Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind

by Longchenpa

  And therefore to the cause I prayed.

  Yet with the understanding that

  The mind’s clear luminosity

  Is the very nature of that threefold maṇḍala,

  I rest therein one-pointedly in even meditation.

  This is truly said to be supreme resultant refuge.

  Now, the Three Jewels are identified in two ways. On the common level, that is, according to the Hīnayāna, they are, first, the Buddha’s supreme nirmāṇakāya; the Dharma of transmission and realization—respectively, the twelve sections of the Buddha’s teachings and the qualities of the path arising in the minds of individuals (concentration and so on); and the Saṅgha of ordinary and noble beings. The category of ordinary beings comprises, first, the lesser Saṅgha, consisting of śrāmaṇeras, śrāmaṇerīs, and upāsakas—for they all constitute a field of merit for beings; and second, monks or bhikṣus, who have received full ordination and who are referred to as the greater Saṅgha. The term “gathering of the Saṅgha” is used to indicate to a group of at least four monks. The category of noble beings comprises the stream enterers, the once returners, the nonreturners, and those who are candidates for arhatship. The one who abides in the level of arhatship is the Buddha.

  All these categories are known in the Mahāyāna, wherein it is nevertheless considered that the Buddha has the nature of the three kāyas, that he is endowed with the two purities and has perfected the twofold aim. As the Uttaratantra says,

  It is unconditioned and spontaneously present;

  It is not known through outer causes;

  Endowed with knowledge, love, and power—

  It is buddhahood, the fulfillment of the twofold aim.203

  [In the Mahāyāna,] the Dharma is considered to be by nature inexpressible in thought and word. By its character it is the antidote or path that leads to buddhahood. According to its aspects, it comprises first, the ultimate and actual Dharma [of realization] defined as the five paths and the two cessations and, second, the verbal Dharma: the twelve sections of the scriptures.

  As the Uttaratantra says,

  Inconceivable, devoid of two,204 and nonconceptual;

  Pure, and luminous, and acting as an antidote;

  Free from all attachment, from attachment freeing,

  Dharma has the nature of two truths.

  Freedom from, and freeing from, attachment

  Are contained in the two truths: cessation and the path.205

  There are two kinds of cessation. First, there is analytical cessation, the absence of conceptual elaboration, which is the result of removing previously existing impurities through the use of antidotes. Second, there is a nonanalytical cessation, which consists in resting in the space-like state that is naturally free from concepts or impurity. [The truth of] the path consists in the realizations occurring on the paths of accumulation, joining, seeing, and meditation. That which thus comprises the characteristics of the two truths (of cessation and path) is in fact the entire Dharma of transmission and realization.

  Finally, [within the context of the Mahāyāna], the Saṅgha comprises all those who have realized the luminous nature of the mind: the noble beings residing on the ten grounds of realization. As the Uttaratantra says,

  Because they purely see with inward primal wisdom

  The nature and the multiplicity of things,

  The assembly of the wise who never more return

  Have qualities that cannot be surpassed.206

  From the uncommon point of view, namely, that of the Vajrayāna, [the objects of refuge] are understood differently according to the class of tantra in question.

  In the Kriyā and Caryā Tantras, the Jewel of Buddha is the five wisdoms and the pure and actual nature of the three or four kāyas, together with their miraculous array: the deities of blessing (Mañjuśrī, Avalokita, and Vajrapāṇi) belonging to the Tathāgata, lotus, and vajra families, and all the deities of the greater and lesser maṇḍalas of the saṃbhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya in both their peaceful and wrathful aspects. The Jewel of Dharma includes all that has been mentioned above but with the addition of the particular features given in the individual texts. As for the Saṅgha, this is said to consist of three groups: the śrāvakas, the bodhisattvas, and the vidyādharas.

  According to the Yoga Tantra, the Jewel of Buddha is defined as the five wisdoms and the pure nature of the three or four kāyas; as Vajrasattva (Lord of all families) and the peaceful and wrathful manifestations of the three kāyas belonging to the five families of [vajra], jewel, lotus, action, and Tathāgata; as the main deities and their retinues, single and multiple (of the root maṇḍalas, together with the samaya, dharma and karma maṇḍalas); and as the four mudras, together with all the deities belonging to the greater and lesser maṇḍalas. The Buddha comprises all of these, while the Dharma and the Saṅgha are the same as described in the Kriyā and Caryā Tantras.

  In the Anuttarayoga, the Jewel of Buddha consists of the principal deities and their retinues. These are inseparable from the saṃbhogakāya buddhas and are the Tathāgatas endowed with vajra body, speech, and mind. These deities are either single, multiple, or in groups. They dwell within the maṇḍalas in the Densely Arrayed buddhafield. All the many nirmāṇakāya deities, moreover, emanating from the saṃbhogakāya belong to the Jewel of Buddha. The Jewel of Dharma consists of all that has been previously explained. Finally, the inseparable nature of the Three Jewels, blazing with the major and minor marks, constitutes the sacred, unsurpassable Jewel of Saṅgha.

  Why is it that the Three Jewels are referred to [in Tibetan] as the “Rare and Supreme Ones”? It is as the Uttaratantra says,

  Because so rarely they appear and are without impurity,

  Because they are endowed with power and ornament the world,

  Because they are unchanging and supreme,

  They are indeed the Rare and Supreme Ones.207

  In short, because they may be compared in six ways with precious substances, the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha—the Three Rare and Supreme Ones—are likened to Jewels. Accordingly, they are compared with gems that are rarely found. For those who have not cultivated the root of virtue for an immense lapse of time are unable to encounter them. They are compared with flawless gems because their every aspect is immaculate. They are compared with powerful gems because of the inconceivable strength of their excellent qualities: the six kinds of preternatural cognition and so on. They are compared with gems that ornament the world because they are the cause of the virtuous thoughts of all migrating beings. They are compared with gems that are more precious than any jewel that has been made because they transcend the world. They are compared with gems that are unchanged by praise or blame, for they are uncompounded by their nature.

  They are moreover presented threefold because, as the Uttaratantra declares,

  In terms of Teacher, teaching, and disciples,

  And related to three vehicles,

  And regarding those inclined to observances of the three kinds,

  Three refuges are posited.208

  The Commentary to the Uttaratantra explains that in order to reveal the qualities of the Teacher to those who seek the enlightened state—in other words, the practitioners of the vehicle of the bodhisattvas, as well as those who revere the Buddha as supreme—the Buddha is taught and presented as their refuge. For he is the “greatest of all two-footed creatures.”

  For those who enter [the path] in order to understand the profound teaching of interdependence—in other words, those who belong to the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas and those who revere the Dharma as supreme—and as a means of showing to them the excellence of the Doctrine that the Teacher has revealed, the Dharma is taught and presented as a refuge. For it is the “supreme freedom from attachment.”

  In order to instruct those who embark upon the path as a means to understanding the words taught to them by another—that is, the practitioners of the śrāvaka vehicle and those who revere the Saṅgha as supr
eme—demonstrating to them the excellent qualities of those who have well entered the Doctrine of the Teacher, the Saṅgha is taught and presented as a refuge. For it is the “most sublime of all assemblies.”

  In sum, the immediate refuge in the present time and situation is the Triple Gem. Nevertheless, the Buddha alone is the ultimate refuge. As the Uttaratantra declares,

  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.209

  This describes the character of resultant refuge, the final goal.

  [Taken from the autocommentary, 426: 6–438: 4]

  THE THREE CONCENTRATIONS OF THE GENERATION STAGE

  FIRST ONE SHOULD perform the preliminary practices. Seated cross-legged on a comfortable seat, one should imagine that one’s teacher, the yidam deities, and the deities of the maṇḍala are present in the sky in front of oneself. One should take refuge in them three times and then generate the attitude of bodhichitta, reciting three times the formula taken from the Net of Precious Peaceful Deities:

  All endless beings, like myself,

  Are buddhas from the very first.

  Knowing this to be so, I give rise

  To the intention for supreme enlightenment.

  One should then recite the svabhāva mantra and recall that phenomena are established in the state of great emptiness. This refers to the concentration of suchness (de bzhin nyid kyi ting nge ’dzin) in which one should train oneself as follows. It is said in the Great Exposition of the Generation and Perfection Stages,

  HUNG

  The nature of the pure mind of enlightenment

  Is a state that from the first is unborn, all-pervasive, endlessly profound,

  Nonabiding, unobservable, beyond the mind’s construction.

  It rests completely in equality beyond all thought and word.

  It is also said in the Heruka Galpo,

  Great space, the dharmadhātu, is beyond imagining.

  The space of ultimate reality is free from all conceiving.

  Ultimate reality, the vast and inconceivable expanse,

  Is devoid of reference like space itself.

  It is necessary to perform the suchness concentration because it provides the causal connection for the arising of the rūpakāya from the dharmakāya. Since all the visualizations that follow are in this way associated with the great perfection of primordial emptiness, the knots of clinging to entities and their characteristics will be untied. It is said in the Stages of the Path,

  Because of emptiness, all paths are free of attributes;

  Fixations of self-clinging all subside.

  Afterward, in order to untie the knot of a one-sided clinging to emptiness, one must practice the all-illuminating concentration (kun tu snang ba’i ting nge ’dzin). All phenomena appear even though they have no intrinsic being. Within a state of illusion-like compassion, one should meditate for a while on the self-arisen and self-cognizing primordial wisdom, which is luminous and devoid of all fixation. As it is said in the Stages of the Path,

  Through meditation on the King, awareness self-cognizing,

  Supreme enlightenment is found.

  Suchness, once it has been seen, becomes

  The ground for the arising of compassion.

  Certainly it’s in this order that it manifests.

  Finally there comes the concentration on the cause (rgyu’i ting nge ’dzin). This is twofold. First is the visualization of the circle of protection. In the infinite expanse of space, from the syllable HUNG, there appears a blazing mass of fire in which there arises from the syllable bhrum a wheel [or rather sphere] consisting of a hub, a rim [or surface], and ten spokes. The empty space inside the hub represents the dharmadhātu. On each of the ten spokes, there is a lotus and disks of sun and moon marked with the syllable hung. These transform into Hūṃkāra on the vertical spoke at the zenith, Vijaya on the eastern spoke, Nīladaṇda on the southeast spoke, Yamāntaka on the southern spoke, Akṣobhya on the southwest spoke, Hayagrīva on the western spoke, Aparājita on the northwest spoke, Amṛtakuṇdalī on the northern spoke, Trailokyavijaya on the northeast spoke, and Mahābala on the vertical spoke at the nadir.210

  Each of these deities has one face and two arms, wears a kilt of tiger skin, and is bedecked with snakes. With right leg bent and left leg outstretched, they all hold the attribute indicating their enlightened family, or else a vajra and bell. The two wrathful deities at the zenith and nadir both belong to the Tathāgata family. They are dark blue and hold a wheel. The wrathful deities to the east and southeast belong to the vajra family. They are gray and hold a vajra. Those in the south and southwest belong to the jewel family. They are dark yellow and hold a jewel. Those in the west and northwest are of the lotus family. They are dark red and hold an eight-petaled lotus. Those in the north and northeast are of the karma family. They are dark green and hold either a crossed vajra or a sword.

  Whether or not one visualizes the palace, the main concentration on the cause consists in a brief meditation on oneself as the main deity (the cause heruka), which then dissolves into emptiness. In the present context, the concentration on the cause refers to the meditation on the seed syllable from which the main deity is generated.211

  [Taken from the autocommentary, 806: 3–809: 3]

  THE SIMPLE PRACTICE OF THE GENERATION AND PERFECTION STAGES

  FOR THOSE WHO are unable to engage immediately in the extensive practice of the generation stage, or who devote themselves exclusively to the perfection stage with only slight elaboration, I will explain how, through meditating on a single deity, one meditates on them all.

  First one should take refuge and generate the attitude of bodhichitta. Subsequently, as the Guhyagarbha describes,

  The rootless nature of the mind

  Is of all phenomena the root.

  The mind itself is of the nature of a syllable,

  A syllable that is a precious, wish-fulfilling cloud.

  And,

  A is neither empty nor not empty;

  Not even in the center can it be observed.

  All things are but names. All buddhas

  Dwell in strings of syllables.

  Pronouncing the syllables A A A, and resting in the state in which phenomena are neither one nor many, one should meditate on the vast abyss of the unclouded sky. In the center of this untrammeled expanse, where the sun and moon are shining, one should meditate on [oneself as] the glorious Samantabhadra inseparable from Samantabhadrī. His hands are in the position of meditative absorption and, being of the nature of the dharmakāya, he is without ornaments and garments. Five-colored beams of light radiate from him forming a tentlike luminous sphere, wherein there is a central palace, from which rays of light pervade all the reaches of space. The whole of phenomenal existence blazes into light. One should then recite OM AH HUNG A A as much as one can, after which one should rest in the nature of space. By meditating in this way, one meditates on all the maṇḍalas of the buddhas, for one meditates upon their very source. As it is said in the Guhyagarbha,

  In the clear expanse of the maṇḍala of space, with sun and moon,

  Meditate upon the King of primal wisdom with his Queen.

  In this way you will meditate

  On all the maṇḍalas of the Victorious Ones.

  Proceeding in this way, it is through meditating on a single perfection stage that one meditates on them all. In the heart of Samantabhadra thus visualized, there is a sphere of light ablaze with the radiance of the five primordial wisdoms, luminous and free of thought. One should focus one’s mind on it without distraction. For as long as the breath is slowed down until it is motionless, all thoughts vanish and one remains for days in the state of ultimate reality, the primordial wisdom of equality, which is beyond both one and many. One will perceive lights and rainbows and buddhafields. And as day and night mingle together, one will remain in a continuous state
of luminosity in which there is no fluctuation. Thus one’s mind will dwell in self-cognizing primordial wisdom (the primordial wisdom that cognizes itself distinctly). Furthermore, calling to mind that the nature of the mind is thus from the very beginning, one will understand that the accomplishment of buddhahood does not come from somewhere else. As it is said in the Guhyagarbha,

  Perfect buddhahood will not be found

  In any of the four times or the ten directions.

  The nature of one’s mind is Perfect Buddha.

  Do not look for buddhahood elsewhere.

  Through such practices of generation and perfection, practitioners are connected with all the maṇḍalas of the generation and perfection stages. They cause one to gain all accomplishments. No hindrances are created by them, by way of even slight omissions or additions to the ritual and so on. They have endless beneficial qualities. As it is said in the Guhyagarbha,

  Since one is linked thereby to all the maṇḍalas,

  All the maṇḍalas one will attain.

  No faults or defects will occur

  As through additions or omissions to a ritual.

  [Taken from the autocommentary, 842: 5–845: 2]

  THE MIND AND THE OBJECTS THAT APPEAR TO It

  WHEN A PERSON’S face is reflected in a mirror, the clear surface of the glass provides the support for the appearance of the reflection, and the face, for its part, has the power of casting its aspect upon the mirror, giving rise to its reflected form. Thanks to these conditions, a face appears, but in the very moment of its appearing, the reflection is neither the face itself nor a face different from the face that cast its aspect. In just the same way, all the multifarious appearances perceived by the deluded mind appear through the interdependence of the causes and conditions of delusion. And when they appear in the way that they do, the appearing objects, in all their variety, are not the mind itself, but neither are they truly existent extramental things. For their appearance is due solely to the deluded habitual tendencies of the mind. It is thus that they are hallucinatory appearances and perceptions. In just the same way that black lines are seen by people suffering from an ocular disorder, they appear and yet are not really there.