Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind

by Longchenpa

  Ema-o! Through the working of one’s thoughts,

  One strays from the sugatagarbha.

  It is at that moment that, inasmuch as one fails to recognize primordial wisdom, one speaks of coemergent ignorance (lhan cig skyes pa’i ma rig pa). Inasmuch as one takes the self-experience [and display] of primordial wisdom as something other, one speaks of conceptual ignorance (kun brtags pa’i ma rig pa). Through failing to recognize that this self-experience of primal wisdom arises within the fundamental mode of being, and through clinging to it as a self and sense objects, this same self-experience is mistaken for the outer vessel of the universe and for the beings that are its inner essence, with their bodies (the result of their habitual tendencies) and their minds, filled as they are with the five poisons in their various forms. As The All-Creating King declares,

  Beings fail to understand my nature—

  I who am the all-creator.

  They scrutinize the things that I myself create

  And crave and are attached to them,

  And therefore these appearances acquire solidity.

  Yet transient, illusion-like, they all disintegrate.

  Beings are like men born blind

  Who do not see the way things are.

  The cause of their delusion is ignorance. As it is said in the abridged Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, “All beings of whichever capacity, high, medium, or low, have manifested through ignorance, so the Sugata has said.” The contributing condition for their delusion is their clinging to duality. As it is said in the Prajnāpāramitā in Eight Thousand Lines, “Beings circle in saṃsāra because of their clinging to ‘I’ and ‘mine.’” And the Prajñāpāramitā in Twenty Thousand Lines says,

  Ordinary, childish beings perceive aggregates where there are no aggregates, elements where there are no elements, sources where there are no sources, and dependently arising things where there are no dependently arising things. Because of their fully ripened karma, they incorrectly apprehend dependently produced phenomena.

  How is it that beings arise? Owing to the two kinds of ignorance, conditioning factors [action] occur, and it is through these that existence is compounded. It is through conditioning factors that different kinds of beings exist [consciousness as the result], and name-and-form and so on are produced. Once the body takes shape [beginning with the stage when the embryo is globular, and so on until the moment of birth], there is contact, feeling, and the six senses and so on, until the stage of aging-and-death. Thus there unfolds the twelvefold cycle in which beings turn—on account of which one speaks of saṃsāra, or cyclic existence.

  It might be thought that it is impossible for the primordial, fundamental nature to exist as saṃsāra, and that within the sugatagarbha there can be no circling in saṃsāra. But this is untrue. The process resembles the case of limpid, transparent water that is free from all impurity, but which because of the winds of winter turns to ice as hard as stone. Within the primordial nature, and because of the duality that has arisen of apprehended and apprehender, hallucinatory appearances are perceived that are various and seemingly quite solid. This is demonstrated in the Song of Action from the Collected Songs of Realization,

  When blown and agitated by the wind,

  Even yielding water will turn hard as stone.

  When the mind’s disturbed by thought,

  Formless nescience takes shape

  As something solid and extremely hard.

  This is what happens when delusion occurs within the sugatagarbha. The unchanging, unmoving primordial purity of the nature of the mind is called the ultimate universal ground of joining (sbyor ba don gyi kun gzhi). It is the dharmakāya, in which the perfect rūpakāyas, buddhafields, and primordial wisdoms are all implicit. Yet they are veiled by ignorance, on account of which they are falsely perceived in terms of apprehender and apprehended. So it is that the ultimate ground of joining becomes the universal ground of various habitual tendencies (bag chags sna tshogs pa’i kun gzhi), in which are lodged—from time without beginning—the seeds of all the many habits of delusion. Subsequently, and depending on which habitual tendencies are the stronger, happy or evil destinies are experienced and one circles in them as in a dream. At that time, one clings to “I” and “self”; one tastes of hatred and desire and all the five poisons. Thus one engages in action and the creation of yet further habitual tendencies. Thoroughly mistaken with regard to things that have no existence, one clings to them and experiences them in all their variety as if they were truly existent. One turns continuously on the wheel of hallucinatory appearances revolving day and night without reprieve. This very circling is completely groundless. It seems that one wanders farther from liberation because of one’s manifold delusions. But these are like the illusions of a dream. One wanders, prey to feelings of joy and sorrow, just like the prince who, losing his realm, became a wanderer on the road. Yet throughout the entire time of his destitution, he possessed by his very nature the happiness of supreme riches. For he was born within the kingly state, and his sorrow was but a transient condition. As it is said in the Treasure Inexhaustible, a Song of Instruction,

  Beings entangled in the bindweed of existence,

  In the desert of self-clinging parched with thirst,

  Are like a young prince dispossessed and fatherless.

  Mental anguish is their lot; they have no chance of happiness.

  And yet, throughout the time that they wander senselessly in the desert of the world, they nevertheless possess, as it has been shown above, the tathāgatagarbha as their very nature. The Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra says,

  Kyé, O child of the Buddha! So it is. Imagine an immense expanse of silk cloth, equal in size to all the worlds of the three-thousandfold universe, and on this vast sheet of silk are painted all the worlds of the entire universe. Thus it is devised. The great sheet of silk is painted over every part of its extent. The three-thousandfold universe is painted equal in size to the worlds of the three-thousandfold universe. The worlds of the two-thousandfold universe are painted equal in size to the worlds of the two-thousandfold universe; the worlds of the one-thousandfold universe are painted equal in size to the worlds of the one-thousandfold universe. The worlds of the four cosmic continents are painted equal in size to the worlds of the four cosmic continents. The great ocean too is painted according to its actual size; the painting of Jambudvīpa is the size of Jambudvīpa; the painting of Pūrvavideha is the actual size of Pūrvavideha in the east; the painting of Aparagodānīya is the actual size of Aparagodānīya in the west; the painting of Uttarakuru is the actual size of Uttarakuru in the north. The painting of Mount Sumeru is in size equal to Mount Sumeru itself; the palaces of the gods living on the earth are painted equal in size to the actual palaces; the palaces of the gods of the desire realm are painted equal in size to those palaces; palaces of the gods of the form realm are painted equal in size to those actual palaces. In length and width, this great sheet of silk is of a size equal to the worlds of the three-thousandfold universe. And nevertheless it is placed within a single infinitesimal particle. And in the same way that it was placed within a single infinitesimal particle, it is placed in each and every infinitesimal particle. Now it came to pass that certain beings were born, wise and learned, perspicacious and clear-minded, with eyes endowed with divine sight, pure and clear. And with their godlike eyes, they looked upon this great silken sheet and saw that it was enclosed within a tiny, infinitesimal particle and was thus of no use to anyone. And they bethought themselves, “Kyémamala! If this infinitesimal particle were forcibly split with great power, the great sheet of silk will sustain all beings.” And so they contrived a great energy and power and with a tiny vajra, they split the infinitesimal particle. And as they had thought, this great sheet of silk did indeed support and sustain all beings. And just as they had done to this one infinitesimal particle, likewise did they do to all the other particles without exception.

  Kyé, O child of the Buddha! Likewise the unbounded primal wisdo
m of the Tathāgata, the primal wisdom that sustains all beings, permeates the mind streams of all beings. And the mind streams of beings are likewise as unbounded as the primal wisdom of the Tathāgata. So it is. But childish beings, fettered by their clinging to their thoughts and their perceptions, do not know the primal wisdom of the Tathāgata. They are completely ignorant of it; they do not experience it; they do not realize it. But perceiving with his wisdom free from all attachment that the dharmadhātu dwells present in all beings, the Tathāgata transformed himself into a teacher who declared, “Kyémamala! Beings know nothing of the perfect primal wisdom of the Tathāgata, even though they are completely permeated by it. I will therefore reveal to them the path of the noble ones. Thus they may eliminate and destroy all the fetters that their thoughts contrive.

  [Taken from the autocommentary, 310: 6–348: 3]

  REFUGE

  THERE ARE TWO objects of refuge, common and uncommon. The object of refuge envisaged by beings of both small and medium scope is the common object of refuge [that is, shared by all], whereas the object of refuge for beings of great scope is uncommon [in being exclusive to them]. The reason for this may be explained as follows.

  When beings of small scope (who have entered the Dharma) and the two classes of beings of medium scope commit themselves to the sacred object of refuge, they do so only with regard to their present situation and for the present time [until their death]. By contrast, the object of refuge for the Mahāyāna, but not for beings of small and medium scope, is the dharmakāya of the Buddha, the Dharma of the Great Vehicle, and the Saṅgha of the bodhisattvas. In the case of the Mahāyāna refuge, to take causal refuge means to take the Three Jewels as the guides who will escort one to the result. By contrast, to take resultant refuge is the wish that the Three Jewels, understood in the sense of a result, be actualized within one’s own mind stream. In both cases, the rituals of the accompanying vows and the kind of compassion involved are similar. And as it is said in the Sūtrālaṃkāra,

  Know that the resolve of those who wish for buddhahood

  Arises through compassion.198

  Moreover, those who adhere to the expository vehicle of causality [the sūtra section of the Mahāyāna] take refuge in the belief that buddhahood will be attained only after three measureless kalpas and more. To wish that the ultimate dharmakāya be gained within one’s mind stream is to take resultant refuge. Until this is achieved, to take refuge in the Three Jewels as one’s guides is the cause of such an attainment and is therefore the “causal refuge.”

  In the immediate term, the object of refuge is described as the Three Jewels, but ultimately, the real object of refuge is the Buddha’s dharmakāya alone. By contrast, the form body (rūpakāya) of the Buddha, the Dharma of transmission and realization, the four paths [of learning] present in the minds of bodhisattvas, the two kinds of cessation of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, the four pairs of beings belonging to the Saṅgha of the lesser vehicle, and the great beings residing on the ten grounds of realization of the Great Vehicle are not objects of refuge, for they are of relative status and are not ultimate. They themselves must still attain liberation by relying upon something other than themselves. To be sure, since the form body is of relative status, and because the Dharma of realization present in the mind streams of bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and pratyekabuddhas (as distinct from the Dharma of realization present in a buddha’s mind) is impermanent—for it is accomplished with effort and is yet to be perfected—the form body and the Dharma of realization are both deceptive.199 Moreover, the Dharma of transmission is something to be laid aside once the truth has been seen. And the members of the Saṅgha, inasmuch as they are apprehensive of the obscurations and latent tendencies associated with their different levels, experience fear and therefore must rely upon the Buddha. As it is said in the Uttaratantra,

  Because the one will be forsaken and the other is deceptive,

  Because [cessation] is a simple absence, and because there is still fear,

  The twofold Dharma and the noble Saṅgha

  Are not the highest, everlasting, refuge.200

  What then is true refuge? It is the ultimate dharmakāya. As the Uttaratantra also says,

  In the final sense, the refuge of all beings

  Is buddhahood alone.

  For the Sage embodies Dharma and is

  The final goal of the Assembly.201

  And the Showing Gratitude Sūtra says,

  The Venerable Ānanda asked, “What is the Buddha in which we take refuge?” The Buddha replied, “You take refuge in the dharmakāya; you do not take refuge in the rūpakāya.”

  Ānanda then asked, “What is the Dharma in which we take refuge? And the Buddha replied, “You take refuge in the ultimate Dharma, not in the relative Dharma.”

  Ānanda then asked, “What is the Saṅgha in which we take refuge?” And the Buddha answered, “You take refuge in the ultimate Saṅgha, not the relative Saṅgha.”

  In brief, therefore, when, with the wish to acquire within the mind one of the three kinds of enlightenment,202 one takes refuge with a commitment to this goal, the purpose of the causal refuge is brought to fulfillment and is hence referred to as the resultant refuge.

  Because the buddhas, Śākyamuni and others, appear to the minds of beings and explain to them the path that protects them from fear, they fulfill the role of Teachers. Because the Dharma that they reveal brings beings to the state of fearlessness, it fulfills the role of the path. And since the Saṅgha saves beings from fear, it fulfills the role of a friend. Consequently, since they are the cause of the accomplishment of the Three Jewels within the mind, they—the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha—are regarded as the objects of causal refuge. For if, through the assistance of the Saṅgha, beings implement the Dharma revealed by the Buddha, they will be freed from fear.

  Certain masters have expressed the opinion that the dharmakāya of the Buddha achieved within oneself is the only thing that protects one from the fear of the most subtle obscurations and from the fear that those who follow the Mahāyāna experience with regard to the lower vehicle. They therefore say that the Buddha’s dharmakāya constitutes the very object of resultant refuge. They say too that, in the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, the Jewel of Dharma is a realization that is born spontaneously in the mind stream at some point in the future and is, for that reason, qualified as the resultant refuge. In the vehicle of the śrāvakas, on the other hand, it is the Saṅgha or rather the arhatship that will arise within their mind stream at some future time that is posited as the object of resultant refuge. The masters just mentioned say, therefore, that the objects of resultant refuge of the three vehicles are different.

  This is not quite correct. In the Mahāyāna, it is said that within the state of buddhahood, the three kāyas are at one with the Three Jewels. Since this is so, how could it be right to say that the Dharma and the Saṅgha are not present equally? Both the śrāvakas and the pratyekabuddhas claim that the two cessations are the ultimate goal. Consequently, the ultimate truth, according to their tradition, becomes in effect the dharmakāya of unsurpassed enlightenment. How therefore can the śrāvakas be without the Jewels of Buddha and Dharma? The pratyekabuddhas, for their part, also affirm that enlightenment is the nature of cessation. They do not exclusively assert the Jewel of Dharma. This being so, the object of resultant refuge is said, in each case, to be enlightenment. And the wish to attain the ultimate Three Jewels is to take resultant refuge. As it is said in the Question of Ugra the Householder Sūtra,

  To take refuge in the Buddha is the wish to attain buddhahood.

  To take refuge in the Dharma is the wish to attain Dharma.

  To take refuge in the Saṅgha is the wish to attain the Saṅgha.

  To take refuge in the Three Jewels for the benefit of both oneself and others is to take causal refuge. As the Ratnakūṭa says,

  O bhikṣus! To free yourselves and others from fear and harm, take refuge! All your cherished hopes will be p
erfectly fulfilled!

  Practitioners of the Secret Mantra wish to realize directly the nature of the mind that dwells within themselves, abiding naturally and in this very moment as Buddha. In common with the other vehicles, they take refuge in the Three Jewels as outer objects. However, in a manner that is specific to themselves, they meditate on the nature of the mind, which is primordially unborn. Moreover, the Three Jewels present in every maṇḍala and the Three Jewels of the general teachings are both considered to be objects of causal refuge; and to take refuge in them is to take causal refuge. The Three Jewels, as constituted by the nature of one’s own mind, namely, self-arisen primordial wisdom, are the objects of resultant refuge; and to remain one-pointedly therein, in a state unspoiled by acceptance and rejection or any other contrivance, is to take resultant refuge. Given that one wishes to attain a result, namely, the state of the external Three Jewels, one may speak of a resultant refuge; and for the sake of that result, one may assert a causal refuge, in the sense of saying that one relies on the protection [of the Three Jewels]. Although it is possible to speak in this way, it is nevertheless the case that, principally, refuge lies naturally within oneself, and it is through remaining in that state, without aspiring to anything else, that one takes resultant refuge. It is rather as a concordant condition for the accomplishment of this that one takes refuge in an external Triple Gem—which is, as we have said, to take causal refuge. As it is said in the tantra called Accomplishment of Primordial Wisdom,

  Elsewhere, in the sovereigns of the triple maṇḍala,

  I wished to find that perfect excellence,