by Longchenpa
When the seven consciousnesses melt
Into the consciousness of the universal ground,
And the universal ground is purified in the ultimate expanse,
There occurs primordial coemergent wisdom,
Empty, luminous, and self-arisen.
This is what yogis must recognize.
And as this subsequently unfolds, the universal ground emerges from the dharmadhātu. From this the consciousness of the universal ground arises, and from this the mental consciousness alone appears, manifesting in various dream states. It is at this moment that mental objects deriving from habitual tendencies arise and are identified as one’s own.
More explicitly, when the winds or vehicles of moving thoughts and the winds of the channels that support the seven consciousnesses pass through the right and left channels or roma and kyangma and are entering the central channel or uma, there occurs the state called the “balanced consciousness of the universal ground” (kun gzhi sum mnyam gyi rnam par shes pa). This is so called because, at this juncture, the winds are of equal strength. When, however, these winds are in the central channel and mingle together in a single taste, this is the time of the universal ground, and the person in question is in a state of profound and dreamless sleep. There are some people, moreover, who do not dream at all. They remain in a state of nonfluctuation throughout the night.
Subsequently, the universal ground dissolves into the dharmadhātu. The channel of supremely unchanging luminosity, where the gross essence-drops and winds do not circulate, is located in the middle of the central channel. It has the nature of limpidly clear light. As it is said in the tantra called The All-Illuminating Sphere,
In the middle of the central channel
Is the channel of supremely changeless luminosity.
It is a luminous expanse both clear and immaterial,
The place of primal wisdom present of itself.
When the “refined wind of the central channel”—which is a name for cognition itself (shes pa nyid)—enters the channel of supremely changeless luminosity, luminosity manifests. It is at this point that lights, drops of light, rainbows, and so on of “manifest luminosity” appear. “Empty luminosity” also appears: it is the nature of the mind free from all conceptual movement. The “luminosity of union” also manifests: namely, great primordial wisdom experienced as luminous awareness.
From this there once again unfolds the universal ground, from which arises the consciousness of the universal ground and subsequently the mental consciousness. At this point the wind spreads through the life-supporting channel, which is the support of the mental consciousness. The wind then enters the channels that are the supports of the different sense organs. It is then that one wakes from sleep and there manifests the ordinary duality of apprehender and apprehended: the experiences of the daytime.
[Taken from the autocommentary, 284: 5–286: 4]
THE TATHĀGATAGARBHA
THE SŪTRAS OF definitive meaning belonging to the final turning of the wheel of Dharma clearly reveal the great secret of all the buddhas just as it is. These sūtras are the Dhāraṇīśvararājaparipṛcchā-sūtra, the Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanādaparipṛcchā-sūtra, the Ratnadārikāparipṛcchā-sūtra, the Vimaladevīparipṛcchā-sūtra, the Aṅgulimālīya-sūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, the Maitreyaparipṛcchā-sūtra, and the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra. These sūtras teach that the dharmadhātu, that is, the intrinsically pure nature of the mind or buddha-element, the essence of the Tathāgatas (the tathāgatagarbha), is primordially present in all beings. It is present from the very beginning and it is unchanging. Spontaneously, and from the very first, its appearing aspect is the source of the major and minor marks of the rūpakāya (the body of form), and its emptiness aspect is the dharmakāya (the body of ultimate reality) beyond all conceptual extremes. Since all enlightened qualities are naturally present within it, it is like a jewel; since it is unchanging, it is like space; and since it pervades all beings, as if moistening them, it is like water. By means of all such metaphors the tathāgatagarbha is set forth. As it is said in the Uttaratantra-śāstra,
As a jewel or space or water are all pure,
Its nature is at all times undefiled.161
For even when it is obscured by impurities, the tathāgatagarbha is itself free from stain. The nature of the mind is primordially luminous. As it is said in the Prajñāpāramitā in Eight Thousand Lines, “As for the mind, the mind does not exist; the nature of the mind is luminosity.”162 This is the buddha-element (khams) or potential (rigs) present in all beings. The Uttaratantra declares,
Because the kāya of perfect buddhahood is all-pervading,
Because in suchness there is no division,
Because they have potential for enlightenment,
All beings have at all times buddha essence.163
This buddha-potential is said to be the “beginningless, pure expanse of ultimate reality” (thog ma med pa’i chos khams dge ba). It is the primordial buddha within the ground. As it is said in the Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti, “There are no buddhas, first or last. Primordial Buddha lists to neither side.” And the Hevajra Tantra in Two Sections says,
Sentient beings are truly buddhas
And yet are stained by adventitious obscurations.
When these are removed, indeed they’re truly buddhas.
At the time when one is an ordinary being, the nature of the mind is, from the standpoint of appearance, in full possession of the qualities of the rūpakāya. From the standpoint of emptiness, it has all the qualities of the dharmakāya. Since, however, the mind’s nature is obscured by stains and is not actually manifest, it is referred to as the “element” (khams) or the “potential” (rigs). At the time of awakening (sangs rgyas), it is freed from all stain and is called “enlightenment” (byang chub). The only difference between these two cases lies in the complete manifestation or otherwise of the mind’s nature. It is not said that the qualities of enlightenment are nonexistent in the condition of ordinary beings and are generated anew later on. For these qualities are beyond all movement and change. As it is said in the Complete Revelation of the Essence Sūtra,
The ultimate expanse from time without beginning
Is the resting place of all phenomena.
Since it is possessed by every being,
All possess the state beyond all sorrow.
As it was before, so later it will be.
It is unchanging suchness.
The luminous character of the mind’s nature is unsullied by defilement. As it is said in the Uttaratantra,
This nature of the mind, this luminosity,
Like space, is without change.
Craving and the rest are adventitious stains
Deriving from deluded thought, and they do not defile it.164
The buddha-potential may be classified twofold as the naturally present potential (rang bzhin gnas rigs) subsisting from the very beginning, and the developed potential (bsgrub pa’i rigs), which arises on the basis of the practices that remove circumstantial impurities.
The naturally present potential may again be classified twofold. First, there is the naturally present potential that is the ultimate nature of phenomena—the empty nature of the mind, free from all conceptual extremes (chos nyid rang bzhin du gnas pa’i rigs)—which is the cause for the removal or separation (bral rgyu) [of obscuring stains] from the svābhāvikakāya. Second, there is the naturally present potential that is the phenomenal appearance of the ultimate nature (chos can rang bzhin du gnas pa’i rigs), which is the cause for the removal or separation [of obscuring stains] from the supreme rūpakāya.
From the very beginning, phenomenal appearance partakes of the ultimate nature. The Parinirvāṇa-sūtra says,
Son of my lineage, the mind’s nature is naturally luminous; it is naturally devoid of intrinsic being and is naturally pure. Its appearance is arrayed in the brilliant qualities of the major and minor marks, which are not separate from it. They are, h
owever, distinguished from the standpoint of appearance and emptiness.
The developed potential refers to the potential that is purified by the cultivation of bodhichitta and so on—that is, through the practices on the path of learning, which are related to skillful means and wisdom, the accumulations of merit and wisdom. As the Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra says, “Ah, children of the Conqueror! The potential of enlightenment (byang chub kyi rigs) consists in an earnest search for the dharmadhātu. Those who have seen this potential—luminous in nature, vast as the sky—are those who have trained in the accumulations of wisdom and of merit.” And as the Uttaratantra says,
Like a treasure or a tree grown from a fruit,
The potential should be understood to have two aspects:
Natural presence that persists from time without beginning
And perfection that derives from proper cultivation.
From the potential’s twofold aspect, it is said,
The triple kāya of the Buddha is attained.
From the first arises the first kāya;
From the second come the later two.
The svābhāvikakāya, fair and beautiful—
It should be understood—is like a precious image.
For it is present by its nature: it is uncontrived
And is a treasury of precious qualities.
Like a universal monarch is the sambhogakāya:
For it is sovereign of the mighty realm of Dharma.
The nirmāṇakāya is like a golden form:
It therefore has the character of a reflection.165
The svābhāvikakāya, the nature of the mind, the naturally present potential that is the ultimate nature of phenomena, is like a jewel. Within this spontaneously present state, there manifests the naturally present potential that is the phenomenal appearance of the ultimate nature. This is both the saṃbhogakāya, which is like a universal sovereign, and the nirmāṇakāya, which is the saṃbhogakāya’s reflection, and provides the support for the appearance of the supreme nirmāṇakāya, which manifests for the sake of beings to be guided. In the case of ordinary beings, these kāyas are veiled by impurities and are thus not perceptible. However, the accumulation of merit (arising through the cultivation of bodhichitta and so on) removes the veils that conceal the rūpakāya, whereas the accumulation of wisdom (effected through meditation on emptiness) dispels the veils that conceal ultimate reality, the svābhāvikakāya.
The potential that is naturally present and the developed potential are linked together primordially as support and supported. The first is like the support provided by limpid water, while the second is like the various reflections that appear in the water. The potential that thus dwells within the ground is like an object that is to be known, whereas the developed potential subsisting in the present situation is like the knowing mind. Once again, they are linked in the manner of support and supported. The natural potential—both the ultimate nature (chos nyid) and its phenomenal appearance (chos can)—is in a manner of speaking the cause that makes possible the removal [of obscuration]. It is not the result of it. The developed potential is like an antidote that dissipates the veils but is not the actual cause of the two kāyas in the manner of a causal process involving an agent and object of production. This potential brings forth a wealth of perfect qualities, which are realized on the path of learning. It releases them and brings them to maturity on the level of buddhahood.
As it is written in the Sūtrālaṃkāra,
The natural and the developed,
The support and the supported—
[The first] exists [as cause] and it does not exist [as the result].
[The second] should be understood as meaning the release of qualities.166
All beings are pervaded by the tathāgatagarbha. Nine images or similes are used to illustrate how it dwells in the midst of defilement. It is said in the Uttaratantra,
Like a buddha in a faded lotus, honey in the midst of bees,
Like the kernel in the husk and gold in filthy soil,
Like treasure in the earth, the shooting plant within the tiny grain,
Or like the image of the Conqueror wrapped up in tattered rags,
Like a lord of men enclosed within a beggar-woman’s womb,
Or like a precious image hid within the clay—
Concealed by the defilements’ adventitious veils,
The buddha-element subsists in sentient beings.167
These nine similes all refer to the buddha-element, which is obscured in ordinary beings, in the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha arhats, and in bodhisattvas who are on the paths of seeing and meditation. There are four images that illustrate how the tathāgatagarbha dwells in the minds of ordinary beings who have not entered the path and also of those who have entered it but are on the paths of accumulation and joining. It is present in their minds but is concealed by four impurities. The first image is that of the tathāgatagarbha that dwells within latent desire. As it is said in the Uttaratantra,
Just as enclosed within a faded lotus flower,
The Tathāgata, shining with the thousand marks of buddhahood,
Is seen by those who have unsullied divine sight
And taken from the petals of that blossom, water-born.
In just the same way, those who “go in bliss” behold with their enlightened and unsullied eyes
That their own nature dwells in those caught in the Hell of Torment Unsurpassed;
And, sovereigns of compassion who remain until the ending of saṃsāra,
They act to liberate those beings from their obscurations.168
The second image is that of the tathāgatagarbha dwelling in latent anger. As it is said in the Uttaratantra,
Just as honey in the midst of swarming bees
Sought for by a skillful man
Who sees it and with clever art
Withdraws it from the swarm,
Likewise, the great Sage with his all-knowing eyes
Beholds the wisdom, buddha nature, honeylike,
And acts to free it fully and forever
From the beelike veils obscuring it.169
The third image is that of the tathāgatagarbha that dwells within latent ignorance.
Just as the kernel of a grain within its husk
Is inappropriate for human use,
And those who wish to eat of it
Must first withdraw it from its shell,
Just so the nature of the Conqueror
Is mingled with the dross of the defilements.
As long as it has not been freed therefrom,
Enlightened deeds in the three worlds will not occur.170
The fourth image is that of the tathāgatagarbha dwelling amid the manifest and strongly active defilements of desire, aversion, and ignorance.
Just as in a time of great commotion
A person’s gold was dropped into a foul and dirty place,
Where it remains just as it was
For many centuries, by nature indestructible,
Until a god endowed with pure and godly eyes
Discerned it there and speaking to some person said,
“The gold that here lies hid is of great price.
Let it be cleansed and made into a precious thing.”
The Sage, beholding thus the excellence of sentient beings
Sunk in their defilements like that foul and filthy place,
Sends down upon them rains of pure instruction
That the mire of their defilements might be cleansed away.171
There is one image that illustrates how the buddha-element dwells amid the propensity to ignorance as this is found in the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha arhats.
Just as in the earth beneath a poor man’s dwelling,
There was once a treasure inexhaustible,
Of which the man knew nothing
(For the treasure did not say that it was there),
Within the mind there lies a precious treasure.
Its nature is im
maculate, with nothing to be added, nothing to remove.
Because they do not know this, living beings
Constantly endure the many ills of poverty.172
Two images illustrate how the buddha essence dwells amid the defilements that are to be eliminated by the path of seeing. The first is as follows:
Just as the ever-present tendency to burgeon from a seed,
Subsisting in a mango and the fruits of other trees,
Is provoked by water and the tilling of the ground,
That thence a kingly tree will gradually grow,
Just so, the pure expanse of ultimate reality that’s caught inside the rind—
Living beings’ ignorance and all the rest—
Will, on the basis of the virtues,
Burgeon by degrees into a king of sages.173
The second of the two images is as follows:
Just as a spirit who discovers by the road
An image of the Conqueror contrived of precious jewels,
But wrapped in tattered, foul, and fetid rags, declares—
That it may be uncovered—“There it is beside the path,”
In just the same way those with unobstructed sight behold