The Tülku Principle and the Trungpa Tülkus
In this section, Trungpa Rinpoche continues the discussion of the vajra master by introducing the tülku principle in general, and the history of his own lineage of Trungpa tulküs in particular.
Essential Teachings
Before proceeding to a discussion of the tantric yanas, the Vidyadhara introduces further key concepts of the vajrayana. He discusses in some detail the intricacies of space and insight, or ying and rikpa, and of the three kayas, or three bodies of enlightenment, in relationship to the eight kinds of consciousness. He then switches his focus to the energies and emotions that arise in space, and how to cut through these on the spot and rest in luminous emptiness.
Complete Commitment
The level of commitment expected for both vajrayana practitioners and teachers is spelled out in this section quite strongly. There is a detailed discussion of the samaya vow as both a protective principle and as a discipline to follow. Trungpa Rinpoche emphasizes the power of the samaya vow and the inseparability of student, guru, and yidam, and warns of the dangers and consequences of corrupting the tantric teachings.
The Mandala Principle
The mandala principle plays a key role in vajrayana practice and iconography. Here Trungpa Rinpoche elucidates the mandala principle, as well as the teachings of outer, inner, and secret mandalas. He also presents an overview of the mandala of the five buddha-families, which plays a central role in tantric iconography and in the tantric understanding of reality altogether.
Preliminary Practices
Before formally embarking on the vajrayana path, a student must first complete a series of preliminary practices, which are called ngöndro. In this section, Trungpa Rinpoche explains the four general and four special preliminaries as ways of freeing oneself from conceptuality and sinking roots in nonconceptual wisdom. He discusses the practice of devotion or guru yoga as a path of blessings, perceptual breakthrough, and nonthought.
Empowerment
Once a student has made a relationship with a vajra master, cultivated devotion, and prepared the ground by practicing the vajrayana preliminaries, that student may request to be accepted into the vajra world, or vajra mandala. In this section, Trungpa Rinpoche discusses the nature of vajrayana transmission, and explains the symbolism and components of a traditional empowerment ceremony or abhisheka. He talks about the abhisheka process in terms of establishing a powerful samaya bond between the vajra master and the student. He points out that the student’s commitment to the vajra master and to the tantric teachings is mirrored by the vajra master’s relentless and compassionate commitment to their students.
Vajrayana Practice
Tantric practice takes many forms, but it can be simplified into two essential components: visualization practice and formless practice, also called the creation and completion stages. Here Trungpa Rinpoche discusses vajrayana liturgies, or sadhanas, and the nature of both visualization and formless practice. Since vajrayana visualizations involve deities of all kinds, Trungpa Rinpoche makes a point of distinguishing the tantric view of deities from the theistic approach, and stresses the importance of a nontheistic view.
The Tantric Journey: Lower Tantra
According to the Nyingma tradition, the Tibetan Buddhist path can be looked at in terms of nine yanas or vehicles. Of these nine yanas, two are within the hinayana (shravakayana and pratyekabuddhayana); one is within the mahayana (mahayana or bodhisattvayana); and six are within the vajrayana (kriyayogayana, upayogayana, yogayana, mahayogayana, anuyogayana, and atiyogayana). In this section, the Vidyadhara discusses the first three tantric yanas (kriyayoga, upayoga, and yogayana), which are referred to as lower tantra.
The Tantric Journey: Mahamudra
Weaving together the approaches of the Nyingma and Kagyü traditions, Trungpa Rinpoche presents the mahamudra or anuttarayoga teachings of the Kagyü tradition within the context of his presentation of the six tantric yanas. He discusses anuttarayoga both as the highest attainment of the mahamudra tradition and as a kind of bridge between the three lower and three higher tantric yanas. In this section, the Vidyadhara presents the view and practice of mahamudra, and he provides a commentary on “The Song of Lodrö Thaye,” a pithy and profound realization song by Jamgön Kongtrül the Great that encapsulates the essence of ground mahamudra, path mahamudra, and fruition mahamudra.
The Tantric Journey: Higher Tantra
The three higher tantric yanas (mahayogayana, anuyogayana, and atiyogayana) are referred to in Tibetan as dzokchen. Trungpa Rinpoche refers to these teachings as maha ati, a term that can refer to the ninth yana (atiyoga) or to higher tantra as a whole. Maha ati is presented as the culmination of the entire Buddhist path, and the Vidyadhara points out that although the maha ati teachings may seem complex, overpowering, or unreachable, they are in fact profoundly simple, absolutely pure, and completely immediate.
There is an oral quality and directness to the teachings in this volume. Trungpa Rinpoche not only describes the worldview and practices that make the tantric path so remarkable, but does so in a way that makes them accessible and relevant to modern students.
HISTORY AND ASPIRATIONS
History
It is exciting finally to be completing the work of preparing these three volumes. Those who are familiar with the Vajradhatu Seminary transcripts will recognize that these volumes are a rearrangement of a series of oral teachings presented to unique groups of people over a series of years. Each seminary had a unique flavor and tone, reflecting the changing cultural times and makeup of the students, and each talk the Vidyadhara gave was followed by a lively and often extensive question and answer period. Furthermore, the topics covered in Trungpa Rinpoche’s main talks were in a kind of dialogue with the array of classes being taught in a particular seminary by his senior students. The original transcripts captured much of the spirit of the individual seminaries and serve as a dynamic and evocative record of those historic events.
I feel so fortunate to have been able to attend the 1973 Vajradhatu Seminary in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as well as portions of several other seminaries. It was a privilege to have worked with the Vidyadhara at the 1978, 1979, and 1980 seminaries. These experiences were personally transformative and I shall never forget them. My aspiration is that The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma conveys some of that same excitement, tenderness, and power.
In compiling these teachings, my goal was to gather this material in a way that was true to the original content, as well as to make it readable and accessible to a broader audience. The idea was to convert the rich mixture found in the original transcripts from a chronological and historical record into a more topical approach. In editing these teachings, I aspired to transform the material into one coherent topical narrative without losing the freshness of the spoken word and the quality of direct oral instruction. I did my best to do so and I ask for your forgiveness for any errors or distortions.
In our initial attempt to categorize these teachings in the 1970s, Sarah Coleman and I literally took scissors and cut up the transcripts into piles of cuttings, which we put in different boxes. Later, I arrayed my office walls with charts of over two hundred and fifty seminary talks, color-coded to keep track of the main topics and of where particular topics were covered from year to year. Putting all of these puzzle pieces together was quite a struggle at times. Particularly in the vajrayana volume, the interconnectedness of the various topics was so exquisitely complete that it was difficult to begin with any one topic without at the same time discussing all the rest.
Although in a compilation such as this, it has not been possible to include everything found in the original transcripts, I have tried to be as inclusive as possible. Topics that arose in dialogue have been incorporated into the main body of the text.
In this volume, at the risk of being somewhat repetitive, I chose to include many of the recurring admonitions Trungpa Rinpoche gave again and again, in a variety of ways, abou
t the ongoing importance of meditation practice. He never tired and in fact was relentless about driving home the importance of both mindfulness and awareness, or shamatha and vipashyana. He made it clear that the seeming complexities of the vajrayana rested on that simple yet profound foundation.
NOTES ON FOREIGN TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Tibetan, Sanskrit, and other foreign words and phrases are italicized on first appearance in these volumes. Tibetan terms are spelled phonetically in the body of the text. The glossary contains definitions of all terms, as well as transliterations of Tibetan terms. A special thank you to the Nalanda Translation Committee and to Ellen Kearney for preparing and editing the extensive glossary. Please see Credits for a list of further acknowledgments.
Aspiration
It is my hope that The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma will be a resource and inspiration for both practitioners and scholars, for both teachers and students, and that the Vidyadhara’s seminary teachings continue to benefit many beings now and in the future. As a humble, undisciplined student, I am grateful to have had a small role in offering these teachings to the broader world.
DEDICATION
May the sharp knife of the vajra teachings
Cut though conventionality and cowardice.
And may this world of apparent confusion
Be seen as it is: the sacred playground of luminosity and emptiness.
1. Chögyam Trungpa was referred to by many different titles. He could simply be called “Rinpoche” (Tib.: precious one). In 1974, the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa gave him the title Dorje Dzinpa (Tib.: vajra holder). Trungpa Rinpoche was also referred to as the Vajracharya, or “vajra master.” In later years, this was changed to the Vidyadhara (Skt.: knowledge holder) under the advice of the Venerable Tenga Rinpoche.
2. When Trungpa Rinpoche made this statement, there had only been two previous seminaries, in 1973 and 1974. As time went on, the number of previous seminary transcripts continued to grow at a rate of two volumes per year, which meant that in later seminaries the review of previous seminary teachings became more and more daunting.
3. Trungpa Rinpoche developed a stream of teachings called Shambhala teachings, which provide a more secular approach to awakening wisdom and compassion, with an emphasis on spiritual warriorship and the creation of enlightened society. The imagery and terminology of the Shambhala path is distinctive and complementary to that of vajrayana Buddhism.
PRONUNCIATION OF SANSKRIT AND TIBETAN
SANSKRIT
Sanskrit words may seem intimidating at first sight because they are so long. However, once they are broken into syllables, they are easy to pronounce. Sanskrit follows very regular rules and contains no “silent letters” such as those in English.
Vowels
In general, vowels are pronounced as in Italian or Spanish. Sanskrit makes a distinction between long and short vowels in the case of a, i, and u. However, in this text they are not represented differently. Therefore, it is acceptable always to pronounce them as if they were long:
a as in car.
i as in feet.
u as in loot.
The following vowels are always considered long in Sanskrit:
e as in day
ai as in pie
o as in go
au as in how
Consonants
Most consonants are pronounced as in English. The aspirated consonants (kh, gh, ch, jh, th, dh, th, dh, ph, bh) are pronounced as the consonant plus a noticeable aspiration of breath. In particular, note that the consonants th and ph are not pronounced as in the words thing and photo, but as in pothole and shepherd. The letter g is always pronounced hard as in go, never as in gem. The letter h is pronounced as a breathing sound at the end of a word.
Accent
In classical Sanskrit, each syllable received approximately the same emphasis; vowels were lengthened rather than stressed. Although today we tend to stress syllables, it should not be so emphatic as in English. Accent is placed on the next-to-last syllable when this contains a long vowel or ends with more than one consonant (not including h). Otherwise, it is placed on the last previous syllable that contains a long vowel or ends in more than one consonant. If none exists, the stress is placed on the first syllable.
TIBETAN
In this text, Tibetan words have been spelled to reflect pronunciation as accurately as possible. As in Sanskrit, the consonants th and ph are not pronounced as in the words thing and photo, but as in pothole and shepherd. The letters ü and ö are pronounced approximately as in the German words über and möglich, or as in the French words connu and oeuvre.
Note that the letter e is always pronounced at the end of a word. In some cases, words ending in e have been spelled with a hyphen in order to prevent mispronunciation: shi-ne, Ri-me.
Part One
APPROACHING THE VAJRAYANA
Introduction
In the vajrayana, we learn how to respect our world. We realize that this particular world we live in is not an evil world, but a sacred world. It is filled with sacredness altogether. We learn to develop “sacred outlook.”
PRESENTING THE VAJRAYANA
In this volume, we are just introducing the theory of vajrayana. In the vajrayana, or tantra, theoretical or intellectual understanding should act as a vanguard before you do anything. If you are thinking of launching into such elaborate and powerful teachings, it is necessary to know where you are going and what you are going to do as far as the practice is concerned. If you want to receive good hospitality when you are visiting friends, you send a letter to your friends before you arrive so your hosts can have a chance to say yes or no. You give them some kind of warning. It is necessary to approach the vajrayana in the same way.
It is important that you know what you are getting and what you are getting into. You have the right to know what you are doing, or some part of it, at least. If somebody is going to take you to the North Pole, you should have some idea of what the North Pole is all about. Maybe you will not know in great detail, but at least you will know that it is cold, it is in the north, food is difficult to get, you need special clothes, and so on. Likewise, by entering the vajrayana with good directions, nobody will be tricked into being enlightened, but there will be personal motivation.
At this point, you may not yet be practicing vajrayana, but you are learning something about it and about its preciousness. But first, a word of warning: in this discussion of the vajrayana, please do not expect great words of wisdom to come from me. You might be disappointed when I say very ordinary things about it. But I am telling you something personal, something I have experienced myself. Whether it is up to your expectations or not is up to you. I am just retelling what I myself have experienced.
You might feel that the approach of vajrayana is a complete hype or a complete exaggeration, or else you might feel that it is the real thing. Because of that sharp boundary, there is a need for fundamental trust. You could experience either trust or distrust when such truth is told. You might have doubts, but distrust and doubt are not the same: distrust means condemning the whole thing, whereas doubt is knowing that there are possibilities. Doubt is knowing that something is happening, but not knowing exactly what is going on. It provides you with the possibility of questioning yourself as to whether you have the faculties and capability to understand the vajrayana.
Before I began to present these teachings,1 I first thought about what I was going to tell my students. Then I actually had a five-minute cry, because I missed my teacher, Jamgön Kongtrül of Shechen,2 so much. Then I began to realize that there was no point in living in the past. I realized that trust and distrust are right here with me. I also thought of His Holiness the sixteenth Karmapa. I thought of what he would like to hear me say, how he would like to hear me expounding the dharma to the billions of people in the world, and some kind of natural confirmation began to take place. I realized I should not be too methodical or scholarly in expounding the vajrayana, but that I should
speak from my heart. That was the message, or the conclusion, however you would like to take it.
So we are talking about something that is real, something that I have experienced personally. I feel that I do not have to con anyone or try to make a particularly excellent presentation, but I can simply launch into this particular vehicle, which is called the vajrayana. And I am still thankful to my teacher. So we might say this teaching is straight from the horse’s mouth. I am sharing what I have experienced, what I have believed in, what I have felt, and how I have grown up.
Photo 3. Photo taken by Trungpa Rinpoche of Jamgön Kongtrül of Shechen (1901–1960), his root guru.
The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness Page 3