

Precious Treasury, I received from Karsey Kongrrul. son of the 15th Karmapa. As for the other of the Five T rcasuries, I received the Gyachtr Kadzo from my third uncle Sang-ngak Rinpoche, the Kagyii Ngakdzij from H. H. the 16th Karmapa himself, and the SIJtja Kiinkyab Treasury from Tana Pemba Rinpoche. In addition, H. H. Dilgo Khyemse Rinpoche has given me the root cmpowcr-mcnts of Jigmey Lingpa several times.

In Eastern Tibet I spem three years in retreat simply reciting the Mani. (Laughs). Later on at Tsurphu, the scat of the Karmapas. I also spent three years in retreat and then again in Sikkim I managed to spend almost three years in imensive prac-tice. For a few years now I have been living here at Nagi Gompa. That's my life story.

My family line holds the Barom Kagyu teachings which origi-:latc: from Gampopa's disciple Barom Dharma Wangchuk. His disciple Tishi Repa, had a disciple called Repa Karpo. Repa !

VAJRA HEART

Ka-Nying SIJedrnb Ling Monastery

People ask why I built the monastery in Boudhanath and why I remain here at Nagi Gompa. I have: heard said: "In this age of degeneration, carry the burden of the doctrine. If you are unable to do so, simply your fear that the teachings may die out will have tremendous merit." Thus, by building a monastery and gathering a sangha of monks - as a simple image of the doctrine in this dark age - we have the great hope of maintaining the tradition of the Dharma. Whether or not the monks individually do any practice is their own business. However, by merely wearing the robes on their bodies, cutting the hair on their heads and gathering together in a group of at least four, their presence and the respect, faith and donations a benefactor may offer, no matter how insignificant the contribution or faith may be, will accu-mulate merit and purify obscurations. This is independent of whether or not the monks misbehave or misappropriate their donations: that is totally up to them. For the benefactors, the blessings of the buddhas are assured when they make a donation to a gathering of tour monks. For that reason I made the c:ffon to build a monastery.

In this age Buddhism is slowly dying out, like the sun ready to depart over the mountains in the west. Against this setting, spurred on by the command of His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa, we have constructed this insignificant monastery.

Nagi Gompa was initially built by the meditator and hermit Kharsh~ R.inpoche as a hermitage for his following of monks and nuns. After he passed away, it was offered to H. H. the: 16th Kar-mapa who then appointed me as caretaker. So this old man here is just a caretaker (laughs). That is the only reason I live up here; I

22

BRIEF LIFE HISTORY

am not at all like Milarepa, living in mountain retreats and ca\'CS after renouncing samsara. Bur I have a nice spot to sleep and a warm place in the sun (laughs). That is how I live.

Students sometimes wonder about staying in retreat and I tell them that the Dharma cannot be practiced properly amidst the many distractions of business, the pursuit of necessities and the noise of the world. To go up to the mountains for retreat is to turn from these diversions. Then, if one can keep some discipline: remaining in solitude, barring outsiders from visiting and not going out oneself, there will be no distractions other than those of one's own mind. External distractions have been eliminated. That is the purpose of seclusion.

When distractions have been abandoned one can exert oneself in the practice. Through proper exertion in meditation it is possible to destroy confusion. When confusion falls away, en-lightenment is attained. That is the whole reason for retreat (laughs).

23

"Ground Dzogchen is the ground and basic state for both buddhas and sentient beings. "

HISTORY OF DZOGCHEN

"Everything ofsamsara and nirvana is complete within tiJis. "

I am often asked about Dzogchen, its history and how to prac-tice it. The Dzogchen teachings were first offered in the Realm of Akanishtha, then in T ushita and finally in this world on the summit of Moum Sumeru from where they spread.

Before reaching humans, the teachings on Dzogchen were dis-seminated and grew in the realm of the gods. Later, the Dzogchen

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VAJRA HEART

teachings were spread in the world of humans by Garab Dorje as well as in the naga realm by the naga king Jogpo. Throughout his-tory, the Twdve Great Perfection Teachers, who were not all human, disseminated the teachings in different realms. For us the main place the Dzogchen teachings were offered was Bodhgaya in India, but they were also given elsewhere.

The human body within the Realm of Desire is the most excellent basis and support for the practice of Dzogchen. In the Desire Realm, the emotions arc quite strong. In the God Realm however, as in the seventeen abodes of the Realm of Form and in the four abodes of the Formless Realm, the emotions are not so powerful. Unoppo~ed by intense emotions. the occurring originll wakefulness is also not very strong. Thus just as a fire with little wood to nurture it will soon die out, a bonfire with wood to replenish it will blaze forth tremendously. So you can see the human body is a most eminent vehicle for Dzogchen practice.

Despite obstacles and difficulties we have taken birth in the southern Jambu Continent. This three-thousandfold universe is immense! Among this vastness. the southern Jambu Continent is quite a good place for rebirth. If you are born in one of the other realms as a naga or a god, not possessing the body consisting of the six elements, you cannot practice the pure Dharma. Also, those born among the rakshas or other types of non-humans lack the perfect support for practice.

\'\lhat are these six elements? Flesh and blood are the elc:mcms of earth and water; warmth and breath are the dements of fire and wind; the cavities in the: body are the clement of space; the mind and thoughts are rhe element of consciousness. The stronger the five poisons: anger, desire, jealousy, pride and stupidity, the

28

BRIEF LIFE HISTORY

stronger the original wakefulness which can arise. With recognition, they are the five wisdoms; without recognizing rheir rurure they are the five disturbing emotions. Once you recognize their essence, they are awareness wisdom and are transformed into the mirror-like wisdom, the discriminating wisdom, the all-accomplishing wisdom, the wisdom of equality and the dharma-dhatu wisdom.

The instructions of Dzogchen belong to Vajrayana teachings; the Mahayana sutras mention little about them and rhe Hinayana buely hints at them. Our teacher, the Buddha, who taught w to accumulate merit and purify obscurations, gave teachings suited to the different capabilities of those who received them. Thus the higher and lower vehicles are conducive to the different capacities of beings. Dzogchen, called Afabmandbi in Sanskrit and Great Perfection in English, is the summit of all the vehicles, the ninth, t~e royal peak. This short path ro buddhahood, contains the eight lower vehicles, but Dzogchen itself is not mentioned in the lowest of the nine vehicles, the Shravaka Vehicle.

In the name Dzogchen, Great Perfection, perfect or compl:te means that all the lower vehicles are perfected or completely con-rained within the Dzogchen teachings. The meaning of the word dzog, perfection or completion, is explained thus in the Kunjt Gyalpo Tantra:

Compltu as o11t- tvtryrbing is complttt wirhin mind. Complttt as two- tvtrytbing ofsamsara and nirvana is

complttt within tbis.

'Dzog' means that the vehicle of Dzogchen contains all the te

VAJRA HF.ART

vehicle. Although we say that Dzogdten, sometimes called Ati Yoga, is a Dharma tradition, it is in actuality nothing other than the basic state of one's mind.

Turning to the practice itself, we can speak of Dzogchen as we can of all views, in terms of ground, path and fruition. Traditionally we say: ''The ground is Mahamudra, the path is the Great Madhyamika, the great Middle Way, and Dzogchen is the fruition." Applied in practice, each of these three great vkws has its own view, meditation, action and fruition.

In the system of Dzogchen we can compare the ground to pure gold, and the path to gold mixed with impurities being slowly purified. Fruition, the state of buddhahood, is once aga:n pure gold, the attainment of stability in recognition of the pri-mordially pure ground. The difference here between sentient beings and buddhas, is merely the difference between gold mixed with impurities and pure untainted gold.

Ground Dzogchen, defined as tssmct, nat11rt and capacity which correspond to the three ka)'as, is the ground and the basic state for both buddhas and sentient beings. For a buddha there is no straying onto the 'path.' Sentient beings strayed into the confused state of what we call path when their essence, nature and capacity were obscured by the three kinds of ignorance: the ignorance of single identity, coemergent ignorance and conceptual ignorance. Sentient beings are like gold mixed with impurities. In the case of the buJdhas on the other hand, their essence ripened into enlightened body, their nature ripened into enlightened speech and their capacity ripened into enlightened mind. The ground itself being realized, fruition is like pure gold without de-fects and is called the union of ground and fruition. In this way

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BRIEF LIFE HISTORY

huddhas were matured into primordial enlightenment and the three aspects of the ground became the three vajras: vajra body, 'lajra speech and vajra mind.'

When the essence, nature and capacity of sentiem beings are obscured by the three kinds of ignorance, the three vajras in rheir impure state become ordinary body, speech and mind. The three kinds of ignorance are fleeting or incidental. The confusion which has arisen on the state of the path, can be cleared away. When we remove the stains of the three kinds of ignorance, we can become 're-enliglnened' instead of 'primordially enlightened.' This is ac-complished by following the oral instructions of a qualified teacher; through this we accomplish the three kayas.

Tbt ground is primordial purity, Tht path is spo1lld1ltom prtsmct, Tht ftuitio11 is kaym a11d wisdoms.

In practice, recognizing one's essence as primordial purity is tje ground; recognizing one's nature as spontaneous presenc:: is the path; and recognizing spontaneous presence as one's natural expression, devoid of a self-nature, is the fruition. Although we have strayed into confusion on the ground and path, by practicing in this way, ground and fruition can still be united in the final srate of enlightenment.

The 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, taught thus about our blSic nature: "It is not existent as even the buddhas have not seen it." This means that the basic state of mind is not something that exists in a concrete way: even the buddhas of the three times h.lVe never perceived it. "It is not nonexistent as it is the basis for both samsara and nirvana. This is not a contradiction, it is the middle puh of unity." Contradiction, like the impossible instance of

31

VAJRA HEART

having fire and water on the same plate, does not apply here. The basic nature is ncith:r existent nor nonexistent- these two are an indivisible unity. "May I perceive the mind essence free from extremes." Usually when we say 'is,' we are contradicting 'is not.' and saying nonexistent, we are contradicting existent. But this middle path of unity is devoid of such contradiction. Recognizing and experiencing this is to attain the unified state ofVajradhara.

Dzogchen tenr.inology calls nonexistence primordial purity and existence spontaneous presence, and regards these as an indivisible unity. \Y/e can also call primordial purity 'emptiness' and spontaneous presence 'luminosity' or luminous cognizance.'

The two aspects of our basic nature, being empty and cognizant, are a ur.ity. Why is this? Mind essence is empty while being cognizant ar.d it cognizes while still being empty. There is no obstruction between the two aspects. The empty aspect is called 'essence,' th: cognizant aspect, 'nature,' and their unity is called 'capacity: The empty aspect is also called dharmakaya, the cognizant aspect sambhogakaya, and their unity nirmanakaya.'

This unity of being empty and cognizant is the state of mind of all sentient beir.gs. As there is nothing special about that state, the practitioner should suffuse it with awareness. The path of practice is to become stable in recognizing this unity of empty cognizance suffused with awareness.

D~votion and Compassion

Merely repeating "empty, empty, empty!" and only thinking about rigpa or innate awareness however, is not enough. A practi· tioner must receive· the blessing of a qualified master, gather the accumulations and purify negative karmas. Methods other than

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BRIEF LIFE HISTORY

these will draw us into delusion and not bring about realization of rigpa. Not generating devotion and compassion, even if the practi-tioner is very intelligent, bright and even industrious, is not the way to practice. To be effective, meditation should be spontaneous or free-flowing. Upwardly, bring forth devotion to all the buddhas, to all the lineage masters from dharmakaya S1mantabhadra to your own teacher. Downwardly, engender compassion for sentient beings without exception, for all the six k:nds of beings who have been your own mothers.

Have devotion to the Three Jewels above and compassion for the six kinds of beings below. Our tradition includes emptiness, compassion and devotion, these three extraordinary features. You need means and knowledge, upaya and prajna, which are emptiness and compassion as explained in the sutras. Within devotion and compa.'ision are contained all the sutras and rhe tantras, scriptures and instructions. With devotion and compassion, you will surely reach the exalted state. The precious relative bodhichitta is compassion and the precious ultimlte bodhichitta is emptiness. With these two, enlightenment is unavoidable.

To say "I don't need devotion, I don't need compassion for beings, for me meditation alone is sufficient," is to be mistaken. Meditation alone is not sufficient, becawe only with devotion and compassion will the view automatically and naturally blaze forth like a fire, quickly arousing the profound emptiness, the self-existing wakefulness within one's being. Unfailing, unfabricated and unobscured, this is the straight path for attaining enlightenment within rigpa. Other than that, after having auained stability in rigpa, there is no need for any conceptual work.

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VAJRA HEART

Without the work of.conceptual mind ordinary people cannot do

anything, there: would not be: any worldly actions, right? So you

must be free from conceptual mind. Without compassion and

devotion there is no way to do that.

34

THE POINTIN~ OUT

INSTRUCTION

"Thr sptcia/ characttristic is to point directly to tiJt naked awareness.

,.

Although the Dzogchen tradition has a gradual system of preliminaries, the special characteristic of Dzogchen is that it dircaly points out naked awareness, self-existing wakefulness.

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VAJRA HEART

This is for suitable students, those with sharp mental faculties. Instead of going through many preliminaries, the master intro-duces them directly to their mind essence, to their self-existing awareness. As I mentioned before, this awareness is comprised of three a.o;pects: essence, nature and capacity.

To ascertain th: essence of the mind, we ask whether it is compounded or uncompounded. That which is compounded must have material substance and that which is uncompounded must be substanccl~!ss. Substanceless means that there is nothing for the eyes to see, for the ears to hear, and for the hands to hold. This substancelessncss is said to be the empty essence of mind, the dharmakaya. Thus we say: "In the empty essence, dharmakaya."

If this emptine;s were a total void there would be no talk of the buddhas anaining enlightenment and of sentient beings wan-dering in samsara and the hells. Space is not like that. Without being void, the emptiness is naturally cognizant. "In the cognizant nature, sambhogakaya" refers to the hosts of sambhogakaya deities; the nature of sambhogakaya is cognizance. Sambhogakap means something with perfect abundance. If something is totall)' void it cannot possess perfect abundance. The emptiness itself has perfect abundance; that is called sambhogakaya.

"In the manifold capacity, nirmanakaya." Capacity here means union; the unity of emptiness and cognizance is called capacity. The term 'manifold capacity' means that the capacity is all-embracing, unobstructed, nor just in one or two ways but as the inconceivable dharmata. 'Manifold' means that the unobstructed original wakefulness of self-display manifests a compassionate variety. It does not refer to external coarse substance bur to the

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THE POINTING·OUT INSTRUCTION

unobstructed sdf-display; capacity here is the unobstructed aspect of emptiness and cognizance. Manifold means all-embracing.'

Dzogchen is said to possess great advantages but also great d.mgers. This is because all teachings are uhimately and finally resolved within the Dzogchen system. This act of resolving can be of two types: resolving through intellectual understanding and resolving through personal experience.

To resolve the teachings through personal experience has a great advantage or benefit. Having had naked awareness pointed out and having recognized it directly, one simply makes that the main part of practice. At this juncture the path to enlightenment is very swift and direct, and the benefits are inconceivably great.

On the other hand, there is great danger when one appropriates the teachings intellectually, assuming that: "In D:ogchc:n, there is nothing to meditate upon. There is nothing to \'iew. There is nothing to carry out as action." This conceptual nihilism is completely detrimental to progress, because the final point of the teaching is nonconceptual, it is beyond intellectual thinking.

The: major mistake occurs when one imellectually conceives of what Dzogchen is and holds on to that concept tightly. So it is vc:ry important to incorporate the teachings into personal arerience through the teacher's oral instructions. Otherwise, to ha\'e the idea that "I am meditating on Dzogchen" is to com-pletely miss the point. Self-existing wakefulness has been present wit:lin the mind-stream of all sentient beings since primordial time. This presence is something which should not be left as theory, but should be acknowledged through experience. First recognize: it, then train and anain stability in it. That is when

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Dzogchen has grc:n benefit. There is actually no greater benefit than this.

When words convey mere intellectual understanding, then concepts preclude experience, and these concepts lack the nonconccptual quality. To rely on conceptual mind is merely to rely on the intellect, whereas to remain in the continuity of naked awareness and to grow used to it, is what is truly called I • • t expcnencmg.

The principle is the same whether one talks of Madhyamika, Mahamudra or Dzogchen. As Shantideva said in the Bodhicharya Avatara: "When one's intellect holds neither the concept of con-creteness nor that of inconcrereness, that is the state of not conceptualizing." As long as one's mind is not free from concepts, one has merely intellectually understood the view and it is nothing more than theory. One might then think: "Dzogchen is primordially empty; having no basis, there is nothing to meditate upon, no need to do anything. If I meditate in the morning, I am a buddha in the morning. When I recognize at night, I am a buddha at night. The destined one need not even meditate."

Incredible as it may seem, the Dzogchen view can purify the most subtle cognitive obscuration. Merely assuming this is so however, as many people have in the past, assuring themselves that they need not either meditate or practice, is to completely miss the point.

To guard against that, practicing according to Madhyamika or "Mahamudra, w~ere one goes along step by step, alternating theory and experience within the structure of theory, experience and real-ization, is much more beneficial. Proceeding gradually, what is to be resolved becomes dearer and dearer and one finally captures

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THE POINTING-OUT INSTRUCTION

the dharmakaya throne of nonmcditation. This graduated system provides some reference points along the various paths and levels.

In Dzogchen however, the master will from the very beginning, point out the nonconceptual state, instructing the student to remain free from concepts. If a smdent then thinks "I am free from concepts, I am never distracted!" while walking around with vacantly gazing eyes, he has strayed into intellectual understanding.

Such understanding will not help us when we have to die. Tilopa told Naropa: "Theory is like a patch, it will wear out and fall off." After dying, we will undergo various pleasant and unpleasant experiences, intense panic, fear and terror. Intellectual understanding will not be able to destroy those fears; it cannot :nake confusion subside. So it is useless to ascertain that one's essence is devoid of confusion. Such patchwork thought is ineffective in dealing with one's confusion at the momen: of death.

One needs to recognize and thoroughly acknowledge the view of one's essence. Constructing it from concepts is useless. Simply hearing that there is a delicious meal to be eaten but not eating it, you cannot know what the food tastes like. One must, moreover, be totally free from the merest flicker of doubt about the state of naked awareness. Concerning stability in awareness, Jigmey lingpa said: "At this point there is no need for 100 panditas and their thousands of explanations. One will know what is sufficient. Even when questioned by these scholars, doubt will not arise."

The main point is to be become stable in awareness through experience, not through imcllc:ctual understanding. \'\'hen a ~ualified master encounters a worthy student, iron strikes flint,

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creating fire immediately. When two such persons meet. it is possible to be free from doubt. The proof of having recognized the mind essence is that one feels no doubt. no matter how much one may try. If it is possible to start doubting. thinking "I wonder how it is. what shall I do? .. that understanding is intellectual. This difference between theory and experience is what I was referring to by saying that Dzogchen has both great benefit and great danger.

When a practitioner is introduced to naked awareness he will be able to attain enlightenment in that very body and lifetime. This is because. in the momem of recognizing the essence of awareness. the cognitive obscuration is absent. This is called touching the fruition. In this there are three aspects: taking ground as path. taking path as path. and taking fruition as path. Receiving the pointing-om instruction means that one takes fruition as path. That is why it is so precious. So do not let recognition stray into mere theory.

Experience is considered the adornment of awareness. Aware-ness exists within all beings; whoever has mind has awareness since awareness is the mind's essence. Mind is like the shadow of one's hand. and awareness like the hand itself. In this way there is not one single sentient being who lacks awareness. We might hear about awareness and then think: "I understand. awareness is just such and such." This mental construct is totally useless - from the very first the absence of mental fabrication is crucial. As is said: "Within the naked dharmadhatu of nonfabrication, wakefulness dawns - spontaneously present." To introduce awareness is to point om 1:he absence of mental fabrication.

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THE POINTINC·OUT INSTRUCTION

Otherwise it becomes an introduction to mere discursive thought. (Laughs)

"In tbt DzQgcbm tradition, tiJt vitw iJ pointtd out right .. away. In Dzogchcn, shamatha and vipashyana are practiced as

preliminaries and are called 'resting in naturalness' and 'sustaining freshness.' Resting in naturalness means nonfabrication and sustaining freshness means not losing the continuity of natural-n~s. Even though one has been introduced to the essence of Dzogchen, without resting in naturalness one cannot accompli5h an}1hing. In Kham we have a saying: "The innermost can be seen from the outside." If the door of a shrine room is open, even if one is standing outside, one can still see the innermost part of the room with all the images. So although the practice of naturalness is a preliminary, one should not abandon it and try to get to something more profound. The essence is introduced since there is a use for it in the very beginning. One is introduced to the nonfabrication, to the naturalness and freshness which in general are l:nown as shamatha and vipashyana.

In the Dzogchen tradition, the view is pointed out right away. Sometimes the preliminaries are more profound than the main practice. To be introduced to the essence and to have recognized it is quite remarkable.

Let me tell you about an incarnation of Tsangsar Samten Gymo. In his previous life, he was called Argey Samten. He was recognized as a rulku when he was a small child, and brought to the monastery. There he would play and fool around: being about eight years old, he danced and played with his friends. The gonia,

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an old lama who took are of the pujas for the protectors, was beating the drum one day and chanting, while the kids were playing around him. The gonia scolded Argey Samten: "You are an incarnation of a lama, don't act like this. If you are a tulku you should be a noble incarnation! Instead you are a completely spoiled brat, always playing around. Why are you doing this? Listen. Don't wander! Don't wander!" When the old lama said that, Argey Samten asked: "What does that mean? What docs it mean not to wander?" Gonia replied: "Don't let your mind wander, that's what it means!" The tulku asked: "How can one's mind not wander?" The lama said: "Look at yourself, look into your own mind!" Argey Samten recognized mind nature right there.

No matter what masters or great teachers he met subsequently, he always acknowledged that his recognition was accomplished as a small child. Stories from his later life show the extent of his realization. As an adult, he went to Palpung, at that time the residence of Situ Padma N}•inche. Argey Samten, known for his incredibly high level of practice, was installed as the retreat master there after his second retreat. During Argey Samten's tenure, Chokgyur Lingpa arrived at Palpung for the first time. It was announced that somebody called Chokgyur Lingpa, also known as Kyasu Tenon from Nangchen, had arrived. Situ Rinpoche called for Argey Lama and said to him: "I am told that you are a trained yogi whose dreams are very clear due to your practice of the six doctrines of Naropa. Today, Kyasu Tenon is arriving. He claims to be a treasure rcvealcr and an emissary of Guru Rinpoche. He is very famous and we are arranging to welcome him as a dignitary, but in general! have no faith in tenons. He claims however, to be

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THE POINTINC·OUT INSTRUCTION

an accomplished terton. So tonight you should watch your dreams for proof of this!"

Situ Padma Nyinchc had previously. said of 3nother tertcn: "He claims to be a treasure revealer, but is actually defaming Guru Rinpoche. He is nothing, his aim is only power."

When Chokgyur lingpa came however, Situ Padma Nyinche had some confidence in him and prepared to meet him, telling Argey Lama, also called Ngagtrin lama, "Chokgyur lingpa is coming, please examine his claims in your dreams!" Having accomplished a lot in his retreat, Ngagtrin Lama was by then quite an incredible practitioner. He reported all the experiences and vi-sions of his dreams of that night to Situ Rinpoche. Hearing what Samten Gyatso's former life Ngagtrin Lama said, Situ Rinpoche laughed, "Ha! Ha! Ngagrrin Lama had a great prophecy in his dream last night and according to what he says, Chokgyur lingpa probably is a true tenon."

When Chokgyur Lingpa arrived, he told Situ Rinpoche, "There is a command from Guru Rinpoche that you be given the SabdUn Phurba empowerment to protect against obstacles to your life. You are an emissary of Padmakara." Situ replied, "Yes yes, you practice it. I will look to see if there are any special signs. I'm too old to do the recitations, so you do them. For the special signs, I will look myself."

So he put Chokling in retreat for one month to practice SabdUn Phurba. Mter finishing a practice, the accomplishment of blessings are traditionally examined. Situ Rinpoche's servants were prc:pc.ring to bring the .blessed articles from Chokgyur lingpa. However Situ said, "No, bring the tenon himself! The tenon himself must come and give me the empowerment. Just sending

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up rhe things ro pur on my head won't help me at all. Vajrayana is not just something you put on the head. Call for Chokling himselfl" It is said that after staying in retreat for one month, Chokgyur lingpa offered the empowerment of Sabdtin Phurba ro Situ Rinpoche. Although Situ Rinpoche was very headstrong and did not believe: in just any tenon, he accepted as true rhe actual signs of recognition of Ngagtrin lama, the past life of my uncle.

And yet it is this Ngagtrin lama who recognized the essence when he was young without any master. An old monk simply rep-rimanded him: "Oh, you naughty little tulku. Don't play around like rhat. Don't wander, what is the use of being distracted?" To the small boy's question: "What is nor wandering?", the old man replied: "look at your mind itself, that is it." At that point Ngagrrin lama recognized the essence. After that he said there was nothing further he needed to be introduced to or to have pointed out. He recognized rhe nature of mind right rhen, and later became a great accomplished master. There are many other stories about his power.

In the wintertime in Tibet, water from melting snow would sometimes freeze: and make: barriers of solid ice the size of three-story buildings. Blocking the paths, this icc made navel impossible. However, no mauer how much snow would fall each winter, on the roof top of Ngagrrin lama's retreat hut, snow would never settle. His tummo practice always melted it.

Once when one of Ngagtrin lama's major sponsors had passed away on the other side of the mountain pass, Ngagtrin Lama was called to come: and do phowa, the ejection of con-sciousness. •'I'm coming!" he replied. The way however, was blocked by a river that had overflowed, making huge: ice curtains

THE POINTING-OUT INSTRUCTION

which rose to a height of two or three stories. All his servants tried to discourage him, saying: "How can you go? Do you want to die in the ice water? Traveling around it will take two or three days. There is no way through. How can you, an old lama, do this? Forget about it."

Ngagtrin lama insisted: "No, I must go. He has been a very kind patron. If I fail to arrive, it will be a breach of samaya. Tomorrow morning. I am going!" The servants could do nothing but obey, and thought that they would have to walk around the long way, but the lama said: "No, no, we need not do that!" The next morning he said, "Last night I cleared the way!" During tummo practice, he had melted the ice curtain; all of the ice on the whole mountain pass had turned to water and by the next morning not even a flake of snow remained. He had mel:ed it through his miraculous powers so they could travel freely in the morning. When asked "How is this possible?", the lama re-sponded, "Last night I practiced some tummo. I melted the snow . .. mto water.

He was a powerful master, with very great accomplishment in practice. The foundation for his practice, his manner of introduc-tion, was established when the old gonia who did pujas for the Dharma protectors said, "Don't wander!"

When being introduced to the essence, if one has the karmic potential, what transpires may be extraordinary. The traditional sequence docs not always apply. Some people are introduced during the general preliminaries, or during the practice of resting in naturalness and sustaining the freshness, which arc actually part of the Dzogchen preliminaries.

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PREJLXMliNAR Y TEACHINGS

"\'(!hat can stop karma?"

The basis for engaging in Dharma practice is taking to heart the preliminary teachings known as the four mind changings: precious human body, death and impermanence, cause and effect of karma and the defects of samsara. All the vehicles mention the precious human body endowed with the eight freedoms and ten riches. The tight rmftu !taus are: living among the hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, barbarians, long-living gods, or living in a

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time without buddhas or among humans having false views, or being unable to communicate. Born in any of these eight circum-stances, we are fcuercd by our conditions and lack the freedom to practice.

In the three lower realms: the hells, the hungry ghost and animal realms, one has no chance to practice Dharma. As a barbarian, a long-living god, one with wrong views or an idiot, one has neither thought nor ability to practice; one is not a suit-able vessel for Dharma practice. A vessel is a place to put things. With no container, where can you pour your tea? Likewise, when born in one of the eight unfree states, one lacks the karma or fortune to practice.

One cannot practice in the hells because of the suffering of heat and cold. The prttas are unable to practice because of the suffering of hunger and thirst. The animals are too dumb and stupid to know how to practice. Barbarians, for instance the primitives who live on the border between India and Tibet, have a human form but wear no clothing except for a small belt, and for food kill wild animals, which they eat raw.

The long-living gods who remain for one or two aeons in the Realm of the Thirty-three on the mp of Mount Sumcru, have no interest whatsoever in Dharma practice; the thought never enters their minds. They disnact themselves in godly luxuries for the whole of their long life:. One day however, their life span ends and like rain falling from the sky they fall to the lower realms. They can even fall to the hells withom an intermediate state.

Holding wrong views is another unfree state. Mistakenly thinking: "There is no karma, no cause and effect. How can there be buddhafields? Who has seen them? Who has returned from the

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hells? How can anybody know such things? There are no past and future lives, there are none of these things," even if one met the Buddha himself, one would have no interest whatsoever.

Right now, we do not live in a time without buddhas. This excellent aeon is a time in which buddhas appear and teach, and where the teachings last for some time. One thousand perfect buddhas will appear during this time. So far, only four have come; many more will come in the future.

A kalpa, the full time-cycle of our known universe, is civided into four parts: creation, abidance, destruction and voidness. Each lasts an equal amount of time, a very long time. We are now in the abiding aeon. During this time, there are eighteen middle aeons. Sometimes the life span grows longer and longer, the fortune greater and greater; then again it lessens, the life span gets shorter and shorter, everything becomes worse. Right now we are in a de-scending aeon where everything worsens. There are eighteen middle aeons with a long aeon at each end, making twenty in all. These twenty aeons together make a mahakalpa.

For as long as the abiding mahakalpa lasts, the aeon of destruc-tion also lasts, when everything is destroyed by the seven suns. The suns become hotter and hotter, drying up rivers, burning mountains, completely destroying everything. Everything ends in total voidness. This state of voidness lasts for as long as the creation. Only now, during the aeon of abiding, can we hear Dharma teachings. During neither the creation nor the destruction, is there Dharma. And how, during the void could there be any Dharma, teachers or listeners? In any of these three aeons, one is in an unfree ;tate. Bur we just now, are not in any of the eight unfree states; we have the eight freedoms.

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We have as well, the ten riches, the ten favorable conditions: five from oneself and five from others. The five from others are: the Buddha appea::ed, he taught, the doctrine survived, there are reachers and they continue to teach. Tbese five together are con-sidered ro be the merging of external favorable conditions.

Among the five favorable conditions from oneself: the first is to be born as a human; the second is to be born in a central country, a place where rhe Buddhist teaching is being spread; the third, to have the five senses intact; rhe fourth, to have an unpervened livelihood enabling one to enter the teachings; and the fifth, to have confidence and to take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, the Three Precious Ones. With these five, the favorable conditions of oneself are complete.

So now we have the five favorable: conditions from others and the five from oneself. Not being born in the eight unfree states and having the ten endowments is truly a supreme human life. It is like a wishfulfilling gem. Through this body, this preciow human life, we have the good fortune to practice.

Though we have obtained the preciow human body, it is like holding an old piece of chinaware in our hand; the moment it hits a stone it completely breaks. It will not stay intact. I often quote: "As life is composite, it has no permanence." Life is impermanent. The external universe will, late at the end of this aeon, be completely destroyed by the heat of the suns. Cosmic annihilation moreover is not the only thing to consider. Supreme individuals arc also impermanent. What of the buddhas and bodhisattvas who appeared in the past? And the universal monarch of the golden wheel who ruled all the four continents, the universal monarch of the silver wheel who ruled three continents, the universal monarch

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PRELIMINARY TEACHINGS

of the copper wheel who ruled two comincms, and the universal monarch of the iron wheel who ruled the Jambu Continent -where are these powerful beings now? Many Indian kings of the past could fly, never needing to walk on the ground. They could enjoy the seven royal possessions: the precious wheel, the precious jewel, the precious queen, the precious elephant, the Frecious horse, the precious minister and the precious general. Som: could visit Indra, the king of the gods, and sit together on the same throne. Of these fabled kings, only their names remain. Powerful people are also impermanent.

Consider further impermanence due to the many causes of death. The 404 sicknesses and eighty thousand evil forces are the circumstances for death. Due to the unavoidable fact of death, one cannot not consider impermanence. When the moment of death comes, you can put yourself in an iron chamber guarded by one hundred thousand soldiers. Will that ward off death? One cannot protect oneself from the Lord of Death. Beauty, heroism and wealth are not dc:ath's equals. A pretty face cannot seduce death nor bravery vanquish it. All the gold in the world is not a sufficient bribe. Nothing can be done; death is unavoidable.

Impermanence has four ends. First, tht tnd of birth is drath. No one born from a father and mother has yet survived death; not now, not ever. Milarepa said: "As soon as you have a body, you have death." Thus, to assume a body is to assume death. As he added: "Between being alive and being dead is only the difference of one breath." The terrifying so-called corpse, the dead human body, is loathsome; yet it is our own bodies we are speaking of. Were sickness to take tp away right now, leaving the corpse behind to be disposed of in one way or another, what could be

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done? Right now we are breathing, we are alive. In the space of just a single breath, we become a corpse. That death follows birth is the most significant point of impermanence.

Next, regardless of the inconceivable wcahh and possessions one may amass, tht md of hoarding is disptrsion. Years ago in Tibet a great merchant named Norbu Sangpo had so many mules that if one lined them up they would reach from Lhasa to China, like a rosary stretching all the way without a break. Apart from his name, nothing remains now; not a single one of his possessions. All have vanished.

Tlu md of mttling is uparation. Any people who are gathered together in a city or a country or in any community, like the nuns who stay at Nagi Gompa, or the members of a family, the husband and wife and children, are all like customers in a market place who come and go. Their staying together has no perma-nence. Although we are together now, we have no power to stay together forever. We are like people mingling in a dream. The end of meeting is separation.

Tlu md of building is dtstruction. The houses built in the past never last more than a few thousand years at the most. They fall apart. Even though a house can withstand time for one or two thousand years, it will end in ruins.

We should think about these four ends of impermanence be-cause they are true. The years pass by and will never return. The month we stayed together in the past is gone, and now we arc: here at Nagi Gompa. The: month that passed can only recede further and further. Moreover, in each short moment we become older and as time passes our life grows shorter. The Lord of Death is like the mountain's shadow coming closer and closer. The Lord of

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Death does not linger for even an instant; he always comes closer as our life span diminishes without the power to remain still for even a second. We might not notice, but the Lord of Death one day catches up in the last moment of our life, and (Rinpoche snaps his fingers) we can do nothing about it. The time is up, gone.

The external world is impermanent; yesterday and today are impermanent; and right now, while we are together, is also changing in the three times. The times are in constant movement, we are spending our lives every moment, and there is no possible way to make our lives last longer. Life only runs out. Contemplating impermanence and death, we must recognize this.

Impermanence pertains not only to death, but also to enemies, friends and all relalionships which lack any permanence or stability. Nothing remains as we know it for even an instant: change is constant. As time runs out we get older, friends and enemies change, cities change, the local people change, and at home our family ages. Nothing in the world endures. All things change. Buddha nature alone is permanent and stable. Nothing else lasts {laughing)! Only self-existing wakefulness is permanent.

Through impermanence weariness arises. For example, if one's father and mother die or if one of a married couple passes away, what anguish the one left behind must bear! Even among animals, for instance when the baby of a cow dies, doesn't the mother suf-fer? So weariness and suffering are the same. With such weariness comes the feeling: "Now my time is running out, what else is there to do but practice Dharma? Nothing else is of any use, nothing at all." With that kind of revulsion clearly in one's mind,

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unenlightened existence becomes unbearable. That is the meaning of weariness.

Through renunciation one recognizes: uTherc is nothing in samsara with any permanence." The five sense objects deceive us. The eyes, fascinated by form, are like a moth diving into a flame. Set a butter lamp for an offering and these winged insects, attached to what they see, fly straight imo the flame and die, don't they?

The cars, fascinated by sound, similarly bring suffering. Previ-ously in Tibet h;.amers used very melodious flutes. Going to the forests they would play very sweetly and the deer would listen to the sweet music, while a hunter would slowly sneak up and kill them. The ear clinging to sound is like a deer killed by a hunter by means of flute ar.d arrow.

The nose clinging to a smell is like a bee getting caught in a flower. A bee likes honey and the flower's fragrance. h goes into the flower to drink and in the evening the flower closes and it dies inside, captivated and captured through its sense of smell.

The tongue's clinging to taste is like a fish caught by bait on a hook. The hook is thrown in the water and the fish, liking the bait, is caught, fJscinated by a delicious taste.

\Vhen the body clings to touch it is like an elephant drowning in a mud pool. An elephant is very heavy, so when it goes down in a big pool it may be unable to get up and it dies there. Like this, if one clings to the five sense objects, they become enemies. Therefore, regard them as pointless, futile.

Through imcnsc renunciation, endeavor in acceptance and re-jection regardir.g cause and effect. If you think there is no cause and effect, then you lack understanding of positive and negati\'e

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actions. This must be understood. If the cause is virtuous the effect is also virtuous; one goes to higher realms, and further, to liberation and enlightenment. If the cause is unvinuous, negative, tied to the five poisons, one will wander about in the three realms of samsara. Cause and effect is infallible, like the shadow that follows one's body wherever it goes.

Karma follows oneself like a shadow follows a body. To purify or get rid of this shadow, only recognition of and stability in the buddha nature can really help. Nobody else can throw karma away. No single person, not even the strongest man in this southern Jambu Continent, has been able to cast away cause and effect and be freed from karma. Karma follows one like a shadow. Karma is like that. To create white karma is to practice the true teachings; to create black karma is to practice negative actions. Their effect is infallible. You will have to experience the results of karma, your own actions. You must really understand this.

What is it that can bring karma to an end? Only self-existing original wakefulness, buddha nature. When one is experienced in this self-existing awareness or rigpa, then karma, cause and effect come to an end, exhausted. Karma cannot run around with self-existing wakefulness; it is free from causes and does not arise because of conditions. If a white or black cloud appears, does it change the sky? In the same way, self-existing wakefulness or rigpa, is untainted by karma and by cause and effect. Whatever undergoes cause and effect, such as eanh, water, fire and wind, can be exhausted. But space is without cause and effect. Can anybody paint the sky red or white? In all Olher cases, there is cause and effect.

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Through intmu rmtmdation tndtavor in acetpting and rtjtctbzg what conctrns caust and tffict. Accepting means taking up the white and virtuous accions as much as possible; and rejecting means abandoning the black, negative actions. Endeavor in this. The white and virtucus refer to the ten virtuous actions: three of body, four of speech and three of mind. One should take up these ten. Without practicing the ten virtuous actions, they auto-matically become the ten unvirtuous ones. One needn't develop or encourage wrongdoing, it occurs automatically. We must renounce the ten unvirtuous actions and, having given them up, the ten virtuous actions are automatically produced. Giving up the ten negative actions, we needn't add the ten virtuous actions on top.

If one sincerely practices the ten virtuous actions as cause, then the effect is happiness in the higher realms and ultimately liberation in buddhahood. This is the happiness resulting from a virtuous cause. There are two things: truly high position, which refers to the higher realms of humans, asuras and devas, and the true goodness, which is the level of budd has and bodhisatrvas.

By committing the ten negative actions one produces the suffering of the three realms of samsara. The cause of liberation is to endeavor in the ten virtuous actions and to curn away from the ten negative actions. In the three lower realms of the hells, preras and animals, there is no happiness whatsoever. In the higher realms, the joy do:s not last. One alternates between joy and sorrow.

The three kinds of suffering arc: suffering upon suffering, changing suffering, and all-pervading suffering of formation. What is the changing suffering? Suppose there was an earthquake

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and the houses crumbled. You can imagine how it felt. Parents died; fire burned everything; one is left behind alone as in wa:timc. Such things happen in this world. Yesterday everybody in the family was together and everything was fine, but today, because of some sudden circumstances, one has no food to eat and nothing to wear. One walks around holding a stick and begging for something to eat. Suffering upon suffering is that in addition to this, one gets leprosy, a naga sickness, or an illness like cancer.

What exemplifies the all-pervading suffering of formation? This suffering is that one draws closer to death with each passing moment. The beings of the three worlds are not aware of this, but the sublime beings perceive it. All the arhants, bodhisattvas and buddhas know it, but sentient beings arc not at all aware of the all-pervading suffering of formation. As an example, sentient beings are like a hand: pur a single hair in the palm of the hand and one feels nothing. But the Noble Ones arc like an eye: put a hair in the eye and one is immediately aware of it, one has no happiness nor the wish for it to remain.

In the past in Tibet, there was one man from Lang-ro-tang who was depressed for his whole life. His face never showed any expression other than sadness. Why was that? He didn't suffer, but because he was aware that life was running out, he was called "D.uk Face from Lang-ro-tang." We should also consider impermanence and suffering, and taking its meaning to heart, blend it with the mind, not with mere theorizing but by actually assimilating the meaning.

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"Th( originally .ftee wakejiJ!ness is not something you must create or manufocture; it is simply the point at which we must all arrive. "

WAKJE~UP

PRACTliCE

"Tht rtal stupidity is ignoranct of the trne meaning."

In the morning we should begin with the practice of stirring from tbt slttp of ignoranct.

Chant the liturgy called Atvakming ftom tiJt Slttp of lgnoranct from the Barchey· Ktinsel teachings. and then, after exhaling the srale breath, visualize the guru on top of your head. Next recite the Budt/ba of tiJt TIJrtt Timts, after which the guru dissolves into yourself.

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From beginninglcss time umil now, the wisdom prana has been obscured by the klesha prana, the wind of disturbing emotions. This klesha prana continually leads to thoughts of attachment, aggression and delusion, thereby creating habitual patterns. To avoid this, expel the stale breath.

At the outset of practice straighten the body. As the right nostril is the major path for the movement of the strong kleshas, first exhale through the right nostril, then the left and finally through both. Exhale the stale breath three or nine times, whichever is suitable. The exhalation should be accompanied by a hissing sound and the inhalation should be done slowly. When exhaling, imagine that all the karmas, kleshas, evil deeds, obscu-rations, sicknesses and negative forces flow out like smoke from a chimney. \Vhen inhaling, imagine that five colored rainbow lights of the blessings, wisdom, loving compassion, activities and qualities of all the victorious ones and their sons dissolve imo yourself. Negativity leaves your body through all the pores, but mainly through the nostrils.

Then, while imagining your root guru above the crown of your head, chant Buddha of rht Tbrrr Timrs, an incredibly blessed supplication especially suited for these times. Most people in Tibet did not have to learn this supplication to the guru, because the Dharma was so widespread that even small children could chant it without deliberate study. When we chant,

Oi.isum sangye guru rinpoche

Buddha of the three times, Guru Rinpoche,

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we are supplicating Guru Rinpoche who carries out all the activities of all the buddhas in order to tame beings. When we chant,

Ngodrub kundag dewa chc:npo shab

Lord of all accomplishments, great blissful one,

we recognize his attainment as the Guru of Great Bliss -Guru Dcwa Chenpo. We know that he can conquer all when we chant,

Barchey kiinsel diidul drakpo tsal

Dispdlcr of all obstacles, wrathful tamer of Maras.

This is the external practice. The treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa include the external practice, called Barchey Ki.insel, "Clearing Away the Obstacles," the inner practice, Sampa Lhun-drub, and the secret practice, Dorje Draktsal. These lines contain all three. The first line, "Buddha of the three times, Guru Rinpoche" is the outer practice, Barchc:y Ki.insd. The next line is the Sampa Lhundrub, the inner practice, and the third line is the !ecret practice:, Dorje Drakpo Tsal. One supplicates all three.

Solwa debso jingyi lobtu sol

I supplicate you, please grant your blessings.

Chinang sangwey barchey shiwa dang

Please pacify the outer, inner and secret obstacles.

The outer obstacles are the obstacles of the outer elements. The inner obstacles are those of the channels and winds. The secret obstacles are those of grasping and fixation. So the essence

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of the Barchey Kunsel, the external praclice, is to pacify or dispel these three kinds of obstacles.

Sampa lhiingyi drubpar jingyi lob

Bless me with the spontaneous fulfillment of my wishes . . Through this blessing, whatever you wish for, such as the

supreme and common siddhis, may be spontaneously ac-complished. In fact, when obstacles are cleared away, the siddhis will be spontaneously accomplished.

The Barchcy Kunsel sadhana is contained in the Essmct Manual of Oral Instructions. However the essence of this instruction is condensed into the supplication, "Buddha of the three limes, Guru Rinpoche ... One wishes to accomplish the common and supreme siddhis. One supplicates wholeheartedly, with a single-pointed frame of mind, without any doubt. One resolves there is no hope or refuge elsewhere than in the: Guru.

In Tibetan, the word glorious refers to the: splendor or the glory of having realized the: dharmaluya for the benefit of oneself, and the glory of manifesting the: rupakaya for the benefit of others. This is the twofold benefit. In Tibetan, the expression 'glorious and precious root guru' is always used since it is the root guru who confers the empowermems, expounds the tamras and imparts the oral instructions. Among root gurus, the one who introduces the unborn dharmakaya of one's own mind is called the precious root guru.

Mter repeating the supplication to Guru Rinpoche three times, recite one rosary of Lama Khymno. That means, "Lama, think of me" or "take care of me, and is "I supplicate you" or •1 take refuge in you ... Finally, the Guru melts into light and one

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considers oneself inseparable from him. One's body, speech and mind and the Guru's body, speech and mind become inseparable.

After this comes the two clarifications of animde: the bodhisattva attitude of vast thought, the Surra path, and the Secret Mamra attitude of profound method, the Mantra path.

The two precious kinds of bodhichitta are the foundation of all the vehicles. According to the Surra path one accomplishes enlightenment through emptiness and compassion. Emptiness is the path of prajna; compassion is the path of upaya. According to Mantra, upaya is the development stage and prajna is the comple-tion s1age. Through development and completion one attains the unified level of Vajradhara. These are the special principles of Sutra and Mantra. The relative and absolute bodhichina are the root of both Sutra and Mantra, which again are complete within the auilUde of compassion. The link between buddhas and beings is com?assion. It is never the case that budd has, after anaining enlightenment, leave sentient beings behind. This is because of the power of compassion. Once enlightened, buddhas have not even a hair-tip of self interest, they accomplish only the benefit of others. W'hether a Dharma practice carries one towards a perfect path or not depends upon one's animdc. Taking on the bodhisattva attitude of vast thought, resolve: "May all the sentient beings as Yast as the sky, possess happiness and be free from suffering. So they m&y obtain complete and perfect enlightenment, I will practice this profound path of meditation." The vast thought of the bodhisattva ani tude refers to the Sutra teachings of the bodhi-S.ut\'as, the Mahayana vehicle.

Thro·Jgh the Secret Mantra animde of profound method, envision the external world as the celestial palace and the

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inhabitants, all sentient beings, as having the nature of dakas and dakinis. The thoughts of all semicnt beings have the nature of primordial purity, the original wakefulness of enlightened mind. This is called the threefold mandala: appearances as the mandala of the deity, sounds as the mandala of mantra, and thoughts as the mandala of wisdom. It is also called the tbr(( tbings to tarry. This pure perception is what is meant by the Secret Mantra attitude of profound methods.

The principle of Secret Mantra is nothing other than pure per· ception of that which has existed since the very beginning. One should never be separated from pure perception. The outer world is pure; all sentient beings are dakas and dak.inis. Even dogs and pigs, although appearing to be impure beings, possess the enlightened essence. They also possess the constituents of flesh, blood, heat or warmth, breath and vacuities, the five properties of the five elements. In fact, the five aggregates are of the nature of the five male buddhas and the five elements are of the nature of the five female buddhas. Even the Hindu religion perceives the five elements as fire gods, water gods and so forth. "Worldly Hindus will take refuge in the gods of the dements, fire gods, wind gods, or water gods. We do not blame them for that: th~· don't know any better. Their gods include the sun and moon etc. We can acmally understand something from that. Their deities are worldly deities, ours arc wisdom deities, which means that the aggregates and the elements do not possess even a dust mode of . . ampumy.

If one looks into the Vajrayana teachings and understands the intent of the Guhyagarbba Tantra, then all of the outer and the in· ncr, the world and the beings, are the continuity of pure deities.

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which have existed as the nature of the three vajras since the very beginning. Ic is not that we: must change the phenomenal world and its inhabitants from something which 'is' into something which 'is not,' nor must we transmute impurity into purity. We need not superimpose our own view on phenomena; pure perception is simply a recognition of the primordial state itself. Due to the difference between the confusion and liberation of thoughts however, we have been unable to make this distinction and have become confused. This has not been to our benefit. In fact everything, all that appears and exists, is all-encompassing purity. It is said that in the all-encompassing purity of the phenomenal world, the very name of obstructing forces does not exist. So the attitude here is that everything is all-encompassing purity.

First we dissolve the guru into ourselves, then we form the attitudes of bodhichitta. The rraining in awakening from the sleep of ignorance is a practice widespread in all the Buddhist traditions ofTibet, both the old and the new schools. Different liturgies are used but the practice is the same. The Barchey Kunsel terma of Cho;ding was spoken by Guru Rinpoche. \Y/e incorporate it here, since waking up in just an ordinary manner has little benefit.

Actually we have been sleeping since bcginningless time. Sleep is an aspect of ignorance, a subsidiary aspect of closed-mindedness. The sleeping state is not stupidity itself because stupidity means being unaware or ignorant of the true meaning. Sleep is one of the seven thought states, whereas the real stupidity is ignorance of the true meaning. This king of stupidity has sleep as his minister.

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At the very moment of waking up one should think of Guru Rinpoche with all the dakas and dakinis, voices singing and orna-ments dangling. With ornaments of jewel and bone, they play hand drums and bells. "This is what wakes me up ... Thus should one wake, not jmt in an ordinary manner. This is the meaning of stirring from sleep. Due to their compassion and powers, one is awakened, not merely from ordinary sleep but from the sleep of ignorance. So: "Now I have awakened into the space of awareness wisdom".

Rinpoche sings the liturgy:

Guru Padma together with his host of dakas and dakinis, accompanied by the music of hand drums and bells, have arrived with great splendor in the sky before me. Their bodies in dancing postures, their voices as melodies of symbolic lan-guage and mantra songs and their minds as the essence of self-occurring awareness are directed towards me.

Lord guru and host of dakinis Gaze upon me: with your compassionate eyes. At this time all sentient beings of the three realms arc asleep With their minds in a state of indifference. Awakening therefrom, they wander through experiences of

confusion.

So that I. your child, the yogi who realizes self-born awareness,

May guide my mothers, the sentient beings of the six realms,

To the place of the celestial realms, I will follow you, the father guru.

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Without letting my body. speech and mind remain indifferent.

I will achieve cerrainry through learning. contemplation and meditation.

And place my actions within the order of the four sessions.

In this delightful realm of a mountain retreat I will accomplish the: two benefits of self and others. May you. the guru and host of dakinis. Bestow your blessings upon my three doors.

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"The development stage is the discovery of what primordially exists within oneself."

Dzogchcn teaches that the development stage reveals that which is primordially existing. The deities abide in the buddha mandala of one's body in the manner of 'abiding in the ground.' The cevdopment stage is taught as a system of symbolism for the manifestation from the ground of that which is abiding in the

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ground, and not for something nonexistent which one imagines to exist in oneself. It abides in the ground primordially.

Both primordial purity and spontaneous presence permeate all sentient beings as essence and nature. That is what is meant by ground abidance and ground manifestation. One manifests the: ground through the ritual in which one imagines the deity. This makes manifest what already abides in the ground. It is not imagining something which isn't, to be. The development stage is the discovery of what primordially exists within oneself: rhe intrinsic essence which is primordial purity, with the nature which is spontaneous presence. Actually, the real root of development stage is the nature of spontaneous presence. The development stage that we practice is like awakening from the dream state; it is manifesting what primordially exists. The purpose is to purify evil deeds, to prevem one's thinking from falling under the influence: of the klcshas. By imagining the colors and hand emblems of the deities, the obscurations are purified. One is not imagining and mediraring on something which did nor already exist. It is not like raising someone from the dead, after which the deities appear. The expression of the spontaneously present nature from the essence of primordial purity has existed since the beginning, so development and completion stage should be practiced as a unity. I mentioned this before as upaya and prajna.

On the other hand, practicing completion stage alone without any devclopmcm stage whatsoever is nor at all incorrect. Complc:· tion stage actually needs nothing else. If one truly understands the pure recollecrion, and one becomes adept in Togal, development and completion stage are contained within the practice ofTrckcho alone. That is the absolute development stage which one truly

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mms. Without having to be cultivated one can actually see deities. They do not arise through cultivation; the four visions of Togal appear just like one's face shows itsdf in a mirror. It is not that at first one had no face and after much meditating a face appeared. Likewise, the spontaneous presence cannot be fabricated. The word spontaneously present, lhiindrub, indicates that it cannot be created. Spontaneously presem means that which is primordially present by itself, self-existing: the spontaneously present mandala of the victorious ones is primordially sclf-prc:sem. Th:s has great significance. Someone who does not understand thi~ might say: "What is the use of development stage? It is completely without benefit!" That person will have to throw away the nature of spontaneous presence. (Laughs). That would be throwing away that which is imrinsic to oneself.

People who have many discursive thoughts, many ideas and much thought activity need development stage. It is said that peo?le with thoughts should practice devdopmem stage. The nec:d depends on individual disposition. There are some with so much thought activity that only development stage is useful and completion stage is of no benefit. They think, "\Vhat is the use? There is nothing to see, nobody who sees. It would be better to hm something to think of." Many people feel like that. Thoughts are quite difficult. The kleshas accumulate karma through many thoughts, so if one can think instead of the celestial palace, the deity and so fonh, one utilizes the thoughts without gathering lwma and evil deeds. That is the actual purpose of development mge.

However, the spomaneously present mandala of the victorious ones, the nature of the deilies, is not something nonexistent which

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one creates in the development stage. The expression of primordial purity is spontaneous presence. This spomaneous presence is the infinite purity of the samhhogakaya deities, the real development stage. The primordial purity is dharmakaya; the spontaneous presence is sambhogakaya. When you say sambhogakaya then there will be deities.

"L~t awarmrss txprtSSifJn ariu as tlrvrlopmmt sttzgr •..

Concerning the question of exactly how to practice: when be-ginning the meditation one cannot perfect the development stage practice without first having recognized awareness, rigpa. What docs that mean? The development stage springs out of the samadhi of suchness which means to know the natural state as it is. Without this sa:nadhi, the practitioner is left thinking, "This is emptiness!" and unavoidably fabricates it. h is better to rest in the state the guru has poimed our; that is the genuine suchness, the awareness itself, the true and real. In this way, one remains in the cominuity of the practice:. Otherwise one practices a fake development stage. To think: "All the sentient beings equal to the end of space are in nature empty and egoless, mahashunyata!" is memally fabricated emptiness. Then to think: "Poor sentient beings who do not realize: this emptiness!" is fabricated compassion. These two thoughts are artificial versions of the sarnadhi of suchness and the samadhi of illumination, lacking recognition of one's mind essence. This is the development sr:tge that most people practice.

When awareness is recognized however, one should rest without thinking 'empty' or 'not empty.' That is the recognition of primordi:tlly pure and rootless self-existing wakefulness,

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senuine sudmcss. When that happens one spontaneously rhinks, "Ah! Poor ones!" Jusr as water is wet and fire hot, the namral expression of awareness is the flame-like heat of compassion. This awareness has unfabricated compassion as its nature; one spon-taneously thinks, "Alas! Poor sentient beings who do not realize the buddha mind as it is!" That is compassion, the samadhi of illumination.

All devdopmem stage is embraced by emptiness and compas-sion. In the Surra teachings, emptiness is prajna (knowledge) and compssion is upaya (means). In the Mantra teachings, the samadhi of such ness is emptiness and the samadhi of illumination is conpassion. Right now, as a beginner, these two appear to be false, but when really resting in awareness, in emptiness, the expression of this awareness spontaneously arises as compassion. These are the first two samadhis.

Within the unity of these two samadhis, emptiness and compassion, one must imagine the seed syllable. The spiritual life-force or vital syllable of the deity, a white HRIH in the case of Guru Rinpoche in the Tukdrub Barchey Klinsel praclice, should be visualized like the moon or a star appearing in the expanse of space. This syllable then emanates the leuer E for the mandala of !pace, then YAM, BAM and so forrh for the gradual layers of the elements of earth, water, fire and wind. Upon these one visualizes the letter SUM becoming Mount Sumeru on which the letter SHRUM becomes the celestial palace. So, these all appear one after the other.

To reiterate: first of all, from the space of dharmakaya comes sambhogakaya as the expression of compassion, then the nirmana-kaya as the seed samadhi. The nirmanakaya is the emanation of

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emptiness and cor.1passion; the lener is the meaning of nirmana-kaya. On this basis, everyrhing arises as development stage, and the external palace with the internal inhabitants of deities are visualized.

First arises the celestial palace with the lmw and moon seat in-side. When that is complete, the white HRIH syllable descends from the seed samadhi. In some traditions, the syllable first becomes a hand emblem and then a bodily form. The hand emblem is the mental sign, the syllable is the verbal sign. Next appears the visualized bodily form, with the hand emblem, the mental sign, in its heart center. Around this circles the mantra chain, the essence mantra.

Thus, in the Tukdrub Barchey Kunsc:l practice, having first visualized the main figure, the twelve emanations follow like the rays of light from the sun. Mrer this, it is sufficient to remain unmoved from awareness while practicing the development stage.

If you have grown accustomed to awareness, remain in the continuity of awareness, allowing the projection and dissolution of thoughts to arise as the development stage, like waves moving on the surface of water.

When the: meditation manifests spontaneowly within unmoving awareness, the expression of awareness arises as the development stage. In that way, the meditation is first class and then as a matrer of fact, the two, development and completion, are not separated. Remaining in awareness as the completion stase, and lening the: awareness-expression arise as the development stage, is the perfection of the: development and completion m~e as a unity.

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If this is not possible, first cultivate emptiness, then compassion, followed by the visualization of the seed syllable samadhi wherein emptiness and compassion are united. Then the E YAM RAM BAM and so forth, the layers of the five elements upon which is the celestial palace. The seed syllable then descends and b:comcs the deity, and one visualizes onesc:lf as the deity. Practice like this, one step after the other.

When mind nature has not been recognized, the completion sttge is scancrcd and the development stage practice resembles the building of a house. Without completion stage, the practitioner is like a man constructing a building. Thus, solely pursuing the dcvclopmenr stage, if you arc visualizing with arrachmenr to substance and solidity, you should in the end methodically di;solve the visualization - the palace dissolves into the deity, the deity dissolves inro the seed syllable and the syllable dissolves into th: nada and then into emptiness. Thinking at last "This is unborn and empty!" one completes the practice with emptiness. In such a case, that process of dissolving the visualization is called the completion stage.

Acrually, first cultivate the dcvelopmenr stage then look into who it is that meditates. The recognition of the nature of the meditator is itself the completion stage:. One cannot practice a r-:rfect devel