Naked Awareness Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen

by Chagme, Karma; Gyatrul Rinpoche

• ISBN13: 9781559391467
• ISBN10: 1559391464
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-03-27
• Publisher: Snow Lion

Summary

This is a 17th-century presentation of the union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen by Karma Chagme, one of the greatest partiarchs of Tibetan Buddism.

Author Biography

Karma Chagmé was a major lineage-holder of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and his writings have also become central to the Payul Nyingma order, making him an ideal figure to integrate two of the great meditation systems of Tibet: Mahamudra and Atiyoga.

Table of Contents

Preface	7	(6)
An Oral Transmission on the Vows of Mahayana Refuge and the Spirit of Awakening	13	(24)
Narratives of Actions and Their Consequences	37	(20)
Actions and Their Consequences	57	(24)
An Introduction to Parables and Their Meanings	81	(16)
A Prose Identification	97	(24)
The Identification of Mahamudra	121	(32)
How to Follow the Path of the Leap-over	153	(26)
Guidance on the Path of Transference	179	(22)
An Introduction to the Ground, Path, and Fruition	201	(20)
The Four Stages of Yoga	221	(22)
How to Progress Along the Grounds and Paths	243	(18)
Conclusion	261	(22)
Notes	283	(6)
Buddhist Sanskrit and Tibetan Terms	289	(6)
Buddhist Terms in English Translation	295	(8)
Glossary of Names	303	(4)
Index of Texts Cited by the Author	307	(12)
General Index	319

Excerpts

Chapter One

An Oral Transmission on the Vows of

Mahayana Refuge and the Spirit

of Awakening

Homage to Avalokitesvara!

-- While this text begins with teachings on the vows of Mahayana refuge and the spirit of awakening, please bear in mind that refuge, the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind, and the spirit of awakening itself are really the pivotal focus of the teachings and practice. Without them we're not even Buddhists, and liberation and enlightenment are out of the question. It's by means of refuge, the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind, and the spirit of awakening that we actually accomplish our own ends, as well as serve the needs of others.

    Before beginning to study this text, we must bring to mind the importance of cultivating a wholesome and meaningful motivation for both the teachings and the practice. Our motivation must be to attain enlightenment in order to be of benefit to all sentient beings. Without cultivating a wholesome motivation, this commentary, its translation into English, and reading this work will be pointless.

    What if we do neglect our motivation? We must then ask, "Is it enough to simply become a Buddhist? Is taking the vows of refuge and thereby entering the door of Buddhadharma enough?" No, it's not. Nor is it enough to take the precepts of refuge and the bodhisattva vows. Our goal is the attainment of the omniscient state of enlightenment. Why is this needed? It is to attain enlightenment and to liberate ourselves from suffering. And to achieve this, we must first focus on the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind.

    The first of these four topics is the precious human life of leisure and endowment. Now, to understand this in terms of an analogy, imagine that you're drifting in a vast ocean and come upon a small island overflowing with everything that you could possibly need. It has forests, excellent soil, water, and a fine climate. However, although this soil is so rich that you could grow anything in it, it hasn't been properly prepared. Boulders, thorns, and so on need to be cleared away, then you can sow any crop you wish, and it will bring a fine harvest. Our precious human life is like this island with its rich soil. The stones, thorns, and so forth are like the three poisons of the mind. Just as this soil can give rise to a harvest that can be enjoyed and shared with others, similarly, this human life with which we are presently endowed is replete with all the necessary causes, personal as well as public opportunities or endowments, to accomplish our own ends and the goals of others.

    Now, imagine that you fall back into this vast ocean, and it's filled with dangerous animals, such as sharks and crocodiles. This ocean is like the cycle of existence, in which so many sentient beings devour one another. The moment you fall back into the ocean, your situation becomes virtually hopeless.

    There are many islands in this ocean, some of them dry with poor soil and some with no forests. There are very few that are replete with such excellent soil and such ideal conditions for prospering. Moreover, since none are permanent, eventually they will all sink back beneath the water. These other islands are like the various types of human life. Among human beings, there are some people who have some kind of spiritual practice, while many others have none at all. Human life without spiritual practice is like living on a dry and barren island.

    Right now in our present circumstances we are on a very fertile island. This is a good island--our present human life yet we need to bear in mind that we have it for only a short time. Spend this time most effectively and meaningfully in order to recognize what is virtuous and what is nonvirtuous, adopting the former and avoiding the latter. Most importantly, once you have taken precepts or vows, keep them. If you break them, then recognize and confess this and carry on, restraining from such acts in the future. In the meantime it's important not to fall into erroneous views and misconceptions that can lead you away from the spiritual path. By following these very simple, basic guidelines, our human lives can be very meaningful.

    Even if you are drawn to the teachings and practice of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, it's important to proceed step by step in order to gain realization in such practice. First, establish a foundation in the Hinayana, or the Individual Vehicle. Take the precepts of individual liberation, such as the five precepts, for example. Upon that basis, you can then proceed to Mahayana and cultivate the two types of the spirit of awakening, the spirit of aspiring for awakening and the spirit of venturing towards awakening, each having its own precepts. Most importantly, within the context of Mahayana practice, never be separated from these two types of the spirit of awakening. In developing a spirit of awakening and taking the precepts, we need to counteract our long-standing tendency to act out of self-centeredness. We need to engage in the practice of Dharma for the sake of others.

    The Great Perfection is included in the context of Buddhist tantra , for which one must receive an empowerment before engaging in the practice. Of the various empowerments given, the fourth is of special importance. With the stage of generation and the stage of completion practices as the basis, receive this empowerment, while paying special attention to the fourth initiation and its samayas , or pledges. When fully understood, each of the preliminary practices, such as taking refuge, Vajrasattva meditation, and guruyoga , contains both the stage of generation and stage of completion. For example, if you have a full understanding of the practice of taking refuge, all forms are seen as emanations of the field of refuge; and all sounds are heard as the speech of the objects of refuge. Taking refuge in this way becomes a complete tantric practice. Similarly, as you engage in Vajrasattva meditation, you will see all forms as the form of Vajrasattva and hear all sounds as the speech of Vajrasattva. This is also true of the practice of transference of consciousness, which includes the stages of generation and completion. However, transference has the special purpose of preparing us for death, and therein is its special advantage.

    Bestowing and receiving an empowerment is very important, so it's very important to maintain the proper attitude. Some people seem to go for empowerments as if they were simply making a collection, proudly telling their friends of their latest acquisitions. This attitude is like throwing all precepts and empowerments into the garbage. It's just a waste.

    The practice of the Great Perfection clearly relates to the two stages of generation and completion. Let's look at the Dzogchen view. Sometimes I hear people say they have received teachings on the Great Perfection and have gained realization. It seems that most people who make these proclamations fall into one of two categories: (1) while they think they're realizing the meaning, they are still grasping onto a mental object, so the subject/object dichotomy is still being sustained; and they are also grasping onto the idea that they have realized something. We can decide for ourselves whether that is on the right track. (2) Other people who make such claims are really remaining simply with a blank mind while they are apparently meditating. If that were true Dzogchen practice, then the stages of generation and completion and all the teachings on the ten bodhisattva grounds and five bodhisattva paths would obviously be irrelevant. If Dzogchen practice consisted simply of stopping thoughts and remaining in a state of mental vacuousness, then the two stages of this practice---of the Breakthrough and the Leap-over--would also be irrelevant.

    Sometimes we try to justify other peoples' conduct, saying they are siddhas , or accomplished beings, who are beyond judgment. But Guru Rinpoche himself said that while his view was as vast as space, he was meticulous in terms of his conduct. If Guru Rinpoche felt this was necessary, why should we make exceptions for siddhas who may have lesser degrees of realization?

    Whether you are grasping at an object or becoming spaced out, you are not free of conceptual elaborations, so you are not truly engaging in Dzogchen practice. Grasping onto an object seems to entail the extreme of substantialism, while spacing out is associated with the extreme of nihilism. At the same time, it is one more error to spend one's time focusing on others' errors in practice instead of attending to one's own situation, for this is a kind of spiritual hypocrisy.

    Both the preliminaries and the actual practice of Dzogchen are crucial. Without training in the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind, even on the verge of death, we will still cling to all the things we're so accustomed to grasping onto, such as our possessions, home, environment, status, and reputation. It's so difficult to let them go. It's so easy to have the sense that you can't die yet because you haven't completed your projects. It doesn't work that way. If you're an old man like me, the Lord of Death has already half swallowed you, so if you still have no renunciation and don't think about future lifetimes, that means that you're not really disillusioned with cyclic existence. In this case, what's the difference between being a Buddhist and non-Buddhist?

    It's also possible that once you have taken refuge and heard some teachings, you might become conceited and think you have thoroughly fathomed the teachings. You might even think of yourself as a teacher. Bear in mind, it's not so easy to be a teacher. First, you must purify and subdue your own mind. Only then may you be in a position to help others subdue their minds. For example, if one blind person tries to lead another, they're both out of luck. Consequently, in order to accomplish our own goals and the goals of others, it's important to go back to the beginning, to cultivate what the Zen tradition calls a "beginner's mind"--totally fresh, unknowing, wide open to everything. Go back to the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind, because they are the key that opens up the great treasure house of Buddhist teachings. In order to become familiar with them, read them. And, as you read them, study them, and put them into practice. --

    [524] These are the profound practical instructions of Avalokitesvara. On your right side arrange an image of the Buddha, and Dharma volumes such as this text of instructions. If you have a stupa , place it there as well, and in front of all these lay out the sevens kinds of offerings, a mandala , and so on.

-- The author initially gives instructions on setting up an altar as a direct preparation for taking the precepts of refuge and purifying the mind. The minds we bring to the practice are impure, so it's helpful to create an environment, with beautiful offerings and so forth, that is pure and induces a sense of gladness and faith. --

    I shall offer a more extensive explanation of the meaning of refuge and the spirit of awakening than was presented earlier in the instructions on the preliminaries. Once you have understood the meaning of this, if you again request these vows, they truly will arise in you; it is difficult for them to arise simply by engaging in recitations without understanding the meaning. In this supplementary Dharma, the vows will be bestowed.

-- Some people may wonder whether it is enough to take the vows of refuge just once. If one has taken these vows and kept them, in one way this is sufficient. On the other hand, taking these vows is like eating: we need to eat every day to sustain our health. Likewise, until we attain perfect enlightenment, it's very important to continue taking these vows of refuge and to keep them. --

    In terms of the vows of refuge, [525] there are those common to the different yanas and there are the Mahayana vows of refuge; and now we are concerned with the latter. Here is the object from whom the vows are requested, according to the tradition of the present teachings: In the space in front of you there is a broad, vast, and mighty throne of jewels supported by lions. Upon it is a variegated lotus with a hundred thousand petals, on which rests a round moon-disk. In its center is your own primary spiritual mentor Amitabha, present in the garb of a sambhogakaya , surrounded by Kagyü lamas .

-- When visualizing the Kagyü lamas , you might be wondering which Kagyü lineage (the Karma Kagyü, Drukpa Kagyü, and so on) you should imagine. Actually in this reference to the Kagyü lamas , the syllable "Ka" means "teachings" and "gyü" means "lineage." The term "Kagyü lamas " here refers to all spiritual mentors who hold the lineage of the kama and termas . This includes Kagyü lamas as well as the Geluk, Sakya, and Nyingma lamas . --

    In front of him is the chosen deity Avalokitesvara surrounded by a myriad of chosen deities. On his right is Buddha Sakyamuni surrounded by a myriad of buddhas including [526] the thousand buddhas of this fortunate era. Behind him is The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in One Hundred Thousand Stanzas , surrounded by a myriad of treatises and volumes of sublime Dharma. On his left is Vajrapani, surrounded by a myriad of the Mahayana and Hinayana Sangha, including the eight bodhisattva spiritual sons and the eight supreme sravakas . All the cardinal and intermediate directions are filled with viras and dakinís . Beneath him are a myriad of Dharma-protectors, including the Four-armed Mahakala, Six-armed Mahakala, and Draklha Gönpo. On the crowns of their heads is Om , at their throats, Ah , and at their hearts, Hum . From the Hum at their hearts rays of light are emitted in the ten directions, inviting all the spiritual mentors, chosen deities, viras, dakinis , and Dharma-protectors like gathering clouds. Imagine that they dissolve into the deities visualized in front of you.

    With palms pressed together holding a stick of incense, the master and disciples invite them by chanting together:

You are the protector of all sentient beings without exception, the unassailable, divine conqueror who defeats the hosts of maras , who knows all things as they are. Lord, please come to this place together with your retinue.

Lord, for countless eons you have cultivated compassion for sentient beings, and you have made vast prayers to fulfill the needs of us all. Now, when the time has come, please dispense a myriad of miraculous blessings from your spontaneous palace of the absolute space of phenomena. In order to liberate limitless hosts of sentient beings, please come together with your entire retinue.

You are the Lord of all Dharmas, your complexion is like pure gold, with a splendor more magnificent than the sun. Due to my faith, may you gaze upon me. Peaceful and compassionate, subdued and abiding in meditative stabilization, with your Dharma and primordial wisdom free of attachment, you possess inexhaustible power. Return, return, O being of the peace of purity. Omniscient sage, foremost of living beings, come to this place of offerings, which are presented like beautiful reflections.

Lord, it is good for you to come here. We possess merit and good fortune. Please accept our offerings, attend to us, and grant your blessings.

When we offer this eight-petalled lotus as vast as the galaxy, with joy and open-heartedness, [527] please remain as long as you please.

-- Holding a stick of incense, a flower, or any other suitable offering, ask for blessings and for forgiveness for all of the downfalls and errors you have committed in the past. --

    If you wish, you may expand on this by offering the ritual bath and the mandala . This is the brief liturgy:

Just as the gods bathed you as soon as you were born, so do I bathe you with pure, divine water. This is a glorious, supreme bath, with the unsurpassable water of compassion. With the water of blessings and primordial wisdom, grant me whatever siddhis I desire. The body, speech, and mind of the jinas are free of the obscurations of mental afflictions, but in order to purify the obscurations of the body, speech, and mind of sentient beings, I bathe you with pure water.

-- The buddhas are free of all obscurations and defilements, so there is nothing that devas or human beings can do to purify them. But in order to purify our own obscurations, negative actions and so on, this ritual bath is offered. For example, in terms of the usual offerings placed on an altar or offerings made during a sadhana practice, there is the offering of water for drinking. The buddhas aren't really thirsty, so this offering is not something they need. Rather, we offer it for our own benefit. The second offering is water to bathe the feet. Once again the buddhas don't need their feet bathed, but for our purification, we offer this as a ritual bath. To perform this ritual more elaborately with two phases not included in this text, one would imagine drying the buddhas with a pure towel, and then make an offering of beautiful garments.

    These offerings are followed immediately with the concise mandala offering. You may instead recite the intermediate or extensive mandala offering while either placing a mandala on your altar or performing the mandala offering mudra with your hands. --

And:

The foundation of the earth annointed with perfumed water and strewn with flowers, adorned with Mount Meru, the four world-sectors, the sun, and moon I visualize as a pure realm of the buddhas . Due to this offering, may all beings experience this perfectly pure realm! Idam ratna mandalakam niryàtayami .

    Thus, imagine that the objects of refuge are experientially present in the space in front of you. Indeed, they are actually present, for it is said, "For those who believe in the Buddha, the Sage is present before them," and "Like reflections of the moon in water, they appear wherever you look." So they are actually present. Moreover, the buddhas and bodhisattvas dwelling in the pure realms of the ten directions see you with their eyes of primordial wisdom, and they certainly hear you chanting. So this is the same as requesting the vows from all the buddhas .

-- At this point, you don't need to have any doubts. By having faith, the buddhas are, in fact, actually present. Buddhas are not like rocks that can be present in only one place. Rather, they are like a hundred reflections of the moon in a hundred water-filled vessels. Wherever there is a vessel of water facing the moon, there you will find the reflection of the moon. Buddhas are present, not as material entities, but as forms of primordial wisdom, for all those who have faith in them.

    Moreover be certain that all the buddhas and bodhisattvas hear you chanting. That is, as you take vows from Buddha Amitabha or your own spiritual mentor in the nature of Buddha Amitabha, since they are the synthesis of all of the buddhas , this is the same as taking the vows from all of the buddhas . --

    With the representations of the enlightened body, speech, and mind that you have set out in front of you as the basis of your visualization, request me to be your mentor. Imagine requesting the vows of Maha-yana refuge. The objects of refuge [528] are of the nature of the three embodiments, and the blessed buddhas are the Jewel of the Buddha. Request them to be your fundamental refuge. The holy Jewel of the Dharma is of the nature of the Mahayana scriptures and insights. Request this as your refuge in terms of the path. The bodhisattvas abiding on the first ground and beyond are the Mahayana Jewel of the Sangha. Imagine requesting them to be your refuge by being your companions.

-- Here Karma Chagmé Rinpoche is telling his students to request that he be their mentor from whom to take these vows. That is one way to proceed, but you don't necessarily need to have your spiritual mentor present to take the vows of refuge. If he's not available, it is still possible simply to set up your altar with the representations of the enlightened body, speech and mind of the Buddha, and take the vows on your own. As you do the visualization, moreover, the person that you visualize may be your own spiritual mentor or it may be Guru Rinpoche. The being in whom you have the greatest faith is your primary spiritual mentor and you visualize that person as being of the nature of Amitabha.

    Moreover, Mahayana refuge involves entrusting oneself from this time until Buddhahood. This is the level of commitment. It's not like the common tendency of practicing Buddhism until you're bored and then throwing it away. Being fickle like this doesn't hurt the Three Jewels--the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Instead, it is detrimental to you. It's taking this altogether unique opportunity in which you have the possibility of attaining perfect enlightenment in one lifetime--all of these causes and conditions which have come together in this extremely rare and precious situation of your present life--and then throwing it into the garbage. That's not so appropriate, is it? Isn't it like spilling food all over yourself in an excellent restaurant? --

This does not entail going for refuge for our own sake alone. Seek refuge in order to bring all sentient beings to the state of spiritual awakening. This is not seeking refuge only for the duration of your life, as in the case of the Hinayana; rather think, "I seek refuge from today until I achieve spiritual awakening." On bended knee, with your palms pressed together, and with the single-pointed wish to request the Mahayana vows of refuge, recite this after me three times:

All buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions, please attend to me. Mentor, please attend to me. From this time until I am present in the essence of enlightenment [529], I take refuge in the blessed Buddha, the foremost among human beings. I take refuge in the holy Dharma, the foremost freedom from attachment. I take refuge in the aryas and non-returning Sangha, the foremost community. (3 times)

(Continues...)

Excerpted from NAKED AWARENESS by Karma Chagmé. Copyright © 2000 by Gyatrul Rinpoche and B. Alan Wallace. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.