The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness

by Chogyam Trungpa

In the mahayana, complete emptiness has not been seen, and complete freedom from samsara has not been realized, so there is no union of the two. But with mahamudra, seeing samsaric emptiness means that there is a lot of activity and play. The mahayanists would never buy that, for in the mahayana, transcending samsara means to do good, whereas in mahamudra, transcending samsara means play.

  In the teachings on mahayana, we talked about vipashyana as the torch holding the fire that burns the fuel of conceptual ego-mind. We also talked about the warmth that cuts through the ego. But the vajrayana approach is something more than that. The vajrayana is not concerned so much with the torch, but with the totality of the flame-world. That fire-world actually burns the torch itself as well as the torcher, the one who lit the torch.

  The mahayana approach is a courting process, and the vajrayana approach is one of magnetizing or elegantizing. You are elegantizing your neurosis so that it could be more workable. When people hear about the vajrayana approach, they often find it crude or dirty. But it is actually the ultimate way to have dignity in spite of your neuroses. On the whole, it is a way of glorifying our vajra world.

  Another thing about the vajrayana is that historically there were quite a few female practitioners. The vajrayana is a much more open approach than the hinayana approach of rules and regulations. In fact, in the vajrayana we cease to talk about what gender of people can practice dharma. The inclusion of female practitioners is just accepted by everybody. The emphasis is not on either the masculine or the feminine human being; it is completely open.

  We also know about a few siddhas who were women. One of the outstanding female siddhis was Naropa’s consort, who was called Niguma. Niguma developed the six yogas of Niguma, and she was one of the prominent counterparts of Naropa. There were also female siddhas called Shavari, who were forest dwellers and were supposed to lead the hunt. And there were a great many lady prostitutes who were also siddhas. Whether they were men or women, everybody was doing their best to attract people and catch them into the mahamudra experience. So I think gender does not really make any difference here. There might be some problems with gender in the hinayana and mahayana, but in the vajrayana there is no problem at all.

  According to anuttarayoga, when you are at the hinayana level and you first start shamatha practice, it is like the third day of the lunar calendar, when you begin to see the crescent moon in the sky in the morning. And when you reach the level of anuttarayoga, it is like the fourteenth day of the lunar cycle, which is the eve of the full moon. That is the journey up to this point, according to the New Translation school. It is an interesting analogy, because it seems to imply that something more is needed. The theory is that there is not anything beyond the level of anuttarayoga, but anuttarayoga practitioners seemed to have an idea that something else needed to be added.

  STUDYING THE EARLY TANTRIC YANAS

  I think that anuttarayoga is what a lot of people imagine tantra should be. The previous three tantric yanas are not particularly well-known, except for kriyayoga. The juicy part of tantra, the part that is known to be great, is in this particular tantra. At the same time, it is very important to have some understanding of the previous three yanas. They provide a very important basis for you to understand the vajrayana altogether.

  One problem is that the Tibetans did not study the other yanas a great deal. Therefore, we have very few of their manuscripts in Tibetan, let alone Sanskrit. The practices themselves have been handed down from teachers to students for generations but only scattered textbooks and commentaries are available. The only tantra really well preserved is anuttarayoga. But if you are going to be instructed in the complete, comprehensive tantric process, you should have some understanding of all the tantras and their practices.

  THE OUTLAW TANTRA

  In anuttarayoga, upaya and prajna are brought together. For that reason, Buddha was inspired by this particular tantra, and he would appear in the form of various tantric deities in order to teach it. Sometimes, it appeared that he taught in the form of Vajradhara. When he did so, Vajradhara’s consort, speaking on behalf of the students, would request Vajradhara to teach tantra. She would ask the first question, and the students would join in as the discussion went on.

  The technique or practice of anuttarayoga goes against people’s cultural, philosophical, and religious frameworks. That is why this tantra is regarded as outlaw. Practitioners of anuttarayoga were outlawed in India as being dangerous and extraordinary. It is said that nobody should get into anuttarayoga, and if anybody does get into it, they should get into it properly. This is the same principle as that of the vajra: the vajra will not strike, but if the vajra does strike, it destroys the enemy.

  Anuttarayoga goes against ordinary patterns of morality and the conventional social setup. However, that may sound like more than what it actually implies, so don’t get frightened. Nonetheless, in the past when the mahayana doctrine was proclaimed, the arhats fainted; and when the vajrayana was proclaimed, the bodhisattvas fainted. Still, I do not think it is shocking enough for you to run away.

  SHAKING THINGS UP

  The world of anuttarayoga is a large-scale world. Even in the hinayana, and at least at the mahayana level of shunyata, it has been taken for granted that the world is vast and that it has its functions, which are interdependent. This has been understood, and that is why the tantric teachings are possible. Tantra stirs up your snug way of sleeping within the gigantic cosmos. It upsets your sense of security and makes you more paranoid. Instead of security, there are a lot of holes all over the place. The oceans are not just oceans, but they have huge bubbles underneath them. The sky is not just a blue sky, but there are holes carved out that are not actually blue sky. It seems that the role of tantra is to see those things, rather than to rest in the eternity and efficiency of the phenomenal world, thinking that everything is going to be okay. That is not possible. Nothing is going to be okay.

  In tantra, we are not just saying flat out that everything is good. Why is that the case? Why do we bother to say that your mind is one? Why do we bother giving your mind names like nirmanakaya, sambhogakaya, and dharmakaya? Why don’t we just say that everything is okay? We decided to define that particular large-scale working basis using different names and principles and concepts, because it is not just a good old world, but it is a tricky world. Why do we say that all mind is dharmakaya? Why not just say all mind is happy! Why do we use such a complicated word as dharmakaya? There is a purpose for that: to freak you out. There is a purpose in those details of phenomena. They are not just bread-and-butter language; they are technical terms.

  It is not so simple. Each of you has your own duty, your own discipline. Everybody is different. Some people might have kidney problems; some people might have liver problems; some people might have sugar problems; some people might be fat or thin, here or there. There are all kinds of situations. People dislike this and that; everybody has their own individuality. So we cannot just say the world is one, but we can say that the world is one because of those problems. That is what makes us one world. Otherwise, we would not have a world; we would just have one gigantic being. It would be like a big octopus dwelling on this planet earth. That is not possible.

  People have their individualistic styles and ways of communicating. For example, if the heat were turned down, everybody in the room would feel freezing cold, but each of them would have a different way of dealing with it. Some people would freak out and shout, some people would stay put, and other people might run and get more clothes. There are all kinds of variety in how people handle themselves. In tantra, we are not trying to conquer that or disturb that giganticness. That seems to be our saving grace. We let that rest.

  TRANSMUTING THE EMOTIONS

  Rather than providing training for refraining from, controlling, or editing our emotions, anuttarayoga provides the possibility for all the emotions to be transmuted, so they become part of the path. Transmutation does not mean turning one thing into something e
ntirely different, like light turning into dark, or dark turning into light. Instead, in transmutation an emotion is “mutualized.” It goes through a change or a kind of camouflaging, and finally comes out properly. When you transmute an emotion, you still keep the quality of the emotion, but the intensity of the emotion is changed, it is heightened. Transmutation is like directing sunlight through a magnifying glass, which makes the light much more burning and intense.

  Transmutation is based on joining two forces together: the emotion and its object. The reason we cannot usually transmute our emotions is that we feel impotent, or we feel that the situation is too overwhelming. When we begin to realize that we are not impotent and that situations are not all that overwhelming, we can actually join the two forces together and jump into the situation properly. If I am angry, and you are the object of my anger, that anger is not regarded as a pathetic thing to be involved in, and the object of that anger is not just regarded as somebody wretched who is only worth being angry at. Those two things are brought together in very close proximity: “I am angry. The object of my anger is provoking me. So be it. SVAHA. Let us explore. Let us work together.”

  BINDING TOGETHER

  In anuttarayoga, binding together or unifying becomes important. The term that applies here is samvara, which means “joining” or “binding together.” It refers to binding together that and this, so that transmutation can take place properly and fully, without fear or hesitation. The world that we see is what it is. Therefore, the world of our experience is what it is, too. So there is no embarrassment taking place between you and your world.

  APPRECIATING DESIRES

  In tantric literature, aggression is viewed as the fire that burns the root of buddha nature, and passion is more like water. Like water, passion may be turbulent, but it still sows a seed and moistens the earth, creating further development, growth, and greenery. So in tantra, there are a lot of references to passion. An important characteristic of Buddhist tantra is that passion is recommended from the point of view of appreciating desires. You are not blocking your desires or getting indignant about other people’s desires, but all desires could be changed into vajra passion. Passion is close to compassion, openness, and love, while anger cuts the root of liberation.

  One of the Chakrasamvara tantras says: “How could you be liberated by pain without pleasure, without joy? Therefore, come and join me, and do not separate or make choices as to which one you should take. Choose any object of desire.” Brahmans are too pure, and dogs and untouchables are too impure—they are two extremes. But from this perspective, Brahmans, dogs, and untouchables are seen as the same. And if there is any doubt, that doubt should be eaten, rather than thrown away. Doubt should be consumed as part of the vajra feast. So in tantra, there is a lot of emphasis on the practice of vajra feast.1

  Visualizing Masculine and Feminine in Sexual Union

  Anuttarayoga seems to be the first point where you can actually work with your passion. Unlike the three previous yanas, anuttarayoga includes the direct visualization of you and your partner, the feminine principle and masculine principle, copulating together. This is a symbol that this world is no longer embarrassing, and therefore the world is not embarrassed either. So again there is the sense of bringing the two together. This does not mean having a gigantic orgy in the name of tantra. It refers rather to the fundamental level of relating this world with that world and joining them together, which is a very powerful and fantastic experience.

  In anuttarayoga, visualization is carving out your bones, re-creating your brain, and re-creating your heart. It is not a reference point, but a point of hassle, quite possibly. When you are visualizing, you are open, just doing your practice, and the visualization is an expression of identifying your own mind with a particular deity. When the jnanasattva descends, the visualizer stays. So the idea is not that the jnanasattva is trying to trick or con the samayasattva into dissolving. Rather, they are the same.

  FORMLESS PRACTICE: MAKING YOUR MIND COMPLETELY NAKED

  Mahamudra is one of the leading tantric disciplines of sampannakrama, or formless meditation. Sampannakrama, or dzogrim, refers to the stage of practice in which you do not want to dwell in a beautiful, little, humble, pseudo-yogicship of any kind. Therefore, it is known as the mahamudra, quite rightly and delightfully so.

  Formless practice is quite mysterious, and a lot of students have no idea what sampannakrama actually means. This is the root of many of the problems in vajrayana practice. We find that there are seeming vajrayana teachers and masters of all kinds, but many of those teachers do not first teach their students how to work with dzogrim. This has always been a problem; it is an irritating situation. Such teachers prefer to offer people the more colorful aspects of tantra, rather than teaching dzogrim. But if there is no dzogrim, there is no spirituality.

  Without dzogrim, there is constant spiritual materialism happening. So a vajrayana teacher, a vajracharya or vajra master, should be responsible for having their students learn formless practice first. What does that mean? It means that some kind of mind training is necessary and absolutely called for. Mind training goes beyond any rationalization of what the state of enlightenment should be. Furthermore, mind training is free from entertainment of any kind, including nonentertainment, since nonentertainment is also a form of entertainment.

  Dzogrim is a way of making yourself completely naked. This is a very tricky point. When a teacher tells you that it is a way of making your mind completely naked, you might ask the teacher, “Couldn’t I just wear simple clothes instead of being naked? What is this naked trip all about?” You might ask such things because you still want to have a rug under you. You do not want to pull the rug out from under your feet or your ass. But in dzogrim, the word naked does not mean being purely harmless or indulging in good living; it means being unconditioned by expectations or conceptualizations of any kind.

  In mahamudra, two symbols—vast space and freedom—are put together. Emptiness or vast space provides lots of room for situations to occur and be understood at the vajrayana level, and freedom means going through various stages of stepping out and taking a leap into the situation. So in mahamudra, with maha, there is a greater emphasis on vastness and freedom, and with mudra, or self-existence, the emphasis is on no reference point at all, none whatsoever. There is no evaluation—therefore it is so. Maha is not so much a question of big and small, but in this case maha is just so. Just so is vast space. Just so is freedom.

  1. In a vajra feast, disciples combine their sadhana practice with the celebration of a communal meal that usually includes the consumption of both meat and liquor.

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  Devotion: The Essential Prerequisite for Mahamudra

  The mahamudra experience depends on devotion alone. As it is said in the texts: great devotion brings great practice; medium devotion brings medium practice; and small devotion brings small practice.

  MAHAMUDRA IS based so much on devotion that it has been described as devotion mahamudra. Those two are always together: mahamudra and devotion, devotion and mahamudra. So whenever a person has experienced or is about to experience mahamudra, the first prerequisite is devotion.

  GIVING UP TERRITORIALITY

  Mahamudra can only exist in the minds of students who have fully committed themselves to the vajrayana path alone, without exception. However, you cannot commit yourself without a reason. And the only reason you commit yourself to the practice is because of the personal link that exists between you, the teaching, and the teacher. Such a link is not possible if you decide to hold back your own world, rather than giving it up. That giving-up process is precisely what is meant by giving up territoriality.

  To work with holding back, you need to see the nature of the holding back. Holding back means that you are about to give in; that is why you are holding back. Otherwise, you would not need to hold back. If you are pulling, you are pushing at the same time; if you are pushing, you are pulling at the same time. It always w
orks that way. The desire to give in brings with it the resistance to giving in. It is like asking a question, which usually is saying the same thing as the answer. It is like a mother saying before giving birth to her child, “I don’t want to have it.” But at that point, it is too late; the child is there already, so what can you do? You cannot dissolve your child into a little dot. It is too real. You cannot perform miracles.

  When you give up your world and your territoriality, spiritual guidance begins to be possible. At the same time, the thought occurs to you that dharma is much better than your little imagination, your little world. You begin to realize that you have been scheming for ages and ages, kalpas and kalpas, trying to be smart and playing one-upmanship games with other people. That is what has been going on so far, and that is what still goes on, as far as your quest for personal victory is concerned. But in studying the vajrayana, you realize that dharma brings about a far greater victory, so that you no longer have to wage your petty warfares. In vajrayana, there is a greater sense of victory, a greater vision, and a greater power.

  THE IMPORTANCE OF APPRECIATION

  The mahamudra experience depends on devotion alone. As it is said in the texts: great devotion brings great practice; medium devotion brings medium practice; and small devotion brings small practice. Appreciation plays an important role as a source of both celebration and devotion. If there is no appreciation, you are just going to sew little stitches throughout the whole of your life, one stitch after another. You will just continue to do those stitches that make up your regular life. You get up, eat, go to work, come back, and go to bed. You might add some extraordinarily interesting stitches, but your life still consists purely of buttoning and unbuttoning your shirt. There is no creativity in that approach. Mahamudra involves something more than just buttoning and unbuttoning yourself all day long. There is a greater sense of delight, worthiness, and gratitude.