The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Page 27
O, as I roam in cyclic existence [driven] by deep-seated desire,
May the transcendent lord Amitābha draw me forward,
Leading me on the path of radiant light,
Which is the pristine cognition of discernment.
May the supreme consort Pāṇḍaravāsinῑ support me from behind,
And, thus [encircled], may I be rescued
From the fearsome passageway of the intermediate state,
And be escorted to the level of an utterly perfect buddha.
By making this aspirational prayer with fervent devotion, you will dissolve into rainbow light in the heart of the transcendent lord Amitābha and his consort, and you will attain buddhahood, as the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource, in the western Buddha field of the Blissful (Sukhāvatῑ).
Although it is impossible not to be liberated by [the successful recognition of] this [introduction], there are nonetheless those who will be unable to give up their propensities due to habituation over long periods of time, even after receiving such an introduction. Under the sway of envy and negative past actions, they will become fearful and overawed by the sounds and luminosities. Failing to be caught by the light-ray hook of compassion, they roam downwards into the fifth day. So it is that, on the fifth day, the transcendent lord Amoghasiddhi’s assembly of deities, resplendent with the light rays of compassion, will come to escort them and, at the same time, the light path indicative of [the realm of] the antigods, which is generated by the dissonant mental state of envy, will emerge invitingly.
Again, calling the deceased by name, the introduction should now be given with the following words:
O, Child of Buddha Nature, listen without distraction. On the fifth day, the purity of the entire wind element will arise in the form of a green light. At that time, from the green northern Buddha field [called] Matrix of Enlightened Activities (Karmaprasiddhi), the transcendent lord Buddha Amoghasiddhi with his retinue will dawn before you, his body green in colour, holding in his [right] hand a crossed-vajra, seated on a cῑvaṃcῑvaka bird throne and embraced by the supreme consort Samayatārā. These two are encircled by two male bodhisattvas, Vajrapāṇi and Nivāraṇaviṣkhambhin, and two female bodhisattvas, Gandhā and Nartῑ. Thus, six buddha-bodies will be shining [before you] from within a space of rainbow light.
A green light [indicative of] the pristine cognition of accomplishment, which is the natural purity of the aggregate of motivational tendencies, green and dazzling, radiant and clear, bright and awesome, adorned by greater and lesser seminal points, [will emanate] from the heart of Amoghasiddhi and his consort and it will shine piercingly before you at the level of your heart, [with such brilliance] that your eyes cannot bear it. Do not be afraid! This is the natural expressive power of your own awareness! Rest in a state of great equanimity, transcending activity, free from [the dichotomies of] attachment and aversion, based on [your feelings of] nearness and distance. Together with the light of pristine cognition, a dull red light, [indicative of the realm] of the antigods and formed by envy, will also dawn before you [and touch your heart]. Cultivate an equanimity toward this [dull light] which is free from attachment or aversion! Even if your mental capacity is diminished, at least do not delight in it. At this time, under the sway of deep envy, you will [wish to] turn away in terror from the bright and dazzling green luminosity and you will come to feel delight and attachment towards the dull red light of the antigods. At this moment, abandon your fear, and recognise the green luminosity, bright and dazzling, radiant and clear, to be pristine cognition. Let your awareness relax and abide directly within it, resting in a state of non-activity. Pray with devotion, thinking: ‘This is the light ray of the transcendent lord Amoghasiddhi’s compassion. I take refuge in it.’ This, in reality, is the light-ray hook of the transcendent lord Amoghasiddhi’s compassion, which is known as the pristine cognition of accomplishment. Be devoted to it! Do not turn away! Even if you do turn away, the luminosity will accompany you inseparably. So, do not be afraid! Do not be attached to the dull red light of the antigods. This is the inviting path of your past actions, which you yourself have engaged in, whilst motivated by deep envy. If you become attached to this dull light, you will fall into the realms of the antigods and experience the unbearable sufferings of [unrelenting] conflict and quarrelling. This [dull light] is an obstacle blocking the path to liberation! Do not be attached to it! Give up your yearning! Do not cling to it! Be devoted to the green light, which is radiant and dazzling, and focus intently and single-mindedly on the transcendent lord Amoghasiddhi and his consort, and recite the following aspirational prayer:
O, as I roam in cyclic existence [driven] by deep-seated envy,
May the transcendent lord Amoghasiddhi draw me forward,
Leading me on the path of radiant light,
Which is the pristine cognition of accomplishment.
May the supreme consort Samayatārā support me from behind,
And, thus [encircled], may I be rescued
From the fearsome passageway of the intermediate state,
And be escorted to the level of an utterly perfect buddha.
By making this aspirational prayer with fervent devotion, you will dissolve into rainbow light in the heart of the transcendent lord Amoghasiddhi and his consort, and you will attain buddhahood, as the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource, in the northern Buddha field [called] ‘Matrix of Enlightened Activities’ (Karmaprasiddhi).
By giving this introduction repeatedly in this way, however weak the [positive] residue of [a deceased individual’s] past actions might be, he or she will [have the opportunity to] attain recognition at one point or another. As recognition occurs at any point, it will be impossible for liberation not to be achieved.
However, owing to a long association with myriad habitual tendencies and an unfamiliarity with pure vision and pristine cognition, even after being introduced repeatedly in this way, there are some who are nevertheless led backwards by negative propensities, despite this setting face to face having been given. Failing to be gripped by the light-ray hook of compassion, they will be overcome by awe and terror [upon the arising] of the lights and rays, and continue to wander downwards.
Thereupon, on the sixth day, the male and female deities of the five enlightened families, together with their retinues, will arise simultaneously, and at that very moment, the six [dull] lights, [indicative] of the six classes of living beings, will also arise simultaneously.
Therefore, calling the deceased by name, the introduction should be given with the following words:
O, Child of Buddha Nature, listen without distraction. Until yesterday the visions of the five individual enlightened families arose before you. Despite this, even though the [former] introduction was given, you experienced awe and terror; a response generated by your habitual tendencies. Consequently, you have remained in your present state, until now. If you had previously recognised [one of] the natural luminosities of the pristine cognitions of the five enlightened families as being a natural manifestation [of actual reality], you would have dissolved into rainbow light [at the heart] of [one of] these buddha-bodies of the five respective enlightened families, and attained buddhahood, in the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource. Yet, since you have been unable to recognise these [experiences] as being natural manifestations, you have wandered here. Therefore, listen now, without distraction. The vision of the entire [peaceful assembly] of the five enlightened families, together with that which is called: ‘the vision of the four pristine cognitions combined’,47 will now come to invite you. Recognise this!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, [at this time] the four coloured lights, which are the pure forms of the four elements, will dawn before you; and, simultaneously, the buddha Vairocana and his consort will arise, as before, from the central Buddha field of the Pervasive Seminal Point [i.e. Akaniṣṭha-Ghanavyūha]. [At that same moment], the buddha Vajrasattva and his consort, surrounded by their retinue, will arise from the eastern Buddha fi
eld of Manifest Joy (Abhirati). The buddha Ratnasambhava and his consort, together with their retinue, will arise from the southern Buddha field of the Glorious (Śrῑmat). The buddha Amitābha and his consort, together with their retinue, will arise from the western Buddha field of the Blissful (Sukhāvatῑ), and the buddha Amoghasiddhi and his consort, together with their retinue, will now arise before you from the northern Buddha field [called] Matrix of Enlightened Activities [i.e. Karmaprasiddhi], [all arising together] out of a space of rainbow light.
O, Child of Buddha Nature, encircling these male and female deities of the five enlightened families, the male gatekeepers, [Trailokya]vijaya, Yamāntaka, Hayagrῑvarāja and Amṛtakuṇḍalin, will also arise, together with the female gatekeepers, Aṅkuśā, Pāśā, Sphoṭā and Ghaṇṭā. In addition, the six [emanational] sages who are transcendent lords, will also appear before you: Indraśakra who is the sage of the gods, Vemacitra who is the sage of the antigods, Śākyamuni who is the sage of humans, Sthirasimha who is the sage of the animals, Jvālamukha who is the sage of the anguished spirits, and Dharmarāja who is the sage of the hell beings. [Accompanying the above array], Samantabhadra and Samantabhadrῑ will also arise before you, [in the form called] Samantabhadra and Consort in Union, [the coalescence] which is the progenitor of all the buddhas.
These, the forty-two assembled deities of the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource, will emanate from within your heart and then appear before you. Recognise them! For they have arisen from within your own pure vision! O, Child of Buddha Nature, these buddha fields do not exist extraneously. They are the five aspects of your own heart; its four directions and centre. Emanating now from within your own heart, they have arisen before you. These buddha-bodies have not arisen extraneously. They have spontaneously arisen, atemporally, from the natural expressive power of your own awareness. Therefore recognise them as they are!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, these buddha-bodies [that you see before you] are neither large nor small, but perfectly proportioned, and they are [all adorned] with their respective ornaments, [costumes], colours, postures, thrones and hand-gestures. The array is made up of [central] couples [of male and female deities], forming five distinct clusters, and each cluster of five is encircled by an aura of five-coloured lights. All the male bodhisattvas of the [five] enlightened families who accompany the male [buddhas], all the female bodhisattvas of the [five] enlightened families who accompany the female [buddhas], and the entire maṇḍala will arise [before you], perfectly and simultaneously. So recognise them! They are your own meditational deities!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, from the hearts of the male and female buddhas of the five enlightened families, the light rays of the ‘four pristine cognitions combined’, very fine and clear, like a spider’s web, will dawn before your heart, [like the] entwined light rays of the sun.
First, a sheet of radiant white48 light rays, bright and awesome, [indicative of] the pristine cognition of reality’s expanse, will emanate from the heart of Vairocana, and touch your heart. Above49 this sheet of light, a white seminal point resembling a mirror facing downwards will arise, emanating light rays, extremely radiant, bright and dazzling, adorned with five distinct seminal points of like nature, each of which in turn will be adorned by greater and lesser seminal points, [forming an array] with no centre or horizon.
[Second], a sheet of radiant blue light, [indicative of] the mirror-like pristine cognition, [will emanate] from the heart of Vajrasattva. Above this, like a turquoise bowl facing downwards, a radiant blue seminal point will arise, [also] adorned by [an array of] greater and lesser seminal points.
[Third], a sheet of radiant yellow light, [indicative of] the pristine cognition of sameness, [will emanate] from the heart of Ratnasambhava. Above this, like a gold cup facing downwards, a radiant yellow seminal point will arise, [also] adorned by [an array of] greater and lesser seminal points.
[Fourth], a sheet of radiant red light, [indicative of] the pristine cognition of discernment, [will emanate] from the heart of Amitābha. Above this, like a coral bowl facing downwards, a radiant red seminal point will arise, extremely luminous and dazzling, [resplendent] with the luminosity of pristine cognition. It too will be adorned with five distinct seminal points of like nature, each of which in turn will also be adorned by greater and lesser seminal points, [forming an array] with no centre or horizon. All of these [lights and seminal points] will indeed arise, and touch your heart.
O, Child of Buddha Nature, these [radiances] are arising out of the natural expressive power of your own awareness. They have not come from anywhere else. Therefore, do not be attached to them! Do not be a fraid of them! Relax and rest in a non-conceptual state.50 [Abiding] in this state, all the buddha-bodies and light rays will merge into you, and buddhahood will then be attained.
O, Child of Buddha Nature, [during the above series] the green light [indicative] of the pristine cognition of accomplishment will not arise. The reason for this is that the natural expressive power of pristine cognition, which is your own intrinsic awareness, is not yet perfected.51
O, Child of Buddha Nature, this [array of luminosities that you are now experiencing] is called: ‘the vision of the four pristine cognitions combined’. It is [also] known as the ‘hollow passageway of Vajrasattva’.52 At this time, therefore, you should recall the oral instructions, which your spiritual teacher formerly introduced to you. If you [successfully] recall this [former] introduction, you will have confidence in the visions that have already arisen, and you will recognise them, just as there is instant recognition at the meeting of a mother and her son, or just as one instantly recognises an old acquaintance the moment one sees them. Cutting through any doubt, you will recognise [these radiances] to be natural manifestations [of actual reality]. Achieving confidence, in this way, in the unchanging path of pure reality, and sustaining a continuous meditative stability,53 you will dissolve into the buddha-body of great spontaneously present awareness54 and irreversibly attain buddhahood in the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource.
O, Child of Buddha Nature, together with the radiances of pristine cognition, the six [dull] lights [indicative] of the six classes [of beings] who are obscured by impure and bewildering perception, will also arise simultaneously. That is to say, the dull white light of the gods, the dull red light of the antigods, the dull blue light of the humans, the dull green light of the animals, the dull yellow light of the anguished spirits, and the dull smoky light of the inhabitants of the hells will arise alongside the radiances of pure pristine cognition. At that moment, do not seize upon, or become attached to, any [of these lights]! Relax and abide in a non-referential state. For if you are fearful of the pure radiances of pristine cognition and become attached to the impure lights of cyclic existence with its six classes [of beings], you will assume a body amongst [one of] these six realms, and you will be debilitated; for there will be no [immediate] opportunity for escape from cyclic existence, this vast ocean of suffering.
O, Child of Buddha Nature, if you are one who has not been introduced to the oral instructions of a spiritual teacher, you will be frightened and overwhelmed by these buddha-bodies and the radiances of pure pristine cognition, just described, and you will feel attachment towards the [dull] lights of impure cyclic existence. Do not do this! Be devoted to the bright and dazzling radiances of pure pristine cognition. Be full of devotion and think: ‘The light rays of pristine cognition, which are the compassion of Those Gone to Bliss, the transcendent lords of the five enlightened families, have come to seize me with compassion. I take refuge in them.’ Do not be attached to the bewildering lights of the six classes [of beings]. Do not cling to them! Focus one-pointedly on the male and female buddhas of the five enlightened families and recite the following aspirational prayer:
O, as I roam in cyclic existence [driven] by the five virulent poisons,
May the transcendent conquerors, [the male buddhas] of the five enlightened families, draw me forward,
Leadi
ng me on the path of radiant light,