The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Page 7
A white syllable OṂ, [radiating] rays of light,
Descends into the mid-point between my eyebrows,
The vase empowerment is thus received and the obscurations of the body are purified.
Please confer [upon me] the accomplishments of buddha-body!
From the throat of the spiritual teacher in union with consort,
A red syllable ĀḤ, [radiating] rays of light,
Descends into the sense faculty of my tongue,
The secret empowerment is thus received and the obscurations of speech are purified.
Please confer [upon me] the accomplishments of buddha-speech!
From the heart of the spiritual teacher in union with consort,
A blue syllable HŪṂ, [radiating] rays of light,
Descends into the centre of my heart,
The empowerment of pristine cognition is thus received, and the obscurations of mind are purified.
Please confer [upon me] the accomplishments of buddha-mind!
From the navel of the spiritual teacher in union with consort,
A red syllable HRĪḤ, [radiating] rays of light,
Descends into the centre of my navel,
The obscurations which [mundanely] differentiate between body, speech and mind are purified,
And the fourth empowerment of indivisible coemergence is received.
O glorious and precious root spiritual teacher!
Be indivisibly present, [seated] on the pistil of a lotus within my heart for ever!
Through your great kindness, favour me with your acceptance,
And please confer [upon me] the accomplishments of buddha-body, speech and mind!
May we become exactly like you, glorious spiritual teacher!
Exactly resembling you in body, retinue, lifespan, fields,
And in your supreme and excellent major marks.
These verses forming the preliminary practice of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: A Profound Sacred Teaching, [entitled] Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention may be applied as a supplementary method in the context of mental purification.
This spiritual practice of the unsurpassed Greater Vehicle (Mahāyāna) is an oral teaching of [Nyinda] Choje Lingpa, the eldest son of the treasure-finder Karma Lingpa; and it was committed to writing by Guru Sūryacandraraśmi [i.e. Nyinda Ozer].
2
A Prayer for Union with the Spiritual Teacher, [entitled] Natural Liberation, without Renunciation of the Three Poisons
CONTEXT
This prayer to the spiritual teacher is generally recited immediately after the Preliminary Practice. It is also recommended that it be recited at the beginning of any ritual, or when thinking of the spiritual teacher or whenever the practitioner is about to enter into periods of meditation.
A correct perception of the spiritual teacher is considered vital for all practitioners of the Vehicle of Indestructible Reality (Vajrayāna). Further, it is considered essential that a practitioner receive spiritual inspiration, as transmitted through an unbroken lineage of masters, from a living teacher. First, however, before accepting anyone as a spiritual teacher, it is also regarded as essential that the practitioner examine and scrutinise the prospective teacher over a long period of time and accept him or her as a qualified teacher only when it is certain that the person meets the requirements of a spiritual teacher as set out in the authoritative sacred texts. Then, if they are sure that their own motivation is sincere, students should follow the advice of their chosen spiritual teacher with incontrovertible devotion.
Ultimately, the inspiration that is requested from the spiritual teacher is coming from the purity of the practitioner’s own perception, altruistic intention and confidence.
Herein is contained A Prayer for Union with the Spiritual Teacher, [Embodiment of] the Three Buddha-bodies, [entitled] Natural Liberation, without Renunciation of the Three Poisons,1 [which is an extract] from the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: A Profound Sacred Teaching, [entitled] Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention.2
In the palace of reality’s expanse, pure and pervasive,
Is my spiritual teacher, the Buddha-body of Reality —
Uncreated and free from conceptual elaboration.
To you, I pray with fervent devotion.
I request the primordially pure self-empowerment,
The blessings of the Buddha-body of Reality,3
So that naturally arising pristine cognition
Is uncontrived and spontaneously present,
Through natural liberation,
Without renunciation of ignorance and delusion.
In the palace of great bliss, which is pristine cognition, radiant and pure,
Is my spiritual teacher, the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource —
Unimpeded and supremely blissful.
To you, I pray with fervent devotion.
I request the spontaneously present self-empowerment,
The blessings of the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource,4
So that intrinsic awareness, which is pristine cognition,
Is naturally liberated in supreme bliss,5
Through natural liberation,
Without renunciation of desire and clinging.
In the palace of the lotus, untainted and pure,
Is my spiritual teacher, the Buddha-body of Emanation —
Naturally arising in unlimited forms, beyond determination.
To you, I pray with fervent devotion.
I request the naturally liberating self-empowerment,
The blessings of the Buddha-body of Emanation,
So that intrinsic awareness, which is naturally manifesting
Pristine cognition, naturally radiates,6
Through natural liberation,
Without renunciation of discordant views and aversion.
In the palace of intrinsic awareness, the genuine inner radiance,
Is my spiritual teacher, [the unity of] the three buddha-bodies — Beyond spatial delineation, and supremely blissful.
To you, I pray with fervent devotion.
I request the supremely blissful self-empowerment,
The blessings of the Three Buddha-bodies,
So that naturally arising pristine cognition
Is spontaneously present as the three buddha-bodies,7
Through natural liberation,
Without renunciation of the subject-object dichotomy.
How needing of compassion are suffering sentient beings, right here,
Who are driven on through cyclic existence by delusion and confusion —
Because they do not understand that their own mind
Is the Buddha-body of Reality, free from extremes!
May they all actualise the Buddha-body of Reality!
How needing of compassion are mistakenly prejudiced sentient beings, right here,
Who are driven on through cyclic existence by attachment and craving —
Because they do not understand that their own awareness
Is the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource, imbued with supreme bliss!
May they all actualise the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource!
How needing of compassion are sentient beings with discordant views, right here,
Who are driven on through cyclic existence by aversion and dualistic perception —
Because they do not understand that their own mind
Is the Buddha-body of Emanation, arising and subsiding [naturally]!
May they all actualise the Buddha-body of Emanation!
How needing of compassion are all unenlightened living beings, right here,
Who, as a result of grasping, are obscured by dissonant mental states and [subtle obstructions to] knowledge —
Because they do not understand [that their own mind]
Is indivisible from the three buddha-bodies!
May they all actualise the three buddha-bodies!
These verses forming A Pra
yer for Union with the Spiritual Teacher, [Embodiment of] the Three Buddha-bodies, [entitled] Natural Liberation, without Renunciation of the Three Poisons, which are an extract from the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: A Profound Sacred Teaching, [entitled] Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention, were composed by Padmākara, the preceptor from Oḍḍiyāna.
May [the influence of] this sacred teaching not be extinguished until cyclic existence has been emptied!8
This prayer was brought forth from Mount Gampodar, which resembles a dancing god, by the accomplished master Karma Lingpa.
3
Root Verses of the Six Intermediate States
CONTEXT
According to this cycle of teachings, the circle of birth and death can be seen as being composed of six intermediate states. These six modalities of existence: our waking living state, dreaming, meditation, the time of death, and the two successive phases of the after-death state are defined in the glossary.
This poem emphasises the centrally important perspective that relates to each of these states. It is recommended that practitioners should memorise these verses and recite them repeatedly, while reflecting on their meaning, throughout their lives.
Herein is contained the Root Verses of the Six Intermediate States.1
I bow down to the Conquerors, the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities.
The root verses concerning the six intermediate states are as follows:
Alas, now as the intermediate state of living2 arises before me,
Renouncing laziness, for which there is no time in this life,
I must enter the undistracted path of study, reflection and meditation.
Taking perceptual experience and [the nature of] mind as the path,
I must cultivate actualisation of the three buddha-bodies.
Now, having obtained a precious human body, this one time,
I do not have the luxury of remaining on a distracted path.
Alas, now as the intermediate state of dreams arises before me,
Renouncing the corpse-like, insensitive sleep of delusion,
I must enter, free from distracting memories, the state of the abiding nature of reality.
Cultivating [the experience of] inner radiance,
Through the recognition, emanation, and transformation of dreams,
I must not sleep like a beast,
But cherish the experiential cultivation which mingles sleep with actual [realisation].
Alas, now as the intermediate state of meditative concentration arises before me,
Renouncing the mass of distractions and confusions,
I must undistractedly enter a state,
Which is devoid of subjective apprehension, and free from the [two] extremes,
And attain stability in the stages of generation and perfection.
At this moment, having renounced activity,
And having attained a singular [concentration],
I must not fall under the sway of bewildering mental afflictions!
Alas, now as the intermediate state of the time of death3 arises before me,
Renouncing [all] attachment, yearning and subjective apprehension in every respect,
I must undistractedly enter the path, on which the oral teachings are clearly understood,
And eject my own awareness into the uncreated expanse of space.
Immediately upon separation from this compounded body of flesh and blood,
I must know [this body] to be like a transient illusion.
Alas, now as the intermediate state of reality4 arises before me,
Renouncing the merest sense of awe, terror or fear,
I must recognise all that arises to be awareness, manifesting naturally of itself.
Knowing [such sounds, lights and rays] to be visionary phenomena of the intermediate state,
At this moment, having reached this critical point,
I must not fear the assembly of Peaceful and Wrathful Deities, which manifest naturally!
Alas, now as the intermediate state of rebirth5 arises before me,
I must with one-pointed intention concentrate my mind,
And resolutely connect with the residual potency of my virtuous past actions.
I must obstruct the womb entrance and call to mind the methods of reversal.
This is the time when perseverance and purity of perception are imperative.
I must give up all jealousy and meditate on my spiritual teacher with consort.
From the mouth of the accomplished masters come these words:
‘O, [you], with your mind far away, thinking that death will not come,
Entranced by the pointless activities of this life,
If you were to return empty-handed now, would not your [life’s] purpose have been [utterly] confused?
Recognise what it is that you truly need! It is a sacred teaching [for liberation]!
So, should you not practise this divine [sacred] teaching, beginning from this very moment?’
And it is also said,
‘If I choose not to take the oral teachings of the spiritual teacher to heart,
Am I not the deceiver of myself?’
This completes the Root Verses of the Six Intermediate States.
4
The Introduction to Awareness: Natural Liberation through Naked Perception
CONTEXT
This chapter is the essence of the esoteric instruction by which the student is introduced to the ultimate nature of mind. Prior to entering into this practice, which focuses directly on the nature of mind itself, this introduction should be received from an accomplished lineage holder. Then, whilst in solitary retreat, it is recommended that this text be read repeatedly as a guide between meditation sessions.
Herein is contained The Introduction to Awareness: Natural Liberation through Naked Perception,1 [which is an extract] from the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: A Profound Sacred Teaching, [entitled] Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention.2
Homage to the deities [embodying] the three buddha-bodies, who are the natural radiance of awareness.
[Here], I shall present the teaching [known as] The Introduction to Awareness: Natural Liberation through Naked Perception, [which is an extract] from the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: A Profound Sacred Teaching, [entitled] Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention. Thus, shall I introduce [to you the nature of] intrinsic awareness. So contemplate it well, O Fortunate Child of Buddha nature.
SAMAYA rgya rgya rgya
[THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INTRODUCTION TO AWARENESS]
EMAHO!
Though the single [nature of] mind, which completely pervades both cyclic existence and nirvāṇa,
Has been naturally present from the beginning, you have not recognised it.
Even though its radiance and awareness have never been interrupted,
You have not yet encountered its true face.
Even though it arises unimpededly in every facet [of existence],
You have not as yet recognised [this single nature of mind].
In order that this [single] nature might be recognised by you,
The Conquerors of the three times have taught an inconceivably [vast number of practices],
Including the eighty-four thousand aspects of the [sacred] teachings.
Yet, [despite this diversity], not even one of these [teachings] has been given by the Conquerors,
Outside the context of an understanding of this nature!3
[And even] though there are inestimable volumes of sacred writings, equally vast as the limits of space,
Actually, [these teachings can be succinctly expressed in] a few words,4 which are the introduction to awareness.
Here [is] the direct [face to face] introduction
To the enlightened intention of the Conquerors.
Here is the method for entering [into actual reality],
[In this very moment], without reference to
past or future [events].
[THE ACTUAL INTRODUCTION TO AWARENESS]
KYE HO!
O fortunate children, listen to these words!
The term ‘mind’ is commonplace and widely used,
Yet there are those who do not understand [its meaning],
Those who falsely understand it, those who partially understand it,
And those who have not quite understood its genuine reality.
Thus there has arisen an inconceivably vast number of assertions [as to the nature of mind],
Posited by [the various] philosophical systems.5
Further, since ordinary persons do not understand [the meaning of the term ‘mind’],
And do not intuitively recognise its nature,
They continue to roam through the six classes of sentient [rebirth] within the three world-systems,
And consequently experience suffering.6
This is the fault of not understanding this intrinsic nature of mind.
Even though pious attendants and hermit buddhas claim that they understand [this single nature of mind] as the partial absence of self,7
They do not understand it exactly as it is.
Furthermore, being fettered by opinions held in accordance with their respective literatures and philosophical systems,8
There are those who do not perceive the inner radiance [directly]:
The pious attendants and hermit buddhas are obscured [in this respect] by their attachment to the subject-object dichotomy.